Namaste!
(Namaste, by the way, translates to "I bow to you" in Sanskrit and Hindi. Which is cool for sure, but doesn't compare to Klahowya in my opinion. What could be nicer than the blessing of a dry canoe!)
I'm fresh off a week of traveling, but I'll start first with Diwali! Diwali is India's major holiday. The only way I can describe it is Christmas, Fourth of July, and Halloween combined--lights, presents, sweets, family, chaos, and most significantly, FIREWORKS. And not necessarily pretty, light-up-the-sky fireworks. From 7am in the morning until 3am at night, the city sounds like a war zone. Firecrackers of massive proportion are set off everywhere, and sometimes it legitimately sounded, and felt, like bombs were going off. I was impressed, actually--it beat Fourth of July in sound and sheer capacity of pyrotechnics by tenfold.
Besides the insanity, it really is a beautiful holiday. It is the "festival of lights," and lights adorn every home, gas station, mall, street lamp, rickshaw--you name it.
My host mom let Whitmire (my roommate, Whitney) and I participate in the ritual offering to the gods, and it was pretty dang powerful. She sang worship songs in Sanskrit while Whitney and I held the puja (the ritual's Hindi name) tray and circled it round the deities. We prayed to Laxshmi, the goddess of wealth, and to Ganesh, the god of new beginnings. Afterwards, we lit candles all over our house, porch, and yard. Then, relatives arrived in droves with fireworks, desserts, and smiles.
The weekend was spent in Jaipur, a city in the desert state of Rajasthan. I went with several friends, and despite some close calls with fireworks and men on drugs, we all survived and had a fine time (mostly).
My friend Kate, trying her luck at the art of snake-charming.
Water fort-palace thing!
Sassy ladies.
Man in traditional Rajasthani turban.
After Jaipur, I made my way to Bharatpur--home of the Keoladeo National Park, and one of the India's premier bird sanctuaries. And so began my travels as a solitary researcher! Despite several fits of loneliness, the inability to sleep due to the ever-compelling plot of Lord of the Rings (I want to see mountains again Gandalf, mountains!), and nasty India smog-weather, I was floored by the peaceful greenery of the park and, of course, by all the birds! The guest house I stayed at had amazing french toast, too.
I won't bore you with bird pictures, but this one's my favorite.
And these guys are cute.
Primary mode of transport in the park.
Biking and birds, what could be better?
Here I am, in the field doing my bird thing.
Hope all is well wherever this is being read.
Caw! Caw! Yip! Yip!
Teddi
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