Hello from paradise!

Greetings from Anjuna beach, Goa! aka heaven on earth. Getting here was a bit miserable, however: three hour train ride, a fourteen-hour night bus ride (something like the knight bus in Harry Potter, but accompanied by vomiting Indians), and two more bus rides to get to the beach, the last one bedecked in shimmering tinsel and  blaring Hindi rap as Anne and I were literally shoved on by the door slamming behind us, it was so packed full. But once I reached the beach, that was all behind me. It is easy to forget the real world here in Goa. Ever since my arrival on Sunday, I have just been lounging around on the beach, eating when I want to, swimming when I want to, reading, journaling, napping...it is almost too luxurious to handle. I actually had second thoughts about continuing on to other places in India. Yesterday, we rented mopeds and scooted around Goa a little bit, which was a blast.

It was so freeing, flying down back country roads, lined with palm trees, the ocean in the distance. It is beautiful here. The beach I'm at has tons of other tourists, but that just means the food is better (but also more expensive). Since arriving, I've had pizza, a REAL cheese, lettace, tomato sandwich, fish and the BEST calamari last night, and french toast for breakfast this morning! After we finish this internet time, Anne and I are heading to the beach for some shell-searching and, of course, lounging in the sun (insert happy sigh here). Tomorrow is our last day in Goa; we're going to the famous Anjuna market in the morning, then hopping on a plane for Mumbai in the evening. One of Anne's best friends is from Mumbai, and her parents have invited us to stay for a bit. I was a bit nervous at first about visiting such a large metropolis, but a friend from this program has spent the past few days in Mumbai, and told me today over the phone that it is a great city, so I'm really looking forward to it. Hopefully I'll be able to post from there as well, so stay tuned!

North Karnataka continued and my computer!

Yes! It's true! My laptop has finally made it home to me, after hours of travel. Of course, it couldn't be that easy...I think I blew up my charger. I'm not really sure how, because it was plugged into a converter which was plugged into surge protector...but it is no longer working. I don't know. Perhaps I am magnetic or radioactive or I'm actually a X-man and my power is destroyer of electronics. Anyhow, the professor here from Iowa has a few extra Mac chargers, and he has let me borrow one of his for the time being. (I'm praying to the laptop gods that I don't destroy his as well.)

Well, let me just go through a few highlights of the rest of the Northern Karnataka tour, since I never got around to finishing my tale.

After Badami, we traveled to Bijapur, a city in which the majority religion is Islam. So our first stop was Ibrahim Rouza, a tomb/mosque. The weather was wonderful, and truthfully we all just enjoyed being outside after our bumpy, frantic four hour bus ride. What I'm trying to say is, nobody really learned that much about Ibrahim Rouza...but it was beautiful nonetheless!

Right after Ibrahim Rouza, we went to visit Gol Gumbaz, known for its Whispering Dome, which we would visit the next morning. Our visit that evening was the simply sit in front of it, sipping chai, in awe of its splendor. I think it is either the second or fourth largest dome in the world...and quite a sight to behold. I could even fit it all into the picture, obviously. This is some of us, sipping chai and waiting for the sun go down so we could watch it slowly be illuminated by spot-lighting. (Does that even make since?)

A minaret at Gol Gumbaz, by moonlight.

 

A shot from our van on the streets of Bijapur:

 

In my last post, I mentioned further hotel drama. That night, after visiting Ibrahim Rouza and Gol Gumbaz, the power went out in our hotel room as my roommate and I were brushing our teeth. I spit in the sink and ran to the window to let some light in. As I drew back the curtain, the rod fell right on my face, on my eye, to be exact, and approximately 45 seconds later, the power came back on. My eye turned very red, slightly purple, and swollen. I got some ice for it, and emerged the next morning with only a sore nose. So, it wasn't that bad, just another hotel injury.

The next day we were off the Hampi, land of the boulders. We spent three nights at a lovely hotel in nearby Hospet, whose restaurant had the best garlic naan I've ever had. Hampi, though, was AMAZING. The city built there, Vijayanagar, was built out of slabs cut from the boulders that litter the landscape. Very Universal Studios. My favorite parts of Hampi:

1. Feeding the Virupaksha Temple and feeding Lakshmi, the elephant, some bananas.

 

2. Walking along the old bazaar and along the river, looking at the old temples tucked amongst boulders.

3. Climbing Matanga Hill at 5:30am to watch the sunrise over the mountains. We sat on top of the temple that rests on top of the hill and overlooks all of Hampi.

 

 Other Hampi highlights:

a Lamani tribal woman (about to spit, no less)

 

Narasimha, lion/man incarnation of Vishnu aka supercool

 

So, of course I couldn't leave Hospet without one more hotel saga. On second day in Hampi/Hospet, I wasn't feeling well all day. At dinner, my friend and I ordered Gobi Manchurian (basically fried cauliflower) and I thought I was going to vomit. Which I did...later that evening. Several times. All over the bathroom because the toilet would not flush properly and I had no choice but the aim for the sink, and then a bucket. I was feeling so sick, I couldn't figure out how to clean it up, and promised myself as I crawled back into bed for the final time that I would wake up before my roommate and clean it up. Unfortunately, she beat me to it, and ended up calling someone to assist us clean (aka clean while I suffered in bed and she comforted me). I stayed in bed the next day, still feeling ill, and missed our last morning of site visits in Hampi. Luckily, once we got on the van to head to the train station, I seemed to have rid my body of all fluids and therefore had nothing else to expel. By the time we reached Mysore the next morning, I was feeling much better and grateful to be home. (Home...haha..I guess that is what it is now.)
Overall the trip was wonderful, barring my own personal issues. I'm leaving for my own independent travel on Saturday, and I am hoping to have better luck. More on my travel plans later!

More pictures!

For those of you on Facebook, check out the HUNDREDS of pictures I have put up...seriously, some of them are worth it.
For those who are not on Facebook, don't worry, I know one day, eventually, I'll find a few minutes to get serious and post again.

Northern Karnatka tour: Badami

Finally! A post!
So, all last week, the 18th through the 26th, our group traveled to three different cities in northern Karnataka (the state we live in) to see some sites. Our program director, Dr. Rao, is the former director of the Archaelogical Survey of India, and I think he likes to show off the work he and his officers put in to preserving ancient sites as well as their museums.
As there is so much to tell, I'm going to write three separate posts for each place, to save myself a little time.

Our first destination was Badami, just a night-train ride away. The train we rode had compartments (designated by a curtain) with either four bunks or two bunks; two below, two above, etc. On the train ride there, I was assigned a top bunk, which you have to be pretty limber to get to. You have to literally climb your way up. After awkwardly heaving my way up onto the bunk, it was pretty comfortable, and I slept well. In the class we rode, there is AC and they give you sheets, a blanket, and a pillow. Feeling pretty luxurious, I allowed the train's rocking to lull me to sleep.
It was still dark out when someone stuck their head in our curtain and yelled "HUBLI!" which was our stop. Half asleep, we all lumbered out of bed, until somehow we were told we only had five minutes to get off the train. That woke us up. Everyone clambered onto the platform, still sleepy-eyed and slightly confused, but all in one-piece.

At Hubli, we met our driver for a three hour drive to Badami, where we would see some ancient rock-cut caves, used as temples. Badami is a small, dusty town, but our hotel was nice and had a pool. After unloading our luggage, we made our way to the caves. They were so much more than I expected. Dating to around 7th century AD, the "caves" are carved in the sides of red sandstone cliffs, with beautiful, incredibly detailed sculptures inside. There are four caves at Badami, the first dedicated to Shiva. Its specialty is the sculpture of Shiva with nine hands, the most out of any known sculpture of Shiva. Each of his hands is in a Bharathnatyam position, and the different combinations of hands represent different dance steps.
The second cave was dedicated to Vishnu, which had my favorite carving: Vishnu with one leg and one arm pointed into the sky. It represents a story about Vishnu about to destroy the earth...something...not totally sure...I just liked it because because it looked like a ballet position.

The third cave was another Shiva cave, and the fourth, with the best view of the lake below, was a Jain temple. Now, Jain monks are always naked, so all the carvings of people in the temple are naked. There used to be different steps and a wall separating the Jain temple from the Hindu temples so that the Hindu worshippers (especially the women) would not have to be exposed to the naked Jain monks.

The view from the caves was beautiful; they overlooked a lake, surrounded by weathered sandstone cliffs, dotted with other temples. There were women down on the ghats (stairs) along the lake doing laundry, their blue pink green orange yellow saris spread out to dry, creating one, huge patchwork blanket. Children were screaming as they jumped off rocks into the water; lime-washed huts, blinding white in the sun, lined an edge of the lake. It was a beautiful day.

The next day, we woke up early to hike to a prehistoric cave at Shidaphadi. Actually, it is more of a natural bridge than cave. It is an archway, hollowed out by wind and rain, I guess. The ground is littered with arrowheads and there are cave paintings on the wall. We climbed around the rocks for a while, enjoying the cool morning before the sun got hot, then continued on to a Shivite temple complex, Mahakuta. The hike there was surprisingly strenuous, with some serious rock climbing. A few people, including me, took a few spills on the way there, but no harm done. Once we finally arrived at Mahakuta, we were greeted by Sindhu (our wonderful program coordinator aka Mom), who fed us a much needed breakfast in some much needed shade.
Afterwards, we toured the small temple complex, which has been my favorite so far, set around a sacred pool and courtyard with huge, shady trees with impossibly long limbs. All the deities and little temples along the periphery seemed well-loved, their black surfaces dotted with tilaks (the red, or other colored, dots, symbolizing blessing).

The BEST part was our swim in the spring-fed sacred pool. The water was the perfect temperature, and some of the clearest I've ever swum in. It didn't even seem like the sediment on the bottom could cloud it completely. A Shivite priest showed us a "secret" temple in the corner of the pool, that you have to swim under the wall to get to. It is a tiny tiny little space, and the hold in the wall has a shiva lingam and two other deities you are supposed to bless with water. When I leaned in the hole to give blessing, however, I was pretty sure I saw a snake, so I quietly got out of there as quickly as possible.
After the pool at Mahakuta, we took a short ride to Pattadakal, kind of an "experiment," I guess, in temple architecture, as it combines both Northern and Southern temple architectural styles of the time (7th century AD). Pattadakal is considered to be some of the finest examples of temple architenture in India, and was declared a World Heritage Site in 1987. Poor Pattadakal, though; after the wonderful, shady bliss of the sacred pool, nothing they could have shown us stood any chance of holding our attention, save, perhaps, a cheeseburger (I speak for myself). Alas, there were only statues of cows; but the heat really did get to everyone, and our attention spans waned. We were all happy to get back to the hotel and have the rest of the afternoon off before traveling to Aihole and Bijapur the next day. The night before we left, however, I got a pretty serious electric shock from touching a wall in the shower, which freaked me out, needless to say: I brushed it with my finger and my hand contorted involuntarily. I wasn't sure if it was just a bizarre muscle twitch, so (stupidly) I touched the wall again, and felt an electric current shoot up my arm and twinge the base of my neck. I came out of the bathroom, in shock, and warned my roommate not to take a shower. I was glad to leave the next day, hoping for no more accidents (DUN DUN DUUUN...more to come later...)

PICTURES WILL BE UP (HOPEFULLY) VERY SOON! COMPUTERS HATE ME AND REFUSE TO POST MY PHOTOS.
Update: I dropped off my laptop in Bangalore (a journey which deserves a post to itself) at an iStore. It is completely fixable, my computer is under warranty, and all should be well in 4 or 5 days, so they tell me. AHH! So close!

On tomorrow's menu: temples of Aihole, and Ibrahim Rouza and Gol Gumbaz of Bijapur. Plus, another hotel saga. Stay tuned!

Just got back...

Sorry for the lack of updates lately, I have just returned from a week-long tour around North Karnataka. It was quite an experience, both good and bad. Look for updates in the next couple of days, PICTURES INCLUDED! YAY!

I have some catching up to do...

I apologize for the lack of posts recently; I've had some computer issues. My screen stays black when I switch on my computer, so I've been relying on the library computers. I am very lucky, though, to have the help of the program coordinators here, who are helping me find an authorized Apple repair store nearby. Hopefully I won't be without my computer for too much longer. In the meantime, I've finally found a few minutes to post some pictures.

This is my Bharatnatyam teacher performing for us. She is amazing! I will be performing a dance (simple, but very beautiful, she says) at the very end of my stay here.


(photos by Amelia Jensen)
To the right is a spectacle cobra at the feet of Raj Kumar, a snake relocater. He goes into people's homes and removes snakes, like this one, and releases them back into the wild. We accompanied him on a snake release on the way to Nagarahole National Park. (I have to admit, I bolted when he let loose this particular snake.)

This is Raj Kumar showing us some tiger scat at Nagarahole. (photo by Amelia Jensen)

An elephant we came across on the way into the park.

A tiger paw print! Soon after we saw this, we were walking up a hill and heard (what I thought was) two distant gunshots. Our gun-toting guard signaled to Raj Kumar, who told us to group together and be very quiet. It was a very nerve-racking few minutes, but we soon found out what we heard was a TIGER GROWLING ABOUT 50 METERS AWAY FROM US!!! Apparently, we had only missed it by minutes, and it disappeared into the bushes and growled in warning!

After Raj Kumar was sure the tiger had left the area, he was walking around a located some fresh tiger urine, which he insisted everyone smell. This is me smelling it...very pungent, and a smell I will never forget.
After our hike through the forest, we went on a safari via bus and saw lots of deer, a couple of peacocks, parakeets, vultures, monkeys, and a couple of guys riding an elephant, but I have to admit nothing could compare to the tiger experience.

We climbed up Chumundi Hill (1,400 steps, I think, quite a workout) on the first day of the Ganesha festival, hence the colors and design on the ground. This was outside someone's house (everyone puts these outside their house; I think it is a sign of welcome). (photo by Amelia Jensen: I love this picture, Amelia). Hopefully once my computer is up and running, I'll be able to put up some more pictures from this day.

This is the temple at the top of Chumundi Hill. It was very busy when we went because of the start of the festival. It was pretty chaotic when we went inside, everyone pushing and rushing each other through so everyone could give their offerings to Chumundi, the goddess of Mysore, also known as Kali, I think. There was chanting and incense, some distant drumming, lots of praying, and LOTS of colors: gold, pink, red, yellow, orange, all swirling together as I was pushed through the temple. (photo by Amelia, again)

We visited two tribal schools and two tribal hospitals last weekend. One hospital and school were towards the outskirts of the jungle, and the other school and ayurvedic hospital were in the jungle. This is at the second school, waiting to eat lunch. (photo by Amelia; once again, once my computer is up and running I'll add my own pictures)

Eating lunch at the tribal school...very delicious. (photo by Jason Melrose)

This woman was from one of the nearby tribes; she heard we were coming and wanted to meet us. She didn't speak English, of course, so she was shy to even speak to us through a translator, but she was sweet. Her name was Putki, I think.(photo by Amelia)

Some camera-loving kids at the tribal school...they posed for us. (photo by Jason)

Our group outside the tribal school. The man in the middle (notice the dreads!!) was also from a nearby tribe and took us on a short walk in the forest. He could pick up a plant, talk for five minutes about what medicinal purpose they have for it, then pick up the next plant and describe it for ten minutes. We barely got into the jungle because he kept picking up a plant with every step he took. He also told us we were to delicate to escape stampeding elephants, which he was sure we would come across. It was absolutely amazing. We couldn't understand him, of course, but had someone telling us what he was saying. They had plants for burns, plants that would resist exposure to disease, plants for washing hair, plants for washing teeth. He possesses an incredibly expansive knowledge that is, unfortunately, being lost with each generation.(photo by Jason)

Some hibiscus outside the ayurvedic hospital. We ate them. (photo by Jason)

The day after the trip into the jungle, we visited a farm belonging to this man, Mr. Chandrashekhar. One of the first things he told us, which will stick with me forever, is that there is no such thing as a weed: it is only a plant we don't have a purpose for yet. 

As we were driving to his farm, the pavement stopped and became a dirt road, and the forest closed in around us. As we drove through the gate onto his property, I searched for an open area, or a sign of vegetables. We all piled off the bus and were greeted by Mr. Chandrashekhar, who asked us to remove our shoes as we walked through his farm. As he said this, he gestured towards the forest: the forest is his farm. He practices zero-farming, a method that basically requires him to spread seeds on the ground and he sees what happens next. His philosophy is that the plants support each other, not just through the enrichment of the soil, but by providing a limb for a vine, or some shade from the sun, or shelter from the monsoon rains so the smaller plants don't get flooded. The walk was incredible, and he, like the tribesman, could name all his plants, as well as tell us their uses, most of them being medicinal. (Needless to say, his farm is organic, as well.) After a couple of hours in his forest, we went to his store, where he sells goods he creates from the abudant plant-life on his farm: dried fruits, jams, coconut oil, teas, lots of medicinal herbs; I bought a few of these things, including tooth powder and soap.

The above picture is a trail through the farm.

This is me holding some (mating??) snails. The snails are actually very invasive, but Mr. Chandrashekhar doesn't bother trying to kill them. He will plant some things he knows they like in hopes that they go for those plants before his other plants. They actually ended up eating a species of insect that was ruining some of his crops, so they weren't so bad, after all. 

This was pretty incredible. These are red ants building a nest in a tree. They stack their bodies on top of each other in order to bunch the leaves together, then seal it with their eggs. They also eat all the aphids off the tree. It was amazing to watch them at work, but I'm not necessarily hoping to see one in my backyard. (all farm photos by Amelia)

So, that is about it for now. Tomorrow we are getting a tour of Mysore, something we have all been asking to do since we arrived. The main thing I am excited about is seeing the Mysore Palace, the landmark Mysore is known for. I, of course, have a lot more to say, but maybe (hopefully!) I will be able to post more pictures in the near future, therefore motivating me to type up a post as well. 

Namaskaar!

Dam

Driving back from a visit to a tribal school and ayurvedic hospital, the group stopped at a dam. We stopped because the dam displaced thousands of tribal people and farmers, events we are studying in school (India is so much like America...) but we managed to enjoy the view and the breeze.
(Photos stolen from Jason Melrose)