#EverythingINDIAEverything

A feast for the senses!  If ever there was a country that represents itself through every sight, sound, taste and smell it is India...magical, overflowing, varied India.  Like its foundational belief system of Hinduism, India is complicated, numerous, imaginative and hard to define simply...or as I heard several students say as they prepared for their World Religion Hinduism exam, "There's too much!"  This abundance is evident on the streets, in the food, within the people and through the diverse landscapes. It's helpful (essential?) that mediation is practiced so regularly in India....we often felt the need to stop, breathe and return to the moment.  The ship docked in the port city of Kochi where we took several Tuk-Tuk rides...buckle up:

This sums up a typical moment on the streets of Kochi:

I had the pleasure of taking my students to a field lab focusing on India's ancient theater tradition of Kathakali. To a western eye this form of performance is startling to say the least.  This is one of the oldest forms of theater in the world:  based on themes from Hindu mythology (Ramayana, Mahabharata) the actors take on various roles expressed through an elaborate language of gesture, movement and facial-expression.  The movements are from an ancient "alphabet" of symbols developed specifically and only for Kathakali.  The movements are rigorous and actors are trained for multiple years before they are able to perform on stage.  The complexity and uniqueness of the performance structure are only surpassed by an elaborate (understatement) make-up and costume code. Characters are categorized according to their nature:  Royalty, divine, noble characters wear green make-up;  Characters of high birth with an evil streak wear green make-up with red marks on the cheek; Extremely evil and angry characters wear all red; Women (played by men) and ascetics wear yellow.  The action is accompanied by an orchestra playing traditional Indian instruments and a typical Kathakali performance begins in the evening and continues through early morning...until Good conquers Evil.  Contemporary Kathakali performance has been adapted to fit snapshots within a few hours.  I can think of no theater in the world that represents its country of origin more accurately than Kathakali.  My students had a blast.  Words do nothing in comparison to video:

We escaped the hustle and bustle of the city for something completely different:  a 3-day camping trip through the cartoonishy-beautiful tea fields of Munnar...

Namaste.