November - December
Looking back over November and December post - Hampi and the volunteer visit in Pune, I realise how much I experienced during the last 2 months of 2010. More state crossings and several celebrations made this a colourful and possibly my favourite period of the year.
I will continue with the route I took, starting with an awful overnight bus journey to Udaipur from Pune. Not only was I sat uncomfortably for the entirety but I also had a slightly psychotic girl next to me who decided to take up half of my limited seat space and elbow me at frequent intervals!
Anyway I was relieved to reach the beautiful town and headed straight for my favoutire guest-house offering yoga classes every morning. I go tmyself settled and that evening met with the Seva Mandir volunteers minus one who was bedridden. I enjoyed the next few days wandering around the lake which had filled up substantially since the first time I had been. The rooftop yoga was really revitalising, after the over-indulgences of Pune my body felt like it was getting what it needed once more and the teacher was unique in his delivery style using only short sharp sounds to signal the changing of asanas.
Diwali
Plans for Diwali were the main topic of conversation, this is what I had timed my visit for and was excited about the prospect of experiencing it with one of my volunteers who was making arrangements for us.
When the actual day came, I was not feeling on top form after a night of cramps and shivers but determined to experience this special celebrations as much as possible. In the end I spent this festival of lights, the biggest celebration of the year (in India) in a family home where we partook in Puja. Some details of the ceremony were explained such as the dipping of coins in water, milk and curd. It was a priviliege to celebrate with an Indians who true to their reputation were very welcoming. Oil lamps lit up the neighbourhood which was beautiful sight but gave a feeling of great humbleness. We moved onto to another part of town called Bapu Bazaar where the crowds were gathering around the Town Hall for the spectacular firework display which ensued and at times were within arms reach!
Pushkar
With one occasion over, another reason for my timing of the visit to Udaipur coincided with the famous annual Pushkar Camel Fair which the volunteers had been talking about since Orientation Week. I have to say I had no idea what to expect, picturing camels everywhere was not really an image I could get to grips with but one we were all very intrigued about. Pushkar itself was a place I had wanted to visit on my previous trip around the country but somehow hadn't made. Our view from the guest-house rooftop gave a good sense of the small, spiritual feeling of the holy-lake town.
A brief encounter with a friend from Pune who introduced us to a young Australian lead us to having a new crew member and guide who took us into the areas of interest. Describing the camel section as mind-blowing was an understatement, as we proceeded into the abyss of animals and peered around the sight was one of total surrealness...a sea of camels as far as the eye could see! It looked like a festival camp site with the humped creatures taking the place of humans and a bizarre hum of grunts which filled the air instead of music. AMAZING! Even more entertaining was the programme of events which followed in the stadium nearby. A timetable of camel racing, decorating contests and a football game between Indians and foreigners which the international team won and included my volunteer getting man of the match :) After several days of spectating, we decided to move on to Jodhpur for more Rajasthani sight-seeing.
Jodhpur
Also know as the Blue City and famous for it's Fort, Jodhpur was a manageable 5 hour ride away.
Our stay was a brief one but we saw what was important and the Jodhpur Fort was definitely worth visiting especially with the audio guides which prevented any nuisances caused by incessant guides. The sky was quite hazy and therefore we were not able to really capture the true blueness of the old city however it still made for a picturesque landscape. Near the exit a Palm Reader attracted out attention and we each took our turn to pay a visit to the quirky grey-haired palmist. Some of his remarks about my personality rang true, intuitive and and sensitive. But other observations about my family and love-life for example were a little off the mark! Still, I was particularly interested to hear that I would meet somebody at the ages of 29, 32 and that my most successful period will be in my mid-thirties :) Watch this space...
We left our Australian buddy behind to return to Udaipur where I stayed on for the next occasion which was the birthday of one of my volunteers. We held a party at the accommodation which was a lovely day/evening involving sophisticated snacks of cheese and olives followed by a lot of cake-face and shisha. A great ending to the month of merriment.
Pune
On 1st December every year, World AIDS Day is marked internationally by a rnage of events and campaigns. I had decided that it would be a great shame to miss the action surrounding this significant cause in Pune wehere the volunteers at DGS were preparing a programme of activities in aid of those affected by HIV/AIDS. So off I headed to Pune once more and in the process experienced the most horrific bus journey yet. It was honestly an unforgettable ride, little me in a sleeper bed on top-deck at the back...being in a washing maching is the closest thing I can describe the experience to. Shocking! Anyway it was obviously worth it as the day I arrived there was already an event planned for the evening which took the shape of a live male-auction in a popular bar in town. Some of the performances were slightly cringeworthy but all for a good cause and done in good humour.
In the lead up to WAD, the volunteers had a packed schedule of awareness-raising activities arranged to include street theatre, chalking and a stigma tunnel which was set up in various communties with high HIV/AIDS prevelance for the purpose of trying to help combat stigmatisation which unfortunately is a common cause of isolation for sufferers and their families. On 1st December, the WAD rally took place across town with a coalition of HIV/AIDS awareness NGO's joining forces taking to the streets with banners, leaflets and chants drawing attention the cause. Many passers by were engaged and we continued the campaigning action by conducting more street theatre plays around the topic in numerous parts of the city.
Overall I would say the volunteers made the whole series of events a success, very creative and well organised...it was evident their hard work had paid off as they even made it into the local newspapers a few times!
Looking back over November and December post - Hampi and the volunteer visit in Pune, I realise how much I experienced during the last 2 months of 2010. More state crossings and several celebrations made this a colourful and possibly my favourite period of the year.
I will continue with the route I took, starting with an awful overnight bus journey to Udaipur from Pune. Not only was I sat uncomfortably for the entirety but I also had a slightly psychotic girl next to me who decided to take up half of my limited seat space and elbow me at frequent intervals!
Anyway I was relieved to reach the beautiful town and headed straight for my favoutire guest-house offering yoga classes every morning. I go tmyself settled and that evening met with the Seva Mandir volunteers minus one who was bedridden. I enjoyed the next few days wandering around the lake which had filled up substantially since the first time I had been. The rooftop yoga was really revitalising, after the over-indulgences of Pune my body felt like it was getting what it needed once more and the teacher was unique in his delivery style using only short sharp sounds to signal the changing of asanas.
Diwali
Plans for Diwali were the main topic of conversation, this is what I had timed my visit for and was excited about the prospect of experiencing it with one of my volunteers who was making arrangements for us.
When the actual day came, I was not feeling on top form after a night of cramps and shivers but determined to experience this special celebrations as much as possible. In the end I spent this festival of lights, the biggest celebration of the year (in India) in a family home where we partook in Puja. Some details of the ceremony were explained such as the dipping of coins in water, milk and curd. It was a priviliege to celebrate with an Indians who true to their reputation were very welcoming. Oil lamps lit up the neighbourhood which was beautiful sight but gave a feeling of great humbleness. We moved onto to another part of town called Bapu Bazaar where the crowds were gathering around the Town Hall for the spectacular firework display which ensued and at times were within arms reach!
Pushkar
With one occasion over, another reason for my timing of the visit to Udaipur coincided with the famous annual Pushkar Camel Fair which the volunteers had been talking about since Orientation Week. I have to say I had no idea what to expect, picturing camels everywhere was not really an image I could get to grips with but one we were all very intrigued about. Pushkar itself was a place I had wanted to visit on my previous trip around the country but somehow hadn't made. Our view from the guest-house rooftop gave a good sense of the small, spiritual feeling of the holy-lake town.
A brief encounter with a friend from Pune who introduced us to a young Australian lead us to having a new crew member and guide who took us into the areas of interest. Describing the camel section as mind-blowing was an understatement, as we proceeded into the abyss of animals and peered around the sight was one of total surrealness...a sea of camels as far as the eye could see! It looked like a festival camp site with the humped creatures taking the place of humans and a bizarre hum of grunts which filled the air instead of music. AMAZING! Even more entertaining was the programme of events which followed in the stadium nearby. A timetable of camel racing, decorating contests and a football game between Indians and foreigners which the international team won and included my volunteer getting man of the match :) After several days of spectating, we decided to move on to Jodhpur for more Rajasthani sight-seeing.
Jodhpur
Also know as the Blue City and famous for it's Fort, Jodhpur was a manageable 5 hour ride away.
Our stay was a brief one but we saw what was important and the Jodhpur Fort was definitely worth visiting especially with the audio guides which prevented any nuisances caused by incessant guides. The sky was quite hazy and therefore we were not able to really capture the true blueness of the old city however it still made for a picturesque landscape. Near the exit a Palm Reader attracted out attention and we each took our turn to pay a visit to the quirky grey-haired palmist. Some of his remarks about my personality rang true, intuitive and and sensitive. But other observations about my family and love-life for example were a little off the mark! Still, I was particularly interested to hear that I would meet somebody at the ages of 29, 32 and that my most successful period will be in my mid-thirties :) Watch this space...We left our Australian buddy behind to return to Udaipur where I stayed on for the next occasion which was the birthday of one of my volunteers. We held a party at the accommodation which was a lovely day/evening involving sophisticated snacks of cheese and olives followed by a lot of cake-face and shisha. A great ending to the month of merriment.
Pune
On 1st December every year, World AIDS Day is marked internationally by a rnage of events and campaigns. I had decided that it would be a great shame to miss the action surrounding this significant cause in Pune wehere the volunteers at DGS were preparing a programme of activities in aid of those affected by HIV/AIDS. So off I headed to Pune once more and in the process experienced the most horrific bus journey yet. It was honestly an unforgettable ride, little me in a sleeper bed on top-deck at the back...being in a washing maching is the closest thing I can describe the experience to. Shocking! Anyway it was obviously worth it as the day I arrived there was already an event planned for the evening which took the shape of a live male-auction in a popular bar in town. Some of the performances were slightly cringeworthy but all for a good cause and done in good humour.
In the lead up to WAD, the volunteers had a packed schedule of awareness-raising activities arranged to include street theatre, chalking and a stigma tunnel which was set up in various communties with high HIV/AIDS prevelance for the purpose of trying to help combat stigmatisation which unfortunately is a common cause of isolation for sufferers and their families. On 1st December, the WAD rally took place across town with a coalition of HIV/AIDS awareness NGO's joining forces taking to the streets with banners, leaflets and chants drawing attention the cause. Many passers by were engaged and we continued the campaigning action by conducting more street theatre plays around the topic in numerous parts of the city.
Overall I would say the volunteers made the whole series of events a success, very creative and well organised...it was evident their hard work had paid off as they even made it into the local newspapers a few times!
