Phases Crossed: Ahmedabad Limited, last stop

Time has crossed, phase shifted, and done other strange things. I write to you now, through the usage of advanced computer technology, as if I am in the past, when in fact, I have advanced far into the Future. It is no small thing. We are in Hampi now, which will be discussed later, when the Time is right, but for now, we write in a voice, and read it back, as if we are still in the city of Ahmedabad, where millions of people are going about their daily lives, and I intervene, ever so slightly, in the name of Science and Adventure.

After the Calico tour, which readers with excellent memories will remember from last issue, I set off on a brave walking tour through the old part of Ahmedabad. With the aid of a map whose creative author freely intermixed historic and modern roads, without bothering to distinguish between the two, your plucky tourist made it 80% through the tour.

At lunch, two nice ladies from Mumbai invite me to sit with them, since I am eating alone. They are both interior designers, and the daughter studied at RISD, so we have a bunch of things to talk about. Above, is what appears to be some eco-friendly packaging made from leaves.

A man with a key unlocks a pasage up to the roof of the city's old fortification. I climb up.

This was a major Muslim city at one point, ruled by Ahmed. Here is a peaceful moment in a Mosque.

At a certain point, fatigued and lost, I find my way back to Ghandi Rd., where the services of an auto rickshaw are obtained.

Traffic here is an awesome thing. Pedestrians, cars, motorcycles, cows, bicycles, auto rickshaws, and push carts, among other objects, freely intermingle, navigating around one another. While traffic circles, stop signs, divided roads, and, at times, lane markings, are evident they are, at best, merely suggestions for drivers.

It is through a deafening cacophony of horns, nerves of steel, the patience of saints, and the creative resourcefulness of a Cosmonaut that this fluid flow of traffic works. Crossing the street can be a bit of an operation, and decades of video game playing experience are the best preparation possible. Crossing the street is a bit like playing Frogger on Ikaruga's final level.

Here we are at Shalin's house, enjoying one another's company after a meal. A little more info on the family structure here, which I find really interesting. The children continue to live with their parents, even after they get married, but the daughter moves into her husband's house. Everyone, not just children, show a lot of respect for their elders. Part of the reason this works so well, I think, is that the parents are modeling behavior for their children; the children watch, everyday, their parents interact with their grandparents. Grandparents can give attention to grand-children every day. By pooling resources together everything is more economical. Life here seems far more social and family oriented than in the US. The nuclear family structure I grew up in is very different from this Hindu joint family structure.

Here are some construction workers building in the neighborhood.

This is a clever machine for separating rocks from sand.

Notice how the women carry on their heads. The cylindrical head-bowl adapter is really clever. The cylinders' ends are circular, and circles can be interfaced to (placed on the surface of) spheres very easily, such as the spherical section of a head or bowl.

The kids are hanging out, too, and here is a baby, one of two, in a really clever hammock that seems to have swaddling side effects.

Aren't these the most colorful work clothes of any construction worker in the world?

Lots of interesting animals live in this residential neighborhood, most of which are absolutely not the hallucinatory side effects of massive Chai consumption. Here are some monkeys. They are almost as big as people, and can get really loud and rambunctious.

Also, I've never heard or seen such a variety of lovely birds in my life, from big hawks and eagles to parrots and preciously small colorful birds. I am, unfortunately, not suitably equipped to visually report on these matters. There are wild peacocks, too, but they don't jump on and damage the roofs of cars like some other prehensile critters might, at times, enjoy doing.

Shalin's mother, Smruti, has taken me to a Pranic energy healer, Jajvalya, to fine tune a few things. Basically, we do a kind of meditation/relaxation, and he works on my Chi. I'm a pretty rational guy, but sometimes we have to look a little bit harder for how something works. The second visit, his older brother and wife also help. I sink into a deep deep relaxation, and become attuned to my heartbeat in my hands and body. When I open my eyes afterwards, all is very peaceful.

Above, portrait of a young healer and his wife, at work.

He also suggests Alexander Technique (which I've already found to be helpful), and teaches me some Tai-Chi exercises.

Here is the cute puppy, galu galu (means puppy), who has adopted their family. I'm invited back the next morning, when a club of healers will be meeting for a trip, for more attention. There, I receive healing from their teacher. Your correspondent is reported to be a very sensitive being. The teacher recites some of the ritual in English so I can understand more of it. This is all very interesting to me, and I do feel good afterwards. Some of the practice is comparable to Alexander, but this isn't the place to get into a close analysis, or genealogical speculations. No showering is permitting for 12 hours after the treatment.

Sulay, Shalin's cousin, and I go to a modern mall. We play games. Owing to our dexterity, wit, speed, and strength, we win prizes.

Parag takes me to Adalaj, a step well that descends multiple flights of stairs into a well. It is 500 years old, and is absolutely beautiful. Intricate carvings are everywhere. Here is a view up the steps, out of the well.

It is truly amazing. You can imagine lots of travelers resting here, and colorfully dressed women balancing jugs of water going up and down the staircase to fetch water. You don't have to imagine any of that, actually -- you can imagine whatever you want!

Pretty, si? I am standing at the bottom of the well, looking up the cylindrical shaft into the light. I descend down a circular staircase, probably originally for guards, and find my way to the platform on which I earlier saw parrots.