Notes from India and Nepal

Time in India was intensely pushed, but made great new contact and friend, Deepak, to help sort out the shipping and some of the markets; settled an old score fairly and favorably with an agent in Delhi who delivered damaged goods a while back, not an easy negotiation.  One can watch the entire parade of life from the Main Bazaar in Pahar Ganj - beggars, businessmen, many different animals especially urban cows, auto-rickshaws with sick-sounding horns, freaky tourists from Europe, heroin addicts, the most beautiful smells from sandalwood incense and puja mixed in with a variety of rancid aromas, everywhere images of Ganesh, Laxmi, Shiva, Kali, Durga, etc., sounds from Hindi pop film songs, beautiful devotional bhajans, and the ever-present blaring of horns of all possible types, people selling everything from samosas to ear-cleaning services - a real onslaught to the senses.  Nothing in my experience can match the power, beauty, and spirit of India, a land of great paradox and mystery.  

Made it to Pushkar for Dewali and made offering at the Brahma temple and puja by the lake, and gathered some new textiles from some new friends.  Saw old friends in Jaipur, gathering great amount of jewelry and old textiles - many less camels in Jaipur city and much more autos, congestions, pollution - which is true in virtually every city I travel in South Asia, as massive number of new autos, trucks and zillions of buzzing motorbikes and autorickshaws overwhelm the cows and camel caravens, not to mention the pedestrians.  Many hassles as always with Indian bureaucracy and 'baksheesh', things that could take minutes in most countries take hours or days in India unless luck is with you, or perhaps your karma is good. Gathered intense amount and did much legwork around Delhi, a truly exhausting but still rewarding experience.  Met interesting new contact/guru selling esoteric and spiritual books and got great collection. Prayers go with the people of Orissa, many still homeless and hungry after a devastating cyclone. .

Arrived here in Kathmandu past midnight a week ago, after an incredibly frantic time buzzing around India, it is like a homecoming in a small paradise here.  So many friends of the heart.  Met with my blood brother Rajendra, the Buddhist ritual dancer that MacroSun sponsored to tour North America in '93, and he is still as spunky and funky as ever.  Another
dear friend and ritual dancer Prajwal has just lost his father a Vajracarya (Newari Buddhist Tantric) guru, and he has shaved his head in traditional mourning.  Met dear friend Leah from hometown St. Louis USA who has started a small, very lean project to help out a small village, Golphubanjang, only accessible by foot, and shared experiences and challenges and a good meal with Bina, who used to work at MacroSun St. Louis but is now back home doing political work in Kathmandu.  Met with all artist-friends - Achoot and Amir, Govinda, Babu Kaji, Dolma and Sonam, Srirendra, Tez, Namgyal the shipper, and of course Nanda, Prakash, Basu, and Mangalman - some of my dearest friends in all the world, and feeling much shanti here.  Sometimes think to move here and disappear in some Himalayan cave.

Jog/run/circumambulate around Swayambhu ('Monkey Temple') temple for exercise in the morning with all the other pilgrims chanting mantras, spinning wheels, it is wonderful for mind, body, and spirit. . . . The Communists called a "bandh" or general strike on Tuesday, Nov 16, to protest the recent gov't increase in petro prices, which means that not only was no shop be open for the day, but all roads were mostly closed to motor traffic, so not even possible for me to go by motorbike anywhere in the main city. This date happened to coincide with my birthday, so I was forced to take a full holiday - not so bad after all. . .Will be buzzing around the Valley in my motorbike (that frequently breaks down) trying to avoid the cows and people, there is a small temple or shrine along the road with worshipers all round about every 100 meters or so. . . .Signs along Kantipath (Road), kind of like Nepali billboards: "Perform Your Duty, Do Your Dharma, Do Not Fall From Self-Studies"; "Mother and Motherland are Greater than Heaven."