|
| |
Last
week, I made a failed attempt at posting maps on this forum of the
northern India area, the Leh area, and the streets of Leh. Hopefully,
the text there was adequate. Now, I am going to post what may turn out
to be one of my favorite posts of the year - what it is actually like to
live here. I hope it will give you the flavor of this place.
I will start out with the house I live in. When I was here two years
ago, I actually visited that house. I had walked up to the Japanese
Shanti Stupa on my last day in Leh after doing four treks. That stupa
was the last thing on my list of things to see. True to my nature, I
decided to return to the center of Leh via a different route and found a
walkway path not on my Leh map. While walking down this path, I heard
someone call for me. It turned out to be Kima, the assistant pastor of
the church who recognized me from playing flute in church the day he was
installed in that roll. He had me come in to his apartment and offered
me tea, which I declined. He looked right at me and said "If you are
going to live in India, you must know that it is rude to decline a cup
of tea." So, I drank tea! Afterwards, I went and looked at a very nice
nearby hotel, the Lotus Hotel. I remember thinking that if I ever
returned to Leh, that I'd like to stay there, or at least in that part
of town. WELL, I am now living in the apartment directly above Kima and
only 100 yards from the Lotus Hotel!
Two years ago, the teacher staff quarters has grown from Kima's
apartment to seven apartments. Besides being involved at the church,
Kima teaches fourth grade, and I have his students for music class. To
the left of his apartment is KC's apartment. KC is an administrator at
the school involved with scheduling. He is Hindu and had me stay at his
place for dinner for his Diwali holiday. His wife teaches at another
school, and both of them teach tution (tutoring after school hours),
including now during the 3-month winter break. To the right of Kima's
apartment is Mrs. Basu. She teaches 2nd grade, and is head of the
English department. The furthest right apartment is occupied by Salim.
He teaches Indian history to older grades, and is a Muslim. When the
school found out for sure in March that I was coming, they quickly added
3 more apartments above Kima, Mrs. Basu and Salim. I am in the first
upstairs apartment. Shiva, who is the computer teacher here, and
probably my closest friend here, is above Salim. Between our apartments
is the kitchen, which I will mention later.
My apartment was built this spring. The walls are brick with masonry
work around them. They actually hold heat fairly well. The roof is also
masonry work, which was too thin causing a flood inside my house in
August when it rained. We now have a corrugated tin roof over the entire
house. The floors are concrete with throw rugs over them. So, it is
impossible to clean them completely. Compare it to living in a garage,
where there is always more dust to sweep up. When I first moved in, it
took four hours to clean it to the point where Mom would tell me to
START cleaning my house in Colorado! But, I don't mind and am not fussy.
My apartment consists of four rooms. The front room is about 10 feet
square, and was originally without furniture of any kind. The bedroom is
about the same size, and had only a bed and a cabinet for clothes, as
well as an end table and one chair. I also have a kitchen with all my
freeze-dried food, as well as local food I have purchased here. And,
there is a bathroom with a sink, a Western toilet (thank goodness), and
a concrete floor sloping to a drain. There is a faucet (cold only) on
the wall that I used to stick my head under to shampoo and wash my hair.
That's it. My favorite quote was by a Polish couple who I met through
the Lonely Planet website. They found me, took one look at the place
with my few belongings and asked "Are you an ascetic?" They thought
that, like Ghandi, I had given up all belongings and most clothes!
Actually, I have come a long ways. My front room now has wooden
platforms with soft mattresses on them that are 6 feet long and 2 1/2
feet wide. On top of these mattresses I will put Tibetan style rugs.
Then, I will get Ladakhi carved and/or painted coffee tables, which is
the typical set-up for Ladakhi homes. These are all coming back to
America with me. In my kitchen, I have dried apricots and apricot seeds
(taste like almonds), as well as other snack food, mango juice and coke
(I'd be craving it otherwise). My bedroom now has a fair amount of
souvenirs that I've been collecting. I have promised friends I'd bring
back items they ask for, and I'm buying things locally at local prices
as much as possible before the Kashmiri shop owners start showing up in
May. And, I have a propane gas bukari heater. This brings my bedroom up
to about 55 degrees in the evenings before I go to bed. My sleeping bag
is a good down one, but it has yet to get below freezing INSIDE my
bedroom at night. Outside has gotten below zero. My bathroom now has a
wooden medicine chest. This was made by the school carpenters. The
school has two carpenters, one plumber and two masons employed full time
during the warm months.
Let me talk about Angmo now. Angmo is the maid/cook that Shiva and I
hired to cook and clean for us for 1000 rupees a month each ($21). But,
she is lazy, will randomly not show up, and can not cook. In fact, Shiva
is a better cook than Angmo. I got back from Nepal in November and Shiva
told me that Angmo is banned from the kitchen at the hotel she works at
at her other job! So, he is out of the food deal. She still does wash
for him. But, for the first time since college, I have 3 hot meals a day
when she is there! For breakfast, I'll have bread dipped in eggs most
days, which I like, as well as tea. Lunch is usually rice and dal (like
beans). Dal is one dish that Angmo does well. Dinner varies. Last night,
I had thukpa, which is a Tibetan soup with noodles, spices and mutton.
Actually, she is learning to cook and the food is getting better each
week (or am I getting more and more starved?). The lady who cooks for
Salim and Mrs. Basu has been giving Angmo lessons, and every time she
comes up with a new, good dish I make sure I compliment her! I like the
food, and think that the real reason Angmo is banned from the kitchen at
the Padma Hotel is that she lacks organization skills. No one else there
would be able to find things. Shiva and I have more than once gone
through that kitchen apartment that is between our apartments and have
found vegetables in the strangest places! (Under boxes, in the bathroom,
mixed between newspapers - I am not joking!) But what she lacks for in
organization skills, she makes up for with cleaning. She does an
excellent job with the laundry, which she does for me every week or two.
And, she carries water now that the tap has been turned off in
mid-November. I have three buckets, as well as a plastic garbage can in
the bathroom which I keep filled. When they run low, Angmo will fill
them.
My day starts out at 7:30 when school is in session, and 8:30 now that
school is on break. I go over to the kitchen where hopefully has tea and
breakfast started. I put a large pot of water on one burner and go back
to bed for a half hour with the room heater on. After that half hour,
the bedroom is warm and the water is boiling. I bring one of the buckets
with some cold water in it, and mix it with the hot. I then go to my
bathroom, and using a small plastic pitcher wash my hair. If I want to
brave the cold, I will also take a sponge bath, although it is too cold
now, and that will wait until 28 December when I get back to Delhi. That
will make a month and a half between sponge baths (I do use deoderant,
though). I eat the eggs and drink the milk tea and head to school or
wherever. The middle part of my day is spent at school when in session,
or looking at shops, visiting people, or working on my folk music
research paper now that school is out of session. This week, we also
recorded for television and radio 22 school children singing Christmas
songs in 3 languages and narrating about the holiday in the Ladakhi
language. But, that will be talked about more in detail next time. In
the evenings, I work on my journal on the Palm Pilot that I have, and
read A LOT. I have finished already 13 books since I left the states,
over half in the last month or two. Next summer, one of my last posts of
my year will be a book review.
I must talk about animals here. They are so prevalent in the streets, as
well as at homes. My parents remember when I lived on the island of Guam
how they would call me on the telephone and hear roosters in the
background. Well, although there are chickens here, you don't hear them
much. If I would have a telephone, and if my parents would call, what
they would hear instead are donkeys! Donkeys and cows freely roam the
streets in this town. The donkeys don't have collars, but are owned by
people. How their owners ever find them when they need them is beyond
me! And the cows! This is not a Hindu culture, so they are not
worshipped here. But, they still roam. Many times cows will get into our
front yard and get into gardens that Mrs. Basu, Kima and KC have. More
than once I have helped them put up fences, but in vain! And, these cows
like the strangest things. They like munching on the sticks in the wood
pile that KC has for his wood room heater. More than once I have chased
those same 3 brown cows all the way to the Main Bazaar. Cows will eat
vegetables, cows will eat wood, and cows will eat garbage. But above
all, cows will eat cardboard. A friend told me two weeks ago that if you
had a pile of vegetables next to a pile of cardboard, that the cows
would run for the cardboard. I have seen a few cats here this time, but
dogs reign supreme. They are wild dogs that roam in packs. I have found
out that they survive the winter because the army here feeds them. But,
when the moon is full, or even when it is not, they will roam all night
making noise. Every night, they raid the garbage dumpsters making a huge
mess, and rival packs of dogs will fight and bark. That is why I like my
part of town - fewer dogs and quieter. When I was here two years ago and
had an upset stomach, dogs added to the problem by keeping me awake all
night. The next morning, I told the Tibetan Buddhist hotel owner that
someone should take a pellet gun to those dogs. He said "Oh, no! They
could be your grandmother in her next life!" I replied "No, my
grandmother would never act like those dogs!" But, being active all
night tires out the dogs. During the daytime, they spend much time
getting in some heavy-duty sleep. They look so peaceful and cuddly like
American dogs, that I wonder if these creatures can be the same ones
that become Mr. Hyde at night!
Leh is set up with streets that do not have any particular pattern or
order to them. Mostly, they were built around existing houses or as
houses were built. There are no house numbers. So, most addresses here
are things like "near Dreamland trekking agency" or "behind Yak Tail
Hotel" or "across from Tibetan Handicraft Emporium." Many of the streets
are narrow, like mine. Cars and jeeps headed up or down these streets
honk their horns before every curve, racing through the street.
Hopefully, there are no donkeys or cows in the way! And, I have learned
which streets are through streets, and which are dead-ends. There are
really very few streets that go all the way through to connect with
another. The larger streets are better. These include Main Bazaar, where
the majority of the merchants are located. Fort Road and Old Fort Road,
where there are primarily hotels and tourist shops. Chanspa Road, which
goes by my school and has tourist areas. Old Leh Road, which is a mix of
merchants and tourist places. And, the Khardung La Pass road which goes
by the polo field. This is an entirely local area, which I love to
visit. Traffic on these roads is two-way most of the time. But, during
high traffic flows (especially in the Main Bazaar area), they make it a
one-way street heading south. With vehicles parked on the east side,
pedestrians, and cows and donkeys roaming about, there is no room for
two-way traffic. And, again, vehicles use their horns to clear animals
and foot-traffic away before they are run over.
Everyplace, no matter how big or small, or how rich or poor, has a
padlock. This town is perfectly safe in all respects, and I feel safer
here walking alone at night than I would in most cities over 50,000
population in America. Still, EVERYTHING is padlocked so as not to tempt
anyone. Some of these houses are one-room buildings with only a small
window and a stove pipe. Fancier places have 30 rooms (turned into a
guesthouse), and are furnished more elaborately than places in Colorado.
In fact, during the warm months, my favorite day was Wednesday evenings.
On this evening, members of the church go to a congregation member's
home for prayer meeting. It is almost exclusively in Ladakhi or Hindi,
including the devotional and prayers. But, what I find fascinating are
the decors of the homes. Seeing these homes is what made me decide to do
up my living room Ladakhi style.
After the prayer meeting the hostess serves food and tea to everyone.
There are three types of tea here. The Ladakhi tea is the Tibetan green
tea with butter and salt. Most Westerners don't like it, but I do. The
second type of tea is Tibetan black tea. It is served clear with
cinnamon and other spices in it. The third type is the type served most
here, and throughout India. And, that is the milk tea. It is black tea
grounds with milk and sugar in it. But, I drink it out of politeness. It
is custom here to refuse tea the first time it is offered, but when
pressed to accept. These dzangs are insincere refusals, and I've become
quite good at it. Personally, I don't care much for tea. It is the one
thing that is served so hot. And, you are pressed to drink it fairly
quickly. I've got it figured out! This is why Indians can eat such
spicy-hot food like the curries, masalas and chilis. Their taste buds
are burnt by the tea, so the spicy food isn't felt!I usually let it cool
to luke-warm temperature and then drink it. Food served includes thukpa,
momo's (like Chinese steamed dumplings), mutton, vegetables and other
foods I've mentioned before.
Getting used to personal habits of the people is something that will
take still more time. As individuals, the Ladakhi people are some of the
most friendly and outgoing people I've ever met. They are nice! But, get
them in a crowd or group, they are the most self-centered people I've
seen. I think back to the lady who pushed in front of me at the
Independence Day celebration and sat on my foot for an hour. I think to
the post office where people reach money past me to buy stamps. I think
to the banks where there are no queues but everyone reaching and
grabbing. I think to ticket lines where one designee will buy tickets
for trains for another 5 people way behind me. I think to people (mostly
elderly) who shuffle five abreast not letting others wanting to walk
faster walk past them. And, the monks and lamas are the worst! People
tell me I have to do the same, but I can't bring it to myself to be
pushy like that. If in a hurry, I will say "excuse me" to someone who
cuts in and then cut back, but that is about my limit.
Bodily functions are also loudly announced throughout India. People
spit. ALL people. It is not unusual to hear someone hock up a big wad
and look to see it is a lady, rather than a man. People belch. People
cough and sneeze, and people do all sorts of things. I am constantly
avoiding spittle on the street or sidewalk. If there is a wall, there
WILL be a man facing it releasing liquid of a yellow nature. Tourists
and local ladies walk by as if nothing is happening. Later, there will
be the stains against the wall, as well as the ground in front where it
flowed. And the faint scent of it. One last personal custom that took
getting used to (successfully) is that men hold hands or have their arm
around the shoulder of a good friend. Same with ladies. You will NOT see
a guy and a gal holding hands in India. But, you WILL see a guy and a
guy, or a gal and a gal. And, it does not have the meaning as in
America. It is perfectly natural. In fact, it now seems odd when I see
Western tourists with a guy and a gal holding hands.
The vendors are something else I enjoy. There are the tourist shops,
which are now closed for the winter. But, there are the local shops
selling clothes, food items, and other practical things. My favorite are
the Ladakhi ladies who sit on the sidewalks of Main Bazaar. They sell
vegetables and fruits in season, and I go there every week to buy
vegetables for Angmo to cook with my food. The ladies have a balance
scale that they hold up with one hand. In one basket is a kilo weight.
With their other hand, they will put carrots or potatoes or whatever in
the second basket until it balances.
Finally, one of my favorite parts of India are the walkways. These are
stone sidewalks connecting streets and other sidewalks with high stone
walls on either side. Often times there will be water canals paralleling
these sidewalks. I have mapped in my mind most of the city within a
kilometer of my house to the point where I can get most places avoiding
tourist shops. You see, the tourist shops are now closed. But, when they
were open they all wanted me to buy things. I'd walk down the Main and
her "Hello friend," come into my shop. It took about a month, but I
finally convinced them all that I am a local not a tourist this time
around. But, then when I'd walk the two blocks down Main Bazaar, I'd be
obligated to five cups of tea in my "friends'" shops! So, I took to
finding walkways to places like internet shops, food stores and
photostat (xerox) stores that avoided completely the tourist shops. AND,
I succeeded in finding walkways where urinating is not allowed!!!
------------Signature----------
I love the mountains! |
|
|
