The beauty and insanity counterbalance one another to create what is called "organized chaos."
THE FORESTS OF INDIA HAVE MY BREATH
I am really not even sure what today is, but right now is all that really matters to my current existence anyway because I do not know the next corner, do not know the state of our stay or the mannerisms of the local people. All I know right now is that our driver is incredibly impressive. Clans of monkeys entertain themselves at the side of the roads watching the circus of traffic climb the winding road. Cars honking at one another as they all zig-zag from left to right and back again. Rules of the road are merely suggestions, even through the towns where cows and all other animals freely take part in the traffic, but somehow they make it work. It is all about the flow. Feeling when to speed up and to slow down and to honk the horn. Only one fender bender and it was apparent, even to us Americans, that they did not know how to handle this particular flow. They were causing harm in the chaos by driving too slow and being too timid.
We have made it to the top of the mountain to the JSS College of Pharmacy Campus. This slight breeze rolling in has me chilled, as my hair is wet from the shower and eyes drifting from a full belly of spicy curry combinations. We eat with our right hand and right hand only. Learning to tear this bread with one hand is going to be the real challenge of week one! Listening to Tanya and Seth banter as their giddy selves. We are all in a new place and are experiencing new stresses in this very new environment with new kinds of people. I am, without doubt, included in the new kinds of people category for them and the three of them, together, are new for me. We are here in search of Mucuna pruriens to treat Parkinson’s Disease though and all have that common motive in gaining progress with the naturopathic community. All in all, with the Mucuna focus in mind, the transition should become simple. Tanya’s scientific discoveries are expected to be our frequent motivations to remain sane in such close quarters as well as our comfort to relax into the culture for worldwide networking and positive experiences.
Nagaraju, our room service man, seems very nice, but he walks in our room unannounced quite often. It is nice when he brings us tea and blankets and flowers and tries to fix our room’s electrical problems. Although, an unannounced entrance, into a woman’s domain especially, in America, would be unacceptable. There is definitely a difference in culture that we are learning about. I was warned that it is a man’s world in India and I am finding that this is true. The people are wonderfully accommodating and entertainingly curious, but it is always smart to remain alert and to keep in mind that the women are rarely ever uncovered here. In my opinion, any extreme of that sort can escalate into sexist issues rather quickly. Restriction often seems to result into unhealthy resistance in my personal experiences, but I cannot judge the culture, I can only observe. It is there absolute right to remain restricted, such as is my right to rebel. Maybe neither are savvy for mankind, but there is a personal right to freedom and a mutual understanding of conflicting interests. With that being said though, I would rather cover my body than be looked at like a piece of fresh naan or something else comparable to meat since meat is not eaten here in south India.
At dinner now and eating with our hand again! I like it! Good curry and all vegetarian, of course. Meat is not allowed to be on campus and is rarely even found outside of campus and everything is deliciously spicy! Someone pointed out to me at one time that spicy is not a flavor. So, when one loves spicy, one loves the slight sensation of pain. I always thought that was interesting, as I am a fan of the spicy. We had a small tour of the place from Cheitanya in a complete state jet laggedness and exhaustion from our travels. On Monday, when we are acclimated, we will finish the more detailed tour. Somewhere in the valley people chanted all afternoon and almost all evening over a microphone. When they were finished the dogs and other animals took over into the darkness.
