Dense and evergreen forests, high plateaus (no, it's definitely not the Himalaya plateaus, come one!), greeny hills, rivers and fields of arecanut trees, coffee, tea estates... Still not bored! I took holidays from one green plateau to another one ;-) why not? The new spot to be was Kudremukh, or "horse head", nearby Kalasa, Karnataka. 7h walking, a guide and a jeep rent could have done it: tourist price! I have rather walked around, discovered the small paths, some nice views and initiated the new IT generation, Derrick, to hitchhiking, picked up by policemen ;-). The young engineers or IT people search for leisure activities, escaping the big city, Bangalore, to find some quiet places, nice hotels and fun activities. It's not that easy in a still developing country. To some extent, there is money but no entertainment in India. And if so, people rush into it, without fear or respect, and spoil it. That's why the nature must be protected from Indian human predators, their plastic bags and the potentiality of getting lost.
State elections took place in Karnataka the last weeks, for the state legislative assembly. Before the elections, money spreading is unbelievable! You get 500Roupies just for walking among a party demonstration. Right home, every poor family gets 1000Rs from a party, 1500Rs from another one, 800Rs from the 3rd one... a sari for the women, alcohol for men. :-/ For that matter, selling alcohol is banned for 3 days before voting. Many weeks before, policemen from neighbouring states join the controling process. Although money is not transfered openly in streets, it is given secretly, in backyard, arecanut fields. And yet, people seem to be interested in politics, and at least, went voting: 71%. :-)
What I understood from Indian politics follows. The BJP, the main Hindu party, is right, the Congress with Sonia (an Italian lady) is left wing. Then in Karnataka you have the JDS (Social, Democratic, Secularism), centre-left, and some other left or communist parties, some conservative ones. The main local party is the KJP. It's been a few years the BJP runs Karnataka. Of course, they have been charged with corruption. Anyhow, the Congress widely wan in Karnataka: 121 seats! BJP: 40 (hohohohooh!), JD: 40, KJP: 6. That's not the reason why I stayed in this state, but it felt good. :-)
Aaaaaaaaannnd... ! It also feels good that the gay marriage and adoption have been voted in France, I am proud of my country :-)
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| My guru, Rohit ;-) and his wife Geetha |
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| Relaxing after meditation... Oops! |
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| Derrick, a nice communist boy, from Kerala, working in Bangalore |
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| May flower tree, blossoming in May :-) |
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