Word From Curry Country!!!!!

Here I am. I am here.

Here is a sweaty internet cafe in Mysore, Karnataka. It is likely almost 90 degrees in here, which would be nearly unbearable if there weren't a fan blowing on us constantly. The sounds of shouting and work, traffic and honking are a constant reminder of the bustling life two floors below.

We came here to see the Palace of The Maharaj, go to some temples and a sandalwood and incense factory. By we I mean myself and my new friend Raffaela. She is a wine maker from Italy on holiday for a month- I'm quite happy to have met her at the guest house. She is a lovely person with much to talk about and has proven to be a great travel companion for this short time. We took the two hour, Rs.36 train ride from Bangalore two days ago and will likely leave tomorrow afternoon on another crowded, sweaty train. She leaves for Pune further to the north on Wednesday.

It is officially monsoon season here, though it hasn't yet shown us it's torrential capabilities yet, this area will soon be pounded and ponded by water. To the west, on the coastal plain there have been floods and tragic displacement of people, and lives lost. We are further inland by quite a ways (check out a map if you want) so it should only get wet and soggy and likely quite muddy here. As of yet, the weather has been quite nice. Warm and slightly muggy during the day, and mostly cool at night. It's quite a blessing since I hear that the summer time is upwards of 110 degrees and 80+ percent humidity. The mosquitoes aren't too bad yet either... they come after the monsoons.

This place is a serious wake up call for anyone who takes life for granted. Coming from a place where everything is easy; where seemingly everyone has too much and only wants more, where it is safe to drink tap water nearly everywhere, where we can swim in the lakes and rivers, where the air is fresh and the sidewalks are clean, where there isn't raw sewage in every water way- coming here is enough to humble anyone.

I'm not sure how many times each day I am tapped on the arm, or have my pants tugged by a child begging for some change. How many times I have stepped around a person, incapacitated by disease or deformity, or possibly very dead on the sidewalk. I can't really tell you much about how it feels either, to feel cold for turning my head away, or stepping around someone so near to death. This is India. It is very much live and let live. It is also very much live and let die.

All things considered...

The people here are so kind, warm and generous, so spiritually connected through their deep cultural and religious roots. It is so nice to speak with the well educated and hard working people. They are inquisitive and open and really just pleased to hear different perspectives, as am I. I have met teachers and software engineers, police officers and bus drivers and restaurant hosts... all have a story and all have a genuine smile. Here it seems there is no reason to be fake, there is no reason to front or to flaunt. This is really based in the cultural value of family as status, rather than wealth. For so many here also, to flaunt anything would be a wasted endeavor, taking away from the ability to provide for ones family. This is the most real place I have ever been.

In the newspaper this morning I read the classified section. Two pages of this classified section were matrimonial advertisements. Families advertising their sons or daughters to other families often with the words "Caste No Bars". People respond to the ads and set up meetings between possible couples and families, and if it seems to be right... they marry. Who knows you better than your family? It is nice to see that people are beginning to marry beyond the idea of caste.

Coming from the west where we regularly date people often for years at a time, we get into sexually involved relationships without the intent to marry, we marry and then divorce and often have children out of wedlock, in a way the system here seems closed and regimented. It seems as though you have little choice of your own in the matter of marriage. When your family decides it's time, it's time. I'm sure you have a say in the type of person you would like to marry, and it is factored into the advertisement run by your family members, but really.... it seems to take the choice out of it.

On the other side of things... talking to Santosh, an elementary school teacher here in Mysore, he made it clear to me how really beautiful an arranged marriage might be. He said that it takes the worry out of knowing whether you will find the right person for you, it allows you to focus on your education, career and family life. When the time is right, and your family thinks you are financially stable and emotionally prepared to marry, it is arranged for you. "This is a bond", he says. There is typically no option of divorce, and usually no need as people here are typically non-violent and quite respectful of each other. As you learn that your partner is a different person, and you respect that person for all that they are and are not, the bond between you grows. It is life long and tied deeply into both families. There are often over a thousand people at a wedding. It's quite interesting to hear these points of view, as arranged marriage often has a negative connotation in the minds of westerners. I'm sure it is all case sensitive, and I'm sure it isn't always what is best, but I'm also sure that the western system of "dating" and "mating" isn't any better. Just different I guess.

Many of my previous writings have had bits of humor in them... I'm kind of like that. It makes life easier when you can laugh about things. So, like in Japan, where some of my favorite sights were t-shirts with sayings like "Dunk a dough nut into coffee", or "Desert Storm Wind Gust" or "Lick the bottom of your slipper for immunity", here is not too different in terms of wearable laughs. So far I have seen..."Jeesus is our sabiour", "Everybody wants to go to heaven, but nobody wants to die" as well as my personal favorite, "I swear to drink beer, I didn't drink God". The ones here aren't quite as funny or as common as in Japan. What IS even more prevalent here than awesome anime hair and fanny packs in Japan is the bitchin moustache! Everyone has one. I mean E-V-E-R-Y-O-N-E. I swear even 8 year old boys and 80 year old have these rad, amazingly bushy growths of hair on their upper lip. I bet they can shave and like 2 minutes later its full again. Haven't seen a woman with one yet, but I'm sure she's out there, I've only been her a week.

Soon, I hope to have some pictures up. I would also like to write about the languages and the rickshaws and the hawkers and the kick ass food. It's so cheap to eat here that it is difficult for a foodie like me to not go home having over eaten. I waddle home frequently.

Well I think I should be heading back to the hotel now. It's hot and I want to take a cold bucket bath and maybe have a nap.

Until next time...

Peace, Love and Fish Tikka with Nan and Dallh on the side!

Chris