Roads in Auroville

The road network of Auroville was designed as part of the city's master plan. The main roads in the master plan look like spiraling arcs coming out of a centre point, resembling a galaxy. Some of the main roads are there, most are yet to be constructed. Many roads or walkways have also been made not necessarily in accordance with the master plan. People solved their problems spontaneously instead of waiting for the master plan to be implemnted. This group of rodes are more organic in shape.

Whatever the case might be, there is hardly any straight line in the Auroville road network. Therefore, to go straight actually means to stay on the path no matter how dramatic the bends are.

Chennai to Auroville

I'm in Auroville right now. Going from Chennai airport to Auroville turned out to be a relatively simple task. As easy as 1-2-3:

1. There are prepaid taxi services in front of the airport. Took a taxi to Koyambedu Bus Terminus. Price 250.00Rs.
2. At the terminus, had to go to the mofussil section. The buses have electronic display on them showing Tamil and English. Had to get on a bus that says "ECR" (east coast road). These buses go all the way to Pondicherry. So I had to ask the helper man to drop me off near Auroville instead of at Pondi. 190.00Rs.
3. From the drop off point, there were yellow autorikshaws. I took an auto to the visitors center in Auroville. 150.00Rs.

A year in Canada

Thank you Canada

Today is the completion of my first year in Canada. It has been a very good year.

I worked hard at an university and studied harder for a masters degree. Volunteered in a few places. Learned to grow. Explored science, art, life and spirituality. Found the time to work my own self, to make myself a better person. And while doing all these, became friends with a few Canadians whose hearts were big just like their country is. I'm grateful to those friends. Also grateful to my former self, who had decided to come to Canada. We gained more than expected. Thank you.

I'm leaving for Tamil Nadu now. See you in summer, eh!

Image credit: Emily

Tamil - Bangla Comparison

Bangla and Tamil vowels

First step of preparing for the upcoming Tamil Nadu trip is to get familiar with the language. Tamil, the main language of Tamil Nadu is of Dravidian origin. My first langauge Bangla is Indo-Aryan. This puts us in two entirely different language families. However, the written forms of the two languages have a common ancestor, the Brahmi script. Brahmi script was in use in India around two millennia ago. I've decided to start learning Tamil from the script because it is the meeting point of these two languages.

Rani Pokhari

Rani Pokhari or the Queen's Pond

Rani Pokhari or the Queen's Pond was not really on my list of places to see in Kathmandu, but I ended up passing by more than once. It's located near the center of the city and one of those hard to miss points. It's good sight to see after all. A temple to Shiva in the middle of an artificial lake accessible through a long foot bridge. But the pokhair itself is not open to public most of the days. Only on the day of Bhaitika, which is part of Tihar celebration, the gates are opened to public.

Parvati Restaurant in Pokhara

The Parvati restaurant in Pokhara has a decent dal-bhat deal besides kalo-chia, rara and of course, momo. Away from the busy lake side roads, this quiet little place is a good place to sit and relax.

The Red Cow in Manang

The Red Cow milk cans serves as prayer wheels in Manang

Growing up in the 80's and 90's in Bangladesh, The Red Cow powdered milk was something very familiar to me. It was also one of those things I never expected to find in another time or place. Manang proved me wrong.

Homemade Nepali Beer

Almost every part of Nepal have its own version of homemade beer which is frequently prepared and consumed at home. Often accompanied by small snacks. The beverage is different from what is known as beer in the western world. The organic residues have a strong presence in the form of icky taste, smell or both. Sometimes, its not that bad - its an acquired taste and getting used to with takes a while. Such was the case with Chhang in mountains. Its a great challenge in most other cases though.

Corn beer of Sindhuli

The fluid substance seen in the accompanying photo is homemade beer of Sindhuli. The yellow color (as can be seen in the photo) is due to corn from which this is made from. Citric vomit like taste and smells (which cannot be seen in the photo) is due to the fermentation process. The snacks in the small dish next to are pieces of goat meat. Neither the snack nor the drink agree much with me. But I tried my best not to offend my host. Being a world citizen is not always easy.

Phewa lake

View from east shore of Phewa lake before sunset

One of Pokhara's many attractions is the beautiful Phewa lake. If the sky is clear, reflection of the Annapurna range on the lake offers a spectacular view from the south shore. Many postcards and souvenirs have this picture too. Alternatively, one can watch sunset from the west shore.

You can hire a boat to get yourself to the small island in the middle of the lake. There is a nice little shrine there. Or you can actually go all the way across the lake. There is a large Buddhist temple on top of a hill on the other side. The place where they tell you to dock your boat, there is a little restaurant. The lunch served over there is very good.

View of Phewa lake and parts of Pokhara town

Machapuchare

Machhapuchare peak

My most favorite mountain in the world is Machapuchare. I first saw the it from Sarangkot. It was a cloudy evening in late August 2011. When I reached the viewing point, a thick layer of cloud was blocking my view of the peak. After a few minutes an opening formed as the clouds moved away and I could see the Machapuchare peak in it's full glory. Near the peak its too steep - almost vertical - for ice to cling on. The bare rock face was glowing in golden light of the setting sun. There was something amazingly beautiful and captivating about that bare rock face.

I fell in love and realized that I would like to climb mountains someday. Not like some arrogant mountaineers I had met before, who climb mountains to conquer them. My inspiration for climbing a mountain would be to appreciate it.

A little research on the internet afterwards reveals some interesting facts about Machhapuchare. It's almost 7000m high and lies in the Annapurna mountain range. The meaning of the Nepali name is 'Fish tail'. Named so because of its twin peaks. The mountain is revered as sacred by local people. Machapuchare has never been climbed to the summit. Out of respect for local customs, mountaineers have decided not to set foot on its peak. I learned most of these from researching on the internet after coming back home awe stricken by the sheer magnificence of Machapuchare.

Su Cha

The Tibetan butter tea, known as 'Su Cha' (or is it 'Su Ja' ?) in Manang is an excellent beverage for the Himalayan conditions. In absence of central heating or other such provisions to fight the cold, reliance focuses on calorie rich diet. Su Cha serves this purpose well.

Su Cha served with a couple of Tibetan breads and a plate of spicy potatoes makes a good breakfast

The preparation is very simple. Add a tablespoon of tea leaves and about 200gm of butter in 1L of hot water. Add salt according to your taste. Stir to melt all the butter, then enjoy :)

Yak Meat

Click on the picture to see album, WARNING: BLOOD

Although Vajrayana buddhists by religion, Manangis don't consider killing yak for meat as a taboo. Probably for practical reasons, they have resorted to tweak this part of the religious laws.

One fine morning, Tashi invited me to watch the ritualistic slaughtering and butchering of yaks. The event took place in a field on the outskirts of the village, by a little stream.

Four cows and a bull yak were slaughtered. Instead of slitting the throat open, a long narrow knife is driven right into the animals heart. This ensures quick death without spilling much blood. Every part of the animal is consumed or used in one way or another, including the blood.

Use of axe and hammer in butchering is another speciality of their culture. For an animal as thick skinned and heavy boned as the yak is, this is no surprise.

Only men are allowed to go on the butchering field. Perhaps a tradition being carried on since the hunter-gatherer period.

Skin Protection in the Himalayas

Cracked skin on my knuckles

Himalayan air is usually very dry except for the monsoon season. Skin cracks in all kind of strange places of our body. Skin on my knuckles cracked. Another guy had the palm of his hands cracked.

Locals rub fat from yak and other domestic animals on their skin to prevent cracking.

EU Visa Policy

Checking the visa policy of the European Union countries can be worth while before you make your travel plans. This page on wikipedia comes in handy in this regards.