The Middle Land

The final significant stop was near Jabalpur in the state of Madhya Pradesh (literally Middle Land) which sits as one would expect in the middle of India.

The location I was headed, near Umaria, sits at the exact geographical center of the nation. At this location, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi has constructed a number of campuses. Most are still in various stages of construction so only about 2,000 students were currently there, but construction was moving along and they are expecting around 3,000 by next year.

The road from Jabalpur to the campuses was only 48 miles, but took nearly 3 hours. Most of the trip was via National Highway (NH) 7 which was one and a half lanes of continuous potholes, generally in the 6 to 10" deep range. The shoulders on either side (often much smoother than the road itself) were generally 6 to 10" below the road surface so with each passing vehicle one of the vehicles had to move over onto the shoulder. This being a National Highway it was choked with large trucks carrying everything from railroad cars to straw. Much of the way we were traveling at speeds one could attain at a moderate jog.

After about 2 hours of this, we finally turned off the NH onto a local road that was far better. Shortly after the town of Pan Umaria (not to be confused with Umaria as mentioned above, as there happens to be dozens of towns in this area ending in Umaria) the road was blocked by a dozen or so teenaged boys with lathis (something between a stick and a club made from bamboo, often with sharpened ends) demanding money. The driver handed over some bills and the lead dacoit (thug) waved us on.

Despite the the very rural nature of the area, here and throughout India, land prices are stunningly high and purchasing land is very difficult. As a result not enough land could be purchased to house the whole thing so there are 4 campuses within about 2-3 miles of each other.

The area is quite rural and there is no electricity so the campuses are all run off of large diesel generators. The result is that at night the campuses stick out as the only significant light to be seen. Elsewhere it is mostly kerosene lamps or the occasional small generator.

On the way in I saw many men digging a trench along the side of the road and laying a bright blue cable. I later learned that this was an internet cable running from the main campus to the campus I was staying at.

When I got to my room and plugged in and ran a speed test, it came back at 10 megabit/second. So here I am out where there is no electricity, where fields are still plowed by oxen and browsing the web at speeds rarely achieved in the US.

The campus I stayed at was about midway through construction. We were in the one completed building, with 2 others nearing completion and around 25 more in earlier stages.

Rice fields surrounding the campus

Looking out from the roof of one of the finished buildings to about 6 of the 25 unfinished buildings

Throughout India, it is women who generally do the hard work and heavy lifting. Most construction is done by women, usually while men sit around watching.

These ladies are mortaring the bricks by hand (no gloves)

Looking east at sunset

 

 

Count Blucher and his wife (yes, there still are royalty in Germany) was attending the course too. I had not seen them since the late 1990's when I was living in the Netherlands on and off each year. I had not realized he had a strong interest in photography. He copied a bunch of his photos on a flash drive for me. He does quite beautiful trees.

Here they are sitting at the monument at the very center of India.

The rest of these photos are his.

These are from the most finished campus.

This was the finished building we stayed at on the new campus.

Some photos of the surrounding area.

Thats it for this trip.

Philosophy and Politics

While at the International Film Festival I needed to exchange some US dollars for Rupees. I checked a few FOREX shops and their rates were quite poor, so I stopped in a regular bank (which usually do not do FOREX) but this one did.

So I step in around 2:15 and it took 10 minutes or so for them to admit they did FOREX (or find someone who knew the correct answer). So finally a lady who knew they could do FOREX was found and she checked the day's rates sheets and it was an excellent exchange rate.

Next is the usual passport numbers etc written down in the nearly universal book that looks like it was bound in the 1890's. When she saw my particulars we began a conversation on various interesting topics. After about 20 minutes, she mentioned that she was waiting for the manager as he was the only person at the bank with access to money.

See in Indian banks, the tellers just sit behind desks and no money is kept outside the safe. The manager was out for lunch during his usual lunch hour of 2:00 to 3:00.

So we continued to discuss societal cycles of revolution, re-establishment of a power/money class, then concentration of wealth and power leading to degeneration of society and generally eventually the cycle begins again.

We also discussed similarities in the current situation in the US and the British empire in the late 19th century (and other empires heading into terminal spirals)

As we were discussing how the power/money class creates an environment of self-benefit and how difficult it is for the lower 50% to make any real progress, the guard came over to listen in. Guards in India tend to be quite different than guards in the US. They nearly always carry a large and very old (if not antique) riffle slung over their shoulder. These date generally after the East India Company era  but well before Indian independence from the British Raj. He was obviously enjoying and agreeing with the analyses.

We also discussed the promises and failure of communism. Aside-  Interestingly, the state of Kerala in the far south, is the only freely elected communist government on the planet and actually has worked fairly well. Its has been mostly in power in this state since 1957 and has by far the highest literacy rates in India. It also is inn the upper third of income and is at the top in income equality.

After another half hour or so the manager arrived back from lunch, the 5,200 Rupees were handed over goodbyes all around were exchanged and I left. Definitely not what you would get in the US.

Incidentally, the lady, despite her rather impressive knowledge of international monetary policy, politics etc, mentioned when we were discussing where I had been in India, that she had never been much outside the tiny state of Goa.

Two days later I had to 'recharge' my wireless internet account. This is done by stopping into one of hundreds of little stalls along most any commercial street, giving them some money and then they make a call to the particular company and instantly you now have that money posted to your account.

The stall Ii headed into did not regularly recharge my brand of modem so one of the fellows had to call for assistance. While he was on hold a conversation started up when they asked what country I was from. at which they smiled and said "Obama" enthusiastically. This was a common event actually throughout India as they are still under the mistaken belief that Obama is a progressive. I had to explain to them that while he may personally be a good person I had found little to no improvement from the bush era. With the mere mention of the name 'bush' they became agitated with disgust and went on a tirade of how horrid bush was and how much damage globally he had done.

The conversation moved on to a comparison of corruption as it manifests itself in India and the US.

Corruption in India is a massive issue. Corruption is universal and at every level from the lowest to the highest. It saps most of the vitality out of the economy and makes innovation and progress very difficult.

I explained to them that while there is little to no corruption in the lower levels of American society, the upper levels are just as corrupt as India. That here in the US all you need is money to buy laws and regulations. That here (like there) money allows you to violate most any law (the ones you couldn't buy to change in your favor). They were sad to hear this as most Indians think the US is the shining city on the hill, the form of perfection.

After getting everything taken care of with Tata Indicom we continued for another 15 minutes when we wrapped up and I said goodbye with hugs all around as if we had known each other for years. 20 feet outside the shop I heard them calling me. In the absorption of the conversation I had forgotten to pay for the recharge.

From Feast to Feast

So I have come to Goa, which is definitely not on my locations of interest due to the tourist/resort nature of the place, to attend the 42nd annual International Film Festival of India (IFFI).

Getting in requires an application, letters of recommendation and approval by the Ministry of Such and Such. I met the hurdles and was accepted as a delegate few months before flying over. I had wanted to attend this Festival for a year or so but never made it.

The 10 days of unlimited films in nearly a dozen state of the art theaters cost Rs 300 (~$6.25)

While about half of the feature and non-feature films are from India, and nearly all the short films and documentaries are also produced in India, the other half are from all over.

This Festival is not for Bollywood song and dance trash, but for real Indian cinema. And while about half the delegates directors, producers and actors (and many of their films I have seen via Netflix) I have not been able to recognize any of them.

In addition to the Indian films I have focused on films from countries which we will probably never see in the US. For instance, India has very different relations with counties on the US hate list, like Burma and Iran, so I have tried to make it for those. The Iranian film makers do not talk in public though for fear that they will be exiled and not allowed to return to Iran.

Eastern Europe, former Soviet states and Russian films are well represented. In fact films of Poland was the international spotlight.

I have seen a few from Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan.

All of the films have been a feast for the eyes and ears. The low budget and short films and docs have been the best as the soul of the story has not been diluted in the quest to 'make it big'.

The documentaries have been stunning in their impact.

In between the feast for the eyes come other feasts. While there is a heavy animal influence here in Goa, I have been able to find a number of excellent places. The finest is a traditional thali restaurant where there is no menu. You sit down in front of an empty thali (20" round tray with a dozen small bowls arranged around the edge) and a dozen servers come around in turn with all kind of dishes and fills up the thali.

Then they come around repeatedly plying you with more and more helpings. This place has been excellent, with wonderfully prepared dishes. On the first try of this restaurant the best was a dish of stewed cucumber (a close relative) and tomato that was incredible. The bindi masala (okra, tomatoes and peppers) was also incredible. Other days had other highlights such as a green pepper saute and a huge bean dish (sort of like fava beans but larger and flatter) that melted in your mouth. Rotis and puris are served for breads.

Deserts have been incredible too. India sweets are generally very subtle but very powerful. Kheer, which is rice boiled in milk until it starts to thicken, with saffron and cardamom is nothing short of celestial.

Srikhand is another classic and incredible dessert. Yogurt is hung in a cloth sack over night so all the whey drains out. the yogurt, now halfway between sour cream and cream cheese in consistency is mixed with sugar, saffron and cardamom. The result is divine.

One more day of this moving from feast to feast before its off to Umaria in Madhya Pradesh.

On To Goa

From the Nilgiri mountains it was off to the where the river Mandovi flows into the Arabian Sea. The tiny state of Goa (at 914,000 acres or twice the size of the Green Mountain Common allotment) was a Portuguese colony within India for 450 years until India finally got rid of the Portuguese in 1961.

The earliest records put the first recorded events in Goa to around 12,500 BC, but most of Goa that we see now has been built over the last 450 years.The Portuguese influence is quite strong and many buildings look straight out of Portugal, Spain or Italy. While Portuguese is no longer the official language, it still permeates the culture.

Unlike the rest of India, the diet has been strongly influences by the former Portuguese masters, so there are relatively few vegetarians and a wide array of animals are eaten regularly especially those from the ocean. So while in the rest of the nation "pure veg" restaurants as they are called ('non veg' being the term on the sign for those that cook animals) are the rule, here in Goa it is not as easy to find "pure veg" restaurants.

While temperatures are similar to the Thar Desert (mid 90's), the difference between 15% humidity and 95%  humidity is very noticeable. I definitely would not want to try to summer in India (outside a few hill stations or the Himalayas) 

While the world knows Goa for its beaches I may not even make it to the beaches, my purpose here is different.

Going to Visit Murugan

I thought since I had the cycle for 2 days to go and visit Murugan who has one of his residences not far off, some 25 km to the south west of Ooty. I left right after lunch but made a few wrong turns which took some time. The road was not terrible great.

But interesting views of the tea terraces.

As you can see, this road does not have a lot of room to move about on

Some of the delightful flowers while finding the right road.

By 4pm I had made it to within about 4-5 km of Murugan's house, but sunset is around 5:30 and it was starting to get rather cold, so I decided I would have to visit Murugan another time and headed back to Ooty. Now knowing the road I made better time on the way back and made the 25km in 1.5 hours, making it back to Ooty just at sun set.

The road road would be a delight for mountain Italians, nothing but banked turns and hairpin turns. They actually number the hairpin turns so by the time I turned around I was on turn 39 of 48.

On the way there I did stop fairly frequently as the plants, flowers and views were quite delightful.

The Automobile

Throughout India I have been seeing billboards for new cars. Stunningly most of these vehicles (4 door sedans) are rated at 20-25 km/liter or up to 60 miles per gallon. For perspective, a US Prius gets a pathetic 42 MPG.

While there are not big cars by US standards they are about European compact size.

What are we doing wrong?

By the way gas (petrol) here is about Rs 75 per liter or $6.00 per gallon

Doddabetta Peak

Again, I found a small motorcycle to rent ($6/day) and took it up to the top of Doddabetta, the highest point in the country south of the Himalayas at around 8,605'.

While it appears the mountain has been logged as there were few trees over about 100 years old, there were lots of interesting plants, shrubs and trees along with some views.

Again, I made it through town, up the hairpin turns and back with no incident. I am clearly not a skilled motorcycle driver yet, but so far so good. Out in the desert everything was fairly flat but here nothing is flat so there is the added issues which come from negotiating very steep, partially paved, partially gullied roads. But it beats a rickshaw.

The Ooty Botanical Garden

Yesterday I walked into town and then to the other side to see the Botanical Garden, started by the British back in the mid 1800's its had a stunning array of trees and smaller plants from the area, the Himalayas and from similar climates around the world.

Because of the unique and very stable climate of the Nilgiri mountains about 70% of the medicinal herbs are grown and processed here and surrounding towns. Ooty has a very big pharmacology university (which I strayed into looking for the right path and was, after wandering around a bit looking for the way out, escorted back out. I had missed the right path by a few feet) and there are dozens of stands and shops selling local essential oils and herbal preparations of all sorts along with honey as it seems that bees can survive fairly well here compared to the rest of the subcontinent.

It was bustling as it was a Sunday so not many pics.

For scale the above tree is about 6' in diameter at about mid way up the photo.

The Road To Ooty (Udagamandalam)

I scheduled an excellent state government bus from Bangalore to Ooty (English bastardization of the Tamil name Udagamandalam) which is a former British Raj hillstation. Elevation of Ooty is 7,300' and is just below the highest peak south of the Himalayas, Doddabetta, which tops at 8,605'.

The state government of each state runs a wide array of operations such as bus transport in various categories, hotels and the like. While the hotels tend to be somewhat run down (generally most were built in the late 60's early 70's) the bus system is very well run with web based ticketing, etc. I took one of the Airavat (Volvo) buses. As the crow flies it is 122 miles between Bangalore and Ooty. Bus trip took 10 hours with two 20 minute stops. Its not hard to calculate average speed but its around 12 miles an hour.

It was actually better than that because the road once you hit the mountains is very far from a straight line. Also making matter worse is the fact that there are two roads from Mysore (the nearest big city and one of the stops) to Ooty. The more direct way and the other which doubles the distance. The short, direct road has hair pin turns that cannot accommodate buses and large trucks. Even the long route just barely does so. Stopping for whoever is biggest  and farther into the curve is standard practice as the road is only about one and half lanes wide in most places. Its often narrower where erosion for the 40+ inches of rain per year washes large chunks of pavement over the edge. Fortunately, we only fell into one of these gullies on one occasion.

After much spinning and burning of rubber, all were requested to exit the bus in order to reduce weight and with much rocking back and forth the driver extricated the vehicle and we got back on and continued.

Despite the very smooth ride of the very fancy bus, there was much upper digestive tract distress from the rear half of the bus. Fortunately I, through the excellent website had reserved the front seat with an excellent view out the front so no issues here.

I did no poll of the individuals who experienced distress but it appears many had taken part of the apparently delightful fried goodies at the two stops we made. I stuck with a few kela (incredibly delicious (far more than those available here) ) small bananas and some mango juice. But by the time we pulled into Ooty at 7pm I was ready for dinner. Unfortunately, because of the altitude (and thus temperatures) the incredibly delicious dosas, idlis and uthapam (which require grinding soaked rice and urad dalh (a tiny yellow split pea) and then letting them sit overnight like sourdough) are harder to come by here despite that they are staples of all south Indian food.

I did get one uthapam for lunch yesterday which was excellent. It was a tomato uthapam where they thinly slice the tomatoes and put them on top of the uthapam in a sort of pizza like fashion.

I should have scheduled more time in Ooty as its very delightful. Nights are cold, the elevation gets you above about 1/2 (the densest) of the continent wide smog, and its quiet at night.

Due to the high elevation tea is cultivated here (in addition to the Himalayas). The Nilgiri's (the Blue Hills) main export is tea cultivated on terraces on the hillsides.

Here are some of the tea plantations next to where I am staying.

I went to the main market yesterday which was the traditional type of stalls in tight formation with shredded traps overhead for shade (overhead for the average Indian but closer to eye height for someone at 6' tall.

With the exception of the Muslim section with its dead and alive animals of all sorts (and the ensuing intensely odoriferous atmosphere all those unrefrigerated animals create) the market, like the one in the little town I worked in in Madhya Pradesh is pure sensory overload with stalls of everything you can imagine from fruits and vegetables of varied and interesting forms all painstakingly stacked in geometric arrangements that are simply gorgeous, to candies and sweets, to rope and buckets, coconuts, spices, flowers, etc. Most stalls are segregated so most of the spice stalls are in one area, flower stalls in another, some stalls with just bananas of various varieties, so when you pass by the flower area you get the INTENSE aroma of jasmine, by the ginger stalls, intense ginger or cardamom.

It is overwhelming. This is not the sanitized, sealed and wrapped world we live in.

Here is a view of some of the hillside houses of Ooty.

 

Bangalore

Arrived at Bangalore last night. It is huge. And much cooler than the north.

Around lunch time I attempted to find the restaurant I was looking for. This entails getting to within 1 to 200 yards and asking repeatedly and applying the 1/2 second test to weed out utter rubbish, so after asking and walking around for 45 minutes I finally get decent directions and find the location (about 100 yards from where Google Maps has it.

I walk it and its fancier than the usual place I would have lunch at but hope its not too expensive as the guidebook says this is very cheap but it does not look cheap.

I order a thali (big tray with a dozen dishes laid out in a circle. Each one is excellent. Some of the best restaurant Indian I have had yet. Restaurant food tends not to be nearly as good as home food but....

Eggplant like a cloud, little veggies like tiny cucumbers sauteed with channa dahl. Sambar, Rasam, coconut chutney, mango pickle, fresh yogurt, fluffy rice, etc etc.

All quite delightful, but I finish all these and turn to the little sweet. It is one of the usual milk sweets where they slowly boil milk for hours until it thickens, but this one has sugar crystals in a parallel formation and is overwhelmingly delicious. So overwhelming all the other senses shut down in order to just focus on the intense deliciousness.

Now that is food!!  And total bill was under $3

I go back for a simple dinner of uttapam (thick pancake of fermented rice and urad dahl)  with some rasam and veggies and for desert a gulab jamun (a little cloud in hot sugar, cardamon, rose water syrup) also stunningly delicious. and all this for under $2

Jodhpur - At the southern end of the Thar Desert

Now in Jodhpur and staying at an old, small, tall place next to Gulab Sagar "Rose Ocean" or Lake but is actually a 6 or so acre stone water tank.

The city is filled with massive forts on all the hills, such as this one just north west of the tank.

The Imams seem not to coordinate their Adhan (call to prayer) as the loudspeakers will blare out the call from one mosque and then 5 minutes later from another and 5 minutes late another, etc. But despite the generally low fidelity sound system the sound coursing over the city sets off an almost trace-like stillness.

And a few stealth photos of people:

Now, I do the luxury of air travel (quite cheap here by US standards) to hop 2000 miles south, from Mughal cuisine with its strong middle eastern influence with naan and thick gravies to the south with its massive, paper thin dosa (rice and dahl crepe) and uttapam (same batter as dosa but in the evening so it is thicker, which is spread out like pizza crust and topped with veggies)