Sell Your Stocks!

We started off by going to see the Jain Caves near Bhubaneswar. Jainism is a very interesting Indian Religion. It was founded about the same time as Buddhism, sometime in the 6th century BC. The religion still survives in India. The adherents of the Jain religion are totally non-violent. They often wear white clothing and masks so they don’t inadvertently breathe in and kill and insect. Near Bhubaneshwar the Jain monks created a series of caves to live and meditate in. The Caves have been dated to 150 BC. We climbed up the rocky hills and entered the caves. Many had markings of Jain symbols and other deities.

There are lots of monkeys living on the hill and I was especially on guard after being attached by a monkey in Bali. No encounters this time, I am happy to report.
`
After visiting the caves we drove to the Museum of Tribal Art & Artifacts. The State of Orissa has about 30 million residents. Approximately 20% are Tribal. That means they are not Hindu but animalistic worshipers, living in very primitive remote villages. The Orissa government protects them and documents their life style. This is an anthropologists dream. The museum stood in stark contrast to the State Museum that we visited on our first day in Orissa. The building is new, the items well documented and the staff very helpful. We really enjoyed the museum.

The library of the museum reminded me of something out of a novel about Indian Archives. Musty books, stacked to the ceiling, researchers drinking tea, documents literally falling apart from decay caused by the weather. It was amazing to see. You could smell the history of India. Not the sort of library that Ferris is used to working in, I am sure.

We returned to our hotel for lunch and rest. It is so hot that you really don’t want to be out from noon – 2pm or so.

In the afternoon we drove to the city Cuttack. Until 1950 it was the state capital. It is over 2000 years old. It is definitely run down, but charming. We walked around and had a great time just observing the people. The people of Cuttack also were enjoying observing us. They don’t get a lot of western tourists that is for sure!
They have many shrines to the Goddess Kali. This is an avatar of Shiva’s consort Parvoti, or Durga. She is depicted as black and is associated with destruction. We are living in the Age of Kali according to Hindu Mythology. Our guide explained that the Age of Kali ends, on Dec. 21st, 2012. It will be a BIG day. It is best to sell your stocks on Dec. 20, 2012. You have been warned!

Through out the day we continued our discussion with our guide of the Gods and Goddesses of Hindu Mythology. It is very complex with gods having avatars and multiple names. They are certain visual clues that help one identify the gods. For example Shiva has a trident, Laxshmi sits on a lotus flower, etc. However each time you think you have it figured out, you find a different name or incarnation. It is fun to try to understand the mythology.

We walked around the town, everywhere vendors selling food, and silver items, jewelry, brass utensils, etc. I saw a vendor that sells the colors used to create decorative drawings at the doorway of a house.. We then drove back to Bhubaneshwar.

Never have I seen such traffic. There are a million people living in Bhubaneshwar and they all want to walk, drive, or cross the road at the same time. I am sure there is a method to how they drive, but to me, it appears they simply never yield to anyone in a smaller vehicle and barge through honking their horn all the time. It is amazing there aren’t more accidents. The concept of driving is obviously completely different from how we do view it, yet it appears to work. We did eventually get back to our Hotel, had dinner and talked about tomorrow’s adventure. All I really know is where we are going there is NO food / drink available. Eat a big breakfast and bring lots of water.