Now that the fever is passed and my wits are about me, it’s time to regress and tell you a bit about our first few days in India. The time passed so quickly, and I was so exhausted from the long journey, that it already seems like a blur in my memory. I’m so glad to have captured some nice photos along the way to help convey my experience to you. First, let me begin with a beautiful photo from the airplane itself – this one was taken over southern Iran, as the clouds cleared and we were able to see the mountains.
Now let’s fast-forward several hours. We arrived in Bangalore around midnight, and didn’t clear customs until sometime after 1:00. The huge time change had warped my mind to a weary state, and it seemed rather surreal as we exited the airport doors into a crowd of people with signs, each with a name or destination. A sign-less man approached us and inquired, “Banjo? You’re with me. I’m Yohan.” A huge wave of relief passed through my exhausted body. Yohan is an old friend of our hosts, Anurag and Sujata. He graciously offered to pick us up at the airport and take us to his farm, just outside Bangalore, where we would spend the night before catching a bus to Karnataka the next morning. We boarded Yohan’s jeep and sped away into the night.
Yohan is a deadhead - an Indian hippy farmer. He lives with his father, Saag, and wife, Priya, on a charming little farm outside the city. They were very kind, and let us wander around the farm the next morning while we waited to get in touch with our soon-to-be-friend Chitra – who would be traveling with us to Karnataka. Priya is an amazing sculptor/potter; their house was filled with hand-thrown bowls and dishes. The roof of their house was created with hand-made terra-cotta…even the bathroom sink was handmade and fired in their kiln, which sat on the back-porch. Yohan has also built a reputation for himself as a chocolate-maker. His sweets have recently become quite popular on our among the staff on our farm in Karnataka. There’s nothing like sitting back on a chair in the rainforest and nibbling on some sweet homemade chocolate.
Saag - Yohan's father - and Yohan's kids
Saag sipped at his coffee, engrossed in a book called “The World of Mathematics”, while chickens and guinea-fowl ran around his feet. Some Oxen, domestic farm animals, were grazing nearby. One of Yohan’s kids has a lot of energy, and had thus been nicknamed “Jumping” - which was later shortened to “Ping”. Ping gave us a tour of the property - he would ride his bicycle, and we would be walking behind, observing the occasional birds that would cross our path. “Doobie” , their dog – these are Indian hippies after all – also followed us around the farm as we explored. Yohan’s mother runs a Montessori school on the property, and due to a national holiday, the grounds were deserted. Apparently, a government official had died that week in a helicopter crash, and all the schools were closed for the day. We wandered around the schoolyard, taking in the sounds and smells of India – so different and exciting to be walking in a foreign landscape.
Around noon, we gathered our bags and went off to meet Chitra, who accompanied us on the bus-journey across southern India, from Tamil Nadu to our new home in the forested slopes of Karnataka.
"Doobie" - Yohan's dog
an Ox snout
that camera takes nice pictures! what a blur that night at yohan’s was. glad to see it’s documented though!
Glad you made it safe man! Thanks for the update. Best of luck! hopefully you’ll have some access once you get to Karnataka.. Make sure you get to Bandipur National Park… i’ve seen some amazing photos from there.