Travels with Tavish

On the 14 th , my mom and I started the day early with a tour of the Ellora caves. These are a series of Buddhist, Hindu, and Jain caves carved out of the volcanic basalt between the 6 th and 10 th centuries. Our tour guide was a man in his 20’s named Sanjay. I was a little skeptical of hiring a guide for the cave tour, unsure that it would add much to the experience, but I was greatly mistaken—Sanjay was great and our visit to the caves would not have been nearly as interesting without him. The caves are unimaginably huge, carved out of the basalt hillside by the hands of thousands of workers with chisel and hammer. These workers included chiselers who took large sections of rock out, detailers, painters, rock carriers (rock had to be hauled out of the caves in buckets), tool sharpeners, and others needed to keep the work camp running (managers, cooks, etc.). The making of each cave must have been quite an operation. My favorite of the caves was a Buddhist cave specially desig...

On April 7 th , the evening started with the semifinal round of the IFL (Institute Football League) cup. My team, Bayern Munich, played a tough 0-0 match with Barcelona, eventually losing 5-4 on PK’s. I played keeper during the PKs; I was close to blocking a couple but could not quite get to them. I made mine, though only due to a mistake on the Barcelona keeper’s part. But of course no one will remember my kick because it went in—thus is the memory of sports. The game was the most fun Bayern Munich game I played in, and I am glad the season ended on a positive note, even if we lost. Later that night, the Hostel 12 valfi (end-of-year fancy dinner) took place. I went with Sumit, but I saw most of the people I know from Hostel 12 and my own Hostel 13 at the valfi; everyone was there enjoying the great food. The event was held outside in a large grassy area behind the A wing of Hostel 12, which previously I had only noticed as “the grassy area that is not used for anything.” Now I k...

Note: I am will not have internet access from April 23 – May 5 as I am going to Kolhapur for a Vipassana meditation course. I am a couple weeks behind on my blog but will update it when I return to Mumbai. Now back to the regularly scheduled post... I woke up early in the morning on Friday, March 31 to travel to Pune. I traveled with Anameka, a fellow CTARA student at IIT Bombay who also had some project work in Pune. As usual, we took the local train to Thane, the nearest station where the Mumbai Pune Intercity Superfast Express stops. The female voice that announces stops and trains over the intercom is common to all stations—the accent and word choice is enjoyable. In the name of this train, the emphasis on “Superfast” is great. My favorite is when the voice says “Please mind the gap between the footboard and the platform while alighting from the train.” I think I have only ever heard the word “alighting” said by those who speak UK English. Listening to these announcements s...

The day after the PAF was spent sleeping in and recovering from the many late nights. Unfortunately, it would take me many days to re-align my internal calendar with the rising and setting of the sun, as I had been awake most of the dark hours and asleep for much of the day during the days before the PAF. Nevertheless, my projects march on. On Friday and Saturday, I visited Pune. My journey began early Friday morning via the Intercity Superfast Express. My ticket in the non-AC section cost 110 Rupees for the 3-hour journey. I ate one wada pav (fried potato “burger” served with chutney on a roll) in Mumbai and bought another two out the window of the train at a station halfway to Pune. I listened to This American Life as I watched the landscape—desert, litter, hills, people—drift by out the window. The train was pleasant until around 9:00am, with one hour of my trip left, the hot Indian sun began streaming in through the window. It was a relief to reach Pune, where Professor S...