Know Your Swastikas

In India, the swastika is a common Hindu, Buddhist, and Jain decoration. It can be found virtually everywhere: entrances to buildings, doorways to apartments, and windows of rickshaws or taxis. When we first arrived in India I was intrigued with this icon as I seemed to run into it everywhere. Yesterday, I saw someone's personal car with the Nazi swastika sticker on the back; red rectangle with a centered white circle containing the tilted black swastika. It took me a few minutes to realize that this was strange because the symbol is so ubiquitous here. I think this person needs to reeducate themselves about which swastika is appropriate. In the West, the swastika graphic is an immediate red flag (no pun intended), a definite no-no.

Casteless Society

"Caste has thus become a major obstacle in the establishment of a casteless society."

Indian Government And Politics
A.T. Philip, K.H. Shivaji Rao
Sterling Publishers Private Limited
1987
p. 323

This is a quote that Hannah has come across in one of her textbooks while studying for her exams. For all of you who are fuzzy on the whole caste system thing and how it functions in today's Indian society, please refer to the above statement. Trust me, this will clear up much of your confusion. Maybe I'm reading it in the wrong context and it is simply a little haiku poem. How about: "the [sun] has thus become a major obstacle in the establishment of a [sun]less [galaxy]."

Jaisalmer

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Jaisalmer, our second stop in Rajasthan, was much more subdued compared with Jaipur. It was quiet, friendly, and walkable. Jaisalmer is the Golden City since the entire city was constructed with beautiful desert sandstone. At the center of the city there is an amazing yellow fort, raised about 100 feet above the houses. Admission to the fort is free, but unfortunately it is inhabited with people, informal shops and cattle. Apparently, the fact that people live in the fort is taking its toll on the structure — it is sinking. Poor plumbing and seepage are contributing to the fort's decay. On one of our visits to the fort, we even witnessed a guy pissing on the fort wall. I guess you could say "conservation" is not much of a priority here.

Our first day, we walked through the city's bazaars to reach the fort. We took our time looking in some of the shops for good bargains on gifts. Walking through the fort, it felt like we had travelled back in time. It felt good to just wander through the narrow lanes. From the fort, we were able to capture some beautiful views of the city and found some intricately carved jain temples.

The next day was dedicated to the Havelis, which are palaces built by rich merchants. The intricate carving in the soft sandstone was unbelievable. There was a shady courtyard directly across from the Havelis where we enjoyed resting on a bench, admired the artwork of the building, and made friends with a young, local puppet seller. What we saw as a fruitful, enjoyable conversation was surely translated by him as a waste of time, as we did not purchase any of his puppets. However non-lucrative it may have been for our little man, we did enjoy sitting with him and practicing our Hindi.

Holi (yet another festival)

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Over the weekend, India celebrated Holi: a two-day festival ushering in spring and celebrating the triumph of good over evil. Holi is more commonly known as the festival of color. It started Saturday evening with a bon fire, burning of puja, and a few other rituals (we did not quite catch all of them). The real fun begins on day two, when Holi is celebrated by throwing brightly colored powder and water on one another. We had so much fun playing Holi with our neighbors. The best part was meeting a lot of our neighbors for the first time. By "meeting" we mean dousing them with water and smearing colored chalk all over their faces. We can't wait for next year.

This is India

"American detained for Puri temple visit"
Times of India
Friday, March 2, 2007
p. 15
Read the follow up story

This is an article we found in the Times of India newspaper a few days ago. We are so baffled by the actions of the Indian people and authorities. Here are a few snippets that we found interesting:

"Roediger, a Christian, was handed over to the police, after an embarrassed temple administration took a fine of Rs 209 from him even as some shrine priests insisted that the 'bhog' for the day be dumped as it had been defiled by the presence of a non-Hindu inside the temple."

What? The temple priests collected the fine? Why not make it 210 rupees? There must be something auspicious about 209.

"'I am innocent. I wasn't aware of any restriction. The signboard announcing the restriction may have been in a corner of the entrance and hence escaped my notice,' Roediger told TOI. He was still in detention till the filing of this report."

This foreigner sounds dangerous. I'm sure glad he's under the surveillance of the Indian police.

"The police did not know what to do with Roediger as there is no legal provision barring a Christian or foreigner from entering the temple."

The solution seems pretty obvious to me: release him. If no laws exist barring a foreigner from entering the temple then he is innocent and shouldn't have been arrested in the first place, right? Not even the police know what to do with a man that hasn't broken the law, this is embarrassing.

Jaipur Food

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Aside from Jaipur being a somewhat disappointing city, we did enjoy some really good food. Not just one meal, but Hannah and I enjoyed two damned tasty restaurants. Our first pleasant culinary experience was at a nicer restaurant famous for its dal makhani (butter lentils), which instantly became a favorite dish. Finally, we discovered another butter-loaded, vegetarian alternative to murgh makhani (butter chicken).

The second meal worth noting (and documenting in photos) was consumed at a small, four-table, hole-in-the-wall restaurant with a full view kitchen. The cook top was essentially a large stone slab with pot-sized pits containing hot coals. Here, we had paneer makhani (butter cottage cheese — that's right, bring on the cholesterol), and plain naan (unleavened bread). The naan here was hands down the best we've had in India.