Back from India

[UstadKhanAli]

Hello! I just returned from India!

 

While in India, I could not continue posting on SSS because after it moved to Harmony Central, I'd try and register, I kept getting a message saying that my email was banned from the site. After a while, I figured out that it didn't like "webmail".

 

Anyway, the rest of the trip was fantastic, and hanging out again with Fayaz and his lovely family in Kashmir was wonderful. Although his family is still having financial difficulties, it's gottan better because the relations between Pakistan and India are better, and there has been a large increase in tourists from last year.

 

I hope everyone's doing well!

[Tedster]

You must be UstadKhanAli-ven Shadows, right?

 

Welcome back!

[UstadKhanAli]

Oooops, I just realized....this is Ken/Eleven Shadows. I had to change my name because even though I was not allowed to register with my "webmail" address, it still keeps all the names, preventing you from registering under that name again if you are using a different email address.

[UstadKhanAli]

Originally posted by Tedster You must be UstadKhanAli-ven Shadows, right? Welcome back!

 

Thanks! Yes, that's me. Nice pun.

 

So I guess we've lost all our post counts? If I had somehow been able to keep my post count from AOL, Lynn Fuston's site, & Musicplayer, my post count would have been astronomical. Oh, well.

[Tedster]

It matters not, Khan Ali-ven Shadows...

 

I had a lot of posts on MP...but, there are people here with double what I had there.

 

Not the quantity, but the quality, y'know... (shrug)

[blue2blue]

Welcome back! (Or however that works in cybserspace.) It must have been an amazing trip. Travel -- especially to a place so culturally distant from home -- can really give one a new perspective.

[Anderton]

Welcome home, Ken! And welcome to the new SSS!!

 

If you want the Elevenshadows name back, I can probably pulll a few strings for ya...there are ways to override the system.

 

I might also add that this site will be going through some major changes in the months ahead, all of them for the good as far as I'm concerned. The Harmony Central people are really into this and really committed to making it happen. They're nice, too

 

And Ken -- please feel free to share as much as you'd like about what you've experienced. We all like to live our travel lives vicariously through your exploits

[Anderton]

Speaking of sharing, I've never tried attaching a file before, so this is a test...attached is a picture of Shanghai I took there last year while at the Music China fair.

[Anderton]

Hey, it worked! Ken, show us some pix!!

[Kendrix]

Yeah we want to hear about the vindaloo.

[Phil O'Keefe]

Welcome back Ken! I see our little plan to move while you were gone and "loose you" didn't work.

 

Seriously, it's good to have you back buddy! Please share some pics from the trip when you get a chance and tell us all about it!

[Geoff Grace]

Ken, it's great to see you here!

 

I'm glad your trip went well.

 

I look forward to seeing the pictures!

 

Best,

 

Geoff

[daklander]

Glad to see you made it back Ken. Now you dont have an excuse to miss Phil's soiree, if he decides to have one.

[kylen]

Greetings Ken - did ya find any good BBQ over there?

[deanmass]

PICS! STORYS!

 

SONGS OF THE FOREIGN LANDS!

 

Welcome back, man!

[UstadKhanAli]

* These are the emails that I sent while on vacation, reprinted here in chronological order (the earlier ones are over in the old SSS on Musicplayer).

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Greetings everyone!

 

We are in the hot, humid city of Madurai. Throughout most of the trip, we've been blessed with wonderful weather - cool, not too much rain. Well, it ain't cool anymore! It's hot and humid.

 

However, walking barefoot on the cool stone floors of one of the most impressive temples in the world certainly helps, and that's what we did earlier today. It's the giant Menakshi Temple, ubiquitous with images of South India, and it is an impressive array of sights and sounds and fragrances. More statues and reliefs than you can imagine, incense wafting in the air, music and chanting, people painting colorful frescoes on walls, devotional praying, passing around of food, being blessed by the temple elephant, it's all quite enchanting. And the temple complex is enormous, each turn of the corner revealing more pillars, people, statues, shrines, and colors.

 

Before reaching Madurai (where the Meenakshi Temple is), we were in the Hindu pilgrimmage site of Palani, also on the hot Indian plain. I absolutely love Panali. Although not much English is spoken in this city that doesn't receive too many foreign visitors, the people were extremely nice, and the food, although limited in choice (Panali is a small town), was fresh and delicious. But the real treat for a visitor to Palani is the utterly fantastic Mailokovil Temple. Perched up on a very large, perfectly dome-shaped outcrop of granite rising far above the green farmland and lake below, it's a spectacular site for the temple, which is, of course, situated at the top of the peak. To reach it, you climb 659 stone stairs, which is dotted along the way with beautiful shrines of every kind, vendors, and lots of very friendly people with sandalwood ash on their foreheads, climbing up the stairs, smiling, asking me to take photos of their children, giving offerings at shrines, and resting.

 

And for those who don't want to climb the stairs, there's always the winch car or the newly-installed Rope Car (tram - think Palm Springs).

 

Here, they also had a temple elephant. You give the temple elephant a rupee or two, which he takes from the palm of your hand with his trunk, and then you are blessed by the elephant, who raises his trunk and gently touches your head!! Cool!!

 

When you ascend to the top of the peak where the main temple is, you are rewarded with a wonderful cool breeze and stunning views of the lake, farmland, rivers, blue mountains in the distance, and another temple on a granite outcropping. Beautiful!!!

 

You may also circumambulate around the dome-shaped rock. This is only 2 km (1.2 miles), and of course, the entire path is filled with vendors selling everything from beautiful bronze statues to schlocky kitschy plastic toys. And shrines. And more shrines.

 

And a music school. We stopped in here for 15-20 minutes to watch students learning how to play a reed instrument that resembles a clarinet. They counted out a complex 16-cycle rhythmic accompaniment by clapping, playing to a Sruti Box, an electronic device that provides a drone, a sort of electronic tamboura.

 

We stay in Madurai for two more days, and then take a 5 1/2 hour train ride abord the Quinion Express to the "Tail of India" - the extreme southern tip of the sub-continent, where three seas come together, and the site of Vivekananda Rock and, of as well, of course, another Hindu pilgrimmage site.

 

I hope that everyone is doing well! We are having a great time, enjoying everything here (except the weather). The South is definitely more relaxed than the north part of the country, and the food is absolutely delicious!! Masala dosas, puris, utthapam, Spaghetti Bolognaise (not very Italian tasting, but really good), and more, often served on banana leaves!! And tons of great tasting freshly squeezed juice!!!

 

-Ken

[UstadKhanAli]

Hello everyone!!!!!!!

 

We visited the very southern tip of India, another Hindu pilgrimmage site.

It's particularly auspicious to bathe in the spot where the three seas

(Bay of Bengal, Arabian Sea, Indian Ocean) come together as the sun rises,

so I did just that. Splash!!!! And there is a rock where Swami

Vivekananda swam out to meditate for three days, so we went out there (but

by ferry, not by swimming, unfortunately!) and visited the very beautiful

temple.

 

And speaking of beautiful temples, the one just north of the tip of India

called the Suchindram Temple left me utterly slack-jawed. It barely

garners a mention in the guidebook, just a paragraph, but is it ever

gorgeous!! It has spectacular sculptures of deities on 1001 pillars

forming the central mandipam (central hall), with all of the pillars being

carved out of single blocks of granite, musical pillars (bang on 'em and

they produce beautiful musical tones - four pillars, each housing 12

smaller musical pillars producing a scale, each one again carved out of a

single block of granite). And if this weren't enough, there were

beautifully painted ceilings, bronze oil lamps illuminating the halls of

the temple with a buttery glow, a 16-foot high dark statue of the monkey

god Hanuman (looked like it was from a "Planet of the Apes" set, but

really cool looking nevertheless), reliefs, frescoes, carved designs in

the stone floor, 35-meter high carved entrances, and so much more. I

actually liked this more than the infinitely more famous Meenakshi Temple

in Madurai. But few tourists, especially foreign ones, seem to visit

here, which I suppose is good in a way since the tiny little town would be

completely overrun...

 

So we've visited oodles of temples and shrines, hiked, gone on boat rides,

seen magnificent Maharaja's palaces, eaten exotic cuisine...

 

...and now we're at a coconut palm-lined beach with black sand.

 

We're in Kovalam, still very close to the tip of India. And it's sort of

like a mini-Goa, but without the raves. It's obviously catering towards

Westerners. The shops here sell hippie-wear and trinkets, the restaurants

serve French Fries, burgers, fettucine, macaroni, and pizza, and upon

arriving here, I saw more Westerners in the first two minutes than the

rest of the trip put together, and it's not even tourist season here in

South India.

 

But Kovalam a great place to chill out and watch the sun set, watch the

surf pound agains the rocks, strolling along the promenade, sipping a

beer, walking on the beach. And the food's good, if a little overpriced

(unless you go to the local places). It's also extremely popular with

Indian tourists, who you can see laughing and splashing and throwing each

other into the ocean, videotaping their antics, and taking their wives

shopping for saris and tailor-made outfits.

 

Lisa flies back on Friday. After that, I head straight for Rajasthan,

starting with Udaipur. I know some of you have been following along on a

map, so that's much farther up north than I am right now, as Rajasthan is

more or less west of New Delhi. And yes, it's hotter than heck there, and

is not tourist season in Rajasthan, either. No, most tourists have enough

sense to either head to the hill stations or to the Himalayas, where it's

nice and cool and pleasant. And I'll do that soon enough, but I'll spend

about ten days in Rajasthan, visiting some of the old palaces and forts

that look like something out of Ali Baba and the 40 Thieves before heading

up to the cooler Himalayan air of Kashmir.

 

Rajasthan's got a lot of internet cafes. Kashmir, I'm not sure. ANd I'm

nto going to be doing a lot of wandering around in Kashmir, either, as it

will be far better to just chill out and read and swim on the houseboat

and visit my friend and his family.

[UstadKhanAli]

Hello everyone!

 

I got in to Jaipur (Rajasthan - I'm much farther up north now, since some of you are following along on a map) last night at 12:30. It was hot when I arrived, and oddly enough, it's even hotter now that the sun's out....why anybody would want to travel here at this time of year is just beyond me.

 

I was in Jaipur in 1988, and I revisited the City Palace again, just to see what it was like (they've cleaned it up a little, but really, all the walls surrounding the City Palace are in a state of rapid decay, and the increased pollution from traffic hasn't helped any).

 

What is absolutely fascinating to me is the Jantar Mantar, or "instruments of calculation". They are astronomical measuring devices for every conceivable movement of the earth, built in 1728 by Jai Singh, whose passion for astronomy was even more notable than his prowess as a warrior. The field has all sorts of these different astronomical instruments, which are all very large, and many of which look like they might be at home in a modern art exhibit! The most striking and imposing of these is the Brihat Samrat Yantra sundail, a towering 27m high sundial, the largest sundial in the world (I of course commented to the guide, "That's the second largest sundial I've seen this month!", producing a rather uncharacteristic laugh from his otherwise professorial demeanor).

 

My intention is to push on to Pushkar, a smaller town situated around a lake that is supposed to be quite relaxing. And probably hotter...

 

And then on to Jodhpur, where I'll visit the tiny little village of Osiyan out in the sand dunes (think forts, Ali Baba and the 40 Thieves, Lawrence of Arabia, that kind of thing) and maybe visit a small village as well.

 

After that, I will go to Delhi to catch a plane to Srinagar in Kashmir, where I will lay low and relax and enjoy the lake.

[UstadKhanAli]

Greetings from Pushkar!

 

I took a bus to the Holy City of Ajmer, briefly stopping at the rather unique Jain Temple there, and then took a winding road on a local bus to Pushkar.

 

Pushkar is world famous for it's annual Camel Festival in October or November. It's a very atmospheric, picturesque town with over 400 temples and pleasant white-washed buildings surrounding a holy lake. There are ghats, or steps, all over that lead down to the lake, and it's fascinating to watch pilgrims go down for their morning puja (ceremony), cleansing themselves in the purifying waters of the lake (and yes, the water looks much more inviting than the Ganges). And for a tourist, it's a fun town to hang out and relax and walk. It's a feast for the eyes because of the unique architecture, beauty, and iridescent colors of the Rajasthani clothing (brilliant deep greens, blues, oranges, reds, all absolutely gorgeous!!).

 

Yesterday I went on a half-day camel safari. Camels are a comical Star Wars-like animal that makes odd sounds, and riding one way up high feels sort of cartoonish, with their really long gait feeling very different from a horse. And the mounting/dismounting is very fun!

 

So we rode out into the sand dunes. For most of the way each one of us had a guide with us riding tandem on the camel. On the return trip, two guides in front of me decided to joke around and stand up on the camel. Suddenly, my guide, Prakesh, a 17-year old, decided that this would be a wonderful idea and also stood up. Immediately, my trusty camel, Ramu, began galloping. Prakesh fell to the left, dropping the reins, tried to right himself, slipped to the left again, panicked, and clutched my waist to hang on. I managed to grab the two reins and yanked hard on both but Ramu kept galloping, and I momentarily lost my balance, shifting to the right because I was compensating for Prakesh leaning to the left. I regained my balance, yanked hard again on both reins, but again, nothing. Prakesh screamed, "One side, one side!" I figured this to mean to yank on only one of the reins, so I yanked hard on the left, and Ramu immediately stopped. Whewwww!!!!

 

The rest of the trip continued without galloping.

 

Very early this morning, I decided that I would try and get the kinks out of sitting on a herky-jerky long-legged camel for half a day by hiking up to the top of Savitri Temple, located on a mountain overlooking the holy lake, and see the sunrise from the temple. It was beautiful, although I started too late and the sun had already risen by the time I got there.

 

Savitri (some spell it Saraswati) is Brahma's first wife, so this is a very special temple. Legend has it that Brahma dropped a lotus flower and this formed Pushkar Lake. Brahma wanted to make a sacrifice here, but this procession required his consort to be there. Unfortunately, Savriti was late, and irritated, Brahma quickly married a milkmaid named Gayatri so that he could continue. Savitri finally arrived only to find Gayatri sitting in her special throne, and in a rage, she cursed Brahma, saying that all mankind would forget about him. The other gods pleaded with Savitri to change her mind. Finally, she relented, but said that Brahma could only have one temple, and that it would have to be here in Pushkar, and so it is up to this day. I visited the Brahma temple two days ago, making a flower offering at the temple and at the lake.

 

I am having a really hard time leaving this town, but eventually, either tomorrow or the next day, I am leaving for Jodhpur, visiting the small little town of Osiyan, reknowned for its exquisite Jain temples and sand dunes, and possibly Bishpur Village, perhaps the firmest ecologically-minded people on the planet. Hundreds of years ago, people came to Bishpur to chop down their very special trees (I forget what kind). A village woman clung tightly to the tree, refusing to move. The axeman told her that he would chop her head off if she refused to move. She still refused, and off came her head. But the other village people, moved by her actions, did the same, and with the same consequences. Fortunately, the maharaja in the area, upon hearing this, was deeply moved and immediately ordered a stop to this and declared that the area would be a no-chopping zone and that trees would be planted. To this day the Bishpur villagers remain fiercely ecologically minded, running after people who hunt in the area, even catching a Bollywood movie star who had killed two animals.

[UstadKhanAli]

Here in Jodhpur, we've had a little bit of rain, nothing like the

record-shattering floods in Mumbai (Bombay), where over 37 inches of water

dumped down on the city in ONE DAY, breaking the old record of

Cherripungee set back in 1910. And Cheripungee is considered the wettest

place in the world!!!

 

 

Here in Jodhpur, I saw the immense fort that towers over the city.

Apparently in the 600 years that it existed, it was never once conquered

by invading forces. The inside has some very beautiful rooms with

intricately designed gold ceilings and one room that has these odd

Christmas ornament-type of colored glass balls hanging from the

ceiling.

 

 

I also saw the Umain Bhawan Palace, one of the largest palaces in the

world. The maharaja still lives there, and is the same one who also runs

the fort. The entire structure, built of sandstone, does not use mortar

because the immense blocks interlock.

 

 

Yesterday, I went to Osiyan (Osian), about 65 km to the north of

Jodhpur. This little desert village used to be a very important center

for the Jains, and to this day, there is a very elaborate sandstone Jain

temple there, which is kept in really great shape by the priest who runs

the place.

 

 

I had the chance to talk with him for probably about an hour, and he

told me a lot of interesting information about the Jain religion (it has a

great deal of similarity to Buddhism and Hinduism), the temple itself, and

the school that he runs. He runs the entire school on donated funds, and

is able to even provide clothing, food, and rooms for 150 students from

low-income families (there are 600 students in total who attend the

school), and doesn't accept any money from the government so his school is

not beholden to them.

 

 

At 4:00, they have a religion class there. But they don't just teach

about Jain, but introduce the students to Hinduism, Christianity,

Buddhism, and Islam. They also have computers ("You can't have a school

without computers nowadays! That would be doing the students a disservice

in this day and age!" the animated priest said).

 

 

So, the morning of August 3rd I go to Kashmir. There has been some

violence there recently, and of course I am concerned, so I am going to

check into it a little more before I go. Where I am staying is safe, and

I will not be going into the city of Srinagar, where some of the violence

occurs (almost all the violence in Kashmir happens in the Line of Control

area, bordering Pakistan). But of course, I am not going to take any

chances just the same, and am simply going to relax on the houseboat with

Fayaz and his family.

 

 

As I mentioned before, I probably will not be able to email from

Kashmir very often, if at all, so I will call Lisa once a week or so (in

other words, do not expect any more emails after this one unless I get to

an internet cafe in Delhi tomorrow!!). I will be in Kashmir from August

3-20, after which I fly to Mumbai (Bombay) with a 90-min. stop in Delhi,

just so I can admire their lovely airport again (just kidding - the thing

is really grim-looking!!). And after Mumbai, I am only there for a day

and then I fly back home on August 22nd!!

[UstadKhanAli]

I am very happy to report that I am now in Kashmir! Fayaz picked me up from the airport, and I've been visiting with the family here for the last several hours! It is very very good to see them again!! It is so beautiful, and the air is so clean, and it's much cooler here, and everything is good.

 

Tourism is up here, 60% more than last year at this time, according to the newspapers, and you can really see a lot of tourists here, including European families with their children. Fayaz and his family say that it is actually quite safe here and that there is nothing to worry about, but of course, just the same, I will take all the appropriate precautions (* NOTE FOR THOSE WHO DON'T KNOW: Kashmir has been a flash point between India and Pakistan, which has resulted in several wars, and came dangerously close to a catastrophe between the two nuclear powers about five years ago. And more recently, just before I went to Kashmir this time, there was a sudden increase in militant activity in Kashmir and elsewhere).

 

So for the most part, most of my time will consist of hanging out on the houseboat on the lake, watching people and floating supermarkets and ice cream stores and souvenir shops float past, admiring the mountains surrounding the lake, and paddling around.

 

There is an internet cafe here that is within about ten minutes of the houseboat. All I have to do is paddle a short distance across the lake, and then walk for about five minutes, so I should be able to remain in weekly contact. Most likely, the subsequent emails will read something like this: "Today I woke up late, ate a delicious breakfast with curd, hung out with the family for a while, paddled around the lake, read a book, and drank fresh Kashmiri apple juice."

 

The government just gave low-interest loans for houseboat owners in an effort to promote tourism to Kashmir again. This allowed houseboat owners to fix up their houseboats, many of which had fallen into disrepair from the lack of tourism money that was coming in, recaulking and repainting the houseboats. Also, the winter here was very cold, with a lot of snow, and that damaged some of the houseboats as well. Most of the houseboat owners took the loan, and you can see fresh coats of paint on many of the houseboats, something very good to see. The lake looks really beautiful. It feels really good to be here again, and I am made to feel like one of the family.

[UstadKhanAli]

Things are very good here, everything is calm.

 

As you may suspect, I've done very little except goof around, read, relax, and eat.

 

There are two young Nepali boys, Djivan and Deepak, who have been living here for about a year now. Sultan, Fayaz' older brother, saw them one day running down the road in tattered clothing, trying to catch a bus. It turns out that they had run away from home because their older brother and father, both Maoists, had been savagely beating them because the boys refused to join the Maoists. Everyone says that there are many Nepalis in Kashmir, Ladakh, and Dharamsala, most of whom have run away because of the Maoist insurgents or something related to that, and I have definitely seen several Nepalis around here already.

 

Yesterday, I went to Khanyar Rosabal, the alleged tomb of Jesus. I visited here in 1997 (see the Travel Section if you want to see old pictures and a description of why some believe this may be the tomb of Jesus). However, when we arrived this time, there was a huge sign posted that said photography was strictly prohibited. About four years ago, a Western woman visited Khanyar Rosabal, only to return later with a whole cadre of "archeologists", as the locals described them. They wanted to open the tomb to collect DNA samples. People were also afraid that she would try to remove the remains from the tomb and not return them. Naturally, everyone here refused this and sent the woman on her way. Since then, the locals are suspicious of foreigners, especially scientists and journalists, and refuse them entry. However, Fayaz assured several of the locals that I was not a scientist or journalist, and simply wanted to pay respects and take a few photos, so I was able to go inside again anyway. It's much the same, only there is an iron gate inside barring entry into the main room itself. While there, several people paid their respects, touching the wall, praying, bowing their head, or quietly whispering prayers. Fayaz says that some Kashmiris believe this saint is really Jesus, some believe no, and many simply have no idea. Whatever the case, he is a greatly revered saint at the very least.

 

On the way back from Khanyar Rosabal, we stopped at a large, ornate mosque. This was founded by a holy man from Baghdad, who was responsible for the initial spread of Islam across all of Kashmir. This is a particularly significant mosque, and so we paid our respects here. Naturally, being a non-Muslim, I was not allowed to go in, but could pay my respects outside.

 

I have been eating a lot of traditional Kashmiri food. I don't know how to describe it except that it has some similarities to Indian food, but the spices are very different. There are spinach, eggplant, potato, yogurt, rice, mutton, chicken, paneer (cheese) and peas, and many other things, but the spices are very different from Indian food. Also, it's not nearly as blazing hot as last time (it was the hottest food I've ever had, making Indian or Szechuan food seem like a gentle walk in the park). I asked about this, and the family said that they have been trying to tone down the spices a little bit among themselves because they were told that it was not so good for their stomach!!!

 

Today we are supposed to have what the family called a Fish and Chips Party. I asked if there were any occasion for this, and they said, "No, it just sounds like fun!" So that's what we're doing when I get back from this internet cafe.

 

People are very curious about what we eat in the U.S., as there is not as much exposure to Western foods as one might have in Delhi or Bangalore or Bombay or wherever. So they ask about spaghetti, sausage, different kinds of vegetables and fruits, and other things. As I mentioned before, the first time I visited, they were absolutely horrified that Americans use cow poop for fertilizer. Here in Kashmir, especially in Dal Lake, juicy tomatoes the size of softballs grow just by throwing seeds in the dirt. Things grow very easily without the need for fertilizer, and they taste great. Everyone is very curious about seeing the U.S. to see what it is like, and like much of India, seem to share a great awe and fondness for Americans, even if uniformly detesting Bush and his foreign policy (except for his nuclear pact with P.M. Singh of India, which has a great deal of approval here in India with the people that I have spoken to).

 

And now the funny part: several of Fayaz' family asked how I was taking care of my back, so I told them I did yoga stretches every morning. "We don't have yoga here in Kashmir. Can you show us?" So the next day, I taught them some yoga poses. Picture several Kashmiri women in traditional Muslim dress with scarves on their heads, assuming variations of the Warrior Pose, sometimes falling over, laughing, giggling, pointing at others, or chattering amongst themselves to correct their posture...really, one of the more entertaining sights I've seen on this trip, and seeing that I'm in India, that's really saying something!!!

 

Be well!

[UstadKhanAli]

I've been mostly hanging out with the family here, as you might suspect, although we've been taking shikhara rides around the lake, renting movies, and that kind of thing. We went on a day trip to the mountain town of Pahalgam, which was very beautiful and reminded me of a more dramatic Rocky Mountains, with the Lidder River, fed by a nearby glacier, cutting through the enormous valley.

 

I also went shopping the other day to pick up some more books. I got some interesting ones. One was anecdotes about Prophet Muhammed, which I followed up by reading a book on an Algerian journalist who infiltrated a terrorist cell of Al Qaeda in France - quite a contrast of good and evil between the two books.

 

The military here seems a lot more relaxed than last time I was here, smiling and waving, and more importantly, not abusing the local citizens (last time I was here, I saw several instances of the Army whacking people over the head to literally "herd" them to the side of the road and other things, which they did freely even in the presence of a tourist). This has been a conscious effort on the part of the new government to offer help to Kashmiris rather than belittle and subjugate them in the hopes that there will be less problems (gee, you think?). Obviously, the Indian government has giant intellects hard at work...but in either case, the Kashmiris are now far more appreciative of the government than before. Things are far from being perfect for Kashmiris, but people that I've spoken to are far more optimistic than before.

 

Later on, I am going to visit a couple of mosques, the Jamial Mosque and its 1001 wooden pillars and the Hazratbal Mosque, the latter of which I visited last time I was here for a special festival which included the unveiling of one of Prophet Muhammed's hairs. At this latter festival, I was blown away by the hospitality and warmth of the people there at the mosque, who kept motioning for me to sit in the best locations, look at their mosque, try their food, and generally be as welcoming as possible.

[UstadKhanAli]

Hello from Kashmir!

 

I am sad that I have to leave here in a couple of days. Saturday I fly back to Bombay, where I will most likely stay in the Santa Cruz section of Bombay, near to the airport in the event that the skies open up their floodgates again.

 

Several days ago, I accompanied several of the family to see a priest ("Beer Baba" is his title and has nothing to do with the frosty-cold beverage). He was the disciple of someone named Sultan Sahib. Beer Baba is said to have special powers that are directly from Allah. We sat down in front of him, and I was one of the first people that he summoned to come forward. I sat in front of him, and he immediately told me to turn around. He touched my lower back several times. When I returned to where the family was sitting, he said in Kashmiri, with others translating, "You have a problem with your lower back. There is something wrong with the spine. Later, it is likely that you may have experienced some difficulty with your leg. I have tried to fix it, and it you should have no further problems with your leg or your back, insh'allah (God willing)." A little while later, Nazir, one of the family members, asked, "Did you somehow tell him that you had a back problem?" I said no, thinking that it would have been difficult, given my limited grasp of the Kashmiri language ! Although Muslim, Beer Baba sees people of all faiths and tries to help them with their problems, the room in his houseboat filled with people waiting to see him.

 

Pilgrimmage: Like last time I came to Kashmir, I made my water pilgrimmage to the Houseboat Michael Jackson. Houseboat owners, many eager to attract tourists, will sometimes name their houseboats colorful names. I am staying in the Ajanta Palace. Nearby is the Houseboat Holiday Inn. No affiliation, but they did paint the sign with the same font as the hotel chain. And there's others, such as HB Neil Armstrong, HB Miss America. But HB Michael Jackson is in the back part of the lake, next to the HB Yeti, and so Fayaz and I paddled out there to see this wonder of the lake.

 

Today, Fayaz and I visited two mosques. Unlike some mosques, non-Muslims can enter these. Pather Masjid (literally, "Stone Mosque") was a massive structure made of - you guessed it - complete stone, built about 600 years ago. In contrast, the majestic Jamial Masjid (sometimes spelled Jamia Masjid) was made mostly of wood, and is rather unique in this respect. It is said to have 1001 pillars. I didn't count, but it looked like a lot. Stately and with an elegant simplicity, it has geometric motifs on the ceiling, including the dome towering over where the Imam (prayer leader) sits. As many of you probably know, Islam forbids the creation of worship of any idols, so the mosque is very plainly adorned, and so this mosque has the very large wooden pillars surrounding a carpeted floor where the audience prays and prostrates.

[UstadKhanAli]

I am in Bombay right now. There's no flooding here, as you probably know,

but everything looks damp because it continually rains here, and the

buildings all look damp and sweaty. If this isn't your idea of an

attractive picture, well, you'd be right......it's a bit of a slap in

the face to go from beautiful lakes, mountains, orchards, trees, and

flowers to large, damp, noisy cities. Bombay has some scenic areas, but

this neighborhood ain't one of them! I'm in a hotel called the Check Inn,

a fine name.

 

I was very sad to leave my Kashmiri family. They threw a big dinner for

me the evening before (Friday evening) while we watched a bootleg copy (it

was filmed with a video camera in the movie theatre and burned to disc!!)

of "Mangal Pandey", a big summer blockbuster movie here in India starring

superstar Aamir Khan as the title character, a man who in part inspired

the revolt against the British rulers, and was also the first person to be

killed in the Indian fight for independence. My Hindi is rather shaky to

say the least, but between helpful translations from the family and the

parts of the dialogue that were in English, it wasn't too difficult to

figure out, and was an enjoyable movie. And at the end, the family gave

me a beautiful Kashmiri wool wrap with inticate traditional stitching.

 

And bizarrely, when I was sitting in the Srinagar airport, while reading,

one of the cousins of the family walked up and said "Hey, Ken!!!"

Coincidentally, he was on the same flight to Delhi (I had to fly to Delhi

to catch a connecting flight to Bombay). I also sat next to a very nice

American (but of South Indian ethnicity) couple from Chicago who were

going on many of the pilgrimmages on Kashmir and elsewhere. We compared

notes, and it turned out that we had stayed very close to each other on

quite number of occasions throughout the trip, and that they are from

Naperville, IL, very close to where I grew up! And the plane was filled

with other yatris (pilgrims). The second the plane's wheels left the

runway during take-off, maybe ten of them all let loose with a joyous

chorus of a Hindi phrase and laughed.

 

Lunch awaits...

 

~~~~~~~

 

NOTE: Several days after returning back home to Los Angeles, I saw "Mangal Pandey" in a theatre near my house, and it looked really great on the big screen.

 

Indian movies are sometimes a bit of a head-scratcher for Westerners, where there's violent scenes, and suddenly, people break out into song and dance. But if you don't mind that sudden shift, then Bollywood movies can really open up for you. Some of them are really wretched, but some, like "Mangal Pandey", are really quite enjoyable. "Lagaan" is also quite good.