PUNJABI DHABBA

Yep, it's true. I couldn't stay away. This is the famous Punjabi Dhabba. As you can see from the parking area, it's very popular. I know what you're thinking... But trust me, it's not nearly as fancy inside. 

I took the long walk into Calangute this evening at sunset. Absolutely beautiful. The waves were wild tonight, so it made for a fun walk. In fact the waves were wild all day. This was the first day I was unable to do a serious swim. I tried twice, but the waves kept thrashing me, so it was just impossible. Even quite far out it was very rough. 

You may be pleased to know that I now have a blog. I don't know what that is, but I have one. I'm a simple man (just like the Mahatma). I don't even have electricity every day, but I have a blog. Apparently, my dear friend Roger has posted my emails on line. The address is http://gandhigary.blogspot.com/

That address sounds much more official than my physical address, which is white house on left, Goa, India. 

I guess GandhiGary had a better ring to it than MangolPandeyGary. 

Speaking of not having electricity...

I hear people say quite often here "Well, my place is very basic." I think what they mean is that "by Western standards" their accommodations are not what they are used to. So many of the apartments or houses here are so cool, and with a bit of fluff (a few rupis worth of white gauze flowing from the windows and some Indian print throws here and there) they can be quite glamorous. Sure, they may not have running water inside or electricity even. But most likely there will be an outdoor shower and maybe a sink, and probably a gas stove for cooking. I think that by saying their place is basic is sort of a badge of courage here. 

But... (ok, I'm getting to the point) These places are not basic. A stone's throw from me is a little shanty area where a number of the seasonal workers live with their families. These are tiny little rooms built out of bamboo poles and cardboard walls and maybe a blue plastic tarp roof and dirt floor, where a family of four may live in the area the size of my bathroom. And there are maybe twenty dwellings like this squeezed into an area the size of my front yard in Provincetown. These places are either taken down or blown down each summer during the monsoon. Pretty basic. And, compared to some of the dwellings I saw in the slums of Mumbai, these are pretty nice. 

My point is that one gets another perspective traveling to a place where not everyone is rich. And one thing I feel about India is that there is an unadulterated sincerity here. One has a sense that this is the real world and that what we experience in the West, where people like me live in a big house all by myself (sorry Spot... You live there too) is what is weird. 

Ok, I'm climbing down from my soapbox now, which is not as easy as it sounds, wearing this tight sarong...

And this is my perspective ....

नमस्ते