INDIA
Modeling the Freshette System
Take it from me, the last sentence is VERY important!
The flight from Washington, DC, to Newark, NJ, was short—about 45 minutes in the air. Once at Newark, we had a 6-hour layover before we took off for Delhi. To entertain ourselves while we were waiting to board our plane, I took out my newly-purchased Freshette System, “the feminine urinary director for women of all ages,” and Debbie took out her Lady J “female urination device.” Here is some information on the Freshette from their website:
"Freshette is a revolutionary modern restroom alternative designed to give women the freedom they deserve. The world-renowned Freshette, the original urinary director for women of all ages, is a must for outdoor enthusiasts, travelers and those with disabilities. The palm-sized trough and extension tube are discreet and easy to use. Protect yourself from unsanitary restrooms, wind, rain, cold, snow, insects, thorns, poison oak or ivy. Avoid the hassle of wheelchair transfer in restrooms, wobbly positions when boating, or difficulty providing lab samples. Nothing to wear, empty, or replace. The Freshette is environmentally sound, feather light, reusable, and comes complete with its own custom travel pouch."
Watchie Watchie
My traveling companions and I arrived in Mamallapuram on the 17th of February. Mamllapuram is a fascinating little seaside town located on a narrow strip of land on the Bay of Bengal. Doesn't that wound exotic! Bay of Bental! What makes this place so amazing are its myriad temples, shrines and monuments building in the 7th and 8th centuries taht to this day still evoke mystery and imagination.
The temperature, however, was another thing! It had to be over 100 degrees, somewhat warmer than the usual mid-February temps. We were staying at the Mamalla Heritage Hotel, a nice hotel with a friendly staff. It is described on its website thusly:
Hotel Mamalla Heritage Mahabalipuram offers spacious 43 rooms which are deliberate to meet all the requirements of guests. Service provides by the staffs are exceptional to meet the comfort and convenience of guests in Mamalla heritage Mamallapuram hotel. Hotel Mamalla heritage Mamallapuram is blend of richness, splendor and charming environment. Wind of ocean and endless sky will rejuvenate your mind and soul. Artistic inclination of historic Pallava era is the key point of mamalla heritage hotel mamallapuram. Marvelous services and all the existing entertainment give pleasure to all guests.
My room was air conditioned, though the A/C unit put out only minimally cool air. I was feeling sticky, so I decided a nice, warm shower was in order, despite the heat. I turned on the hot (YAY!) water, peeled off my grimy clothes and stepped into the small shower stall. After I soaped up, washed my hair and rinsed myself off, I just stood for a minute enjoying the feel of the warm spray on my body. It didn’t last long as the water soon turned cool, so I emerged from the shower into the now steamy bathroom.
I dried off and was reaching to retrieve my glasses, which I had laid on the top of the toilet tank during my wash, when I just happened to glance into the toilet and saw something that I knew shouldn’t be there. Upon closer inspection, I deduced that there was a small octopus lying at the bottom of my toilet! I was, to say the least, somewhat freaked out!
I put on my glasses, hastily dressed and swiftly made my way to the hotel reception area, where I told Rushad, the young man behind the desk, that there was an animal in my toilet and that I thought it was an octopus. Rushad knew just enough English to figure out that there was something wrong with my toilet, so he grabbed two of his co-workers and they all followed me to my room. I’m sure they were all thinking that I was some crazy American woman!
I led them into the bathroom, where we all stood and stared at the “creature” laying in the bottom of my toilet. Rushad and the other men then commenced conversing loudly among themselves in Hindi, looking closely and pointing into the toilet while periodically glancing at me. After a couple minutes of this, Rushad looked at me and, in his sing-song Indian lilt, said, “Watchie watchie,” while bobbing his head from side to side.
Thinking this was the Indian word for whatever was lurking at the bottom of my toilet, I gestured questionably with my hands and shrugged my shoulders. Rushad repeated, “Watchie watchie.” I bent my head over the toilet bowl and looked intently at the strange animal, but I still couldn’t figure out what Rushad was saying.
Turning to look at Rushad, he once more repeated, “Watchie watchie,” but this time he also tapped his left wrist. I was looking back and forth at his wrist and mine, when it suddenly dawned on me that the “creature” sitting in the bottom of the toilet was my WATCH! Not one to be embarrassed, I burst out laughing, and the others promptly followed. Rushad quickly reached into the toilet, pulled out my gold watch and handed it to me. None the worse for the wear, it was still working. (Gotta love a Timex!) I dried it off and put it on.
For the next 24 hours, whenever I came across someone working at the hotel, they looked at me and chuckled while they pointed at their wrist saying, “Watchie watchie.” Hilarious!!
Okay, so you’re probably asking how I could mistake a watch for an 8-legged octopus. All I can say is that between the way my watch was situated in the toilet, the steaminess of the bathroom after my shower and my poor vision, it really did look like an octopus to me!
Go, Go, GO!
On our way to the elephant feeding camp near Masinagudi, we heard that some wild elephants had been spotted, so we quickly turned around and drove to find them. We came upon a herd of about 15 elephants crossing the road going toward the river. They stopped just inside the brush and we could see several of them very clearly.
Our guide started making mating calls, and then one of the elephants charged right at MY jeep. I was standing up in the jeep when this happened and all I could think of was when I was almost gorged to death by a charging elephant in Tanzania! I was freakin’ terrified and yelled, “go, go, GO,” but for some crazy, unknown reason, our driver just sat there.
However, Susan’s and Debbie’s jeep, which was stopped behind mine, started to reverse really fast and backed-up right into a car that had stopped behind them. CRASH! Thank goodness the elephant only mock charged, or my jeep would have been crashed into as well, not to mention tossed, turned and crushed. After giving us the scare of a lifetime, the rogue elephant rejoined the rest of its herd in the thicket, and we continued to watch them a little while longer before they completely disappeared into the thick brush.h
The temperature, however, was another thing! It had to be over 100 degrees, somewhat warmer than the usual mid-February temps. We were staying at the Mamalla Heritage Hotel, a nice hotel with a friendly staff. It is described on its website thusly:
Hotel Mamalla Heritage Mahabalipuram offers spacious 43 rooms which are deliberate to meet all the requirements of guests. Service provides by the staffs are exceptional to meet the comfort and convenience of guests in Mamalla heritage Mamallapuram hotel. Hotel Mamalla heritage Mamallapuram is blend of richness, splendor and charming environment. Wind of ocean and endless sky will rejuvenate your mind and soul. Artistic inclination of historic Pallava era is the key point of mamalla heritage hotel mamallapuram. Marvelous services and all the existing entertainment give pleasure to all guests.
My room was air conditioned, though the A/C unit put out only minimally cool air. I was feeling sticky, so I decided a nice, warm shower was in order, despite the heat. I turned on the hot (YAY!) water, peeled off my grimy clothes and stepped into the small shower stall. After I soaped up, washed my hair and rinsed myself off, I just stood for a minute enjoying the feel of the warm spray on my body. It didn’t last long as the water soon turned cool, so I emerged from the shower into the now steamy bathroom.
I dried off and was reaching to retrieve my glasses, which I had laid on the top of the toilet tank during my wash, when I just happened to glance into the toilet and saw something that I knew shouldn’t be there. Upon closer inspection, I deduced that there was a small octopus lying at the bottom of my toilet! I was, to say the least, somewhat freaked out!
I put on my glasses, hastily dressed and swiftly made my way to the hotel reception area, where I told Rushad, the young man behind the desk, that there was an animal in my toilet and that I thought it was an octopus. Rushad knew just enough English to figure out that there was something wrong with my toilet, so he grabbed two of his co-workers and they all followed me to my room. I’m sure they were all thinking that I was some crazy American woman!
I led them into the bathroom, where we all stood and stared at the “creature” laying in the bottom of my toilet. Rushad and the other men then commenced conversing loudly among themselves in Hindi, looking closely and pointing into the toilet while periodically glancing at me. After a couple minutes of this, Rushad looked at me and, in his sing-song Indian lilt, said, “Watchie watchie,” while bobbing his head from side to side.
Thinking this was the Indian word for whatever was lurking at the bottom of my toilet, I gestured questionably with my hands and shrugged my shoulders. Rushad repeated, “Watchie watchie.” I bent my head over the toilet bowl and looked intently at the strange animal, but I still couldn’t figure out what Rushad was saying.
Turning to look at Rushad, he once more repeated, “Watchie watchie,” but this time he also tapped his left wrist. I was looking back and forth at his wrist and mine, when it suddenly dawned on me that the “creature” sitting in the bottom of the toilet was my WATCH! Not one to be embarrassed, I burst out laughing, and the others promptly followed. Rushad quickly reached into the toilet, pulled out my gold watch and handed it to me. None the worse for the wear, it was still working. (Gotta love a Timex!) I dried it off and put it on.
For the next 24 hours, whenever I came across someone working at the hotel, they looked at me and chuckled while they pointed at their wrist saying, “Watchie watchie.” Hilarious!!
Okay, so you’re probably asking how I could mistake a watch for an 8-legged octopus. All I can say is that between the way my watch was situated in the toilet, the steaminess of the bathroom after my shower and my poor vision, it really did look like an octopus to me!
Go, Go, GO!
On our way to the elephant feeding camp near Masinagudi, we heard that some wild elephants had been spotted, so we quickly turned around and drove to find them. We came upon a herd of about 15 elephants crossing the road going toward the river. They stopped just inside the brush and we could see several of them very clearly.
Our guide started making mating calls, and then one of the elephants charged right at MY jeep. I was standing up in the jeep when this happened and all I could think of was when I was almost gorged to death by a charging elephant in Tanzania! I was freakin’ terrified and yelled, “go, go, GO,” but for some crazy, unknown reason, our driver just sat there.
However, Susan’s and Debbie’s jeep, which was stopped behind mine, started to reverse really fast and backed-up right into a car that had stopped behind them. CRASH! Thank goodness the elephant only mock charged, or my jeep would have been crashed into as well, not to mention tossed, turned and crushed. After giving us the scare of a lifetime, the rogue elephant rejoined the rest of its herd in the thicket, and we continued to watch them a little while longer before they completely disappeared into the thick brush.h
Cow Encounters
The almighty cow! A humble creature in America, it provides its citizens with milk, butter, cheese, yogurt, ice cream, and beef, as well as its hide to make into leather goods. But in India, the cow is a beast to be revered! While Indians don’t consider the cow to be a god and they don’t worship it, vegetarian Hindus believe the cow to be a sacred symbol of life. To harm a cow or kill a cow – especially for food—is considered unthinkable by Hindus.
How did the cow get this highly esteemed status? In the Vedas, the oldest of the Hindu scriptures, the cow is associated with Aditi, the mother of all the gods and guardian of all life. Hindu images often picture a white cow draped in a garland of flowers as a symbol of the faith’s special devotion. Hindus even have a dedicated festival to the cow called Gopastami, a time when all cows are washed and decorated with flowers.
About a decade ago, I spent five weeks backpacking through India with two of my sisters, my brother-in-law, and a friend, and, BOY, did we see cows. LOTS OF COWS! They wander everywhere through busy city streets and rural villages. If a cow is laying down in the middle of the road, traffic stops. Don’t even think about “shooing” the bovine away; you just have to wait until it gets up and moves! If you accidentally hit a cow with your vehicle and kill it, you may very well be the next victim!
Most of these wandering cows have owners, but they are just let loose to cruise the streets. And the cows that don’t belong to anyone? They, too, freely roam wherever they want to go. Both eat whatever they come across! And with trash strewn everywhere, the cows have a smorgasbord to choose from, including lots of plastic bags. Which, sadly, creates a huge health issue for the animals, and many die! I saw more than one cow with a dirty plastic bag hanging halfway out of its lower end!
But this was not the United States. It was India! And my traveling companions and I respected their culture. Besides, other than witnessing the sorry state of the cows – and, by the way, sometimes pigs, goats, elephants, horses, camels, and dogs – we were having a wonderful trip. However, we did have some interesting cow encounters!
After spending a couple days in Ranthambore National Park tracking down what turned out to be the elusive tiger, we were on our way to the town of Bundi by private vehicle. We passed many dead dogs and at least one dead cow lying along the road. This was the first time I had seen dead animals in India, except for a deceased dog a week earlier. The animals on the road today must have been run over by vehicles, which seemed strange because we had seen very few vehicles as we drove to Bundi. At one point during our drive we saw two young boys trying to put what looked like a large cow on a bicycle. My traveling companions said it was a goat or perhaps a deer, which was unlikely as there were no deer in these parts. Whatever it was, it was definitely dead, and the boys were having a difficult time loading it onto the bike.
After a wonderful few days in Bundi, we left our hotel early in the morning to catch the train to Bijaipur. The Bundi railway station was very small compared to the others I had been to. Nonetheless, several dogs and a cow were wandering around the train platform! There were even three cows walking along the train tracks eating bits of discarded food and plastic bags.
The last few days of our trip were spent in Pushkar. Even though Pushkar is called the “camel capital of the world,” hosting the famous Pushkar Camel Festival every year, there was no shortage of cows in the town. Boldly certain of their position, they unabashedly strolled the streets. They poked their heads into shops. They rummaged through discarded trash looking for bits to chomp. They clumsily descended the steps to the holy Pushkar Lake. They laid in the shade to escape the heat. THEY WERE EVERYWHERE!
After the sun went down our first evening in Pushkar, my traveling companions and I went to the trendy Sun-Set Café for dinner. It was apparently the place to be; the café was packed with Westerners. We found a nice table out on the terrace, and we ordered our meals. Shortly after our food came, a cow with very large horns thought it might join us for dinner! It had no qualms about sidling up to our table, and as it inched closer to us, we cheered it on! But when it sniffed and then started munching on my sister Susan’s curly hair, one of the waiters grabbed a big stick and, beating the cow with it, chased it away.
As expected, my sister Betty, who claims to like animals better than most people, burst into a rage, and she started screaming at the waiter about animal abuse. The waiter, of course, didn’t understand English well enough to know what she was saying — er, yelling, and I’m sure he thought she was applauding his actions because he was all smiles. Needless to say, the cow soon returned, but this time kept a respectable distance. (Who says cows are dumb!)
The next day, we walked down an extremely tight lane to one of the Pushkar Lake ghats, where my friend Debbie performed "puja," even though she isn’t Hindu. Afterwards, I hung around the lake to take photos. Once finished, I started to make my way to meet back up with my traveling buddies when I came upon a huge cow that was stopped in the middle of the narrow lane, blocking it completely. It was obvious that the cow was very sick as brown, watery muck streamed from its rear end, and thick, slobbering mucus snorted and hung from its nostrils. Not only that, but the cow appeared very disoriented and was acting somewhat crazed, and I immediately thought of Mad Cow disease. Not able to go forward, I was trapped behind the cow. Every time I tried to squeeze past, it started acting even more demented. I was really frightened – that it would either gore me with one of its horns or that I would catch whatever it had. I was finally able to climb halfway up a nearby spiral staircase and waited for the cow to pass me (it was headed to the ghats). I then climbed down the stairs and quickly hurried out of the lane.
The almighty cow! A humble creature, or a crazed beast?