Today Was A Good Day
I’m currently in Manali, a town high in the Himalayas. When Matteo and I arrived yesterday, it was dark, raining, and freezing cold, and my first thought was to hop back on a bus to the hot plains. But this morning, sun streamed through my window and I discovered that my $6 room has a multi-million dollar view of snow-covered mountains and green hillsides dotted with waterfalls. Suddenly, Manali seemed much more pleasant.
I walked to the nearby village of Vashisht and, while wandering past colorful homes and rambling rose bushes and adorable fuzzy puppies I can’t touch (Matteo calls them “rabies babies”) and women in wool sweaters carrying firewood in baskets, I came across a path to a waterfall. Along the way, after emerging from a forest, I discovered a Hindu stone temple. And above that was the waterfall itself, cascading down into an icy pool. No one else was around, and I felt blessed to be in such a beautiful, serene place.
Back in the village, I browsed through a store owned by a Kashmiri man. Kashmiris are known for their pushy sales tactics, but the man admitted that he wasn’t such a good salesman. So instead, Matteo and I had a long, wonderful conversation with him about our life as Americans and his as a Kashmiri Muslim. We talked about politics– he asked about George Bush, we asked him if Kashmir should become part of India or Pakistan (he replied that Kashmiris want independence from both)– geography — we discussed the differences and similarities between India and America — food — he was slightly disgusted that we eat pork but curious about the taste, and we were a bit amazed by his description of a Kashmiri wedding meal that consists of “21 types of mutton” — architecture — both religious and secular around India — and lots of other topics. He told us he’d like to take us to stay with his family in Kashmir (or “paradise,” as he called it) when he visits them in a few months, and both of us said we wished we could. Maybe when I return to India someday I can meet this warm, delightful man again and eat 21 types –21!– of mutton with his family.
And, no day in India is complete without an absolutely absurd –and hilarious– experience. Today, that event happened on the way home from dinner, when Matteo and I came across a store that was selling sweaters at “200% off.” Matteo wondered if that meant the shop’s owner would pay us to take his sweaters, but we didn’t go in to ask. Maybe tomorrow.
Tags: India, RTW 07/08
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