India: Thoughts after returning

The trip to India was incredibly rewarding. Although I have done a lot of traveling in my life, I still wasn't really able to imagine what it would be like to see it up close. It helped me gain perspective on some things in my own life. The poverty is quite extreeme in many areas compared to what you are used to in the U.S. Millions upon millions of people are homeless and just sleep on the streets.

At the same time, most of them seem genuinely content with their life. In India, there is a lot less focus put on individual achievement compared with the U.S. However, there is a huge focus on family and the social network. Family's are usually large clans that, if wealth, also have a lot of power. The disparity between rich and poor is vast. If you are a wealthy family, you have servants, cooks, cleaners, drivers - you don't do any domestic labor yourself.

The caste system doesn't officially exist in India anymore, however there is a very distinct social hierarchy. This hierarchy does not seem to be challenged much by the lower classes, which I find interesting. I think this may have to do with the teachings of the Hindu religion. This may make it hard for the social gap to close.

Despite the hardships, there is massive, massive growth going on in India. The entire country seems like it is under contruction. Thousands upon thousands of trucks drive up and down the highways at all times of the day and night. There is a big need for infrastructure, but it is on the way. A two lane highway does a poor job currently of servicing Delhi from Jaipur, but a massive 6 lane elevated highway is under contruction. India will be a global economic power, they have a massive amount of people, and also now a huge number of highly educated workers. However, there is still a long ways to go. Wages are currently 10-20% of what we earn in the U.S. Most commerce is not organized at all. There are 1 billion people in India and probably 200 million businesses, 198 million of those sole proprieterships. It will be interesting to see what happens as businesses become organized and actual stores start to replace the 1 man shop.

India is fascinating and I highly recommend it. Go in the winter though, when it is very nice. Summer is brutally hot.

If you'd like to see some additional photos, check them out here:





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India Part 5: The Wedding

The following took place over two nights. Indian weddings can last up to 7 days. I was present for 3 days of festivities, and I was told another two would take place in Bombay the following weekend.

A rare moment when I cornered Shot. The prelude night had 350 guests, the actual wedding had 700 guests!



















On the second night, the friends of the groom offer numerous dances to honor the couple:

Indian Dancing

Shot and his (at the time) almost bride Smita. I did not have hardly any opportunity to talk to her. Although this was not an arranged marriage, traditional customs were observed. Therefore, the bride was not around at all in the days leading up to the marriage.



















The following night was the actual wedding. I was loaned some traditional clothing (a Salwar Kameez) for the event, which was fun and I think a hit with the guests. I was the only caucasian in attendance at the wedding. At one point, since I was hanging out with 25 Indians and wearing traditional Indian clothing, I was told the photographer asked someone what was wrong with my skin (in Hindi). Apparently, it didn't occur to him that I was a westerner :)

What shot is wearing is traditional wedding attire. It couldn't have been too much fun from a comfort standpoint as it was about 100 degrees out. By the way, that is an emerald necklace.



















In the old days, you went to go pick up your bride on horse.



















A 30 piece marching band is on hand for the occasion. These guys rocked it out and caused a spectacle even with the locals.



















The procession marched down the street, marching band in tow, until we eventually reached the wedding location



















OK.... so you haven't really had fun until you've been to an Indian wedding. The Barat is part of the procession where the grooms friends dance in front of the groom on horse. Not wanting to dissappoint, I did my best to bust out some Indian dance moves. This procession easily lasts an hour, with band at full volume. The energy level was incredibly high. Lets just say I was pumped.



















My view was never obstucted by any heads during my stay..



















The Rambagh Palace hotel is one of the most amazing hotels I've seen. Unfortunately, I did not take any photos of the spread, but it was very impressive. My tolerance for Indian food was wearing down a bit at this point (due to digestion, not necessarily taste), but the wedding had Thai food as well (rising in popularity in India).

The Rambagh was originally a royal palace before it was turned into a hotel. Forbes rates it as one of the top 10 palaces on earth.



















After the Barat, 10 million photos were taken, followed by dinner. I guess alcohol is not part of the tradition. They made it available, but in a hotel room away from the main serving area.

After dinner, the Phera (fire) takes place. The phera went on for more hours than I can count (until about 3-4 in the morning). There is a lot of chanting, some smoke. Over time, the bride and groom move around the fire 7 times to invoke the blessings of the Gods and Goddesses for different benedictions:

Phera Funda 1 - Economic Stability
With the first step, the couple invokes the Gods for the plentitude of pure and nourishing food and a life that is noble and respectful.

Phera Funda 2 - Health is Wealth
With the second step the couple pray for physical and mental strength and fortitude to lead a healthy and peaceful life.

Phera Funda 3 - Faith
The third step is taken for the fulfilment of spiritual obligations. The Gods are invoked for blessing the couple with spiritual strength.

Phera Funda 4 - Love & Trust
The fourth step is taken for the attainment of happiness and harmony through mutual love and trust and a long joyous life together.

Phera Funda 5 - Progeny
The fifth step is taken to pray for the welfare of all living entities in the entire universe and for begetting noble children.

Phera Funda 6 - Togetherness
The sixth step is for bountiful seasons all over the world. The couple prays for bountiful seasons and seeks that they may go through these seasons together, just as they would share their joys and sorrows.

Phera Funda 7 - Forever
With the last step they pray for a life of understanding, loyalty, unity and companionship not only for themselves but also for the peace of the Universe.





















Exhaused, I went to bed. I hadn't slept very well during the trip. Since India is 10.5 hours ahead of Chicago, the jet lag is pretty extreme. I would typically wake up around 5am each morning, wide awake despite a lack of sleep, and feel catatonically sleepy around 2pm. Fortunately, it was a lot better coming back to the U.S.



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India Part 4: Ajit & Anirudh

Thursday afternoon, I met Shot's friends Anirudh (left) And Ajit (right) at their office. The two are business partners involved in Jewellery manufacturing and exporting. Jaipur is the world capital for jewellery, exporting more stones than any other place on earth. Last year, $3.5 billion worth of gemstones were exported. During my visit to the office, I saw vast quantities of emeralds, rubys, diamonds, and other stones.

After a while, we proceeded to get some lunch nearby before embarking on a big afternoon adventure:

Monkeys roam the streets in certain parts of the city, leaping from rooftops to power lines and back again. Sometimes, more adventureous ones will break into homes and raid fridges. You have to chase them out with brooms; they don't go easily :)

We went down to the jewellery making district. Jewellery is made by the best craftsmen in the world. They live in the slums of Jaipur and make approximately $3 / day. This studio apartment is the largest space you can get on a jeweller's wage. This room is about 4 feet wide as you can see. I was shown how stones are produced.

Here is some blue topaz. The stones are kept in water for better cuttting. This is after the first step in the process, where larger rocks are separated into individual gemstones

Once stones are cut to a manageable size, they are further sanded to remove the non-gem portions of the rock.

Examining some finished stones. The guy in the top left is essentially the manager of the craftsmen along this stretch of road. If there is something to consider when considering a jewellery purchase in the future, I think it is: Jewellery is considered valuable, because we say it is, not necessarily because it is that rare or expensive to produce. Also, almost none of the retail price that we pay in the U.S. makes it to the jewellery makers. I am not condemning this, but I do think it's interesting to know.

Standing outside the workshops (and promoting Hubbard One around the world). You can get an idea here of what conditions are like for many people in urban India. To the left of me, that is an open sewer which barely flows. As the children play crickett in the street, they often had to retrieve the ball from the sewage. Decayed would be an optomistic way to describe the condition of many buildings. Animals, trash, & feces litter many areas. Despite the poor living conditions for the poor however, I found that most people appear to be genuinely happy with their life.

A goat has a snack of ????? off a car windshield

We were supposed to be getting ready for one of the many wedding receptions, but from here we proceeded to a hindu temple. I was given a flower wreath, a very good sign for my fortune I was told. I was blessed by the priest, and afterwards handed some ashes, to be eaten - along with a piece of rock candy. The ashes were a shock to my tongue, but I consumed them. I then rang the bell (to alert God to my presence).

I am not a spiritual person, generally I do not participate in religious rites. I sensed though that the hindu people were genuinly appreciative of my participation and it was a unique experience. Seeing their faith demonstrated in person gives insight into their behavior. Hindu people seem to maintain a high level of faith and generally seem to accept their life and circumstances.

We tried to visit a spiritual man who would tell me my fortune, and tell me about my life, even though he had never met me. I was pretty excited for this, but unfortunately he wasn't home.

On the way across town, Ajit and Anirudh (constant jokesters) got into a fight about some photos Anirudh had taken (Ajit wanted to delete some). This escalated into a physical battle in the front seat of the car. We were driving about 50 miles an hour at this point.

I really enjoyed these guys, they spent a lot of time with me during my trip and made sure I got to see Jaipur up close and personal.



















After going to the fortune tellers house, we came back and found that our car wouldn't start. Whoops - I was already about an hour late in going to Shot's house at this point and I still needed to make it back to my hotel first. I hopped a ride in a cab. This fine auto is known as a rickshaw, and is essentially a three wheeled..... scooter? A five mile ride cost about $2.

As I made it back, I prepared for the wedding festivities.























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India Part 3: Sightseeing

I set out Thursday with a guide to tour around Jaipur, which is located in the state of Rajasthan. The color pink is associated with hospitality in Rajasthan, and all buildings in Jaipur are washed in a pink shade. Planned by a young Bengali architect, Jaipur was founded in 1727, laid out in a grid system with straight avenues, roads and streets. The only planned city of its time, Jaipur is encircled by a formidable wall.



















Hawa Mahal (Temple of the Winds):



















From here I proceeded to the Amber Palace & Shila Mata Temple. The Amber Palace is a comples of palaces, halls, pavilions, gardens, and temples. It took about two centuries to build and is constructed almost entirely of marble and sandstone. The palace emerges dramatically from Maotha Lake (since it is summer currently the water level is much lower than during winter) and is accessible by a steep path.



















Elephants bathing in the lake:



















I decided to ascent to the temple via Elephant. They are pretty fun to ride - definately a unique experience. My driver offered to take a photo of me wearing his turban. Although I didn't really want to put on his sweaty turban, I didn't want to offend him. And so....



















During the winter, this garden would have the water coming up to the edge:



















Made it to the top :)




















Nobody other than the king was supposed to view the Queen. This screen allowed the Queen to look upon the citizens and speak to them, without them being able to view her. The pain used on this building was made using a special process. I don't remember exactly what it is, but it creates such a durable paint, that what you see is the original paint used when the building was constructed centuries ago.



















From there I proceeded to Jantar Mantar, a midievil stone observatory. Built between 1727 and 1734 the Jantar Mantar incorporates multiple buildings of unique form, each with a specialized function for astronomical measurement. These structures with their striking combinations of geometric forms at large scale, have captivated the attention of architects, artists, and art historians world wide, yet remain largely unknown to the general public.





































From here it was off to the Jaipur palace. I was concerned at whether I would be able to make it in past the formidable security:




















While I was in India, I was somewhat of a spectacle many places that I went. Americans are not common in this part of India, especially at this time of year. I was the tallest person that I saw while I was there. Over the course of my trip, many people came up to me and wanted to take a picture with me, as if I were a celebrity. Here are some friends I made at the Jantar Mantar.



















After a full day of sightseeing, I met up with Ajit and Anirudh, two of shot's friends, for what would promise to be another great adventure.



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India Part 2: Reunion & Culture

In the morning I met up with Shot. After college, Shot returned to India, so it's been about 6 years since I've seen him. It was great to be reunited and get to see what his life is like in India. We spent some time catching up while he gave me a brief tour of the city. Afterwards we went over to his aunt's (buaa [father's sister in hindi])house for lunch. If you are wealthy in India, you live somewhat of a royal life. All of the upper class have servants and cooks working in their house, constantly cleaning and preparing food. Homes are kept impeccably clean. It feels unusual at first, but I suppose it is kind of nice having someone bring you water / iced coffee / soda / whatever you want every time you sit down :)

Buaa blessed us shortly before this photo. The area between the eyebrows, the sixth chakra known as the 'agna' meaning 'command', is the seat of concealed wisdom. It is the centre point wherein all experience is gathered in total concentration. According to the tantric cult, when during meditation the latent energy ('kundalini') rises from the base of the spine towards the head, this 'agna' is the probable outlet for this potent energy. The red 'kumkum' between the eyebrows is said to retain energy in the human body and control the various levels of concentration. It is also the central point of the base of the creation itself — symbolising auspiciousness and good fortune.



















After a while we proceeded over to Shot's house:



















The floors throughout the entire house are a beautiful marble. While still a great luxury, a large quantity of marble is produced in India, making it comparably less expensive than obtaining in the U.S. Several ancient temples were contructed entirely of marble. Courtyard inside Shot's house:




















It was fascinating to see what lifestyles are like in India and how they differ from the U.S. For example, a lot of time is spent sitting around talking. When you go over to someone's house, you sit down, have a drink, and talk. There is not a lot of urgency to get to any specific activity. There is also a lot of focus spent around meals - it felt like we were eating all the time. I was constantly being offered food... I had to learn to say no when I really had enough.

I think I did quite well with the food. I'm not sure if it's a regional or religious thing, but Shot's family eat completely vegetarian (or 'veg' as they call it there). Many dishes looked similar to me, like a greenish or brownish sauce about the consistancy of spaghetti sauce, with various items in it (vegetables, yogurt based items, tofu, etc.). Most items were very spicy. According to Rajni, Shot's sister in law, Indian restaurants in the U.S. do not prepare dishes with the same level of spices as they are prepared traditionally in India (American palettes can't handle it). I tried most everything (fortunately, they steered me away from a few things they thought my stomache wouldn't like). A few times I choked a little and my face turned red. The spicy taste is a lot different than say, a mexican spicy taste.

Indian people are some of the most hospitable I have ever met. The level of hospitality that Shot, his family and friends showed me was incredible, even a bit overwhelming at times. In the Hindu religion, guests are to be treated 'like god'. All of Shot's friends that were meeting me for the first time went out of their way to show me around, drive me places, take me out, take me shopping, show me things of interest, explain foods and customs to me. During the two main wedding days Shot was quite busy so I spent a lot of time with his friends. I did not spend any money when I was there, except the one day I went sightseeing by myself ($30). Absolutely everything was taken care of; there was never even any opportunity to argue. They told me I am considered their brother now, and I have a standing invitation to stay with about 10 different people in India now, use their cars, drivers, homes, cooks. After thinking about it somewhat, I think it's a lesson I can apply to my own life, I would like to work on being more selfless, to give myself more freely without expecting anything in return. I would like to have the same affect on people that many people I met had on me.




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India Part 1: Arrival

It took 24 hours, 40 minutes door to door from my house in Chicago to Shot's in Jaipur, India. This record pace is probably the fastest way to get there.

It started at 4pm July 2nd, I left my house with my three bags for my great adventure to India. i thought pleasant thoughts about the journey. I headed toward the bus stop. Unfortunately, at that moment, the Cubs game ended... Thousands of people streamed onto Addison st. blocking my attempts to move in almost any direction. I gave up trying to get on a bus or catch a cab near the stadium and began walking west. 4 blocks later, a cab was finally spotted. There was two of us, it was going to be close... instead, I offered to share. That part worked out, the traffic however did not cooperate. It took about 50 minutes just to reach the blue line (3.5 miles away). Despite the added stress, I made it to the airport ontime, ready to go.

There is now direct service from Chicago to Delhi. For those who have never gone, this flight is 16 hours long - the 3rd longest commercial flight that I know of (1: New York -> Singapore, 2: Dubai -> Syndney). There is no other way of putting it, this flight is damn long. At my height coach sucks for me, but oh well. In a lucky break, the person next to me decided to move, so I got control of two seats and the armrest. There are about 5 movies playing, but only two in english (the other three in Hindi), and 3 meals served. I brought many many books along. Read...sleep...read....sleep....read....sleep

Arrival

It's 9:30pm local time in Delhi (Delhi and New Delhi are the same city, New Delhi is a district within Delhi) and it is hot - 94 degrees. Shot hadn't responded to my email in the previous 5 days, and I had almost no instruction on what to do once I reached the airport ("it will be taken care of"). With a slight bit of aprehension, I passed through customs, grabbed my bags, and proceeded out of the gates....... Fortunately, a guy was there holding a sign with my name on it. I walked over and said hello. It quickly became apparent that he spoke no English and we couldn't communicate. He motioned for me to come outside; I did. Both of us tried a a few attempts to make a phone call, with no luck. He motioned for me to get in the car, I figured he knew what was going on. After a bit of driving out of the airport, we stopped at a STD shop (As I was about to object I learned that in India this means a phone shop - stands for Standart Trunk Dialing). We got ahold of Shot, who explained that this guy would be driving me to Jaipur, he had some money so we could stop to eat, and to just relax as I would arrive in Jaipur in about 5 hours.

Whoa, thats a long time to go 150 miles.

Driving in India is one of of the most stressful experiences I have ever encountered. Let me rephrase, driving or being a passenger while someone is driving in India is hardcore to an American. Imagine the worst traffic jam you have ever been in.... Now take away all traffic rules..... Now add 100 motorcycles within 20 feet of your car, 300 pedestrians crossing the road, 12 people on bicycles, 4 camels, 2 horses, 5 cows, and an elephant. This is what we were dealing with as we tried to leave Delhi (at 10 at night).

For 5 long hours, exhausted from the flight I watched us risk our lives over and over, splitting the uprights between two semi's (on a two lane highway), watching trucks change into our lane and coming within inches of pinning us against the concrete divide, dodging tractors with no lights, dodging cows as they streak across the road to graze in the median.

To give you an idea of what it's like, check out this video which I took the next day on a routine street crossing.









Watch out for camels:



















Or elephants:



















Carpooling:



















Cows are sacred in India, they are not owned by anyone nor are they used for labor. Pretty much they just roam around and do whatever the heck they feel like:



















Finally, around 2:30am, we arrived in Jaipur. I proceeded directly to the hotel, I will begin exploring tomorrow.




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