1. Long Haul: I’m staying in Varanasi for the ____ _____. Due to 1. fourth major stomach ailment: giardia and 2. giardia medicine- induced allergic reaction, I was seriously considering going home early. The more I thought about it, though, the more it made sense to stay the whole time because leaving early wouldn’t give me the closure that I think will be a vital part to ending this year.
Even as I find myself fantasizing about my return home, my first time in a Cub Foods with a big grocery cart, my being a normal-looking individual who does not warrant cat calls and harrassment just becasue of the color of my skin, my drinking tap water and driving a car…. Even as I acknowledge that these things will be great to return to, I know that I’ll need a lot of time wrapping up things here before I can go back home and function again. I’ve worked hard this year at things– kathak dance, Hindi, trying to do fieldwork research with minimal guidance– and want to finish them satisfactorily before leaving.
I KNOW that I’ll get sick again, but I’ve reconciled myself to that and I’ll focus on staying healthy and getting work done while I am healthy.
2. Clock-watching: How long can these people go? Saraswati Puja, last weekend. A holiday celebrating Saraswati, goddess of learning and music, for which our program hired a pandit (priest) to perform puja (worship service) in our program house. I wore a light yellow T-shirt, which is Saraswati’s favorite color, and put my World Atlas on the pile of things to be blessed by Saraswati. Since the diasporic Indians (about which I’m doing my fieldwork project) go to places all over the world, I chose my atlas as something to be blessed in conjuction with my project. Others had their Hindi notebooks blessed, or their musical instruments, and one guy even had a book on Islam (his project’s topic) blessed (which is probably sacreligious). Chants were chanted, fruit, flame, incense, sweets, money, water, and flowers offered to the murti (idol statue). It lasted nearly 2 1/2 hours.
Also, a sitar-Indian guitar concert last week. The audience was mainly videshis, (foreigners) and I felt a little strange to be in the company of sooo many white people! I just wasn’t used to it. The rag was beautiful, a duet, but lasted a grand total of…. 2 hours and 45 minutes!
It’s getting HOT here these days. Today was strangely cloudy and cool, with a strong breeze, so I biked around the University campus and took some pictures of some of the buildings. I enjoyed smelling the good green grass smell there, something I really miss on most days. Now I’m off to interview a returned expatriot who lived and studied in England.
Last week I interviewed a pandit about his ideas of globalization and Hinduism.
I also recently got back some surveys of students at a private college in Varanasi. Lots of work to do, but soon I hope to have my rough draft done of my paper!
Phir Milenge (See you soon!)