Rude Awakenings - Forest Sangha Publications

^0 B O R D E R 06managed to ignore everyone. The catching of eyes and the raising of atimorous index finger do not register as signals. Thank goodness forears: the raised voice and imperious tone is the language of contact here.After forty minutes of attention-hunting followed by negotiations(most of the items on the menu were “unavailable”), our patience wasrewarded with two white plates, each a centimetre thick and containinga brown puddle: curried eggs. “Happy birthday, Bhante.”Then more waiting: our white (or freckled) skin got us into the waitingroom (first class) with its two rows of beds. The blend of the monotonyof the overhead fans, a night of little sleep, the midday heat, and astomach preoccupied with digesting curried eggs and bananas, allhelped to set consciousness sliding over the borders of time.British India was conjured up by the Edwardian writing above thedoor, the ponderous decor, the predominance of heavy wood on thedoor and window frames, and the discreet reservation of facilities for“ladies” (not women). Steam hissed and whistles blew. In this happyrealm, the Siege of Lucknow has ended, the Indian Mutiny has beenquelled, and a new imperial order has replaced the East India Company’sbackstage rule by proxy, bribery, and personal connections. Thisnew age ushered in grand buildings and even cities: the British influencestill lingers. The weighty architecture, the infrastructure of therailways with their 1940s tea rooms and menus—even the form of Englishthat is used—have an Edwardian flavour. Being India, this subculturewill be preserved for millennia: the revamped Morris Oxford carthat is the dominant model on the streets will probably be going strongthrough the twenty-first century. There will still be tiffin (lunch) andWills cigarettes and bread and butter with the crusts cut off whenBritain has become Eurodivision 7.It is familiar but bizarre, like reading those children’s classics writtenbefore the First World War where Agnes and Bertram have nannies andfather wears a suit to the evening meal. With these kind of perceptions,absurdly implanted on a raw and pungent Asian backdrop, it’s difficult2 5