Ganga River Trip - December 10-27, 2004
Introduction
This is the transcription of select parts from my journal that I kept during a 17-day journey down the Ganga river from Patna to Kolkata with a radio journalism team producing a docummentary about the river. I call it "Ganga," as most Indians do, as it seems that "Ganges" is simply a modern combination of "Ganga" and the Hindi term "ji," which is used to "enoble" an individual, such as "Ashby-ji" or, as tourists may encounter, your response to questions asked of waiters, hotel staff, etc. may be met with "Ji?" or "Ji!" Substitute "Sir?" or "Madam!" and the intenet is still the same.
Parts taken verbatim from my journal (more or less) are indicated in italics. My additions and comments are in normal text and either bracketed or in a separate paragraph.
I still have yet to add the pictures, a few more editorial comments, and additions to fill out the story, so if you are waiting for completeness, keep waiting until this paragraph disappears and then read on.
Details about my last week and a half in Kolkata will be detailed in the next day or so. I apologize for the delay!
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First we must introduce the players.
Dramatis Personae
Julian Crandall Hollick - [Note: no hyphen between 'Crandall' and 'Hollick,' as specified by the man himself. "I'm British! It's not done!" (amended, see below)] He is The Artist. Julian is the primary producer and "man behind the voice" heard throughout the numerous radio documentaries he has produced over the last twenty years from the barn in Massachusetts that houses he and his wife's company, the Independent Broadcasting Association (click here to visit website if you don't already know about it from previous posts, where copies of his work can be found). An Englishman (don't hold it against him!), an appreciator of classical music, and, for trivia's sake, a former school-mate of Peter Gabriel's (!).
Amendment (12/03/05) at the request of Julian (above text preserved for history's sake and to illustrate my misunderstanding):
"Please amend the Dramatis Personae when you have read and digested the following: In English law you do not need a hyphen between two last names. You can hyphenate if you want but it's not mandatory. A name can remain ambiguous. Just a simple document drawn up by a lawyer. Is it JC Hollick or Julian Crandall Hollick? Useful.
But when Martine went to to the US Embassy back in 1975 they informed her the two names had to be hyphenated. And the Secretary of State (no less) has to sign it! So that's why the difference. For the kids it's a problem! And it's why I am Julian C Hollick on my US passport. They took one look at my UK passport and made their own decision. Lucky or poor Martine - two husbands rolled in one."
Martine Crandall-Hollick - [Hyphen apparantly allowed] Julian's wife and the true director of the practical side of the Independent Broadcasting Associates. Martine oversees the financial end of things, keeps Julian in line, and does the hard haggling with the local types. "For every great man . . ." Martine and my mom were childhood friends in Massachusetts, hence the seemingly random inclusion of my person on a radio documentary team floating down the Ganga.
Amendment (12/03/05) at the suggestion of Julian (above text preserved for history's sake):
"As background (you may want to use the knowledge to slightly amend parts of this) I conceive and write the NSF proposal and in this case did all the Planning in India and elsewhere from 1998 till 2004. Martine usually only handles the finances and never travels. This time she asked to come (a) because it might be our last big trip to India; (b) because we couldn't afford the outrageous prices of professional photographers from the US or even India; and (c) because I asked her to. For this trip I had to double as recording engineer because once again the cost of hiring and importing one from the USA is out of this world; and I have not found an Indian one who can do a better job than me. So we carefully and deliberately divided the job so that I would not handle any administration, but just do recording and reporting."
It is because of Julian and Martine and their funding through grants that include the National Science Foundation that this 806 kilometer river trip from Patna to Kolkata took place. The trip was actually only one part of their journey; Martine and Julian started at the source of the Ganga in mid-October, covering some of it by boat and some by car along the bank up to Patna. For this last leg, however, they got in touch with a well-known individual in India who has been involved with the ecology of the river, particularly the Gangetic dolphin, for over twenty years:
Dr. R.K. Sinha - "The Dolphin Man" of India. Dr. Sinha is a professor at Patna University and has extensively researched and campaigned for the preservation of the dolphin, of which there were only 2000 in the Ganga during a count done in 2002. Dr. Sinha is an extremely tall and broad man with a loud, deep voice that he usually exercises at maximum volume. He was the "local man on the ground" and arranged the boat, boatmen, and much of the accomodations along the way through his extensive political and personal contacts. He also brought with him a student coterie to count birds, collect snails, and mash buttons on the GPS unit. This consisted of a post-doctorate engaged at Patna University:
Dr. Khalid M. Khan - "The Khan." A fellow my age who specializes more in predator-prey relationships and birds, but is biding his time at Patna University counting dolphins while he courts Canadian Universities. A silent fellow with a big smile who listens carefully to the wild scientific and social speculations of the other boat-denizens during the day and then happily discourses and disassembles their rash comments at nite when the other "adults" are not around. Canada needs this man.
and, the other member of the critter-counting crew, a former student of Dr. Sinha's:
Dr. Gopal Sharma - A newly-minted bureaucrat for the Indian political machine, in the form of a recent addition to the Zoological Society of India. His "rank," as he told me, is "Gazated," which is supposed to be really great. It got us good beds one night at the Farakka Barrage, and maybe he gets free drinks and a golden biscuit somewhere with that, too. Biggest smile on the boat. A short, broad fellow who spent a lot of the mornings picking through mud collected before we pushed off in a search for small snails. He also sampled the water as we went along and pickled fish and other crawly-finny-snaily things in formaldahyde. We were a floating morgue by the time the trip ended and could have opened our own water bar featuring fine vintage Ganga-jal (holy water) samples from all along our journey.
Amendment (12/03/05) at the suggestion of Julian (above text preserved for history's sake and to illustrate my misunderstanding):
"Dr Gopal Sharma: gazated should probably read "gazetted." It means his appointment has been published in the official government gazette. I seriously doubt Sharma has any political function: he is a member of the Archeological Survey of India: that is it, not a politician. I think you misunderstood."
Dr. Tej Razdan - "The Good Doctor," "The Krazy Kashmiri." A true medical doctor, surgeon by trade, who lives in the state of Rajistan, but is a Kashmiri by descent. What does that mean? Well, he does not look like your average Indian. He is tall and slender, with light skin, a long nose and a piercing but friendly gaze. Dr. Razdan is a very active environmentalist and splits his time between looking for rare pheasants in the Himalayas, saving lakes in Rajistan, advising others who seek to save lakes in other states and countries, and running the clinic he and his wife, a gynocologist, have in the city of Udaipur. The gizmo man and our one-person camera crew. He has at least three things dangling from his neck at all times (cell-phone, digital voice recorder, and a 35mm camera with numerous lenses). As well, for most of the trip had his eye glued to his video-camera, shooting footage of everthing. And I mean everything. And if he missed something, he made us do it again so he could "capture the momment." He also seemed to be running his clinic unsing a cell-phone (yes, cell-phones worked on most of the river) and his electronic address-book and calender. I was certain several times that he was doing surgery via his cell-phone ("No, no, cut the *blue* one!!" [in Hindi, of course, so I'm just guessing]).
Dr. Graham Chapman - A "human geographer," as I think he likes to be referred, a geomorphologist by virtue of his long involvement with rivers, a historian, and all-around great fellow to have around. A professor at Lancanster University in England, and British through-and-through. Over his long career he has also been at Cambridge and London University. He is that fellow at the party who always has an intersting story and is also that the one who has no qualms about telling someone "No, I think you've got that all wrong," but in such a polite and disarmingly British way that it never rubs one wrong. This was a useful skill to have on a boat of arm-waving, pontificating scientific, journalisitc and literary types (myself definately included, as my readers already know about my long-windedness!). Visit his website and download some of his papers here.
Annegerd Chapman - Graham's wife and as pleasant a conversationlist as him. Danish by birth and currently a psychologist in the British healthcare system.
Bijay Tiwary - "Tiwary!" Driver extraordinaire. The man behind the wheel of the ground support vehicle. Big, broad and happy. The working man's working man. A solid fellow who has driven all his life, as well as his father, his father's father, and I even think his pappy's grandpappy did as well. A driven man. A driven family. Tiwary likes a steady supplu of food, and upon discovering that I had an almost endless appetite, especially for Indian food, we stopped at every roadside food stand he thought was good.
Raja Chaterjee - "The Bengali Babu" Expeditor, translator, information-gatherer, and cultural etiquette advisor for Julian and Martine. A Bengali who, in addition to Bengali, speaks Hindi and English. A soft-spoken philospher with a full grey beard and shaggy mane. Over his varied life and career has expedited for the theatre, Hindi film producers, directors and actors. In general he "knows people." Raja likes his "funny-smelling cigarettes" in the morning, and if not immediately available, can be assumed to be at the nearest chai stand "collecting local intel."
Subash, Mahesh, Arjun, Raju - "The Boys" The boatmen, the engine of the expedition vehicle. Experienced fishermen hired from Patna by Dr. Sinha, these guys were incredible, rowing for hours every day, rigging the sail, unerringly finding the right path through the shifting sandbars of the Ganga, and performing some amazing night-time navigation on the few occasions that our daily trip lingered well after dark.
Mohan - The cook! Most important person on the trip, providing us with chicken, fish, snails, daal, spicy vegetables and, of course, rice, rice, rice and more rice. Not to mention the much-needed chai, lemon tea and biscuits.
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December 10, 2004 - Patna to Barh
"PATNA - We launched this morning at about 8.30 after shuffling gear a few times - - the boat is small and we initially tried to put too much on it. The Scorpio SUV-thingy will follow us and rendevous with us [each night] as we travel , so we put items in that to (hopefully) rendevous with us later. There are 12 of us on the boat[: the crew and cook, Dr. Sinha, Dr. Razdan, Khalid (the post-doc), Julian and Martine, and myself.] We take on Graham Chapman and his wife somewhere down the river . . . The river is peaceful and peple fish, cremate bodies, and make bricks [in factories along the shore]. There was a stretch of many kilometers where chimenys were everywhere, some spewing smoke, and bricks stacked up in yards around them [waiting to be fired]. Apparantly they use the silt deposited by each year's monsoon to make more bricks."
"BARH - Saw several bodies half-submerged in the river today being picked at by crows. One was close enough to see that it was a water buffalo. The other was at a distance and could have been another animal. Or a person. Saw many burning ghats today, which in many cases was just a place [on the bankside] where bodies were being burned, no stairs ("ghats") to be seen. We were on the boat until well after sunset, covering 67 kilometers today. The crew rowing in the dusky half-light and then into darkness was surreal. The Scorpio with Tiwary and Raja went ahead and they flashed a light from the ghats of the temple complex that we are encmaped right in the middle of, tent right up against some shrine to Shiva. Should produce some interesting dreams. I am feeling a little spacey, like I am slightly dizzy, and I think it is from the rocking action of the boat all day! I saw an airplane high above as I sat on the ghat here in the dark and it made me think of ariports in the U.S., which made me uncomfortable. I think the 'reverse culture shock' will be a real thing for me if such simple associations make me aprehensive."
"We saw easily 30 dolphins today! They break the water everywhere around us as we travel down river. I did not think we would see so many!"
I never knew about the Gangetic dolphin until this trip was just about to begin. It's not mentioned in tourist books and there has never been a worldwide campaign to "Save the Gangetic Dolphin" or eat "Gangetic Dolphin-Free Tuna." This omission suprised me at first, but after I saw my first Gangetic Dolphin I understood why this aquatic mammal has not made the top-ten list of charismatic critters.
The mention of the word "dolphin" is sufficient to make people sit up and take notice. Most, however, have an image implanted in their minds from the propaganda of environmental groups, the horrible tacky airbrushed leaping dolphins in wretched pastel colors seen in teenager's bedrooms, or maybe from a field trip to Sea World. The Gangetic dolphin is not that dolphin. The Gangetic dolphin is called a "living fossil" by the people who research it and is indeed a primitive specimen. The two to two-and-a-half meter long animal has a short, blunt body with a long cylindrical snout extending from that body and full of long teeth. Tiny little nearly useless eyes set near the base of this snout can only distinguish light and dark. Overall the creature is a dark-greyish to black hue. It originally hails from the Jurassic period (206 - 144 million years ago, folks) and honestly doesn't seem to have attempted any change of wardrobe since then.
I will post some lovely primitive pictures of fossils from that period soon with pictures of the dolphin today for comparison.
The dolphins would jump around us all day, but not in that classic bottle-nose dolphin, all the way out of the water, fashion. Instead, most of the time they would just curve their back slightly above water so all you would see was a grey arched dome topped with a very small dorsal fin. Occasionally they would come out nose first, snout slightly open in a shallow half-in, half-out of the water dive and you could see almost the whole length of the animal in review. They are kind of ominous-looking with that long round snout full of teeth that are clearly visible from a distance. They never come over and play by the boat and really take no interest in people or the boats at all, except to follow boats sometimes at a distance, as it stirs up fish for them to track and eat. Those long teeth are simply to snag fish, which they then swallow whole and their nearly useless eyes are compensated for by acute sonar skills.
December 11, 2004 - Barh to (near) Mokamia
"Awake at dawn (about 5.30) to gongs and bells being joyfully beaten by worshippers in the temples we had chosen to sleep next to. What [we] called Tibetian or Nepali T.V. is now Indian T.V. - - the practice of staring in the windows of the tent to see what is going on with the foreigners. Tea was brought [to the tent] seven (I love that practice!) and [after I got out of the tent] the staring and following began. Everywhere I went I was followed by a pesonal entourage. We left from the ghat at about 8.30."
December 12, 2004 - Mokamia to Munger
[Last night] we stayed in and ashram that Raja arranged along with Dr. Sinha . . . The ahram was pleasant, complete with a bucket-shower. The water from the well was warm and smelled of iron. The ashram was right by a train and vehicle bridge [across the Ganga] and throughout the night vehicle blew their horns and trains wailed and rattled in the dark. Singing and activity began [in the ashram] at five a.m., and we arose a little before six to try and get an early start - - today is a 65 km day, like the first day. It would be nice to get in before dark."
"More bodies in the river yesterday, at least two, and this morning I saw a dog that had the top of his head ripped off but was still living. He was curled up, trying to rest. My sympathy is greatest for the dogs; even though the poverty of the people is disheartening, the dogs have it worse since they are powerless to change their lot. You see them eating trash, bleeding in the streets and being stoned by the locals in an effort to run them off."
"The river is very surreal in the early morning when the banks are not visible. You feel as if you are out at sea, with no land in sight. Even in mid-day the horizon is hazy, and nothing is visible down river past a few kilometers. When the banks are flat and the river wide, again the feeling of being at sea returns."
"People constantly call to us from the shore as we travel down the river. I am told they are imploring us to come over. Apparantly we are in a dangerous, remote area, far from main roads where dacoits (bandits) hide from the police. We speed up and do not call back. Our bags and gear are covered to be less obvious and we stay far from the shore when ever possible."
"The boatmen, particularly Mahesh, sing songs of the river and boatman life as we row along. Julian has recorded several of these. The river songs along with the devotional songs heard at the ghats and ashram all serve to give this feeling of total immersion into another world that I have been having . . . This is an incredible experience because it is allowing me to be in the midst of local towns, ashrams and people's homes."
December 13, 2004 - Munger to Sultanganj
"We push off from the ghat at 8.30 amid the usual flurry of atention, which this time includes the local press. We traveled some 60 kilometers yesterday and arrived at dusk. Saw the first bedrock here that I have seen since I arrived in India. We set up camp twice yesterday [last night]; once in a park near the ghat at the end of town where we landed and then again at a government guest house that was revealed to us later! The guest house was a far better choice [although I did not stay inside, preferring the tent on the lawn]."
"It is hazy again this morning, as seems usual. Yesterday as we entered Munger it was clear and the shores looked vivid in color, which I had not seen much since this journey began. The shore today looks like desert on the north (left) side and trees in the distance on the south (right) side are . . . shrouded in haze."
"The food thus far has been fantastic. Yesterday the crew bought some small fish from a boat that pulled up right as we were leaving at dawn. They cleaned and cooked them, fried in a masala flour, for the large lunch we had that included mustard greens and potatoes, too. Lunch is a large affair that always includes large amounts of rice, sometiems chapatti [Indian tortilla] or, as today, papad [cruchy, thin bread]. Salad is also a regular item, which is just cucumbers, carrot, radish, tomato, and red onion, simply sliced in discs and accompanying the meal. The water left from the rice is mixed with salt and pepper to make a drink that I have been enjoying. I like to think of it as Indian Gatorade."
"We are approaching Sultanganj, a town with an outcropping of bedrock that, until the mid 1990s, was an island that housed a mosque and a Shiva temple for Hindus. The head priest of the Hindu temple has taken a vow of silence since the river left his temple and will not speak until the Sultanganj, as it is referred, is returned to its island state . . . Apparantly the stranding of Sultanganj was not abrupt but in 1995 began sometimes being an island and othertimes not. It is now fully [land-locked] except for during the monsoon where everything is flooded around the temple and mosque."
"It is quite windy today and the sail and mast for the boat were errected to give us a nice speed of around 6-8 km/hour without rowing. The water is textured today, too, unlike the past fews days where it has been glass-like."
December 14, 2004 - Sultanganj to Bhagalpur to Khalgaon
"The temples at Sultanganj, particularly the Hindu one, are beautiful for the visual story that they tell. The Hindu temple is a crazy construction, seemingly designed by 100 different architects that haphazardly stacked each component on and next to their predecessor's efforts. The madness is contained only on the granite outcrop that was once an island, only now the temple is surrounded by green fields, cracked mud and sand. Landlocked, stranded boats rest on the green grass, some still tied to the ghats of the temple, perhaps in case the Ganga suddenly decides to shift course again."
"The mosque resides on a small, tree-covered hill with a base of granite that is a short distance from the Hindu temple, but several hundred feet above it . . . The Hindu temple complex is only just above the level of the river and still gets flooded and surrounded by the river during the monsoon. It must have been a beautiful site, these two islands surrounded by water and filled with marooned devotees. The mosque is the architectural opposite of the Hindu temple with its well-laid out minarets, carefully painted, carved decorations and the trees that surround it all. The bedrock that these temples reside on has been extensively carved, more so on the rocks around the Hindu temple. Many of these [carvings] have been painted, but even those that have not are still sharp, detailed and vivid. Mainly Hindu motifs dominate, but interestingly many Buddhist themes, even a standing Budha, are also depicted."
"Julian interviewed the silent priest of the Hindu temple, who wrote on a slate tablet with chalk and [then through] an interpreter. Julian recorded the sound of the chalk on the slate for his radio listeners."
"Dinner was another fantastic affair, a dall pithai, which everyone likened to a ravioli, although the little dough pockets had nothing in them and the sauce was well-cooked lentils rather than tomato or cream. It was accompanied by very spicy mashed potatoes with green chiles and red onion in [them]."
"We are entering the dolphin sanctuary today. It seems to be more in name than in effort, however, as Dr. Sinha says that no one really patrols itand signs have yet to be set up in visible areas."
"Dr. Sinha has been telling more stories today about the dacoits that terrorize the area. They are usually stopping the smugglers that are bringing silk yarns [thread] from China to cheaply manufacture fabric. Sinha and various students have been stopped at gybpoint so the dacoits could search the boats, but let tham go when they found only water testing equipment, not silk thread or ammunition, which they also seek. There is also a cadre of mafioso in the sanctuary area that [extort] intimidate and murder the farmers [and fisherman]. It is because of this that a pervasive air of caution, almost paranoia, permeates our travel. We don't tell people where we are going, what we are doing, we don't stop at banks or sandbars with people and we try to stay in secluded or private places."
We never did have any trouble with dacoits, and there was only one instance, somewhere around this entry or a few days later, when we saw men with guns on motorcycles and horses that called to us and then followed us on a road by the bank for some kilometers until we lost them.
"I have commented many times on the conversant friendliness of most Indians I have met, but Khalid has put this in [a] perspective for me: he feels that in an un-industrialized nation people have more time to amiably talk, and that if I traveled to larger, more metropolitan cities, perhaps people would be too busy, like they are in the west, to take time to talk. I was a bit skeptical, but on reflection, it seems likely - - even in the U.S. people down south in small towns will spend endless hours discussing the crops with you."
December 15, 2004 - Kahalgaon to Sahibganj
"Picked up Graham Chapman and his wife Annegerd shortly before we arrived at Kahalgaon. Three granite islands reside in the broad channel of the Ganga in front of the main ghats of the town. One appears uninhabited, the other has buildings but is [said to be] deserted and the third, closest island, as they stretch in a chain almost perpendicular to the shore, has a well-maintained, brightly painted Hindu temple. We pulled up right as the head priest was coming down for his evening holy dip [in the Ganga] at sunset. He declined to let us stay, nothing personal it seems, just no one gets to. We returned to the other shore and set up camp there. Dinner was fantastic, again, but light fare - - a tomato, bannana, apple chutney with paratha stuffed with [grahm (chickpea)] flour. I ate early since I went down to the boat and hung out with the crew where they were cooking."
Julian went back out after dinner to interview the priest of that Hindu temple and got what was one of the star quotes of the trip: "I don't drink the Ganga-jal anymore, because it will make me sick." This is very important, as it shows an acceptance of the level of pollution present in the river by a holy man. Many religious figures still deny that there is a problem, or quote scripture and verse that the river is holy and self-cleansing, so there is no problem. Julian also used his hydrophone to try and record some more dolphin-noise, but could not get a "bite." A day before he had great sucess and we heard all sorts of click, "barks" and whistles as they fed and did other dolphin things that dolphins do.
"We reached the confluence of the Kosi river out of Nepal today, and like other confluences [it] is relatively unremakable; a broad fan of sediment and what could be mistaken for simply another chanel of the many braids in the Ganga coming back to join the main channel."
It is strange indeed that I walked along the banks of the same Kosi in Nepal months before, a milky-colored, fierce glacial stream surrounded by peaks, and now I was at its end, a quiet, unremarkable channel into the mighty Ganga.
"From one book that we have on the boat, Eric Newby's Slowly Down the Ganges (1966), there is a list of 100 different names for Ganga. One is 'Niranjana,' which means 'colorless,' or more literally 'not painted with collyrium' (a red paint used by women as a cosmetic embellishment). Today was a good example of that, as many so far have been - - both up and down river the sky and water blend into one after a short distance and the bacnks are made soft and indistinct by the grey-white haze that seems to suffuse everything."
December 16, 2004 - Rajmahal
"Our party and the party polirics of India have crossed path for the last several days. Yesterday we arrived in Sahibganj well after dark to find a large welcoming party bearing garlands, a painted banner and many flashing cameras to record our disembarcation, garlanding and posturing with the banner. It seems that Dr. Sinha's college friend Sardu Rai (Sardar Roy?) who arranged our accomodations at Sahibganj, is a very important person in the BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party) in Jharkand [, the state next to Bihar that we are briefly passing through. (Why not visit the BJP website here? You can see pictures of your favorite BJP political stars, read the gripping story and philosophy of the party, and, who knows, maybe join or donate all your worldly goods!)].
This man travels with a massive entourage and at every town he arrives attracts a ginat gathering of supporters. The people who met us a the bank of the river were a mix of this entourage, the supporters [from the town], and the members of a local environmental movement. The environmental group was hoping to bend the ear of Sardar Rai and effect a sudden change in the politics and policy surrounding the river, primarily with the industries that pollute the Ganga. We drove in a caravan of vehicles to the 'circuit house' [lodging used by circuit judges who travel to different districts doing judge-things] that had been arranged. There, easily 150 people were milling around to shout 'Long live Sardu Rai!,' blast off fireworks and place garlands around the neck of this politician - - so many, in fact, that he would periodically peel off the stack thwn it covered is ears so the next person in line could have somewhere to place their galan wihout interfering with the man's ability to breathe or answer his cell phone, which he did at least once in the midst of all this adoration, simply turning slightly away from the crowd swarming about him and ignoring them for a moment."
"We simply stood around, sort of dazed at this frantic fete, fending off, as best we could in our fatigue of the dawn to dark boat ride [and lack of dinner yet], the numerous curious questions that are always the same in India - - 'Your good name?,' 'You are from where?,' and 'You are finding India how, yes?' Eventually a serious meeting was engaged in the upstairs of the circuit house between Sardar Rai, his entourage, the environmental group and Dr. Sinha. They were apparantly disappointed that he could promise no immediate, magical solution to environmental problems in the river - - I wasn't there for all this and got the summary today, as I decided to escape the circus and retreat to my room that I was sharing with Tiwary . . .
"Somewhere during this fracas we were fed a great dinner at a small table that basically fit just us, Sardar Rai and a few chosen members of each entourage. I was placed right next to the great politician and I must saddly report that not a single word was exchanged between us - - I had not quite determined what the devil was going on, how this fellow fit in with the madness and moreover, I was starved and very attentive to the fantastic thali [literally, 'plate,' but generally means a complete meal] that was placed before me in this dingy, mosquito-filled back room we were eating in. I happily stuffed my fce, polishing off my plate and large portions of Martine's as well, who was sitting next to me. As we ate people hoped around attentively at our elbows and slews of people solemly watched us chew each bite as if the motions of our mouths were words of great import. Not to mention the fireworks exploding outside as we ate and Sardu Rai's phone ringing several times during dinner, no doubt some life or death calls in the frantic world of Indian politics."
I can't tell you how weird this all was, and my skepticism and sarcasm you may read into the excert is well-placed. This was a pattern that was to be repeated several times during our trip, Dr. Sinha using this boat trip that was paid for by Julian and Martine to rendevous with his political friends, do his own research and mug for the press. We had no real forewarning of this first little political party and it was sprung on us a few hours before we landed.
"Today he and his entourage accompanied our bewildered party, he in our little craft and the entourage in a motor-powered barge alongside. I decided to skip this rapidly escalating circus and rode in the car with Raja and Tiwary. Apparantly the politician was a bit shocked by our small, oar-powered craft and by Julian's inescapable microphones and very pointed personal questions, such as 'How do you deal with your household trash?' and 'Would you drink Ganga water?' The trip took longer than was expected, as the distance had been miscalculated, and the entourage barge had to rescue their esteemed leader to ferry him to catch a fast train to the next engagement, but not before he was further discomforted by the brisk breeze that began after a motorized third craft appeared to tow our craft at a faster rate. He was only dressed in his fancy politic-ing clothing, it seems."
"Sardai Rai has left us, but we are established in another 'circuit house' tonight, at least the others are, as there are limited rooms, and I am in my very comfortable, quiet and completely mosquito-free tent outside on the lawn. These lodges are quite mosquito-infested, and the electricity is never on all night to keep the fan on and the bugs down. Hopefully we are done with the circus and our pace can return to the quiet research trip it began as!"
December 19, 2004 - Panchanandapur to the Farakka Barrage
"Spent the last two nights at the West Bengal town Panchanandapur, encamped in a local school-teacher's front yard. This village and many like it in the area are being devastated by the meanders in the Ganga - - during the last monsoon a school, [a post office], and numerous houses were swept away, and even the house we stayed at will probably be consumed within two seasons. This seemed phenomenal, as we were camped a god 15 minute walk from the shore, but the [incision rate of the meanders and speed of lateral movement] is very [fast]."
"I had many conversations with local people, hundres of which come to gather in the front yard and stare at our party. This really is rural India. Previously we had definately been outside the usual tourist circuit, but still staying at relatively large towns and cities. Now we were in and amonst the country people of West Bengal. West Bengal has a marked visual difference than the parts of Bihar and Jharkand we were passing through. Many broad-leafed bananna and coconut trees, bamboo houses and bamboo fencing."
"[When we first arrived] we were met by a local group who are trying to undo what they see as the primary cause of the erosion destroying their homes, the Farakka Barrage. As one local gentleman put it, "If you hold the head of a snake, it will writhe and bend at a greater rate" - - they feel the barrage has increased the erosion and cost them their livelihood."
Farakka Barrage explanation.
"Garlands were again placed on our heads, scores of people gathered around to watch - - exclusively men, I noted. Women were absent, is as often the case in every group we initially attract. Dr. Sinha became embroiled in an emotional and vocal conversation about the river, their desires and what he saw as reality. This group, again like the last, hoped we could provide some simple solution to their disenfranchisement, and again Dr. Sinha told them they must join together and protest to have changes made. It seems that locally there is much divisiveness and it is this that prevents forward motion, so he seems to think."
It seemed that no one got the memo that we were a radio documentary crew and not the environmental envoy from the government of India. I think we attracted these groups due to Dr. Sinha and his political affiliations, and as was later to be revealed by asking other sources, Dr. Sinha and his associates are not viewed with favor by many of these groups. Apparantly he is an environmentalist, but one deeply entrenched in the politics of Bihar. He will not rock the boat that keeps him in place, which means he defers the activism to the people rather than support their cause, as was seen in two of the encounters we has with such groups. (This is my personal interpretation based on watching him and discussing the matter with other people.)
"Today we passed through the canal and lock system that takes us to the [Bhagarhati river,] the Hooghly [river] and [finally to] Calcutta. The lock was very interesting because the keepers and engineers swear it is used a handful of times a week, at least, but the entrance was completely cloged with water hyacinth, so much in fact, we were re-buffed at our first attempt to penetrate it and had to offload some people and pass a rope to shore to pull the boat through. Even then some 'weeding' and vigorous poking with oars was necessary to reach the lock gates. Once inside, our small boat was dwarfed by the lock . . . We passed through, reboarded all personal and continued down the canal until we reached Jangipur, or more accurately, the town across the new bridge and river from Jangipur."
"This is the land of Kali [yes, like 'Kali-ma," Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom style], and there was a huge[, two-story] statue of Kali [on wheels] being dragged through the street accompanied by hundreds of people, drums, horns and music from a megaphone attached to a rickshaw. Apparantly at midnight they will sink it in the river, [a ritual called 'Durga Puja',] but I do not think I can stay awake for such an event, even though I can hear the drums in the street [from my hotel room] right now."
"This morning [at the Farakka Barrage] before we started the GPS said we had covered 413 kilometers since Patna - - I was mistaken when I said 400 km to Calcutta. It is 400 to Farakka and then 400 km more after that to Calcutta!"
December 21, 2004 - Jangipur to Ajimganj
"We left at 7.30 am and today will be another long day, maybe 70 km. The fish market at Jangipur is the second largest in West Bengal after the one in Kolkata and we obtained some great-looking, almost tuna-like fish [called Silond] before we left this morning. Last night we has miniature shrimps along with our chapattis and [chickpea] daal. I forgot to mention the extremely fresh chicken we had on the way to the Farakka Barrage - - the crew pulled two live chickens from under the deck, killed them and cleaned them right before our eyes. We had a great chicken curry for lunch."
"There are very few dolphins to be found in this artifical river[, this canal leading to the Bhagarhati river,] that we are now in. It is a tributary from the Ganga, but its flow is regulated and the sediment [usually] found in the Ganga is removed by . . . the barrage, so this water is clearer . . . [This canal is considered the Bhagarhati river, and] once we [are in the Bhagarhati proper and] reach the tidal effects of the Bay of Bengal, [the name will change to] the Hooghly [river]. The river[, canal, really,] here is narrower and has no sandbar. Although the haze is still up, the feeling of being lost at sea is no longer with us."
"Graham and Annegerd Chapman left this morning for Calcutta, after which they will go to [the neighboring sea-side state] of Orissa. They are sorely missed today, at least by me. Both of them are wonderful conversationlists. Although they were with us only a week, they now seem like an integral part of our daily conversations and schedule."
December 22, 2004 - Murshidibad
"Kajur ras: date palm juice, before it is fermented . . . I began the morning with a glass of this juice, sold to me by a man carrying two, round red-clay vessels wrapped in rope and balanced, one on either side of him, across his shoulders with a thin bamboo yoke. One jar had water and a glass cup within it, and the cup is rinsed in the water between each customer. The other contained the date palm juice and I drank a healthy, tall glass of this. Slightly sweet, but not over-poweringly so, and of an earthy flavor, tinged strongly of sulfur, it seemed. This juice is fresh in the morning, but[,by the evening,] with addition of yeast, becomes a strong [alcohol, locally called] toddy . . ."
"Sweets in India are primarily of the condensed milk variety; milk is boiled to a thick consistency, and in some cases to a completely dry dough. This substance is rolled into balls or cut into squares after the addition of [sugar and] various spices to make the sweets."
"In order to make some extra time we skipped over Ajimganj where a stay was planned and overnighted in [Baharampur, the district seat or capital of the 'county' of Murshidibad that is within the state of West Bengal,] instead. Like Jangipur, this Bengali city has a very clean and organized feel to it, in contrast with the cities of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. Even Khalid, a native Biharian born and raised in Bodh Gaya [(south of Patna)], says that Bengalis are 'more civilized' that his fellow Biharis ('except myself,' he adds)."
"I forgot to mention that in Panchanadapur Dr. Sinha and Dr. Rasdan commissioned our sail to be painted with 'SAVE DOLPHINS, SAVE GANGA' and a nice image of the Gangetic dolphin along with 'Zoology Department, Patna University, Patna' along the bottom. Two other small banners, one in Hindi, one in English, proclaim 'Ganga Expedition - 2004, Patna to Gangasagar [(the island south of Calcutta in the bay of Bengal where the mouth of the Ganges river is located)].' We now often set up the sai as we pull in for the night, even if there isn't a breeze, just to do a little advertising."
"Along the river here in West Bengal are numerous bamboo structures stuck in the mud that are used for fishing. Attached to the framework is a net stretched across long bamboo poles that are levered out of the water [by the weight of a person or maybe two standing on it,] catching fish that have wandered into the area of the net. I even saw one setup that looked like a giant version of a classic hand-held hoop fishnet, but attached to a single pole on the shore. The fisherman was slowly pushing the net through the water on the single pivot-point [of a pole stuck in the bank that the long net was attached to], drawing it out, levering it back upstream and dipping it in again."
"Also recently sampled is the product of reducing sugarcane juice until it is a solid called ghool or ghul . . . it resembles brown sugar but has a tartness to it and is softer than a brick of sugar would be. I had sugar cane for the first time in Panchanandapur, too - - Tiwary taught me how to tear off the tough, waxy outer skin to get at the sweet, juicy crisp goodness inside. Sugarcane is a major crop in his hometown in Uttap Pradesh [and is a major crop here in West Bengal, too. Some say the rum made in India is better than Jamaican varieties!]
December 24, 2004 - Palassi to Patuli to Navadeep
"(667 km) It is Chrismas eve and I just spent the evening walking around the International Society for Krishna Conciousness (ISKON) campus. [That's right - - Hare Krishnas, 'Hare, Hare' and all that. This is one of their major headquarters. I managed to steer clear of any conversion attempts.] [The campus is] very beautiful and obviously well-funded. It is across the river from Navadeep in the town of Myapur. We traveled here today afte spending last night at a very small and quiet ashram on the right bank of the Hooghly river just before [the town of] Patuli. Ate some more sugar cane there, which caused me to lose a little bit more of my front lower tooth that was a bit snaggly already. So it goes."
"Plassey, where we were the night before, has a major sugar-cane processing plant that takes in raw cane found in abundance here in the 'sugar-cane belt' of India. The farmers bring it both in boxy Tata [brand] trucks and also by traditional bullock cart. It was here in Plassey that a battle was fought in 1757 by the 'Britishers' [(as Indians insist on pronouncing it)] to overthrow one of the last surviving nawabs in the region, thus securing their rule over Kolkata and the immediate region for a decade. There is a monument to this battle that we went to, but it was singularly disappointing. A better one, with statues and the like, was also rumored to be nearby, but we didn't have time to find it in the morning after we had passed the night and sought to get back on the river soon."
December 25, 2004 - Navadeep to Balagarh
"Christmas day and I am in the support truck today. I wanted to make phone calls and resupply on biscuits and the like. It was actually raining this morning when I woke up, which is a first since I arrived in India. We will be in Kolkata in two nights time . . . Saw many fabric-making shops, both in the city and in the countryside as well. One I walked into at Navadeep was mechanized, with rows of clattering machines operated by women while dim flourescent light hummed overhead [with wisps of thread and dust clinging to the fixtures and floating in the air.] Out in the countryside we passed spools of thread on drums drying in fields or set out in yards. Fabric on long [poles] was also set ouy, simply stuck in the ground [upright] to dry. The factories here were just simple corrugated metal buildings with wire-grill windows and [probably] hand-operated looms - - we didn't stop to look, so I'm just guessing. You could catch glimpses of rolls, thread, and moving arms as we rolled by."
"West Bengal is stongly communist and the hammer and sickle is painted on walls everywhere. Communism seems to work here, though. I find the streets and cities are cleaner and the level of happiness . . . greate that I saw in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. The majority of the population is Moslem, and I was told that fabric-making and tannery is a more traditional Moslem occupation than for Hindus."
"As usual our drive today passed many a field of crops and people working the soil . . . you can be told that India's population [are] predominantly farmers as many times as you like, but it is still amazing to see that indeed almost everyone and every bit of land is involved in growing, moving or selling one crop or another."
"The sun is setting through the windows of the kitchen at the managers' house for the brick factory that we are camping in tonight. We rolled into [the] town [of Balagarh] and performed our usual crowd-gathering question-and-answer act. For the first time in what seems forever, I simply didn't feel like answering the same ten questions over and over again or just being stared at. I remained in the car and tried to reda my book, but crowds kept coming up and peering in. One fellow even knocked on the window and wanted me to come out. I actually told him 'chale!' ('go!'), which I am not usually in the habit of doing. I've been talking to everyone, at all times of day, sick, tired, happy, hungry - - I've tried to make it a point. I think living on the boat and in camp continuously with the same people for the last two weeks [with no break or solitude] has finally gotten to me. I need a little more space! At least my evenings to myself or something. My mantra is now 'Calcutta, Calcutta, Calcutta!' "
"So, we attracted a crowd, we asked where we could stay and a fellow emerged who could speak English. He brought us to this brickyard, and we were favorably met by the management, so we set up in the grassy forecourt in front of the managerial establishment. The setting up of tents attracted the usual highly fascinated and entertained crowd of children and other onlookers. We are always the most interesting thing to come to town since electricity."
"We had bought eggs this morning, so I was assigned to make them into the more portable hard-boiled format. Now we wait for the rest of the party, who should arrive by boat in an hour or less."
"I have decided to call this my 'Hare Christmas' - - the town we were last in, Navadeep, is characterized by the tendency of the inhabitants to greet each other with 'Hare Krishna!' [(as opposed to the usual 'Namaste' or 'Namaskar')], to which I was responding 'Hare Christmas!' "
December 26, 2004 - Balagarh to Samnagar to Bharanpur
"Another day in the support truck for me. It is definately more relaxed. Tiwary and Raja have a nice, slow pace. We drink tea, take a bath, slowly pack and then find a place for breakfast."
December 27, 2004 - Bharanpur to Kolkata
"After a frantic search of Shyamnagar that revealed it was devoid of decent lodges or hotels, we were told via mobile that we wouldn't need to stay there after all. This was good and restored peace and order between Tiwary and Raja. They get along very well, but often during the course of the route-finding and lodge-procurring process they each attempt to head up the operation or take lead, ignoring the other's protests or both proceeding in opposite directions, talking to whoever they can find and all the while complaining that the other is stupid, crazy or other epithets in Hindi that I don't know yet. The momment passes soon, though, and they are laughing and sharing paan masala . . ."
"Today is the last day on the boat and because of my last two days in the support truck, I am refreshed and look on this day with some regret as the last and enjoy it [one more time]. We have been feeling the effects of the tide for the last few days and at one point yesterday the boat was being pushed backwards if the boatmen stopped rowing. It shifted, though, and then raced them into Baranpur."
"Martine and Julian went and [directly] paid the boatmen their salaries last night. They were to receive 400 Rs/day for 20 days and supposedly received half of this, 4000 Rs, before we left Patna. However, it turns out that since this money was given to Sinha to give to the boatmen, he skimmed 3000 Rs of each advance and only gave them 1000 Rs each! India."
"So, in an effort to prevent this from happening again, the balance was paid . . . along with a pint of rum, a bonus, and a train fare home . . . and then Sinha was informed. He was visibly distraught that he missed his 'commision' [and was visibly more so when he was paid his balance, minus what he kept from the boatmen] . . . "
December 29, 2004 - Kolkata
"The final drama of finances was ennacted right on the ghats of Kolkata, with Sinha insulting Martine ['If I had know I was dealing with a woman like you!!'], Julian physically defending his wife by beating Sinha about the head. All parties then stormed away . . . he did get the boat, however, which [was bought by Martine and Julian] and should recompense him for any money he thinks he lost, although with his extra additions of students and helpers, the extra expenses are all of his own doing. [As well, it appears that what Martine and Julian paid for the boat was most likely twice as much as what a boat of this type shuld cost. No suprise there.] All in all, a sorry end to what was otherwise a great trip. An unpleasant way to leave it, but brought on by one man's corruption."
This is the transcription of select parts from my journal that I kept during a 17-day journey down the Ganga river from Patna to Kolkata with a radio journalism team producing a docummentary about the river. I call it "Ganga," as most Indians do, as it seems that "Ganges" is simply a modern combination of "Ganga" and the Hindi term "ji," which is used to "enoble" an individual, such as "Ashby-ji" or, as tourists may encounter, your response to questions asked of waiters, hotel staff, etc. may be met with "Ji?" or "Ji!" Substitute "Sir?" or "Madam!" and the intenet is still the same.
Parts taken verbatim from my journal (more or less) are indicated in italics. My additions and comments are in normal text and either bracketed or in a separate paragraph.
I still have yet to add the pictures, a few more editorial comments, and additions to fill out the story, so if you are waiting for completeness, keep waiting until this paragraph disappears and then read on.
Details about my last week and a half in Kolkata will be detailed in the next day or so. I apologize for the delay!
###
First we must introduce the players.
Dramatis Personae
Julian Crandall Hollick - [Note: no hyphen between 'Crandall' and 'Hollick,' as specified by the man himself. "I'm British! It's not done!" (amended, see below)] He is The Artist. Julian is the primary producer and "man behind the voice" heard throughout the numerous radio documentaries he has produced over the last twenty years from the barn in Massachusetts that houses he and his wife's company, the Independent Broadcasting Association (click here to visit website if you don't already know about it from previous posts, where copies of his work can be found). An Englishman (don't hold it against him!), an appreciator of classical music, and, for trivia's sake, a former school-mate of Peter Gabriel's (!).
Amendment (12/03/05) at the request of Julian (above text preserved for history's sake and to illustrate my misunderstanding):
"Please amend the Dramatis Personae when you have read and digested the following: In English law you do not need a hyphen between two last names. You can hyphenate if you want but it's not mandatory. A name can remain ambiguous. Just a simple document drawn up by a lawyer. Is it JC Hollick or Julian Crandall Hollick? Useful.
But when Martine went to to the US Embassy back in 1975 they informed her the two names had to be hyphenated. And the Secretary of State (no less) has to sign it! So that's why the difference. For the kids it's a problem! And it's why I am Julian C Hollick on my US passport. They took one look at my UK passport and made their own decision. Lucky or poor Martine - two husbands rolled in one."
Martine Crandall-Hollick - [Hyphen apparantly allowed] Julian's wife and the true director of the practical side of the Independent Broadcasting Associates. Martine oversees the financial end of things, keeps Julian in line, and does the hard haggling with the local types. "For every great man . . ." Martine and my mom were childhood friends in Massachusetts, hence the seemingly random inclusion of my person on a radio documentary team floating down the Ganga.
Amendment (12/03/05) at the suggestion of Julian (above text preserved for history's sake):
"As background (you may want to use the knowledge to slightly amend parts of this) I conceive and write the NSF proposal and in this case did all the Planning in India and elsewhere from 1998 till 2004. Martine usually only handles the finances and never travels. This time she asked to come (a) because it might be our last big trip to India; (b) because we couldn't afford the outrageous prices of professional photographers from the US or even India; and (c) because I asked her to. For this trip I had to double as recording engineer because once again the cost of hiring and importing one from the USA is out of this world; and I have not found an Indian one who can do a better job than me. So we carefully and deliberately divided the job so that I would not handle any administration, but just do recording and reporting."
It is because of Julian and Martine and their funding through grants that include the National Science Foundation that this 806 kilometer river trip from Patna to Kolkata took place. The trip was actually only one part of their journey; Martine and Julian started at the source of the Ganga in mid-October, covering some of it by boat and some by car along the bank up to Patna. For this last leg, however, they got in touch with a well-known individual in India who has been involved with the ecology of the river, particularly the Gangetic dolphin, for over twenty years:
Dr. R.K. Sinha - "The Dolphin Man" of India. Dr. Sinha is a professor at Patna University and has extensively researched and campaigned for the preservation of the dolphin, of which there were only 2000 in the Ganga during a count done in 2002. Dr. Sinha is an extremely tall and broad man with a loud, deep voice that he usually exercises at maximum volume. He was the "local man on the ground" and arranged the boat, boatmen, and much of the accomodations along the way through his extensive political and personal contacts. He also brought with him a student coterie to count birds, collect snails, and mash buttons on the GPS unit. This consisted of a post-doctorate engaged at Patna University:
Dr. Khalid M. Khan - "The Khan." A fellow my age who specializes more in predator-prey relationships and birds, but is biding his time at Patna University counting dolphins while he courts Canadian Universities. A silent fellow with a big smile who listens carefully to the wild scientific and social speculations of the other boat-denizens during the day and then happily discourses and disassembles their rash comments at nite when the other "adults" are not around. Canada needs this man.
and, the other member of the critter-counting crew, a former student of Dr. Sinha's:
Dr. Gopal Sharma - A newly-minted bureaucrat for the Indian political machine, in the form of a recent addition to the Zoological Society of India. His "rank," as he told me, is "Gazated," which is supposed to be really great. It got us good beds one night at the Farakka Barrage, and maybe he gets free drinks and a golden biscuit somewhere with that, too. Biggest smile on the boat. A short, broad fellow who spent a lot of the mornings picking through mud collected before we pushed off in a search for small snails. He also sampled the water as we went along and pickled fish and other crawly-finny-snaily things in formaldahyde. We were a floating morgue by the time the trip ended and could have opened our own water bar featuring fine vintage Ganga-jal (holy water) samples from all along our journey.
Amendment (12/03/05) at the suggestion of Julian (above text preserved for history's sake and to illustrate my misunderstanding):
"Dr Gopal Sharma: gazated should probably read "gazetted." It means his appointment has been published in the official government gazette. I seriously doubt Sharma has any political function: he is a member of the Archeological Survey of India: that is it, not a politician. I think you misunderstood."
Dr. Tej Razdan - "The Good Doctor," "The Krazy Kashmiri." A true medical doctor, surgeon by trade, who lives in the state of Rajistan, but is a Kashmiri by descent. What does that mean? Well, he does not look like your average Indian. He is tall and slender, with light skin, a long nose and a piercing but friendly gaze. Dr. Razdan is a very active environmentalist and splits his time between looking for rare pheasants in the Himalayas, saving lakes in Rajistan, advising others who seek to save lakes in other states and countries, and running the clinic he and his wife, a gynocologist, have in the city of Udaipur. The gizmo man and our one-person camera crew. He has at least three things dangling from his neck at all times (cell-phone, digital voice recorder, and a 35mm camera with numerous lenses). As well, for most of the trip had his eye glued to his video-camera, shooting footage of everthing. And I mean everything. And if he missed something, he made us do it again so he could "capture the momment." He also seemed to be running his clinic unsing a cell-phone (yes, cell-phones worked on most of the river) and his electronic address-book and calender. I was certain several times that he was doing surgery via his cell-phone ("No, no, cut the *blue* one!!" [in Hindi, of course, so I'm just guessing]).
Dr. Graham Chapman - A "human geographer," as I think he likes to be referred, a geomorphologist by virtue of his long involvement with rivers, a historian, and all-around great fellow to have around. A professor at Lancanster University in England, and British through-and-through. Over his long career he has also been at Cambridge and London University. He is that fellow at the party who always has an intersting story and is also that the one who has no qualms about telling someone "No, I think you've got that all wrong," but in such a polite and disarmingly British way that it never rubs one wrong. This was a useful skill to have on a boat of arm-waving, pontificating scientific, journalisitc and literary types (myself definately included, as my readers already know about my long-windedness!). Visit his website and download some of his papers here.
Annegerd Chapman - Graham's wife and as pleasant a conversationlist as him. Danish by birth and currently a psychologist in the British healthcare system.
Bijay Tiwary - "Tiwary!" Driver extraordinaire. The man behind the wheel of the ground support vehicle. Big, broad and happy. The working man's working man. A solid fellow who has driven all his life, as well as his father, his father's father, and I even think his pappy's grandpappy did as well. A driven man. A driven family. Tiwary likes a steady supplu of food, and upon discovering that I had an almost endless appetite, especially for Indian food, we stopped at every roadside food stand he thought was good.
Raja Chaterjee - "The Bengali Babu" Expeditor, translator, information-gatherer, and cultural etiquette advisor for Julian and Martine. A Bengali who, in addition to Bengali, speaks Hindi and English. A soft-spoken philospher with a full grey beard and shaggy mane. Over his varied life and career has expedited for the theatre, Hindi film producers, directors and actors. In general he "knows people." Raja likes his "funny-smelling cigarettes" in the morning, and if not immediately available, can be assumed to be at the nearest chai stand "collecting local intel."
Subash, Mahesh, Arjun, Raju - "The Boys" The boatmen, the engine of the expedition vehicle. Experienced fishermen hired from Patna by Dr. Sinha, these guys were incredible, rowing for hours every day, rigging the sail, unerringly finding the right path through the shifting sandbars of the Ganga, and performing some amazing night-time navigation on the few occasions that our daily trip lingered well after dark.
Mohan - The cook! Most important person on the trip, providing us with chicken, fish, snails, daal, spicy vegetables and, of course, rice, rice, rice and more rice. Not to mention the much-needed chai, lemon tea and biscuits.
###
December 10, 2004 - Patna to Barh
"PATNA - We launched this morning at about 8.30 after shuffling gear a few times - - the boat is small and we initially tried to put too much on it. The Scorpio SUV-thingy will follow us and rendevous with us [each night] as we travel , so we put items in that to (hopefully) rendevous with us later. There are 12 of us on the boat[: the crew and cook, Dr. Sinha, Dr. Razdan, Khalid (the post-doc), Julian and Martine, and myself.] We take on Graham Chapman and his wife somewhere down the river . . . The river is peaceful and peple fish, cremate bodies, and make bricks [in factories along the shore]. There was a stretch of many kilometers where chimenys were everywhere, some spewing smoke, and bricks stacked up in yards around them [waiting to be fired]. Apparantly they use the silt deposited by each year's monsoon to make more bricks."
"BARH - Saw several bodies half-submerged in the river today being picked at by crows. One was close enough to see that it was a water buffalo. The other was at a distance and could have been another animal. Or a person. Saw many burning ghats today, which in many cases was just a place [on the bankside] where bodies were being burned, no stairs ("ghats") to be seen. We were on the boat until well after sunset, covering 67 kilometers today. The crew rowing in the dusky half-light and then into darkness was surreal. The Scorpio with Tiwary and Raja went ahead and they flashed a light from the ghats of the temple complex that we are encmaped right in the middle of, tent right up against some shrine to Shiva. Should produce some interesting dreams. I am feeling a little spacey, like I am slightly dizzy, and I think it is from the rocking action of the boat all day! I saw an airplane high above as I sat on the ghat here in the dark and it made me think of ariports in the U.S., which made me uncomfortable. I think the 'reverse culture shock' will be a real thing for me if such simple associations make me aprehensive."
"We saw easily 30 dolphins today! They break the water everywhere around us as we travel down river. I did not think we would see so many!"
I never knew about the Gangetic dolphin until this trip was just about to begin. It's not mentioned in tourist books and there has never been a worldwide campaign to "Save the Gangetic Dolphin" or eat "Gangetic Dolphin-Free Tuna." This omission suprised me at first, but after I saw my first Gangetic Dolphin I understood why this aquatic mammal has not made the top-ten list of charismatic critters.
The mention of the word "dolphin" is sufficient to make people sit up and take notice. Most, however, have an image implanted in their minds from the propaganda of environmental groups, the horrible tacky airbrushed leaping dolphins in wretched pastel colors seen in teenager's bedrooms, or maybe from a field trip to Sea World. The Gangetic dolphin is not that dolphin. The Gangetic dolphin is called a "living fossil" by the people who research it and is indeed a primitive specimen. The two to two-and-a-half meter long animal has a short, blunt body with a long cylindrical snout extending from that body and full of long teeth. Tiny little nearly useless eyes set near the base of this snout can only distinguish light and dark. Overall the creature is a dark-greyish to black hue. It originally hails from the Jurassic period (206 - 144 million years ago, folks) and honestly doesn't seem to have attempted any change of wardrobe since then.
I will post some lovely primitive pictures of fossils from that period soon with pictures of the dolphin today for comparison.
The dolphins would jump around us all day, but not in that classic bottle-nose dolphin, all the way out of the water, fashion. Instead, most of the time they would just curve their back slightly above water so all you would see was a grey arched dome topped with a very small dorsal fin. Occasionally they would come out nose first, snout slightly open in a shallow half-in, half-out of the water dive and you could see almost the whole length of the animal in review. They are kind of ominous-looking with that long round snout full of teeth that are clearly visible from a distance. They never come over and play by the boat and really take no interest in people or the boats at all, except to follow boats sometimes at a distance, as it stirs up fish for them to track and eat. Those long teeth are simply to snag fish, which they then swallow whole and their nearly useless eyes are compensated for by acute sonar skills.
December 11, 2004 - Barh to (near) Mokamia
"Awake at dawn (about 5.30) to gongs and bells being joyfully beaten by worshippers in the temples we had chosen to sleep next to. What [we] called Tibetian or Nepali T.V. is now Indian T.V. - - the practice of staring in the windows of the tent to see what is going on with the foreigners. Tea was brought [to the tent] seven (I love that practice!) and [after I got out of the tent] the staring and following began. Everywhere I went I was followed by a pesonal entourage. We left from the ghat at about 8.30."
December 12, 2004 - Mokamia to Munger
[Last night] we stayed in and ashram that Raja arranged along with Dr. Sinha . . . The ahram was pleasant, complete with a bucket-shower. The water from the well was warm and smelled of iron. The ashram was right by a train and vehicle bridge [across the Ganga] and throughout the night vehicle blew their horns and trains wailed and rattled in the dark. Singing and activity began [in the ashram] at five a.m., and we arose a little before six to try and get an early start - - today is a 65 km day, like the first day. It would be nice to get in before dark."
"More bodies in the river yesterday, at least two, and this morning I saw a dog that had the top of his head ripped off but was still living. He was curled up, trying to rest. My sympathy is greatest for the dogs; even though the poverty of the people is disheartening, the dogs have it worse since they are powerless to change their lot. You see them eating trash, bleeding in the streets and being stoned by the locals in an effort to run them off."
"The river is very surreal in the early morning when the banks are not visible. You feel as if you are out at sea, with no land in sight. Even in mid-day the horizon is hazy, and nothing is visible down river past a few kilometers. When the banks are flat and the river wide, again the feeling of being at sea returns."
"People constantly call to us from the shore as we travel down the river. I am told they are imploring us to come over. Apparantly we are in a dangerous, remote area, far from main roads where dacoits (bandits) hide from the police. We speed up and do not call back. Our bags and gear are covered to be less obvious and we stay far from the shore when ever possible."
"The boatmen, particularly Mahesh, sing songs of the river and boatman life as we row along. Julian has recorded several of these. The river songs along with the devotional songs heard at the ghats and ashram all serve to give this feeling of total immersion into another world that I have been having . . . This is an incredible experience because it is allowing me to be in the midst of local towns, ashrams and people's homes."
December 13, 2004 - Munger to Sultanganj
"We push off from the ghat at 8.30 amid the usual flurry of atention, which this time includes the local press. We traveled some 60 kilometers yesterday and arrived at dusk. Saw the first bedrock here that I have seen since I arrived in India. We set up camp twice yesterday [last night]; once in a park near the ghat at the end of town where we landed and then again at a government guest house that was revealed to us later! The guest house was a far better choice [although I did not stay inside, preferring the tent on the lawn]."
"It is hazy again this morning, as seems usual. Yesterday as we entered Munger it was clear and the shores looked vivid in color, which I had not seen much since this journey began. The shore today looks like desert on the north (left) side and trees in the distance on the south (right) side are . . . shrouded in haze."
"The food thus far has been fantastic. Yesterday the crew bought some small fish from a boat that pulled up right as we were leaving at dawn. They cleaned and cooked them, fried in a masala flour, for the large lunch we had that included mustard greens and potatoes, too. Lunch is a large affair that always includes large amounts of rice, sometiems chapatti [Indian tortilla] or, as today, papad [cruchy, thin bread]. Salad is also a regular item, which is just cucumbers, carrot, radish, tomato, and red onion, simply sliced in discs and accompanying the meal. The water left from the rice is mixed with salt and pepper to make a drink that I have been enjoying. I like to think of it as Indian Gatorade."
"We are approaching Sultanganj, a town with an outcropping of bedrock that, until the mid 1990s, was an island that housed a mosque and a Shiva temple for Hindus. The head priest of the Hindu temple has taken a vow of silence since the river left his temple and will not speak until the Sultanganj, as it is referred, is returned to its island state . . . Apparantly the stranding of Sultanganj was not abrupt but in 1995 began sometimes being an island and othertimes not. It is now fully [land-locked] except for during the monsoon where everything is flooded around the temple and mosque."
"It is quite windy today and the sail and mast for the boat were errected to give us a nice speed of around 6-8 km/hour without rowing. The water is textured today, too, unlike the past fews days where it has been glass-like."
December 14, 2004 - Sultanganj to Bhagalpur to Khalgaon
"The temples at Sultanganj, particularly the Hindu one, are beautiful for the visual story that they tell. The Hindu temple is a crazy construction, seemingly designed by 100 different architects that haphazardly stacked each component on and next to their predecessor's efforts. The madness is contained only on the granite outcrop that was once an island, only now the temple is surrounded by green fields, cracked mud and sand. Landlocked, stranded boats rest on the green grass, some still tied to the ghats of the temple, perhaps in case the Ganga suddenly decides to shift course again."
"The mosque resides on a small, tree-covered hill with a base of granite that is a short distance from the Hindu temple, but several hundred feet above it . . . The Hindu temple complex is only just above the level of the river and still gets flooded and surrounded by the river during the monsoon. It must have been a beautiful site, these two islands surrounded by water and filled with marooned devotees. The mosque is the architectural opposite of the Hindu temple with its well-laid out minarets, carefully painted, carved decorations and the trees that surround it all. The bedrock that these temples reside on has been extensively carved, more so on the rocks around the Hindu temple. Many of these [carvings] have been painted, but even those that have not are still sharp, detailed and vivid. Mainly Hindu motifs dominate, but interestingly many Buddhist themes, even a standing Budha, are also depicted."
"Julian interviewed the silent priest of the Hindu temple, who wrote on a slate tablet with chalk and [then through] an interpreter. Julian recorded the sound of the chalk on the slate for his radio listeners."
"Dinner was another fantastic affair, a dall pithai, which everyone likened to a ravioli, although the little dough pockets had nothing in them and the sauce was well-cooked lentils rather than tomato or cream. It was accompanied by very spicy mashed potatoes with green chiles and red onion in [them]."
"We are entering the dolphin sanctuary today. It seems to be more in name than in effort, however, as Dr. Sinha says that no one really patrols itand signs have yet to be set up in visible areas."
"Dr. Sinha has been telling more stories today about the dacoits that terrorize the area. They are usually stopping the smugglers that are bringing silk yarns [thread] from China to cheaply manufacture fabric. Sinha and various students have been stopped at gybpoint so the dacoits could search the boats, but let tham go when they found only water testing equipment, not silk thread or ammunition, which they also seek. There is also a cadre of mafioso in the sanctuary area that [extort] intimidate and murder the farmers [and fisherman]. It is because of this that a pervasive air of caution, almost paranoia, permeates our travel. We don't tell people where we are going, what we are doing, we don't stop at banks or sandbars with people and we try to stay in secluded or private places."
We never did have any trouble with dacoits, and there was only one instance, somewhere around this entry or a few days later, when we saw men with guns on motorcycles and horses that called to us and then followed us on a road by the bank for some kilometers until we lost them.
"I have commented many times on the conversant friendliness of most Indians I have met, but Khalid has put this in [a] perspective for me: he feels that in an un-industrialized nation people have more time to amiably talk, and that if I traveled to larger, more metropolitan cities, perhaps people would be too busy, like they are in the west, to take time to talk. I was a bit skeptical, but on reflection, it seems likely - - even in the U.S. people down south in small towns will spend endless hours discussing the crops with you."
December 15, 2004 - Kahalgaon to Sahibganj
"Picked up Graham Chapman and his wife Annegerd shortly before we arrived at Kahalgaon. Three granite islands reside in the broad channel of the Ganga in front of the main ghats of the town. One appears uninhabited, the other has buildings but is [said to be] deserted and the third, closest island, as they stretch in a chain almost perpendicular to the shore, has a well-maintained, brightly painted Hindu temple. We pulled up right as the head priest was coming down for his evening holy dip [in the Ganga] at sunset. He declined to let us stay, nothing personal it seems, just no one gets to. We returned to the other shore and set up camp there. Dinner was fantastic, again, but light fare - - a tomato, bannana, apple chutney with paratha stuffed with [grahm (chickpea)] flour. I ate early since I went down to the boat and hung out with the crew where they were cooking."
Julian went back out after dinner to interview the priest of that Hindu temple and got what was one of the star quotes of the trip: "I don't drink the Ganga-jal anymore, because it will make me sick." This is very important, as it shows an acceptance of the level of pollution present in the river by a holy man. Many religious figures still deny that there is a problem, or quote scripture and verse that the river is holy and self-cleansing, so there is no problem. Julian also used his hydrophone to try and record some more dolphin-noise, but could not get a "bite." A day before he had great sucess and we heard all sorts of click, "barks" and whistles as they fed and did other dolphin things that dolphins do.
"We reached the confluence of the Kosi river out of Nepal today, and like other confluences [it] is relatively unremakable; a broad fan of sediment and what could be mistaken for simply another chanel of the many braids in the Ganga coming back to join the main channel."
It is strange indeed that I walked along the banks of the same Kosi in Nepal months before, a milky-colored, fierce glacial stream surrounded by peaks, and now I was at its end, a quiet, unremarkable channel into the mighty Ganga.
"From one book that we have on the boat, Eric Newby's Slowly Down the Ganges (1966), there is a list of 100 different names for Ganga. One is 'Niranjana,' which means 'colorless,' or more literally 'not painted with collyrium' (a red paint used by women as a cosmetic embellishment). Today was a good example of that, as many so far have been - - both up and down river the sky and water blend into one after a short distance and the bacnks are made soft and indistinct by the grey-white haze that seems to suffuse everything."
December 16, 2004 - Rajmahal
"Our party and the party polirics of India have crossed path for the last several days. Yesterday we arrived in Sahibganj well after dark to find a large welcoming party bearing garlands, a painted banner and many flashing cameras to record our disembarcation, garlanding and posturing with the banner. It seems that Dr. Sinha's college friend Sardu Rai (Sardar Roy?) who arranged our accomodations at Sahibganj, is a very important person in the BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party) in Jharkand [, the state next to Bihar that we are briefly passing through. (Why not visit the BJP website here? You can see pictures of your favorite BJP political stars, read the gripping story and philosophy of the party, and, who knows, maybe join or donate all your worldly goods!)].
This man travels with a massive entourage and at every town he arrives attracts a ginat gathering of supporters. The people who met us a the bank of the river were a mix of this entourage, the supporters [from the town], and the members of a local environmental movement. The environmental group was hoping to bend the ear of Sardar Rai and effect a sudden change in the politics and policy surrounding the river, primarily with the industries that pollute the Ganga. We drove in a caravan of vehicles to the 'circuit house' [lodging used by circuit judges who travel to different districts doing judge-things] that had been arranged. There, easily 150 people were milling around to shout 'Long live Sardu Rai!,' blast off fireworks and place garlands around the neck of this politician - - so many, in fact, that he would periodically peel off the stack thwn it covered is ears so the next person in line could have somewhere to place their galan wihout interfering with the man's ability to breathe or answer his cell phone, which he did at least once in the midst of all this adoration, simply turning slightly away from the crowd swarming about him and ignoring them for a moment."
"We simply stood around, sort of dazed at this frantic fete, fending off, as best we could in our fatigue of the dawn to dark boat ride [and lack of dinner yet], the numerous curious questions that are always the same in India - - 'Your good name?,' 'You are from where?,' and 'You are finding India how, yes?' Eventually a serious meeting was engaged in the upstairs of the circuit house between Sardar Rai, his entourage, the environmental group and Dr. Sinha. They were apparantly disappointed that he could promise no immediate, magical solution to environmental problems in the river - - I wasn't there for all this and got the summary today, as I decided to escape the circus and retreat to my room that I was sharing with Tiwary . . .
"Somewhere during this fracas we were fed a great dinner at a small table that basically fit just us, Sardar Rai and a few chosen members of each entourage. I was placed right next to the great politician and I must saddly report that not a single word was exchanged between us - - I had not quite determined what the devil was going on, how this fellow fit in with the madness and moreover, I was starved and very attentive to the fantastic thali [literally, 'plate,' but generally means a complete meal] that was placed before me in this dingy, mosquito-filled back room we were eating in. I happily stuffed my fce, polishing off my plate and large portions of Martine's as well, who was sitting next to me. As we ate people hoped around attentively at our elbows and slews of people solemly watched us chew each bite as if the motions of our mouths were words of great import. Not to mention the fireworks exploding outside as we ate and Sardu Rai's phone ringing several times during dinner, no doubt some life or death calls in the frantic world of Indian politics."
I can't tell you how weird this all was, and my skepticism and sarcasm you may read into the excert is well-placed. This was a pattern that was to be repeated several times during our trip, Dr. Sinha using this boat trip that was paid for by Julian and Martine to rendevous with his political friends, do his own research and mug for the press. We had no real forewarning of this first little political party and it was sprung on us a few hours before we landed.
"Today he and his entourage accompanied our bewildered party, he in our little craft and the entourage in a motor-powered barge alongside. I decided to skip this rapidly escalating circus and rode in the car with Raja and Tiwary. Apparantly the politician was a bit shocked by our small, oar-powered craft and by Julian's inescapable microphones and very pointed personal questions, such as 'How do you deal with your household trash?' and 'Would you drink Ganga water?' The trip took longer than was expected, as the distance had been miscalculated, and the entourage barge had to rescue their esteemed leader to ferry him to catch a fast train to the next engagement, but not before he was further discomforted by the brisk breeze that began after a motorized third craft appeared to tow our craft at a faster rate. He was only dressed in his fancy politic-ing clothing, it seems."
"Sardai Rai has left us, but we are established in another 'circuit house' tonight, at least the others are, as there are limited rooms, and I am in my very comfortable, quiet and completely mosquito-free tent outside on the lawn. These lodges are quite mosquito-infested, and the electricity is never on all night to keep the fan on and the bugs down. Hopefully we are done with the circus and our pace can return to the quiet research trip it began as!"
December 19, 2004 - Panchanandapur to the Farakka Barrage
"Spent the last two nights at the West Bengal town Panchanandapur, encamped in a local school-teacher's front yard. This village and many like it in the area are being devastated by the meanders in the Ganga - - during the last monsoon a school, [a post office], and numerous houses were swept away, and even the house we stayed at will probably be consumed within two seasons. This seemed phenomenal, as we were camped a god 15 minute walk from the shore, but the [incision rate of the meanders and speed of lateral movement] is very [fast]."
"I had many conversations with local people, hundres of which come to gather in the front yard and stare at our party. This really is rural India. Previously we had definately been outside the usual tourist circuit, but still staying at relatively large towns and cities. Now we were in and amonst the country people of West Bengal. West Bengal has a marked visual difference than the parts of Bihar and Jharkand we were passing through. Many broad-leafed bananna and coconut trees, bamboo houses and bamboo fencing."
"[When we first arrived] we were met by a local group who are trying to undo what they see as the primary cause of the erosion destroying their homes, the Farakka Barrage. As one local gentleman put it, "If you hold the head of a snake, it will writhe and bend at a greater rate" - - they feel the barrage has increased the erosion and cost them their livelihood."
Farakka Barrage explanation.
"Garlands were again placed on our heads, scores of people gathered around to watch - - exclusively men, I noted. Women were absent, is as often the case in every group we initially attract. Dr. Sinha became embroiled in an emotional and vocal conversation about the river, their desires and what he saw as reality. This group, again like the last, hoped we could provide some simple solution to their disenfranchisement, and again Dr. Sinha told them they must join together and protest to have changes made. It seems that locally there is much divisiveness and it is this that prevents forward motion, so he seems to think."
It seemed that no one got the memo that we were a radio documentary crew and not the environmental envoy from the government of India. I think we attracted these groups due to Dr. Sinha and his political affiliations, and as was later to be revealed by asking other sources, Dr. Sinha and his associates are not viewed with favor by many of these groups. Apparantly he is an environmentalist, but one deeply entrenched in the politics of Bihar. He will not rock the boat that keeps him in place, which means he defers the activism to the people rather than support their cause, as was seen in two of the encounters we has with such groups. (This is my personal interpretation based on watching him and discussing the matter with other people.)
"Today we passed through the canal and lock system that takes us to the [Bhagarhati river,] the Hooghly [river] and [finally to] Calcutta. The lock was very interesting because the keepers and engineers swear it is used a handful of times a week, at least, but the entrance was completely cloged with water hyacinth, so much in fact, we were re-buffed at our first attempt to penetrate it and had to offload some people and pass a rope to shore to pull the boat through. Even then some 'weeding' and vigorous poking with oars was necessary to reach the lock gates. Once inside, our small boat was dwarfed by the lock . . . We passed through, reboarded all personal and continued down the canal until we reached Jangipur, or more accurately, the town across the new bridge and river from Jangipur."
"This is the land of Kali [yes, like 'Kali-ma," Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom style], and there was a huge[, two-story] statue of Kali [on wheels] being dragged through the street accompanied by hundreds of people, drums, horns and music from a megaphone attached to a rickshaw. Apparantly at midnight they will sink it in the river, [a ritual called 'Durga Puja',] but I do not think I can stay awake for such an event, even though I can hear the drums in the street [from my hotel room] right now."
"This morning [at the Farakka Barrage] before we started the GPS said we had covered 413 kilometers since Patna - - I was mistaken when I said 400 km to Calcutta. It is 400 to Farakka and then 400 km more after that to Calcutta!"
December 21, 2004 - Jangipur to Ajimganj
"We left at 7.30 am and today will be another long day, maybe 70 km. The fish market at Jangipur is the second largest in West Bengal after the one in Kolkata and we obtained some great-looking, almost tuna-like fish [called Silond] before we left this morning. Last night we has miniature shrimps along with our chapattis and [chickpea] daal. I forgot to mention the extremely fresh chicken we had on the way to the Farakka Barrage - - the crew pulled two live chickens from under the deck, killed them and cleaned them right before our eyes. We had a great chicken curry for lunch."
"There are very few dolphins to be found in this artifical river[, this canal leading to the Bhagarhati river,] that we are now in. It is a tributary from the Ganga, but its flow is regulated and the sediment [usually] found in the Ganga is removed by . . . the barrage, so this water is clearer . . . [This canal is considered the Bhagarhati river, and] once we [are in the Bhagarhati proper and] reach the tidal effects of the Bay of Bengal, [the name will change to] the Hooghly [river]. The river[, canal, really,] here is narrower and has no sandbar. Although the haze is still up, the feeling of being lost at sea is no longer with us."
"Graham and Annegerd Chapman left this morning for Calcutta, after which they will go to [the neighboring sea-side state] of Orissa. They are sorely missed today, at least by me. Both of them are wonderful conversationlists. Although they were with us only a week, they now seem like an integral part of our daily conversations and schedule."
December 22, 2004 - Murshidibad
"Kajur ras: date palm juice, before it is fermented . . . I began the morning with a glass of this juice, sold to me by a man carrying two, round red-clay vessels wrapped in rope and balanced, one on either side of him, across his shoulders with a thin bamboo yoke. One jar had water and a glass cup within it, and the cup is rinsed in the water between each customer. The other contained the date palm juice and I drank a healthy, tall glass of this. Slightly sweet, but not over-poweringly so, and of an earthy flavor, tinged strongly of sulfur, it seemed. This juice is fresh in the morning, but[,by the evening,] with addition of yeast, becomes a strong [alcohol, locally called] toddy . . ."
"Sweets in India are primarily of the condensed milk variety; milk is boiled to a thick consistency, and in some cases to a completely dry dough. This substance is rolled into balls or cut into squares after the addition of [sugar and] various spices to make the sweets."
"In order to make some extra time we skipped over Ajimganj where a stay was planned and overnighted in [Baharampur, the district seat or capital of the 'county' of Murshidibad that is within the state of West Bengal,] instead. Like Jangipur, this Bengali city has a very clean and organized feel to it, in contrast with the cities of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. Even Khalid, a native Biharian born and raised in Bodh Gaya [(south of Patna)], says that Bengalis are 'more civilized' that his fellow Biharis ('except myself,' he adds)."
"I forgot to mention that in Panchanadapur Dr. Sinha and Dr. Rasdan commissioned our sail to be painted with 'SAVE DOLPHINS, SAVE GANGA' and a nice image of the Gangetic dolphin along with 'Zoology Department, Patna University, Patna' along the bottom. Two other small banners, one in Hindi, one in English, proclaim 'Ganga Expedition - 2004, Patna to Gangasagar [(the island south of Calcutta in the bay of Bengal where the mouth of the Ganges river is located)].' We now often set up the sai as we pull in for the night, even if there isn't a breeze, just to do a little advertising."
"Along the river here in West Bengal are numerous bamboo structures stuck in the mud that are used for fishing. Attached to the framework is a net stretched across long bamboo poles that are levered out of the water [by the weight of a person or maybe two standing on it,] catching fish that have wandered into the area of the net. I even saw one setup that looked like a giant version of a classic hand-held hoop fishnet, but attached to a single pole on the shore. The fisherman was slowly pushing the net through the water on the single pivot-point [of a pole stuck in the bank that the long net was attached to], drawing it out, levering it back upstream and dipping it in again."
"Also recently sampled is the product of reducing sugarcane juice until it is a solid called ghool or ghul . . . it resembles brown sugar but has a tartness to it and is softer than a brick of sugar would be. I had sugar cane for the first time in Panchanandapur, too - - Tiwary taught me how to tear off the tough, waxy outer skin to get at the sweet, juicy crisp goodness inside. Sugarcane is a major crop in his hometown in Uttap Pradesh [and is a major crop here in West Bengal, too. Some say the rum made in India is better than Jamaican varieties!]
December 24, 2004 - Palassi to Patuli to Navadeep
"(667 km) It is Chrismas eve and I just spent the evening walking around the International Society for Krishna Conciousness (ISKON) campus. [That's right - - Hare Krishnas, 'Hare, Hare' and all that. This is one of their major headquarters. I managed to steer clear of any conversion attempts.] [The campus is] very beautiful and obviously well-funded. It is across the river from Navadeep in the town of Myapur. We traveled here today afte spending last night at a very small and quiet ashram on the right bank of the Hooghly river just before [the town of] Patuli. Ate some more sugar cane there, which caused me to lose a little bit more of my front lower tooth that was a bit snaggly already. So it goes."
"Plassey, where we were the night before, has a major sugar-cane processing plant that takes in raw cane found in abundance here in the 'sugar-cane belt' of India. The farmers bring it both in boxy Tata [brand] trucks and also by traditional bullock cart. It was here in Plassey that a battle was fought in 1757 by the 'Britishers' [(as Indians insist on pronouncing it)] to overthrow one of the last surviving nawabs in the region, thus securing their rule over Kolkata and the immediate region for a decade. There is a monument to this battle that we went to, but it was singularly disappointing. A better one, with statues and the like, was also rumored to be nearby, but we didn't have time to find it in the morning after we had passed the night and sought to get back on the river soon."
December 25, 2004 - Navadeep to Balagarh
"Christmas day and I am in the support truck today. I wanted to make phone calls and resupply on biscuits and the like. It was actually raining this morning when I woke up, which is a first since I arrived in India. We will be in Kolkata in two nights time . . . Saw many fabric-making shops, both in the city and in the countryside as well. One I walked into at Navadeep was mechanized, with rows of clattering machines operated by women while dim flourescent light hummed overhead [with wisps of thread and dust clinging to the fixtures and floating in the air.] Out in the countryside we passed spools of thread on drums drying in fields or set out in yards. Fabric on long [poles] was also set ouy, simply stuck in the ground [upright] to dry. The factories here were just simple corrugated metal buildings with wire-grill windows and [probably] hand-operated looms - - we didn't stop to look, so I'm just guessing. You could catch glimpses of rolls, thread, and moving arms as we rolled by."
"West Bengal is stongly communist and the hammer and sickle is painted on walls everywhere. Communism seems to work here, though. I find the streets and cities are cleaner and the level of happiness . . . greate that I saw in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. The majority of the population is Moslem, and I was told that fabric-making and tannery is a more traditional Moslem occupation than for Hindus."
"As usual our drive today passed many a field of crops and people working the soil . . . you can be told that India's population [are] predominantly farmers as many times as you like, but it is still amazing to see that indeed almost everyone and every bit of land is involved in growing, moving or selling one crop or another."
"The sun is setting through the windows of the kitchen at the managers' house for the brick factory that we are camping in tonight. We rolled into [the] town [of Balagarh] and performed our usual crowd-gathering question-and-answer act. For the first time in what seems forever, I simply didn't feel like answering the same ten questions over and over again or just being stared at. I remained in the car and tried to reda my book, but crowds kept coming up and peering in. One fellow even knocked on the window and wanted me to come out. I actually told him 'chale!' ('go!'), which I am not usually in the habit of doing. I've been talking to everyone, at all times of day, sick, tired, happy, hungry - - I've tried to make it a point. I think living on the boat and in camp continuously with the same people for the last two weeks [with no break or solitude] has finally gotten to me. I need a little more space! At least my evenings to myself or something. My mantra is now 'Calcutta, Calcutta, Calcutta!' "
"So, we attracted a crowd, we asked where we could stay and a fellow emerged who could speak English. He brought us to this brickyard, and we were favorably met by the management, so we set up in the grassy forecourt in front of the managerial establishment. The setting up of tents attracted the usual highly fascinated and entertained crowd of children and other onlookers. We are always the most interesting thing to come to town since electricity."
"We had bought eggs this morning, so I was assigned to make them into the more portable hard-boiled format. Now we wait for the rest of the party, who should arrive by boat in an hour or less."
"I have decided to call this my 'Hare Christmas' - - the town we were last in, Navadeep, is characterized by the tendency of the inhabitants to greet each other with 'Hare Krishna!' [(as opposed to the usual 'Namaste' or 'Namaskar')], to which I was responding 'Hare Christmas!' "
December 26, 2004 - Balagarh to Samnagar to Bharanpur
"Another day in the support truck for me. It is definately more relaxed. Tiwary and Raja have a nice, slow pace. We drink tea, take a bath, slowly pack and then find a place for breakfast."
December 27, 2004 - Bharanpur to Kolkata
"After a frantic search of Shyamnagar that revealed it was devoid of decent lodges or hotels, we were told via mobile that we wouldn't need to stay there after all. This was good and restored peace and order between Tiwary and Raja. They get along very well, but often during the course of the route-finding and lodge-procurring process they each attempt to head up the operation or take lead, ignoring the other's protests or both proceeding in opposite directions, talking to whoever they can find and all the while complaining that the other is stupid, crazy or other epithets in Hindi that I don't know yet. The momment passes soon, though, and they are laughing and sharing paan masala . . ."
"Today is the last day on the boat and because of my last two days in the support truck, I am refreshed and look on this day with some regret as the last and enjoy it [one more time]. We have been feeling the effects of the tide for the last few days and at one point yesterday the boat was being pushed backwards if the boatmen stopped rowing. It shifted, though, and then raced them into Baranpur."
"Martine and Julian went and [directly] paid the boatmen their salaries last night. They were to receive 400 Rs/day for 20 days and supposedly received half of this, 4000 Rs, before we left Patna. However, it turns out that since this money was given to Sinha to give to the boatmen, he skimmed 3000 Rs of each advance and only gave them 1000 Rs each! India."
"So, in an effort to prevent this from happening again, the balance was paid . . . along with a pint of rum, a bonus, and a train fare home . . . and then Sinha was informed. He was visibly distraught that he missed his 'commision' [and was visibly more so when he was paid his balance, minus what he kept from the boatmen] . . . "
December 29, 2004 - Kolkata
"The final drama of finances was ennacted right on the ghats of Kolkata, with Sinha insulting Martine ['If I had know I was dealing with a woman like you!!'], Julian physically defending his wife by beating Sinha about the head. All parties then stormed away . . . he did get the boat, however, which [was bought by Martine and Julian] and should recompense him for any money he thinks he lost, although with his extra additions of students and helpers, the extra expenses are all of his own doing. [As well, it appears that what Martine and Julian paid for the boat was most likely twice as much as what a boat of this type shuld cost. No suprise there.] All in all, a sorry end to what was otherwise a great trip. An unpleasant way to leave it, but brought on by one man's corruption."
posted by JAshby at 5:44 AM
3 Comments:
In the tradition of Dame Agatha Christie and others, the stage of charachters has almost been set and the drama is about to begin. As always, looking forward to the next post and the next reunion with the 'poster'.
Dad
James, thank you for posting info about the dolphins in your blog.
20 years ago (february 1985) I went to Bhagalpur and came across the dolphins quite by chance. It was my first encounter with cetaceans in the wild and, together with a friend, we conducted a brief field study. I found your blog via checking on-line for an update on the dolphins and am delighted to hear about a sanctuary for them, there is definitely more interest now.
I'll have to read your accounts in more detail, though, just copied them over for printing :)
BTW, the Ganges dolphin (Platanista gangetica) belongs to the same superfamily as the Amazon dolphin (Inia geoffrensis) -- based on morphological similarities-- but to a different family, so evolved separately.
06/07/2009
I still haven't caught up ;)
But I've noticed that you probably mistake Platanista gangetica for ichthyosaurs , which were common in the Jurassic. River dolphins are a modern group; true cetaceans first evolved about 38 million years ago.
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