So I have to admit we have been blog shy. We are posting pictures and writing from about two weeks ago. I am trying my hardest not to be a blog perfectionist because really I know that the few things I can say here and there are welcomed and not judged... so here we go.
Here is my journal entry from Sept. 22, 2008
Today we arrived to the welcoming arms of Sunder Kaur and Hargobind in the crowded train station which was ironically filled with white people. Sunder said her "ideal finding mechanism for us was foiled by all these white people!" It is a wonderful thing finding friends who are familiar in a place where everything else is still very foreign.
Stephen's father has asked about the little tings. I think of this as a difficult task because the little things are my world right now. Every moment I am figuring something else out... to name all the ahas is probably impossible...
And yet, as always just starting the impossible will get me closer to the possible!
1. Colors are Everywhere
a. Steve says, "Indian people (from what we have seen thus far) are the opposite of peacocks and hens (the National bird of India) . The women where very bright colors and the men are usually in neutral earth tones. In the remote roadside villages it is common to see women covered from head to toe in neon colored saris.
b. As for the landscapes no decrepit building are safe from bright cellphone to underwear ads. There are painted on the concrete and brick walls of people's homes and businesses. I assume the family is paid for their visual place along the busy one lane road "highway".
2. Smells
a. Clorhine Bleach of our fancy hotel
b. Urine everywhere-By the way, I have seen more men peeing on the side of the road than I every expected in a lifetime. Men's public bathrooms are concrete tile structures that face the road so that the man's back side is visible to everyone usually no exposed body parts but everone knows what they are doing. I also have the keen ability to spot all the men along the road who couldn't wait for the public bathroom.
c. Burning Smell- not always sure of what
d. Dusty lung filling pollution smell :) yum
3. Customs
a. The head bob which Stephen aspires to learn. It means many things but mostly "yes"
Sometimes it can mean "okay if you say so but not what I was hoping to hear"
b. Namaste... thus far this greeting and goodbye has been very rare... maybe because we are whities but mostly we get the handshake.
c. "As you wish" means tip is included
Just a few of the little things... and so much more to come!
2 comments:
Thank you Jasleen....a wonderful job for a first thought about the little things....every thing I expected and more. All I meant was sometimes when one writes you get wrapped up in the big events of "the Taj"...and forget how wonderful the small experiences are....and how much insight they give into the new world you are visiting. I hope you will keep it up.....and that you are enjoying everything.
Hi Jasleen! Linda here. Just opened and read your blog to find sensory memories flooding back from my own visit to India in 1992. The description of the vivid colors everywhere, the busyness of the city streets, men peeing in public, and the smells. To this day, I almost choke at the smell of dhoop. And the pervasive odor and smoke of the cow dung used for fires that you can see hanging in the valleys in early morning. Also appreciated the description of Steve trying to master the subtle head movements. It's all a huge dance on an enormous stage, with characters you've never dreamed you'd meet. Use everything you've learned in our Saturday dances in Boulder and focus on the uniqueness and preciousness of every moment, every person, and every movement. I'll keep you in my heart.
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