After several days in Goa we had three flights to get to Amritsar. Here are some pix of our last days (cows at the beach, cool German guy Alex, watermelon juice, fish feast, Vasco da Gama, Delhi airport, etc.)…

 

In Amritsar, we first went to Jallianwala Bagh, site of the 1919 massacre that contributed to the Indian Nationalist movement, anti-British sentiment, and the rise of Mahatma Gandhi. Met some nice Sikh men and took each others pix, etc…

 

Later that day we went to the Golden Temple (which makes Amritsar rather like Mecca for Sikhs.) We took off shoes, put on head scarves, and joined the faithful, first in walking around the inner perimeter, then in walking through the temple itself. Some pix…

 

Study Questions:

1. Research the Jallianwala Bagh, British Raj, and the Indian Nationalist movement. How did violence beget non-violence?
2. Research Sikhism, discuss your findings. Sikhs of the Punjab are between Muslim Pakistan and Hindu India, how do the religions/cultures relate? Is there overlap of beliefs or practices?

Have you ever gone for a walk, in a forest or a city, and when coming back (perhaps a bit lost) you notice some little thing that you’d observed before and realize where you are? Not a landmark, not something you regarded with intent, just a random image. It could be the swirl of bark on a tree or a mark on a wall or some incidental thing you saw that then you remember seeing, albeit small or obscure? Have you noticed such noticing?

When I talk to students about the Agricultural Revolution I often give credit to women for their perspicacity (albeit “hunter/gatherer” as male/female designations is likely sexist). But it could be that some gatherer (woman?), having spilt some gatherings/seeds on the way back to the cave, noticed that they had sprouted, thus farming began? (Such chances favour the prepared mind!)

Then there’s all that stuff about what crime witnesses see or think they see, about what trained agents of espionage perceive, about football quarterbacks, hunters, naturalists, painters, and children. Noticing is an art and a science. And it’s something that photographers or smart phone-packing vagabonds do from time to time, pausing to document the noticed. Children are experts (notice the novice!).

Meditate on meditation. Strike a pose, close your eyes, breathe deep the gathering non-awareness, but then you notice that lil’ itch, or a sound, tight underwear, a bug, or a thought like worm boring through your aspirations of nirvana. Focus your inattention. Just breathe, just concentrate on the breathing… Or, concentrate on the itch, the sound, the distraction. Maybe that is what the universe wants you to notice?

When traveling, should we just concentrate on the beauty, the culture, taste the food, hear the music, and not notice the trash, the filth, and the poverty? Maybe we notice what we should, even though we wonder about those who seem not to? What you notice is your truth, signs on your road of life. Heed them, and perhaps they will guide you to where you should be going?

Study Questions:

1. Did you relate to that at all? If so, how?
2. What did you notice today? What might you not have noticed?
3. What should people notice? Why?

After seven nights at Linda’s Home Stay in Kochi, we took another night train to Goa, where we’re staying at the Agonda Beach Resort (right on Agonda Beach!). The train ride was nice (I gotta lotta sleep), and this place is even nicer. Some pix from the train and at our place in Agonda…

 

More pix around Agonda. Charlie & I had an exciting morning rock climb, various cows, a family of pigs, lazy goalie, lazier bike, panos, etc…

Study Questions:

1. Research Goa. Who colonized it, for how long, and what happened in 1961?
2. Research beaches. The best?

During our visit in Mattancherry, we went for lunch at the Ginger House restaurant. Adjacent and owned by the same person was a virtual warehouse of Indian antiques. We were given a private tour walking through room after room of various sorts of Indian sculpture, as well as some paintings and furnishings. Most depict various Hindu deities, but there are some old maps, doors, portraits of rulers, and of course lunch. Media include stone, plaster, metal, wood, fabric, etc. Here are some pix…

 

You may have seen how I’m often drawn to art & age. Here’s a combination: old moldy murals on a wall in Kochi…

Here are a few more pix of our various visits hereabouts. Another great meal on a banana leaf, a couple getting wedding photos at M.G. beach, sculptures, structures, and kids at a nice park/playground in Ernakulum, the Shiva Temple near there, inside the ferry going to/from, the crew in a tuktuk, a colonial church, groovy watering hole, and selfie with artist. Enjoy…

 

Study Questions:

1. Research Indian religions, Indian mythology, Hindu symbolism, etc. Find one deity, symbol, or image similar to those above and write about it.
2. Research Indian artists and artisans, their media and methods, and write about them.

Of course beach experiences are plentiful in Kerala. More than one evening, I/we strolled along the walkway from the Chinese Nets to Fort Kochi Beach and next to Mahatma Gandhi beach – and many others seemed to have had the same idea. One day we took the ferry and a longish rickshaw ride up to Cherai Beach and went swimming (not advised off Fort Kochi beaches). Here are some pix here, there, and along the way (beware of sharks)…

 

Some panos at the beach and at the Chinese Nets…

 

Here’s another set of random pix from around Fort Kochi. The view from the roof of Le Linda’s Homestay, Linda in a neighbor’s kitchen, a classic Ambassador belonging to the Old Harbor Hotel, our yoga instructor in the old Cochin Club (built by the British over a hundred years ago, various shop displays, etc…

 

Finally (for now), here are some pix of a visit to historical sites in Mattancherry, just next to Fort Kochi. We visited the Jain Temple, Mattancherry Palace, and the Jewish Synagogue. None of them allowed photography inside, but these are from the outside (or I was being sneaky). Strange juxtaposition of swastikas and the Star of David, but Jainism was using that symbol for hundreds of years before it was turned around and corrupted by the Nazis.

 

Study Questions:

1. Research the Jewish diaspora and Jewish enclaves throughout the world. Write about small Jewish communities in India or places other than Israel and the West.
2. Research Jainism and its relation to other religions in India. Describe its founding, scriptures, fundamental tenets, comparison to other India religions, etc.
3. Research the beaches along the Arabian Sea. What’s interesting? Write about it!

The Kerala Backwaters are a vast labyrinth of lakes, lagoons, rivers, and canals next to the Arabian Sea. Beautiful, tranquil, a study in green, they have become a popular tourist destination in a variety of ways. We were with a group of Dutch, Italian, Polish, English, and Danish folks and took two kinds of boats, both with no motors but pushed (punted) along with long bamboo poles. The first was large and covered with a thatched roof. Enjoy a slow float…

 

During the tour we made several stops. The first was at a lime kiln that makes lime from clam shells by burning them with coconut husks and charcoal. The second seemed like a backyard with a set up for making rope from coconut fibers. The third was for lunch on banana leaves. And the fourth was another backyard that had many culinary and medicinal plants during which we sniffed and tasted many leaves. Please note too, the boat’s interesting bathroom door…

 

After lunch there was a second, smaller boat experience up some narrower sections of the back waters (Charlie & Veronica were in front, some Brits behind)…

 

Study Questions:

1. Research the Kerala Backwaters. Describe the ecology, flora and fauna.
2. Research Kerala Backwater tourism. How many people have visited, how, why, etc.?

Linda is a charming hostess and wonderful cook. She also has arranged some great tourist activities for us. The first was an Indian Dance event which includes viewing the ritual make-up being applied and a small museum about Indian Dance…

 

Some videos of the dance show…

 

Study Questions:

1. Research Indian dance. How does it differ from region to region? What is the music that goes with it?
2. Research “mudras.” What are they and what do they mean?

After three nights at Murali & Indu’s house, we took an overnight train to Kochi, Kerala and the Le Linda Home Stay. Here are some pix on the train, sunrise from the train, and around Fort Kochi (the old town at the end of the peninsula). There are some colonial churches, the Dutch Cemetery, the “Chinese Nets,” and a few big trees. Our rickshaw/tuktuk driver, Jamal, was having his birthday that day (Charlie usually sat in the front, but there’s one pic with he & V in the back)…

 

On our little tour we went to an old fashion laundry where they wash the clothes by hand, dry on coconut ropes with no clothespins, and iron with a heavy old-fashioned iron heated with burning embers…

 

Jamal also took us to a spice wholesaler…

 

A few more random pix around town. Window displays, bicycles, temples, an oil shrine, plaster worker, etc. (The spectacled young man is Jude Jithin, Linda’s eldest son who was tragically killed on his motorbike only nine months ago)…

 

Study Questions:

1. Research the Indian state of Kerala. Describe it, including capital, population, industries, geography, etc.
2. Research Indian colonialism, specifically the influence of the Portuguese, the Dutch, and the British. How have these countries effected India’s culture and history?
3. Research Indian cuisine and/or Ayurvedic medicine. What spices are used in Indian cooking, how? What spices, herbs, or plants are used in Ayurvedic medicine, how?

Murali arranged a couple taxi tours around Bengaluru. First, here are some pix around town, including government buildings, high rises, M.G. (Mahatma Gandhi) Road, and views from the taxis…

 

Iskcon Temple also known as Sri Radhna Krishna Temple is relatively new and the wish of Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada the founder of Hare Krishna movement around the world. We couldn’t take photos of the large, golden shrine inside, but like everyone, we were fed some tasty rice in a leaf bowl…

 

And the very large botanical garden, Lal Bagh Park…

 

 

Study Questions:

1. Research Hinduism and the different forms of it. Choose some aspect and write about it.
2. Research the Hare Krishna movement and its influence worldwide. Write about it.
3. Research Lal Bagh Park and botanical gardens in general.

Almost a week ago, we took an overnight flight from Rome to New Delhi. Unfortunately, we couldn’t land there because of fog (smog?), so after circling awhile we flew to Mumbai. In Mumbai they wouldn’t let us get off the plane. Rather, we sat there parked for two hours waiting for the weather in Delhi to clear up. Finally, it did and we flew back there, only to have to reschedule our tickets and run to catch another flight to Bengaluru (Bangalore). So instead of arriving for lunch, we made for a late dinner.

Our hosts, Murali and Indu, run what will go down in our history as one of the most wonderful AirBnbs we have had (worth waiting for). Not only do they have a nice home in the suburbs where we were welcomed as family, they fed us breakfast, lunch, and dinner everyday, and figured everything out for us (taxis, tickets, trains, etc.). In addition to Murali & Indu, their daughter Megna and granddaughter Nishna were there, the latter a huge hit with our kids. In fact, I think all three kids were very sad when we had to go.

So the first set of pix is of this wonderful family and their home…

 

Murali took us on a trip to the local grocery store. Quite modern, but different from the US in the vast assortment of fresh spices and many different varieties of rice, other grains, and fruits & veggies…

 

 

 

Study Questions:

1. Research Bengaluru. Describe its history, famous people/events, claims to fame, and current industries.
2. Research Indian food. How is it different in different regions? What spices are involved? What are the dishes?