|
Incredible.Colourful. Loud. Fantastic. Exuberant. Dusty. Hot. Polluted.
Frustrating. Dirty. Awful. Diverse. Lovely. Hopeless. Intruiging. Poor.
Extreme. Shocking. Lovely. Intense. Addicting.
Each time I try to fetch the spirit of this incredible country in one word,
I end up in a list of a hundreds of words, not being able to describe it the
way you experience it.
Exactly as the Lonely Planet mentions: it isn't a land you merely 'see' -
it's an experience, it's a question of plunging into it and get totally
shaken, brainwashed... It's hard to get out of it exactly as you entered it.
By experiencing the continent which is India, you get a kind of 'new
identity', a new thing you will carry with you your whole life.
After having roamed about for 5 months now through India, I begin to
understand the word 'world citizen'. A term which was already used in
ancient Greece as 'kosmou polites': a form of citizen which dwells in two
communities at the same time. The one of his birth, of his home, and in the
community of human argument and aspiration. A form of citizin which feels
the same connection with people on the other side of the world, as with his
neighbour.
I suddenly realized this when people begun to ask me: 'Are you a foreigner?
You look like an Indian!' Since then I haven't understood the word
'foreigner' anymore.
Well, now the complete story:
After being disappointed that the colour of Jaipur's 'pink city' is
everything but pink (more a kind of red-brown), I left my temporary cycling
mates Marijn and Magdalena, to meet them again in a beautiful national park
near Agra. It was a small bird paradise with rare birds like Siberian crane
and black Ibis and a lot more. Then it was time to leave for the
ultratouristic hotspot of the Taj Mahal, India's tourist de facto emblem.
And I kept cycling, and cycling. Now that the landscape wasn't as inspiring
as before, I had the time and energy to make my final race to Varanasi
(Benares), to arrive here at the 6th. of March.
The welcome at the Social Centre was warm, it was like getting a 'Back Home'
experience.
Just when I was two days in Varanasi, as we were sitting in the cinema,
watching a Bollywood blockbuster, we heard the terrible news about the bomb
blastings in Varanasi. At least 2 explosions in the city, one of them just
500 m from our guest house... The days after there was a strange kind of
atmosphere in the city, as if everybody had left his shop and had gone home,
in respect for the dead ones. It was wonderful to see how peaceful and
tolerant the people of Varanasi are - Muslims who live next to Hindus and
Christians, and even minorities which are given a place in this congested
city.
But only interesting stories and semi-intellectual talk isn't enough for
this message. It's time to talk about money! :-)
First I would like to thank all of you who have donated a royal amount of
money to Klein Verzet Foundation, on the account of the Ashray Social Centre
in Nagwa, Varanasi. In total, there has been collected EUR 4384,90
corresponding with Rs. 231.961,- thanks to an enormous contribution of Klein
Verzet Foundation. Of this, EUR 1918,30 have been fixed donations, for the
rest I've been sponsored per kilometer.
As following, for the interested souls, I will give you an indication of
what the money has gone to: (in Euros).
|
7,00 |
Chalks (gift from Holland) | |
25,00 |
Transaction costs | |
60,00 |
DVD player (for health education and entertainent)
| |
665,00 |
1st. computer (Compaq Presario) + UPS
| |
38,00 |
Software package | |
64,80 |
Internet connection | |
1421,00 |
3 computers (HCL Pentium 4, 2.66 GHz) + UPS
| |
2104,10 |
Planned for salary of night classes (in future) & running costs of the
Centre | |
4384,90
|
TOTAL
|
In the time I've spent in Varanasi now, the computers have been bought, an
internet connection installed and most of the ca. 12 staff members got
computer lessons, varying from the first contact with a computer, to more
advance working with designing and administration tools. Also for the staff
members which still don't speak a word of English, the computer (with Hindi
typing support) will give them an opportunity to learn English faster. Then,
after a while, the computer lessons for the children in Nagwa will start. A
dream of Frans Baartmans, the founder of this Centre, is about to become
truth...
Now, India has just recovered from its colour festival, Holi, where people
on the streets throw coloured powder on each other, when huge bonfires are
being build on the street and when everything is allowed. An experience on
itself!
Spending the rest of time I've left here in Varanasi, I will arrive back in
Holland on the 10th. of April. Hope to see you all again soon!
Lots of greetings,
Christopher Baan
|
