Hounslow

All my life I have owned dogs. I don't think there has ever been a time when I've been without one. The hard part about owning animals is facing the inevitable -they will die long before you do. Eleven years ago, I went to the pound to pick up a puppy. My dog of the day back then was Sheba, a black lab given to me and my brothers by my older sister Becky. Sheba was getting on in years and was no longer doing a very good job of keeping the property free of predators. The solution was obvious -add another dog. Hounslow was only 7 weeks old when we got him, all long legs and big paws, and as clumsy as all get out. We named him for a character from a British comedy. He wasn't a particularly bright dog, but made up for any shortcomings with his incredible enthusiasm for life. Last year I noticed that he was not doing so well, and off we went to the vet. Tests came back showing liver anomolies, but no clear diagnosis was ever made. Over the spring and summer months he lost weight, and it became obvious that we were going to lose him. Sadly, I had already booked my vacation; the best I could do was pray that he would still be there when I finally made it back home. I found out today that he is dead. I have been expecting the news for about a week now, but it has not made it any easier to bear. I will miss him deeply, and of course, as I am on the road, it will have to wait until I am home again before I can add a picture.

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Yak's Guide to Proper Pronunciation

They say that travelling broadens the mind. This may well be true, far be it from me to argue to the contrary. I have (as you will have noticed if you read this blog at all -that's right I'm adressing this to my three quasi-regular readers) been on the road for a short while now, and I shudder to think of the narrow-minded person I was before leaving home on my most recent wanderings. One of the people I have met on my travels is Yak (Yakesh actually), age 36 (or so he claims), an English defense lawyer, youngest of 6 children from Leicester, son of a Kenyan and an Indian. From nearly the very beginning of our trip together, we (the entire group not just Yak and I) have had a bit of a running argument about the proper pronunciation of inummerable words. As we are an international crowd there is rarely much concensus. The greatest bone of contention though concerns two words only: vitamin and yogourt (yes, I know, that is a singularly Canadian way of spelling that word -that would be because it works in both French and English... but I digress...).
In any case, for your edification (and the stretching of your mind -HA! I have come full circle to the beginning of this ramble) I am going to attempt to upload a short video of Yak's guide to the proper pronunciation of these words... If it doesn't work (and it probably won't) you'll just have to wait until I get home...

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Arranged Marriage

So... I've been travelling for four weeks in India and Nepal now. It seems that everyone over here has their marriages arranged for them by their parents... Usually at a very early age, although one must assume that it's not official until a later date... In any case I have met two guys who are both mid-to-late twenties who are being pressured by their families to get married, and should they not light a fire under their respectives arses and pick someone, their families will do the selecting for them... I'm talking two young-ish, reasonably good-looking, really nice (or seemingly so) guys... So ladies, this is maybe the place to come find yourself a nice (or seemingly so), not-butt-ugly guy. And hey they both have jobs!!!! I'll post pictures later... Just dial 1-800-solomon-will-hook-you-up. Small service fee may apply... Just kidding... What makes you think they'd be interested in western women anyways... Heck, for all I know they're not interested in any women... Never asked...

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Vinit

So... I've recently finished two weeks in India, travelling from Delhi to Varanasi. My tour leader was a guy named Vinit (pronounced vin-eet, and hey it only took me half the tour to get it right... so I'm not the sharpest knife in the drawer... but if you're reading this you already know that... and I digress...). It was Vinit's first real tour ever (I think he'd had a go at it with an experienced guide -get your mind out of the gutter you pigs, I meant he led a practice tour). In any case he was very sweet, perhaps a wee but overly concerned for our welfare, but nice nontheless. Vinit is in fact a nurse and a midwife (although I'm pretty sure at some point he mentioned that he'd never, ever delivered a baby) from Udaipur. He is the baby of the family, and has an older brother. If I recall correctly (which rarely happens) his father is an accountant (as is his brother) and his mother is a nurse (does anyone else detect a pattern here?). He used to work for some telecommunications company in Bangalore (he was the guy who listened to you whinge about poor customer service, not one of theose guys who call at suppertime selling long-distance telephone service plans). And he gave up all this to lead whingy tourists around India... It really does boggle the mind. I learned all sorts of cool stuff from Vinit. Like apparently, a goldfish is a really expensive type of pet to have in India, so if you want to hook up with a rich dude in India, the Petsmart is the place to hang out... And people rent babies and then hang out on the street corner and beg (although I have a hard time believing this)...
The picture I have included here is Vinit in Chanderi, with flowers in his hair (which I feel compelled to say was a bit unusual, and might I add he asked me not to use this photo, but I couldn't resist).

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Unforgettable India...

So, I've just finished my first two weeks in India. I tried to listen to all the advice I was given before I went. Really I did. Some of it actually proved to be true... But at the end of the day, I've discovered that you just have to experience things for yourself, learn a few things the hard way, and go with the flow. This is what I have learned about India

What I loved about India:

1. Boys on bikes
2. Thali (the first time)
3. Sacred Cows
4. Painted goats
5. Elephants
6. The Taj Mahal
7. TRAFFIC!!!!
8. Entire families all squeezed onto a single moped
9. Water Buffaloes
10. Roundabouts

What I hated about India:

1. Children living in absolute squallor
2. Pollution
3. Garbage, garbage everywhere
4. Open sewers
5. Public urination
6. Touts
7. Thali (the millionth time)

What I liked best about India is that everything happens at street level from the mundane (and profane) to the sacred, you can see it all happpen, in every village, town and city. I am so glad I'm going back to India before I go back home... The picture I've included is the sun rising on the Ganges in Varanasi.

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The Not so Sacred Water Buffalo

So I've been traveling in India for about a week now. Everywhere I go there are cows. Sacred cows. Apparently it's the only kind of cow to be found in this country. A cow is the only safe animal in Indian traffic, and even when they go on a rampage in the city injuring people right left and centre, it's not o.k. to shoot them. Oh no, they must be gently tranquilized. Never mind the broken and bleeding bodies in the street. Water buffaloes are also a pretty common sight here. I think the only reason they don't get run over is that they're so damn big that it would be like hitting a moose...
Going by what I've been told, cows are sacred because they provide so much for the people of India. They are beasts of burden, pulling carts, ploughing fields. They provide milk, which of course is a great source of protein. Good reasons for being made sacred. Such good reasons that cows are not considered edible in this corner of the world.
Now consider the plight of the poor water buffalo. Water buffaloes are also beasts of burden. They too must pull and plough. They too provide milk for cheese and sundry dairy products. On top of all these magnificent qualities, according to Hindu religion the death deity Yamraj rides on the water buffalo's back. And yet water buffalo is on the menu. It's what's for dinner...
Does that seem right to you?

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