Beauty Parlor in Bangalore

Do you know how they give you an eyebrow arching in India? With thread. The woman put a piece of thread in her mouth to keep it taut, wound it around her fingers, and then did this complicated scissoring thing so that she could pluck a bunch of hairs all at once. It doesn't hurt. It's amazing. I was in awe. And for this she charged me 25 cents.

(Addendum from October 28, 2004 -- um, ok, they still haven't grown back. This is incredible. Miraculous. Stupendous. . . The woman who did them -- if you're ever in Bangalore -- was Mrs. Nagarathma R at a salon called Angels. Address: #267/1, 1st floor, 1st Main, 6th Cross Domlur Layout, Bangalore 560-071 Ph 2535 4180)

September 13: Blessings

Yesterday morning I walked to a nearby rooftop restaurant to have breakfast. I was almost finished eating when a lively German man named Martin sat down with me. Martin visits India regularly, both because he loves the country and because he needs to buy motorcycle parts in Goa. He is a wealth of information about Indian and European motorcycles and I learned all sorts of things about Enfield and BSA (who knew that most motorcycle companies were arms manufacturers first??) But more importantly Martin introduced me to two other travelers he had met a week or so earlier as well as the owners of the restaurant.

The owners, it turned out were getting ready that night for their annual blessing at the temple. Archaeological wonder to the tourist; neighborhood church to them. Their extended family was in town for the event and we were all invited as well.

It started with lunch-- a fairly wonderful affair that involved eating on banana leaves. It was particularly nice since so many restaurants in Southern India cater to North Indian tourists tastes and don't serve local food.

But the main event was that night. The best part about it was that it was just like the mele we had at the symposium, except with real villagers. It started off with a band outside the restaurant which led the parade through the town streets to the temple. I didn't catch most of what went on during the actual ceremony other than that we were regularly handed rice to throw for good luck, and that apparently the restaurant proprieter -- only semi-clad in a short, white wrap-around -- was feeding various fruits and flowers to the god Shiva whose image sat in front of us.

Once the ceremony was over, the band started up again -- and we all danced along after it. Behind us, carried on a palanquin was fruit- and flower-covered Shiva. To ensure that we could see the god in the dark, there buzzed away on the palanquin a large generator powering four intensely bright lights. Leading the whole caravan was an honest-to-god elephant, covered in a bright pink cloth, and covered in white mandalas.

A VERY good elephant.

He was a very, very good elephant: first, if you put a rupee in his trunk, he would bless you (I don't quite know how I feel about having touched the inside of an elephant's trunk -- it's sort of pink and squishy); second, flocks of children regularly halted the procession in order to light fireworks directly in front of the elephant, and he didn't even flinch.

Such things must be common place to the band members. A Western chick, on the other hand, who borrowed a set of small brass cymbals from around one of their necks and played percussion as she followed along -- that was clearly novel. They all watched me instead of the elephant.

September 12: Hampi

The town of Hampi is surrounded by old temples from the 14th century, when this area was called Vijayanagar -- the capital of the largest empire in post-mogul India, covering several states.

My tourguide playing the temple pillars.

Over an expanse of some 25 km, there lie dozens of temples and buildings, some in ruins, some still functional. One of the must-see buildings is a temple with pillars that can be played like a xylophone, simply by tapping the stone with a knuckle. The sounds are so metallic, that it's hard to believe the pillars are pure, solid stone.

I'm not sure what is more incredible as you walk through the site: the buildings or the geology. Everywhere you look are piles of huge, round rocks -- we're talking up to small-house-size boulders here -- that look as if some god casually put down a pile of marbles. It's hard to imagine how this landscape was just created naturally.

What's also caught my eye, however, is the town of Hampi itself. I am amazed at how different every town has been, and Hampi is no exception. It is the first truly small town I've been to. A a true village. Despite the tourists that come through, all the kids stop and stare at me, sheepishly saying hello if they dare. No automobiles are allowed in, and the narrow dirt streets wouldn't accomodate them anyway. There isn't a western toilet to be found in the town, my cell phone has no service, and the internet is strictly a dialup affair.

Last night as I slept, I thought I kept hearing a tiger roar, but no, it was just the ox baying underneath my window.

Animal Sightings

These are the animals I saw today in Hampi.

a) bats. First of all I have been seeing bats all over India, starting in Kumily. Jan pointed at the swarm above us -- swarm, like bees, like as far as the eye could see, circling above us -- and said: "It's like the movie The Birds!" I told him I had bad news. They were bats. I have never seen so many. That wasn't so bad. However, I have to admit having been shocked a day later when a bird with a 3-foot wing-span flew directly overhead and, damn, if it wasn't the exact shape of the symbol on Batman's chest.

Today I went into an underground cave in a temple and there were hundreds of bats hanging upside down from the ceiling. I've never actually seen hundreds of bats hanging from a ceiling. My first thought was that, hey! they really do sleep upside down. My second thought was hey! I need to get out of here!

I know it's illogical, but why on earth are bats so eerie??

I know you can't quite tell from the photo, but this was a foot long. Very scary.

b) a millipede. Not just any millipede mind you. This was a foot long and an inch thick. I swear. Thankfully it wasn't moving, or I would have screamed like a girl.

Back Online!

I have been offline for several days, and my cell phone has no network access, and I am only on dialup now. . . BUT it is lovely to have logged on again after several days and see everyone concerned about my cockroach horror. It was truly awful.

I am in Hampi today, after two days in Goa. Log info going up here as soon as I can download it successfully from my palm pilot.

Back Online!

I have been offline for several days, and my cell phone has no network access, and I am only on dialup now. . . BUT it is lovely to have logged on again after several days and see everyone concerned about my cockroach horror. It was truly awful.

I am in Hampi today, after two days in Goa. Log info going up here as soon as I can download it successfully from my palm pilot.