I have been in Shimla, known as the Queen of the Hills during colonial times, for the past two weeks for an abroad study program to get me back in shape for law school after a one year hiatus. Justine has been hanging out in Kerala for the time being but will join me in Dharamsala where I am heading tomorrow night. It has been great to be up in the moutains at 7000 feet which is a nice break from the heat and humidity of Kerala. The British set up shop here to escape the pre-monsoon heat of the plains where Delhi is located. They certainly left their architectural mark and at times does not really feel like your in India at all but some strange British colonial Disney Main St. fantasy. The picture above is of the Upper Mall where only the British and their servants were originally allowed. It is now full of Indians, pop-corn, softies and cotton candy and has a very outdoor festival or outdoor mall type feel, complete with Colors of Benetton, Reebok, and other among with stores selling everything from shawls to sweaters to Tibetan handicrafts.
Besides the great views you get on the rare occasion when the clouds clear, there are tons of monkeys up here. Both langurs and macaques, the former being everwhere and straggly, and quite agressive, the latter being big, majestic and stoic. The macaques are quite agressive up here and after trying to shoo one away from from my window only to have it run torwards me with is teeth raring and arms raised I have been wary of them. Other than having to be wary of them there are so many that the novelty of having monkeys around wears off quick and it's like seeing a grey squirrel in New England at this point.
Besides classes and hanging out at the local coffee shops a few of us were able to go hiking last weekend about three hours from here. We started at about 9000 feet and hiked to the top of Hattu Peak where there is a local Hindu temple and passed a traditional Gujjar house along the way, complete with heards of water buffalo that they herd and milk. It was quite misty and cloudy so though we didn't get any of the majestic views, but we certainly had a misty mountain ambience. The place is a popular ski spot in the winter and our guide told us lots of Europeans come in to do the hike and ski down with the locals, including himself. Told him I would try to make it back for some Himalaya powder next time.
Being in the state of Himachal Pradesh which borders the state of Punjab there are many Sikhs here and heyhad a religious celebration the other day complete with mock battles, fireball blowing and fire hoop flipping. For those of you who don't know Sikhism is one of the four religions to come out of India, the others being Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.
I am off to Dharamsala tomorrow on an overnight 10 hour bus ride, not looking forward to it but at least one of my fellow students passed me an Ambien for the ride. Hope to get another post up from Dharamsala. Hope to see a lot of you on a few weeks when we return to the US.
--Best, Grady
