Light in Darkness (I'm so dramatic)

September 21, 2010

Amy, Me, Sarah, Stephanie, Kara, and Melissa...the driver thought it was a nice photo op!

I never thought keeping a blog would be this difficult. So much happens every day in India that I cannot summarize my experiences in this form. One of the biggest lessons I’ve learned so far is that there is no equivalent to being in the moment itself. My pictures could not capture the panoramics view of the Ajanta and Ellora caves. Similarly, I can’t replicate the laughter of 90, 9-year-old Indian schoolchildren as we were commanded to sing an English song (“Old MacDonald” was the first one that popped into my head?) and then speak our poor Hindi. I can’t simulate the chills I felt, sitting in front of the enormous, 2nd century B.C. Buddha. I also can’t describe the sickening feeling on the bus while being verbally harassed by young men. I can imagine Mom tensing at that sentence. Nevertheless, I’ll try to sum up our lovely weekend at the caves.

one of the most delicious/comforting meals in India

Melissa, my wonderful fellow nerd/history buff from Amherst had been talking up Ajanta and Ellora since we arrived in Pune. Both are UNESCO world heritage sites! Built in two phases, when the gospels of the Buddha were enthusiastically accepted, first in the 2nd century before the Christian era by the Satavahana Empire and then by the Vakataka Dynasty in the 5th and 6th century, the Ajanta caves bear a brilliant testimony evolving Indian art under the influence of Buddhist philosophy. Kind of on a whim, we booked a driver and the cheapest hotel in Lonely Planet and set off with 4 other fabulous girls, armed with two jars of AMERICAN peanut butter(we paid like $5 bucks each for it) and nutella. I even found whole wheat bread at a bakery near Fergusson College…what a godsend. Above is the epic car sandwich complete with golden raisins. Nice to have a break from rice and dal! We quickly launched into embarrassing stories, sharing our life stories, and laughing. I feel so lucky to have met such diverse girls from Hawaii, Ohio, MA, CA, and NY who have varying degrees of world travel and talents, but a common infatuation with India. It really helped to talk about difficulties adjusting. There are so many contradictions and things out of our control, such as being young American women who are stared at, cat-called at, and constantly on candid cell-phone camera.

Ajanta

We reached our surprisingly nice hotel, non-AC but with an actual showerhead that kicked the hostel water-pressure and mold out of my mind. We put an extra bed in our double rooms—making the total cost of the hotel, including the driver’s room and meals, about $14 per person. NOT BAD. After a great Punjabi dinner at the hotel, we watched Indian soaps and laughed. Rising at 6:45, we got an early start to Ajanta—since it is about 2.5.hours from where we stayed in Ahmadbad.

AJANTA
I was really intimidated when we pulled into the parking lot and 7 men surrounded the vehicle. They were salesmen, as I later learned, who often pay off car drivers to bring customers around to their shops post-caving. I saw postcards and (stupidly) expressed interest. “Johnny” followed me, promising me bargains as soon as I was finished. Another man gave us “gift”, beautiful crystals that were even “bigger and better” in his shop. We felt awkward being surrounded and followed, so we quickened the pace.

The caves. WOW. Perhaps the most astonishing part of it is that everything – from the basilican relief, ornate pillars and lofty arches—is completely the craft of human creativity. The images help, but there is NO WAY to truly describe the quiet loneliness of the caves. Simultaneously, one feels the sun beating down, enjoys the natural waterfalls churning, and feels incredibly surrounded rather than alone. There were many Indian tourists, all paying 5 Rupees while we paid 250. Oh the joys of being a foreigner—anyone from SAARC or even Southeast Asian countries pays just 5 Rps! Oh well—it’s about $5.50 for a PRICELESS experience. We hiked up to the temple overlooking the ravine where the 28 caves lie. Of course, we were followed by salespeople, but I sat and overlooked the edge in spite of it all, feeling the wonder!

Parvati

Then we had a not-so-pleasant moment on the 7 Rps shuttle bus back to the parking lot. Standing in the back, I started hearing the familiar cat-calls in Marathi from a group of about 8 teenage boys. Cell phone cameras a-snapping, hands clapping, and eyes staring, the boys continued to taunt us. “I want foreigner kiss! I want to #$%* you! Oh baby!” I felt grimy—and worse, powerless. We’d been trained in orientation not to tolerate this—to use the constant crowd to rally support for poor behavior. But I felt frozen and just prayed that the bus would reach soon. Though that experience left me feeling down, I prepared to race past the shops to our awaiting driver. Johnny accosted me—and yes, I bought his postcards. It’s amazing the guilt they can make you feel just by remembering your name. The man with the gifts chased us all the way back and we could hardly close the door since they were swarming the car!

We made it back to the hotel and chilled, gabbing, painting our nails, and getting some fig ice cream. After another large dinner, we collapsed, ready to sleep and get ready for Ellora.

ELLORA

culturally inappropriate

—what a place. I would get married here. Not only is that cave lighting delectable, but the calm pools of blue-green water, rolling mountains, and intricate Buddhist, Hindu, and Jain designs would be the perfect backdrop. I don’t see marriage in the near future, but trust that these caves are my number one pick for nuptials. Stepping into the main section, I was dumbfounded. I knew these caves were a little younger than Ajanta, but I had no idea how advanced they’d be, with multiple levels, minute details in carving, and with grand obelisks, temples, and pillars. There were so many “this is why I came to India” moments here that I felt fully recovered from the previous day’s negative energy. I have never felt so free as I did dancing some bhangra outside of a Parvati temple. The enthusiasm of the people we met for America and for their heritage moved me. We met a group of women panchayat leaders from Andra Pradesh on their way to a women’s leadership conference. I felt honored to meet women at the head of village government, smiling with confidence as we spoke broken Hindi. The larger than life smiles of the school kids at our Hindi made me feel so much joy. Their very well-spoken and energetic teacher explained they were shy about speaking English “because they are very lazy—all they do is eat and watch bollywood”. Sarah commented back that Americans and Indians aren’t so different; we like to eat too. At that moment, I had a cheesy warm feeling of connectedness. The kids shouted out questions about pizza and spaghetti and eventually begged for a song. I started “Old MacDonald” and Sarah and Melis understood to say “cow” as our first animal (of course—this is India!). The Jain caves were my favorite…I felt so calm and at peace in the murky light. Again, it is very mushkill (difficult in Hindi) to describe this special site. I even meditated for a few minutes, letting the spiritual nature of the place cleanse me from the inside out. OM indeed.

We made a living Shiva

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On another note, I am very busy! Academics have really picked up and I have submitted some of my first papers and given a presentation on malnutrition. Recently, I met students through my amazing Contemporary India professor Paranjpe(teaches at the National Defense University and writes policy notes for the Congress party) who attend a special 1-year masters program in Indian Government at Maharashtra Institute of Technology. The curriculum is designed to be 30% classroom and 70% field, giving aspiring politicians and social activists the tools they need to be articulate speakers and community organizers! They get to intern with parties, NGOs, do case studies of individual state governments, etc. [THE US NEEDS AN EQUIVALENT] I interviewed some students for my Research Methods class on youth political participation. Basically, Indians under 25 are the largest segment of the population, but only 18% vote. It was fascinating to see how they felt about corruption, voter apathy, and the dominance of rich people in hierarchy. In contrast, only 2 of the girls I interviewed at the hostel are registered to vote and don’t really feel the urge to read the political news. I’ll keep you updated on the progress of my research and my short paper with my findings.

Had time to post ONE photo...everyone wanted to dance

For now, I have to finish packing. ANOTHER TRIP. This time---we’re off to Goa via overnight bus. No reservations for accommodations, but we’ve heard beach bungalows are readily available. I can’t wait to do some yoga, have some seafood, and dip my toes in the Indian ocean! Right this moment, I am going to watch the immersion of Ganesha for the final day of Ganpati. I have cotton in my ears—apparently the crowd is insane!

No computer until Sunday evening, so best to all my readers! -I ended up getting interviewed by the Times of India though! I'll let you know if the photo they took gets published!