Last weekend our group took a trip to Lucknow, capital of the UP. To help give you understand what that was like, let me supply this analogy: Varanasi is to Lucknow, as St. Peter is to Mankato. Yeeeeee ha!!!
Lucknow is a step up from Varanasi, with streets that resemble Delhi’s (wide, lots more cars than rickshaws, clean), many well-maintained gardens, and not so many people hassling you all the time.
We enjoyed Western style food in the western style Mall, watched Finding Neverland, ate Baskin Robbins ice cream and watched cable TV in our air conditioned hotel rooms.
We saw some beautiful old buildings from the Mughal era and British era, and I especially enjoyed running in the labyrinthe in the Imambara, a replica building and mosque of one in Iran and Iraq.
However, I did NOT enjoy being sexually assaulted for the first time in my life. I didn’t let him get away with it; I ran after him and pushed him as hard as I could and send him running for his life down the street. It was an AWFUL experience, one that I thought I was safe from since I was with four guys at the time. You just never know…
What a weekend. Now it’s back to the grindstone. Our group is stressed out due to the deadlines looming. The three computers which regularly break down are being used all the time. Due to their faultiness, I keep four or five back-up discs of my paper.
In Celsius, it’s 38 degrees today. What is that in Fahrenheit? Uh… ok so I cheated and looked it up. It’s 100 degrees! AHHHH!! 100 degrees, and no beach in sight, except of course for the Ganges…. I wish I could swim in it! No fair.
Holi is coming up on Saturday, which is a holiday where the following things happen:
- big bonfires are lit in the middle of the streets
- bhang lassis are consumed (read: yoghurt drinks flavored with what else but marijuana!) by the general populace
- colored powder is thrown with zeal at all who show themselves in public. Some powders are poisonous, I’ve heard that many children are blinded each year from getting it in their eyes… it’s a leveling of the society, in a way, where swearing is allowed and insults are used.
Thus, I plan to stay inside for the first half of the day, in order to not be harassed more than usual. By the evening I think it’ll be safe to venture out to see how people look.
In short, I am working hard, feeling quite hot, and trying to plan my spring break, which will hopefully bring me into the Himalayas to enjoy some coolness.
Namaste!