I left Aurangabad today to go to Jalna, the nearest big town to Lonar, a huge meteorite-impact crater.
I've thought a lot about including the following piece of diary/blog in this site. This site has two functions: one is to share my photos with folk who might be interested and the other, slightly more selfish, is to share my experiences and thoughts with whoever wants to know. I admit that part of the reason for this is a hope to sway people towards my ways of thinking.
While I will attempt to be honest, I'll have to omit or censor some things that breach other people's privacy. Similarly, a couple of things happened that are too horrible to discuss in public. However, the following piece started an argument that was played out in public in my blog. This blog is still in the public domain so it's not necessary to censor my report on my experiences and feelings.
Having said that, I hope it's obvious here that I'm most angry at myself, initially for going to a place that would upset me and then for allowing a disagreement to degenerate into an argument that did precisely nothing to prevent the cruelty to which I objected. In fact it may have turned someone even further away from the ways of life I want to promote and that makes me an unwitting traitor to my own beliefs.
Similar caveats apply to later discussions and arguments over dietary stances. I am aware that I am at least somewhat to blame for letting disagreement degenerate into fruitless argument. However, I still think it's my duty to record for posterity as much as I can without breaching privacy or reporting things that did happen but would read as groundless libel.
calculated hotel bill (I'll been putting all my meals and internet use on the bill without thinking about it. In the end the 3 nights plus meals came to Rs1200 [under £20])
For the first time in my supposedly adult life, I paid money to see caged-up animals. I'd rationalised to myself that I wanted to see how bad Aurangabad's zoo was - and it was bad. After a few enclosures of tired-looking deer, a very sad solitary monkey and a rather dilapidated reptile-house, I encountered the elephant enclosure. There were listless adult elephants, not only trapped into their enclosure but chained by their left front ankles. One was listlessly swinging his chained leg, as if he hadn't quite given up hope of escaping his captivity (or a reflex from when that hope was real) or maybe just trying to vary the sensation. There was no food or water visibly within reach and this is an actively maintained zoo. I escaped past other enclosures containing two tigers, to angry with myself to cry.
[In answer to someone who asked why I don't like homo sapiens, this is a major part of the reason: we're the only species who lock up and abuse other species for our own AMUSEMENT. Other animals do what they need to survive and/or pass on their own genome (hence there is 'murder' in other species). They'll eat everything in sight, causing problems for other species (being hunted and eaten can't be anything but terrible). However no other species will be as deliberately barbaric as I witnessed and became part of today.]
I'd paid to see this torture; I'd paid over 500 rupees to go into temples of religions in which I actively disbelieve. And yet I'd refused to give anythign to a filthy woman who was carrying a naked child and previously only given a satsuma apiece to three kids who were frantically gabbing at the bag they were in and turned down the offer of smoking a chillum with a baba I'd passed in the road. Yet again I feel stupid and evil.
Meal at Pravanth - Rs100 for thali preceeded by idli and limca YUM!
4.30 bus to Jalna - just make it as it moves off but others stop it to get on as it leaves the bus station. Downtown Aurangabad is full of big cars but still shit roads. My arse is going to hate me. 63km with my rucsac bouncing on my groin.
Passed pulse research centre. In Jalna, stayed at hotel Siri Monmadevi (02482 232193/237629). Room was Rs200 but I was offered a massage for Rs2000 and, feeling rather sore from the journey, took up the offer. Afterwards, granny karate on TV and England lost the second test - hah!
© (except the blatantly ripped-off bits) Random Bozo 2006