(Safe) in Bangalore
Whoa! You have things to tell that you think are so amazingly important and then you get schooled into a perspective. For instance, I was going to write about my interesting Christmas, spent completely on a train with not enough space from my top bunk to sit up completely and thus being forced to read my books all day (thank you Xiaojing and Richard for the lovely pleasure reading); or relate to you my first impressions of Bangalore, of which the extreme contrasts (between the lives of the haves and of the have-nots, the position of the western consumer culture here, both convenient -- had to get contact solution and art supplies, for one thing -- but annoying/disturbing at the same time ); the funny, young medical students that I met and with whom I've been kicking it, etc. And then, my mind was just blown by the news of the tsunami.
I was indulging in some western consumer habits, er, shopping (a guilty pleasure, I must admit, after all the dust and yuckiness of being stuck on a stuffy train for 55 hours non-stop) when I found out about the tsunami. What a shocking reality to experience, after emerging from my cramped, gently rocking, literature-laden, artificially lit, packaged food-eating slump. It blows my mind, to read in the news everywhere that the body count rises every day, as more and more are discovered, washed back ashore from the sea. Really tragic.
The shock also hits really close to home. Not to be too dramatic, but I did think about a conversation I had with another traveler in which we were swapping notes on the best routes for going down south. He had suggested going down the eastern coast and hitting Kolkata, Chennai and Pondicherri, as the western coast was bound to be too crowded. Of course, we were only throwing up ideas. Still. I thought about Victor, who had been around Phuket a few weeks back. I thought about my parents, and was wondering if they were still going to Thailand. I thought about the people whom I'd met who said they were going that way and was wondering if they were ok. I thought about a few months ago when I thought I might end up hopping around Southeast Asia -- Thailand and Indonesia being key. In any case, my thoughts were definitely with my loved ones and friends. I'm sorry I haven't had the chance to email you until now, in this hi-tech capital. But I was thinking of you. And I was thinking about how lucky I am, and how blessed, to be alive and well. And, moreover, to be listening to my heart. That may sound cheesy, but hey, the cheese here is great! Ok, to be deeper, I guess you could say that my conviction in being true to myself, and really allowing myself the luxury of doing what I have to do, is only strengthened by the all my experiences on this trip.
I don't want to give you the impression that it's been completely somber for me, maybe just reflective. I've had a fun few days in Bangalore so far. Bangalore may not be the best example of south Indian culture, but there are a few hints of the south that impress me in their subtle ways. The weather, for instance, has been so wonderful. Bangalore's on an elevated plateau, so it tends to be cool for south India in general, but it's still really warm, esp. after the Himalayan winter. I've had to get some more clothes, put away my heavy woolen shawls and socks. The new flavors of the south are also a subtle but powerful sign that I'm in the south -- coconut foodstuffs (coconut's one of my favorite memory triggers of travels in southeast Asia, delicious lassis, dosas of various kinds, more rice than chapati). The south has also been figuring more women into my world. In general, I've been interacting with more women, who seem stronger and more present down here.
I've hinted a little at the consumer culture of Bangalore. Bangalore's modernity and western features also include the dominance of Information and Technology, a larger presence of young professionals, big business (InfoSys, Oracle, tech parks like the ones in Silicon Valley).
The last few days I've been kicking it with these doctors I met. Don't think old men, though. These are youngsters -- Balaji, who's 20, Ramya, 21, Divya -- who were so sweet as to have me over for dinner and house me for the last 3 nights. They're technically still med students but are already practicing medicine. Thus, I got a tour of some of the government hospitals in Bangalore, among other things. They're pretty funny, we all went for a tiger and lion safari yesterday and found ourselves on the playground playing see-saw (ok, maybe they were a little TOO young for me). It's all good.
Ok, seems I've closed down this cyber cafe, so that's it for now. Much more to tell, much more thoughts, but in the meantime, make sure to check out David's pix of Dharamsala at www.poeticdream.com. He took like thousands, so you'll have a blast. Hint: do a search on Dharamsala. Me, on to catch a bus to Coimbatore and my friends Deepak and Shobhana. Can't wait!
I was indulging in some western consumer habits, er, shopping (a guilty pleasure, I must admit, after all the dust and yuckiness of being stuck on a stuffy train for 55 hours non-stop) when I found out about the tsunami. What a shocking reality to experience, after emerging from my cramped, gently rocking, literature-laden, artificially lit, packaged food-eating slump. It blows my mind, to read in the news everywhere that the body count rises every day, as more and more are discovered, washed back ashore from the sea. Really tragic.
The shock also hits really close to home. Not to be too dramatic, but I did think about a conversation I had with another traveler in which we were swapping notes on the best routes for going down south. He had suggested going down the eastern coast and hitting Kolkata, Chennai and Pondicherri, as the western coast was bound to be too crowded. Of course, we were only throwing up ideas. Still. I thought about Victor, who had been around Phuket a few weeks back. I thought about my parents, and was wondering if they were still going to Thailand. I thought about the people whom I'd met who said they were going that way and was wondering if they were ok. I thought about a few months ago when I thought I might end up hopping around Southeast Asia -- Thailand and Indonesia being key. In any case, my thoughts were definitely with my loved ones and friends. I'm sorry I haven't had the chance to email you until now, in this hi-tech capital. But I was thinking of you. And I was thinking about how lucky I am, and how blessed, to be alive and well. And, moreover, to be listening to my heart. That may sound cheesy, but hey, the cheese here is great! Ok, to be deeper, I guess you could say that my conviction in being true to myself, and really allowing myself the luxury of doing what I have to do, is only strengthened by the all my experiences on this trip.
I don't want to give you the impression that it's been completely somber for me, maybe just reflective. I've had a fun few days in Bangalore so far. Bangalore may not be the best example of south Indian culture, but there are a few hints of the south that impress me in their subtle ways. The weather, for instance, has been so wonderful. Bangalore's on an elevated plateau, so it tends to be cool for south India in general, but it's still really warm, esp. after the Himalayan winter. I've had to get some more clothes, put away my heavy woolen shawls and socks. The new flavors of the south are also a subtle but powerful sign that I'm in the south -- coconut foodstuffs (coconut's one of my favorite memory triggers of travels in southeast Asia, delicious lassis, dosas of various kinds, more rice than chapati). The south has also been figuring more women into my world. In general, I've been interacting with more women, who seem stronger and more present down here.
I've hinted a little at the consumer culture of Bangalore. Bangalore's modernity and western features also include the dominance of Information and Technology, a larger presence of young professionals, big business (InfoSys, Oracle, tech parks like the ones in Silicon Valley).
The last few days I've been kicking it with these doctors I met. Don't think old men, though. These are youngsters -- Balaji, who's 20, Ramya, 21, Divya -- who were so sweet as to have me over for dinner and house me for the last 3 nights. They're technically still med students but are already practicing medicine. Thus, I got a tour of some of the government hospitals in Bangalore, among other things. They're pretty funny, we all went for a tiger and lion safari yesterday and found ourselves on the playground playing see-saw (ok, maybe they were a little TOO young for me). It's all good.
Ok, seems I've closed down this cyber cafe, so that's it for now. Much more to tell, much more thoughts, but in the meantime, make sure to check out David's pix of Dharamsala at www.poeticdream.com. He took like thousands, so you'll have a blast. Hint: do a search on Dharamsala. Me, on to catch a bus to Coimbatore and my friends Deepak and Shobhana. Can't wait!
posted by sylviashines at 4:15 AM
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