Snap shots of India

Some impressions or snap shots of India:

1) Being met at 4.30 am at Bangalore airport by a man who had studied in Manchester and who looked after me and my group very well
2) Visiting a huge Hare Krisna temple in Bangalore and realising how devoted people were
3) Seeing cows walking freely in the streets oblivious of the traffic
4) The crazy chaotic way Indians drive, no traffic lights, no lane discipline, no rights of way, much use of horns, but it seems to work - for them
5) Beggars, many of their children tugging at your heart
6) Indian time, everything nearly always late but just occasionally early, rarely on time
7) The dust the pollution from the traffic the noise the colours
8) Feeling safe to walk alone in the evening on the streets
9) The persistent sellers of trinkets and gifts at the temples and other tourist spots
10) Delicious (fast) food Indian style that is freshly made
11) Seeing Indian men greet one another with affectionate hugs and then walking off together with their arm around each other
12) Realising how they live in a religious culture going back thousands of years in which it is naturally to speak spiritually and at best is inclusive of differing faiths
13) Enjoying the apparent emotional directness of the Indians
14) They always seem to say ‘Yes’ but not always act on it!
15) Wanting to visit to again and find out more about this extraordinary country and its culture.

Biking and bananas

So back on the bike for the first time since Xmas and it's wonderful! Cold frosty morning and a sunrise to die for - shades of pink everywhere. Curiously I don't feel that stiff although I get overtaken but that's pretty usual too.

I followed an interesting link (http://www.torq.ltd.uk/pfm_disp.asp?newsid=5)
in the latest CTC newsletter all about the joys of frozen bananas. I quote:

"1) You must use bananas that are over-ripe (the ones you normally throw away). Over-ripe bananas are sweeter, because as the fruit ripens, the complex starches turn to sugars. A mature banana can often taste a bit overpowering, so next time you consider binning it, throw it in the freezer instead.

2) Wrap your banana in tin foil, because nothing else will work. If you’re looking for an explanation I can’t give you one, but it’s just one of those little mysteries of the universe OK. Oh yes, and make sure that you peel your banana before wrapping it."

So I am trying this out and will keep you posted. The same link points out that bananas come from India originally. That's so satisfying having just been there.

What I realised in India was that I was visiting a religious culture. The dominant religion is Hinduism and there are Gods and Goddesses for everything or so it seems. The discourse seemed seeped in spirituality. At best Hinduism is inclusive so the other religions in India - Christianity, Islam, Sikhism etc seem to share in this acceptance of spirituality. This sense of a culture seeped in religion contrasts so strongly with my post modern life in post Christian Britain in which to talk of spirituality may be fashionable in some circles but the dominant discourse is secular - remember how Tony Blair would never discuss his faith whist Prime Minister for fear of being considered a nutter?

Best to all,

Bill no-longer-on-rickshaw - But back on bike!

On meeting a cow in Bangalore

Well, I could do a jet lagged moan with my luggage lost at Heathrow when my plane to Manchester got cancelled after the plane (thankfully not mine)crashed on the runway but I feel too relieved to be safely home.

I was so amazed to discover cows wandering around Bangalore as if they owned the place that I wrote a poem:

You weren't troubled by the traffic
But I was
They see you as sacred
But cars are not respectful of my being
You walked on unhurried
I ran for my life
You remind me of my divinity
My inner light
My need to uphold the best in me
And not the beast in me.

I'm going to lie down now!

Best to all,

Bill no longer on rickshaw!

Blogging from Bangalore

It si very difficult to capture the shock of the impact of India n me on this first ever visit. It is similar in some ways to Africa but different again. The noise, the fumes, the traffic beggars believe, the rickshaws, the cows, the bright colours of the clothes, the tenderness and open displays of affection between the men, the politeness, everyone says Yes to questions but then actions don't always follow, Indian time - every arrangement is approximate in its timing, things takes forever, its frustrating and I have received a high quality of care and attentiveness that I am not used to.

When I broke down and wept in my keynote conference speech to 4 or 500 people I became 'Indian' in that moment and their hearts went out to me. They seem much more direct and their feelings seem closer to the surface than white Brits.

India has called forth the spiritual side of me and I have responded. The deep spiritual culture here has to be experienced to be understood. I now now more and deeper what Pittu Laungani and other Indians I know were telling me.

Bangalore is in many ways like Nairobi - terrible roads, traffic and fumes, similar wretched poverty, even more wealth here I suspect, and labour and life seems cheap. But Bagalore does not (yet) have such a big HIV problem or currently (much) tribal conflict. African men seems more macho than Indian men and less emotional or demonstrative in my presence. Both seem equally polite and willing to be of service. And maybe African time is similar to Indian time.

Best to all,

Bill on rickshaw

News from Kenya

Hi,

Like many of you I have been horrified to hear the news from Kenya following the disputed election results and the subsequent violence with hundreds dead and many people displaced. It felt worse somehow that some of the worst fighting was up the Rift valley where I went last September.

So back at work last Friday I emailed my friends over there for their news and Don Balmer Director of KAPC replied as follows:

"Things are getting back to normal and hopefully sanity will
prevail, although that is a slim hope when dealing with politicians. We
are busy arranging for counselling sessions for people who require it
and this is on a national wide basis so we are busy."

So I hope the optimistic tone of this email does hold true maybe Kenya has looked over the age into the abyss and pulled back. There has certainly been a strong response internationally encouraging a peaceful resolution.

Meanwhile I am writing this from a hotel in Bangalore where I have been at a International Counselling Conference where I gave a keynote speech and spoke about counselling in Kenya. Well I lost it and wept as I thought about Kenya and my audience of 4 or 500 mostly Indians seemed touched by my concern and many came up to me afterwards.

I'll write more soon but I have decided to continue with this blog rather than start a new one and open it out to cover more than just bikes and Kenya!

Belated best New Year to all,

Namaste (The God is me salutes the God in you)

Bill on rickshaw!

Reflections on LEJOG

I'm back in Scotland on a work trip and reflecting on my LEJOG bike ride I find that various memories come crowding in:
* cycling through Tintagel in the (relatively) early morning mist and coming across various people dressed up in Arthurian clothes for a re-enactment festival.
* pushing the bike-with-too-many-names up an endless hill that seemed to go on for ever on a hot sunny day just outside South Molton
* buying a Cornish pastie in Boscastle and thinking about the flood they had
* over using my brakes down all those steep hills in Dorset and Devon
* the horrendous traffic and road layout in Monmouth and Ross-on-Wye. Why don't we ban all private traffic from town and city centres? Minimise any goods travelling by road?
* the early morning sunlight cycling out of Much Wenlock
* the B and Bs in Somerset and Black Isle
* arriving in High Bentham with a flood of memories from many previous visits from 1974, 1982 etc
* leaving Manchester via off road route up the Irwell valley
* crossing the Forth Road Bridge - magic
* the staggering beauty of the Scottish Highlands
* doing 80 miles in one day in the Highlands
* the generosity of people I met enroute
* my pleasure when my journey finally ended in Edinburgh at the railway station
* raising over £1000 and having over 1,000 hits on this blog site
* being able to do the LEJOG trip with no physical problems to me or bike.

Best to all,

Bill on bike

awesome biking

Hi,

the CTC sends out to their members a regular email bulletin which is well worth the membership fee in itself. The latest has a stunning and awesome clip of a cyclist doing a reverse double backward flip which still on his bike.Watch it on:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AnAuvnwjHhE

Meanwhile I am mostly enjoying cycling to work apart from a puncture halfway home yesterday and my mile and speedometer is on the blink. My yoga teacher Sebastian is suitably impressed by my LEJOG cycling and has invited to join him and a group that do some regular cycling around and outside Manchester so watch this space.

Tonight they switch the Xmas lights on in Manchester (shock, horror) but Rowan, the daughter of my friends in Bentham who put me up on the Manchester-Edinburgh leg, is dancing so will be off to see her tonight.

I am still counting the money as more sponsors keep turning up, its over a £1000 and I'll close it soon - that means there is still time to dig deep!

Take care,

Best to all,

Bill on bike