Footprints on the Mountainside

I am not usually an avid cricket follower, but this World Cup has got me, and I am biting my nails from the suspense with the rest of India, as we wait to see if we even get into the Super 8.

Initially, it all seemed to be going well, as we won against the West Indians in the warm up match, but then, chaos struck. India lost to Bangladesh! Many would say its impossible, but then, this is cricket. India seemed to be not fully there on the field, and Bangladesh was outstanding, with the result that India is in its current situation and unsure of even qualifying for the finals.

This certainly was a completely shocking time for both India and Pakistan, when Bangladesh subdued India, without even seeming to be struggling too badly, and Ireland trounced Pakistan so badly, that it has been referred to as sent “Paking”. Both these results were totally unexpected and have shaken the status quo pretty strongly, with some devastating results for Pakistan. They are out of the Cup. Fans have been out in the street screaming for blood and chanting for death to Woolmer and Inzamam. Worse, their coach Bob “laptop” Woolmer actually died in mysterious circumstances on the next day.

I bet the Pakistanis hadn’t wanted their wishes answered so literally. Then followed a spree of resignations from Inzamam himself and others on the PCB in sheer humiliation. The final straw comes with the Jamaican police insisting that the Pakistan team cannot leave the country until the investigation of Woolmer’s death is concluded/they are cleared. Things are going really bad for the poor guys.

India wasn’t too far behind, with that bad, bad match against Bangladesh and the completely shocking defeat. The only consolation being that they aren’t out - yet. Fans in India were enraged as well, expressing their anger out on the streets, burning effigies of players and overall demonstrating how fickle they are, when the results of one match can get them screaming for the blood of those they were worshipping a couple of hours ago. Dhoni’s home being constructed in Ranchi was attakced by irate fans and armed security was immediately rushed to the homes of all players fearing similar acts.

Shame! The defeat hurt. It hurt really badly, but it shouldn’t result in an attack on belongings or the safety of players families, while they are supposed to be away fighting for the honour of their country on the field. This is pure stupidity and could sabotage the emotional well-being of our players and destroy what little chances we have of victory after being put into this tight spot after the defeat against Bangladesh.

However, Raka says that this is India’s way. India has often lost first matches and then pulled up their socks in a hurry to deliver good performances after the shock. I certainly hope it is so. India now needs to win the big one with Sri Lanka after the record breaking win against Bermuda in the next match. The Bermuda win went a long way toward healing the feelings of the fans and advertisers as well as the scores, in case it comes down to a battle of run rates.

It also depends on how Bangladesh and Sri Lanka play and what their scores read like at the end of the day.

Keeping fingers crossed and eyes glued to the screen!

This post will be split into two, as there is plenty of content. I’ll focus this on the travel and the people and the next can be about the religious experience.

Getting from Sangli to Kule Narshingpur is a pain. First, there is a state transport bus journey to Islampur, which takes about an hour, and then there is the further journey by bus/rickshaw to Kule Narchingpur, which takes another half-an-hour.

We were lucky to find a luxury bus waiting as we reached the bus station at Sangli, and the journey to Islampur was comfortable and quick. Not much to do, except watch the kilometers tick by, and the wierd little conductor interact with the people on the bus in his singsong voice.

This region is all about sugarcane production, and we passed fields with sugarcane standing, or in various stages of being harvested, sugarcane loaded on tractors, bullockcarts, being stored….. whatever - sugarcane - and loads of it.

In Islampur, we gave up trying to figure out further state transport and simply hired a rickshaw to take us to our destination. The road was now bumpy. I guess the parents in law were not exactly comfortable. Raka was sitting on half the driver’s seat in the front, as these rickshaws are designed to seat only three, so I guess he wasn’t too comfortable either, but I was enjoying the ride through the countryside.

Narrow bumpy roads, blocked with bullock cart traffic - pretty heavy - we seemed to be waiting more than moving. Charming glimpses of the river, and all kinds of people chattering with our rickshaw man as we passed them. Very charmingly rural, if you overlook the not-so-charming ruts on the road.

Bullocks and goats seemed to be all over the place. Parked in front of homes having lunch, yoked, pulling carts, being loaded, unloaded…… I’ve never seen so many bullocks in one day.

We reached the home of the pujaris at our destination. Actually, the pujari on duty was someone else, but my parents in law had good relations with another, who wasn’t on duty, but we stayed with them anyway. I was surprised to find a Marathi family - I was expecting Kannada Brahmins (my in-laws are Kannada) like in Sangli. Apparently there are historical migrations and stuff involved and the seeming discrepancy was a normal state of affairs in such issues.

At least I could understand what was being said. I found myself feeling at home. The family were really charming people, complete with a really charming old widow grandmother - a typical joint family.

We visited the temple in the evening, and I have never seen such a charming location in this region (plenty in the Himalaya). What can I say, I’ll let the pics do the talking.

We left Mumbai by train and travelled overnight to reach Sangli. Uneventful, except for a hugely pregnant and very charming lady and husband occupying the remaining two berths in our “room”. We reached Sangli early in the morning and headed to the home of the priest in the temple we were visiting. We got refreshed (bath and silk clothes, etc) and went to the temple.

The temple is at a charming location on the banks of the river, that looks pretty nice, but smells something awful. The priests actually bathe in it as a part of their ritual cleansing - a thought enough to give me the jitters - it is probably cleaner not to bathe. Anyway, we bathed in a bathroom, so life was good.

Leaving the parents with their God, Raka and I skipped off for a quick tea and food break and discovered a restaurant called Swagat (meaning “welcome”) which was amazing for incredibly delicious food, and the lowest bill (Rs.54/- that’s less than a dollar and a half) for two people I have ever encountered for stuffing myself till I had vadas coming out of my ears. Overall, pretty good.

Floating along in the bliss of a stomach full of extremely desirable food, Raka and I returned to the temple to find that the puja was already over. That is really quick and efficient for these temples. We did the obligatory bowing and donations etc and it was time for lunch! I could swear that I couldn’t eat a bite, after what we were just returning from.

Fortunately, lunch at the pujari’s home involved a significant delay as it was prepared. Then it was time to give a “supache vaan” which is something I cannot describe. Suffice it to say that it is a collection of assorted items related with a female’s fortune in Hinduism, that we gave to the pujari’s wife. What I remember is a sari, comb, coconut, betel nut, betel leaves, kaja, rice, dal, jaggery, salt, some money, mirror, etc. Then it was Raka’s turn to give a dhoti and stuff to the pujari, and we were “clear”. Time to eat.

Food was good, except that there was a massive quantity of rice to consume with assorted dals and vegetables followed by sweet rice, spiced rice and finally curd and rice. I’d had enough ric for a lifetime by the time I was done with that meal.

After this meal, the only thing possible was sleep and all the four of us crashed for a nap in unworded agreemment.

My parents in law are staunch theists. They believe in the multitude of Hindu Gods and the places they need to travel in order to obtain their blessings. One such location is this trip, which is actually three locations. These are the family Gods of our clan. No matter where we go, these guys are supposed to have their benevolent eye on us.

Apparently, my father in law had ignored the Gods for many years, as had his parents, and bad times came on the family, when my husband was young. Then some astrologer told them that their fortune will change if they go and meet their roots - the Gods who look after their clan. Full of suitable repentance, and reverence, they did so, and claim their luck has changed ever since. Health, happiness and money flowed.

I am skeptical. Where is this flowing health when my mother-in-law needs to take some 12 pills at one time 2-3 times a day? Diabetes, blood pressure, …. Their explanation is it could be worse. It is a matter of their previous actions that is causing them to come to these experiences now. Heh. It could be worse whether you believe in God or not.

But regardless of their beliefs and ours, I really respect them for not forcing us to conform. Except for this one thing. It is quite common in India. Newly married couples go to the temples in their villages to pray within a year of the wedding and ideally, immediately after. In our case, this didn’t happen. We managed to keep avoiding this tour because we were busy or something or the other. But whoever has lived in India, with Indian parents know, that once the mother decides on something, obedience is inevitable. It is simply a matter of time

Raka and I don’t believe this nonsense. We are both atheists. But we do love our parents, and you know how it is in India…… if your parents insist long enough, obedience is inevitable. We tried all the excuses and explanations we could. We didn’t believe, if God is everywhere, what is the need to go to a specific place…. and so on. Unfortunately, this has nothing to do with our debating abilities. The parents believe that it is our divine duty and it must be done - never mind that we don’t believe - do the actions.

Whatever. We like the region and are ok with travelling there, but so many temples…..? I guess resistance is futile

So here we are. Leaving for Sangli tonight. By morning we will reach there. Then it will be a merry go round of temples and offerings. We will be supposed to show our gratitude to the powers that be for giving us good lives and asking for good lives

This promises to be very different. Stay tuned. I’m going to be back on the 9th and will be writing about this trip.

Not only can we do things to save the environment, we can spread awareness about the environment and awareness of the choices open to people that they can easily make to create a large collective impact.

Creating awareness can be done in many ways. One of the best is actions. Do it, share it, encourage it.

Another way is sharing information and ideas. Like I’m doing out here, and in my interactions with people in relevant situations.

Another great way is to take an initiative. Announce a clean up drive and encourage people to join in and spread the message. Announce a tree plantation programme. Approach local authorities for the setting up of a rain harvesting scheme for your locality and share your knowledge and experience with other localities.

Confront people who litter and request them to support the environment through their actions and explain why it is necessary.

Create motivation and interest in local schools.

There is so much that can be done. I do things and new things occur to my mind. It is a journey of feeling for this world we live in. Will you do it? Will you travel along?