India, Day 2

I'm writing after our second day in India. I was on a full-day tour of Kancheepuram and Mamallapuram cities. I'm going to be lazy and copy/paste the trip description, just for historical background:

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“Kancheepuram or “Golden City”is one of the seven most sacred places of pilgrimage for Hindus. Once known as
the "City of a Thousand Temples,"there are still over 100 shrines in the environs of Kancheepuram. The most
important are the "living"temples where the practice of worship continues today. See the 7th and 8th century
paintings on the walls of the 1200-year-old Kailasanatha Temple. View the ten-storied, intricately sculptured tower
of the 16th-century Ekambareswara Temple. Visit the Hall of 96 Pillars and see the handsome pavilions at
Vaikuntanatha Temple. Kancheepuram is also famous for its traditional art of silk weaving. 

Mamallapuram (Mahabalipuram) is an ancient port city of the Pallava kings. Apart from being a popular beach
resort, it is famous for three major sights of great architectural and artistic merit. See the 1200-year-old Shore
Temple standing in solitary splendor on the sand of the shoreline. Visit the Five Rathas, named after the Pandava
brothers, heroes of the Mahabharata. These large stone edifices are sculptured and shaped into temple prototypes. 
Then view the biggest bas-relief in the world, Arjuna's Penance, which portrays the descent of the Ganges from
Siva's locks and other fables from the Panchatantra. “
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It was fascinating. The temples themselves are exquisite...carved with a level of detail so deep that they've withstood centuries. We heard a lot of the religious histories of the different shrines. It impressed me that each holy place has such a complex story behind its creation. It makes you immediately treat a place with reverence when you know the intricate tradition behind it.

In one of the bas-relief edifices in Mamallapuram, we got swarmed with school kids who were there on a field trip. They rushed at everyone in our group, demanded to know our names, and posed for picture after picture. Each time we took a photo, they'd crowd around the camera's screen and erupt with laughter when the picture came up on display. These kids were enthusiastic and friendly to a degree that was almost frightening.

I got exposed to some of the darker stuff today. We saw some homeless folks that were in pretty bad shape. The beggars and merchants I saw today approached us with a kind of desperation that I haven't seen in any of the other countries so far. I think I understand the word “beggar”in a new context...as in begging and pleading. So right now I'm going through what every person feels the first time they visit India and get exposed to that. Just, trying to reconcile it is difficult. I think I'll be able to write more clearly about it when I've reflected a little more.

I still feel like I haven't been immersed fully yet. Tomorrow I'll be traveling independently of any organized trips, and I think that will be when I actually get connected to the country in an even deeper sense. The last two days have been baby steps.
Namaste.

India, Day 1

We just finished our first day in India. I'm going to try to write daily from now on to make sure everything is fresh in my memory, and to keep from getting backlogged like I did with the South Africa post (which is still underway, and will be posted eventually).
So, finally, India.
It hit me last night as I sat in the logistical pre-port presentation. I was actually going to be in India. The country and culture have been such a huge part of my whole life (because of my mom's connection through her studies of Indian music), and the excitement just built and built last night when I realized that I was going to finally experience it. It's funny...I know way more about India than I thought. During the presentation I kept making connections in my mind, little cultural things I knew I should do, bits of Hindi slang, memories of music and religion and interactions that are actually a part of me, but just beneath the surface, underused.
I can't explain this, but as the boat slowed down in our approach to Chennai, I felt like I was going home.
In the morning, I was just thrown right in to an organized trip to SRM University, which is an engineering school, to see a performance by MICE (Mobile Interactive Computer Ensemble). MICE is a class that is taught on the ship, that fuses computer and human interaction to create experimental music, which often incorporates environmental data and electronic instruments. The bus ride to the university lasted about an hour, and as we drove through Chennai, I got to see firsthand a lot of the things I've heard about for so long. Cows in the street, three-wheeled rickshaws, homeless children and beggars, goofy billboards, daring traffic...but all from a distance. The drive just whet my appetite to go and explore the city by foot, which I'll get the chance to do tomorrow.
The concert's music and accompanying lecture were very interesting (definitely check out www.burtner.net/MICE.html for info about the group), but the most valuable part of the trip was the chance to interact with the university students. There were at least a couple hundred students there for the performance, and afterwards I got the chance to talk to a few, and exchange info to keep in touch.
Indian people are cool. This probably isn't news to anyone reading this. But it still surprises me and inspires me just how laid back and friendly this culture is. I felt like I fit right in in that group (maybe because the crowd was mostly made up of computer geeks). It was a great first firsthand impression of India.
We returned to the ship for a quick dinner and then left again to attend a welcome reception in the city. It was basically a meet-and-greet with Indian university students, over Indian food, and with a Bharatanatyam dance performance. It was one of the most fun experiences of the trip so far. Along with a small group of Semester at Sea students, I sat down with three young Indian guys and we talked for a couple of hours about...a lot of things. We compared our respective culture's views on politics, relationships, art and anything else that came to mind. It was really valuable for me because I've always had the adult perspective on Indian culture, but I've never had the chance to talk to someone my age about it all. Some things make a lot more sense to me now. We had a long conversation about arranged marriages, and the guys brought up some points that made me think about it in a new way. First, they explained that the bride-and-groom-to-be do have a lot of choice in the matter. It's not just the parents to put people together, it's really a joint decision between the entire families of both parties. The students also tried to explain the reason why arranged marriages have such a high “success rate”when compared to the high divorce rate in the US. They explained that, in the US, the husband and wife often try to fix every issue on their own, and when they are unable to, they give up on the marriage. The guys told us that in India, the families of the husband and wife are very involved in the marriage, and the mother and father will step in and provide support. After that conversation, I have a deeper respect for that aspect of the culture.
       What else did we talk about...it's blurring together a little bit. Elections are about to happen in India, and we talked about the levels of excitement surrounding that. We recounted what it was like to follow the presidential election in the US. They suggested some Bollywood musicals that we'll hopefully get a chance to see before we leave. They dispelled some myths about Indian culture, and tried to explain the meaning of the head-bob (the subtle bobblehead movement that's somewhere between a nod and a shrug). I still don't quite understand it.
       So that was my first day in India. I'm looking forward to exploring more and taking the next step of immersion. So far, it's magical, intriguing, refreshing, and moving. I'm finally here.
       I'll post again soon. I know that I'm on the verge of a very special experience.

Working on it

Hi all
I'm still putting together my blog for South Africa (and now Mauritius too). Sit tight, it'll be done soon. Thank you very much for the emails and comments thus far!