42 Things, Part Two
15. New Buddha
In 2005, on my way from Kathmandu into India I stopped and visited a boy lauded as the New Buddha. I was able to see him almost exactly 3 years later when he returned to the spot where he was meditating years ago to give blessings.
In 2005, on my way from Kathmandu into India I stopped and visited a boy lauded as the New Buddha. I was able to see him almost exactly 3 years later when he returned to the spot where he was meditating years ago to give blessings.
16. Dichotomy
At an unexpected t-shirt festival in Dhaka, Bangladesh, I was pulled aside and invited to be interviewed on the radio. Later day I saw a man begging on a sidewalk- his legs bent frontwards at the knees. They were skinny, spindly little things. I could look him in the eye, but I couldn't look at his legs.
17. Boi Mela
In January 2008 I wasted a lot of time waiting for the Boi Mela, or Book Fair, to materialize after protests and complaints about excessive pollution in years past. I was able to attend this year, seeing many of the same Bengali chitras, or artists (like the girl pictured below) I met at the fair in 2006.
18. Rahim and Baby
The reason I went to Bangladesh after having sworn it off last year was because of Rahim and Baby, a middle-aged couple from a city near the capital, Dhaka. I met them one night in Calcutta and for some reason they really wanted me to come and stay with them. So I did.
The reason I went to Bangladesh after having sworn it off last year was because of Rahim and Baby, a middle-aged couple from a city near the capital, Dhaka. I met them one night in Calcutta and for some reason they really wanted me to come and stay with them. So I did.
19. HOT MILK
One of the beauties of Indian travel is street delights, including piping hot sweet milk.
20. Monkeys
My best memories include monkeys, and the monkeys in Agra at Akbar's Mausoleum are some of my favorite in India.
THIS PHOTO from a previous visit deserves another look.
21. Assault
This man in the middle of this photo sexually assaulted me in Bangladesh. I pushed and hit him and managed to get some help, but no one would call the police. Even though things were tense on the second day of the BDR's mutiny, I managed to have the local Police Chief with me for half the day. I was promised they would find and punish him.
This man in the middle of this photo sexually assaulted me in Bangladesh. I pushed and hit him and managed to get some help, but no one would call the police. Even though things were tense on the second day of the BDR's mutiny, I managed to have the local Police Chief with me for half the day. I was promised they would find and punish him.
22. Be Happy
In December, Ben joined me for a meditation course in Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh. I was not able to speak (or write!!) for 10 days. Even though men and women were segregated, Ben's presence was a great solace; every emotion was intensified by the demanding and rigid schedule, but I knew he was experiencing the same things. I meditated 10.5 hours a day and those 10 days were the only days I have skipped journal writing in the near-15 months I have been away. On the last day I felt tender, weak, wilted, and had a train booked for the same night. If we had not planned to meet up again I wouldn't have been able to let go!
23. Markets
Second only to monkeys.
Second only to monkeys.
24. Childhood
I've spent enough time in India to be almost completely comfortable, but arriving in and navigating Dhaka, Bangladesh (not to mention other parts of the country) made me feel like a child.
"I can’t think of anything that excites a greater sense of childlike wonder than to be in a country where you are ignorant of almost everything. Suddenly you are five years old again. You can’t read anything, you have only the most rudimentary sense of how things work, you can’t even reliably cross a street without endangering your life. Your whole existence becomes a series of interesting guesses.”
- Bill Bryson
25. Little Lives
26. Chandigarh
In Chandigarh, the capital of two states- Punjab and Haryana, I stayed with a delightful family. Besides the bizarrely modern planned city itself, one of the main tourist delights are the gardens of outsider artist Nek Chand. I was lucky to hang out long enough and ingratiate myself with one of Chand's assistants so I could meet him. I stayed so long he worried for my evening safety and he sent me home in a chauffeured giant truck.
27. Rocket
In Bangladesh, on the river, time passed slowly on a long ferry (this one called the Rocket) ride through mangroves and inlets and cities and villages. Rob and I waxed poetic and philosophical, trying to make sense of the intense (that word always seems to pop up) and remarkable country with such a tumultuous history. Many people know about partition, when India and Pakistan separated. But the Muslims in Bengal also became a part of Pakistan ("East Pakistan") and fought hard to become their own nation. Bangladesh became independent after a long struggle in 1971.
28. Orchha
In Orchha, Madya Pradesh, I was lucky to not only have a few special days, but for those days to be in the middle of one of India's most important festival times- Diwali. Villagers and dance groups came out to show their respects to the temple deities on the most special days. There is a video below.
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