Another thing worth noting is that in this setting, one must be active in looking for new experiences and stimulating oneself. A famous Concordian once said, "a foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of a feeble mind" (I think that's how it goes). This requires a lot of effort, especially when you're surrounded by thirty interesting and complex peers that you want to share your experiences with. Well, now for some pictures, many of these are from Sri Sri Ravi Shankar's ashram about an hour outside of Bangalore, a pretty sweet compound if you ask me. We (three of my fellow students and I) all needed a break from the constant honking of Bangalore. Ravi Shankar's ashram was a fascinating place, one which you could arguably call a cult. But it seemed a bit more gentle, although frankly I couldn't understand all the hooplah around this one guy who, as far as I could tell, ripped off some breathing exercises from the Buddhists and Hindus and added some inspirational taglines. There was so much attention around this one guy, it made me wonder, what'll happen when he's gone? Will his "art of living" (artofliving.org, I think) die as well?
Finally, I should also note that David, my roommate and comrade (in the non-post Communist sense, studiers of Chinese take note), helped in selecting some of the pictures shown in the previous installment, and is featured in one of the photos. Where is he? I'll give you a clue (no prizes awarded): he's sideways. David also provides friendly if untimely reminders that taking pictures of mosques is considered taboo.
Ok, one ultimately final note. Some of the pictures are from the Muslim section of Shivajinagar, a sensory-overloading marketplace very close to where we live. It's absolutely nuts. I can't describe it; refer to the Che quote on the right.
