Ok so I feel that I, Brad Paterson, should weigh in with some of my observations on this adventure. You should know that these thoughts are not meant to disrespect India in any way. This is just a list of things that strike a note of strangeness and make me go Hmmmmmm....(feel free to sing the song as you contemplate these oddities of India's history and present customs).
The first prime minister of India Jawaharlal Nehru called India, "a bundle of contradictions held together by strong but invisible threads". I have come to notice that this is true in many respects. Here are some I've noticed:
1. Light switches are off when they are on and the lights are on when they are turned off.
2. Left is right and right is left (at least on the street).
3. Zero and Infinity were concepts developed by ancient Indian math dudes which is funny because those are the only two speeds here.
4. In 850 AD a group known as the Cholas rose to power in the south of India. Are we repeating such a history on the other side of the world in the United States? (Ashley is unsure of about the sensitivity of this comment...)
5. Majarajas of old used to take part in a way of conquering land called Asvamedha. This is where they would let a wild horse run free and any land that said horse galloped across would be theirs. After such a majestic and natural job well done they would then sacrifice the horse.
6. The history of India is riddled with intense bloody feuds between Muslim and Hindi armies and coalitions. From the dawn of religion to the present day many atrosities have occurred yet in the cities we traveled to, Muslims and Hindi live together in peace as actual neighbors. Where you at America?
7. The Swastika and the Star of David appear side by side on buildings here in India. The Swastika is originally a symbol of good luck in Hinduism belonging to Ganesh (the elephant god of good fortune) and Star of David was originally a sign used by Aristotle to represent the basic elements then later adopted by Islam as a sign of kings. .
8. You wash your hands here first and then pee.
9. People stare at my fiance basically undressing her with their eyes and men stop just short of making out with each other in displays of affection, but I cant even link a pinky with her in public without receiving disgusted glares.
10. Water sanitation and Keep India Green signs are everywhere and yet people are peeing in rivers, pooping in aqueducts, and finishing a snack and throwing the waste in the middle of the street.
11. Horns replace stop signs and whoever wants their car damaged least replaces stop lights.
12. Here in India Ashley loves crappy American movies like Hollow Man and Piranhas and Sharktopus for example, but in America I have to hide when I watch them.
It's the things that make you go Hmmmmm....
The first prime minister of India Jawaharlal Nehru called India, "a bundle of contradictions held together by strong but invisible threads". I have come to notice that this is true in many respects. Here are some I've noticed:
1. Light switches are off when they are on and the lights are on when they are turned off.
2. Left is right and right is left (at least on the street).
3. Zero and Infinity were concepts developed by ancient Indian math dudes which is funny because those are the only two speeds here.
4. In 850 AD a group known as the Cholas rose to power in the south of India. Are we repeating such a history on the other side of the world in the United States? (Ashley is unsure of about the sensitivity of this comment...)
5. Majarajas of old used to take part in a way of conquering land called Asvamedha. This is where they would let a wild horse run free and any land that said horse galloped across would be theirs. After such a majestic and natural job well done they would then sacrifice the horse.
6. The history of India is riddled with intense bloody feuds between Muslim and Hindi armies and coalitions. From the dawn of religion to the present day many atrosities have occurred yet in the cities we traveled to, Muslims and Hindi live together in peace as actual neighbors. Where you at America?
7. The Swastika and the Star of David appear side by side on buildings here in India. The Swastika is originally a symbol of good luck in Hinduism belonging to Ganesh (the elephant god of good fortune) and Star of David was originally a sign used by Aristotle to represent the basic elements then later adopted by Islam as a sign of kings. .
8. You wash your hands here first and then pee.
9. People stare at my fiance basically undressing her with their eyes and men stop just short of making out with each other in displays of affection, but I cant even link a pinky with her in public without receiving disgusted glares.
10. Water sanitation and Keep India Green signs are everywhere and yet people are peeing in rivers, pooping in aqueducts, and finishing a snack and throwing the waste in the middle of the street.
11. Horns replace stop signs and whoever wants their car damaged least replaces stop lights.
12. Here in India Ashley loves crappy American movies like Hollow Man and Piranhas and Sharktopus for example, but in America I have to hide when I watch them.
It's the things that make you go Hmmmmm....
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