more photos of Nasik, the bride

people here keep asking me if I am "only in India" or "in India only", I realized they mean alone, I am kind of an anomaly I guess.
I have never seen so much head waggling as I did at the wedding last night!
Just felt compelled to add those little things...

the holy city of Nasik, a wedding party

Last night just after I got off the train and checked into my hotel in Nasik I headed down to the bathing pools. (Nasik is on a holy river, Godavari, pilgrims come here to bath, pray, and die as the water provides "moksha", soul liberation).
It was dusk. After a short walk I turned the corner and beheld the bathing, temples, and market. I think I gasped. It was one of the most magical places I have ever seen. It seemed I had landed in place untouched by colonialism and Western tourism (although its not of course). There were little candles floating on the water. Women in colorful saris sat on the steps. I sat down and a couple of people tried to talk to me in Hindi. (English is not very widely spoken here like in most places I have been in India). They were friendly, and weren't trying to sell me anything (at least I don't think so). I got up and walked around. A crowd formed around me as I bought something that looked like a voodoo doll from a lady sitting on the bridge. The market consisted of hundreds of vegetable sellers sitting on the floor. Most had little tarps suspended above their heads, some had a naked light bulb hanging down to illuminate their produce. I didn't see any other foreignors.
I heard some live music and I walked in that direction. There was a guy in an elaborate costume sitting on a white horse (also in a costume), people playing drums, and men dancing wildly. I started filming and a man smiled at me and said "it is a marriage ceremony". They urged me to join in the dancing but at first I declined as I only saw men. Then they took me to the group of women nearby. A few talked to me in limited English and then suddenly Rajashiri came and explained to me what was going on in fluent English. She is a software engineer and has worked in San Jose, CA. She became my guide and introduced me to everyone. I danced with the women and then the whole group headed inside a beautiful walled area, with a huge green lawn and a stage. Rajashiri insisted I come up on stage with the family for the actual wedding so I could see the action up close and film. I was kind of embarressed as I was dressed, well not for a wedding. (see photo above). The bride was vibrant, sparkilng, ravishing. It was an arranged marriage (as most still are in India). After the ceremony we had the wedding feast (I was served a plethora of curries and things I have never seen on my own gigantic silver plate). I was treated as a celebrity, an alien celebrity. Everyone made sure that I got enough food and that I was enjoying myself. An old woman invited me to her home. A kid gave me a coin and explained it was an Indian ruppee.
At the end Rajashiri and her cousin gave me a ride home.
Yesterday was a day worth traveling 20 hours by plane to get here for!

my new little friends from the train

Yesterday on the train from Mumbai to Nasik I happily filmed out the window until I was abruptly kicked out of my seat by a family that needed more space. So then I was standing up in the aisle for awhile, feeling like I might pass out from heat stroke before long. It was hot, very hot, the "breeze" coming through the windows seemed like it could singe my nostril hairs. Prompted by her father, a kid asked me "where are you going?", I said Nasik. They told me about 2 more hours until we got there. I guess my face expressed horror at the thought of 2 more hours standing up in the heat, and the father said "you can sit here, talk to my kids". It was a big Muslim family returning home from a wedding party. There were 5 kids with their parents and some aunts and uncles. The kids asked "what is good in America?" and when I would get married. As I was smiling to myself about the funny questions they were asking the youngest girl (in the photo above) asked "excuse me, would you like to comb your hair?" I said okay, and then she asked her mother for a comb. The older girls apologized, told me that in fact they did not have a comb available. Then the oldest girl asked "is your eyes real?"
They shared blueberry-like berries, cucumbers, and other snacks with me. I gave them my Ricola mints and a hotel pen and we exchanged bracelets.
Two of them wrote me notes in my journal, one wrote "I like myself very much" at the end of her note, the other wrote "I LOVE YOO" at the end of hers. One read my journal out loud. (I cringed a little bit).
As we got closer to my stop one said "You will remember us? We will remember you forever."

A girl on the boat to Elephanta Island

Back in India, Mumbai this time...

A vegetable seller napping in Crawford market.


I decided to come back before my visa expired, so the other day I got on a Lufthansa plane in Portland, flew to Frankfurt and then Mumbai (Bombay). At first I was apprehensive about landing after midnight and then realized that that is the best time to arrive, we cruised through the mostly empty streets, (at night it takes 45 minutes to get to Colaba, a neighborhood by the harbor where I am staying, during the day 1 1/2 to 2 hours). Once we got close to downtown we had to slow down a bit, at nearly 2 am people were in the streets walking to the temples, it was some kind of holiday.
Just after I checked in I met Natasha, we ended up sharing my room (there were only double rooms available so it was cheaper). She taught me a new meditation in the morning that is suppose to help your "kundalini" rise (funny because my last Tarot card in a reading I had in Portland a few weeks ago was "kundalini rising", which is what I guess I am suppose to focus on, I started doing kundalini yoga last summer and I think it has really helped me get out of a stagnant phase I was in). She also told me where to get cheap pirated software. She is a documentary filmmaker!
We took a ferry to Elephanta island where we saw Hindu cave temples that date back as far as the 5th century AD. We also met many aggressive and apparently thirsty monkeys, they practically mugged Natasha of her water bottle. My 2 liter bottle looked too heavy for them I guess. One monkey with a baby attached to her stomach ripped open a bag of salty peanut snacks and ate like "Mamas little piggies" in "The Christmas Story". The ride over there was very relaxing and mercifully cool,it is pretty hot and humid here. But awhile ago I decided I would not be bothered by having my clothes soaked with sweat when I am in tropical places. Mumbai feels so much better than Dehli, happier, cleaner, more colorful.
I have now been asked 4 times if i want to be an extra in a Bollywood movie! But it is a 13 hour commitment. They pay you about $12 which is a lot here, provide lunch, and pick you up. Maybe I will do it later in the week when I come back to Mumbai.
Today I went to Crawford market, an art gallery, and walked around looking at buildings and hawkers' goods.
For some reason it is bothering me less when people approach me and constantly call out "yes madam, hello madam" to me this time. Maybe I am more prepared for it and people don't seem quite as persistent here (compared to certain other places in India that I visited last time).