Monsoon

The monsoon has finally come. There were a few hints that it was on its way last week, with the raindrops from a few isolated showers glistening in the sun. Today though it rained and rained. The drops here are huge and you are drenched almost immediately, its great. It is cooler now a well-we are actually getting some breezes to stir up the air somewhat.

Ventured across the river to Old Roorkee at the weekend. It was much more like the India everyone expects-narrow packed streets, traditional goods and sacks of strange food and spices. I returned later in the evening , and with the guys from Uzbekistan and a couple of French girls we visited the Muslim quarter in Old Roorkee to sample the ‘nuclear chicken’ in a dark backstreet next to the mosque. Taking bikes was almost lethal -you can see and hear the motorbikes coming, but the rickshaws in the dark unlit streets were impossible to see until you had to swerve to avoid them! It was the first time I had meat in two weeks, and it was seriously good, watching the world passing by and listening to the call to prayer. Lack of protein was starting to have adverse affects on me :p

On the cycle back I got talking to four random guys on a motorbike-everyone is so friendly and easy going. We also passed a Hindu wedding-huge tents, horses in drag, trumpets and flatbed trucks full of drummers. They don’t do anything by halves here!

Been to Rishakesh recently too-updates and photos are to follow…..

Yesterday we visited Haridwar, one of the most sacred sites to the Hindus, close to the source of the Ganges. It was so good to get out of the city for a while, and get away from the baking heat. It was also my first experience with an Indian bus! Soon we were bouncing along out of the town, mango groves lining the roads. My guide pointed out the University of a Guru named Ram Dev, apparently quite well known and sought after in the UK and US. He gives lessons and workshops relating to health and healing, particularly through breathing and diet. He has had an audience with the Queen.

Haridwar itself is a crazy, bustling smoky mess of a town. I loved it. Riding through the streets on a rickshaw we saw sacred cows wondering around nonchalantly or sitting in the middle of the road, women in their bright yellow and orange saris (so intense), street sellers hawking nuts, fruits and souvenirs, as well as the smell of incense. Although we were travelling down a road you could barely move for people, and our rickshaw driver had to keep stopping and starting, acting against the momentum of our three bulks. As we got closer to the Ganges more and more flies swarmed around our feet and the roads got busier. We started seeing beggars with horrible deformities and wondering Sadhus with long white hair and beards. When we reached the Ganges you could see the full extent of both the river and the sheer number of people. As far as you could see in both directions, from the huge statue of Kali to the North and the fast flowing water South, there were bathers. Men, women and whole families and people of all ages bathing together. There were people swimming, diving off bridges, splashing about
or simply enjoying the cool water. Me and my guide stripped down and went to bathe. After the insane heat of the day (I woke up sweating at 830) the cool waters were so refreshing. Dipping I felt renewed and revitalised, my headache lifted and my body cool.

On the slow walk back we stopped for some food, before getting the evening bus back.

So I have been in India a week now. It has been an incredible week-so much to get used to and so many things so utterly different. After I touched down to the relatively cool 25° of New Delhi it was straight into the taxi for the six hour drive to Roorkee, taking in the new government buildings and modern high rise, as people still sift through the huge piles of rubbish in the shanty towns, or tap on my window begging for money. What struck me are the layers of buildings and people, the new developments just built on top of the old, leaving the rest just to rot.

Soon we were out of the suburbs and passing through a regular pattern of green countryside and small roadside towns. The roads are chaos-buses and motor rickshaws with people hanging off all available spaces, copiously decorated trucks, bikes, motorbikes, cars, oxen carts and pedestrians all vying for road space. Officially people drive on the left here, but in practice it is anywhere there is space. Road disputes were often reduced to whether we could drive the oncoming car into the verge or whether we had to pull back in before they hit us. We had a few close scrapes with oncoming trucks, but luckily there was space in the middle of the road between the oncoming traffic and the bus we were overtaking!

Arriving in Roorkee I had to convince the guards in my non existent Hindi that I was in fact the research student that they were expecting. Indian efficiency being what it is they didn’t have a clue who I was, but they let me in anyway. The campus is beautiful-so well planned with similar architecture for all departments, avenues lined with palm trees and lots of parks and sports grounds. At arrival in Kostler International Hostel I met with Narayanamoorthy who showed me around. Initially I had a lovely AC room with TV and tiled floor, but now they have put me back in conventional quarters. Im now sharing my room with a two inch cockroach and three lizards! More company I suppose, but I think I prefer TV. At least I can get Bollywood that way;)

We started work on the vibration simulator on Monday. It has been custom designed and built on site especially for us. Now I just have to figure out how to work the thing from the Hinglish instructions! Apart from that it is very impressive-it is bigger than the single seat MAVIS chair we have at Loughborough. If I wish I can vibrate two people sitting at a time, and one having a nap on the bed (when the test starts anyway). We have also acquired a Biopack, which means we can look at the effects of vibration magnitudes on physiological variables such as blood pressure, pulse rate, galvanic skin response (to measure stress and whether Adjit cheated in his exams) and body temperature, and log these results to computer. Im also helping Krisnakant with SPSS and questionnaire design, and simultaneously advising my Professor on his holiday plans to the UK and which transducer to buy for feedback from the shaker. This is turning into as much an academic adventure as a physical one!

Getting to know the Indians is great too. I feel like I am learning so much about the culture even after this week. Ive talked to people about Hindu philosophy, the influence of ancient Indians in science and mathematics, the mechanics of arranged marriages and the origins of the caste system. The food and culture is so different. All the food apart from rice and japatis is spicy-I am actually craving bland Western food! It really brought it home to me when I had to explain what pasta was to Raams wife yesterday. The culture is also much more centred to people and family rather than work as well. Work is seen as part of life. There doesent seem to be so much of an idea of 9-5 or Monday to Friday here. Work patterns flow organically-although not always smoothly!

Today I go to Haridwar-a small town East of Roorkee sacred to the Hindus. Pictures and updates will follow.