A Land of Contrasts; Beauty and Filth

(no offense is intended with the following entry)

Is India really as Beautiful as it looks on my blog??

The answer is Yes!... in Addition to its equivalent in Filth

In reflection, I see I've portrayed a rather biased view of India.
Thus this entry is intended to balance the scales, perhaps show you the 'Nastier' side -that the travel guides don't want you to see...

this is what happens to beaches, when garbage bins, don't exist.

 A country of over a Billion People, India takes the Cake when talking about Diversity.

There's : Ashrams, Gurus, Bollywood (which now produces more films annually than Hollywood), beautiful crystals, beside mounds of garbage, smiling faces amidst slums, children beggars and BMWs on the street. Beautiful Temples and Massive Ghettos. The pharmaceutical invasion, next door to the traditional Ayurvedic healing centres. Tea plantations, sprinkled with garbage.

Yet they've somehow managed to preserve their ancient culture better than any I know of. With the Saris, traditional foods, temples, religion and traditional occupations.
Everything is so colorful, the food;  the dress, the forests, the flowers...

However it's grotesquely Polluted.

Without a primary disposal system, combined with the plastic revolution- India's streets, alleyways, backyards and forests have garbage everywhere. 

                

Not to mention roaming animals eating the waste(dogs, cats, cows, goats), somehow digesting it, and in turn leaving their excrements to add to the already piled up mound of a rotting stench. (on the sidewalk)

It seems that every city street is clouded by thick exhaust fumes - and the soundscape- and endless hymn of HONNNNKKK!! HOOONNNKNKKKK!

Delicious food, that makes you savor every bite...then a few hours later has you hugging the toilet, as you moan in pain from the intense stomach cramps that accompany food poisoning.
(side note; not every meal ends like this)

On an average day, I'll see about 10 men pissing in the street, and if I'm lucky a few more squatting around a corner going #2... 

One day in India will have your sense's both Seduced and Disgusted, in fact- that will likely happen in a minute. I've literally vomited in mouth (just a little) when passing by a random street stench, then a minute later been allured by the markets' inviting aromas.


This image below was taken on one of the most Enchanting Train rides I've ever been blessed to take. From Ooty to Coimbuture- we went thru cloud forests, tea plantations, eucalyptus forests, passed Waterfalls, rivers and stopped for Chai (ofcourse).
This Train ran on an original steam engine, 168 years old.
Keith and I happened to be in the front cabin, an thus got soaked in steam! with everyones glasses constantly fogging up.

While breath taking-yes, what you don't see in this image, is that everyone tosses their garbage out the window. Compounding over a hundred years - you could imagine what that looks like.
It's sad because it's not a reflection of the local peoples lack of appreciation for their country's beauty- rather, a lack of a government program to deal with all the waste. And even if they ever do get a garbage program, it'll be years, if not decades, before a population can adjust.

...but still-- these views---- wow
Tea Plantation, in the mountains near Ooty.
(view from train)

And here we have a Eucalyptus Forest. Not a very clear photo I know, but capturing the Tuk-Tuk really puts this forest to scale. a.k.a. GIANT
The air in this forest was incredible.

These flowers are hung in a woman's hair, or adorned unto statues of deities. These flower stalls are everywhere and offer an incredible fresh aroma of Jasmine, Lotus Flower and Carnations.

*Insert Willy Wonka The Candy Man song* 'The Banana Man can...The Banana Man Can!!

The Nilgiris, Tamil Nadu. Epic river + waterfall.
Here I got into a playful water fight with a newly married Hindu woman on her honeymoon.
The water was crystal clear.








And thus; Thru Filth, Beauty Persists