Nasca lines, lights out and Delhi

5:01 Delhi. Posting this by torchlight from Delhi as the lights have mysteriously stopped working. Or maybe I just can't figure out how to turn them back on. Anyway I am in complete darkness and too excited to sleep. Watched a documentary on Nasca lines in Peru and human sacrifices--reading light were not working at all on the plane so those of us who find it impossible to sleep on planes were at the mercy of the film screens in the seat in front of us. Coming into Delhi last night from the airport was surreal, bring up memories of being in Lima as a child and being driven around to exciting places down large circular roads with people wandering on the highway along with motorbikes, trucks and taxis. Our driver reminded us that Delhi was a city of 16 million people--"1 and 6" he said, not just 6!" One of the passengers asked him why everybody was ignoring the traffic lines and he said that was normal--the lanes were guides but optional. He did say that miraculously for the 2010 Olympics people had to follow them and things went very well but then after the Olympics people reverted to their looser, natural patterns. As we were curving around a giant bend and entering a smaller circle I thought this pattern was a lot like the spidermonkey Nasca lines, circular and concentric, mysterious and flowing.

No More Angst & Dread

Hari Om! Leaving for India this morning. Awakened by a howling wind around 4:30 a.m. I take this as auspicious - Rudra, a form of Shiva is known as The Howler.

These last few days have been a blur of work & trying to remember details for packing. It is a paradox that in order to pack light one must remember 1,001 more details than to pack heavy. Yesterday a friend surprised me with a little bag of travel essentials including an insect stick for putting on once one is bitten (because of course, one WILL be bitten!)