Ok so last weekend we went to Belur and Haliebad, and stayed in the small town of Hassan. It was a school trip and it was me, andrew, and our tour guide named Basheer (who was awesome!) We left town at about 7am Sat. and drove for 3 hours. Let me first just say if God wasn't watching over me, Im about 100% sure that I'd be dead by this point in my young life. (sorry to scare you mum!) There have been several close calls since I've been India, but I don't think that I have ever been with a driver so unsafe. We drove in a rented taxi and I must say--the driver HAD to have been crazy! If you know me, you know that Im pretty chill about bad drivers and don't often freak out. It was the same in this case, I inevitably just fell asleep (while poor Andrew didn't get a single wink of sleep because he was too busy fretting, and having a death grip on the emergency handlebar thingy.) But while I was awake I did witness how bad our driver was--first let me say that in India the only rule for the road is 'anything goes'. I've been told that if your in an accident that whomever yells at the other loudest wins thus resulting in the accident being blamed on the other person. Anyways for the most part we were on a 2 lane dirt highway, and if the driver in front of us was too slow our driver would pull into the on-coming lane and pass the slow person. This was always interesting whenever a semi-truck was barreling down the other side at top speeed perhaps only 60 feet away from us--it was like a game of chicken. This interested me, but ironically didn't scare me. I guess my mentality is 'if I die, I die'. So while we twisted and turned around small Indian back roads, our lives in danger, I slept peacefully. When I finally came to Andrew detailed 3 crashes that we almost had including the fact that our car had been spit on by a motorcycle that we had almost run down.
Once we arrived we had a 650 stair mountain to climb. This was to see a Jain statue (Jainism is a religion that believes 'live and let live') They take this to the extreme and are vegans, and wear masks to ensure that they don't accidently swallow bugs, and sweep the ground where they walk to also ensure that they don't acciedently step on any bugs. The Jains believe in Buddah's teachings and the mountain that we climbed led to a 60ft statue of a very fit Buddah (not the sterotypical fat buddah.) Andrew and I joked that the climb was only worth the fact that we have bragging rights to say that we've seen a 16ft penis. While the statue was interesting, the view was def. worth the 650 steps. It was a beautiful city, with a small stoney mountain just opposite the mountain that we climbed. And honestly the 650 stairs were not as bad as I thought....probablly the fact that we had a 72 yr old tour guide that took rest every 10 or so stairs I think helped. We learned about the two different types of Jains, and the first are called the SkyClad...these are Jains that go completly naked so they won't have an reverence for anything material. They are completly material-less, eating only what is required and denying any amenities like power, or AC. Kind of an extreme form of the Amish.
After our tour of this famous Jain monument, we headed to Hassan to our hotel. Let me just say it was SOOO nice to stay the night in an AC room--something I have not done since being in India. It was a cute little town, and the hotel was pretty nice. I spent the remainder of the day having lunch and dinner in the hotel's resteraunt, and relazing in my king-sized bed watching HBO movies.
The next day we had a 7am breakfast and then headed to Belur/Haleibad. These are the places of two famous temples. I have to say Im pretty 'templed' out, I think I've see about 2 million temples by now, but Haleibad was interesting. Carvings of the kama sutra lined this holy place; Andrew teased me that I should start taking notes lol. There were many carvings of oral sex, anal sex, orgies, threesoms, and many other various other sexual positions. It simply amazes me that a religious place would be adorned with what could be considered porn of the time. But then I remember that the bible contains a little book called "Song of Solomon" and realize that sex is a part of human life, and therefore is addressed in religion.
While in Hassan I had my first taste of Jack-fruit...let me just say its now officially my favorite fruit--it tastes like a starburst! Its a GIANT fruit that is spikey, but when you cut it open there are several yellow pods of fruit inside. The pods are about 3 inches big and you just eat the pods. It has a consistancy unlike any other fruits, but if I have to comprare the consistancy, I would say that it's a lot like a soft, squishy vinal. Ok I know that sounds weird, but once again I'm at a complete loss for words. I guess all I can say is 'come to India and try it yourself!'
As we waited outside the Jain temple there was a small girl carrying a baby. She started holding her hand out for money (which I had left my purse in the car for the 650stair climb) but I have to say she was such a sweet little kid. Kind of a rascal, but adorable nonethe less. We waited for about 15 minutes outside the gates, so I intereacted with them for quite some time. The baby was a cutie, and kept holding my finger. It was interesting to watch her older sister care for her....it blows my mind to think that a child barely 6 has the responsibility to care for another human life. I'm 21 years old and I'm certain that Im no where near mature enough to shoulder that kind of responsibility...much less a 6 year old! Once again it saddens me to think how fast these children have to grow up and completly miss their childhood. When we finished our climb and were waiting for our car she came back up to me and I gave her my water-bottle because I had nothing else to give her. She gladly took it, and after taking a swig from it, she gently fed her baby sister some water as well. Just the sight of this touched my heart. Just one more image that will forever be imprinted on my memory. I have to say these images alone have made me a better person; a more understanding, and less naieve person. They have opened my eyes to what the majority of the world REALLY is....and all I hope is that my passing of them has made you a better person too. That maybe you have a slight bit more of understading of what the world is outside of the comfortable American bubble. Understanding demolishes ignorance, without ignorance the world would be radically different--for the better.
So as you go about your routine this week I hope that you can burn the image of this picture into your mind and not dismiss it for 'radicals' or 'revolutionaries' to handle but instead ask yourself "how can I change the world?" "How can I better the lives of these innocent children, and give them back what's been taken from them--their childhood?"
Thanks for reading and being challenged, and for not simply dismissing what I have to say but critically thinking about the world on a much bigger level. To rid yourself of ignorance and blissfulness is all I ask of you; to overcome your comfortable American life and see the pain of the world is one of the best things you can do for yourself, and the world your living in.
I love you all, and hope all is well with all of you!
Until my next blog,
Rebecca Ann
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