It was only after the visit to the coffee plantation that our cycling tour actually began. There was supposed to be a quick stop at Kintamani to see the volcano, but our guide Nyoman learned that there was too much traffic en route, so we skipped that and went straight to the place where we were to start cycling.Nyoman, by the way, is a traditional name for the third child in the family. The first child is called Wayan, the second child is called Made (Maa-day), the third is called Nyoman and the fourth is called Ketut. This name is independent of the gender of the child. If it is a boy, the name is preceded by 'I'. If it is a girl, the name becomes 'Ni Wayan', 'Ni Made', etc.When you don't know the naming system, it's quite amusing to see the name of, for instance, the taxi driver who is coming to pick you up. It says 'I Made <name>', and when you read that in English … [Read more...]
Cycle Rickshaw
When I went to Kolkata for my entrance exams, I stayed with a friend's family. The first day there, Uncle took me in a cycle rickshaw. He warned me, "Don't pay more than 8 rupees to these rickshaw-wallahs. They'll charge you anything. They know you don't come from Calcutta."I listened and nodded and cringed as the rickshaw-wallah bumped us over steep slopes and potholes. His lungi was torn. He was barefoot.Uncle dropped me at the university and went home.To get home myself, I diffidently approached a cycle rickshaw. If I knew my way home, I know I would simply have walked. "Golf Green?" I asked, hopefully.The man lowered his eyes. Realising I definitely did not speak Bangla, he said for me in Hindi, "Bees (20) rupaya."I nodded gratefully. I cringed and clenched my hands as he laboured all the way home.When I reached, Uncle asked how much I paid."Eight rupees," I said, … [Read more...]