Yesterday as part of my birthday celebration, a group of us took the bus to the town of Melkote. Christian and I went up there a few weeks ago, but since he wasn't interested in the town I didn't get to see very much. Being with people interested in the culture makes a huge difference visiting places. When we arrived, we hired this rickshaw driver that had one of the nicest interiors I've seen. The driver drove us to the very end of town and we walked back to the other end to enjoy the sights. The first stop we made was this temple. I've seen so many temples now that I'm starting to lose interest. Some of them are very similar to each other, but all of them tell a different story. The temple we entered was having a puja that we were able to sit in on. Hearing the Brahmins chant was something else. I'm not sure what the puja was for, but it didn't seem like it was for a celebration.
We walked up to the main temple and since I have been there before I sat and waited for the group to finish. While I was waiting, this little girl sees me and gets really excited. Why she was excited, who knows, but I was really struck with her beauty. She was wearing a bright orange dress and her green eyes were amazing. She and her twin sister both had shaved heads so their features really stood out. When I walked out of the temple, the little girl was yelling at the monkey and when she saw me, she pointed me out to her family. Her parents were a bit embarrassed so I acknowledged them to let them know it was okay. I asked her dad if I could take pictures and he was very proud I would ask such a thing. The two girls were thrilled to be photographed and they were even more excited that I sat down and tried to talk to them. By the end of our interaction, they were calling me "auntie" and it was really sweet. I think I've been away from my niece, nephew and my friends kids for too long that when I see children my heart melts.
On our way back to catch the bus back home to Mysore, we saw a police officer holding a guy by the collar with his stick raised to strike him. A van pulled in front of them and they next thing we see is the guy on the ground unconscious. He had blood coming out from the side of his head and ear and began convulsing. There were about half a dozen cops there and a large group of people surrounding this guy and no one was helping him as he was going into a seizure. This one guy finally tries to get the guy up, but he was completely out. We didn't stay to find out what exactly happened, but there was enough evidence there to know we shouldn't get involved. We found the closest rickshaw driver available and at this point the mob was heading towards our way. For a second I thought the cops were going to hold us up since we were the only Western witnesses. We all jump in the rickshaw and this guy that had a uni-dread down to his ankles tries to jump in the rickshaw with us. The whole scene was bizarre. We caught the bus in the main area of town and I couldn't have been more relieved to get on a smelly bus.
Later that evening was my birthday dinner with some of the new friends I've made here in Mysore. I was a bit apprehensive to go because I am just weird that way and ended up having a great evening. J #1 set the whole thing up and we had a nice group that came out to celebrate. I only met these people a few weeks ago and it is really special that they would spend their one free night of the week to celebrate my birthday. This trip has shown me how fortunate I really am. I've done plenty of things that is undeserving for the amount of love and support I receive.
One of the students had a little too much to drink so I got to play the designated driver. I was so excited to drive the scooter and at the same time afraid for this girl's (J #3) life. For the past month and a half, I've been riding in rickshaws and the bus and driving here is different from anywhere else. It has been a very, very long time since I've driven a scooter and couldn't even figure out how to turn it on. J #3, who I was driving for, had to help me. I didn't tell her till we were moving that I've never driven in India. The ride went well and everyone got home with all their limbs attached. Being able to drive the scooter was icing on the cake for me. Speaking of cake; J #1 ordered a cake for me that was served after dinner. I was surprised that she ordered a cake, but what made it even better was the inscription on the cake. The inscription on the cake read "Happy Baby Mary" or Joseph's interpretation was "Happy Boby Mary". I will never forget this year's birthday...
We walked up to the main temple and since I have been there before I sat and waited for the group to finish. While I was waiting, this little girl sees me and gets really excited. Why she was excited, who knows, but I was really struck with her beauty. She was wearing a bright orange dress and her green eyes were amazing. She and her twin sister both had shaved heads so their features really stood out. When I walked out of the temple, the little girl was yelling at the monkey and when she saw me, she pointed me out to her family. Her parents were a bit embarrassed so I acknowledged them to let them know it was okay. I asked her dad if I could take pictures and he was very proud I would ask such a thing. The two girls were thrilled to be photographed and they were even more excited that I sat down and tried to talk to them. By the end of our interaction, they were calling me "auntie" and it was really sweet. I think I've been away from my niece, nephew and my friends kids for too long that when I see children my heart melts.
On our way back to catch the bus back home to Mysore, we saw a police officer holding a guy by the collar with his stick raised to strike him. A van pulled in front of them and they next thing we see is the guy on the ground unconscious. He had blood coming out from the side of his head and ear and began convulsing. There were about half a dozen cops there and a large group of people surrounding this guy and no one was helping him as he was going into a seizure. This one guy finally tries to get the guy up, but he was completely out. We didn't stay to find out what exactly happened, but there was enough evidence there to know we shouldn't get involved. We found the closest rickshaw driver available and at this point the mob was heading towards our way. For a second I thought the cops were going to hold us up since we were the only Western witnesses. We all jump in the rickshaw and this guy that had a uni-dread down to his ankles tries to jump in the rickshaw with us. The whole scene was bizarre. We caught the bus in the main area of town and I couldn't have been more relieved to get on a smelly bus.
Later that evening was my birthday dinner with some of the new friends I've made here in Mysore. I was a bit apprehensive to go because I am just weird that way and ended up having a great evening. J #1 set the whole thing up and we had a nice group that came out to celebrate. I only met these people a few weeks ago and it is really special that they would spend their one free night of the week to celebrate my birthday. This trip has shown me how fortunate I really am. I've done plenty of things that is undeserving for the amount of love and support I receive.
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| This was the salad |
One of the students had a little too much to drink so I got to play the designated driver. I was so excited to drive the scooter and at the same time afraid for this girl's (J #3) life. For the past month and a half, I've been riding in rickshaws and the bus and driving here is different from anywhere else. It has been a very, very long time since I've driven a scooter and couldn't even figure out how to turn it on. J #3, who I was driving for, had to help me. I didn't tell her till we were moving that I've never driven in India. The ride went well and everyone got home with all their limbs attached. Being able to drive the scooter was icing on the cake for me. Speaking of cake; J #1 ordered a cake for me that was served after dinner. I was surprised that she ordered a cake, but what made it even better was the inscription on the cake. The inscription on the cake read "Happy Baby Mary" or Joseph's interpretation was "Happy Boby Mary". I will never forget this year's birthday...
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