Ferociuos fever… fatality? FRÜHSTÜCK

Sep 29^th

Lying in my bed, cursing over every single joint in my body. Been having mysterious fever dreams – dreamt that everyone in Ganga Mahal worked the night shift in a kitchen, that was a hectic night indeed. People are too kind, Klara and Linnéa came by and asked if I needed anything, which I answered no to since I doubted my ability to keep any sustenance inside my body, and later they showed up with two cokes, one pasta dish and a cup of coffee, then Julie came with a bowl of rice, and Fredrik with yet another can of coke. My room looks like a buffet, no wonder I dream about kitchens.

I probably have the same thing that Emil came down with, fever followed by a massive war in the abdominal regions. I hope it’ll pass soon, though I doubt it… and now there has been no electricity since early morning so the back-up generator has died and so has the fans in my rooms. Accursed heat!

 

Sep 30^th

Fever came back again during the night, but now I’m feeling better again, but worse in the stomach of course. Contemplating if I have the guts to visit an Indian hospital but I think I’ll skip it. Emil seems rather fine now at least. I just hope I’m healthy enough to go with the group to Sarnat tomorrow, not something I’d like to miss. I’ve already missed the Krishna Murti foundation. As of now I’m trying to eat some bread and listen to some punk rock, the best medication in the world… and I’m laughing at Fredrik chasing a lizard with a stick. I saw the lizard yesterday and made a joke about how poisonous it was, apparently I got it right.

So far I’ve dreamt about the night kitchen, about being bit by a lizard and going rampage throughout the city (was a fun dream for once), and lastly I dreamt that I lifted my duvet and found rats gnawing on my legs. Not as funny, no.

 

ALFREDO!

Had an early mourning after a sleepless night, such things usually leave me in a splendid mood. The bloody rat, formally known as Alfredo, kept me awake, then I had to leave for a lecture at a high school for muslim girls. After the lecture some of us went to Clark’s and had a swim in the pool, was neat. I passed out in the sun so now I’m looking like a scorched cheeta. Pigmentation ahoy!

 

Today in the following part of this post is actually yesterday, since Internet didn’t work yesterday. Think inception. Got it? Great.

Yesterday I had one of the famous near-death experiences only India can offer (or well, Ashish on a bike anyway). Went to buy some Tablas, and I’ve got to say I’m more than pleased with the deal. I also had one of the lamest lectures I’ve ever encountered – a biased shia-muslim equaling sunni-muslims with terrorists? No thanks…

Today we had yet another Hindi class, subject – object – verb indeed. Makes for some funny translations, got to go do my homework now. I recently came back from a tailor’s shop, bought 3 kurtas and 2 pair of fisherman pants, snug stuff, me like.

 

Mai tuta puta kaana bana sakta hũ!

I can cook a bit of food. Such a funny language.

Pani Poooool!

Finally stopped raining today, had been going on for roughly 36 hours straight. Had both yesterday and today off so we were getting a bit bored, decided to have a lil’ adventure! Rumors had it there was a supermarket around so Emin, Juggen and I decided to check it out. We thought that we should walk for once, and when we had walked for about 2 minutes we hit a flooded street. Tried crossing it but it turned out to be a kilometer long or something, so we took a rickshaw… that stopped. So I had to jump out and push it for about 2-300 meters. Then the engine failed due to the water, so I had to hold the spark plug while he fired up the engine, which felt… safe. Anywho, just been chilling today, just got home from Haifa and a splendid desert – bananas, chocolate, crackers and ice cream. I’m living on the edge baby!

Might be that the jungle will be off limits for the rest of our stay here, which sucks. Bloody rain.

G’night ya’ll!

The Question Remains… is it safe?

The day before yesterday I finally managed to pay Om-ji, withdrawing cash in India is a hassle… Later we went on a book shop tour, and I’ve got to say that Indians have one funny way of organizing books (or should I say not organizing?). On our way home we stopped at a McDonald’s and bought Ice Cream, how safe is that in India? Turns out it’s pretty safe.

In the evening there was a dance show here in Ganga Mahal and some folks were invited, some Norwegians, some Canadians and all our Kamalakar Mishra – the bloke is a blast. The dance was nothing special in my humble opinion, was fun seeing the guy playing tabla (drums) like crazy though, I’m considering taking some private lessons.

 

Yesterday, the 23d, we finally got internet in Ganga Mahal, we’ll see how long it lasts. Didn’t do much today apart from having a Hindi class and taking an HIV test, nothing out of the ordinary… We got it confirmed today that we’re going out to the Jungle on Sunday, will see how much jungle it really is, one lesson I’ve learned so far is: never have high expectations in India and everything will be a blast. Expect too much and you’ll be let down.

Tomorrow we’ll head for Sarnat, the city where Siddharta Gautama held his first speak and became Buddha, so the weekend will be hectic but fun, hopefully.

 

Internet is crashing constantly, and today, the 24^th, the trip to Sarnat was cancelled due to the bloody storm. Been raining on and off for about 20 hours, and the city stinks. Been watching Sällskapsresan all day long… We just got home from a Japanese restaurant; I played it unsafe and ordered chicken and a coffee shake for desert. Still alive, so I guess it was safe enough. Hopefully the rain will stop till tomorrow so we can head out to the jungle.

 

 

Sex talk

Woke up early today, had a prearranged meeting with some dead folks. Emil and I went with Ashish to witness a festival called Pitr Paksh, a festival for the dead. Fifteen days are dedicated to the loss of loved ones and people make offerings to honour the dead. Fortunately it was too far away to go by bike, so we took a riksha. Ashish is my hero, anything you need he’ll fix, or fix someone to fix it for you. He even fixed me a black cup of coffee right now, so I’m quite fond of him.

After lunch we went to Baba Black Sheep, a silk tailor in Banaras – finally an honest man selling clothes. Haggling makes me grumpy. He taught us how to differentiate between silk, pashmina, polyester and angora wool. Here’s the trick – burn it! Burning fabric is apparently the best way to determine its’ quality. Seems like a bit of a waste though, doesn’t it? Anyone back home wants a scarf, a duvet or whatever? Let me know.

Anywho, after that lecture in pyro techniques we had yet another seminar on Indian religions with Kamalakar Mishra-ji. I’m growing rather fond of him as well, will be fun to be tutored by him. Today’s topic was the essence of Hinduism, tantrism, and quite a lot of sex talk. He even gave us the proper definition of love, which is twofold. Love is feeling unity with another being, and furthermore to wish for that being’s happiness – with no aim for your own wellbeing. Beautiful, innit?

This weekend will hopefully bring some adventures to it, we might go into the jungle! I was planning to do some research during the weekend, but screw that if I can get eaten by a tiger.

Yah Khali Gari hai!

That car is empty.

 

 

Just realized I forgot to tell you about when I embarked on an adventure to an Indian hospital. Poor Per got ill some days ago so I went to visit and deal with the insurance and such. Ashish took me on his bike and it was the most fun I’d had in days – even though I feared for my life from time to time. Anyway, the hospital wasn’t in such a bad condition that I had feared.

Today, Tuesday, Emil and I had our first laundry day. I doubt that the clothes got any cleaner though; they’re full in washing powder since I couldn’t rinse them out properly and they’re full of colour from the recently purchased kurtas. To sum it up, my white clothes aren’t exactly white anymore.

Just finished the second Hindi class, and I must say we’re making progress far faster than expected. I can almost hold a conversation about a room with no ceiling fans, will probably come in handy sometime.

At the moment I’m sitting at Ashish, as usual, waiting for Anti to log in since I’m rather psyched to hear about the work papers and whatnot. Will have a lecture later on Indian Religions with Kamalakar Mishra – my mentor-to-be for the C paper (I think).

Procrastination 101

Namaste!

Woke up with cramping abs at about 6 a.m. Officially declared a state of war with my stomach and an hour later I lay wimpering in the common room, reading a book. Stomach 1, Gorge 0.

Went down and had some breakfast at Ashish – nutella toast, savior of the day.

It was time to pay Om-ji today so me and four of the girls shared a motor-riksha and went hunting for an ATM (while fearing for our lives). Thing is, Indian people are poor so either the ATMs are broken, out of service or just plain empty.

Anywho, the plan for today was to: 1. withdraw some cash, 2. register at BHU, and 3. visit some temples.

Spent 2½ hours trying to find a working ATM, went home again rather pissed and had some lunch, went to BHU to register and waited at the international office for about an hour. Then someone said something and we went home, without registration forms. When we got home Ashish came up and said that the temple tour was cancelled, since we probably were tired after a long day’s work. Haha. That’s India for you.

So, what has been done today? Some casual reading, some intense sweating, some cursing over digestive systems – oh, and some purchasing of washing powder. So me and Emil will do some washing up later, filthy bastards as we are.

Soon time to head for the chinese restaurant and have some dinner. God forbid eating Indian food in India!

 

Redefining rebirth

So… I took a swim in a pool today. And I’m a new man. Felt great, had some cold ones and some fries and just some relaxation in the sun.

Managed to time our ride home so we dodged most of the rain, uploaded some photos and a video no Facebook for anyone interested. Trying to get some writing done but it’s hard, still a bit soft in the head from all the heat. At least it won’t get any hotter. Did something as western as eating on McDonald’s today, took a Maharaja Mac – imagine that. Chicken + India + Stomach equals bad karma (i.e. metabolism going mental).

Oh well, time to head up to the room and get some things done. Internet is bad for concentration.

Sleep tight, lil’ fellow

Had my first good night sleep since I came to India, I think. I must have been rather out of it since Sara and Klara had been banging on our door in the middle of the night since there was “an animal” on their room. Whether real or fictive it stands to reason. Anywho, I thouhght it was rather nasty eating supper with mice running over my feet, till I went up to Ganga Mahal and had rats running around – India grants you perspectives. Apparently, crumbles on the floor is a bad idea when there are rodents around. Sitting at Ashish, have just had a fresh lemon drink for breakfast and am on my way to Clark’s Hotel for some time in the water, will be a blast. Hopefully. But I’ve learned not to have any expectations…at all. That way everything is positive.

Last night was the worst bug manifestation I’ve ever seen. Them flies had a party going DOWN. Thank God(s) for geckos.

Made a lil’ clip of Ganga Mahal yesterday, keep an eye out for it on Facebook.

Now I’ll let Papa Henrik-ji use my computer for a wee bit since his is giving him trouble.

Chow Ding!

Lepra, Karma, Limping Dogs

Woke up early even though we had the morning off, went down to Ashish to have some breakfast. That guy is great, and apparently he loves snus.

When Emil and I went out for a walk we  our neighbour, the Lepra Lady, again – and there’s a dog limping around with a bone pipe sticking out of its front paw. Anyway, now Emil and I have some electricity in our room so we can charge our computers and whatnot.

Oh, and we had our first Hindi class today, with the renowned Virendra Singh, he was awesome. And now I can say other things than various “get lost” phrases.

Ek, do, din, char, pach, che, sat, aakh, no, des, giaara. Or something. Always useful to count to eleven. Will continue with 3 Hindi lessons a week, more than expected, and I look forward to it.

Right now I’ve had some pasta and been sitting at Assi Ghat, attending a nightly festival to say good night to Ganga-ji, the mother godess. There is a festival each night to say good night to the gods, and one every morning to wake them up. Kind of cute, eh?

Soon time to head up to the ‘palace’ and watch some Swedish movies, perhaps shed some tears for our beautiful country. Tomorrow we’ll be going to a hotel to have a bit of time off at the pool, perhaps enjoying a cold one, but don’t tell everyone! Beer is hush hush in Hindu society.

Sleep tight, you scandinavians, and don’t forget to say good night to Ganga-ji. If you want to see some pics, go to my facebook page – Gudel Laveborn. Takes too much time uploading here.

Cheerio!