Ajantha/Ellora

Hey all, I took a trip in mid-January to Ajantha and Ellora to see some really cool cave temples.

Ajantha dates back to 2 BC, and Ellora was built between 6-8 AD. Ajantha is two kinds of Buddhist prayer rooms (chaitya grihas) and monestaries (vihanas) from the Hinayana and Mahayana periods, and Ellora is three groups of Jain, Hindu, and Buddhist temples.

Here's the link:
India 4--Cave Temple Adventure

I promise I go to class. Sometimes.

You don't realize how much you secretly pick your nose until you get your nose pierced. For anyone wondering, it hurts no more than getting your ears pierced. The worst part was only that it was pierced with a piercing earring, which meant the sharp end was inside my nose. Inside. my. nose. Fortunately it's easy to clean, because I'm not wearing a lot of make-up anymore.

I was pretty stoked about acting class, and I went for a week, before I dropped it. I thought I wouldn't have a huge problem in a multi-lingual class (if anything it'll force me to learn the language), but it wasn't just me--the Telugu speakers have trouble with the Hindi speakers, and Hindi with Malial, etc. Ultimately though, it was the traps in the acting school here. There's a lot of talking, but not a lot of acting. Here, they don't hold back, I'll give them lots of credit for that (can't guarantee truth in their acting, a bit of moldy leftovers from the Golden Age). But if we're given two hours to work, they'll philosophize for all of it, and schedule a rehearsal for the evening, which entails writing out detail by detail what will happen.

But not to worry! A stronger, more popular form of storytelling here is classical Indian dance. I've picked up kathak, which is known for its rhythmic footwork (tatkal) and spins. I wear these long strings of bells wrapped around my ankles. Youtube it. It's awesome. I'm also taking a trip to Karnataka to study shadow puppetry and to Kerala for kathakali, so I'll have my fair share of Indian performance art!

I'm also taking a yoga class (at 6 am, 3.5 km away and still on campus--blek) that will get me a certificate to teach. We've started theory this week, which so far is something like junior high gym class with a scruffy Santa Claus. We have three instructors--super-sweet lady with the yoga voice, Cartoon Yogi Master, and the Santa Claus. The lady is quite possibly the nicest person on the planet, the Cartoon is kind of a show off with a napoleon complex who is intensely dedicated to the art of yoga, and the Santa Claus tends to bark like a wrestling coach. Which made a lot more sense when I learned that he used to be the wrestling coach, was head of the Phys. Ed. department, and was a former boxer, until he retired for a year, got bored, and came back to teach...yoga?

I've also picked up a Women's Studies in Contemporary India course, which is pretty great. I'm doing some great research projects this semester. For various classes, I'll hopefully be looking into woman's social status in Indian film, the sociology of depression, insanity, and disease as is evident in literature (Plath, Dickinson, Milton, Byron, etc.), and the Indian influence on William Butler Yeats' work.
 
My parents joked that they were paying money for me to go on a four month vacation, with all the traveling I'm doing over here. They're not too far from the truth, but I promise it's all educational and it's all cheap. A charter bus ticket to anywhere in India ranges from Rs.400-1000, which is something like $8-$20. So it's worth traveling.

Plus, between the Telangana bandhs, every second Friday holiday, and the Hindu holidays that happen at least once a month, it feels like I'm never in class. :D

 PS--This is where I'm going next weekend for five days. Those huts are restaurants and where we will stay.