For those who need visuals…
I realize that I need to post photos. I tried to a few weeks ago but they didn’t work out so well. Some people have borrowed this computer, however, so maybe they changed the settings. Anyway, here are a few photos from Varanasi. Will try to post more regularly from now on.
#1 Cleaning the columns at the Delhi airport at 3am. The workers are flossing them like teeth. We were at this airport for about 12 hours waiting for our connecting flight from Delhi to Varanasi.
#2 Office building. We work in the second floor but have access to all the floors including the roof. Our home is about 30 paces from work. Talk about no commute!
#3 Going to the market on a cycle rickshaw. A little bit of everthing in this photo. Before I leave here, I hope to try pedaling one myself!
#4 Ganges at dusk. This is the view from work. The little flecks in the picture are lit candles. Every night, there is a prayer that takes place. It’s called an Aarti. The water is high in this picture. About a month after this was taken the water rose to cover all of the steps.
#5 Herd of water buffaloes sharing the road with motorbikes, cars, and rickshaws. Water buffaloes are my second favourite street animal. They travel in packs and usually in the middle of the road. I love carabaos.
#6 Outside my room, the first day we arrived in Varanasi. I think this was the last time I wore socks here. We were greeted with a garland and a tilak (mark on the forhead using some sort of red paste).
And that’s all for now friends. These pics are pretty much from the first week or so of Varanasi so there is still much to share. Namaste! S.
Don’t worry, I’m still alive
So, you’d think that now that I’m in India I’d actually have something exciting to write about! I guess I do, but all those things are slowly becoming everyday life. The cows in the lane, the goats eating beside them, the neighbourhood game of cricket that takes place on most days after kids get off school. This is just life now and there are times when I can’t even imagine what November in Vancouver is like even though I’ve experienced it every year except those years when I was either in the Philippines or elsewhere. Varanasi has wiped it all away and replaced it with sweltering heat, salwar suits, aloo chaarts, and colourful and confusing festivals.
Varanasi, and maybe India in general, is a strange place. It’s a land of contradictions. There are times when it feels like there are no rules, yet when it comes to tradition and ritual, people are very strict. Some people fast every Monday, others wear their clothes a certain way, and many people hold on to a way of thinking that may have served a purpose at one point but seems detached from the realities of life now.
I’ve had an interesting time trying to find my place here. Sometimes I’m on the outside while other times I’m comfortable with my place and feel very much part of life here. I’m having a time here, neither good or bad, just is and I look forward to what the next 3 months have in store for me.
