It's been a calm few weeks, and I apologize for my lacking blog updates. I've been busy. I went down to Delhi to meet Richard Zernickow - a friend of a friend for a wedding. He was new to India, as were the 2 other American's he brought with them. It was a little overwhelming for them, and more so for their digestive systems. Delhi is a crazy place, dust, soot, pollution, noise, and unequivocal peacefullness from person to person dominate the landscape. A city packed of people, toxins, traffic, and litter - and within the people mostly you can only find kindness, and a pleasure to interact with one another. It is, in general, a phenomenon of India to me- the constant, wriggling existance of so many people, shuffling in and out of vacant spaces - but with grace and comfort. In crowd, especially in America (where everyone is taller), I remember the feeling of suffocation, trampeling of people, a desire of space and privacy. Mostly, those "luxuries" are not available here - and especially in Delhi. But there also seems to be little craving for them... the nestling of 45 close relatives in 2 houses next to each other is a comfort, not a burden. It's not even questioned.

Richard and I were permitted to join the family for most of the family events. We went to the celebration night for the Groom, the celebration dinner for the bride (where I received Mahendi (or Henna)), the night-before festivities at the family's house, and the 2 wedding ceremonies and receptions on the wedding day.

One of the most beautiful wedding ceremonies was when the Groom's aunts, mother, sisters, and female cousins did a ritual where they sang a song and put different combonations of spices with Yogurt on his body. They then rubbed a Tumeric paste all over his skin, and rinsed him with Milk. The Tumeric is supposed to be a anti-toxin, while the milk is supposed to smooth and make the skin radiant. The voices and dancing of the women were lovely, soulful, and wonderful. It reminded me of my own lovely aunties and uncles singing at christmas, weddings, or whenever the mood strikes them (brown eyed girl @ sara's wedding, for instance; or christmas songs at grandma hoovlers with Janette on the Piano).

The bride's family was Sikh, and the groom's was Hindu. This often causes some tensions amongst the families, but the entire week of events was amiable and lovely (of course, I don't speak perfect Hindi, so there was much I did not understand..).

After 6 long, polluted days in Delhi, and Richard having lost some 10 pounds from a stomach bug, I dragged him up to Manali & my new village, Vashist.

After a nice thankgiving dinner, 4 days after his arrival, Richard left, back to California to produce face creams for Johnson and Johnson... and I stayed, here in Vashist.

I've started giving English lessons to a friend of mine, in return his family provides me food and a comfortable room overlooking the river and the Himalayas. It's quieter in my new place, save for the sounds that come from the cows and the subtle background of the River.

A good friend of mine, Nishant, who owns a great Guesthouse & Restaurant in Old Manali - wants a new garden cafe. I've signed up to help him design it, plans are being made now - construction to begin in March.

I was at the site of the cafe last week, when the familiar bongo and horn sounds that announce a wedding parade started booming down the lane. I walked over the the edge of the terrace, to notice that instead of a wedding parade, it was one of the funeral marches. I was struck by how similar they were in the musical announcement. Funeral parades, similar to weddings, involve a large amount of people from the community. However, in contrast, rather than a mixed bag of women and men - the funeral march is all men. And instead of dancing and jerking their hands about in the air, in a flair of decadence and celebration; the men carry a log, one each, from each of their households along the corridor. Not in silence, but not in jubulation, either. Every once and awhile, as I stood and watched the parade, not my first that I've witnessed, I noticed the nuances. Occasionally, an elderly man, bearing his one log on his shoulder, would weaken - and a more young, lithe man would offer to bear his log on his other shoulder, or stacked two high on the shoulder he was already carrying his log upon. I like Indian funerals. I like how public they are, how visual. The coffin is covered in large, brightly colored shawls and fabrics. The men, each bring their one log, and they take the body to the river. They build a pyre, together, and burn the body. In the open, everyone sees it, everyone knows it. Later that day, or sometimes earlier, there is a meal, or two: for all the locals. Eating, drinking, chai-sipping, talking and being together... not just one family or another, but the entire town. Deaths are felt and honored across the entire village. No celebrations (even private ones) are held on days of deaths. Any festival, prayer session, sacrifices, or jubulation will be post-poned, until the day or two after the rites. I guess I just remember how strange it was, to me, when my Dad died, how the whole world seemed to keep functioning - as if it hadn't happened. How surreal it was, that cars drove by, and people shopped in the market, and didn't realize the massive love and lovliness that had passed from the world. To go to the drugstore was bizzare, they had no awareness of the burden of greif that sat upon any of us. Here, it is not the same. Here, it is clear, obvious, and fiercely observed. There are many things I still do not understand about these funeral rites, but the little I do: the public and communal nature of them - I respect a great deal. It somehow gives me some sort of warmth to see these parades, rather than a sadness. Death is a natural part of living, I suppose it is a warmth gained from knowing these people never suffer that death in isolation.

Otherwise, not much else happening. Lots of reading, hiking, and meeting people. Enjoying the process of desiging a cookbook as well. Small things, and naunced discoveries mostly capture my attention.

Dear love to all of you,
Zoe

I've lived in the plains most of my life. Long, flat, open fields of golden corn or fluffy soybean plants. I have grown accustomed to the sounds and sights and feelings of spaces like these. It's no surprise that living in the mountains of India has it's differences, sometimes I'm just surprised by the ones that effect me.

Hi! I'm back in India! I've moved from my old house in Manali to a new spot over in Vashist (which I've finally learned to spell!). Pictures forthcoming. I'm living with a lovley family who owns a guest house (a really nice one) and is having me stay in the guest house, while teaching some English. Overall the move has been good. I have more privacy, more direct interaction with the village culture, more direct access to the hot spring baths (essential for winter) and - much better access to weddings!

It's been busy here! There have been 6 weddings in the last 2 days. It also snowed - and I couldnt go anywhere... we lost power, I hiked around 5 hours, and have been painting and avidly reading "The Icarus Agenda" - a departure read courtesy of Dan. Visiting friends and working on the network, as well as teaching English everynight is making for a very busy Zo! (plus at least 2 hot spring baths a day).

Manali is about a 1:15 hike from Vashist. It's a good workout and a nice enough path. I go over the rivers and through the woods - and it's pretty lovely. Pictures of the views and the snowfall are also forthcoming. The only real drawback to my new location is the internet/power situation. Vashist is not nearly as modern of a village as manali, and power outages occur often. Also, we do not have internet in the guest house - making it tricky to keep up with the family - since the internet cafe's don't open til midday. A challenge I'm working on conquering.

So - this post was a little.. scatterbrained - but forgiveme! I've flown around the world, bused up to the mountains, moved houses, conquered a non-existant but none-the-less frightening pseudo-blood-clot, gotten snowed in & out .... so I'm finally catching up with myself! Plus, I'm becoming non-coherant after the 6 course dinner for the wedding tonight - woah!

So off I go - hope you are all well!
Love to all of you. The sun has set over the mountains here, pink and purple in the sky - catching just the tops of the snowcrested peaks... I trust it's rising over there, pink and purple - catching you all from your sleep.
Be well, and know my love is with you.
Zo

Friends, Family -

Hello friends,

Yep. All of those, in two days!

This is Hemroj in front of our Lovely Abode.
Simone, Hemroj, Subash. I love this photo. They were trying to call back the "driver-ji" to tell him to get lemons. No one got up, but everyone was actively involved in the calling.
Some boys from the village near the house.
lousy exposure, but a veiw of the village from the lawn of the rest house.
Look at the sweet little ladder! I loved this! We climbed over that ladder, down to the river, and back up the hill on the left hand side to get to the village. You can sort of see the village from this picture.

But still they haven't come!

This is the whole set up - the entry way and some folks on the road. Pretty fun colors and great fabrics!
I just liked this image. It's impossible to explain the richness in color, and in life that is omnipresent.
Hey look! It's us. This is Simone and I - and next to simone is Anita, a sister of a brother of the groom --- I think. Anyway, you can see we're having dinner here, rice and subji (veggies!) and for me, Mutton (lamb). Yum yum! I also had a beer!

So I suppose it's time for a new story.
I'll start with last night:
We worked hard all day, some painting, some design work, some brainstorming, some interveiws for staff we wanted to hire etc. Then we went for walking with our local friend Takur, the flute player I mentioned earlier. It was the celebration day for the local god Ram, and there was a big procession and festival, and beautiful colors, sounds, smells and sights. They sacrificed 18 animals (though I missed the action), and fed anyone who wanted some at the temple. We saw these things, and the old temple (lovely); and then went for dinner. For dinner we had a lovely Manali Thali, which is a vegetarian collection of small dishes, served with rice and bread, and yogurt with sugar cane for dessert. Yum!

Today also, we worked long and hard. And after a nice dinner of Miso and Pesto Pasta - we put on our hiking boots and hit the trails. We traveled along the rivers through small towns to the closest local clean warm water source, a town called Vachist, which has a hot spring. We wandered through small villages, many of which havent really changed in hundreds of years. Crossed a very...bouncy...(read: scary) bridge, over a Himalayan river. We trekked up and through the mountains to this small town, and went to bathe in the hot springs. The baths are located in an old temple. It was really beautiful. The basin of the baths were black granite, and the water was hot and wonderful. It was my first warm cleaning since I left the U.S.; my first warm water (except the water in my bottle which was SCORCHED in Delhi) at all really. It felt marvelous. We spent abou 45 minutes splashing the water onto our skins, rubbing down with scrubbers, washing hair, soaking feet, etc. It was luxury! Then we starting walking back to Manali. It had gotten very dark by this time, and by the time we got to the main road, it was too late for most of the rickshaws, but loud and unpleasant to walk along. We were lucky that a nice guy riding by on his motorbike stopped and asked if we needed a lift. I was highly anxious about the prospect of riding on a bike, especially in India with the way they drive! But, well, I saddled up, and it was my first time ever on a motorbike! It was really scary at first, but it was okay, eventually. The night air was cool and calming.

Now for bed, squeaky clean and feeling nice.
I wish I had taken some pictures for you all, but - alas... Just words tonight. Hopefully I'll get to more pictures soon... know that the colors, the smells, and the lines are very nice.
much love to all of you, wherever you may be.
Z

This is our house! The top two floors are ours, the bottom one houses a french lady named Maya.

Below is my bed by the window.

The travel was long, and winding, but not difficult, as travel goes. I left Wednesday morning around 10am for Chicago, where I was thankful to have an afternoon with guides who took me to a terrific Deli and eased my anxieties about the long flights and the long stay away. The flights were easier than I had expected, and shorter! No one can complain about that! We had great tail-winds/jet-streams and the flights were only 8 and 7 hours, rather than 12 and 11. Maybe also, I read wrong or something. Spent a day wandering the Munich Airport for a layover. Nothing too exciting. I arrived in Delhi on Friday, July 10, at 7:00am local time, and this is when things became something. I was no longer in the state of preparation, or transition, but actually in this space I had been aiming for for so many months. It was hot, sticky hot, mad crazy hot. Heat around 100, with humidity feeling like 115*. No A/C, no cold (or clean) water, and jet-lag like crazy. I slept all day to avoid the heat (and disacknolwedge everything I'd ever read about jet-lag). Woke around 9pm, and had a chat with a Swiss traveller who was also staying with my host in Delhi. We were invited upstairs for beer. A cold beer? Of course. I figured I had missed dinner, so I also thought the beer would be good for my dinner calories.

We got upstairs, and there was cold Foster's beer, and incredibly delicious Venison (deer) meat sitting waiting for us: and A/C! We drank, the swiss went to bed, my host invited me to join him and his friends for a beer at the bar, and dinner out ( I had not missed it afterall! but, it was 11pm!). I went, remembering when Dan and I were offered a similar invite in France and it turned out to be an irreplaceable experience. We went to a bar near us in delhi, and there was a 5 peice, indian band, playing all the favorites: Bye bye Miss American Pie, Bobby McGee, Brown Eyed girl, and more. It was also, thankfully, airconditioned. I danced some with our host, and he found my dancing most excellent! We left for dinner at 1am, and ate typical nothern Indian style food. I'd tell you all about it, but it was sort of all greek to me anyways, and the beers had me not caring what I was eating, but I do remember it was delicious! The next morning we spent at the Lodi gardens, in southern Delhi. It was lovely, but HOT HOT HOT. It was 9am, and steaming, wicked hot. We returned shortly back to our place in central Delhi. Had lunch at a divine southern Indian restaurant, where I had Masala Dolsa: a flatbread made mostly from rice and water, filled with a vegetable (potato mostly, I think) filling, and then with coconaut sauces (even these you would like, mom!), and a soup also for dipping that was delicious. I had my first cup of Indian "Chai" (Tea), and: Wow! I'd been avoiding it for the heat and the caffiene, but it was airconditioned in this restaurant (very fancy!), and I figured I'd try. In this restaurant it's made with Buffalo Milk, which gives it a rich, creamy, full flavor. If you come to Delhi: we'll have to stop for a glass of this! After this I visited the National Museum (also A/C!), where I was impressed with the beautiful collection of Indian Minature Paintings. I took my first Autorickshaw, which was enormously rewarding.

I left Delhi that evening, and took a bus to Manali. I left at 5:30 PM from the house, and arrived here in Manali at 9am yesterday morning. We stopped for dinner around 10pm (luckily, simone does not eat this late!). I ate Thali Veg, which was a plate with rice, flatbread, lentils, vegetables, and a tofu in sauce. Then slept happily through the night until we stopped again at 5:30am. Upon arrival in Manali, I found Simone, we took an autorickshaw to her... or, our, house. Beautiful! I had some anxieties about becoming accustomed to a traditional Manali House - which were quickly discarded as I realized she had bought us a lovely, simple, but beautiful more western style house. This I am happy for, as it gives me a place to feel comfortable, a place that feels quiet and safe to explore from. A wonderful home base. I'll post pictures later today. I essentially have the second floor, which is windows on 3 sides, all with views of the mountains. A large porch on both floors, means good space for eating and also for me to have some privacy. We lounged and talked, Simone made me some yummy foods. Then her friend, Takur came over.

Takur is a Manali Man. He is part of one of the first 4 major families in Manali. He has lived here his whole life, never left. Does not want to go to Delhi - does not like the idea of the heat, and all the people. Takur sat with us, told me about his life - and moreover, the life of the Kullu Valley (where Manali is located). The life all the way back to the beginning of the world, which Indian mythology prescribes to have begun here. We had some Chai, made with raw milk simone has delivered daily from a neighbor down the path. We worked in the garden, where simone has started growing a large selection of Veggies for our fall foods. Then Takur took us on a hike to the river. Along the way, we ate apricots and plums from trees, rested near the river and had blackberries from the bushes as Takur played us music on his flute. On the way home we collected watercress from the mountainside to boil for dinner. It's nice living this way. We prayed for rain, it's monsoon season here in Manali, and still there have been no rains for 5 days - the veggies are desperate for it. We arrived home and simone and Takur made dinner, Maki-Roti (corn/wheat flat breads), and veggies. Then sleeping, for which I was ready.

It's morning now in Manali. I woke to see the fog rising from the river so high it covered a whole mountain. The dog downstairs is barking. It rained like crazy last night and the vegetables are happy, the air clean and crisp. I can hear the river that runs through town from here. The apple trees in the orchard around me are also happier for the rain. We live on a path, and I see Manali people, and tourists, walking along it. Simone has just awoken downstairs, I can hear her in the kitchen. For breakfast we'll have Maki-Roti with fresh made blackberry jam from the village. We'll go to town today to pick up a table she's had made, and to buy a new waterbasin. We'll hike, and tonight, have dinner with Hemroj, the entrepeneur for the restaurant.

There is much more to say, but I'll wait until my posts are not so long! Feel free to comment on any post section with questions (or, if you know more about india than I: corrections!).