Pune

February 1, 2008

We are in Pune now, where "the ancient traditions meet the new face of India", which means that the slums are next to the yuppie malls. There is a whole section of Pune that is definitely the Western influence on the people that have money from the IT boom. There's an Adidas, Reebok and Nike store all on the same block, and Tonya spent an hour in the Urban Outfitters of India, "The Bombay Store", where they sold spices in little containers that you would see in Stop and Shop for five dollars. But they did have incredible clothes, and someone wasn't up in your grill every two seconds pushing their goods on you. And I have to admit, although all the capitalism is probably decaying the very soul of the earth, I was comfortable to be around familiar shops and familiar merchandise. There is a certain security in the same old bullshit that you see at home taken out of it's context and dropped into a foreign place. And the people of Pune definitely have money, driving around beamers and mercedes and staying at big hotels. And at the same time, I have seen beggars on the street deformed in ways that I have never seen before, as if out of a David Lynch movie (of course I have to make a film comparison, how else could I deal with it?).

We are trying to decide if we want to go to Goa next, or straight to the Ashram in the south. I originally did not want to Goa cuz it's over tourist, over-hyped and over Western. But now... all those things aren't looking so bad. We'll see.

Thanks to all who have emailed, it's great to hear a friendly voice. I'm actually starting to get in the swing of things, taking it easy and seeing what's in front of me. I worry about Tonya, though, Tonya was taking pictures of our cottage that we are staying at, and she must have stepped somewhere where she shouldn't because a swarm of bugs were all over her, underwear and all. I think it's all a little overwhelming for her, being away from her family and friends. Perhaps some encouragement would be helpful.

So we are going to a Tribal Museum where there are papermache masks. Then we will journey to the Osho gardens, outside of the Osho Mediation Resort, where there is Tantric sex classes and Zennis lessons. You have to take an HIV test just to walk in, no joke. Yea, I think I'll pass. But the gardens are free!

Love you all Shawn