October 3. 2009 - “What the hell? Where did I put it?” I thought to myself as I searched my pockets for a little bag of money. “I know I had it 45 minutes ago when I bought those bananas from a street cart through the window of the bus I was riding”. I searched and searched but it was nowhere to be found. Did I carelessly place it loosely in my pocket and lose it, or, was it picked as I got off the bus. Both scenarios are very possible. The bag contained about 750 rupees. It’s a lot of money for the poor people of Rajasthan whom I was sharing the government run bus with. I kicked myself as I selfishly thought how it was enough for a nice hotel room or a rickshaw driver for an entire day. Damn!…… Then I stopped thinking in rupees. In reality I was out $15 USD which is enough for 3 pints of average beer or a parking space at a pro sporting event. Thus began my philosophical thought process on the value of money as I walked around the 600 year old Ranakpur Jain Temple.
I left the white washed rooftop lakeside luxury of Udaipur for a ratty government run bus into the Rajasthan countryside. The arid climate with grassy, sometimes craggy hills, make for a very scenic ride. The driver drove aggressively on narrow winding roads until we came to a regular looking four lane highway divided by a median. At first I was impressed until I noticed it didn’t matter what side or direction a vehicle was heading. Left, right, or whatever. Just choose as you wish. There were a number of sections where the road had been cut into a hill like a giant trough and one side or the other had slid depositing large piles of debris on the road. This just added to the drive however you want mentality. Amazingly, in almost 3 weeks of traveling India I have yet to see a single accident (knock on wood). I’ve seen far more dented cars and wrecks in America. I rarely notice a car that has any kind of real body damage.
I was headed to Ranakpur, a 3 hour bus ride from Udaipur. Ranakpur is home to a lovely Jain Temple. I had never heard of the Jain Faith but its basic religious philosophy is. “Live and let live”. Ranakpur is pretty much in the middle of nowhere and aside of the Temple grounds about the only other buildings are a government run hotel and a roadside shop with a restaurant that also serves as a bus stop. It was while checking into the hotel that I realized that I had lost some money. After checking into my room I walked over to the temple. The grounds are very nice and the temple, although not particularly large, is very prominent. Once inside you can admire over 1,444 hand carved marble pillars supporting the structure. No two pillars are alike. I spent about an hour inside taking photos and sitting in different areas. In the back of my mind I thought about the lost money. It was bugging me.
So, 750 rupees. It’s a lot of money in India but in the USA it’s not. On the bus ride I was very relaxed and lackadaisical which made me think I may have carelessly lost it. That’s what I’m hoping. However, I know I put it in my pocket after buying some bananas and while I was getting off someone could have had a good opportunity to pick it. I never carry too much money in my pockets when I travel. I usually just have enough to do what I want to do. Anyway, as I thought about it I definitely began to feel selfish. Here I am in a very poor country where a hard working man is really doing good to make 300 rupees ($6 USD), if that, after a back breaking day. Many people, especially those in rural areas, make far less. Most of the people in India are truly working just to survive. Here I am, some free spirited guy from the states, traipsing through India and S.E. Asia at my own leisure for 3 months. When it’s over I get to go home to everything I need and more. All this on an income that’s considered to be Very low by United States standards. Boy am I spoiled. I then began to look at the money in a different way. I’m a very lucky man and someone who always has what he needs and often times more. God, the universe, or whatever you want to call it has blessed me greatly. In a sense the money I have is never really mine. Sure, I earn it. I work hard when I’m working. I’m a good money manager. But, so are millions of others living in 3rd world countries. There are greater powers that be that bless me with so much more. My thought process continued. I imagined myself losing the money and seeing the face of whoever found it. Believe me. Everyone else on that bus needs the money far more than I do. Especially being in a rural area. In a country where most people I meet are trying in some way to get money out of me maybe I’m holding on to it a little too tight sometimes. In my defense it’s understandable considering all the scams etc. I’m up against while traveling India. Sometimes it seems like all people want out of me here is my money. Somebody stops me at a tourist site and gives me some info I don’t really care about, they want money etc. etc. And when you don’t give them anything they know how to play the guilt card. It sucks but the truth of the matter is that life in India is tough and people do what they need to do to survive. I’m hoping I lost the money and it was found by the right person and that they’re filled with happiness as if my loss were their blessing. That’s what I want to believe. If it was picked from my pocket, well, I’m sure who ever took it needs it more than I do. I’ll just let Karma sort that one out.
All of this thought process was going on as I visited the Temple but after awhile I made peace with it all and really enjoyed the structure and its grounds. Around 5pm I went to the dining hall where dinner was about to be served. It was an all you can eat vegetarian talli for 25 rupees (50 cents). It was all being traditionally prepare. I asked the host if I could see how they made the food. He replied, “There’s nothing to see”. I peeked through the doors after paying and could see the food being cooked in a primitive but clean looking space. That’s if you blocked out noticing the men on the far right side of the room digging a hole and doing some kind of work. Having noticed how clean the temple and grounds were I didn’t worry about it and sat down for some very authentic Indian food with people of the Jain Faith. It was quite nice and I sat next to a middle aged gentleman from Delhi who explained the food and customs. After dinner I walked the grounds as the sun set and noticed florescent green birds (parrots) flying amidst trees with monkeys. Tomorrow I’ll catch an early bus to Jodhpur and find a nice place to stay for my birthday.
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