Calcutta - Durga Durga Durga

The Durga Puja

aka: Craziness In Calcutta

Meet Ritesh and Vivek. I stayed with them at their place for a week or so. They were too friendly with me and showed me how to enjoy Calcutta. We went out to see the craziness of the Durga Puja and had one of the greatest nights in India. Thanks guys!

The Durga Splash. All night, devotees of the Goddess Durga, or Mother Durga, the goddess of fearlessness and patience, representing the energy of the world. She is one of the representations of Shiva's wife, alluding energy to those to seek her power and wisdom. Weeks and even months before the festival, Hindus all around Calcutta gather to create a Puja for worship. Then on the last day of the Durga Puja, the devotees bring their puja statues to the River Ganga/ Ganges River, and push the puja/statue into the river. Sending Durga, and the other gods, to their freedom, noting that the River Ganga is a holy river. They are simply sending their gods back home.

We also partook in some authentic Calcutta side-street cuisine. Litti, or small doughy balls of grilled goodness, ended up in our stomachs as a mid-evening break before the craziness continued. Actually a Bihari style dish, this litti shop on the side of the Ganga River is one of the few places in Calcutta one can enjoy this small yet savory dish. I had two plates, if thats any surprise. Then we complimented this Litti with a "special" chai next door. Unable to gather what secret ingredient was actually put into the chai, I took it down with weary enjoyment and felt a little tipsy afterwards.

Now you see Durga, Now you don't. Enjoy the river, Durga.

The Durga Puja is a parade of the gods. Hundreds if not thousands of these statues built by the people would drive, slowly, their constructions to the Ganga to release the gods into the river. This means that if you had any other plans this night, and needed to get somewhere, you would have needed to leave several hours in advance to arrive. All through the streets, the many floats floating through the streets were shared by those viewing on the sides of the roads, as well as those drunk and dancing to the blaring music all through the night. As the people were heading to the river, Vivek, Ritesh and I went the opposite way, starting at the river and backtracking towards the center city. This led us to view all the floats heading to the river, partying or dancing with all the people in the street, and climbing aboard some of the floats and generating some pictures with Durga. What a beauty she is!!!

Hop aboard, one and all - Myself and a devotee floating with the God, Durga. Float on!

All the lovely people, where do they all come from? Where do they all belong?

Partying with red tikka on their faces - I too was graced with a red strip streaking through my forehead.

Women climbing up to pray to Durga, and receive her blessing.

Calcutta and an Ageless Time

Susmita, Beautiful Susmita

A smile that will outlive any other.

Hold her hand,

and maybe you will understand.

Poetry on the walls of the Metro.

They must have been writing this about the children at Mother Teresa's home.

The child ever dwells in the mystery of an ageless time

Unobscured by the dust of history.

There is a light laughter in the steps of creation

That carries it swiftly across time.

When peace is active swaping its dirt,

it is storm.

The breeze whispers to the lotus:

"What is thy secret?"

"It is myself," says the lotus,

"steal it and I disappear."

Shipra

Good Job, Shipra, Good Job

For because of you, the world has flowers,

The World Has Flowers!

Hello Sister, and that must be Angel in the corner - does anyone see, Angel?

Inspection from the ageless time unto the baldness of an obscured history.

Cleaning off the dust of a barren landscape of past and future,

In order to view the everlasting smiles of those with the view.

To roam the places where only the ageless roam,

Searching for the secret no more,

The ageless laugh lightly as the truth unfolds itself,

like a lotus revealing itself to the unyielding world.

"Wake up, world, and see my truth,

For without my truth, there is no truth."

Says the Lotus, Says the Lotus!

Darjeeling - No Easy Way Up

The Darjeeling Crew.
Meet Phurbu, Sherab, and Tashi

For just over a week, I stayed with some friends from Nepal/Tibet. They rock! Their families are originally from Tibet, and my friends were born in Nepal and now study in Darjeeling, India. I met Phurbu in Marpha, Nepal, when I was teaching English. Across from the guest house I was staying at, there was a woman, Phurbu's mother, who owned a Tibetan shop. She introduced me to Phurbu, and about a month later I was in Darjeeling staying with him and his friends. They showed me around the town, introduced me to some high quality Darjeeling life and new foods from Tibet that I had never heard nor eaten in the past. Thanks for everything Phurbu and crew!


One cloudy and chilly morning, Arun (also part of the crew, below) and I woke up around 330am to hike to the top of Tiger Hill. We didn't see any tigers, but we definitely found a mighty big hill. There are no shortages of hills in Darjeeling, as Darjeeling is situated over 6700 feet above sea level. As we were walking up through clouds picking up a cold sweat, we noticed many cars and jeeps, which were taxi's, driving up to the sunrise spot where we, too, were headed. We noticed them noticing us, and we thought they were thinking that were were crazy for walking up in the cold and cloudy climate towards the famous sunrise destination. The drive would have been just over 20 minutes or so, while we hiked up for about 2 hours. As we approached the top, we noticed the same people who noticed us before, and they were now noticing us as they were driving down, but they had faces of disappointment. We knew why; the overcast of clouds had coated the sky preventing any anticipated glorious sunrise over the valley. We finally arrived - tired, sweaty, and now cold, but we didn't want to depart like everyone else, so we stayed for a little while. There was an indoor chai shop where we helped ourselves to two cups of chai and sweet sweet biscuits, and boy did it taste so good. We were now warm and our stomachs warm and happy, too. We stayed for just a little while longer, then proceeded back outside to figure something out. But we didn't need to figure anything out; when we went outside, not only were there no other tourists around, but the sky had cleared up. We could still see many clouds, but this time, the clouds were above and below the valley - allowing us to see Mt. Kanchanjunga, the third highest peak in the world. It was perfect. We had clouds, peaks, valleys and smiles. We chose not to take the easy way up, and sure enough, our hard work paid off.

A nice walk to some tea gardens where I enjoyed some internationally known locally grown tea.


Some festive attire as the Hindu's celebrated, well, being Hindu. Much of Darjeeling, however, is in fact Buddhist. People of Darjeeling speak Nepali as many migrated there for living and schooling. This was nice because I could continue using the little Nepali that I had learned while in Nepal.
Went to the Darjeeling Zoo and was pleasantly surprised at how well the zoo was maintained. Typically, zoo's in the developing world are not well kept, but the zoo in Darjeeling was clean. We saw some tigers, yak, turtles, and one nice treat was the Red Panda. They were so adorable and looked all fuzzy and fun to play with. Although, I don't want to imagine what they would do with their long and sharp claws if you did actually pick one up. Anyways, they looked fun to play with and were a good sight for the zoo.
This old man was sitting next to some prayer wheels and a local Buddhist Monastery, the oldest one in Darjeeling. I just thought this was a joyous picture, but don't tell him I took the picture, I'm not sure he knows he is now pasted on the internet. If one were to tell him he was online, I'm sure his wise Buddhist outlook would simply respond, "Is that so?" and turn away with a smile privy to those who only know.

Just a picture of some ugly ass bald guy in the midst of a number of Buddhist prayer flags.

Chitwan - Rhino's Tiger's anywhere???

Unable to see any Rhino's or Tigers, I was able to see some baby elephants and even some Crocodiles as well. This is the skull of an elephant. Massive.

Elephant bathing. Getting this bath, which is more like a rough massage everyday. Lucky elephant.

A cultural program where people in the audience had the choice of participating in the final dance. Obviously I had to join in on the fun.

Kathmandu - Celebrate Women!

High Five! When I first noticed this girl, she was about to shed a number of tears; these same tears traveled down my face when we departed. This was a festival where woman fast for two days and celebrate by dressing, mostly in red, and dancing until they pass out - literally. Well, some woman passed out waiting in the long lines from dehydration. Troopers they are.

I stayed with a friend who lived in Kathmandu (below) and his neighbors invited us over to celebrate. These two girls are all festive with their many bangles coating the little ones arm and dancing and smiles all night.Meet Hrikesh. I stayed with him at his place for my two weeks in Kathmandu. Maybe I'll see you in Colorado, Hrikesh. This day was an awaking of the yin and yang, the black and white, life and death. Here you see life. All the women in red, happy and dancing until the morning breaks. What you don't see is the latter of the two. The main celebration occurred along the burning ghats. The burning ghats is where Hindu funerals take place. We sat on the other side of the river while observing the colorful women in red as well as the man draped in while robe being dipped into the river for a pre-burning cleanse. He was then carried to the pyre where the flames were lit, and he returned to the earth. A celebration of life and a mourning of death in one sight allows for the deep investigation of purpose in life. If we simply die after life, is our purpose just to die? Is death really bad? If so, is our purpose in life bad or negative? Why is death typically associated with negativity. Can we not embrace death and allow for a positive association to manifest from our loved ones passing on? What can we truly learn from this? Life goes on, the investigation continues, then we die. Simple yet beautiful, right? Why not?
Prayer flags coating all the trees along a Buddhist shrine.

Gotta climb a tree whenever a tree is climbable.

Buddha with the statue painted with puja's or prayers.

Kathmandu - Apples and Honey at the Buddhist Monastery

Staying at a Buddhist Monastery for 5 days was a nice way to level out the craziness of the hectic Kathmandu street scene festivals and chicken be-headings. This is a unique and beautiful flower posing in front of a stupa at the Kopan Monastery. More stupa shots displaying the beauty and sereneness of the monastery.Some friends I met at the monastery. It was Rosh-Hashana, and I thought it would be nice to spend the new year at the monastery and get apples and honey, and share my culture with people from around the world. And it was delicious. Note the two in the front; they are bald.Huge slug living at the monastery. There were plenty of these slimy creatures to meditate on. These leafy looking backside is not only a thing of beauty, but also a thing of brilliance, allowing them to camouflage and survive. Although, at a Buddhist Monastery, with the precept of no killing of any creatures, it didn't seem as if anyone was out to get them.Remember the two in the picture? They were bald, and then they shaved my head. Now I am bald. Inspired by none other than Buddhist Monks. Thanks guys in maroon robes!Not balding, Bald! I figured I hasten up the process, and I haven't looked back ever since. Love the feeling.
Next up, death and more celebrations in Kathmandu, then Chitwan, then bye bye Nepal, hello again India.

Kathmandu - The Eyes of Truth Are Always Watching You!

This is Boudha and this is the Boudha Stupa. It is said to be the biggest stupa in Nepal, and it is big. This architectural masterpiece is a holy shrine for Buddhist where devotees walk around the shrine three times and spin the prayer wheels as it is said to be good luck and offer compassion to the world. The prayer wheels have "Om Mani Ped Me Hum" inscribed on the inside, kind of like a Mazuza with prayer scrolls on the inside. This is a mantra of compassion said by Tibetan Buddhists and others seeking universal solace. Walking around the shrine and spinning the prayer wheels generated a calm abiding within the mind. The ambiance of the surrounding areas along with the old Tibetan women with there prayer mala's or necklaces chanting, probably to themselves, the mantra of compassion offered a scene never to be forgotten.

Whenever there is a Hindu festival, you can always count on the Hindu's to be there, and boy, do they know how to party. Attending Lord Krishna's birthday at the Krishna temple was a mad-house. Krishna is said to be a reincarnation of the much beloved Lord Vishnu, one of the three main gods worshiped in the Hindu religion. Wow, there were sooo many people, and sooo much fun. I waiting in line for over a half hour waiting to enter the temple only to be told that only Hindu's could enter the temple. I was not giving in that easily, so I told them I was Hindu, showed them my Om necklace, and walked through the temple, then performed puja and received tikka thereafter. Oh, life, ha!Mother and child post puja, receiving tikka as well. So cute!
I walked around the city Patan, which is a neighboring town of Kathmandu, and entered a Buddhist temple during Lord Krishna's Birthday, where I found the guard to the gates of heaven - a tortoise.

More shots from Lord Krishna's birthday and tikka on the forehead. Lord Krishna is the god who plays the flute, and my understanding of Krishna is that he is the god of love and music. So, right on, they dance and spread the love!



















To all you meat eaters, beware! I went to a temple for the goddess Mother Kali, where they still perform sacrifices. This is a before and after shot of a chicken, and the chicken and its head in the hands of a little boy. My next meal, many hereafter, have been vegetarian.

More Kathmandu to come, then to Chitwan National Forest.