Dussehra

Dussehra is the first big festival of the season. It commemorates the triumph of Good over Evil and is celebrated all around India with plays and stages about the tale of how Rama (the god-king and hero) killed the unrighteous Ravana (a 10-headed demon king) who had abducted Rama's wife, Sita. They build massive statues and brightly lit stalls in which the performances are held and where large crowds gather to venerate the Gods and perform pujas. 

It is a 10 day festival (because of the 10-day battle between Rama and Ravana) and for this reason SOVA gave us three days off that we utilised for our first trip around Orissa. Vibhuti decided to go visit her family in Gujarat so Ashley and I booked our tickets for Bhubaneswar, the state capital, accompanied by Jyostna, a coworker, who decided to join us on our trip. Guided by my loyal Lonely Planet, we booked a budget hotel and made Bhubaneswar our base for the trip.

We head off on Tuesday after work on a "non AC" night bus. Worst decision ever. It was the most awful journey of my life. 16 hours of bumpy roads, freezing cold due to a broken window and not one minute of sleep. Sleep deprived, tired and hot, we arrived in Bhubaneswar at 11.30am. After a bucket shower at our hotel Bhagwati Nivas and some delicious masala dosas, we decided to go sightseeing feeling refreshed and with a full stomach. This feeling did not last long. As it turned out, in Koraput we are very fortunate with the weather. As it is a hill station, it is much cooler that the rest of the state and we learned that the hard way sightseeing in Bhubaneswar. The temperatures reached the high thirties and  the heat was stifling. We did, however, manage to visit a beautiful temple and some old caves turned temples in the hills of the capital. I must say I was expecting a Delhi-type city, seen as it was the capital of the state. Orissa is mostly composed of villages and Bhubaneswar is the only city within it. Yet it felt more like a large village still being built, a lot of houses, huts and buildings put together to form a very eclectic concoction. It did work though and we enjoyed experience of a different "city". I must say though that cosmopolitanism and modernity is not yet to be found. We did not see another foreigner during the whole trip and the stares grew stronger wherever we went.

The next day we woke up early to get a local bus to Chilika Lake. After waiting for over 40 minutes at the bus stop, our bus was nowhere to be seen. Apparently it was normal during puja times as they use most vehicles for religious purposes and the traffic is disrupted. We spontaneously decided to change our trip and go to Puri instead. Puri is a famous pilgrimage place in Hinduism because of the large Jagannath Temple. Non-Hindus and hence foreigners are not allowed in so we went to the beach instead. We dipped our feet in the Bay of Bengal and enjoyed the sea breeze. It was a surreal experience. Indians do not sunbathe, let alone, put a bikini or swimwear on. They did however enjoy the water by dipping into the sea fully clothed. The beach was packed with hundreds of people swimming in the sea in coloured sarees, shirts and trousers.

After the beach we had a fish curry and took our second local bus to Konark. In India, the buses leave when they are full. There is no specific timing or schedule to which they stick to. In fact, when I say full, I mean "not-one-more-person-could-fit-anywhere-full". I sat on the hot engine cross-legged and enjoyed the hot journey. No need for saunas in India. Just take a local bus. It was worth it though, as the 13th Century Sun Temple in Konark was beautiful. It is one of the seven wonders of India and a Unesco World Heritage Site and worth 250Rs for us foreigners (and 10Rs for locals). Yes, that is a usual occurrence. Most monuments are around a 200% more expensive for foreigners but well. I guess we do not have to live with $50 a month... So, the temple was is a stone-carved chariot drawn by seven horses on 12 giant wheels. The walls are covered by Kama Sutra images and statues. It is interesting to see how, in India, people used to openly talk about sex and the art of passion and sensuality whereas, in the present, it has become a taboo area. Whenever we mention it, people giggle, blush and tell us not to speak about it. Although SOVA is different because they have to promote openness and HIV/Aids awareness, most of India is still shy when it comes to sex and talking about it is very frowned upon. In fact, on the bus journey back to Koraput we met the district doctor of the Koraput area. He told us he had worked with SOVA and NGOs before. It was thus a good opportunity for us to talk to someone that knew a lot about the HIV/Aids issue in our area. It turned out to be very disappointing. We told him about a new programme that SOVA had launched last year called Coaching for Hope. It aims to teach youths about HIV/AIDS through football, organising competitions and workshops. Through peer education and promotion of something perceived as fun (football) the children learn about HIV/AIDS and become more aware of the issue. The doctor said he did not think children were the right target as the majority of people that contract aids are at college level and hence older. He said that women should be targeted more as they should learn not to have sex before marriage and stick to the cultural traditions that used to protect them. According to him, the Western influence and modernity are "eluding" the traditional values and are hence to blame for promiscuity and the spreading of AIDS. Imagine my reaction when I heard that. I could not believe an educated man, the head district doctor, could be so archaic in his views. When I asked him, whether men should not also be educated as they are probably more likely to sleep around seen as it is "culturally acceptable", he said, yes but that was kind of it. I was appalled. As my friend Jyostna said: This is India, man! We have a long way to go...

Back to our trip. The next day, we decided to get up even earlier (6am) and find a bus that would take us to Chilika Lake. It is the largest brackish water lake in Asia (1100 sq km) and it was a wonderful experience after the dirt and chaos of the capital. We took a bus that left us at Balugaon, a tiny fishermen's village. Another eventful journey in India; the man sitting next to me threw up in his hands and trousers and scooped it out of our window without saying a word. This, combined with the sweat, heat and lack of space made the arrival at the lake even more rewarding. We took a 3 hour boat journey and visited two Kali temples built on islands. The Brahmins blessed us and in turn we gave them money. A good trade off I suppose. Although it becomes a bit annoying when they give you their blessing as an apparent gift and then expect you to pay. But well, they live of donations and are not meant to work so it is OK. It is unbelievable how much religion leads peoples' lives in India. You can sense the spirituality everywhere you go and it is nice to see how it brings people together. At the same time, it is beautiful how India is ruled by thousands of different versions of religions and even completely opposed beliefs yet still manages to achieve a sense of harmony. The lake was a nice experience of contemplation. Fishermen working together, some beautiful birds, splendid nature and  the peaceful water of the lake. After the journey back we decided to go shopping in a local market and found some gorgeous jewellery and potential gifts for friends and family.


The last day of our trip we ventured to the newly opened Mayfair Hotel in Bhubaneswar to taste some real coffee. What a good experience! After a month of instant coffee I very much enjoyed the smell of coffee beans and a croissant for breakfast. As much as I love Indian food, curries and spices for breakfast are still hard to get used to. After a long breakfast we went to the Nandankanan Zoo. We had wanted to go to a Wildlife Sanctuary Park but had to settle to the zoo for obvious price reasons (1000Rs compared to 100Rs...). It did however exceed my expectations. It was large, the animals had a lot of space and the the recreation of their natural habitats had been achieved. We even went on a lion and white tiger safari, which was a bit of a disappointment. We saw a white tiger sleeping at a distance from the "safari bus" and managed to get three lions. But it was probably more interesting to observe the excited Indian crowds leaning over to the windows to take as many pictures as possible. The safari cost 30Rs per person and was a 10 minute trip. With 30 people per bus and two leaving every 10 minutes, that makes 10,800Rs an hour and 86,400Rs a day! And it only takes a quick trip around the park. What a wonderful way to make money. I wonder where that money goes to.

After the zoo we had a last dinner at our usual South Indian restaurant and headed to the night bus. This time, AC and normal route. We somehow managed to be late. Luckily we were travelling with locals. No worries, just call the bus driver and tell him to wait. Now I know why buses are NEVER punctual! The journey was comfortable and even watched the latest Bollywood film that although in Hindi, we could somehow understand- says a lot about the story line.

Yesterday was a day of recovery from the travelling, general tiredness and overall impressions of the journey. Two films and a book later we went to bed, enjoyed the chilled temperatures of our hill station and the comforts of what feels a bit like home now.