From an email dated 7/20

Here is another installment. If adding these blogs wasn't so time consuming, I could get more in and faster. Update: last Thursday, August 14, I went to the private home of that same family for a Shiva puja and a rather large dinner. I did not bring the camera. Hindus normally do not allow photography, in the temples is is strictly prohibited. I went to Dakineshwar a couple of weeks ago, and took a picture from OUTSIDE the complex, and I still got an angry worker to yell at me. Customarily, I smiled and ignored him. Sometimes it pays to act like a dumb tourist.

ANYWAY, without further ado.....

from the archives....


1st is a pic of Hardeep (he is a Sikh) and myself. I'm that much taller than everyone in India, for real! When I walk the streets, I am totally gawked at, so no sneaking around anywhere! I have been out a few times, and even have been to the US Embassy in Kolkata, but I have yet to see another white man. (Aug 20 note: I've seen a few since, all women - 3 of which I remember. One was near the office building, with a GREAT set of tits! As white women usually do, she completely avoided me as best she could. At City Center, peering into a bookstore I was at, was a flaxen alabaster princess. OMG! Yes, as usual, I was ignored. :) then a couple or so at Dakineshwar. Although I did see a pale Asian girl around work who was splendidly beautiful - pale white enough to ignore me...)

As some of you know, traffic here is willy-nilly and you have to drive around pedestrians, cows, rickshaws oh my! The 2nd is a pic of a major highway, to give you some idea. NOTE the cow....

Pic 3 shows some road decor.

Pic 4 is a pic of the apartment building where I will be living and the area around it. Those little orange things are not tombstones, they are foundation stones. In 5 years, this are will be the greatest IT sector in all of India.

Pic 5 is closer to the apartment complex.

Pic 6 is during the puja (worship service). They had a Laxmi & Ganesh puja for the apt. Actually they are condos, and the company is counting on them being very good investments. Everyone there, except for the Brahmin priest (in white) and myself are related by blood or marriage.

Pic 7 shows the priest applying the Rakhi, which is normally done during Lakshi puja. It's about as official an acceptance of my "Hindu-ness" as I have yet received.

Pic 8, after the puja, as high as a kite.

Pic 9, a homa was done next to purify and cleanse the participants, and the space. This was during the setting up of it, just before the ceremony. This is the last pic, the batteries died. I actively participated in this ceremony. " Sudharshana Homa - overall success This homa is generally performed to accomplish any task successfully and also for prosperity. Other benefits include removal of negative energies, healing of the body and mind. This is a very powerful homa and a corporation aspiring for overall growth and success can opt for this homa. This homa also has a yantra (the yantra is a copper plate with special sacred symbols) that has the power to dispel all negative thoughts and attract positive thoughts essential for success." or maybe "Durga Homa - negative energies Removes various forms of negative energies that can create negative thoughts, fears etc. Can prevent from actions causing bad karma and gives self-confidence." (more info: http://ssvjyothishyakendra.com/Homas.htm )


Afterwards we had quite a party with my night crew colleagues. No pics, tho, no batteries! But plenty of beer! Then, around 10 or so we went to the Hooghly river, which is an arm of the sacred Ganges. Sitting there on the ghat bought a flood of emotions, so I mixed my tears with the Ganges. It's been such a long time.....

I hope this bulletin finds you well.

Om swaha!

krisnath

Original date: 7/20 via elist, Pictures taken on 07/11/08

Greetings!


Day 1: This is the plane I made the majority of my flight on, from LAX to Dehli. This picture was taken during a stopover in Frankfurt, Germany.


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Pic 2: Fun at the Hookah bar with colleagues

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3: a bamboo and rope bridge near work, the closest way for me to get over the canal that divides the Salt Lake City district with a major street.

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4: Kali temple (with Shiva Temple, and others) next door to the bar I frequent, interestingly named "The California Bar"



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5: Old wrecked and abandoned car. It looks in perfect place and oddly beautiful to me.



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6: Swastikas are everywhere. It's nice to see them without Western neuroticism attached.


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7: This is a major thoroughfare. Still, chaos reigns. Bike messengers, rickshaws, pedestrians, dogs, goats, and cows (oh my!) compete with the vehicle that the road is designed for.

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8: They throw trash around everywhere over here. That's the only thing I don't like so far. To get some perspective, this is a picture of a BANK.



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9: Enjoying a beer and some chicken masala. They re-use a lot of newspaper, which is totally awesome. Here it keeps the beer cold. If the food product is not wet, they make little boats out of the newspaper to put food in for carry away. For wet things they use handmade mudbrick pots of various sizes. That way they can be tossed on the ground and still be ok, as they are biodegradable. Sounds WAY better than paper bags and styrofoam or waxed paper....


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10. Since I was drinking beer in the car, being used to America, I was on the lookout for pigs. I was told though that the police are generally very nice and respectful around here. But, pigs were nearby anyway.... What a bunch of boars.... Not bad since I was going hog-wild.



and with that, the premier page has come to a close. Bonne nuit!!