On Friday we left for Sikkim from Sealdah station. Jyoti, Harish, Sandeep, Sujoy and Tanmoy speaking rapid fire Bengali into the night.  Chennai Central had seemed dusty and old, but compared to Sealdah it is sparkling clean.   I fought through a strong sewer stench to buy water and cookies (still sick enough to fear Indian fast-food).

After a send-off from Abu, we boarded the train. As I walked down the aisle I spotted the largest cockroach I have ever seen.  At first I though it must be a lizard.  I just hoped that it would stay at its end of the train and not crawl around me at night.

As the train left the station a Railway Guard carrying an old Enfield rifle told us to close the shutters on the window.  Evidently there were concerns of people throwing rocks at the train. He was pointing at me when he told us this, not sure if the threat was against foreigners or the train in general.  Later that night, with my feet hanging off the top bunk into the aisle, I felt a sharp scratch on my ankle, waking just in time to see the guard and his shouldered rifle walk by.  The front sights had hit my ankle, but I had survived my first attack from this legendary weapon with barely a scratch.

The other notable event was a visit from Hijra, transgendered outcasts who practice a militant form of begging.   There were two of them, one older, one younger. Both dressed in saris.   The older would clap really loud and shout.  She had a stack of rupee notes between the fingers of her left hand.  Folded and arranged just as efficiently as a ticket taker on a bus.  The Hijra focused their attention on Tanmoy, sensing either easy prey or willing recipient of blessing the confer with each donation.  He held his ground at first, but on they returned the following morning.  He gave into their clapping and shrieking, despite my verbal jabs that he wasn't getting enough out of the transaction.

I had read about the Hijra last month in "Traveller's Tales of India".  William Dalrymple described them in detail. If I wasn't pecking this out on a Blackberry I would elaborate more.

As I write this we are in the jeep grinding out of NJP towards Rangpo, the Sikkim border post.  I just found out that I don't yet have a permit to enter Sikkim.  I am reading Dalrymple's "Xanadu" and last night started the chapter where he sneaks into a restricted zone in China.  I am curious to see how his story ends, and curious about what parallels may exist. 

That is a few hours in the future.  For now I am going to stop typing and soak in how much the plains outside Shiliguri, with the mountains rising in the distance as a backdrop remind me of the fields and mountains near my childhood home in the mountain valleys of Utah.

After an extremely hectic week I am leaving for a weekend in the Ghats.  I love technology and gadgets, but they have conspired against me this week.  After 12 hours a day in the office, I return to the hotel. There I have wireless internet, Skype for making calls, and a Blackberry delivering a constant stream of emails from the other side of morning. 

I think I have gotten a total of about 12 hours of sleep all week.  I hope this is a good thing and will allow me to sleep on the train.  Usually I wake up at each stop, then as morning approaches I keep waking up wondering if I have slept thru my stop.

Anyway, it is now 19:40 I am sitting in the waiting area at Chennai Central Railway Station, waiting for my train to leave at 21:15.  An older man has just sat down besides me and is leaning in close as I type this on the Blackberry.  We'll see if his eyes work well enough to read this.  <Pause> after a quick glance from me he got self-conscious.

This Munnar trip should be good for a number of reasons.  First is that I am travelling with my Chennai based team, sedond I am finally getting to Kerala and third, it is really feeling good to hit the road (or rails) after a long week of work.

Shawn

Expect many posts about ny hectic schedule on Monday.

1- Did a spot for the local TV news station, see me on the 9:00 news.

2- run off to Mahaballipuram for a party with 500 long lost friends.

3- Film my first Tolleywood music video.

4- Race back to Madras to hear a speech by the Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh (I think).

My attention needs to turn to work, but I will post the details as soon as possible.


Shawn