My new favorite meal in Darjeeling, Tibetan Thukpa soup. OH! It's so delicious. It's hot (steaming, actually) and mild and full of vegetables, what could be better?
I love my hotel. Really, if you come to Darjeeling it's the best place to stay, hands down. This morning I was working on my ISP paper and the hotel owner interrupted me to tell me, "I can tell you are a very smart person." It was a bit strange, but nice all the same. Apparently this guy has been all over the world, he was in the British military. He listed his many stomping grounds: Singapore, Austria, Germany, Italy, England, China, Japan, Nepal, Croatia, etc, etc, etc, etc. He told me he "knows foreigners" and he can tell that I'm a good traveler, not like those people who fight with him because of the room rates. Despite his slight pessimissism about the state of foreigners in general, it was very flattering and nice.
It's a bit foggy today, but I welcome the fog. I'm feeling homesick (I guess that makes sense, I'm home in less than two weeks) and somehow the fog is comforting. At night the city is always covered in fog, and I sit out on the roof with my friends and watch the kerosene lamps light up all over town. There's electricity here, but many people don't have it. I prefer kerosene, at least for aesthetic purposes. The light is softer and orange, and looks beautiful in the fog.
I spent too long at an internet cafe yesterday, trying to get good scans of all my artwork so that I can make color prints for my final report. It was a frustrating experience, but I have some okay scans. Trying to accomplish anything "business-like" in India is a bit of a pain in the ass. The good news is that I'm almost finished, and that means I can just read some books for pleasure and wander around the back corners of Darjeeling. It's a cold day, which means it might be another tea-sampling day. There really is nothing better than wandering around the city and drinking tea. Although, I did hear about a little cafe that serves homemade warm beer (curious). Apparently it's famous and delicious, so I think I'll venture there today, once my paper is finished, to celebrate my accomplishments.
Nothing more to report other than work, fogs, and mountains.
Monday, November 30, 2009
Friday, November 27, 2009
beauty is truth, truth beauty
I'm steeped in the words and philosophies of Tagore, trying to crank out this 15-20 page paper as fast as I can so that I can just concentrate on Darjeeling and my collages. The wonderful thing about this paper is that it's an really just an examination of what art is, according to Tagore, and how I am somehow "living the tradition" of his philosophies. He's a big ol' Keats lover, all about aesthetics and beauty and truth and universalism. Some of it's a big "God-ey" but when one is in the presence of the Himalayas, the idea of "the sacred" seems somehow tangible.
So, here I sit, at the computer typing away on one of the clearest days in Darjeeling. I could see ALL of the peaks this morning!! Truly amazing. I've decided to purchase a film camera for $20 (1000 rupees) for the remainder of my trip. It's worth the $20, I think. I want pictures of Darjeeling and I will want photos of my friends when I get back to Delhi, that's for sure.
I wandered around Darjeeling yesterday, popping into tea shops and Nepalese/Tibetan export shops. I love wandering around in these stores that are jam-packed with all things turquoise and coral and silver. I was on one store where I couldn't even walk without hitting chimes and bells and prayer wheels. The tea is amazing! It really is. I think I'm drinking about 15 cups of black tea a day, between the pot in the morning, the pot in the afternoon, and the sampling throughout the day. Don't worry, I will not neglect my dear family at Christmas, Darjeeling tea might be sitting underneath that tree.
I really love this town. I was sitting on the roof last night, looking at the moon over the bright white peaks of the mountains, and I thought that maybe I could stay here for an extended period of time. It's so peaceful this time of year (I think during tourist season it's not... but right now it truly is) and the people are so unbelievably kind and friendly. It doesn't really feel like the India that I've been in for 2 1/2 months. The men are less creepy, the shop keepers don't pester so much. It's just quiet and very, very holy. I haven't felt this much connection to a place yet in India, and it's a really wonderful feeling.
That's all for now. My hands of freezing but I bought some beautiful knitted gloves, and I must centure upstairs to my room, put them on, then visit this Buddhist monastary that is supposed to be beautiful.
Namaste.
So, here I sit, at the computer typing away on one of the clearest days in Darjeeling. I could see ALL of the peaks this morning!! Truly amazing. I've decided to purchase a film camera for $20 (1000 rupees) for the remainder of my trip. It's worth the $20, I think. I want pictures of Darjeeling and I will want photos of my friends when I get back to Delhi, that's for sure.
I wandered around Darjeeling yesterday, popping into tea shops and Nepalese/Tibetan export shops. I love wandering around in these stores that are jam-packed with all things turquoise and coral and silver. I was on one store where I couldn't even walk without hitting chimes and bells and prayer wheels. The tea is amazing! It really is. I think I'm drinking about 15 cups of black tea a day, between the pot in the morning, the pot in the afternoon, and the sampling throughout the day. Don't worry, I will not neglect my dear family at Christmas, Darjeeling tea might be sitting underneath that tree.
I really love this town. I was sitting on the roof last night, looking at the moon over the bright white peaks of the mountains, and I thought that maybe I could stay here for an extended period of time. It's so peaceful this time of year (I think during tourist season it's not... but right now it truly is) and the people are so unbelievably kind and friendly. It doesn't really feel like the India that I've been in for 2 1/2 months. The men are less creepy, the shop keepers don't pester so much. It's just quiet and very, very holy. I haven't felt this much connection to a place yet in India, and it's a really wonderful feeling.
That's all for now. My hands of freezing but I bought some beautiful knitted gloves, and I must centure upstairs to my room, put them on, then visit this Buddhist monastary that is supposed to be beautiful.
Namaste.
Thursday, November 26, 2009
waking up to darjeeling
All right, here's the deal. I got two photos this morning that I will post asap, but then my camera died. Just died. The shutter will not open. I am honestly so, so mad, but what are you going to do? Nothin. So, it's fine. I'll see if I can find a repair shop, or a disposable camera somewhere.... but we'll see. It sucks, but it's just a camera and they are just photos. Blah.
Anyway, that's unimportant but not really because of all the "where are the pictures" talk. I'm sorry I don't post pictures, but it would mean I would be spending about one extra hour on the internet and I'm not interested in that really. These connections are too slow!
On a lighter and happier note: I woke up this morning to the site of the Kanchenjunga mountain range, shrouded in pink mist, outside my hotel window. The clouds parted (apparently for the first time in a week) and I could see the whole town and above, perched in a cloud, were the white peaks of the Himalayas. Truly beautiful and motivating. So, at 6 am I was up and rarring to go, but there's really nothing to do! It's 9 am now, so I'm going to venture to the market and try to fix my camera. We'll see what happens.
Last night I ended up celebrating Thanksgiving with a Slovakian, a Hungarian, and a Frenchman. I imposed myself on them, and bought them a feast of chowmein, tibetan bread with honey, and spring rolls. We feasted and drank some disgusting Indian beer (not Kingfisher), and laughed about how the Slovakian thought that the "turkey" we had at Thanksgiving was actually a Turk. Really? That doesn't even make sense. But here he was, picturing a bunch of fat, hungry Americans eating squash with a little token Turk visitor. Ah, the hilarity of miscommunication. I had fun listening to them speak in battered English, and I even got to practice some Spanish and French because we could all speak bits of those languages. It was very fun.
I went to sleep under 4 blankets and woke up sweating. I'm good with cold. It helps me sleep, it helps me wake up, it just generally puts me in a good mood.
The air is fresh here. Fresh and clean and it smells like real air, not like pollution. It's thin, too. I think I'm about 7,000 feet up? Something to that degree. Not too high, but for a sea-level dweller like myself it is a bit of a shock.
Much love, sorry about the camera shizz.
Anyway, that's unimportant but not really because of all the "where are the pictures" talk. I'm sorry I don't post pictures, but it would mean I would be spending about one extra hour on the internet and I'm not interested in that really. These connections are too slow!
On a lighter and happier note: I woke up this morning to the site of the Kanchenjunga mountain range, shrouded in pink mist, outside my hotel window. The clouds parted (apparently for the first time in a week) and I could see the whole town and above, perched in a cloud, were the white peaks of the Himalayas. Truly beautiful and motivating. So, at 6 am I was up and rarring to go, but there's really nothing to do! It's 9 am now, so I'm going to venture to the market and try to fix my camera. We'll see what happens.
Last night I ended up celebrating Thanksgiving with a Slovakian, a Hungarian, and a Frenchman. I imposed myself on them, and bought them a feast of chowmein, tibetan bread with honey, and spring rolls. We feasted and drank some disgusting Indian beer (not Kingfisher), and laughed about how the Slovakian thought that the "turkey" we had at Thanksgiving was actually a Turk. Really? That doesn't even make sense. But here he was, picturing a bunch of fat, hungry Americans eating squash with a little token Turk visitor. Ah, the hilarity of miscommunication. I had fun listening to them speak in battered English, and I even got to practice some Spanish and French because we could all speak bits of those languages. It was very fun.
I went to sleep under 4 blankets and woke up sweating. I'm good with cold. It helps me sleep, it helps me wake up, it just generally puts me in a good mood.
The air is fresh here. Fresh and clean and it smells like real air, not like pollution. It's thin, too. I think I'm about 7,000 feet up? Something to that degree. Not too high, but for a sea-level dweller like myself it is a bit of a shock.
Much love, sorry about the camera shizz.
toy trains and turkeys
Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!
I am missing home, thinking about pies and the Macy's Day Parade... everything that is good and true in the world, eh? I did, however, have a Thanksgiving adventure of sorts and for that I am thankful.
I traveled overnight from Santiniketan on some boring old India train... it was lame, so I slept the whole time. Then I arrived at 8:30 am in New Jaipalguri, where I was to board that Toy Train to Darjeeling at 9 am. Quick turnover! It was hectic, but I made it. The train pulled up and, to my surprise, it really is just a toy train. It was blue with yellow trim (very becoming) and had only 4 cars, each about 25 feet long. That's a pretty small train. Unfortunately I don't have ANY photos from the whole journey because my camera battery died (AH! It sucks, you don't even need to tell me). But, it's in the mind and I'll tell you a little about the trip...
The train is small for a reason. Basically we were going up and up and up on the smallest track possible through the most amazing terrain. It was just hills and then just mountains and we would pass through small villages where the train must be a part of everyone's life, because it goes straight through the markets and rights next to people's doorsteps. It was so much fun riding around through these villages. Little kids would pop out of doors and wave and then all the school children would pile into the cars to get a ride to the next town. It was crazy and fun and loud and increasingly cold.
Yes, it's very cold. So cold that I think I'm going to putt long underwear on under my carhartts. So cold that I need MITTENS! I couldn't be happier. I want to be cold. Thank Thanksgiving for coldness.
The train ride was also incredibly beautiful, of course. Beautiful in a way I didn't expect. It was freezing in the mountains, but there were marigolds and poinsettas blooming everywhere, and morning glories were wound around the bamboo in the forests and were all in full bloom. It was so bizarre. As we ascended the vegetation got a little more sparse, but basically it's still lush and jungle-like, just with huge fir trees instead of bamboo.
My hotel is lovely. It's located at the tippity top of the hill that is Darjeeling, and my room looks out on the mountains! Well, I assume it does, because right now it looks out on fog. I hope that clears up soon. It will, I can feel it.
I'm going to go feast now. All I have had on this Thanksgiving day is a bowl of rice. WHAT?!? It's time to eat.
Love to all, missing you and happy turkey eating.
This is an erratic post, c'est la vie.
I am missing home, thinking about pies and the Macy's Day Parade... everything that is good and true in the world, eh? I did, however, have a Thanksgiving adventure of sorts and for that I am thankful.
I traveled overnight from Santiniketan on some boring old India train... it was lame, so I slept the whole time. Then I arrived at 8:30 am in New Jaipalguri, where I was to board that Toy Train to Darjeeling at 9 am. Quick turnover! It was hectic, but I made it. The train pulled up and, to my surprise, it really is just a toy train. It was blue with yellow trim (very becoming) and had only 4 cars, each about 25 feet long. That's a pretty small train. Unfortunately I don't have ANY photos from the whole journey because my camera battery died (AH! It sucks, you don't even need to tell me). But, it's in the mind and I'll tell you a little about the trip...
The train is small for a reason. Basically we were going up and up and up on the smallest track possible through the most amazing terrain. It was just hills and then just mountains and we would pass through small villages where the train must be a part of everyone's life, because it goes straight through the markets and rights next to people's doorsteps. It was so much fun riding around through these villages. Little kids would pop out of doors and wave and then all the school children would pile into the cars to get a ride to the next town. It was crazy and fun and loud and increasingly cold.
Yes, it's very cold. So cold that I think I'm going to putt long underwear on under my carhartts. So cold that I need MITTENS! I couldn't be happier. I want to be cold. Thank Thanksgiving for coldness.
The train ride was also incredibly beautiful, of course. Beautiful in a way I didn't expect. It was freezing in the mountains, but there were marigolds and poinsettas blooming everywhere, and morning glories were wound around the bamboo in the forests and were all in full bloom. It was so bizarre. As we ascended the vegetation got a little more sparse, but basically it's still lush and jungle-like, just with huge fir trees instead of bamboo.
My hotel is lovely. It's located at the tippity top of the hill that is Darjeeling, and my room looks out on the mountains! Well, I assume it does, because right now it looks out on fog. I hope that clears up soon. It will, I can feel it.
I'm going to go feast now. All I have had on this Thanksgiving day is a bowl of rice. WHAT?!? It's time to eat.
Love to all, missing you and happy turkey eating.
This is an erratic post, c'est la vie.
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
trash burns
It is my last day in Santiniketan. At 9:30 pm tonight I'll leave here, board a train and then board another train at 9 am bound for Darjeeling. I'll be riding in a Toy Train on Thanksgiving!! How cool!
It's trash burning day here in the old santi-town. Actually, every day is trash burning day, but today they're burning the morning too, which is unusual. Usually at about 4 pm the air fills with smoke--smoke that stays in my hair and on my scarves and inside my nose. I've decided is a mosquito-repellent, and so I've embraced it. But the smoke in the morning is a bit much, I have to say.
I also had to pay my nice old cleaner woman 70 rupees this morning, and for what? That's all I have to say. I swept my own room much of the time. But she's just so old and... she held out her hand... and I gave her 20 and she wasn't satisfied so, whatever. $1.50 later, she's giggling and blessing me. I guess it was worth it for the karma.
I was up for four hours last night, from the hours of 12 - 4 am. I'm not sure why... just staring at the ceiling and turning on the light now and again to swat some mosquitos. But, in my dazed and confused state I came up with the idea that the tractor riders here in santi-town look like rogue bandits. So, it was a worthwhile 4 hours of sleep lost, because obviously the theories were flowing.
If I am unable to write tomorrow, Happy Thanksgiving all! I will be thinking of you in Darjeeling. I'll treat myself to chick curry or tandoori chicken or something... I haven't had meat in 1 week so it will almost be like turkey, right?
It's trash burning day here in the old santi-town. Actually, every day is trash burning day, but today they're burning the morning too, which is unusual. Usually at about 4 pm the air fills with smoke--smoke that stays in my hair and on my scarves and inside my nose. I've decided is a mosquito-repellent, and so I've embraced it. But the smoke in the morning is a bit much, I have to say.
I also had to pay my nice old cleaner woman 70 rupees this morning, and for what? That's all I have to say. I swept my own room much of the time. But she's just so old and... she held out her hand... and I gave her 20 and she wasn't satisfied so, whatever. $1.50 later, she's giggling and blessing me. I guess it was worth it for the karma.
I was up for four hours last night, from the hours of 12 - 4 am. I'm not sure why... just staring at the ceiling and turning on the light now and again to swat some mosquitos. But, in my dazed and confused state I came up with the idea that the tractor riders here in santi-town look like rogue bandits. So, it was a worthwhile 4 hours of sleep lost, because obviously the theories were flowing.
If I am unable to write tomorrow, Happy Thanksgiving all! I will be thinking of you in Darjeeling. I'll treat myself to chick curry or tandoori chicken or something... I haven't had meat in 1 week so it will almost be like turkey, right?
Santiniketan Landscape!
i'm sorry. it's taking too long. I don't have enough rupees. save it for darjeeling. LOVE ya'll
the "abode of peace"

I leave this quiet town tomorrow evening, on a train bound for Darjeeling. If all goes well I will get to ride the Toy Train, which I'm looking forward to.
Today is a holiday for the inhabitants of Santiniketan. In the
tradition of Tagore, this town takes Tuesday and Wednesday off, instead of Saturday and Sunday. Tagore was trying desperately to differentiate his ideal society from all other societies, hence the strange "sabbath days." It is almost painfully quiet here today, but really lovely. I took a walk next to a river and while I was staring off into the distance, meditating on art and nature and being quite "Tagoric" I happened to feel something squish under my shoe. It was, of course, cow poop, and though I tried desperately to remove it from my sandle it's just caked right in. My life in India, a comical experience.
I'm having trouble uploading photos, but here is a photo of the guest house I'm staying in:

It's lovely. Sometimes there are goats and cows that eat the vegetation outside (and you thought deer were bad, mom!). In addition to the cows and the goats, I was standing a food stall the other day and witnessed a HUGE monkey (I mean, the size of a ten year-old child) steal about ten packs of Lays potatoe chips. None of the Indians seem to notice. I laughed and thought it would make a good commercial. Ah, monkeys. As long as they aren't biting anyone they are pretty darn funny.
So, yes. Everything is dandy. I'm going to post some pictures of the countryside too, but not right this minute because the internet is being dumb. I am excited to leave this town, but not because it lacks anything, just because I like being on the move. I get emails often from my dear friends in Delhi, who are all having a great time partying with each other... and sometimes I wish I was there with them... but most of the time I'm thankful for this experience and for this chance to just be immersed in something that is so different than anything I've ever done. It's fun, in a different sort of way.
Friday, November 20, 2009
they speak bengali here
Pictures, ah, the bane of my existance. I will post some, but really probably not til I get to Darjeeling where the internet will run more smoothly.
Enjoying my time here in Santiniketan. I don't speak one lick of Bengali, but I speak some Hindi and with Hindi-English I can sort of get by. There is an old woman who comes into my room in the morning who speaks no English OR Hindi... so that's fun. She comes in and I think she might want money, but I'm not going to pay her. Basically she cleans my room a little bit and then throws flower petals everywhere which just irks me. Why do I want flower petals all over my room, lady? But I just smile and say "OH! Thank You!" and she smiles back toothlessly and says "OH! TANK YOUUU." and then laughs maniacly. It's all very weird. Today she made me come outside with her to shake a tree and get more petals, something I really wasn't interested in doing. It's amazing how much time I spend appeasing strange old women in India, I'll probably miss that when I go home.
I've been writing an outline for my paper and feel pretty great. I want to finish it all up before heading to Darjeeling so that I can just spend time hiking around the hills and making collages while I'm there. I don't really want to be working on a paper.
I would like, also, to say that I have found a constant companion here in Santiniketan for my evening meals. I simply turn on the television to a channel called "Star Movies" and, voila! I've got any C-list movie from the last 20 years at my fingertips. I've seen bits and pieces of the likes of "RoboCop-3" and "Kate and Leopold" and "Hackers." I'm sure Julie will argue with me when I say that Hackers is c-list, because I'll bet she loved that movie. Everyone wears rollarskates... it's just weird. That's my brush with American culture at the moment. Also, this morning I went to get some passport photos taken (I need them for my special VIP security pass at the Tagore museum) and the men there were looking at YouTube videos of strange child celebrities from America like Zack Effron (is that his name?) and other 'High-School Musical' types. Strange.
Speaking of High School Musicals, good luck to Mom and all the cast and crew of Oliver! I'm thinking of you all over here.
Enjoying my time here in Santiniketan. I don't speak one lick of Bengali, but I speak some Hindi and with Hindi-English I can sort of get by. There is an old woman who comes into my room in the morning who speaks no English OR Hindi... so that's fun. She comes in and I think she might want money, but I'm not going to pay her. Basically she cleans my room a little bit and then throws flower petals everywhere which just irks me. Why do I want flower petals all over my room, lady? But I just smile and say "OH! Thank You!" and she smiles back toothlessly and says "OH! TANK YOUUU." and then laughs maniacly. It's all very weird. Today she made me come outside with her to shake a tree and get more petals, something I really wasn't interested in doing. It's amazing how much time I spend appeasing strange old women in India, I'll probably miss that when I go home.
I've been writing an outline for my paper and feel pretty great. I want to finish it all up before heading to Darjeeling so that I can just spend time hiking around the hills and making collages while I'm there. I don't really want to be working on a paper.
I would like, also, to say that I have found a constant companion here in Santiniketan for my evening meals. I simply turn on the television to a channel called "Star Movies" and, voila! I've got any C-list movie from the last 20 years at my fingertips. I've seen bits and pieces of the likes of "RoboCop-3" and "Kate and Leopold" and "Hackers." I'm sure Julie will argue with me when I say that Hackers is c-list, because I'll bet she loved that movie. Everyone wears rollarskates... it's just weird. That's my brush with American culture at the moment. Also, this morning I went to get some passport photos taken (I need them for my special VIP security pass at the Tagore museum) and the men there were looking at YouTube videos of strange child celebrities from America like Zack Effron (is that his name?) and other 'High-School Musical' types. Strange.
Speaking of High School Musicals, good luck to Mom and all the cast and crew of Oliver! I'm thinking of you all over here.
"santiniketan" or "the cows and the goats"
I'm in a tiny town in India... northwest West Bengal to be exact. It's small, there are a lot of goats and really annoying men. It's very dusty and quiet, one might even say peacful. I walk every day from my lovely guest house (where a nice Bengali family lives, they give me dinner and let me watch terrible television with them) to the Visva-Bharati campus. Visva-Bharati is the university that Tagore founded in 1919 and it's beautiful there. Today I got access to the special archives (with my secret letter from Uma Das Gupta, a very distinguished scholar, ahem, ahem) and spent the morning pouring over books. Tomorrow I'm going to look for photographs of Tagore to put in my collages.
So, yes. There's actually not much going on that's of interest to the general public. I had to spend about two hours looking for an internet cafe, that's how small this town is. It's just nothing really, just trees and a few lakes and goats and lots of cows. It's beautiful. I will take photos either to post here when I get to Darjeeling, or to share with you all when I'm home.
I do miss the craziness of Kolkata. There was something condusive to working in that hostel full of loud drunk people. I'm going to hunker down here and do lots of work, but I'm excited to continue on to Darjeeling soon. Darjeeling is apparently very, very "modern" which will be a bit of a relief. The simple life is lovely when you aren't trying to get anything accomplished, but not having internet when you are trying to write a research paper is a bit daunting and frustrating.
I'm sorry for my incredibly lame posts. I wanted to check in and tell everyone I'm safe, but the only thing I do all day is research a cool dude and make art and swat mosquitos (lots of mosquito swating going on).
I miss you all! I'll write again soon...
So, yes. There's actually not much going on that's of interest to the general public. I had to spend about two hours looking for an internet cafe, that's how small this town is. It's just nothing really, just trees and a few lakes and goats and lots of cows. It's beautiful. I will take photos either to post here when I get to Darjeeling, or to share with you all when I'm home.
I do miss the craziness of Kolkata. There was something condusive to working in that hostel full of loud drunk people. I'm going to hunker down here and do lots of work, but I'm excited to continue on to Darjeeling soon. Darjeeling is apparently very, very "modern" which will be a bit of a relief. The simple life is lovely when you aren't trying to get anything accomplished, but not having internet when you are trying to write a research paper is a bit daunting and frustrating.
I'm sorry for my incredibly lame posts. I wanted to check in and tell everyone I'm safe, but the only thing I do all day is research a cool dude and make art and swat mosquitos (lots of mosquito swating going on).
I miss you all! I'll write again soon...
Monday, November 16, 2009
the grind and the marmite
WOW! ISP and all that's involved in it has hit be full force today. It's already November 16 (how did that happen?) which means I have only 20 more days of ISP! In those twenty I shall write a very good (hopefully) paper and complete 18 more little artworks (hopefully).
Gah! It is a lot of work, enough to provoke sounds of exasperation. Everything is still great. My two favorite British friends left today, Anna and Sally. We spent every morning together eating breakfast at the Blue Sky Cafe, for 20 rupees you can get poached eggs on toast!! They introduced me to the wonders of Marmite (bizarre stuff, but really delicious, and it's just yeast extract so it's good for you too!) and the proper behavior of true Brits. It was a lovely week-long friendship that has now come to an end, and in a way that's great because I need to become isolated and self-involved for the next 20 days if I am to complete this project.
I spent the weekend wandering around Kolkata. I went to St. Paul's Cathedral, an impressive remnant of the Raj, and I visited the Academy of Fine Arts which wasn't what I expected it to be... but was pretty cool, none-the-less.
Tomorrow I'm headed to the National Library, then to Santiniketan on Wednesday. I met with THE Tagore scholar of India today. Her name is Uma Das Gupta and it was a pretty great meeting. She was pleased with my project and thought the art component (I'm calling them "meditations") is a perfect way for a young student to get to know Tagore in an intimate way! How great. It really is great. Now I just need to prove that I can do something with it and keep on trucking.
First, however, I need to go to the bustling market to get some Marmite...
galen.
Gah! It is a lot of work, enough to provoke sounds of exasperation. Everything is still great. My two favorite British friends left today, Anna and Sally. We spent every morning together eating breakfast at the Blue Sky Cafe, for 20 rupees you can get poached eggs on toast!! They introduced me to the wonders of Marmite (bizarre stuff, but really delicious, and it's just yeast extract so it's good for you too!) and the proper behavior of true Brits. It was a lovely week-long friendship that has now come to an end, and in a way that's great because I need to become isolated and self-involved for the next 20 days if I am to complete this project.
I spent the weekend wandering around Kolkata. I went to St. Paul's Cathedral, an impressive remnant of the Raj, and I visited the Academy of Fine Arts which wasn't what I expected it to be... but was pretty cool, none-the-less.
Tomorrow I'm headed to the National Library, then to Santiniketan on Wednesday. I met with THE Tagore scholar of India today. Her name is Uma Das Gupta and it was a pretty great meeting. She was pleased with my project and thought the art component (I'm calling them "meditations") is a perfect way for a young student to get to know Tagore in an intimate way! How great. It really is great. Now I just need to prove that I can do something with it and keep on trucking.
First, however, I need to go to the bustling market to get some Marmite...
galen.
Friday, November 13, 2009
backwards and forwards
Still living the life in Kolkata. I have spent almost 6 hours today (I had a break for breakfast) work on one very, very tiny collage (about 4" by 7" I think). It's based on the most beautiful poem by Tagore, from his book "Gitanjali" which won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1913. He was the first Asian to win the Nobel Prize (go figure). Here is the poem:
"Let all the strains of joy mingle in my last song--the joy that makes the earth flow over in the riotous excess of the grass, the joy that sets the twin brothers, life and death, dancing over the wide world, the joy that sweeps in with the tempest, shaking and waking all life with laughter, the joy that sits still with its tears on the open red lotus of pain, and the joy that throes everything it has upon the dust, and knows not a word."
I love his poems because they are just full of joy, very fun to read. I made another piece this week but I'm not as proud of it and it takes me FOREVER to post pictures!!! Blah. So, here are some photos of this one that I just made today. They're really bad because my camera's bad, but they get the point across. Focus on the parts that are in focus. Ha.


Here is a photo of some of the intricate parts:

And more....
"Let all the strains of joy mingle in my last song--the joy that makes the earth flow over in the riotous excess of the grass, the joy that sets the twin brothers, life and death, dancing over the wide world, the joy that sweeps in with the tempest, shaking and waking all life with laughter, the joy that sits still with its tears on the open red lotus of pain, and the joy that throes everything it has upon the dust, and knows not a word."
I love his poems because they are just full of joy, very fun to read. I made another piece this week but I'm not as proud of it and it takes me FOREVER to post pictures!!! Blah. So, here are some photos of this one that I just made today. They're really bad because my camera's bad, but they get the point across. Focus on the parts that are in focus. Ha.


Here is a photo of some of the intricate parts:

And more....
I'm having fun in my little hostel room. I finally got it cleaned this morning. The floor was coated in charcoal. Yuckkkk.
I also saw three short films that make up the larger film "Smell" last night. It was an Indian film and it was pretty interesting. Not amazing, but good. It was fun to see some Indian art film, it's very unusual to see anything but Bollywood. When in Kolkata, however, it's easy to find some seriously avant-garde stuff. This is the cultural hub of India. I'm here until Wednesday and I couldn't be happier! I don't have to do work this weekend, so I'm going to be a tourist and visit many a place. Maybe I will even post pictures!!!
Love.
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
SUPER fried chicken
That's what I had for dinner tonight in good old Kolkata. I'm exhausted, literally exhausted. I spent the whole day working on my project. I took a one hour and $4 cab ride to meet my advisor, Professor Tapati Guha-Thakurta, in northern Kolkata. $4 is a LOT of money in India, I'm living in a hotel for only $5 a night.... so think about that one. So yes, it was a bit of an expensive day, but what are you going to do? This all led to me wanting to spend little-to-no money on dinner, hence the SUPER fried chicken. It's not really fried, it's really tandoori and it's REALLY delicious.
Anyway, enough about food. So, yes I worked all day. I met my advisor for the first time. I was very, very nervous. She is one of the pre-eminent scholars of modern Indian art. She knows all about my subject, her grandfather actually studied at Rabindranath Tagore's school! She's really amazing. The thing is, she really liked me! She gave me an endless list of books to check out, many of which I won't read just because i don't have time in one month, but some of which are really, really helpful. It's just all so exciting. She gave me names of people to meet with in Santiniketan. She also told me she wished I could just do the collages and not have to write a paper (I wish that too....) but we came up with an outline for the paper that makes it relevant and not too hard to do in addition to everything else.
After the meeting I went to the hostel and locked myself up in my room with my books. I read for about 2 hours then I got a surge of creative energy and did some work on one piece that was really terrible and is now much better!! Great. I'm just excited for everything. It's a cool feeling.
My plans have changed a bit. I am now leaving Kolkata a week from today (so, next Wednesday the 18th). I want to meet with a Tagore scholar and she lives here, and I also need to track down a lot more books. It's a good thing. My advisor told me that Santiniketan can get depressing for a person alone for more than a week. Good thing she told me, I will not be there as long and I'll be much happier for it!
I'm going to go listen to the "spiritually enlightened" australians play terrible songs they have written inspired by George Harrison. That's what happens every night at the hostel, but they are leaving soon and that's maybe a good thing..... it's a funny place, full of happiness and bizarre things. Last night I got into a bit of an intoxicated rant with some Brits about the multiculturalism of Britain vs. the American identity. It really didn't go anywhere, but it was fun none-the-less.
MUCH love. If you are reading this you are probably someone I am missing!!
Anyway, enough about food. So, yes I worked all day. I met my advisor for the first time. I was very, very nervous. She is one of the pre-eminent scholars of modern Indian art. She knows all about my subject, her grandfather actually studied at Rabindranath Tagore's school! She's really amazing. The thing is, she really liked me! She gave me an endless list of books to check out, many of which I won't read just because i don't have time in one month, but some of which are really, really helpful. It's just all so exciting. She gave me names of people to meet with in Santiniketan. She also told me she wished I could just do the collages and not have to write a paper (I wish that too....) but we came up with an outline for the paper that makes it relevant and not too hard to do in addition to everything else.
After the meeting I went to the hostel and locked myself up in my room with my books. I read for about 2 hours then I got a surge of creative energy and did some work on one piece that was really terrible and is now much better!! Great. I'm just excited for everything. It's a cool feeling.
My plans have changed a bit. I am now leaving Kolkata a week from today (so, next Wednesday the 18th). I want to meet with a Tagore scholar and she lives here, and I also need to track down a lot more books. It's a good thing. My advisor told me that Santiniketan can get depressing for a person alone for more than a week. Good thing she told me, I will not be there as long and I'll be much happier for it!
I'm going to go listen to the "spiritually enlightened" australians play terrible songs they have written inspired by George Harrison. That's what happens every night at the hostel, but they are leaving soon and that's maybe a good thing..... it's a funny place, full of happiness and bizarre things. Last night I got into a bit of an intoxicated rant with some Brits about the multiculturalism of Britain vs. the American identity. It really didn't go anywhere, but it was fun none-the-less.
MUCH love. If you are reading this you are probably someone I am missing!!
Monday, November 9, 2009
the month (to clarify)
In response to Ezra's question: I'm traveling around India for the next month, but only in West Bengal. I leave Kolkata on the 14th and go to Santiniketan, a small city/town a bit northwest, and then I leave on the 27th for Darjeeling, and stay there for 1 week. Then I return to Delhi.
I judged the inhabitants at the hotel far too soon. I ended up meeting some really great people last night, 2 girls from Bristol and another brit and an American guy. We might all head out some night this week to the Kolkata Film Festival, which would be really fun. We are all staying on the roof and it's very social and a little crazy at the hostel at night. I'll be honest... I'm finding myself annoyed by all the work I have to do.... but it's also really great. It will be good to be in Santiniketan and out of Kolkata, because Kolkata has SO many tourists and is very happening.
I worked on a collage this morning and got frustrated because i don't have all the materials I want.... so I'm heading out to hunt for more and to go to the Rabindra Bharati Museum (Rabindranath Tagore's home).
Tonight I'm going to a fancy dinner with Storm-ji (the Academic Director of my program). She and her husband are in Kolkata looking at places for a new program center and so they are taking me out! A real meal!! This is very exciting considering I've been eating only bananas, peanut butter, muesli, and weird Indian food for the past few days.
Love ya'lls.
I judged the inhabitants at the hotel far too soon. I ended up meeting some really great people last night, 2 girls from Bristol and another brit and an American guy. We might all head out some night this week to the Kolkata Film Festival, which would be really fun. We are all staying on the roof and it's very social and a little crazy at the hostel at night. I'll be honest... I'm finding myself annoyed by all the work I have to do.... but it's also really great. It will be good to be in Santiniketan and out of Kolkata, because Kolkata has SO many tourists and is very happening.
I worked on a collage this morning and got frustrated because i don't have all the materials I want.... so I'm heading out to hunt for more and to go to the Rabindra Bharati Museum (Rabindranath Tagore's home).
Tonight I'm going to a fancy dinner with Storm-ji (the Academic Director of my program). She and her husband are in Kolkata looking at places for a new program center and so they are taking me out! A real meal!! This is very exciting considering I've been eating only bananas, peanut butter, muesli, and weird Indian food for the past few days.
Love ya'lls.
wanderings around Kolkata
I spent the entire day wandering around Kolkata looking for one specific site that I desperately wanted to find (the Town Hall that I mentioned earlier). I couldn't find it... and I ended up in a municipal building talking to a bunch of old men.... but I found things that were far cooler and better.
The first thing I found was a great bookstore with amazing biographies of Rabindranath Tagore (learn the name, I'm doing my ISP on him, so I'll say that name a lot for the next month). I bought one, and also bought a book full of his paintings that I plan to cut up and use in my collages. HAH! That's great too.
Then, as I was wandering around the streets of Kolkata and being treated like some sort of low-class prostitute (really, the color of my skin is a dead give-a-way that I'm up for grabs. I was dressed in FULL Indian garb and still getting harassed), I stumbled in the New Market. It was a frightening indoor market full of wacky guys who wanted to show me all the silver and salwars and silks that I could buy. I didn't want to buy anything, so I shooed them off in a rather rude manner (I'm finding myself to be really, really unforgiving when I'm alone in India--I kind of just yell at people who follow me or piss me off) and ventured into the market by myself. I ended up at this little spice shop and I asked an old man if he had any vegetable dyes (in broken hindi/english-HINGLISH). He said "ha-ji" and he got some other little man to run off to get me a bunch of colored dyes. He told me they were "bahut mehengue" (very expensive).... but then we got to talking (they gave me a bunch of Darjeeling chai in garum-garum pani (hot-hot water) so that it was safe-safe) and I explained that I'm an "art student" studying Tagore...
And you see, in India, TAGORE is a big name, especially in Kolkata. Actually, Jawaharlal Nehru said that he learned more from Tagore than from Mahatmas Gandhi, chew on that one for a bit. Anyway, Tagore's a big deal, and so this spice man got very, very excited and showed me how to make the vegetable dyes (add water-not too hard) and then sold me bright orange and this beautiful eggplant purple color for 300 rupees, down from Rs 1000! Quite a deal, I must say.
So, on my first day I didn't find what I wanted, but this was better than some weird museum...
My hotel is a little weird because it's full of travelers to India. I am used to travelers to Delhi, who are all kind of party-going young folk who drink coffee and are from France and Britain. Here in Kolkata the tourists are all parachute-pant-wearing hippies who smoke a lot of pot and sit on the roof doing really bad yoga postures.
I'm going to go eat dinner and hang out with them on the roof, I guess. Namaste.
The first thing I found was a great bookstore with amazing biographies of Rabindranath Tagore (learn the name, I'm doing my ISP on him, so I'll say that name a lot for the next month). I bought one, and also bought a book full of his paintings that I plan to cut up and use in my collages. HAH! That's great too.
Then, as I was wandering around the streets of Kolkata and being treated like some sort of low-class prostitute (really, the color of my skin is a dead give-a-way that I'm up for grabs. I was dressed in FULL Indian garb and still getting harassed), I stumbled in the New Market. It was a frightening indoor market full of wacky guys who wanted to show me all the silver and salwars and silks that I could buy. I didn't want to buy anything, so I shooed them off in a rather rude manner (I'm finding myself to be really, really unforgiving when I'm alone in India--I kind of just yell at people who follow me or piss me off) and ventured into the market by myself. I ended up at this little spice shop and I asked an old man if he had any vegetable dyes (in broken hindi/english-HINGLISH). He said "ha-ji" and he got some other little man to run off to get me a bunch of colored dyes. He told me they were "bahut mehengue" (very expensive).... but then we got to talking (they gave me a bunch of Darjeeling chai in garum-garum pani (hot-hot water) so that it was safe-safe) and I explained that I'm an "art student" studying Tagore...
And you see, in India, TAGORE is a big name, especially in Kolkata. Actually, Jawaharlal Nehru said that he learned more from Tagore than from Mahatmas Gandhi, chew on that one for a bit. Anyway, Tagore's a big deal, and so this spice man got very, very excited and showed me how to make the vegetable dyes (add water-not too hard) and then sold me bright orange and this beautiful eggplant purple color for 300 rupees, down from Rs 1000! Quite a deal, I must say.
So, on my first day I didn't find what I wanted, but this was better than some weird museum...
My hotel is a little weird because it's full of travelers to India. I am used to travelers to Delhi, who are all kind of party-going young folk who drink coffee and are from France and Britain. Here in Kolkata the tourists are all parachute-pant-wearing hippies who smoke a lot of pot and sit on the roof doing really bad yoga postures.
I'm going to go eat dinner and hang out with them on the roof, I guess. Namaste.
Sunday, November 8, 2009
"goodbye love, didn't know what time it was"
I thought I posted last night, but it's not showing up... very curious.
I have arrived in Kolkata after a 26 hour train ride. I was on the train from 4 pm Saturday to 6 pm Sunday. It wasn't too bad, actually. I managed to meet some interesting characters (all Indian). I was in first class which kind of rocked... I had a huge bed and it was cold and there was a really pleasant and funny family from Bihar with me. No creepy men, no cockroaches, no threat of theft... was I even in India?
Before I left I filled my iPod with music from my friend Isabel's computer, and thank God I did that! Instead of listening to my normal wacked out sad folk music I was listening to David Bowie the whole ride, and other such bizarre dance-inducing songs. When I'm alone in the middle (or in this case the East) of India I find it's best to listen to music that makes me laugh. That will be the weirdest thing about being completely alone for a month--I know I have to laugh a lot and I'll just have to make myself laugh at things. That isn't really too hard in India, there's a lot of hilarity.
So, yes. I'm here. I should be out doing work... but I'm taking this morning slow. I just arrived last night, after all. Last night I was pretty upset about the state of the hotel I checked into. It's called the Hotel Paragon on Sudder Street, and the downstairs area is just a big s**t-hole. All peeling paint and toilets that smell like they've never seen a toilet brush (in fact, I am positive they haven't). I had a lime green room with two beds and nothing but a flourescent light and a fan. Yes, depressing. So this morning I went up some stairs in the hotel and what should I find?? And entire rooftop terrace with plants and open spaces! I switched rooms, the rooftop room costs about 20 rupees more (less than 50 cents), and I have big windows and a dresser!! It's still a communal toilet situation, but there's something less gross about a toilet that opens to the outside when you're done with it, than one that's in a dungeon... My new room will be much more condusive to making collage in... and I can even use the tables on the terrace to work on. It's great. I'm much happier. Now all I have to do is buy some toilet paper (I did the Indian thing this morning, I need no EXPLAIN that, but it's not that pleasant) and bananas.
I'm off to start the first day of ISP. I'm just going to tool around one of the markets looking for collage materials, and then I'm going to a museum that has a display on the history of the Bengali Independence movement! History! Cool!
Love you all, I'm safe and happy.
I have arrived in Kolkata after a 26 hour train ride. I was on the train from 4 pm Saturday to 6 pm Sunday. It wasn't too bad, actually. I managed to meet some interesting characters (all Indian). I was in first class which kind of rocked... I had a huge bed and it was cold and there was a really pleasant and funny family from Bihar with me. No creepy men, no cockroaches, no threat of theft... was I even in India?
Before I left I filled my iPod with music from my friend Isabel's computer, and thank God I did that! Instead of listening to my normal wacked out sad folk music I was listening to David Bowie the whole ride, and other such bizarre dance-inducing songs. When I'm alone in the middle (or in this case the East) of India I find it's best to listen to music that makes me laugh. That will be the weirdest thing about being completely alone for a month--I know I have to laugh a lot and I'll just have to make myself laugh at things. That isn't really too hard in India, there's a lot of hilarity.
So, yes. I'm here. I should be out doing work... but I'm taking this morning slow. I just arrived last night, after all. Last night I was pretty upset about the state of the hotel I checked into. It's called the Hotel Paragon on Sudder Street, and the downstairs area is just a big s**t-hole. All peeling paint and toilets that smell like they've never seen a toilet brush (in fact, I am positive they haven't). I had a lime green room with two beds and nothing but a flourescent light and a fan. Yes, depressing. So this morning I went up some stairs in the hotel and what should I find?? And entire rooftop terrace with plants and open spaces! I switched rooms, the rooftop room costs about 20 rupees more (less than 50 cents), and I have big windows and a dresser!! It's still a communal toilet situation, but there's something less gross about a toilet that opens to the outside when you're done with it, than one that's in a dungeon... My new room will be much more condusive to making collage in... and I can even use the tables on the terrace to work on. It's great. I'm much happier. Now all I have to do is buy some toilet paper (I did the Indian thing this morning, I need no EXPLAIN that, but it's not that pleasant) and bananas.
I'm off to start the first day of ISP. I'm just going to tool around one of the markets looking for collage materials, and then I'm going to a museum that has a display on the history of the Bengali Independence movement! History! Cool!
Love you all, I'm safe and happy.
Friday, November 6, 2009
"belly bhangra"
Well, here I am, back from the adventures into the unknown territory of the Indian performance. We performed 13th out of 16 at the dance recital. Recital is not really the right word--this was a full fledged belly dancing extravaganza. Our dance teacher Meher belly-danced while her friend did hip-hop and pop-and-lock moves, girls danced with swords, a nine year-old belly-danced, and then we went... the Americans doing "belly bhangra."
It was, to say the least, one of the best experiences I have ever had. The crowd went WILD and clapped along with us as we shimmed in our coin belts. It was absurd, fun, and distinctly Indian. I say that because everything took about 3 minutes longer than it should. The curtain wouldn't open, and the MC made terrible by endearing jokes, and the entire show started about 40 minutes late.
I have to run off to dinner with Aunty, then I'm going out on the town with the dancers.
There will be a DVD. Hopefully all of you will get to see me do one of the weirdest and most humiliating performances of my life.
Much love.
It was, to say the least, one of the best experiences I have ever had. The crowd went WILD and clapped along with us as we shimmed in our coin belts. It was absurd, fun, and distinctly Indian. I say that because everything took about 3 minutes longer than it should. The curtain wouldn't open, and the MC made terrible by endearing jokes, and the entire show started about 40 minutes late.
I have to run off to dinner with Aunty, then I'm going out on the town with the dancers.
There will be a DVD. Hopefully all of you will get to see me do one of the weirdest and most humiliating performances of my life.
Much love.
Thursday, November 5, 2009
lord of the dance.
It's been another hectic week here at SIT India. I've gotten steady B+'s on just about everything. I wrote a pretty cool paper about pilgrimage that got a B+ because I talked to much about "home" rather than "India." Well, whatever.
We performed our Bollywood routine yesterday to riotous applause from the SIT students and staff. Tonight we're performing in this big dance recital that our teacher, Meher, is putting on. It will be hilarious. We are by far the worst dancers - everyone else is a hot belly dancer or these amazing Bhangra dancers. We look like foolish white girls in little cholis (shirts that do not cover anything) and fluffy skirts. It will be an experience, to say the least.
I've been trying to get everything together for ISP--tying up loose ends and whatnot. Aunty is making me a bit sad because she says she'll be very lonely... and in truth I'll be pretty lonely too. I'm not quite sure what I'm going to eat on ISP. I'm buying a bunch of granola and peanut butter and bananas. Hopefully that will pull me through. I've also got all my hostels and trains booked, and everything is set. It's a little frightening to be going off on my own in the old India, but it's also exciting and I feel prepared. It will be nice to get out of the stifling SIT building and the group of 14 students. It has been wonderful but a bit clostrophobic at times.
I will let you all know how the dance performance goes as soon as I can. I leave tomorrow at 4 pm for Kolkata, and I'll be on a train for 24 hours... so I definitely won't be posting then. I'll try to get the to internet as much as possible during ISP, but if I'm incommunicado for extended periods of time it's not because I don't love you, it's just because I won't have any opportunity to get to a computer.
I'll write again soon. And maybe a better post than these last few. Really, I've just been running around doing errands and attempting to write good papers. Much love.
We performed our Bollywood routine yesterday to riotous applause from the SIT students and staff. Tonight we're performing in this big dance recital that our teacher, Meher, is putting on. It will be hilarious. We are by far the worst dancers - everyone else is a hot belly dancer or these amazing Bhangra dancers. We look like foolish white girls in little cholis (shirts that do not cover anything) and fluffy skirts. It will be an experience, to say the least.
I've been trying to get everything together for ISP--tying up loose ends and whatnot. Aunty is making me a bit sad because she says she'll be very lonely... and in truth I'll be pretty lonely too. I'm not quite sure what I'm going to eat on ISP. I'm buying a bunch of granola and peanut butter and bananas. Hopefully that will pull me through. I've also got all my hostels and trains booked, and everything is set. It's a little frightening to be going off on my own in the old India, but it's also exciting and I feel prepared. It will be nice to get out of the stifling SIT building and the group of 14 students. It has been wonderful but a bit clostrophobic at times.
I will let you all know how the dance performance goes as soon as I can. I leave tomorrow at 4 pm for Kolkata, and I'll be on a train for 24 hours... so I definitely won't be posting then. I'll try to get the to internet as much as possible during ISP, but if I'm incommunicado for extended periods of time it's not because I don't love you, it's just because I won't have any opportunity to get to a computer.
I'll write again soon. And maybe a better post than these last few. Really, I've just been running around doing errands and attempting to write good papers. Much love.
Sunday, November 1, 2009
my aunty parties with shah rukh khan?

This is Aunty-ji

This is Bollywood mega-star Shah Rukh Khan.
On October 31st, while I was out pretending to be a rickshaw and dancing to American tunes, my aunty was socializing with the best-of-the-best in Indian high society. When I stumbled into our flat at one am, Aunty was still off at her dinner party—dressed in her finest sari and, supposedly, drifting from Bollywood star to Bollywood star. She came home at about three am, then got up for temple at five am. Amazing. And, I must say that while Halloween was great fun, I would have passed it up had I known that Shah Rukh Khan would be at this party. I mean, really? That would have been wildly cool.
But, it was not my destiny to mingle with Bollywood stars. We had a great Halloween shindig. I was in rare dancing form and was having a wonderful time until we noticed that Indian men had gathered on the nearby rooftop to watch us from above. We were also on the roof, and somehow their voyeurism (lecherous voyeurism) ruined my dancing mood. They did leave, and the other SIT students also decided that Isabel and I would have “won” first prize if there was a legitimate costume party. There was not, however, and so we left empty-handed.
Tonight I went to dinner at Aunty-ji’s daughter’s house (Jaya, I have mentioned her before). Her house is gorgeous and modern. She has a giant stone Saibaba, and she has a temple dedicated to Saibaba and it’s just amazing. We ate some delicious coconut curry zucchini business from Goa, and I showed Jaya and her children (Shavin and Nittika) photos of my family and dad’s art and Sam’s art and Ezra’s Halloween costume (they were confused about your underwear). Jaya asked me if you are rich, dad, when she saw your paintings. I said no and she said “Why not? He should be rich!” She thinks you need an agent (duh) – but it can’t be me.
She loved Sam’s work so, so much. She wanted to buy one (we should discuss that brohan). She also wants to hook you up with some of her artist friends in India, she said “He should come here.” Maybe you can come to India and have a show in Delhi and stay with these people and meet Bollywood stars. There’s nothing better, really.
It will be a shock to leave in one week. I’m getting nervous, but it’s the good, healthy kind of nervous. Happy Halloween everyone!!
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