Adam Barkl's Indialog

Au Revoir February

It’s the end of February tomorrow, and I really cannot believe I’ve been here for two months. I’ve been here all this time, and there’s been hardly a moment of boredom. Those moments that do exist usually take place when I’m sitting around and waiting for lunch. You can certainly tell it’s nearing summer though; days are quickly getting hotter and hotter. But, no worries: I finally got my pants from the tailor, only 3 weeks late. It was well worth the wait. The pants turned out great, and they’re so light that it’s like I’m not even wearing pants. Oh how I treasure feelings like that. // I read in the news today that a pair of monkeys was married in Orissa, a state to the north. The ‘bride’ was dressed in a red sari (i.e. a garment consisting of a length of cotton or silk elaborately draped around the body, traditionally worn by women from the Indian subcontinent), and the couple was taken through all the traditional Hindu marriage customs. I think I read at least 200 people showed up. What is wrong with this picture is not the fact that people married monkeys, but rather that I wasn’t invited. What kind of crap is that? I guess I’ll have to scratch that one off my list a little later on. // March is the big holiday month here, and everyone is getting out their Lonely Planet and planning vacations around the country. Mine will include the beaches of Goa and a “Mega Death” concert in Bangalore. Either place takes hours to get to, which reminds me of how huge India is. When you look at a place like India on a map, having never been there, you see one of many countries on which hang out on the other side of the globe. Actually living here brings a reality to the place. Names on a map become places you’ve been, and roads and rivers become markers in between the immense landscape that makes up India. If I remember correctly, it’s approximately 1/3 the size of the US, and it certainly has an equal variety of natural beauty. Getting to the eastern coast takes at least 16 hours by bus, and the western about eight. Making your way to the far northeastern states takes 40+ hours by train, and Kashmir might as well be a part of Canada. The point I’m trying to make is that the world seems so abstract, even imaginary when you see pictures or watch movies. When you live in a place, you realize that all those borders, oceans, mountains ranges, and plains represent massive amounts of space, thousands of towns and cities, and a infinitely complex world. This is probably one of the greatest things you take away from living abroad. The enormity of it all makes you feel like maybe you’ve missed something big, or aren’t somewhere you should be. At the same time, it allows you to sit back, look at your old map with a new understanding, and begin planning what place you want to conquer next.

Posted at 01:43PM Feb 27, 2008 by Adam L Barkl in General  |  Comments[1]