Today we went up to Chamundi Hill, one of the holiest sites in South India. On top of the hill, 3 km from Mysore, is a temple to the goddess Chamundi.
I kept thinking of the bottom of the mountain in Kung Fu Panda...
From the bottom of the hill there is a path with 1500 or so steps that take you to the top, although half way through you go past a huge Nandi, Shiva's bull. I have been informed that the bull is still growing, and that it gets bigger every year. It's good to see that it's not only Catholics that believe in stuff like that...
At the bottom of the path there's a gate that somehow reminded me of Kung Fu Panda. The site is clearly very holy for Indians...it's a dump!!! It was so disheartening walking up the hill, there was so much rubbish. I really struggle to understand how you can go to pray there, but then throw your bottle of water or your packet of fags outside...
I wouldn't like to be as arrogant as to think that a few weeks has given me enough of an insight that I can claim to understand a culture that stands for thousands of years. However, one thing I am struggling to grasp is just why is this country so, so dirty? Obviously poverty is one of the main reasons, but i think beyond this there is a lack of understanding of what the true meaning of public domain is.
I failed to see the artistic value of this monumental piece of tat...
With all it's downsides, British society tends to respect what is public, what belongs to
all of us. We look after it, sometimes the same way that we look after our own, sometimes with extra care. Sometime in the 19th Century, following the Great Stink, there was a great civic movement to allow ever increasing numbers of people to live together. Everyone takes great pride on cleaning their own property, from a store to a flat to even the smallest open air stall.
But here the store owner, after his coffee, will open the door and through the plastic cup on the street. The family will finish their breakfast on the train and throw the remainders through the window.
Every day I am more convinced that money attracts money. In this leafy middle class part of India with very little poverty you can see lots of middle/upper class Westerners. I kept thinking how nice it was of them to come here, with their trust fund money, to see a bit of the world before beginning a career in Wall Street or at a law firm. Standing near them, there is a lot of American arrogance and snobbery, but you couldn't help but appreciate that they had travelled....until you discovered why they were there.
It seems that Madonna's yoga teacher lives around here, actually just 300 yards down the road. When he hasn't been jetting off to teach that cow he teaches all these rich kids. These are not the hippies from Goa, here they are wearing real Prada, and their hair has been conditioned with Aveda...it must be the latest fad in NY and Tokyo...
As I don't like to sound bitter and twisted I will say that actually I'm in a great mood. I've just received my new camera and well, I am so excited...thank you Stephen!!!!
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