Mon. Feb. 8, 2010

On Sat. we took a 12 hour bus tour through the state of Orissa, which is on the middle east coast of India. The temperature here is like that in San Diego. It is much more rural here and not nearly so crowded. We saw signs saying "End polio now". JP said the CDC recommended polio shots for folks coming to India. We did not get them. Now I'm wondering if some of the terribly deformed and non-functioning bodies I've seen are from the effects of polio. We passed many free homeopathic clinics. The major language here is Oria, which JP does not understand, so now we are just like other tourists in India. The bus was full of middle class Indians on holiday, and I was the only non-Indian. At first they were very suspicious of me but, by the end of the day, they were laughing along with me. I was helped along by a 6 year old boy who was very friendly, once I explained that I was a dadiji. He had a little English and we had a great time chatting. We passed many cashew trees along the way. This was actually a temple tour, what else. The first one we stopped at was the Connaric Temple. We visited this temple on a trip about 10 years ago when Jai accompanied us. It is known as the Sun Temple and is in the shape of a huge chariot pulled by seven gigantic horses and 12 pairs of wheels. When built in the 12th century, it was 200 feet high. Now only 90 ft. It is one of the World Historic Sites. Surrounding the whole thing are intricately carved small vignettes depicting every conceivable sexual position for two, three, or four people. Poor Jai. Having to look at thousands of what we would consider pornographic statues with you parents, is not an 18 year old boy's idea of a good time. I'm sure you can figure out what my response was. I'm still smiling. Since we were last here, beautiful gardens have been added throughout the complex. We ate our lunch there at the canteen with a few other people from our tour. The rest had packed their lunch, which consisted of a packet of rice wrapped in leaves and tied with a string. Everyone else was done eating before we had even been served, so JP went to find out what was going on. It seems that all food for foreigners had to be prepared separately. I was very grateful. It was delicious and did not blow my head off with green chili.

The next stop was Bubeneshwar, the capital of Orissa. I remembered well the beautiful Japanese Peace Pagoda, erected in the 1970's that sits atop a high mount, overlooking the whole fertile valley. It was still early enough that the fog had not totally dissipated, and I felt I was in a dream. The history of this place is very interesting. The great Emperor Ashoka was the first person to unite India under one ruler. However, the king of Assam refused to join, so there was a terrible battle here: "The rivers ran red with blood". Ashoka won the battle, but was so distraught by the bloodshed he had caused, he became a Buddhist. JP could not manage the many steps up to the stupa, so I went alone, circling the stupa and bowing at each of the huge statues of Buddha as I passed them. I was the only non-Indian again. A guide-monk noticed my behavior and came up to me. He was astounded to learn that I was a student of Buddhism in America. He gave me fresh marigold flowers to place at the Buddha's feet, then asked me to bless him. I kept telling him that I was a nobody, but he continued to insist and was drawing a crowd. So I put my hand on his head and said, "May the wisdom of the Buddha be with you". Then put my hand on his heart and said, "May the compassion of the Buddha be with you". He was very pleased and gave me one last marigold to keep with me always, and off I went back down the stairs. On the way out of the complex, JP and I each had a glass of freshly squeezed sugar cane juice with lime. It was just delicious.

The next stop was the 900 year old Lingaraj temple. I was not allowed in this temple, so waited outside while JP went in, watching two young boys scrubbing the stone lions guarding the entrance with Tide.

Next came the 2100 year old Jain monestery and temple, the Udayagir and Khandagiri caves. Jainism came on the scene at about the same time as Buddhism, but being a very ascetic way of life, did not appeal to the people as did Buddha's Middle Path. It was founded by Mahavira. There are 33 caves in all, and I simply cannot imagine how long it took to carve these out of the rock.

The last stop was the Nandankanan Nature Park. This is basically a zoo. The Indians are proud that the animals are not in cages. Rather, they are in large yards. I just wanted to cry. Huge white tigers should not be kept in large yards. On the other hand, the Indians loved seeing the animals and I cannot expect India to afford a San Diego Wild Animal Park. The one animal I won't forget is the one huge buzzard they had. It was curled up on the ground and at first I thought it was a good size dog. Then it raised it's huge head a looked directly at me. It seemed to me it was pleading for help. Tears welled up again. The guide explained that these birds are almost extinct and JP and I both thought of the plight of the Parsi's and their dead. What have we done, what have we done ?