List: things I like about India (part 1)

By on Jan 6, 2011 in The Unruly Ascetic, Uncategorized

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  1. the head bobble.
  2. kids who run up to you grinning to wave and say “hi!”
  3. kids who run away from you grinning when you respond in kind (not the running part, just the waving and saying “hi!”).
  4. cows.
  5. being encouraged to go to this dude’s cafe where he serves cannabis oil in coffee. “it’s like, boom shaka laka” (I am not kidding). 
  6. the smells of the market (flowers and incense and oils).
  7. bright white teeth set against lovely dark skin.
  8. snickers bars with hindi wrappers.
  9. pairs of men/boys holding hands (not gay, just affectionate).
  10. pair of girls holding hands (wearing identical school uniforms).
  11. my Sanskrit professor repeating “listen properly, friends.”
  12. Sharath saying “why you rush, Japanese? you hungry?”
  13. (speaking of hungry…) masala dosa, idles, samosa, and some sweet ball of sugar I discovered at a (wait for it) “sweets shop.”
  14. and coffee.
  15. young coconuts and all they conceal.
  16. the guy who hacks the coconuts open with a (rusty) machete.
  17. the hacking open of the coconuts with a (rusty) machete.
  18. breakfast!
  19. beautiful smelling strings of flowers.
  20. the fact that I have a gang of Indian dudes who hang out at the house who we literally refer to as “Prakash and the boys.”
  21. Prakash and the boys.
  22. diversity of roommates (I may not hear English spoken for 2 months, which means I’ll be confused for 2 months).
  23. Nicolas tucking rupees into the top of his doti and saying it is “like a strip teaser, no?”
  24. bad ass, world traveling, multi-lingual, nonprofit running, rock climbing Yogis.
  25. Waking up at 4:30 to the sound of 75 people chanting “vande gurunam…” across the street. 
  26. chanting “vande gurunam…” across the street.
  27. Practice.
  28. Practice.
  29. Practice.

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