*big breath*.
okay.
Where did I last leave off? I think Pundicherry. Ah, yes...Pundicherry (aka formally known as Pondicherry). So, we walked around (five girls in all) the city looking around wide-eyed (well, at least most of us...two have already been traveling in India for some time) and attentive. Again, one word I keep reaching for is chaotic. All of these different people, smells, colors, ideas, sounds, and light all collaborating together to make the "Indian" experience come alive in full force. There are no traffic lights (in case you didn't conclude from my last post), no sense of "police presence", no "sanitary" regulations and rules...basically (obviously) many many aspects are completely different from life in the States...yet it makes sense--it seems to have some basic structure (even if that structure is to have no structure at all)....yet it works for some unexplainable reason. Surely it would work since all these people live here like this....but you could also say that surely it doesn't work since they are so poor, so "unclean". I, for one, cannot answer that, being a Westerner. I'm sure the enigma will continually present itself in new and sometimes very disturbing ways (but also very enlightening ways, as well).
Oh, and for those who were wondering...I did NOT see the Dalai Lama! I know...it's sad. My school did not notify us that he switched the date to a prior day...but I was glad that I came early. We were able to adjust to the time a little bit better than those who did come on the specified day...as well as take some time to get to know Auroville and each other by ourselves (instead of by prompt and group activity--which also has its place)....I did hear that the Dalai Lama's talk was very good....that and that there were tons of people there (in Auroville alone are 2,000 people but it is interspersed with Tamil villages).
I also have to mention the cute dogs that lived at Snevehal's place....they followed us all the way to the Visitor's Center where we had to tell them to wait outside of the Info. building....which they did! We then got into autorickshaws to take us into Pundi where they ran after us for awhile...quite hilarious.
Hopefully these pictures will successfully upload.
Anyways, onto the story (I guess)...
Pundi was great...many stories there that are too long to go into. I would really like to go into the past two days which have been orientation to Auroville. Basically our group has been biking around Auroville to stop after different places to determine first, our service learning site and second, our community stay (the options sometimes overlap). We get a guided tour from the individual (or couple, sometimes group of people) who started the program/organization/school/etc (too many options...). Each and every person has been immensely inspiring--I still am in awe of how many incredible people there are here doing so many incredible things....and actually doing as opposed to just talking as I feel that I've been falling too much into that trap back into the states. Our first day of orientation was led by one of the faculty (a soon-to-be Aurovillian)'s friend, Lola, who has lived here since '99 and who is originally from Spain. Very funny gal. The first stop was Aspiration (a community stay option), basically a community with some schools on site (one an art school)...they have the highest percentage (80%) of Tamil's living in the building (I cannot remember specifically how many people live there). They take all of their meals together and try to foster the idea of "community" (definately a broad concept that I'm sure I'll go into more later since in my group we are attempting to strive for the same thing). Next was Evergreen (another community stay option) that consists of three households--6 adults and 4 children, I believe. One of the couples (with their amazing, bright girl Zia) led us around the land. They focus on ideas of 'deep ecology' and, of course, 'ecological thinking'. Their house was absolutely amazing--an open aired bungalow (kind of like the one we stayed in the first two nights) and their community was also pretty mesmerizing. Edible trees and bushes were everywhere, treehouses and tiny bungalows for the guests/volunteers, a vegetable garden, a water tank for filtration and irrigation, and even a horse stable complete with the largest bull I've prob. ever seen (to help to drag trees that fell from the cyclone that happened earlier in the monsoon season which they now use for building materials). They also had some bamboo drying which they were going to use to experiment with in building a structure (house)....this is a concept that we came across more in other sites (after all, this town is one big experiment)....basically, the concept is that if you experiment and experiment and experiment, you will finally get it right....so far it looks like they're doing it right.
A note on the bamboo: it's amazing! There's huge stalks in youth camp (this is where we are staying) that make this mesmerizing sound in the wind...I wish you could hear it.
Anyways...we biked by the Solar Kitchen (home to the world's largest solar oven) and the Free Store (self-explanatory) which are defintely going to be a spot to check out in future months...
next was Solitude Farm which I am thinking heavily about for a service learning commitment. It is a 6 acre farm dedication to self-sustainability ( in every arena). It is sufficient in grains and most of its veggies and dhals (lentils), some oil seed and fruits seem to be growing exponential so I'm sure soon they will be good in that dept. They run an organic restaurant that serves lunch for keeping the whole thing goin' (we ate there for lunch...absolutely delicious.)...WHat was interesting about this place is that they try to keep to Fukuwoka's natural farming so are trying to grow non-tilled rice in experimental plots (again...experiment) for three years now....they just harvested one field that they said was an okay batch. They are also interesting since they try to keep to traditional grains such as millet, red rice, etc. (which is very good by the way)...these grains have been slowly dying out in the local culture due to the supposed "green revolution" of the indian government (a push for industrialized food). Since they are working with permaculture practices and ideas, they try to foster an intregal perspective, thus working with the local people and attempting to foster close relationships with the community at large (as well as inner exploration, education, and other types of relationships such as soil and water). Krishna, the guy who runs it all, came from Britain at age 19 from England and seemed like he would be a very good mentor. There is also a blacksmith working and living there who could also share his skills and expertise with those who service learn there.
After lunch, we went to the Matrimandar (you can't go in the first time) and got a guided tour from a French guy (forget his name...) who came to Auroville when it was first coming to birth in the 1960's. Very interesting guy and spent a lot of time on issues of spirituality. I will have to come back to this concept later as I am already past my "bedtime" as I have to wake up for yoga at 5:30 in the morning...it's not as bad as it sounds...I'm actually quite loving it!
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Sunday, January 25, 2009
India en dia
Well, here I am. India. Traveling around I wondered to myself how I could put this experience into words. Like anything--since our language system is too general--I could never effectively describe India for anyone who hasn't been (though I suggest you all do). It's chaotic yet structured, disgusting but beautiful, ephemeral yet so concrete. I do have to admit that since I read many, many travel books, stories, weblongs and the like I couldn't help but to expect the poverty and seemingly crassness of the culture so, for me, it hasn't been too much of a culture shock or surprise. Even the dying (sometimes already dead) animals, the stink of rotting trash and excrement, the penetrating stares that result in the feeling of being the absolute minority, and the endless stream of hawkers and beggars calling you for your money don't seem to phase me as much as some. I actually enjoy the chaos and craziness of India. The drivers are crazy and roads unstructured--everything and anything can be on the road (no "middle" lines to divide the flow of traffic, mind you) from cars, trucks, and buses to autorickshaws, cows, bicycles, and carts. Pretty much cows have the right of way and everything yields to that. Next is the largest-fastest vehicle. Thus, everyone is trying to weddle their way through--endlessly honking their horn to let others know that they're there (no side mirrors). It's fun, scary, and nerve-wrecking and you never know what to expect. The constant barrage of horns and exhaust aren't too bad to get used to. The colors of India is what attracts me to this country the most I believe, besides the inexpressible presence of spirit--I think these two factors are interconnected anyways. I'm really not sure where to begin and how to go on from here so I guess I will go by day to day....
My journey to India really started on the plane ride over (Jan. 19), especially from Chicago to Chennai. I sat by this man (called Izudin...Izu for short) who was originally from Bosnia. Him and his family had to move when he was eight because of the war there so he was going back for the first time since leaving. The next 7 hours were spent in conversation and it was a very incredibly experience--emotions ranging from uplifting to heart-wrenching to blessed. We talked of many things--war, what it's like to be Muslim in America (he was Muslim), the possibility for an American civil war (he brought that one up, not me...but we certainly agreed on a lot of things), poverty, materialism...all in all a very good talk. In Frankfurt, the two other girls who I went early with and I went to sit in the cafe before our connecting flight to Chennai. I had a beer and a pretzal (after all, it was Germany)...we talked and I knew right away we would all get along. The next plane ride (for 8 hours and 45 minutes) I spent sitting next to a woman originally from India (her and her husband moved to Chicago in the 1960's) and who was going back to decide about moving back. We talked and I did sleep for a bit. It was pretty crazy to know that I was flying over the Middle East--Saudia Arabia, Iran, etc. Pretty cool. Well, we arrive at 11:50 at night in the Chennai airport...it wasn't too crowded (not as much as I thought it would be). Auroville had a taxi waiting for us so we hope in with our driver. As we're leaving Chennai, he puts on the radio (Tamil Nadu's top hits) and we got our first taste of Indian driving. I sat in the front and so I had a pretty good view on all sides. It was pretty surreal being at night. People along the road hunched near small fires, run down buildings with chipped paints, cows nosing through trash, the smell of pollution and exhaust wafting though the car. ....Our driver would stop at random food/drink stands along the way (the drive took about 3 hours) to talk, take a piss, and wash the front windshield with bottles of water. Pretty interesting. We finally arrived into Auroville around four in the morning and call the couchsurfer we were supposed to stay with, Sneheval. At first he didn't answer but finally--after fifteen minutes--came outside and told the taxi driver where to take us. He came along for the ride to show us....Basically Sneheval is trying to create a volunteer based system of dormitory-like housing, the "kofi-bar" (a self-service, pay as you feel, cafe/tea/coffee hang-out where you can cook for everyone if you please, clean up for everyone if you please, or basically do whatever you please--hang out, talk, play chess, play guitar, etc.), and hopefully soon a school where volunteers can come to teach whatever they want to teach. The dormitory-housing is on his family's compound and is a three tiered bungalow house. The living quarters are one floor up (all open aired) and there's a third story for additional living. Very rudimentary but I enjoyed myself greatly ( I will hopefully have pictures soon).....The next morning we met up with two other girls who came early and we all went to Pundicherry (a still very European town). Walked around and tried to find food which turned out to be more of a debacle than I thought possible.
Anyway, I'm tired of writing....I will be posting pictures and that may be more easy/interesting to follow. For now, it's getting cooler in the day and I want to bike down to the bakery to get some snacks and read/write. I'm sitting in the courtyard/dining area of our guesthouse in Auroville surrounded by trees and singing birds. Absolutely brilliant and mesmerizing to say the least. I miss everyone back home-hope you're staying warm.
My journey to India really started on the plane ride over (Jan. 19), especially from Chicago to Chennai. I sat by this man (called Izudin...Izu for short) who was originally from Bosnia. Him and his family had to move when he was eight because of the war there so he was going back for the first time since leaving. The next 7 hours were spent in conversation and it was a very incredibly experience--emotions ranging from uplifting to heart-wrenching to blessed. We talked of many things--war, what it's like to be Muslim in America (he was Muslim), the possibility for an American civil war (he brought that one up, not me...but we certainly agreed on a lot of things), poverty, materialism...all in all a very good talk. In Frankfurt, the two other girls who I went early with and I went to sit in the cafe before our connecting flight to Chennai. I had a beer and a pretzal (after all, it was Germany)...we talked and I knew right away we would all get along. The next plane ride (for 8 hours and 45 minutes) I spent sitting next to a woman originally from India (her and her husband moved to Chicago in the 1960's) and who was going back to decide about moving back. We talked and I did sleep for a bit. It was pretty crazy to know that I was flying over the Middle East--Saudia Arabia, Iran, etc. Pretty cool. Well, we arrive at 11:50 at night in the Chennai airport...it wasn't too crowded (not as much as I thought it would be). Auroville had a taxi waiting for us so we hope in with our driver. As we're leaving Chennai, he puts on the radio (Tamil Nadu's top hits) and we got our first taste of Indian driving. I sat in the front and so I had a pretty good view on all sides. It was pretty surreal being at night. People along the road hunched near small fires, run down buildings with chipped paints, cows nosing through trash, the smell of pollution and exhaust wafting though the car. ....Our driver would stop at random food/drink stands along the way (the drive took about 3 hours) to talk, take a piss, and wash the front windshield with bottles of water. Pretty interesting. We finally arrived into Auroville around four in the morning and call the couchsurfer we were supposed to stay with, Sneheval. At first he didn't answer but finally--after fifteen minutes--came outside and told the taxi driver where to take us. He came along for the ride to show us....Basically Sneheval is trying to create a volunteer based system of dormitory-like housing, the "kofi-bar" (a self-service, pay as you feel, cafe/tea/coffee hang-out where you can cook for everyone if you please, clean up for everyone if you please, or basically do whatever you please--hang out, talk, play chess, play guitar, etc.), and hopefully soon a school where volunteers can come to teach whatever they want to teach. The dormitory-housing is on his family's compound and is a three tiered bungalow house. The living quarters are one floor up (all open aired) and there's a third story for additional living. Very rudimentary but I enjoyed myself greatly ( I will hopefully have pictures soon).....The next morning we met up with two other girls who came early and we all went to Pundicherry (a still very European town). Walked around and tried to find food which turned out to be more of a debacle than I thought possible.
Anyway, I'm tired of writing....I will be posting pictures and that may be more easy/interesting to follow. For now, it's getting cooler in the day and I want to bike down to the bakery to get some snacks and read/write. I'm sitting in the courtyard/dining area of our guesthouse in Auroville surrounded by trees and singing birds. Absolutely brilliant and mesmerizing to say the least. I miss everyone back home-hope you're staying warm.
Sunday, January 18, 2009
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