Yes, yes. There have been several complaints that I haven’t updated the blog for some time. Several weeks, I think. But I have been busy and not too well so now I am doing something…so quit ya complaining!
There have been several doubts how Bhas was going to cope with the locals here. Ok, I had my doubts. But my fears were groundless as he gets on amazingly well with them and they even LIKE him! Who'd've thunk it? Although, when he accompanies me on business he takes on his 'Kebers' persona and becomes curt and rude while complaining about prices and how they aren't giving us enough of a discount, when on the street or anywhere else he gets quite chummy and they all laugh at his jokes and antics...once they get used to him. Many shopkeepers say they think he is very nice and peaceful and calm. Oooookay....whatevers.
It has been great to be with him traveling around as being a male he can more easily become involved in dialogues more readily than I can as a female. Woman aren't exactly segregated nor 'kept inside' but they are shier by nature, usually in groups around the home which I don't necessarily have ready access to and aren't involved in businesses very much especially in the villages. This is generally the man's domain and so males are usually more accessible. I do have conversations and freindships with the vendors I work with and regularly get invited to their homes for lunch where I will meet their wives, but usually they don't speak English and I suck at learning languages (though I am trying).
But Bhas will regularly and easily strike up a conversation with anyone. Sometimes there may be a group of men sitting around of an evening and if we loiter around long enough we are eventually invited over to join them. Invariably the conversation leads to cricket and as the world cup series has just concluded this is a hot topic indeed. Especially as India just won the cup there is much joy and delight throughout the nation. We were traveling from Delhi to Vrindavan on the day of the match and where ever we stopped people were huddled around a TV watching the game. Bhas would stop and watch and engage in discussions about the game - not that he is a big cricket fan, but he is reading papers and trying to catch-up. We knew that India had won when as we were lying down to go to bed that night and fireworks were going off. "India must have won the cricket" we deduced!
Another day while bathing down at the Ganges, Bhas made friends with many locals who were fascinated with him (I don't get it myself...). Somehow he attracted the attention of a group of young men who were visiting in Mayapura for the day. They stopped Bhas...
bailed him up...
... questions were being fired away and explanations given...
"These are JAPA BEADS. We chant on them everyday. We chant HARE KRSNA HARE KRSNA KRSNA KRSNA HARE HARE HARE RAMA HARE RAMA RAMA RAMA HARE HARE...
"One mantra for each bead...
These are counter beads. We go around all the beads 16 times and
keep track of our rounds with these counter beads."
I don't know what he is saying here...
But now I've been spotted!
Dad pretends to bowl...
Buddies...
...calling over other buddies.
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