Epilogue

Hindi has a very appropriate way of saying 29: "Unnatis", literally "One before thirty". I think it captures the feeling very accurately. So, today I am "one before thirty" years old.

* * *

I am also leaving India today. I love India but after 4 months and a tad I feel quite exhausted of the everyday struggle that starts once you leave the guest house's door-step.
So I've decided to spend my last few weeks in Thailand. Thailand is not a place for a Sadhu, not even an electric one. So this is my last post before I seal this blog for good.
Some last updates: First of all, I've added a third and last post about the Vipassana course (dated 22.4), this time a rather informative one.

Secondly, an update regarding Durga and the cow killer. Turns out he's not Greek and he didn't kill no cow- he is the "Buffalo Demon" Mahisasura. Apparently he possessed the poor water buffalo and plagued the world and the poor animal was killed in the cross fire. I added here a somewhat less bloody version than the one I saw in the barbershop.

Bad rep and good fish

I got to Kolkata (the formal name of what was previously known as Calcutta) for two reasons:
First of all, the trip saved me about 65US$ on my flight to Bangkok.
Secondly, it was highly recommended to me by my brother:

"Calcutta is interesting to go through. This is how London is going to look like after the great disaster (It feels a bit like the city in '12 monkeys', only with loads of people). Don't try to avoid it. Good food."

Kolkata is probably the city with the worst PR in the world. An American Peace Corps volunteer who is stationed in Bangladesh told me: "The only reason people think Kolkata is 'the Armpit of the World' is that they have never been to Dhaka".
I found Kolkata to be quite beautiful. Of course, it still is an Indian city, full of beggars and filth, but after 4 month in India, that doesn't prevent me from seeing it's beauty: From the old Raj-era buildings to the vivid markets.

* * *

Finding genuine Bengali food was quite tough though, most restaurants here serve either "standard" Indian food or their version of Chinese. It took me a whole day to find an authentic place, but it was worth every minute of searching. It was a real local restaurant, with the menu written in Bengali on a blackboard.

You don’t have a menu in English, do you?
No sir, come this way.

The waiter took me to the (spotless!) kitchen and showed me the content of the pots: mutton curry, three kinds of fish curry, fish-eggs masala, sabji (vegetable mix)… A Bengali feast for 46Rs.

* * *

I went this afternoon to Eden Gardens, a corner of the city that is supposed to be cooler and laid back. It was 41 degrees and felt like 100% humidity. I got to the gardens with my shirt sticking to my back and my hair to my forehead, only to find a shut gate and the following message:

"Due to the objection of the local armed forces to pay an entrance fee,
The gardens will be closed until further notice"

I went to the Paan-Walla (betel nut seller) stationed near the entrance.

Is it always closed?
No sir, only for the past three months.

GoingToRelax

Daramsala is the lion's den: the Israeli colony per-excellence. It is High-Season in Daramsala and Manali this time of year, since the state of Himachal Pradesh is almost the only livable place in India in the pre-monsoon season.
I came to Daramsala to take two courses. The first was a Hindi course, mostly intended to give me some practice in everyday use of the language. I learnt the basic grammar, reading and writing from a book, but seeing that everybody here speaks quite good English, practicing it is quite difficult.
The second course was a one-week Yoga course with Vijay, a 50 year old teacher who was recommended to me by my Tel-Aviv teacher. Vijay teaches Ashtanga-Vinyasa Yoga, also known as "Power Yoga". The method emphasizes not only the correct practice of the Asanas (postures) but also the dynamic flow from one Asana to another, and the synchronization of Asana practice with breathing. It's quite exhausting at first, but once I got used to it other methods seem not thorough enough and too "Shanti".
Vijay teaches the standard "First Series" of Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga with no shortcuts - about 2.5 hours including warm up and relaxation. What I found unique to him was the odd mixture of instructions in English and chanting in his hollow, penetrating and high pitched voice, mainly during relaxation:

The RightFingersThumbAndBackOfTheHandAhhhhhaaaaaahhhaaaaaaaaaiiii...
GoingToRelaxAhhhhhaaaaaahhhaaaaaaaaaiiii...
The RightWristLowerArmAndElbowAhhaaaaaiiiiAhhaaaaiiiAhhaaaaiii....
GoingToRelaxAhhaaaaaiiiiAhhaaaaiiiAhhaaaaiii....

And so on.

What Is Your Good Name?

“I always prefer taking 2nd class train tickets- it gives me an opportunity to speak with Indians.”

I have heard this sentence so many times, mainly from European travelers, and I must admit to something quite unpopular. On 95% of the time, I hate these train conversations. It’s usually just having the same standard conversation over and over (and over) again.
It will always consist of at least five out of the following ten questions:

What is your good name*? (A must)
Which country?
How much time are you in India?
What is your age?
Are you married?
What is your religion?
Do you eat non-veg?
What do you do in your country?
What is your salary?
What’s your local currency’s worth in Rupees?

At first you like it. Then you get the hang of it, but you still have the patience for it. As time goes buy, you become bored of it, especially on long rides when you have several of these conversations consecutively. I’ve met some travelers who start making up answers (“I’m from Atlantis”, “I’m a Jedi Knight” etc.). I don’t feel like lying, but lately I stopped caring about being understood.

Hello, What is your good name?
Avner.
Alnay?
Yeh, yeh.

* "Good" is added because that is the polite way to ask this in Hindi: "Apka shub naam kia hai? ".