The 4th Dec we went down the Gaths and saw the elephantman, the guy known from various documentaries and ‘an idiot abroad’. People here call him Bāba Gaṇeśa-ji, believing him to be the reincarnation of the Hindu God Gaṇeśa. The things he did when we were there were smoke some pot and drink some chai. Couldn’t decide if I should be a bit amazed to meet a man revered as a God or think wrongly of it since it’s a guy with a tumor being exploited in my opinion.
The 5th Dec we went to a spice market and then strolled around in Godoulia, the old market districts, on the hunt for some Christmas gifts. Didn’t buy much, apart from spices. Think I managed to drag about 2-2½ kilos home. Not that it ruined me particularly, spent about 170 SEK on it in total, and that’s including two boxes of saffron.
Today I’ve just been studying my arse off, Hindi exams are coming up (it’s on Thursday) and my essay is nowhere near done. I thought I’d have about two weeks left to finish it, but I kind of spontaneously booked a week’s trip to ऋषिकेश (Rishikesh) with Emil, and I leave for Delhi the 20th. So this Wednesday and Thursday will be spent on Hindi, Friday we’ll go to Surya and have a wee bit of fun with Fredrik and Linnéa as it’s their last weekend here. Saturday-Sunday will be HARDCORE study sessions. Monday (12th) – Saturday (17th) will be spent on trains and in Rishikesh, a mountain town at the base of the Himalayas. Will be hiking, rafting in Ganges and perhaps go for some bungee jumping? (No, Anti, I won’t – promise!) That leaves Dec 18,19 to complete the essay, 20-21 in Delhi, and 22 back to Sweden. Jeez, tough schedule much?
sacredbananas 