Propaganda Movies on a Saturday Night

Talk Tibet are running weekly meetings at nearby Yongling School. Tonight´s offering was “On How the Chinese Communist Party is an Evil Cult”. It is the 8th part of a documentary series entitled “Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party” made in 2005.

I saw the interesting flier on the wall stating “the CCP is “essentially an evil cult that harms mankind”. Although it has “never called itself a religion, it matches every single trait of a religion...(I)t regarded Marxism as the absolute truth ...(and) exhorted people to engage in a life-long struggle for the goal of building a Communist heaven on Earth”. Now how tempting is that?

There were about 10 “foreigners” in attendance with about 40 Tibetans including several pre-pubescent monks. As it was in English, I would be particularly interested in what they made of it all, with plenty of footage from the Cultural Revolution (people waving Red Books, Chairman Mao giving his megalomaniac speeches and other examples of Hero-worshipping. It was as blatant as it sounds and straight out of the classic propaganda films it was frowning upon. Subtle it was not, but a real classic nonetheless.

Back To Teaching?

What? Do I hear a few people scoffing?

I have guilt-tripped myself in to offering “conversational” English classes to Tibetan refugees through the Gu Chu Sum organisation. They request English speakers to come and speak English on a daily basis – which kinda put me off. However I popped into their office last week and with the lack of travellers in town they are desperate. Thus I have been assigned Rinchen, an 18 year old refugee from Lhasa who escaped in 2006. I was introduced to him straight away and an impromptu “lesson” began. We discuss our respective backgrounds and families. He is a nice lad and an enthusiastic learner, and he has been practising English for two years. He attends a school which is four hours away and pays Rp1 per term. Now that really is value for money.

For our first “formal” lesson I tear out a page from Time Magazine on Hugh Hefner . Well hell! What do you share with any 18 year old – let alone an 18 year old Tibetan refugee? My area of teaching expertise is with students aged between 3 and 7! Fortunately, the article amuses him and fills the hour well.

Rinchen informs me that times are changing in Lhasa. Whilst his parents had an arranged marriage like most of their peers, these days most marriages are “love” matches, and it is not unusual for sexual relationships to occur before marriage. He also tell me about a Tibetan writer, Gindun Chumbei, who travelled extensively and shares his sexual experiences with “foreigners”. Unfortunately I have been unable to find anything on this author on Google or Wikepedia. He also seeks my confirmation about an article that he read in The Times of India. Apparently masturbation on a daily basis can fight off cancer. I have no idea, do you?

I have offered two hourly sessions a week y no mas!

Slumdog Millionaire – a controversy?

Directed by the very talented Danny Boyle, this, in essence, is very much an Indian movie. Indeed more than 90% of the production team were Indian. Winning a bucket-load of awards already (including four Golden Globe awards) and looking at a clean sweep at the Oscars. I have seen it twice now and although a somewhat cheesy ending, it is an excellent production. It was released in India last Friday.

However, there have been several complaints from Indians who have condemned the film as portraying India in a negative light.

Reuters reported one disgruntled Indian social activist and slum-dweller who has filed a complaint in a local court against director Danny Boyle, producer Christian Colson and the distributor, saying the film's title was damaging and discriminating.

Nicholas Almeida has named stray dogs after those involved in the film to protest against the title. "When the British ruled India, they called Indians 'dogs'. Why do we want to call these poor children 'dogs' 60 years after we got independence?" Almeida, an elected member of the city civic body.

Almeida said he would continue to press for the movie's title to be changed, but has meanwhile held a naming ceremony for stray dogs in the slum to publicise his cause. "I have named them Danny, Christian, Loveleen, Dev and Freida," he said, referring to the director, producer, co-director Loveleen Tandan, star Dev Patel and leading lady Freida Pinto.

I have been privileged to go round "slum" areas both in India and Colombia - it´s an amazing experience. What strikes one the most are that the inhabitants are generally both very happy and friendly, despite being literally surrounded by shit.

Danny Boyle points out that children involved in the project from the slum areas have had a trust fund set up which they can collect when turning 18, providing they stay in education to that point. Also the main child actors have been offered apartments in Mumbai.

All countries have areas of deprivation and why should these not be portrayed in all areas of the media?

Developing A Developing Country

Like so many developing nations, India is seriously big on construction. McLeod Ganj is no different.

Underneath our balcony, construction work has begun in earnest on a new restaurant owned by our landlord. At any given time there are at least 16 people on site. However it is noted that only about 5 people are working at any given time. The others just stand and watch - a popular Asian past-time. Half the construction team are women moving heavy aggregates on their head.

It´s not all doom and gloom however. Next door to our humble abode is a recently constructed “park” which they have been building since we arrived in July. I have never as yet seen any visitors to this new space and as yet it remains devoid of any grass.

Keep In Contact and Going Pro

Contact Magazine is a monthly publication in English that serves Mcleod Ganj and its´surrounds area. A few interesting articles of current news from the area , a few propaganda articles to encourage volunteer work in the local community, and a lot of advertisements, it also includes up-to-date information about what is happening around town.

Originally set up by a group of Americans, they were “forced” to leave after the 9-11 catastrophe and after a few months of closure, was reopened by committed and dedicated Tibetans.

Having tried several times, I have finally met the Editor-In-Chief, a gentle Tibetan called Lobsang, showed him my recent portfolio of photographs (Nepal and Pushkar)and secured a position as a photographer for the publication. He thinks he should be able to secure me a press pass so I will finally be able to take my camera in for the next Dalai Lama teachings in March. Here´s hoping!

Bearly Believable

An interesting sculpture was floated down the river Thames yesterday. Sponsored by the environmental digital TV station Eden, it was aimed at increasing awareness of global warming and the threat to the polar bears. Very cool!

The loss of Losar

Losar is the Tibetan New Year and is often celebrated in January or February. It is one of the most important Tibetan festivals and is celebrated for 15 days, but the first 3 days are seen as the most auspicious. It´s origins pre-date Buddhism. Cleansing (spiritual and domestic), pujas and candles play a large part of the festivities.

Losar will begin on the 25th February. However, the Tibetan community in McLeod Ganj will not be celebrating this special time in remembrance of the 50th Anniversary of the Chinese invasion. Although I am personally disappointed; it´s one of the more romantic festivals, I understand where the Tibetans are coming from.

Chonor House

K. took me out to Chonor House for a very enjoyable birthday lunch. I am celebrating being 42 years young and feeling quite good about it. There seems to be a symmetry about the number, not to mention being the meaning of life if Douglas Adams is to be believed.

Chonor House is the most swanky hotel in McLeod Ganj and regular clients include Richard Gere and Goldie Hawn. It enjoys a very quiet location with excellent views of Tsuglagkhang temple (the temple residence of the Dalai Lama).

The food is always of the highest quality and prices reasonable. The garlic and almond soup and the diced fried potatoes in rosemary are highly recommended and their crispy lamb is the best in Town.

A Trip To The Barbers

Despite my fast receding hairline, I still need to cut my hair regularly. In Colombia, I was a regular at Jose Ricardo´s to be found in south Cedritos, Bogotá. For US$3 they were consistently good for a haircut, and I was often in and out within 10 minutes. In India however, these barbers are real perfectionists. For less than two dollars, you can enjoy not just a haircut, but a double cut-throat razor shave with liberal use of a variety of aftershave lotions, and completed with a head massage. The whole process won´t give you much change from an hour! It really is a very enjoyable experience and I can begin to appreciate those women who regularly indulge in make-overs and spa experiences.

I went for a session yesterday at "R and K Hairdressers" in McLeod Ganj. On completion I inform My Man that it is my birthday on Sunday and ask him how old he thinks I am. Without hesitation he replies “55”. Not surprisingly, no tip ensues!

Hinduism v. Freud

Ever thought that Freud was just a strange and sick Austrian pervert? Sometimes he seems to be nothing but a conservative prude when compared to those wacky Hindus.

In Varanasi, like Pashupatinath in Nepal, Shiva´s lingam is immortalized in numerous sculptures around the city. Not to be outdone, often it is positioned on top of Pavati´s yoni. Such penis (and punani) worship seems strange to most Western eyes, especially in the context of religion. However I reckon this is pretty cool. Why should religion negate to celebrate sexuality?

A Short Ode

My lips lovingly caress
Your small delicate virginal brown butt
I deeply inhale your sweet fragrance
Yum! Goldflake cigarettes
... and only Rp27 for a pack of 10!

Bodgaya

Bodgaya, a small dusty town in one of India´s poorest states - Bihar, marks the spot where Prince Siddhartha Gautama (the Buddha) meditated under a bodhi tree and gained enlightenment 26 centuries ago.

A sapling of the original tree was taken to Sri Lanka, and after Emperor Ashoka´s wife killed the original tree back in the 5th century, it was transported back to the original site where it still remains today. The place is now listed as a World Heritage area and is revered as one of the four major Buddhist pilgrimage sites.

Holy Shit!

It took 5 working days to process the Indian visa in Kathmandu. After a 22 hour journey from The Du I am in a rather swanky hotel in Varanasi, one of the major spiritual Hindu centres in India.

Bordering the sacred River Ganges, Hindu pilgrims descend from all over India to bathe or be cremated. People fully submerge or even drink this septic water-source – literally, there is no dissolved oxygen. Samples taken from the river show that it has 1.5 million faecal coliform per 100ml of water for there are thirty sewage pipes flow directly from the city. In water safe for bathing this figure should be less than 500! There are about 400 million people live along it´s basin and water-borne diseases run rampant where villagers use water from the river.

Fortunately the Indian government have finally started to take note of “The Great Mother”. Large new treatment areas right by the riverbank are being constructed; huge pink cylindrical towers decorated with Shiva and Parvati painted on! International agencies have been asked to further develop the clean-up programme.

My first visit to Varanasi was almost 20 years ago! On that trip at the start of the monsoon, babies were floating down the river and I was even unlucky enough to see a starving dog gnawing at a dead baby next to a rubbish tip. Outrageous!

Despite entering with a visa, I fear I am an illegal immigrant as my passport remains unstamped by Indian immigration; Sunauli (the main Nepal/India land border crossing) was really disorientating and I was unable to locate it! I see troublesome bureaucracy ahead.

Tomorrow morning I head to some Buddhist teaching on death and i finally get to ketchup with K. after six long weeks.

Some pictures of Varanasi can be found at http://picasaweb.google.com/aubreygroves67/Varanasi

Four Years In Tibet

I have just completed Ahmad Shah´s “Travel Classic who allegedly spent 4 years in Tibet at the end of the nineteenth century. Ahmad was a British citizen of Indian parents. He is at first drawn to Ladakh to verify a well documented story from a Russian traveller Natovitch who claimed that there were parchments being kept at Hermis monastery that documents the life of Jesus between his 12th and 30th years – information not accessible in the New Testament. As he is travelling through Kashmir he learns that his wife is very sick, but as she is with other family members, she´ll be all right. Her subsequent death is also not enough to divert his plans and he sends a missive telling his family to put his daughter in a boarding school. Having investigated the matter for himself and found no supporting evidence, he seems thorough in his derision of Natovitch´s claims and generally very scathing.

At a time when Tibet was impenetrable to foreigners, Mr Shah claims to have disguised himself as a Tibetan peasant, although he does not write about this – apparently I could have had photographic evidence at his lecture to the Oxford Natural History Society. He does write in-depth details about his observations of Tibetans including birth, marriage and death ceremonies, sports, festivities and religion. He describes them as ugly in appearance, dirty and smelly with a cowardly disposition although they have a good sense of humour. He was particularly amused by their greeting of sticking their tongues out – one of my personal favourites too.

A British Trooper

Unicyclist makes it to both Everest Base camps in Nepal and Tibet. Steve Colligan, clearly an eccentric Englishman achieved this feat with the assistance of Sherpa Mungma, my guide for my Langtang trek. Check out his website www.unicyclesteve.com

Holed Up In The ´Du

Nepal seems to be in the process of combustion. Tourists staying in Pokhara were being evacuated out of the town yesterday after a series of demonstrations and strikes, predominantly from people working in the tourist trade. Hotels and restaurants were forced to close their businesses. The strikers were claiming they were not receiving the new minimum wage - just over US$2 a day or $60 a month.

Even the capital city is now operating with just 6 hours of electricity a day, due to low water capacity.

I´m stuck in the ´Du as i await the arrival of my Indian visa (at least 5 working days!) and trying not to squander money unnecessarily.

No More Bush

George W. Bush is in his last few days of his eight year term. He has an opportunity to put his mark on the map, to leave a defining memory on one of the most important and prestige jobs. Time magazine claim that GW has been working on the following projects
1) Farmers are to be allowed to dump waste in local rivers
2) Reduce standards for safe drinking water
3) Allow loaded firearms in to National Parks
4) Allow increased emissions for coal-fired stations
5)Permit uranium drilling near the Grand Canyon.

What a trooper!

The BBC were asking is he the “worst American president in the last 50 years?” Surely there can be no doubt, but why stop at 50 years?.

Playing A Round

Fancy a game of golf in the world´s highest mountains? Just 6kms from the centre of Pokhara, the Himalayan Golf course offers an excellent 18 hole golf course with some of the most dramatic mountain scenery. For US$35 you can play 9 holes, pay green fees, hire clubs and get a caddy. Fortunately, I was adopted by some paragliding fanatics who have membership and invited me in as a guest for US$20. A respectable 54 meant I came in 2nd. The greens and fairways were pretty rough in parts, but an excellent way to spend my last day in Pokhara. On the 4th hole, the clouds parted and the full Annapurna range opened up. Check it out - www.himalayangolfcourse.com

K. Kevin and I were fortunate to play in the acclaimed highest golf course in the world in December 2002 which is actually a private Indian army course in Leh, Ladakh. There the greens were made of sand mixed with oil and you had to carry your artificial grass with you as the course is just made of dirt. It´s amazing how far you can drive at about 3000 metres.

Aubs´ Top Trekking Tips

1) Wear comfortable quality footwear
2) Bring a map, compass, torch and an extra lighter
3) Know the name of your next expected village
4) Regularly check with locals and others that you are on the right path
5) Don´t smoke too much (of anything)
6) A walking stick is invaluable to the over forties (although I was pleased to note plenty of 20+ and 30+ people using them too, and some even had two poles!)
7) Keep going!

Back off The Trail

No wonder Mountain People believe that the Gods live in the mountains. The majestic peaks of the Annapurna range are an incredible sight. Towering summits rise above the clouds offering tantalizing peeks of the peaks.

The Sanctuary trek is a beautiful hike along the Modi valley. It narrows the higher up you go and culminates at Annapurna Base Camp where over 10 peaks present themselves in an amphitheatre ranging from 6 – 8 thousand metres.

Armed with LJ´s much-used Annapurna map and a dodgy compass, I headed back onto the trail. The trail leads up the valleys offering different biodiversity at the altitude strata. Villages arise every couple of hours offering coca cola, varying strengths of Nescafe or even, on occasion, fresh challis for the weary hiker. I slowly meandered onwards and upwards missing the power of green capsules, but still looking not unalike Gandalf the Grey with my black hiking pole. Never again will I moan at the 270+ stone steps leading from our home to the village in McLeod Ganj! Clusters of green birds chatter in trees, glacial waterfalls some with 50 metre cascades and chimes of trekkers´ pony harnesses provide the auditory backdrop to MP3 player for I have to ration out the limited battery life carefully.

The pace of life is very different in the mountains. Up at the dawn (around 6:15am) hot drinks usually start the day for the villagers. A light breakfast might be taken at around 9.30, lunch at 1, dinner at 7 and bed by 8pm. It´s cold at night and there is not much shit to do. Interestingly, several of the villages enjoy 24 hour electricity, unlike either Kathmandu and Pokhara. My schedule fits around this. Wake at dawn, breakfast by 8am and hit the trail by 8.30. I stop at every opportunity for some type of sustenance until by 1pm I am on the lookout for lunch. I carry on until my legs tell me to and have usually “holed up” by 4pm. As the locals like to serve up before they eat, its dinner at 7 and bed by 8.

The concept of “two hours” is clearly standard for journeys varying from half an hour to three hours. Just ask any local on the trail. It really is not worth asking

Walking up-hill on stony 60 degree gradient trails for hours on end, with no respite, you feel every muscle in your body working and something not replicable in a gym. I did try and minimise my inventory, but my camera stuff weighs close to 6kgs for a start. Too uncomfortable to carry separately, it was perched at the top of my rucksack for the most of the trip. The weather patterns of the day are also consistent. Always clear for about an hour in the morning before the clouds come down with grey skies and sometimes raining during the afternoons.

At Chhomrong I stop at the International Guest House, run by the amiable proprietor, Mr D. M. Gurung. A Gurkha for thirteen years seeing service in Düsseldorf and England, he was the third guest house to open here 30 years ago and is happy to run it with a couple of helpers whilst the rest of his family live and work in Pokhara or Kathmandu.

He clearly loves his life. I asked him if he had thought of moving to England following a recent UK court ruling allowing former soldiers right of abode. “No...it´s too expensive. Anyway three years was enough”

He is relieved by the Maoist succession through parliament as he no longer “obliged” to pay monthly “donations”. All trekkers over the last 10 years were also making obligatory Rp5000 (US$20) payments. Like everyone else I have spoken to here, he is sceptical of any change. “It´s all bullshit” and Mr Gurung certainly does not use the word lightly. He tells me he turned down 9 Nepalese people from his guest house today; they requested a discount and he didn´t like their faces.
“Not international enough?” I query.
“Well...something like that”.

Calculations are made rapidly, checked and re-checked and I am unable to make it to Annapurna Base Camp and get my Indian visa rolling by the end of the week in Kathmandu. Somewhat disappointed it is time to turn back, although a Norwegian guy attempts to console me that he took a reading of - 18 degrees at ABC. The track is also covered in snow, icy in parts, and appears to vanish at times. I take a different valley down the trail which is almost entirely downhill – for me, always the best kind of hiking.

It is rare these days for me to appreciate the journey – I am always desperate to get to the destination as soon as possible. This was something completely different. I have also reached my healthiest point in several years. After a shave and shower I look like a man in his thirties. My legs don´t hurt like hell either.

Some photos from this trek are now available at http://picasaweb.google.com/aubreygroves67/annapurna

Back in Kathmandu on Thursday to sort out my new Indian visa. Stories vary from three days to a working week. Kathmandu is expensive and certainly when compared to life in McLeod Ganj.