Forest Glib

Today I retuned to Old Delhi for another last walk. I am still in awe of the age of the buildings and the intense work that takes place there. Layers upon layers have been added to all surfaces since the 12^th century. It’s the persistent utility of the buildings, with seemingly little regard for historic preservation, that amazes me. My guide was a woman I met at the Kendra who got her PhD in Ancient Indian Architecture, and works on sustainability-focused design. She lives in New Delhi and loves it. When I  asked her why she loves it so much she said it is because everyone is participating in a grand negotiation here, which makes her feel connected to the energy of the city, unlike London or Toronto, where she always has an “outsider” feeling. 

After visiting two Islamic Mosques, and one Sikh Temple, I have the impression that Sikh mosques are more celebratory and expressive than the Muslim mosques. In the Sikh temple there was a group of musicians performing Kirtan, a form of  devotional participatory chanting, with the accompaniment of tablas and harmonium. Lots of color and flowers.

I decided today to look closely at textures and colors, and not feel such an obligation to take in the people.

I was thrilled to have my favorite driver again, Parveen Mehta, the driver who took me and Pavlina to the Taj Mahal. He is such a really special person. His mantra is “Let’s see which way the wind blows”, a gentle way of not making promises or getting stuck with plans that may or may not work out. I feel a special connection to the workers here, and find their receptivity to my interest very touching. 

Sadie arrived safe and sound on December 20. She kicked jet lag in the butt by managing to stay up until Indian bedtime the first night, and has been able to hit the ground running like nobody's business.

We stopped at Jantar Mantar, as that is the one place she knew she had to see, and another huge Sikh temple on our way to the overnight train to Jodhpur. We have research to do on the sticky pan of brown sweet smelling mush we were given upon entering the temple gate. A portion was taken away before we entered the temple, and an equal portion given back when we exited.  We gave it to our driver, who seemed very happy to have 3 portions for himself!

The  overnight train ride to Jodhbur, the blue city, was long, but we were able to stretch out in the upper berths of our very funky sleeper car, and got what felt like a pretend night’s sleep.

We meant to spend the day seeing the huge Mehrangarh Fort in this beautiful blue city, but decided to do a zip line adventure in the fort instead, and had a completely different experience of it as a whole form. It was a completely impulsive, and transformative experience! The scale, the heights, and views over the fort were spell binding. A fellow adventurer and I were were self-professed screamers, but I surprised myself with silence, and only screamed to keep her company. She also taught me the phrase Om Namah Shivaya, which I shouted across the wide expanses of Jodhpur at the top of my lungs. 

It was a great first day, and we are ready to sleep, deeply, at Jagat Vilas, our “home stay” hotel, which is a miniature twin of Great Exotic Marigold Hotel. It is very tidy inside, but had a pack of wild pigs grazing in the dirt outside. When we walked into the gate of the hotel, we seemed to say at the same time, "Oh, wow". The view from the inside, everywhere, is always such a surprise. This has been the big theme of most of my thinking about India: extreme contrast. The proprietors are lovely people who just started their business 3 years ago, as a way to keep working beyond retirement.

It is really refreshing to be on the road, meeting travelers from all over the world.  It is going to be a whirlwind but, so far, we are feeling strong and ready. Sadie is on fire with deep insights that are amazingly accurate for her two-day exposure to India. Many of her insights were born on the short drive from the airport. India hits you deep and fast.

Today we are going to visit Sowing Seeds, an artist residency in a village about an hour outside of Jodhpur. It is "a project that intends to create dialogues and exchanges amongst artists beyond the national identity and serve as an opportunity for rural artists to meet, share and exchange ideas, visions, and diverse views order to create a deeper understanding on art. It acts as a medium of developing and improving the artistic impressions of experts as well as emerging artists. As an alternative art space in INDIA, “Sowing Seeds” is geared to meet the challenges required to organize such contemporary artist village camp (workshop) within rural areas and give rise to a new era in visual art."
Tom had sent me a link for it long before I came to India, and I have been carrying it around not knowing I would actually land near it.

With the protests erupting in New Delhi over the rape case, I feel that we left at the perfect time.  New Delhi Protests

Sadie and I went to bed last night feeling the heartache of the deep connections we feel with the people we are meeting, the taxi drivers especially, who exude such peace and kindness, yet who must suffer in ways we can't see or even understand. It is the profound equilibrium of the people that continues to inspire us.