Drie

Yesterday was a very eventful, mostly trying day. We left late in the morning from our very expensive Ginger hotel, moved to our much cheaper-but as it turns out, much poorer- hotel Darsham Palace. Afterward we walked on (constantly berated by rickshaw drivers)) to the marajaha's palace. Rebuilt after a fire by an English architect in 1912, the palace a giant and beautiful example of what we think of as Indian architecture. It was extremely cosmopolitan; our hired guide told about the metal poles from Scotland, the tile floors from England, the marble floor from Italy, and carved wood doors from local sandalwood and constructed by local artists. The whole experience would have been far more pleasant if they had allowed us to keep our shoes, but alas we were required to check them in before entering the building, and believe me it was not daily mopped.
On the way out we had a near disaster as Dad returned from retrieving our cameras and discovered his wallet missing from his back pocket! Assuming the worst, that he had been pickpocketed in the jostling line (I'll talk more about Indian ques in a bit) and had left ALL his credit cards in there. We were all kicking ourselves and standing around hoping to spot the culprit when we spotted a family of upper caste Indians opening the wallet. Dad grabbed the thing and the mother told us her young girl beside her had picked it up off the ground. Nothing was missing! It seems he had dropped it, and instead of being disgusted with Indian pickpockets we were delighted by their generosity. The family refused any money reward.
That afternoon we took a local bus up Chaumundi hill at the top of which lay an ancient Hindu temple to Parvati. As we walked in we were befriended by an elderly man who without introduction handed us red and yellow powders to pour in respect over the golden feet at the temple center. He cut through the vast lines of people waiting from section to another, explaining what it all meant. Most visitors had a little offering 'package': a coconut for cracking in offering, a banana for the monkeys, and flowers. We were taught the three most important gods: Brahma the creator, Vishnu the protector, and Shiva the destroyer. It seems that all other gods are either incarnations or offspring of these gods (excluding the female goddesses which as far as we understand are all incarnations of just one goddess either Durga or Parvati).
The man then took us a to a much less crowded , and older, temple to Shiva where he told us the story of Shiva and Parvati's intelligent son Ganesha and how that son got his elephant head. There is another story of how Ganesha proved himself smarter than his brother. The parents asked the two brothers to race around the world and whoever returned first would be pronounced wisest. Gourimesh the youngest took off. Ganesh however, bowed to his parents walked around them in the a circle. Then he declared, "the world is here." We were quite enjoying the tour and the very sweet (if touchy) guide when as the tour ended. He had given no clue of the cost and now, in addition to all the many offerings we had been 'requested' to give in offering, were asked to give öur choice" of money to him. We had no idea and gave 500 rupie, which he was not happy with and continued to ask for more including claiming we had to pay more than a hundren rupies each for the red and yellow powder. We refused more than 100 on this last and finally walked away.
At last as evening came we returned to where the bus was coming. It did not return for a long time as more and more of the people showed up to wait. When the bus finally came chaos broke loose as people ran at the doors. We followed suite. The bus doors did not open and however and we realized too late there was in fact an established line with bars and everything. We went back to the end, knowing we would not fit on to the bus.
Then a a whole group of people, instead of coming to end with us, crowded in front of the line. The bus tried to swing past them, but failed. Suddenly, people began breaking the line and running at the door again. People who had stood dutifully at the front of the line were now blocked behind the bars and rushing people from the back. Desperate and confused we joined the mob and managed to force our way, holding onto each others arms. I, the last one, was nearly pushed back off by angry hands, but man-handled my way in.
As the doors closed behind the squeezed in bodies, we looked out to the teenage girls who had helped us earlier on. One girl saw me and waved rather forlornly.
The whole affair made me feel absolutely horrible. It's this same kind of mob fear behavior that have caused a man to drown another in his attempt to stay of the surface, to riots, and even to mob linchings. Even worse, such behavior cannot even be stopped except by individuals choosing to do the right thing. The government had even built metal bars for a line and it failed in the face of anarchic group think.
When we finally got back to the city, thoroughly crowded out we stopped the completely lit palace and headed back to Parklane restaurant. Here, though rather westernized, you can get a fantabulous meal for around $20 for 4 people. We returned to the hotel, showered, and settled in. Alas, this was not the end of the day for me. I realized as I settled in that I was getting a cold! Arrggg. After fitful half-waking dreams of crowds walking in and honking in our room I got up to find barrettes to get my hair out of my face. In frustration, I pulled out two barrettes stuck together and gripped one in my teeth. A chip of my tooth crumbled off!
I now have a very throat cold, a chipped tooth and a family that it endlessly planning the next leg of the journey.

Trips:

Shorthand link:

Buddy List

a very trying day

Mysore, India

many MANY travels

Delhi, India

rubbish, and wine and mince meat pie, oh my

London, United Kingdom

ohhh traveling

Denver, United States

Heading South?