Bunder (monkey) Pile

It takes a second look, but there are five monkeys
 in this pile. If you were there in person you could see the
 smallest one trying to wriggle its way out of the
sleeping pile, but to no avail.

The peace in this photo represents about 3% of a Rhesus macaque's life span. The other 97% of their lives are spent being noisy, gutsy, thieving terrors raiding between jungle and residential areas. Rather than Curious George or the red barrel monkeys I want you to imagine the wicked witch's blue monkeys minus the color and outfits.  There are friendly monkeys in the area, but these are not them.

 

The Ferris Wheel

For reference, I am sitting straight up and the operator has
wedged himself in to rotate with the wheel.
Spinning quite rapidly by then.

 

A few of us met up in a hill station to escape the heat of the valley below. The town and surrounding range were originally given to the British for their role in defending India during the Anglo-Nepalese war of 1814. It was developed to be a summer retreat for the Britishers of Delhi. Today, it still functions as a refuge from the weather of greater Uttar Pradesh, spotted with universities and boarding schools remaining from pre-independence.

A few of us tried out the Ferris wheel in one of the parks. It was the combination of a thrill ride, a vista point of the Himalayan foothills, and an acrobatic exhibition as the operators climbed, spun, and hung inside the frame to
power the ride.

 

 

Muhdoo Muhkee (Honey Bee)

 

I had an opportunity to learn about bee keeping in South Asia. This is just another little thing that could come in handy working here. We drove an hour into a national wildlife park to pick up a man
with the expertise to help rob this hive for the first time.
Having only a short season without blossoms for honey production, a cerana indica (species) hive is productive enough to be robbed three times a year. This native species is smaller, but more docile. I rarely wore a mesh hood for protection and did not get stung. I learned that when you spin the honey out of the combs with a centrifuge, you need to do so inside. As we refined the honey a swarm of bees hung by the screen window trying to get some honey back. Over 7.5 pounds collected in one day!

Hindi Pun Alert

Coming up with your first Hindi pun is a very small landmark for a language student, but a landmark none the less.

 I was walking to class one day and I saw something blocking cars up ahead. Not surprisingly, this was the culprit. My first thought was, "Who does this guy think he is?" Turns out that was my first Hindi pun since the Hindi word for cow is pronounced "Guy". Puns are actually pretty popular here. I haven't tried that bad boy out on any national friends yet.

Aam Wallah

Mango facts I have discovered here:
-There are 1,200 separate breeds of mango in India. Size and color varies enough that, from a distance, I have mistaken some breeds for pears, cucumbers, or cantaloupes.
-The word "Aam" (mango) is also the word used to say "common". There's a political party here called "Aam Admi" meaning "The Common Man", but sometimes called "The mango men".
-The European Union banned the import of mangos and a few other produce from India this year. Their loss is my gain, since a flooded market here has driven mango prices down a bit.
-A good price for mangos converts to about $0.40 per pound. We buy them 5 pounds at a time! Mango salsa, mango smoothies, mango for breakfast, mango juice, etc. You get the point. Mangos are a bright spot in the weeks of language learning.

Pictured above is a real champ of a mango. I had to laugh when I looked down and my first thought was, "I'm gonna need a bigger knife". Not a bad problem to have.

Hatthi Wallah

Some classmates and I visited a national wildlife park with one of our Hindi teachers. Although we didn't see any tigers, we did see tons of elephants, peacock, water buffalo, and a few species of deer.

A handful of elephants are kept in zoo setting. We were allowed to get right up and pet them while they ate.

The elephant's trunk was incredibly strong. Just putting my hand on it made me wonder if it was for a good reason they don't generally let you do this in an American zoo. The 12 year old attendant looked pretty capable of stopping the elephant if something went wrong, so I just went with it.

The Na'ii Wallah

I was sitting in a barber chair waiting for my friend to get a haircut. The second barber asked if I wanted a head massage. I definitely didn't go in there looking for a massage, but after three offers I decided I might as well go for it.

So the guy starts poking and pressing and rubbing my temples and hairline. Not too bad. Once he moved off my head, the internal monologue started.

"Oh ok, I guess my neck could use a massage, shoulders too.
Wait, Ok, we're doing the back now, lower back. I guess he's going the extra mile.
Arm massage? I think this is just a full arm Indian-rug-burn, but ok.
Now the hands? This is good, just more hand holding than I expected.
Whew. That wasn't so bad. Wait, he's getting tools out? What are those?"

It was hard to not laugh at times. The machine he used just vibrated on top of my head (as pictured above). Overall it was worth the laugh of getting into something I didn't expect. And for 50 rupees (85 cents USD) I might do it again.