The Holy Cow

I begin this blog about my month-long trip to india with a photo of a cow for two reasons.  First, it is a sacred symbol for the Hindu people.  Cows freely roam the streets and countryside, completely unSecond, I find myself saying "holy cow" quite often here.  Maybe it's more like "holy shit" or "holy crap".  Possibly "oh, fuck".  But it doesn't really matter.  India's a shocker, this is true.  Before I left, I read books and articles saying that India stimulates all the senses.  This I found to be true from the get-go. 

It's loud, smells are strong, people are rich but most people are poor, and you're constantly in fear of getting killed or seriously hurt either on the roads, by the mosquitoes, or by the Mumbai Mess (diarrhea). 

The ride on a cramped 70's style van upon arrival in Chennai at 3:30 in the morning from the airport to a small beachtown featured your typical oh-god-I'm-gonna-die-on-this-3rd-world-highway moments accompanied by background scents ranging from smoky to septic.  All of this while the driver played Bollywood hits on the cd player.  Then, just when you think you can't possibly be more stimulated, you arrive at a place of complete calm and peace. 

This is stimulation of another kind- the stimulation of the mind and the soul.  Temples over 1,500 years old, fitted with impressive stone carvings tell stories of the gods. 

This brings to mind meditation, concentration, and peace.  Extremes compared to the adjectives I would use to describe the streets of Pondicherry: loud, electric, dangerous (unless you're a cow)... 

...or a goat.