The Birthplace of Hanumanji

Hanuman Temple

After an all you can eat traditional Karnatik lunch (costing less than a dollar), we made our way to the banks of the Tungabhadra River, lined with ruined columns and temples. Bus loads of local school children on a field trip gathered around the few white tourists... "Hallo! What is your name? Where are you coming from? Take my picture!" they yelled, while dancing (to no music) and laughing (with no apparent reason). They were a funny reminder that kids everywhere are pretty much the same. Although we had limited time, we decided to take one of the side trips away from the ruins (thanks to the persistence of mom). Across the river, perched on Anajanadri Hill, a pile of boulders, a white-washed temple sits marking the spot the great Hanumanji was supposedly born. The first time I read about the temple in the "Hampi" book we picked up at a local bookstore in Jewtown (Cochin), I knew I would fill very unfulfilled with the day in Hampi without going there. So we jumped in a "Coracle" raft, which was pretty much a giant bamboo basket, and began our mini-trek to the Hanuman Temple. I couldn't tell you how long it took us to get there, as the recurrent theme of a skewed sense of time was still present, due partly to the amazing surroundings and also to not having a cell phone or a watch to check the time on (which feels great).

So the raftman steered us down the flowing river with a long pole, spinning us around protruding rocks, and helping a few Sadhu-men (wandering priests) across the river. We stopped down river on the opposite bank and walked through a small field where herders stopped to let their buffalos and goats graze and drink water. It was now a little past mid-day on a cloudless day,15 degrees above the equator (at about the same latitude as Honduras or the southern tip of the Saudi Peninsula), even in January... the sun stung. We walked through a coconut grove unto a two foot wide path that snaked through sprouting, flooded rice patties. We finally came to a dirt road with few big buses full of pilgrims and a couple of rickshaw drivers on the lookout for some business. The pilgrims (mostly Senior citizens) had no qualms of openly bathing in the near by creek or taking care of other bodily functions in the broad daylight. We came to a large, stepped water tank that was covered in emerald green Lilly pads. Women lined the edge singing and chanting, mimicking the act of the goddess Parvati, who is said to have performed her tapas ( a form of meditation) at this spot, in hopes of provinger intense, pure desire to marry Lord Shiva (the "destroyer" part of the holy trifecta of Brahma). They are one of the most famous and beloved couples in Hindu tradition and parents of the revered Lord Ganesh. Up some stairs rests a Shiva temple with an entrance to a cave where Shiva is said to have meditated himself. This spot is one of the four holy spots for worshipers of Shiva. The cave must have been at least 20 degrees cooler than its surroundings, and an eerie breeze continuously blew through the entrance.

The travel book says "there are plenty of cheeky monkeys around, so don't go making the climb to the the top with a bag of bananas." We get to a roadside fruit stand, and our guide turns to me and asks "do you want to get some bananas for the monkeys?", so we picked up a big bushel of bananas, haha. Mom is still feeling lunch, so we start climbing the stairs at different paces. The stairs zigzag up and down the hill and through small creases where two or three boulders meet (the monkeys were mainly hanging out in these shady overhangs). Half-way up, I took a slight detour from the stairs and climbed across some boulders to visit a semi-hidden, small Rama mandir with a great view. It takes about 30-45 minutes to walk up the stairs with no stops, so it was not a bad hike, but the older pilgrims began to literally crawl up the last quarter of stairs in the heat, a testament to their determination to pay their respects. A group of school children on their way down met us with the typical high fives and questions, and of course the "take my picture!" At the top, I was greeted with a strong cool breeze and amazing panoramic views. A small white temple, a barren tree covered in multi-colored prayer flags, and a group of women reciting the Ramayana was an incredible sight amidst the backdrop of an ancient landscape. I didn't see any monkeys until I pulled out my bag of bananas. Only one was kind of naughty, the rest sat patiently as I handed each a banana; one held its hand out like a small child and another, a mother, perked up and showed me her baby after I had only handed her one banana, so I handed her another.

I could have sat and heard them recite the entire Ramayana (which takes more than a day). It was an amazing feeling to be at a spot where people from far and wide come to pay their respects to the humble yet mischievous hero of Hindu tradition. For those of you don't know who Hanumanji is, he is the famed character in the Hindu epic of the Ramayan, depicted as part monkey, and considered an ideal example of a true devotee of God and righteousness. His depiction as a monkey and leading the "monkey army" to fight alongside a reincarnation of Vishnu (Rama), is often considered to mean that he was from a very early form of man, in a kingdom where the population was ignorant to much of the Dharma (righteous truth and virtue, which distinguishes man from animal) that the Rama was fighting for. From a humble background, he is God's "right hand man" in the story and the success of good over evil would have been impossible without him. I am not one that takes religious stories (of any faith) literally and didn't come to worship the rocks Hanuman supposedly walked on, but there is something special about this temple where thousands upon thousands have come in the name of such an amazing character, one that I was raised hearing epic stories about. Likewise, there are thousands upon thousands of different stories and myths about Hanuman, so the above is no just explanation of him. But next time you look at a painting that depicts the monkey city of "Kishkindha", see if it doesn't look a little something like this:

A Quick Update

(Note, a new entry on Hampi is below this, and the slideshow is now working). So the trip to the south has taken longer than I expected to write about, mainly because initially I was not planning on including so many pictures, but decided it was worth the extra time (I hope ya'll are enjoying them). If your internet or computer is a little slow, here are a few tips to get the slideshows to work a little better: you can stop the other slideshows that you arent currently watching (if you put your mouse over the picture, at the bottom two arrows and a stop sign will appear). Also, you may want to stop the show you are watching and flip through the pictures yourself with these arrows. You can also click on the entry you want to look at and it should open a page with only that entry.

Anyway, before I finished up the trip in the south, I thought I would give a little update with what has been going on since I got back, since it has been almost two weeks. The past few weeks I have been planning the rest of my stay here and staying with Rajiv Uncle and Mona Auntie. Mom left the 9th and is now in London. I got a wisdom tooth pulled (Mona auntie's sister, Rina Auntie, is a dentist, and a very good one at that :) ). So that took up the last few days. Most the swelling and pain is gone now (thanks Mona Auntie, for lookin out for me). I also met up with Sarang and Kina (Siddharth Masa's brother's kids) that some of you know. Sarang has been here in India since November, and his sister, Kina, has recently arrived to stay for a month or so. They are both enjoying their time here, living at the Viditatmananda Ashram and taking classical Indian music lessons (Sarang the Tabla and Kina the classical Indian Flute), its great to watch them practice together.

So it worked out that I have come to stay at the Ashram as well (I just moved in today!), which I will talk more about when I have stayed here bit longer, but it is simple and peaceful. I will be joining them in their classes on Vedanta with a Bhramacharya who is very good in English. I will also be going to the Indicorps office a few times a week to help them out, and hopefully will find some hands-on activities in the field that I can aid in as well. I will be staying in the Ashram until mid-March, and then Sarang and I plan to travel...a lot, haha.

Tentatively, we plan on going to Sikkim from March 16th to the 27th, the east Indian state sandwiched between Nepal, Bhutan, and Chinese Tibet (I absolutely cannot wait for this trip!) Then we are going to the "Golden Triangle" (Delhi-Agra-Jaipur) from the 27th till April 5th or so. From April 6th-12th we will be in Goa for one of Sarang's cousins weddings. After that, I will be on my own, and hope to make a trip to Mumbai on my way back to Gujarat. This, again, is a tentative plan, but if anyone has some time off (cough...spring break...cough) and wants to make the journey over, let me know and we can work something out (look on the internet for aireline costs to get an idea of how much it maybe). Anyway, I will finish up the trip in the south, soon! Miss you all!

Hampi: The Great Hindu City.

Hampi

After an all day drive through rural Karnatika, we arrived in Hospet, a typical Indian town that is a common base point to see the ruins of Hampi. There was a group of American student from Delaware doing one of their tri-mesters in India. They were a fun group of people, and it was a nice break to talk to people my age that were fluent in English. I think they were a little surprised when I first spoke, not expecting the American accent. It was interesting to hear their perception of India, which was mostly positive; they all seemed to be having a great time (except one girl who hey said went home because she missed her boyfriend, ahhh hahaha, what a loser).

We started what would be the best day I have had in India so far, bright and early. Hampi is a fascinating place lost in time. The driver told us Hampi meant something close to "disappeared", as it was last known as the huge, wealthy capital of the Vijayanagar Kingdom, one of the, if the not THE greatest, Hindu Kingdoms of the last few thousand years, stretching from Bengal in the East to the coast in the West, all the way down to the southern-most tip of India. It served as the Capital from the mid 1300's to the mid-late 1500's, when it was ransacked and looted by armies and conquerors from the Deccan, and later ruled by the ever changing Sultans, Moguls, and Kings that mosaiced India in the last 500 years. Since much of Indian tradition is passed down from generation to generation orally, the best documentation of the city is by Arabic and Western historians and travellers. Many of the Europeans that traveled to the city at the height of its power claim it was larger than Rome and so wealthy that the basic measurement to trade and sell precious stones such as diamonds and rubies was by the liter.

Hampi is also an excellent place to see first-hand how "history" is often perceived in Indian society. The 700 year old buildings are not thought to be the settlements here. In fact for thousands of years pilgrims have been coming to this site, for it is one of the holiest places in Southern India. This is the supposed area that is home to many stories of Shiva and Parvati. It is also very significant in the Ramayan, for this is where Hunumanji is said to be born. This area is thought to be the ancient Kishkinda, the Kingdom of Sugriv and Hunuman. Physical structure is not what Indians count when dating places (in fact "dating places" in Hinduism is a foreign concept, since time is cyclical and multi-dimensional). So when you ask, for instance, how old the Vishnu Temple is, local Hindus say over 10,000 years old at least, medieval historians claim it 500 years old, archaeologists claim some of the stones used in the temple must have been cut from the earth around 1,000 years ago, and still others would claim that it grew from the ground near the beginning of time. I have always been very interested in history, but when in India, you learn quickly that the exact date of some monument is misleading and often irrelevant. Layer upon layer of civilization has inhabited the same places, no one truly knows how long people have been living at many of these places. I wonder what a cross-section of the earth would like right here on this spot, if you could just make a huge crack in the ground for hundreds of meters, what would we find? In a most recent excavation of some drained rice patties, and entire temple was found buried under 20-30 feet of dirt, not a mound but under the current, normal ground level. History is covered in India not only by subsequent layers of human civilization, but by the yearly monsoon that chips away at ruins and then covers them with soot from the rain and flooding of holy rivers, and finally buries them with the cycle of new and decaying jungle vegetation.

The ruins themselves are scattered all around the very unique landscape of palm trees and boulders. Again, it was almost eerie looking around at the ancient looking landscape that I really didn't believe existed outside of artists depictions recounting the stories of Ramayana. We started with a hilltop view of the Virupaksha Temple Complex, on of the few buildings that was unharmed during the raids of Muslim armies, and is still an active, living temple today. Right next to the temple complex is one of the numerous bazaars of the old city. This one is unique though, for it has been re-inhabited by merchants and shopkeepers, selling everything from food and refreshments, to coins hundreds of years old, Hindu handicrafts and textiles, and postcards for tourists. In true Indian fashion, a bazaar once thriving over five hundred years ago, selling precious stones and metals, is now the center of town. This is the center of the Sacred Center, the area of non-royals, and houses the Krishna temple complex, a monolithic Narsimah (reincarnation of Vishnu as half man and half lion), among other things.

The Royal Center of the ruins refers to the area that housed and entertained the royal family and their court along with many military structures. The Royal enclosure was only recently excavated and includes a large royal audience hall with a huge, intricately carve viewing platform (most likely for the King and his court), along with underground chambers for military meetings, a stepped water tank, and long table like structure thought to be an outdoor mess hall for soldiers that stretched over a kilometer long. Pictured on the left is the King's private bath, good thing it is not obscenely too big. Here you can also see the great aqueduct and canal system that supplied the city with water and flushed away sewage. Pictured on the right is a toilet from over 500 years ago where you can see the sewage canal (makes me think how now, in the "modern" world, people right down the street are pooing in the street).

The underground Vishnu temple is also in the area, and an awesome, intricate Rama temple (the King's own private place of worship) is also housed here. Of course it is not fully intact, but it is said that when it was, its carvings depicted the Ramayan in its entirety (24,000 shlokas). On of the most
impressive areas of the Royal Center is the "Zenana Enclosure" that houses a hang-out for women in the "Lotus-Mahal", and leads to the giant Elephant stables and housing for guards, a treasury, and even a Medieval version of a Gymnasium. The beautiful Lotus Mahal and its courtyard and shrines is enclosed by a high stone gate and an octagonal watchtower and includes Jain architecture. Not uncommon in Indian history, the city not only had hundreds of Hindu temples, but included Jain temples, Buddhist temples, and an entire Islamic quarter and mosque (many of which were commissioned by the Hindu Kings).

Our Final stop was near the Tungabhadra River, the lifeline of the city. On its banks the most famous, well preserved, and intricate of temple complexes, the Vitthala Temple. This was the last stop. after we visited the Hunuman Temple (which will be a blog post in itself), and it was a great way to end the day. As the sun began to set, the entire temple complex began to glow an earthy gold, and the boulder hills in the background a slight orange. I tried to imagine what this place looked like when it was fully painted, draped in Silk, and full of Pilgrims and dancing women showing their devotion to Vishnu through the ancient and sacred art of Bharatnatym. In front of the main murti in each temple is a circular, smooth platform where devotees would tell stories and show their devotion through dance. Thinner pillars encircle the main ones, and when struck a certain way (almost like playing a tabla), different notes resonate throughout the temple-the temple itself was used as a musical instrument. In the center of the courtyard, a large stone chariot (a depiction of Vishnu's eagle) is the most recognizable monument of Hampi.

I could have probably spent the full ten day trip in the south in Hampi, and still not seen everything there was to see. There are countless sites, some newly discovered, others living sites of worship for thousands and thousands of years. There are also temples perched on every hilltop in the surrounding area, one of which we took 2-3 hours out of our jam-packed day to visit. (The day has to be split up into two entries, because this is already getting long). It was a surreal experience, we could barely speak. So next is the best site, on the best day, in the best place during my trip to India so far, Hunuman Temple on Anjenadri Hill: The Mythical Birthplace of Hunuman. (Below: in south India, there were many occasions where they spelled English words how they sounded, this was my favorite. Als, the slideshow on top is only 50 pictures long, eventhough i have like 200, so check it out)

Mysore and 1,000 Year Old Temples

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The final leg of our trip was in the state of Karnatika. As in most Indian states, they spoke a different language, Kannada (pronounced like the country "Canada" with an Indian accent). This was by far my favorite part of the trip, with its grand palaces and ruins, traditional countryside, and progressive, modern capital of Bangalore. Indian history is often divided into the history of the north and the history of the south, as these two areas were often ruled by different cultures and/or kingdoms. So it was great to experience great Hindu architecture and explore the old Hindu kingdoms of the south. Even I was shocked to see some places that I thought were now destroyed and only still existed in stories.

Our flight into Bangalore, Karnatika from Trivandrum was 3-4 hours late which cut our time short in Mysore, but luckily we made it to the town in time to check out the magnificent palace. We killed some time at the airport talking to some Christian Missionaries from Colorado mom recognized from the hotel, who were interesting (except they had been in India for weeks now, and literally knew nothing about Hinduism. You would think one would at least read up on the local religion before attempting to change the people, especially a religion thousands upon thousands of years old. But it ended up being an interesting conversation and exchange of information).

Our new driver for Karnatika was awesome, and sped the whole way to make sure we got to see the palace. The Mysore palace is where the Maharajas of the Kingdom of Mysore ruled (a blood line that is still intact today). The main palace, after being destroyed and rebuilt throughout history, now stands at over a hundred years old and is the most luxurious building I have ever seen, easily rivaling the palaces of Europe. You can't take pictures of the inside, but every inch is covered in intricate carvings, paintings, gold leaf, silver plating, and stained glass; every archway, doorway, and window is a piece of artwork and the floors are covered in a mosaic of gemstones making various patterns and images. The travel book calls the inside of the palace "gaudy", but I think one would be hard-pressed to find a palace in the world that wasn't (I think that was the point of palaces of the past). The Palace sits on acres and acres of gardens, including twelve different temples and elephant and camel stables. We missed Republic Day by just one day, otherwise we would have seen the palace by night illuminated with 97,000 lightbulbs on the outside alone. Not only is the exterior an obvious mix of ancient to modern Indian, Mughal, and Western (mainly Roman) architecture, the inside too is a blend of all different places and styles. My favorite part was the gateway to all religions, that had a Mughal (Muslim) style arch that lead to Catholic style doors, topped with Jain and Budhist overhangs, that opened into a small Mandir for a Krishna Murti. The entrance fee to see the palace?... 5 rupees (thats about ten cents in the US$). Mysore is also known for its authentic Sandalwood factories (making sculptures, incense, and oils) and its silks...which meant more shopping. Luckily we had gotten in town late, so there wasn't too much time to sit in the silk shops. In the morning we headed up to Chamundi Hill and its temple that overlooked all of Mysore. It was 4:30 in the morning though, so all you could see were the city lights, but plenty of monkeys were already awake hanging around the temple.

We left so early because we had a full day of driving through the rural Karnatic countryside on pothole ridden "roads" and gravel paths to the ruins of Hampi. The Karnatic countryside is picturesque though, with traditional farming communities, huge Banyan trees, wandering nomads with huge herds of goats, cattle driven carts, and bouldering hills (sometimes topped with modern windmills). On the way we stopped at two temples of the Hoysala Empire, one built in about 1100 AD (Channekeshava Temple in Belur) and the other finished in 1200 AD (Hoysaleswara Temple in Halebid). The "dark ages" of Medevial times is truly an era to describe the West, because in the East, this was an incredibly prosperous era.

The detail of the temples is amazing. Every pillar is unique and different, the exterior of the building is covered in intricate carvings and statues (each unique) that depict various stories and deities of Hindu tradition. What you see now is just the skeleton of what what the temples used to be, for they were once painted with great detail to bring the carvings to life, fine silks were draped all over, and precious metal statues guarded every doorway. After a thousand years, some parts have been plundered, the paint is gone, and many statues have been taken, but to walk around and through the temples is no less awe-inspiring. The temples were surrounded with larger statues and mini-temples (one was a large face, and I could not help but think it was going to come to life and say "Welcome to the Legends of the Hidden Temple", I wish it would have). The guide showed us one carving of a Western dressed figure, claiming "they copied us", another carving of what really looked like missiles, and yet another that had people with helmets that looked like astronauts (all of this made 1,000 year ago). It has long been known the interesting references in some of the scriptures and ancient stories (which I am assuming these sculptures are depicting) of incredible weaponry, space travel, and more. I think it is probably mis-communicated due to thousands of years of oral traditions, some things lost in translation, and the still current disparity in all cultures between poetic and literary expression and literal truth. Either way, it was interesting to see and would probably make a great History Channel conspiracy/prophecy documentary (there are similar "out-of-place" images in some Egyptian hieroglyphics). All these are pictured at the bottom. The temples were great pit-stops on the loooooong drive to Hampi, but I would have sat in a car for a week to see the old ruins of Vijanayger, and the views on the drive there weren't so bad either. Next, we go to Hampi.

Kerala Coast

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Kerala, or "God's Own Country" was mythically formed out of the sea when Parshuram, a reincarnation of Vishnu, threw his axe into the ocean. New genetic evidence reveals that the the first humans to migrate out of Africa settled here possibly 80,000 years ago when the shorelines of the world were far different then they are now. The first human ritual (a mantra perceeding teh Dravidians or Aryans), is still performed once every 12 years; western anthropologists theorize this mantra, consisting of pure sound with no inherent meaning, is older than language itself, man's first form of music. You can see the layers of history in this place that later became a major ancient trading post connecting Greece and China, a welcome place for refugees, the land of great Hindu Emperors, and areas that stayed pretty much independent of all foreign conquers until India's independence. It was the first democratically elected communist government in the world (the communist party still holds the majority). Interestingly, on the verge of Indian Independence, it had some of the worst poverty and health issues, and is now one of the most well off states with the highest literacy rate in the country (90 somethin percent). Britain's Michael Wood calls Kerala "nothing less than the laboratory of the human race".

The coast is very unique, not only lined with beaches, but has an area known as the "backwaters", an inland area of lagoons, canals, and lakes. We stayed one night on a houseboat (a floating one bedroom resort), that had a "captain", a crew, and a chef (there was more of them then there were of us, it was only me and mom). We floated down canals lined with bungalows, huts, rice patties, and huge coconut groves. Again, I would love to show pictures of a very unique place that most people don't even know exists, but they are gone except a few. It was very peaceful bar the occasional water bus that was blaring South Indian music. It was also interesting to see how people lived in 10 feet of reclaimed land in between two canals or a lagoon. We spent the next night in a resort on an island in Allepey, "India's Venice", as it is called. It is completely different then Venice, but the town is connected through canals and such. We had dinner in the hotel restaurant which was pretty fancy (or tried to be) but oddly played songs like "You and me baby aint nothing but mammals..." and "Johnny doesn't know", which was really awkward.

We took a day trip to the port town of Cochin, the best town to see the layers of history first hand. Chinese fishing nets from ancient times still line the coast right outside the colonial Portuguese fort and boardwalk/fish market. Vasco de Gama's original place of burial is down the street from St. Thomas's church and "Jewtown". Christians (lead by St. Thomas) settled in the area in the first century AD and Jewish refugees fleeing persecution came around the same time. The descendants of these same Jews run the famous and colorful Jewtown Market that has all kind of handicrafts from across India. We also stopped by the Mattancherry Palace that has some intricate Medieval-aged Hindu murals on the wall, some of the only ones left of their kind in India (the place was filled with young school children who seemed bored with the palace and insistently wanted to give high fives). We ended the day in "New Town", which was a modern day city, so mom could look for silk saris (without a book and the free drinks they serve you, I would not have survived the shopping).

In the Capital of Kerala, Trivandrum, we got to experience the Sri Padmanbhaswamy Temple (some parts of the temple are said to be at least 2,000 years old). It was open to practicing Hindus only, so we had to rent some lungis, pretty much a sheet to wrap around your waist, and men had to go shirtless. We stood in a long line (yes, a REAL line, that worked!!) that weaved around carved stone columns and murtis and through open courtyards with wandering cows.
On the way to our beach resort, we stopped at Varkalla beach, known for its red cliffs, and had lunch in an open-air place on the beach. There was a group of American students studying abroad eating with some French dudes. Sadly, there was a loud American girl that was rambling on and on to the French about how America is the greatest, and how it meant soooo much to every American that they had a Black president, and how American girls are the most adventurous and how she thinks she experienced the true, real India (as she sits at a beach resort with a table full of Americans). She was definitely "that girl" you probably want to strangle in your classes, haha.

But the beach was beautiful and our last stop was at Kovallum beach, where mom and dad went on their honeymoon thirty years ago and where the Beatles escaped to in the 70's. The beach was packed with Indians and Europeans, lined with shops, restaurants, and hotels, and clogged with huge fishing boats. Mom was kind of shocked at what it had become, saying it was a deserted, natural beach thirty years ago. It was still cool to watch the fishermen fishing the same way they have done for hundreds and hundreds of years, and the view from the lighthouse was amazing. I also still find it funny that Indian men are welcome to hit the beach in their tighty whities yet women swim around fully clothed. For the first time though, I did see Indian women in bathing suits on the beach.

The resort we stayed at was nice and we celebrated Republic Day (January 26th) with a flag ceremony in the morning. They had all the security guards dress up to try and march like military men. They were all off count, arms swinging at different times, and when they went to turn, it literally looked like the three stooges, but it was still a nice ceremony. The temple next door was also celebrating some festival, and had speakers all through the area with someone singing (or screaching) the Ramayana from like 4 in the morning until 11 at night, which was a little out of control.

I really enjoyed the history and layers of civilization of the state and the coastal area is a real natural wonder. I hope one day I can go back to Kerala, but the final destination of our trip was by far my favorite place in India so far, so stay tuned for the trip to Karnatika.

Munnar: Mile High Tea

It is especially true that you never have enough time in India, but my short trip to the south was still one I will never forget. Over the next week or so I will be writing about the trip down south (one entry cannot do the ten days justice), starting today with our first stop in Munnar.

From the mountains to the backwaters, time doesn't seem to exist in the state of Kerela. You can just sit...and stare, for hours on end and it feel like a few minutes. We left the house at 3 am and flew from Ahmedebad to Mumbai to Bangalore finally to Cochin, then drove up winding mountain roads, edged by huge cliffs with no rails, for four hours to Munnar. The first glimpses of South India were straight out the jungles in the Ramayana Comic books we had as kids. Sadly, I cannot share many of these awesome scenes with you, as my Camera Curse continues...later in the trip, all the pictures from Munnar (except one, the picture above) and one day of the backwaters were wiped clean from my memory chip and replaced by 4 question marks that said "unidentified picture" (if anyone know what this means or how it happened, please enlighten me). But since I am in the land of the Buddha, I should take a tip and let go of such material things (i'm still kinda mad...). But imagine the Appalachian mountains were as green as the Irish Isles, dotted with coconut groves, wild mountain flowers and the occasional pack of wandering mountain goats. Munnar's hillsides are covered in Tea plants, those are the bushes you see that mosaic the mountains. It is a pretty stunning place, and we got there just in time to stop off at a roadside tea shack to watch the sun set. Anish told me the tea was something else ("like crack"), and it was. That is, it was so good that it was heavily addicting , I could probably drink it by the gallon, but was limited to a little dixie cup that looked like it had been used already.

The hotel was a very nice government lodge, and I noticed that there was a fire moving down one hillside towards the town, the power was also flickering on and off (a daily occurrence I got used to). I pointed at it and asked the bell boy if someone was going to do something before their town burned down, he smiled at me nodding his head and repeating "yes...fire. yes...fire", in perfect English. It was kind of of strange, but a lot of the people in the South can speak English really well but don't understand (or pretend not to) really simple sentences. By the time I got out of the shower, the fire was gone and in the morning the whole hill was black (I asked again what happened and all I got was "yes...fire").

In the morning we went on a thirty minute "speed boat" ride on the dam-made lake. It was a clear day so the hills were especially bright green from the tea farms. We grabbed some roasted corn and some fresh carrots and then headed back to town. In the afternoon we went to the national park that had panoramic views of the mountains and tea plantations. It was also a protected area for Shail's cousin, the endangered Nilgiri Tahr, or mountain goat (lowe u shail). The bus ride up the mountain to the park was pretty intense. There was barely enough room for one bus, yet they some how thought it was a good idea to go barreling up the mountain and around180 degree turns without slowing down. About three or four times the breaks were slammed, because another bus was coming down the mountain, and then, terrifyingly, the driver would just start backing up (I don't know how much he could see) and pulling to the side which was the cliff with no rail, to let the other bus by. Mom and some other aunties at one point yelped a little "Ahhhh!" and "Oh mai gohhd!!" So I got a little laugh in while my life flashed before my eyes.

We ended the day with some fresh ghee roast Dosa and chai and went to a small local Katha Kali performance in town. Katha Kali is the traditional theatre of Kerala ("story play"). So we sat down in the plastic lawn furniture in what looked like a vinyl Lowe's garage, but it was the real deal, nothing commercial about it. It was also really funny, but again sadly, my video is gone. But at the beginning, the woman character (played by a dressed up, "healthy" sized man, a picture is below) was showing the different emotions, so there would be a thud of the drum and twang of some instrument and her/his face would change from Sonesh's Bill Cosby face, to straight rakshas, to sorrow, to fear and so on ( I could not hold it in any longer and had to put my face down to chuckle). The show was good though, and I put some pictures up from the Internet so you could see what they looked like. We saw a short skit that was kind of a battle of the genders, which ended in the woman turning into a crazy rakshas and the King (the one with the really thick white make up) killing her (I don't know exactly what it was implying).

Munnar was such an amazing place to start the trip. The quiet hills were misty in the morning, bright green during the day, and a hazy orange at sunset. Houses, temples, churches, and Mosques hung off the side of cliffs with panoramic backdrops, and tea and spice gardens covered the hills. I got my first introduction to the South, which is like a different country- different cultures, languages, and people. Enlarge the one picture I have left of Munnar and you can see the tea fields a little better. Below is a picture from the plane and a quick stop we made at the birth place of Shankracharya. Here is a decent link to pictures of Munnar.