jeudi 23 août 2007
mercredi 22 août 2007
FRENCH NEWS DE “BABA-LAND” et de “NO MAN’S LAND” 23 aout 2007
FRENCH NEWS DE “BABA-LAND” et de “NO MAN’S LAND” (ou sont les humains dans ce chaos ?!?)
23 aout 2007
Le Ladakh n a pas ete pour moi une revelation. Paysage bcp trop aride a mon gout et des gens assez distants qui parait-il sont tres timides, mais pas si timides que ca, lorsqu il s agit de soutirer les dollars aux touristes!! Mais evidemment il y a toujours des specimens rares, des exceptions qui confirment la regle, pour nous ravir et contredire les stereotypes et prejuges. Et heureusement qu’il y a des Nepalais au Ladakh ! (ironie du sort…. Pourquoi ne pas avoir suivi mon intuition et mes envies premieres, qui etaient celles d’aller au Nepal….!)
Malheureusement le trek n a pas eu lieu. Probleme d altitude, de sante (inflammation assez serieuse de la gorge, medecin, antibio, etc.. la totale quoi!). Donc petites ballades, visites de monasteres bouddhistes, etc.. tres beaux monasteres d ailleurs, juches sur des collines au fin fond de vallees (exceptionnellement) verdoyantes.. Cette partie du Ladakh a ete tres edifiante. Le bouddhisme y est pratique avec ferveur, tant par les moines que par la population. Nous avons eu la chance d apercevoir le Dalai-Lama lors de son passage dans la ville de Leh car il se rendait dans une ville voisine pour une serie de conferences. Il fallait voir les Laddakhis qui se sont mis sur leur 31, sortant leurs plus beaux costumes d apparat, nettoyant leur bout de rue a en pouvoir lecher l asphalte tellement il le lustrent et y jettent de la poudre blanche sur les cotes, en signe de respect. On sort egalement tous les pots de fleurs des jardins afin d'y decorer les bords de la chaussee. Vraiment ils l adorent "His Holiness", encore presque plus que Buddha lui-meme!! A part ca, le bouddhisme est d une complexite incommensurable et je ne m y suis pas trop attardee, comme prevue, car vraiment trop ardu. J aurai retenu quelques preceptes interessants et quelques exercices de "lacher-prise" et d apprentissage de tolerance.... que je tenterai de pratiquer et qui risquent de m etre utiles, surtout pour la suite du voyage, qui s avere etre un grand defi....
23 aout 2007
Le Ladakh n a pas ete pour moi une revelation. Paysage bcp trop aride a mon gout et des gens assez distants qui parait-il sont tres timides, mais pas si timides que ca, lorsqu il s agit de soutirer les dollars aux touristes!! Mais evidemment il y a toujours des specimens rares, des exceptions qui confirment la regle, pour nous ravir et contredire les stereotypes et prejuges. Et heureusement qu’il y a des Nepalais au Ladakh ! (ironie du sort…. Pourquoi ne pas avoir suivi mon intuition et mes envies premieres, qui etaient celles d’aller au Nepal….!)
Malheureusement le trek n a pas eu lieu. Probleme d altitude, de sante (inflammation assez serieuse de la gorge, medecin, antibio, etc.. la totale quoi!). Donc petites ballades, visites de monasteres bouddhistes, etc.. tres beaux monasteres d ailleurs, juches sur des collines au fin fond de vallees (exceptionnellement) verdoyantes.. Cette partie du Ladakh a ete tres edifiante. Le bouddhisme y est pratique avec ferveur, tant par les moines que par la population. Nous avons eu la chance d apercevoir le Dalai-Lama lors de son passage dans la ville de Leh car il se rendait dans une ville voisine pour une serie de conferences. Il fallait voir les Laddakhis qui se sont mis sur leur 31, sortant leurs plus beaux costumes d apparat, nettoyant leur bout de rue a en pouvoir lecher l asphalte tellement il le lustrent et y jettent de la poudre blanche sur les cotes, en signe de respect. On sort egalement tous les pots de fleurs des jardins afin d'y decorer les bords de la chaussee. Vraiment ils l adorent "His Holiness", encore presque plus que Buddha lui-meme!! A part ca, le bouddhisme est d une complexite incommensurable et je ne m y suis pas trop attardee, comme prevue, car vraiment trop ardu. J aurai retenu quelques preceptes interessants et quelques exercices de "lacher-prise" et d apprentissage de tolerance.... que je tenterai de pratiquer et qui risquent de m etre utiles, surtout pour la suite du voyage, qui s avere etre un grand defi....
L'INDE... justement !! Pays de dingues, pays de fous. Tout ce que j ai entendu et lu jusque la s avere etre a des annees lumiere de ce que j allais voir un jour de mes propres yeux. C est completement hallucinant. Pour le moment je ne dirai que la chose suivante: j'essaye de m endurcir, de me blinder et de faire abstraction de scenes suivantes: la conduite "insane" a Delhi et ailleurs, les "close-calls" de toles froissees, voire accidents fatals (mais etonnamment jamais rien de dramatique ne se produit!!), le lepreux, dont les mognons en guise de mains cognent contre la vitre de la voiture a l arret au feu rouge pour mendier un sou, les femmes en saris qui piochent et bechent sur les chantiers en plein milieu des routes sous un soleil ecrasant ou encore qui portent des charges surhumaines sur leurs tetes, les vaches couchees le long des routes qui risquent a tout moment de se faire ecraser, le bebe vaguement tenu sur les genoux de sa mere qui ne se tient guere a son chauffeur de mari qui, lui, est occupe a zigzaguer son deux-roues entre les vehicules, souvent a 10 cm de la prochaine tole. Ou encore les enfants qui te talonnent et essayent des 20 minutes entieres de te vendre une quelconque carte postale poussiereuse en te tirant les coins des habits... etc.... etc... sans parler des rickshaws bondes qui ploient sous la charge souvent excessive de leurs passages - qui se tiennent souvent encore sur le petit toit du vehicule (on se demande comment les roues font pour ne pas eclater a chaque dos d ane !!!).
Il faut vraiment du courage et bcp de determination pour se convaincre qu on ne va pas sauter dans le prochain avion pour un "safe return" en terre civilisee.
A part ca, sur une note plus positive, j ai vraiment adore le TAJ MAHAL, surtout le jour du 60e anniversaire de l Independance de l Inde, ou il n y avait quasiment pas de touristes et surtout des Indiens venus, semblait-il, des 4 coins de l'Inde, avec leurs magnifiques saris et habits d apparats. Il y avait egalement beaucoup de religieux, quelques sadhus (hommes qui quittent leurs familles et leurs biens materiels pour courir les sites religieux et sacres de l'Inde et qui vivent d aumone; generalement ils sont tres respectes par la population !!... le prochain stade etant probablement celui de l'ascete, qui lui vit reclu indefiniment, sans nourriture et sans eau).
Me rejouis de "passer aux choses serieuses" et de commencer mon yoga. Je vais monter dans le Nord, au pied de l Himalaya direction Rishikesh (autre ville sacree), vers le milieu de la semaine prochaine, pour y suivre des cours de yoga, ensuite la formation en novembre dans le Sud (Kerala) et entre-temps j espere visiter le Rajastan en octobre, lorsque les temperatures (ecrasantes en ce moment a Delhi: 42 degres et 70% d humidite!) seront un peu plus clementes...
Voila pour aujourd’hui, desolee pour le “hachis parmentier” que represente ce texte, sans accents et sans apostrophes… C’est qu’il a ete initialement ecrit sur un PC et un clavier pas vraiment dignes de ce nom !!
J’espere que tout le monde va bien et du fin fond du chaos, vous embrasse tres fort.
Denise
Voila pour aujourd’hui, desolee pour le “hachis parmentier” que represente ce texte, sans accents et sans apostrophes… C’est qu’il a ete initialement ecrit sur un PC et un clavier pas vraiment dignes de ce nom !!
J’espere que tout le monde va bien et du fin fond du chaos, vous embrasse tres fort.
Denise
August 15th INDIA ... down under ! ENGLISH NEWS
August 23rd, 2007 – INDIA at last …
I will pass on futilities and details why and how Ladakh “was not exactly my cup of tea”… and why the planned trekking needed to be aborted ! Needless to say though that the visit of Buddhist monasteries on top of isolated hills or hidden in lost and (seldom) green valleys was highly interesting. We visited four of them and were lucky enough to experience something special in each one of them: tea sharing with the monks, the initiation of a very young child whose mother had a dream that he is a reincarnation of Buddha (the child will be “tested” in the weeks to come in order to see if his mother’s dream proved to be right..), chanting and praying of monks in a small dark corner of a monastery with not one single tourist around, etc... “Some” stunning landscapes, bathing in the chilly Indus river, participating in local customs and celebrations, getting lost in the middle of huge fields during a hike and ending up picking apricots in huge fruit tree orchards, getting a glimpse of the Dalai Lama who flung through the streets of Leh with his escort have been exciting sights and experiences regardless….
INDIA … Where to begin! This country and the impressions one gathers already in the first 48 hours are so “out of this world” and out of proportions that it is hard to describe the indescribable … I will start as follows: forget about anything you’ve ever heard, read or seen on TV about this huge and vast country of past 1 billion inhabitants. It makes no sense at all to prepare in any way for traveling in this country (except for the well organized traveler who will somewhat want to organize and plan the sights not to miss), as any standards, values, preconceptions one brings along as a Westerner will be shattered become quickly obsolete. One good thing to remember however is that if nothing is constant is this country of extremes… one thing definitely always will and you can count on it anytime: Murphy’s law !! It is ever present on a daily basis: “anything that can go wrong… will”.
A few street scenes:
a baby hardly held, on the lap of his mother who rides sideways on a motorcycle in her sari, squeezed between her husband and another human (all without a helmet of course), in the middle of an insane and rush-hour traffic in New Delhi.
Another child lying on a sidewalk, half a meter away from cars zooming by on a large avenue, his mother cutting grass about 10 meters further away. To me it almost looks like “I hope someone has pity of my child … take him away pleaaaase, care for him, so that I have one mouth less to feed tonight”… cruel world !
Cows lying on the side of big boulevards (not on the sidewalks) and traffic nearly crushing them.
Dogs lying around and looking for “food” on huge piles of garbage on the roadside. Cows chewing on plastic bags (although plastic is supposedly prohibited in this “preventive” country).
Overcrowded autorickshaws risking at any moment to get rid of their load, especially in one of zillions of round-abouts in Delhi often nearly crashing with mad drivers of bigger vehicles and mostly. Surprisingly not much drama to report and hardly ever any incidents to be seen, thanks probably to Shiva, Ganesh, Khali, Krishna and the whole gang !!
But …. WHO AM I TO COMPLAIN anyways, as I once more benefit of a safe haven and little paradise away from the inferno… Thanks to a lovely lady from the Swiss Embassy in Delhi (her boss was my boss ten years ago in Paris…. small world !!!) and her wonderful apartment with its soothing marble floors, a more than decent mattress, lovely furnished rooms and the unforgettable Indian employee who brings in daily sunshine with her smiles and giggles (another “safe” way for Indians to express themselves, as their English is far from understandable most of the time, except for the “upper class” … let’s say…. “upper cast” ).
The heat and humidity of Delhi are legendary and for someone like me with vein problems and allergic to heat waves of any sort, I can’t but agree, on a first degree interpretation, to Maggie Thatcher’s anthem: “if you can’t stand the heat… get out of (hell’s) kitchen !! Yes, most definitely I will get out of here very fast. Mahatma Gandhi’s museum and the quarter of old Delhi will have to wait. Maybe I will come back in October…
On a very positive note… I very much enjoyed the Taj Mahal on the 60th anniversary of India’s Independence Day, August 15th, mostly visited by Indians that day, all dressed in their beautiful and colorful saris and uniforms. The Red Fort was well worth seeing as well.
I am about to begin my “yoga journey”, as I am heading North tomorrow, to the city of Rishikesh, another holy city on the river Ganges in the state of Uttaranchal on the foothills of the Himalaya. There are loads of ashrams and yoga classes to be attended. For those who were wondering… I finally registered for the 1 month course at Sivananda in Kerala in November!
Hope this finds you all “alive and kicking” (as the saying goes) and I send you all my warmest (!!) thoughts from “down under” … India !
Love
Denise
I will pass on futilities and details why and how Ladakh “was not exactly my cup of tea”… and why the planned trekking needed to be aborted ! Needless to say though that the visit of Buddhist monasteries on top of isolated hills or hidden in lost and (seldom) green valleys was highly interesting. We visited four of them and were lucky enough to experience something special in each one of them: tea sharing with the monks, the initiation of a very young child whose mother had a dream that he is a reincarnation of Buddha (the child will be “tested” in the weeks to come in order to see if his mother’s dream proved to be right..), chanting and praying of monks in a small dark corner of a monastery with not one single tourist around, etc... “Some” stunning landscapes, bathing in the chilly Indus river, participating in local customs and celebrations, getting lost in the middle of huge fields during a hike and ending up picking apricots in huge fruit tree orchards, getting a glimpse of the Dalai Lama who flung through the streets of Leh with his escort have been exciting sights and experiences regardless….
INDIA … Where to begin! This country and the impressions one gathers already in the first 48 hours are so “out of this world” and out of proportions that it is hard to describe the indescribable … I will start as follows: forget about anything you’ve ever heard, read or seen on TV about this huge and vast country of past 1 billion inhabitants. It makes no sense at all to prepare in any way for traveling in this country (except for the well organized traveler who will somewhat want to organize and plan the sights not to miss), as any standards, values, preconceptions one brings along as a Westerner will be shattered become quickly obsolete. One good thing to remember however is that if nothing is constant is this country of extremes… one thing definitely always will and you can count on it anytime: Murphy’s law !! It is ever present on a daily basis: “anything that can go wrong… will”.
A few street scenes:
a baby hardly held, on the lap of his mother who rides sideways on a motorcycle in her sari, squeezed between her husband and another human (all without a helmet of course), in the middle of an insane and rush-hour traffic in New Delhi.
Another child lying on a sidewalk, half a meter away from cars zooming by on a large avenue, his mother cutting grass about 10 meters further away. To me it almost looks like “I hope someone has pity of my child … take him away pleaaaase, care for him, so that I have one mouth less to feed tonight”… cruel world !
Cows lying on the side of big boulevards (not on the sidewalks) and traffic nearly crushing them.
Dogs lying around and looking for “food” on huge piles of garbage on the roadside. Cows chewing on plastic bags (although plastic is supposedly prohibited in this “preventive” country).
Overcrowded autorickshaws risking at any moment to get rid of their load, especially in one of zillions of round-abouts in Delhi often nearly crashing with mad drivers of bigger vehicles and mostly. Surprisingly not much drama to report and hardly ever any incidents to be seen, thanks probably to Shiva, Ganesh, Khali, Krishna and the whole gang !!
But …. WHO AM I TO COMPLAIN anyways, as I once more benefit of a safe haven and little paradise away from the inferno… Thanks to a lovely lady from the Swiss Embassy in Delhi (her boss was my boss ten years ago in Paris…. small world !!!) and her wonderful apartment with its soothing marble floors, a more than decent mattress, lovely furnished rooms and the unforgettable Indian employee who brings in daily sunshine with her smiles and giggles (another “safe” way for Indians to express themselves, as their English is far from understandable most of the time, except for the “upper class” … let’s say…. “upper cast” ).
The heat and humidity of Delhi are legendary and for someone like me with vein problems and allergic to heat waves of any sort, I can’t but agree, on a first degree interpretation, to Maggie Thatcher’s anthem: “if you can’t stand the heat… get out of (hell’s) kitchen !! Yes, most definitely I will get out of here very fast. Mahatma Gandhi’s museum and the quarter of old Delhi will have to wait. Maybe I will come back in October…
On a very positive note… I very much enjoyed the Taj Mahal on the 60th anniversary of India’s Independence Day, August 15th, mostly visited by Indians that day, all dressed in their beautiful and colorful saris and uniforms. The Red Fort was well worth seeing as well.
I am about to begin my “yoga journey”, as I am heading North tomorrow, to the city of Rishikesh, another holy city on the river Ganges in the state of Uttaranchal on the foothills of the Himalaya. There are loads of ashrams and yoga classes to be attended. For those who were wondering… I finally registered for the 1 month course at Sivananda in Kerala in November!
Hope this finds you all “alive and kicking” (as the saying goes) and I send you all my warmest (!!) thoughts from “down under” … India !
Love
Denise
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