...And Then Everything Went Horribly, Horribly Wrong

Because what I saw today was so soul-crushing, so messed up, I had to post this photo of a soda they sell here called "Thums Up." It makes me happy.

First of all, last night we had pricey Vietnamese food in the most lush restaurant I’ve ever seen. It was open-air, the ceilings were dark-wood and basically just giant canopies…there were fish ponds…and it was surrounded by gardens of tropical plants. We sat on hot pink silk cushions, there were candles on all the tables…it was like one of those resorts in Bali that you see in Travel & Leisure and wonder, “Who do I have to sell my soul to in order to go there?” Apparently, you sell it to the company I work for.

Keep that in mind as you read the following account of what I saw this morning:

We went to Mysore Temple, about 2.5 hours outside of Bangalore. When we left the city, our driver took his hat off (they all wear hats and uniforms here – it’s genius b/c you never have to ask, “Do you work here?” Haw haw.) Anyhoo, I was advised to sit in the back, because I’d draw less attention…

The Mysore road is almost completely repaved – very wide – they knocked down the front walls of many buildings to expand it, so there are all these places with exposed brick jutting out. But the scenery is amazing – an endless stretch of banana- and palm-tree jungle, little lakes and rivers, and then thousands of sad shacks by the side of the road - some of them houses, some of them "stores" - almost all of them rickety and covered in neon orange ads for the same 4 companies. They seriously painted entire hovels with giant advertisements! Oh, and every once in a while there are enormous, marble-covered homes (marble on the outside walls) with turrets and Arabic writing...and women in burkas hanging out on balconies

Oh, and there are very few females in that part of the country, compared to men. It was spooky how many men noticed us – Cecilia was in the front seat – and they were all very open about staring into the car at us - super disconcerting.

So on the way to the temple we drive up this super-windy mountain road and Cecilia says, "Be prepared. Children are going to come up to you and beg for money, people will try to sell you things, and people with no limbs come up and beg from you, too." Um, okay...so we're getting closer to the temple, up and up, and finally around this corner there's a huge parking area that's just total chaos. Cars trying to back up, people milling about. And if there's one thing that defines "chaos," it's Indian chaos. This culture can be completely genteel or else super crazypants. Mysore was crazypants.

I remember looking out the window and thinking "This is a bad idea," and not wanting to get out of the car, but the driver opened my door and then there I was. Almost immediately these three men came at me with garlands of flowers and a little statue and pressed them into my hands, meanwhile I kept saying "no, no, no," as instructed, but they were right at my elbow and totally in my face. I pushed past them and headed up the hill to find Cecilia, but then I caught a glimpse of the crowd up ahead.
There were people with leprosy, or missing limbs, and the super spooky ones had dirty cloth covering their faces- but the tipping point was when this man scurried toward me - he ambulated on all fours - but, like, upside-down, like his arms and legs went all the wrong angles and he moved like a spider.

All my White Girl sensibilities were completely overturned, and I felt sick and on the verge of panic. I told Cecilia, "I can't do this," and headed back to the car, still with people literally tugging at my shirt as I tried to walk past them.

I figure it will take me about 10 years to really process what I saw, but for now, I'm going to have a beer from the minibar and watch Hollywood Squares on Indian tv. I’m sure some of you will think I’m completely callous for reacting that scene the way I did, but I’ve been so open to things since I’ve been here – I even walked barefoot through an entire temple – but today was just too much. I think just about anyone – maybe not my dad – would feel squeamish, unsafe and upset, as well. It was incredibly intense.