This post is entirely dedicated to the stunning people and sights – things that pictures really don’t do justice to. It hasn’t stopped me trying to capture them and while they say that a picture paints a thousand words, in my case a picture really doesn’t do any justice to where I am.
Some of you may have seen the now frequent pictures I am posting of the Himalayan mountains. To anyone who hasn’t seen them in the first person, these pictures may look all the same however I can assure you that in fact they are all different. No day is the same here – the mountains are always changing, as is the weather and as a result you see different peaks and in a different light. Even after a month here I can sit/stand and stare at these mountains for an eternity. I have no idea what goes through my mind when I do but I’m just so in awe of them! Is this the geography inside me gasping to get out or just a person appreciating nature? I have to laugh at that because ‘nature’ and being at one with it has become a running joke with the 2 other volunteers and I. Last week we visited the Ashram local to us and the guy there kept talking about reconnecting with nature. It’s not the thought that entertained us, just the way he spoke about it and repeated the notion over and over again as if somehow we would appreciate it to a greater extent the more he said it. So, the mountains are the first thing that while I will try my upmost really cannot be represented in my photos. Who knows though, maybe it’s my lame pink camera :p Surely not though….
While I’m thinking about the mountains – I really want to go on a trek! Who would have thought it?! And I know many of you (ahum Edge) will be wondering how I could do such a thing in my stilettos – maybe I could be the first girl to try. Unfortunately, I’ve missed the boat for this year as it’s getting too cold up there however maybe I can fit one in before I return home – visa extension please!
Secondly, the night sky here is not matched by anywhere else I have ever been. There is a significant lack of light pollution and instead the sky is full of stars. While I love the London skyline at night I’ve got to say that it is nowhere near seeing the milky way stretching across the sky against a deep blue night sky. The week previous to last I spent so much time lying on our balcony marvelling at the stars – absolutely beautiful. Again, a photo could never show this and it’s only something you can experience in person. Personally, I think that the setting I’m in makes them even more stunning. Also on the subject of the sky, this week it was ‘Sharad Poornima’. This describes the full moon at this particular time of year – it marks the transition from autumn to winter. This week it lit up the sky – so much so that I didn’t need a torch much (a rarity here!) and that it seemed like a spotlight in the sky. As you may know, the lunar phases are very important here in India and there are some great traditions of what you should do when one comes around. For example, you should make a special rice dish and leave it outside so it collects the dew.
I’ve also had my own experience of the local beliefs recently. I’ve had a bad cough and so I’ve been given multiple remedies to try. One of which was a tree branch. Ok, so I say a branch, it was more of a twig, but still….a tree! Anyway, I thought I’d go with it as I’m on this open minded thing right now and you know there’s got to be something in it if people have been using these natural healing remedies for 1000s of years. For a short while it actually soothed my throat! Amazing.
My list of ‘things that photos don’t do justice’ could go on forever and so I’m just going to share one last thing with you. That is the feeling of letting all of your personal space go. Being British, I quite like a large personal space and get very frustrated when people move into this without my say so. Fair enough, living in London and cramming myself onto a tube with sweaty city boys helped me to get used to this invasion but nowhere near as much as this weekend has. The charity I’m working with organises an annual ‘haat’ (kind of like a fair or mini festival) and they have a number of different shows. On Saturday night there was a mixture of dances from Kumaon (the region of Uttarakhand that I’m in) as well as a pretty cool hip-hop number (they could hardly hold me down!). I’m not trying to make a point that I’m in desperate need of a night out (I am), but that this haat brings together people from many villages. Since I got away from Delhi I have never seen so many people in one space – it was great to see the community coming together. However, on the downside was the complete lack of personal space. As young females we were relegated to the floor (which was fine) and we sat down leaving a lot of space around us, just like any normal person would do right? Wrong! Within 15 minutes we had children sitting on our laps, other women cosying up to us and the gobby young lads nearly standing on us. Goodbye personal space – this feeling is one that cannot be illustrated in pictures. You are crammed and claustrophobic yet somehow it's ok - you get caught up with everything that is happening around you. I think I am now over the need to have at least a few cms between me and the next person so when I next see you, you’ll have to excuse me if I sit on your lap. I’ll stop eating too much food now so I don’t weigh a tonne then of course it’ll be fine….
Just re-reading this I realise that I've mainly focussed on objects and things, and have not even touched on the feelings and emotions you get from living and just being in this environment. Remember, you often get inspiration from those things or people who are right in front you and yet somehow glance over....think about it.
This week is an exciting one; I’m starting my research into child nutrition and am beginning by taking a trip to the remote villages that Aarohi works to speak to our health workers. Then on Sunday Thalia, Sara (other volutneers) and I are taking a trip to Rishikesh – the yoga capital of the world (apparently!). I’m very excited and as it’ll be Diwali while we are there I’m hoping that we get to see a firework or two. That’ll also make up for me missing firework night in November. So, I shall tell you all about the trip soon!
B xoxo
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