Part 7
10.09.2005
The time from Jaisalmer to Delhi by train took us 19 hours. Andrew and Kee took 2nd class AC, I opted the cheapest solution, the sleeper lower class. In the train, I met two traveler, who travel the same class and same compartment with me. French guy name Chris and Adam from Wales. We did some ice breaking. Chris was more quiet and cooler type while Adam and I had more things to crap about. Soon after the train took off, I took a short nap that seems like forever. But it was not forever, I awaken 2 hours after that, to find my view from the inside of the train, setting on the empty desert, villages and sometime small town. The class that we were in was the lowest. That means open door, crappy window, little smelly and unorganized, and yes, overcrowded especially where we reached at Jodhpur train station. The majestic view while on the route to Delhi, before the night set in, was simply marvelous. Kids were running around, amaze by the presence of us aliens, waving in complete happiness and curiosity at us foreigners, cows and other animals were wandering around and all in all it was a very simple setting of a small village in the desert, under the clear dusty sky and for a moment like that, everything in my surrounding were peaceful.
On this route, I started out my new book, given to me by Martin & Ina in Udaipur, Nick Hornby’s High Fidelity. This is a book that narrated by a guy in his thirty something. In this book, he chronicle all his bittersweet past of his relationships and his obsession with records and music scene. His recent break up with his girlfriend prompted him to reanalyzed all his past relationship, the whats that had went wrong and while he was narrating about his seems-meaningless--kind-of-life, he also narrated about his fascinating thought about relationship and records. One of the best thing in this book was the “All time top 5 things list”.
In many ways, HIGH FIDELITY is a "guy" romantic comedy, a book about relationships after the age of 30, a book about societal expectations for men, a book about "recovery" from damaging relationships. Along the way it gives great insight into how guys think, male paranoia ("Is he better than me? [i.e. Bigger?]"), male insecurity and fear and sadness. Also the tendency of men to be a little narrow-minded (overly focused [ie, the top 5 lists]) at times, even misanthropic. I love this book because I really related to the main character; we live in a materialistic age where at a certain point you start to feel foolish if you haven't established a "career." Rob's (the main character) a passionate guy, passionate about music -- not a dullard, and yet he remains the way he always was, without much career ambition, content to indulge his passions. I love this book because I can relate to the Rob’s characters especially at the moment of writing this journal.
Rob kind of feel guilty because he was the kind of chap that is demanded by the society, like establishing career of sort and that was exactly the state I am in now. Also because of his obsession on music and how he often judge people by the music collection he had, and honestly that was what I do most of time, on people. What kind of people he or she is if he or she is a avid listener of Jazz or Blues. What if he or she listen to Beethoven or Mozart or phantom of the opera. He is cool if he talks about cultural revolution in the 60s or Jimi Hendrix or if he thought Claptop is God. Sometime I categorize people as boring people if they are not fond with music for living life without music is like a living life without life.
Though our conscious mind are clear but sometime, we still (Rob and I) still feel inferior in comparison to people around us. In my case is to see my friends going so far in their career, measuring their achievement by what’s new materials that brought and the place they visited and so forth. I was talking to my friend yesterday and I was kind of expressing my thought of finding the right girl. For me, Physical look is always not the most important criteria. I think I put more importance in the type of music they listen and type of book they read or movies they watch or social-political issues they know and talk about rather than the mere look. I value much more on their character, attitude, personality and charisma. How they present themselves or behave in this sick society of ours. I love someone that can share common interest or subject with me hence she can be not only my partner but my best friend. Yes, you may say this is childish or selfish but that was me, even now at the age of 25. Seems like a joke but hey, that’s me. And because I see that in Rob and therefore I was so thankful to Nick that in all his great mind he somehow knew a character that are somewhat like me- therefore I am not abnormal.
I really love this book, I do. If you are not the reader, then you might want to check out the movie, which starring John Cusack and Jack Black. OK, now I am gonna feature my first all time top 5 list in this journal.
My all time top 5 books
1. Shantaram by Gregory Roberts
2. Conversations with God by Neale Walsch
3. Jim Morrison: Life, Death & Legend by Stephen Davis
4. Kane & Abel by Jeffrey Acrher
5. High Fidelity by Nick Hornby
The train stop for a 15 minutes rest at one of the mid rail station. The sun was already unseen anywhere. Chris and I went down and feed ourselves with some local variety, taking a cigarette break and breathing the fresh air of Indian outskirt. When the train continue its journey, I was seating at the door, washing my eyes with the serenity of the greenery of farm field and life of the villagers. The train passed through lakes, empty fields, hills, desert and all the way until we it stopped again at Jodhpur train station. At the time of stopping I was still reading High fidelity and was listening to:
Song: Be here now, sound of love, beauty, see the sun by James Iha, Jump, Running with devil, Ain’t talkin’ about love, cradle will rock by Van Halen and Ray Charles’s Greatest Hits.
My all time top 5 singles:
1. Tiny Dancer by Elton John
2. Goodnight Saigon by Billy Joel
3. Ordinary world by Duran Duran
4. Why don’t you & I by Santana & Chad Kruger
5. Don’t go away mad by Motley Crue
My all time top 5 album:
1. The Ballads by R.E.O Speedwagon
2. Nevermind by Nirvana
3. Child of the light by Ernie Smith
4. Aquarius by Amir Yussof
5. Clapton Chronicles by Eric Clapton
So I put on greatest hits of The Beatles and closed my eyes for the night. The train stopped at Jaipur station at 5am and arrived at Delhi at 11:30. Andrew and Kee parted with me for our own destination. They went to Agra for the infamous Taj Mahal and I went on to meet Maneesh, my friend. I had been to the Taj Mahal somewhere during winter last year so it will be stupid to waste my budget for a second time, plus, Agra is not a fancy one will for more than one and if minus the Taj, no one will probably go there at all. Maneesh was a trainee in Malaysia some 4 years ago and we lived nearby then. Maneesh took me Connought place (CP), Zen restaurant, for a round of Foster beers and fried chilly potatoes. It was a classy Chinese restaurant. The beers on the hot shiny day was really great. Then we went to his house some 50 Km away, in Vasundhara, Ghazianbad. Maneesh’ s wife cooked us a very nice dinner with good appetite. Prior to that, we went to the temple of Lord Shiva. We did nothing much but catching up some old times stuff and moment that gone before our eyes. I met up with Andrew and we took a bus to Manali, which will take us 18 hours miserable ride up the mountain and hill side. Kee met up with a French girl in her early thirty something and they decided to go to Varanasi- the mother of all holy place, instead.
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