Au revoir Allahabad

That's it. Two months in Allahabad and Im about to leave. Tonight train to Agra to see Taj Mahal, then stop in Delhi to say goodbye to friends and finally Mumbai. Ye Mumbai, city of Bollywood and all that.

Allahabad won't leave me with so many good memories. Its a small city and the word fun doens't make part of the vocabulary. Of course I won't forget amazing times I had with my friends. The Sangam, the river, the hinduism and all those characters.

It's a great place to think about things, about your life. It can be shocking sometimes. You can see things that go beyond your imagination. All that pauverty and lack of hygiene. People struglling for some rupees and others asking for food. This is a big problem here. They are so many and so less resources. But India is growing fast and I hope they can handle this situation. But the main thing is that it makes me think about all the selfish things we carry with us. We get nuts if we loose the bus, if someone makes a scratch in our car, if the waitress is not fast enough, if the economy is not ok and Im about to loose money, if its raining... All those little selfish disturbing things which don't have any comparison with what people have to handle here. It's just retarded. We know very less, at least I didn't, of how bad could be the world.

Once I was having a tea in the street with a local friend and he said something I won't forget: "India is very poor but has higher thinking". Of course it made me laugh but its a cute idea. And most of it is true. Their culture is impregnated with philosophy of life. The eternal battle between myself and I. The illusion of life. Ego and true self. God and human.

There are hindus, muslims, christians all living in peace. People are simple and humble.

Here everything goes very slowly. No stress, just relax. Perhaps is the sun and the high temperatures :D.

Here are some pitures:









I love this picture!


And many more. I love all those flavours and colors!!


Ive many more but it would make this post so big. Instead I show you the place where Ive been working. The now famous HRI.













I leave you with this beautiful shot,



Namaste!

Holi

I don't have many words to describe what happen today. It was just beautiful. A show of colors, music, happiness, that's Holi.

Here are some pictures







People dance and sing. Everybody throws colors to everybody and when we expect less. It's so damn funny!!



























And in between we have sweets and bung. This a drink made with milk and cannabis. I think you can imagine the effect. Super coool!!



And the color doesn't come out easily. I was a bit afraid when Ive realized that. I had a couple of showers and Im still all colored. Would I rest like this for all the rest of my life? It seems it takes 3 or 4 days. Hope so!!

Isn't this the coolest thing ever?

Sangam

Sangam means meeting in hindi.

By January people start filling Ganga's riverbed which by that time goes almost empty. It is impressive to see so many people in the same place. The field is full of tents and people stay for at least two months. They come for the sacred waters of Ganga. They pray and have baths.

I went for a walk with my friends. The spectrum of people is really very large. There are so many hindu congregations and "churchs", if I can call them this way. People come to pray, make business or just visit like me. You can see the famous Sadhus. These are men that left everything behind, home, possessions, family, to dedicate exclusively to the gods. They are also known as Guru or Baba. You see them wearing very few clothes and in some extreme cases they just walk nude. They have their own space of connection with the gods, and they seem to be in a kind of trance. Of course smoking hax helps a lot. Here is a picture Ive took during Sangam



Seems pretty nice decorated this place. The people you see in the picture come to pray and receive his blessing.

You can see also amazing characters. Usually they carry some symbols which are associated with a particular god. I think this one is carrying a trident much like Shiva does



Others seem coming from a movie. Check this one with fashioned glasses. Pretty cool!!



and this one



The other guy in the picture is Chopno. A cool guy from HRI. He's a student there.

And many many more!! Look at this












Here is a small video Ive made. You see people having bath in Ganga waters. This is one of the most sacred things an hindu can do. It means a lot for them. If the water wasn't so dirty I also would have done it.



Namaste!

Two months in Allahabad

Hey folks, friends and fans!!

It has been a long time I don't post here. Somehow reflects what has happened here in Allahabad, nothing!! In indian standards, Allahabad is a small city. It has about 3 million people which in a country with at least 1 billion is considered small. Allahabad is known for its religious traditions, for the Ganga river and the universities. There are a couple of good universities and of course HRI. The institute for atomic and nuclear physics where Im right now. Certainly the best physics center in India and one of the leading in the world. It has amazing physicists that Im proud of being working with.

HRI also represents what I consider the future of science. People, students and professors live on campus. They have their own houses with garden and garage and they live with their families too, it's like a small city. You see kids playing around, filling a space which is normally occupied by theoretics. It's a very friendly environment. Here you have almost everything. There's a football field, gym, swimming pool, gardens, animals, etc. I shall post some photos. And of course here is always sunny.

Allahabad is a small place. There's not much to do. Though there are two shoppings. In one you have a cinema and there's also Mcdonalds, of course with vegetarian food. This a vegetarian land. Im 90% vegetarian now. The roles of vegetables and meat have been inverted. Very rarely I eat meat. Food at the cantine is far from being good but outside campus you can find very good food, including vegetarian.

People are very simple and nice. I feel like a star walking in Allahabad streets. Everybody stares at me as if I was coming from a different planet. They even want to have a photo with me. I just laugh!!

At the same time there are so many poor people. Many leaving in the streets struggling to get some ruppees. It's shocking to see homeless kids that even don't know where are their parents. Sometimes I give them a ruppee or two and they leave. Othertimes I carry some food with me and I give them. I prefer to give food than money. This reality was difficult at the begining but Im now used to it. The other day there was a small girl in the streets walking around. She seem very happy, dancing and jumping. She came to talk to me. I had some bread and gave her some. She didn't asked for money. But it was the scene was surreal. Seeing that poor small girl so happy nothing have to eat. To think about...