Where 41 - Pune, India --OR-- How to Cross the Road and Survive

HI Everyone

I wake up to suddenly realise that I have been away for nearly 2 months and havent sent any communication worth the name. Some of you may think this is a good thing... others will read on...

So, in India (again) since early Dec, planned for 6 weeks but extended a couple of weeks to complete what I started - which means I will be home shortly, although home will mean London again (after over 6 years of being elsewhere) just a couple of days after I get back...

So far I have managed to :
- Completely miss Xmas (actually a few local shops did start selling xmas decorations about 2 days before xmas, and plastic pine plantations appeared outide others, so I did suddenly realise it was happening ... somewhere) and I did import an Xmas pud especially... It did slip by pretty much unnoticed though.
- Celebrated a completely alcohol free new year (in fact I have had no alcohol since leaving the UK)
- had about 100 'curries' [well, Indian food] - lunch and dinner every day and occasionally breakfast.
- nearly get run over many many times (but i have just had to accept this as part of the culture) which brings me to a favorite topic...


Crossing the road
The traffic on the road I have to walk up and down has massively worsened since even a year ago. I have worked out that the following techniques can be recommended(?):
a) wait for a decent gap in the traffic which may occur between 11pm and 8am (to 10am on a sunday).
b) close the eyes and walk slowly across ignoring all the horns blaring which they do constantly anyway (this generally works with motorbikes but not so well with cars and certainly not with lorries and tankers, so it is best to have a decent idea of what is coming before the eyes are closed)
c) wait until a cow crosses and hide behind it.

Method c) was of course the favorite method but now the traffic has increased to even more improbable proportions the cows cannot stand it any more and have left for more pleasant areas leaving the human population stuck on one side of the road or other for most of the day.


So I hired a bicycle for bout 10p a day and quickly realised that this was just a quicker way to 'nirvana' than walking. In addition to the rider, hire does include ample accommodation for at least 1 (and I have seen 2) passengers and maybe even a working brake. However, turning right is about the most dangerous thing one can do in India outside of being a politician, as 2 wheels are a bigger target than 2 legs!
In a recent survey around 20% of Indians admitted to driving on the wrong side of the road. This means that any normal 2 lane road immediately becomes a 4 lane road with contraflows either side of the two mains lanes. This unplanned but apparently unavoidable chaos is 'OK' because it is safer to do this for short distances (less than a mile) where entrance and exit are on the same side of the road because it is far too dangerous to cross the road once, let alone twice just to get on the 'correct' side! In fact I really have no idea which is the correct side anymore, suffice to say that I just ride my bike along the path of least resistence (pedestrains are softer than cars and trucks!)

Apart from instantly forgetting what side of the road they should be on, Indians have astoundingly good memories, probably cos they hardly ever write anything down (outside state run bureaucracies). I was surprised that the second time I went to a particular restaurant, the waiter reminded me exactly what I had had the first time I had been there! Then I was amazed that the first time I went to collect my laundry the guy in the shack said my name before I could say anything and instantly pulled out my washing knowing exactly what was there - this appently is normal. I was even more astounded when later I realised that when I dropped my washing off, that man wasnt actually there, someone else was...


The Inner Journey
And to the reason I came back here - to spend 7 days in a room (with windows and without padded walls - so much more civilised than some of the stuff I have done) having someone ask 'Tell me who you are?'. And now I know 'Who Am I'. Well, it is not quite as simple as that, but I do have a lot better idea and a lot has changed inside as a result of that. I could try and explain how this works in detail, but ... basically finding out what is there in that moment and expressing it frees up so much of the crap which isnt me, and underneath it all, is me - it is that simple.
And as a result of the huge impact that had on me I went on to train as a facilitator for the process and go deeper into it (intellectually and in an effort to uncover more of what I am). So I am a couple of weeks late back, but who is really counting???

Apart from that I did short courses on Living in the Moment and one on Intuition (relating to tarot reading).

So when I get back I will no doubt be looking for volunteers for Life Coaching, Tarot Reading and those who want to find out who they really are. Anyone interested?


What else to say - except almost uninterrupted sunshine, around 30C, no TVs, no meat ... and I will miss it all...

Love and Hugs

Ankur/Pete