Le moi errant: Distance

The distance has several measures. The most common is space. We have point A and point B and measure how many units of things there are in that space. If we, Europeans, say meters the Americans say miles. The important thingis the physical quantity to know what separates the two points. Another way is to measure the distance with time. We measure how many beats there is between someone getting from point A to point B. This is called minutes, hours or days.

Since I started the trip, I discovered that it was not yet devised a measure for its distance. I know I've spent more than three months since I started it. Or that I am over 10 000 kms from my hometown. But this does not measure the distance I already walked. In a trip, you multiply time with moments, and space is diminished by contact. This changes all the concepts you have learned throughout your life. I believe that transmitting distance is the most difficult task I have. Today, three months later, much has happened. I'm not the same. However, I never felt so close to myself.

Story of a Picture: Life

At first sight, it is only a beautiful landscape. I had a good perspective on Jodhpur. The skyline was beautiful and there was no way I wouldn't take this photo. It was a small balcony at the fort of Jodhpur. Nothing was blocking my vision and sometimes I had the illusion of being in midair.

I ended up staying a while. I realized the difference between the moment I capture and the reality that is captured. If at first I photographed the horizon, the choice came for another reason. When you wait, this landscape changes. The roofs of the city begin show movement. Here and there, you see a woman drying clothes or a man resting. The longer I stayed, the more the horizon disappeared and the motion captured my attention. I see children playing, students from one school enjoying on the playground, or a family having a morning meal.

It becomes a scene of life. At this point everything you see moves and you notice what is really beautiful in this picture: the amount of life that manages to capture. Without it I wouldn't be sitting there at that time. The horizon would just another one and I would have nothing to sit in and contemplate.

Other Travelers IV - Hannah Howes

More than anything else I found a friend. The hands of fate wanted we to share the same Rickshaw, and she ended up being the "key" that allowed me to unlock Rajasthan. Received from her music, the desert and Bundi. But most of all a chance to meet a very special person and a generous soul.

And all that Hannah is, goes into her voice. Something not available to everyone. When  she gave me her site was one of those moments that will stay in memory. At the first chords of "Strings Attached" a smile formed. And when her voice began I was rendered. The Candy album, which this song belongs to, was a great acquisition for the soundtrack of this journey.

But the music that binds me to repeat over and over again - and the one I leave it here - is "Candy." A strong and melodic music. And when you are in India, surrounded by the most beautiful smiles of children, you just end up agreeing with her.

I hope you enjoy and leave the suggestion to visit her site to know more.

A photo

It started in Mumbai. With a promise of going to a small town near Udaipur. In the euphoria of the moment it did not seem much to do 200 kilometers to take a picture. It meant going to an “untouristic” place. Something I always wanted to do in this trip.

In Udaipur, and away from the excitement of the moment, it no longer seemed such a good idea. Only with two days, I would have to make a choice between knowing better Udaipur or going to Rajsamand. The word was given, and I would not back down. I left happy with the decision and anxious to know what was coming. I rickshaw my way to the bus stand. A few questions and got the first surprise: I was buying a bus ticket in a... ticket office.

Minutes later I was leaving the station in a bus with some smooth parts between the bumps of road traffic crashes. A good harbinger of stability of the trip. And here they do justice to the warnings. Among a more abrupt braking or a quasi-impossible overtaking, the trip was a thrill. To relax I have a landscape that fills the eye. From the top of a semi-arid mountain, we have a broad vision for this region. Here time is harder, and the vegetation reflects this change. The geography of the region changes the gardens that I cross. The large estates of the south give way to small gardens in the north. Unifying it a green only possible in this country.

Delighted with the trip, it's time to worry about the final destination. Rajsamand is a stoppage in transit, so I have to find the right time to leave. If I knew Hindi it wouldn't be a problem, but it isn't the case. I resort to a trick that saved me in similar situations. The sites of commerce have a poster advertising with its address. You just have to take into account two details: (a) if the site is small are most cards - if not all - are in Hindi, (b) sometimes advertises an address of some shop elsewhere. A simple majority rule solves the problem.

With that in mind, I started my research. After a while since I read Rajsamand everywhere. After all the site wasn't small. Without great difficulty I was where I wanted to be. And what a place! It was like finding a small paradise. This was truly an Indian village. Cannot find any tourist. There is all the colors, details and features you usually see spread across multiple locations. But all live and more intense. I reached the roundabout and meet the cows and pigs that walk by. The commerce stall that circumvent the street with their fruit, candy, food, etc ... In the middle, and through the traffic that follows its own logic, I find people and their colorful saris. Many look at me with that question: "What is that stranger  doing here?" Children, less given to philosophies, just smile.

I begin my research, and easily find someone willing to help. Tells me that the school is located in the street leaving the roundabout. I follow this road, which remains very Indian, and when the time comes - after a few meters without finding the school – I ask again. “It's nearby” they answer but I awake enough curiosity to have a brief conversation. I explain  what I did, what I do and what I'm going to do there. They return with a smile and a compliment to our country.

I arrive at my destination. A land where a family of Indian pigs makes its meal, and a wall limits the space. I go to the gate and shoot the picture I wanted. Not content with the result, I decided to enter. At first I only see students rushing to class. Shortly after I meet the teachers. Here the teachers' room is on the street. They stares at this stranger and I try to change this situation. After the ice is broken, I'm greeted with enormous sympathy. They tell me to sit, bring me tea, and go to the street to buy sweets.

I'll explain my story and tell a little about myself. I realize that taking a photo inside is not simple, but they try to satisfy my request. I get to know the reality of this space. As it is old, and was part of the royal complex. Discover what kind of classes are over there - it's a secondary school - and where are the classrooms. After a while a teacher asks me to give him the pleasure of showing the village. I cannot believe my luck.

And before I realized, I was hanging on to his bike - a Hero Honda - crossing the traffic. Something that is in itself a highlight on a trip to this country. We understand better how this dynamic works, and it doesn't seem so chaotic. After surrounding the small mountain, we reached a large lake. A construction of 19th century, which allows to deliver clean water to all surrounding villages. A lake created by a small dam. In it, three temples and places of baths make up this building. They are finely decorated and built of white marble. Its reliefs have that typical look of a lost temple. The lake and the mountains that surround it give you a scenario hard to match.

We now head to another location: the Children's Peace Palace of Anuvibha. A house that promotes a culture of peace and nonviolence in children by doing a holiday camp for 20 days. Also - and as a result of this organization - medical specialists travel to these facilities from Mumbai. For 3 days they meet the people of this region. Perhaps the only possibility of having access to such care. I realize the influence that this site can have in life, the reality of this region and I am humbled. What we take for granted back home, is a luxury here, only accessible to some by generous gestures.

We now go for the third highlight. The temple which the architect of the dam built in honor of his God. It is the highest point in the region. Though small is beautiful. The marble is finely carved and decorated, with a technique that no longer exists. Ascending the staircase we find the ancient and modern together. Although a temple, the area is also used for the construction of new pieces to one another in construction. The teacher leads me to the top of this place. And how beautiful it is. On one side we see the entire lake and the mountains that flank it. On the other, Rajsamand, the green valley and the small rounded mountains. The horizon line is a diffuse and we are small with such a view.

After this moment it is time to return. He takes me to the bus stop, and I do not know how to thank him. I'm back in the busy street life. And with an Indian punctuality, I catch my bus. While going back I feel that everything has a meaning. A simple picture became a magical day and a delay allows me to go back followed by a beautiful sunset.

Carnival break

As you noticed, this week there will be no posts I'm sorry that I only wrote now, but the trip as a mind of its own and didn't let me until now. Next Monday everything will be back to normal :)

Unforgettable Mumbai

January, 15th. Don't forget this date. If you pass it in India make sure you are in Mumbai. It is time the Kite Festival. That was my last image of the city. I left at sunset, and the sky was composed of thousands of kites.

What I remember is the joy of people - adults and children - playing with them. My bus went through the slums of Mumbai. In this city, buildings and the more touristy areas are small islands that contrast with the rest. Constituted by crude houses of brick or zinc, there are in the slums as much variety as the people who build them. Those swaying silhouettes of children in the metal roofs stand out. Trying to master the kite, it seemed a beautiful dance. There, between day and night we don't see the living conditions, but the joy. Demonstrating that nothing is greater than the smile of people.

The same kind of smile that said goodbye to me when I entered the bus. I waited three hours for it to arrive. I didn't feel like seing this city. And how I was mistaken. Within that wait, I saw more city than I could imagine possible. I was adopted by the friendliness of the owners and employees of travel agencies in LBS Marg. A wide avenue in the airport area. "Shops" that are prefabricated stalls supporting local families and dreams. I get candy and stories. Find out how much a person earns and what does the word Jolar (cheater). I find the "king" of Jolars and his companions. More than anything, I find the sheer friendliness and hospitality of the people. How they have simple ambitions and generous hearts. I learn that the unexpected is the theme of a trip like this.

As unexpected as finding a taxi driver who knows other Portuguese and speaks one or two words in our language. That trip to the travel agency was entering the world of my driver. Muslim taxi driver, very friendly and fun. Teach me your way of life and family cohesion in the Muslim culture. Asks me about my trip while describing the city and its life. How his business isn't very good on days like this. Weekends, where people go to the city by car or public transport. Say this while keeping in the same lane for about 4 km. Mumbai has surprisingly straight avenues and no traffic in this Sunday. I have the impression that the city paused for me to see it in the little time I had.

And how it was calm when I arrived. On exiting the station, I find a city of great Gothic buildings and wide avenues. With sidelanes that are ... sidelanes. Meeting tourists who wander in the city's attractions and shpos that are slowly opening. I find that it is a day of marathon. One reason for the lack of traffic. It gives me a chance to explore at my own pace the Avenue Mahatma Gandhi and its buildings. This whole area is a tourist place like any other city in the world. Despite being in India, Mumbai belongs to the "country" of large cities. Which places like Paris or New York are also part. And when I finally come to the Gate of India – a large monument that welcomes those who come from the sea – I know that this city will be very different than I thought. And what I thought impossible has happened: I had adapted to the pace of India.

I felt that when I reached the station. It was four in the morning. More or less the same time when I landed in India for the first time. On that day all was confusion and overwhelming. It scared me, like any demanding place does. Now it wasn't so. The number of people were just that. The area seemed organized and I didn't feel "crushed" when I went out to smoke and was approached by taxi drivers. Everything was simple and easy. The decision to wait for the sunrise was done in the most natural way. Not even the rat that was walking through the atrium of the station bothered me. Frankly, I felt sorry for it. it was crippled in one leg and was limping to get to its destination. Perhaps this is one of the major lessons that have already seized. The respect, instead of disgust, for all living beings.

Don't know if I'll return to Mumbai. It was too intense to visit this place so soon. But anything can happen in a trip. A stay of 3 days transforms in a mere glimpse. And this into an unforgettable experience.

Le moi errant: Smile

I write this post for you. For all the reasons. The question that once you asked, still echoes in my mind: Will I have the same smile? Still no answer.

I know that the smiles of others have changed me. It is impossible to be indifferent to so many. Whether the one of children who play with little concern, whether the friendly smile of adults. How to be indifferent to the smiles when you arrive or the gentle ones when you leave? You keep these moments for the rest of your life. Moments that touch you. They give happiness, and you cannot stop feeling humbled by such an offer.

I do not know if my smile is the same. What I know is that an eyes' smile can change a life. In a single moment everything is different. So I do not know if my will remain. If I can pass a little the ones I see, then you find it more brilliant. One, that I hope will touch you too. Since it is now impossible to you to see it, I wish, now that read me, you can already smile a little...