Dez in India

FINALLY: a flattering article about ethics and integrity in India!
Mumbai world’s second most honest city: Survey

Those of you who’ve studied the scientific method and statistics for representational sample size can just bite your tongues and let us enjoy this accolade!

This is my lime tree on my balcony (yes, I know it’s crooked –we’re working on it):

This is my first lime:

This is my first lime in a G&T (yum):

Farm-to-table / locavore goodness — I wholly endorse these concepts! Now if only I could grow juniper berries…..

I read about the nearby Nandi Hills. A steep hiking path, breath taking sunrises, in credible views… Who could resist?

Then it turns out that no one I know has actually been there at sunrise… Or hiked (“why hike- they let you drive right up!”). Perhaps I should have taken note that things wouldn’t go strictly according to plan.

I got up early to drive out past the airport into the country side. The official state website said they open at 6am, sunrise was 6:12am, so no worries. It’s not prudent to hike unknown, steep paths in the dark, so the idea was to drive up and see the sunrise, then hike down (which would also overcome the challenged of having no earthly idea where the trailhead starts at the bottom if the Hill).

When we arrived at the ticket counter about 5:50 am and there was already a modest queue. And it was freezing — whipping wind and really cold. Smarter people came prepared with woolen hats & gloves (admittedly, that was probably overkill, but since temps here are in the low 80s during the day and high 60s/70 at night, it felt freezing by comparison….).

Apparently the ticket takers didn’t realise that watching the sun actually rise was the motivation behind so many of us getting up so early… Because they didn’t bother opening the ticket counter until 6:30ish. It struck me then: the fact that I was so nonplused about the delay means I really am adapting! (Penelope, I was channeling you at the train station in Dijon!)

We got into the ancient fort and stopped to snap some photos of the dawn sky. Then we explored around on foot: the ancient temple, checked out Tipu’s Drop where prisoners condemned to death would be pushed over the sheer rock face 600 meters high (Tipu was the ruler who fought off the British invaders until his dying breath: think king-warrior-freedom fighter). We saw from a distance the guest houses where Gandhi, Nehru & Queen Elizabeth stayed. We explored the gardens, saw the giant tank and checked out Tipu’s summer palace/ hunting lodge (modest & tasteful from the outside; the inside is locked up) and its ancient outdoor alter.

Outside the fort walls at the front door to Tipu’s hunting lodge, was a winding path with stairs heading down the hill — eureka! The hiking path! We confirmed with the ticket taker that was indeed the route. Then there was a lot of discussion: should I hike downhill and have C (my driver and touring companion for the morning) collect me at the bottom? (No good: we still don’t know where the trail ends. Also the safety of hiking alone made this option seem… imprudent.) Do we both hike down and then take an auto rickshaw (aka “autos” here, or “tuk-tuks” elsewhere) or bus back up to the fort? (Nope, no taxis or autos or bus service from the tiny village where the trail ends.) Thus, only one option: we go down hill and then come back up.

Off we go, taking in the crisp early morning air and scenery. We pass the gate to the fort, using the same path Tipu and his subjects used generations before. There was a shady lean-to made of stone about a third of the way down -very thoughtfully placed. We passed a guy talking loudly on his cell — at 7am on a Saturday in the middle of a hiking path in the middle of no where hollering into your cell: really ?!?

Then we come to a modest temple with a Nandi bull, shady & serene, about 2/3 of the way down.

Around there, we ran into 2 older women in saris with parcels balanced on their heads, walking barefoot. C translated their chit chat (in the local language, Kannada) for me: they sell flowers to tourist at the fort, but the don’t feel like walking up all the way now; they decide to turn back and make the trek in the afternoon; there will be few tourist there when they arrive in the afternoon, however, they can sleep up at the fort overnight and be ready for the mad rush of weekend tourists Sunday morning…

Towards the bottom, the trail starts to flatten out and there is a small temple to Hanuman, the monkey god. We ran into a family of 4, kids bounding up the hill ahead of mom & dad as we were descending. We traded notes: it took us about an hour to descend, what there is to see at the top; they told us about a yummy breakfast place in the tiny village below, Silver Oak.

The end of the trail. Finally! We now know where the trail ends. We turned around and started the hike back up, stopping at the Nandi bull temple and its divine, cold shady stone structure for breakfast sandwiches. By now, the “cold” temperatures at the top were not an issue. The sun was fully up and, this low on the hillside, the air was still.

To be honest, the climb back up was at a very… leisurely pace. The sun got stronger as the morning wore on, but the higher we climbed the more cool breezes we got. It was Mother Nature’s way of motivating us. A group of ‘tweens passed us, bounding up with limitless energy. Although I hate to admit to being overtaken on the path, I was (where do those kids get such energy?!?). At least I can report that their parents never caught up to us!

Once back at the top, it felt like we’d accomplished a lot before 10am on. Saturday

Happy Birthday, Gandhi! Last week was a holiday in India for the 144th birthday anniversary of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (Oct 2, 1869- Jan 30, 1948).

More commonly referred to as Mahatma Gandhi (“mahatma” is an honorific that roughly translates to “venerable”) — known here as “Gandhi-ji”, another way of showing respect & honor, which strikes me as more colloquial — is considered the Father of the Nation for his successful advocacy of independence from Britian.

Of course, Gandhi’s influence has spread greatly. The local holiday has also been designated by the United Nations as International Day of Non-Violence /”Ahimsa” (although I’m not if that is a holiday anywhere else…).

There are no specific festivities, it is just a day to regroup and reflect on Gandhiji’s message. It’s a dry day nationwide – no alcohol is sold- and I’m told most people eat vegetarian food only to honour Gandhi’s message of non-violence. (Presumably alcohol and meat will stir violent passions…). People told me even non-veg restaurants will go veg for the day. I must say, I was tempted to go to the famous steakhouse within walking distance of my apartment to see what they were offering if booze & critters were off the menu. But I felt that snarky behaviour probably didn’t honour Gandhi.

Happy Birthday!

Ok seriously: how does on explain to others how/why the US can just shut down when parties disagree? I literally have no words to explain it that make sense when I say them aloud. Not to belittle any of the hardships those furloughed will endure, but this is just embarrassing.

Gone are the days of statesmen and compromise… All we have left are politicians and hard liners… Sadly, we only have ourselves (the voters) to blame. Sigh.

(OMG was the last shut down really 20 years ago?!? The news keeps repeating that “20 years”, as if to hammer home that I am officially old. I remember dealing with its “trickle down” effects at work, when my engineering firm had a GSA contact for remediation of Nike Missile sites…. Not pretty for those furloughed nor the others whose work was tied to government contracts, nor those who provided services to govt employees, etc.)

I am sure choosing among these 2 options presents a real paradox to some travelers with tight connections…

Delhi Airport

A few weekends back, I checked out the Sun Temple in Konarak. It’s in the form of a chariot pulled by 7 horses (for 7 weekdays or 7 colors of rainbow, they may have been painted) on 24 wheels (for 24 hours/day). One of the wheels also acts as a sundial, but it was too overcast (blissfully overcast on this 98F degree day) to see it in action.

The official tour guide I hired explained to me that the carvings are divided into 3 bands: the lowest for childhood, with images of animals, plants, etc; the highest representing the wisdom, maturity and devotion found in old age, with images of gods and religious symbols; and the middle for adulthood, with daily household scenes and porn. Yep, you read that right. Every combination of pairing(s)/position of humans you can imagine — and when they ran short on those, they included the humans with animals. The Karma Sutra in stone relief, and then some. Clearly, ancient Indians were much more tolerant of alternative lifestyles than current mainstream culture: the tour guide gleefully pointed out the “homo orgy” and the “beautiful lesbians”.

Here are some photos — the suitable for work ones.

It’s a long holiday weekend here in India for festivals. Locally this weekend’s festival is known as Dussehra, and celebrates Goddess Durga’s (aka Chamundeshwari) victory over the demon Mahishasu. I decided to get into the spirit. I hung garland — obtained from City Market this morning (which is akin to saying I went Xmas shopping at Macy’s flagship on Xmas Eve. Total madhouse!). And tried my hand at my very first rangoli — the sand art in lieu of a door mat. It’s not the lovely, symmetrical rangoli I set out to make — clearly this takes years of practice and I am at about preschool level!