Monday, December 27th 2004, 9:20pm

Well my illness continued as before, and on the 25th, while sitting at one of the adjacent terminals in this web cafe, showed its finest form with me passing out. I had felt something kinda heavy coming on, so I turned off the monitor, and just rested on the computer table to ride out whatever it was... the next thing I knew I was dreaming - all very nice, and the next I was being shaken awake by the shopkeeper who wondered if there was something wrong - 'yes, something wrong' I told him. :) These two Vancouverites I'm traveling to Punjab with showed up a short time later while I was resting in an easy chair. I had already sussed out a doctor the day before, and once I had my strength back I made a bee-line for his office, some ~100' away. He listened to my story of the illness, etc, etc, and told me to come back that evening. I did, and he gave me a relatively full inspection (nothin south of the border mind you) and declared it to be a chest infection. He prescribed 3 days worth of medication and I've been getting better ever since. Tonight I had a bowl of raita and a garlic naan - the biggest meal I've had in 5 days or so, and I've had two more decent nights of sleep.

Now I've got to head back to the hotel, get packed, go to sleep, and at 7am I'll be waiting out on the road to meet up with the two Van guys. We'll head for the bus station to meet our other two companions, and we'll all bust out for Punjab!

OMG... 9 nights in Delhi... waaaaay too much.

dharma

Thursday, Dec. 23rd 2004, 8:13pm

Yesterday I met up with the woman who'd been my Panjabi teacher out at UBC ~2 years ago, and her husband from the Punjab who will be moving to Canada in the next few months. Also I met two friends of hers from Vancouver who are also traveling around India. We'll all travel to Punjab by deluxe bus on the 28th.

We went for lunch and so-forth, all very nice, except that my health has been on the decline. A couple of days previous 'the runs' had started in, and by yesterday morning my skin was starting to feel sensitive. I had a very small lunch, and by the night was starting to shiver. Last night was one of those ...nightmarish long lucid nights. I hit the sack around 9pm, and tossed and turned, little dreams(?) replaying themselves incessantly while I tried to find a comfortable way to sleep. At about 1am my neighbour decided to do his/her laundry... and once that finished I went back to my fitful and sweaty slumber until about 5am when someone downstairs decided to bring out their anvil and forge a sword or something - that's what it sounded like anyway. After that quit I managed to sleep until about 8:45am. I got up, my skin still sensitive and a new phlemy cough having developed, and walked over to the two Canadians' place 35mins away in Janpath. We spent a few hours wandering around, eventually hopping a rickshaw back to Pahargange where I'm staying. We were headed down the bazaar toward my hotel when we stopped in at this very internet cafe. They waited outside while I checked on CD burning costs - they started at Rs 20 for the CD and Rs 80 for the service, but quickly folded when I offer 20/40. When I emerged my two companions were having a conversation with a Sikh fellow who was offering Rs 1000 each for two of us to participate in a commercial, apparently for Air India. In the end we decided to go for it. I would just accompany, and they would do the bit. The fellow said he'd include lunch, tea/coffee, and the ride to the shoot and back again.

We took off and eventually wound up on a southern campus affiliated with the Delhi University. We spent about 4 hours sitting around waiting while things slowly geared up, sipping chai and wishing time would speed up slightly. It turned out not to be a commercial, but a short commedy bit directed by none other than the legendary Jaspal Bhatti. For those of you who know nothing of the Indian film industry, this would be sort of like the Oliver Stone or Stephen Spielberg of Indian commedy. It was in fact a bit that will be about two or three minutes long, and will air at about 10:30pm, Dec 31st, on Aaj Tak news channel's 'What If' humour segment. It was a spoof about what it would be like if Bihar state's chief minister Lalu Prasad became the president of America. He's evidently got a reputation for being a somewhat unorthadox public figure, often dressing strangely and so on. I took lots of pictures...

In the end I got as close as a camera check up with the rest of the cast, but they really weren't fond of having three white people, it was a bit too crowded... or maybe I didn't look quite right, anyway, I just hung out taking pictures and shivering. The other guys did get their Rs 1000, out of which they insisted on giving me Rs 500 for my company and for the apparent fact that they would have expected similar treatment if I had been chosen in favor of one of them. And, we got our rides back to our respective areas of town. A pretty interesting experience all round, and an unexpected adventure!

So, I'm feeling pretty rough... chills, shivering, a growly stomach with almost zero appetite, and this cough/sore throat. Hopefuly things will improve soon eh? I dunno.

Alright, take care all!

dharma

Tuesday, December 21st 2004, 7:10pm

Happy birthday my dear pa! Much love to you!

Well, yeah... here I am chillin in Delhi. But I won't talk about that right now.

The day before I left Bodhi Gaya I took a nice long bike ride... ~5Km outside of the town gate, riding parallel to a wide, wide river, to a little village where there's a high-tension powerline that crosses the river - with a tower right in the middle of that river. There I went down and crossed the dry riverbed, staying to the left of the tower, and spotting a well used spot on the other bank headed there. I passed numerous locals on the way, and finally ascended the opposite bank and came to a road. I made the mistake of taking that paved road running parallel to the river again, back in the general direction I'd come from. After a short while I stopped and asked an older fellow if I was going the right direction. 'Namaste ji, main Jaagdishpur jarrahaan houn', I said, and having gotten a positive acknowledgement, I pointed in the direction I was riding, 'Jaagdishpur?'. 'Naheen', he replied, and gestured back the way I'd come, and then off to the right. After a minute or two of this sort of conversation, me trying to get a better sense of exactly what he meant, I searched around and coming up with a useful stone, drew a map in the dirt. 'X' marked us, then a road back to the village on the river bank, an 'O', and then at the village added a road heading off perpendicular to the right. 'Haan, Jaagdishpur.' Yes, he said, this was it. Another fellow who'd come along by then agreed. In fact, he was heading that way so I could go with him. But he was walking, so after a couple minutes of walking beside him I confirmed again with gestures my course, and took off. I hung a right onto a bumpy and undulating dirt 'road', and checking with folks from time to time, eventually wound up in Jaagdishpur. I confirmed the general direction to the tea stand and the Mandala School, and headed for the latter. As I'd been told to expect, I saw two classes of children seated out in the sun, beyond a sparse area of trees. I hopped off the bike and made my way toward them. One of the teachers greeted me, and after a short conversation I was seated in front of the class. I asked 'Sanjit koan hai?' ...silence. Nobody moved. The teacher then asked for Sanjit to identify himself, and a young fellow got to his feet. I gestured him to come forward, asking 'Ap pita ji Prem Kumar hai na?' Yes, Prem is his dad... so I handed him a picture I'd been given to deliver. He took it, sat back down, and the teacher proceeded to explain to the kids that I'm a good friend of Prem, and so on. After a short while the teacher walked me over to the tea stand I'd been told to leave the bike at, explained, and I parked the bike. I then took my leave of the teacher, agreeing to drop in again on my way out, and headed off toward the mountain ridge stretching to the left and right before me, and the Mahakala cave which was my destination.

The Mahakala cave is a small cave, say about large enough for 4 people to sit cross legged in, where the Buddha is said to have meditated in seclusion for 6 years prior to his enlightenment. It's a beautiful area... clean, arrid but with a nice smattering of trees, and this long, striking mountain ridge leaning forward as though balancing against the wind. I avoided the main footpath and headed up through the rocks, ravines, and trees. As I got closer to the monastery which is now built around the cave I hit the main trail again, and moved upward steadfastly through the series of men, women, and children asking for money, pens, and candy. A set of monks came down past me handing out candies all the way. I discovered that they'd bought them at the snack stand at the top... a good relationship I guess.

The cave door is about half my height, and inside it was warm and still... or not still, I'm not sure. The cave ceiling is fairly rounded, and very dark - black. There is an alter there with a statue of the Buddha, portraying him in the rather imaciated form which he is said to have been in, due to his extreme fasting during those years. Candles and incense match the tone... I sat there for a few minutes, observing the sweat pouring off me, and watched my mind run around while I sat looking for stillness, for whatever's there in that space where the Buddha sat for so many years.

Having had my fun, and taken a few pictures, I left the cave, and declining the offers for a guide, headed higher up the ridge, back and forth through the rocks and shrubs, past some goats, prayer flags, and eventually reached the top. I spent the next hour and a half walking back and forth along the top of the ridge. There are beautiful views from that ridge, sweeping down one side - where I'd come from, and down the opposite. The land all around is basically flat, so the view goes as far as the haze will allow. There are also remains, ruins, of six stupas along the top of the ridge, and having walked to them all I sat beside one and had lunch. A tibetan bread, cheese, and tomato sandwich, some cookies, and plenty of water.

It was a very nice little day trip. After coming down I did visit the teacher again, his class was just disbanding as I approached. He showed me their school building which they use in the hot summer, and told me about the funding difficulties which he worries will force its closure in the next year. It was apparently started in 1998 thanks to a donation from the Netherlands, and according to a log book I saw, numerous foreigners have added their bit to it. Still though, the proposed kitchen area is left with only half finished walls, and the second floor of the school is mostly non-existant. Add to that the problems with drought which are apparently plaguing the village, and for the teacher it feels like the future is bleak. He feels that education is their salvation, but it's a catch-22 scenario. Nothing special there.

Having visited Prem's home and the surrounding village, and seen the ~30' well, dry as a bone, I rode back with the teacher to the village on the bank of the river, where it turned out he lives. I declined his invitation to dinner in favor of heading back to Bodhi Gaya in the light, and bid him good-bye - yes, I promise to write... and I'll consider his idea of trying to fund-raise for the school once I'm back in Canada.

The next afternoon I caught a train from Gaya, and 23 hours later (8 hours late thanks to fog in the morning time) arrived in Delhi. More adjustment... more learning about how to flat out ignore all of the people trying to start conversations. Just keep doing what I'm doing, going where I'm going, like I don't hear them at all. And on occasion when I am engaged, I'm learning not to offer anything at all. It's a mildly entertaining experience.

My first night I stayed in a very nice hotel with cable tv (I watched Robin Hood, The Last Mohican, and some sci-fi), hot showers anytime I wanted in my decently clean bathroom, and a comfortable clean bed - Rs 250. Having had my fill of the good life, I've moved to a relative dive - in fact "relative" may not matter, but with cold water into a bucket (buckets of hot water available for Rs 10), no tv, a rather dark, dank room, and a rather questionable bed, how can I argue with Rs 100? That's five days for the price of two! Ten for four! Twenty for eight! Twenty!! I put the pillow under my ankles so that my feet can hang comfortably off the end of the bed. I think that'll work just fine.

The market here is a pretty crazy place, but I must say there are tons of very cheap things. Beautiful bed covers, beautiful bags, all sorts of crafts, incense, beautiful clothes. I went along shopping with a woman from Switzerland that I'd traveled from Bodhi Gaya with. If I had the money and desire to ship tons of stuff, it would be heaven. Maybe I'll do a little shopping before I leave India. We'll see... requests?

I expect to travel north to the Punjab, by bus, on December 28th. Hmmmm... I think I need dinner.

dharma

Wednesday, Dec. 15th 2004, 4:13pm

So, here I am in Bodhi Gaya... the place that Siddhartha Gautama, "the Buddha", attained enlightenment some 2500 years ago.

This morning as I walked from my residence here toward my breakfast place, I passed through a residential area... homes made of mud, children doing their things, naked, clothed, dirty. Mothers & fathers & grandparents making food, washing their clothes... people working, chickens, goats, mamma dogs with their pups. Small streams of water running here and there, black with... the smell of urine & feces here and there - after all, this is where these people do that too. I came to a slightly larger stream, black as well, with a bank covered in garbage. Ever been to a municipal dump? As I crossed over it I saw ahead a fellow... in his late teens or twenties? His back was to me, as he moved along the top of a brick fence, one of his legs lamely flapping against his body. He looked so much like a monkey walking high on a narrow fence, except... As I passed him he'd seated himself on the top of the fence, back to me, and relieved himself. I continued walking on, along side the sickly stream, and its bank of garbage, the water permeating the soil, making the path damp, and becoming the water table that we all use here. Yesterday I, for the first time, took my garbage - a nice bag full, and tossed it over by the bus stop, where a dog took command of it, lest any other dog or pig or goat or person should try make a move on it. This is what happens here, all over. There is no "dump". There is no garbage collection, save for the hotel worker who takes your garbage and does the same thing with it. The animals eat whatever they can of it, and the rest sits there, or gets set on fire each morning. On the up side there are some people, children & otherwise, who go around scavenging through this scene, picking out plastic bottles, metal, etc, and take them to a recycling collection place where they get paid as per the weight of material brought. I had a hard time doing that. I wonder what happens to the batteries I throw away. I'm going to buy rechargeables.

I'll spare you all the details of the children, men, and women, some with bodies in tact, others not, who ask for money or food as I walk... anywhere.

This is a beautiful and spiritual place though... I suppose it epitomizes the extremes that can be found in India. The day before last, the drummer & I walked across a dry river, and over to a temple where the Buddha was given rice & milk, and another where he was given grass to make a seat out of. These things made it possible for him to come to this spot, to sit down, and to discover the truth. On our way back we saw what appeared to be a funeral pyre being made out in the dry sand of the river bottom. We walked parallel to the bridge, half way between it and the gathering, and when we were in line with it we stopped to observe. The fire was lit, and after some time a fellow walked out toward us and invited us to come closer. They offered that we could take pictures, if we wanted, if we had cameras. We did, and we stood, and sat, and talked with the family members. Their brother, their uncle... 60 - 65 years old. The fire burning hot, smoke blowing past us. I could see.

I would cry right now, but I'm in an internet cafe and won't allow myself. It's hard... I want to do something, a lot of people want to do something, but it can be very difficult to see how to be effective.

Changing the subject, my dad asked if I've had opportunities to play the guitar I brought. I have been playing my guitar some... in Nagpur I played it while
sitting around Derek's place, and a neighbouring father & small daughter knocked on the door. The little girl had been listening outside, but wanted to see, so I played 2 or 3 songs for them. Also, Viren and his mother, father, and a cousin wanted to hear some songs so I played a few. An indian fellow on the train from Nagpur to Patna wanted to hear something so I played a section of Long Black Veil, but it was so noisy it was quite lame, so I cut it short. Now in Bodhi Gaya, I've been getting to know a few people from the UK, one of who is a drummer in a "tribal-rock-pop" band called "me and me mates". He's also staying at Mohammad's place, and last night we were up until 1:30am playing various tunes, Beatles, Simon and Garfunkel, and others. I'm regretting not bringing my Bob Marley song book... as I keep getting requests for Bob... The night before I was hanging out with Umesh (Mohammad's nephew) who is working at Mohammad's house, and we were reading through a few songs, to understand what they're about, and then I'd play through them. So yup, gettin in some strumming action. :)

Also, I'd like to share some examples of what it's costing to live here from day to day.

In Nagpur: Dec 3rd
===============
64 - doxy (malaria pills)
60 - dental floss
11 - papaya & oranges
45 - thali (lunch) & chai
3.5 - local phone calls
40 - internet (2 hours)
28 - coconut crunch biscuits & cadbury chocolate bar
===============
251.5 Rs = $5.70 USD

In Bodhi Gaya: Dec 14th
==================
130 - rent
36 - breakfast
25 - oranges & pomegranate
12 - 1 ltr water
60 - internet (2hr)
15 - biscuits & candies
20 - coke & mango drink
10 - tibetan yellow noodles
4 - roasted corn on the cob
68 - dinner
==================
380 Rs = $8.60 USD.

I don't eat three meals every day, mostly a 'breakfast/lunch' and dinner. I don't drink sodas every day. Every week or so I buy some AA batteries for 45 Rs ($1.00 USD). You can get the picture. My train ticket to Delhi is ~385 Rs, or roughly $8.75 USD.

Anyway, that's all I've got to say for now. I've been sitting here for nearly 2 hours and it's now dark. I'll do something more useful tomorrow.

Take care all,

Dharma

Saturday, Dec. 11th 2004, 3:33pm

I'm writing to you from Bodhi Gaya... I arrived last night, having taken a train from Nagpur @ 9am Dec 9th, arriving in Patna at about 11am the next day. It was a 2nd sleeper trip, and was one of the most enjoyable train rides, well I guess I'd say *the* most enjoyable train ride, that I've ever taken. Having almost arrived at the Patna station for almost an hour, the train starting and stopping, getting closer and closer, a young Indian fellow I'd been getting on with suggested that we hop off and simply catch a bicycle rickshaw to the station. He was a native of Patna, so I took off with him. He dropped me at the station.

Having already sussed out my next train possibilities from Gaya to Delhi, and written up a couple of reservation tickets for successive days & different trains, in case the waiting list was major, I walked in. I spotted a tourism info booth, and was happy to receive some really useful information from the old man who bellowed at me, and to whom I bellowed in return. (He was hard of hearing.) He directed me next door to the booking office, and to the first floor, told me how much the fare from the train station to the bus station should be, how much the bus to Gaya should be, and how much the fare from Gaya to Bodhi Gaya should be! I went into the booking office, found the "Authorized agents & foreigners" line, which after just a couple minutes of my waiting stood aside and allowed me to the front, and in short order was handed my confirmed ticket back to Delhi on the 18th.

On my way out of the station a young (~25 - 35 year old) India fellow struck up a typical 'where are you from and where are you going' conversation, and then he and his friend took it upon themselves to accompany me to the bus "station", get me a 55 Rs ticket to Bodhi Gaya, and even show me which seat I'd been assigned. See, he felt that Patna was a place that someone like me might get ripped off in, and he didn't want that to happen. From Patna I took a crazy 3 hour bus ride, hauling ass across the land, through towns, villages, screaming horn all the way to warn all those ahead of the speeding bullet headed their way, in case they might like to save their own lives and get out of the way. It was like a freight train on wheels. As we went, people would climb onto and off of the roof, often celebrating when they managed to get off uninjured. One fellow tried to climb the side, right by my window, but hit a bicycle rickshaw as the bus accelerated, swung around, and let go. It finally passed through Gaya, which looked like a bit of a hell-hole, if I may be so bold, and dropped myself and a few other passengers at an intersection leading to Bodhi Gaya.

A couple of times I thought of Nona, my grandmother, who'd been on a bus cruising through India sometime back... in the late 60's or early 70's. Her bus had hit a young child, and she, much to the protest of the present Indians, insisted that they must stop and help. Apparently the Indians had felt that they might very well end up dead, and from what I remember, they just barely escaped that fate. I was surprised that my bus didn't kill anyone, but I guess the 4 - 10 second long horn blasts helped. There were a few close calls tho.

From the Bodhi Gaya intersection we grabbed a horse drawn carriage, which dropped me off at the Burmese Vihara - which was full. I then checked out three neighboring guest houses, settling on Deep Guest House @ 107 Rs per night. It was about 7pm when I dropped my bags, and I immediately headed out to wander around. I wound up at the Mahabodhi temple, where the buddha was when he attained enlightenment, which was indeed very beautiful at night. I made my way around and down... visited the rose garden... and explored most of the rest of the site. There were monks & nuns, 'westerners' of various nationalities, Indians, etc, all doing their things. At about 9pm they started to close things down so I headed out, grabbed a couple samosas, and wandered back to the hotel where I enjoyed a much needed hot shower and sleep.

One thing that hit me as I came into Bodhi Gaya was the other foreigners! It was a bit of a shock, and I didn't feel much like being around them. I guess I'd gotten used to Nagpur where I seemed to be one of the only foreigners in the whole city.

This morning I went for a walk, looking for Mohammad's restaurant, and found it very near by. I met Prem, who remembered my dad (and his tall friend) fondly, and recounted to me my dad's like for coffee, honey & banana pancakes, garlic fry, and cheese & spinach pakoras. I wound up having a rather large breakfast of those pakoras, the garlic fry, and three ultra-fresh chapatis - it was a rather large & *very* delicious breakfast. :) I think tomorrow I'll try the pancakes. Oh, and for the first time since I hit India, I got a full, large glass of chai! I've always been served these small portions despite my efforts to get something larger. Mid-way through breakfast some fellows, meditation teachers from England as it turned out, sat down nearby and soon we were having a conversation. They mentioned that they were staying at Mohammad's guesthouse, and near the end of breakfast Mohammad showed up. He also remembered my dad (and his tall friend) fondly, and at my interest showed me over to his guesthouse, which is quite nice, and so I've taken up residence there @ 130 Rs per night. I've gone for a good wander around town today, and dropped in at the government museum. And, having wandered around a bit more and gotten tired, I've come back toward the Mahabodhi temple, and have sat down here to do some email and so-forth.

Yeah, I feel myself changing here... my approach to situations, and comfort level within this all too foreign land. And I *have* met many Indians who have turned out to be genuinely helpful. I feel sort of wrong saying that, but my first impression was pretty harsh, and it's taking a while for me to adjust and learn to distinguish, or lacking that ability, to make sure I guard myself against possibilities.

Ok, well I've pretty well talked myself out here, and my fingers are feeling about as tired now as my legs were earlier. I'm gonna go relax around...

ps. For those of you still in suspense, I did get on the scooter, and it worked out very nicely with a cup of chai at the end. :)

pps. I realized later that it was spinach & cheese momos, not pakoras, that my dad had been so fond of, and so I had a plate of those - even better!