Buffalo Baths & More

The other day I watched a water buffalo being bathed on the bank, in the shallow waters along the Bhagirathi River. A young man was giving the buffalo's  flank a good scrubbing which he (the buffalo)  

A water buffalo gets a bath.

seemed to enjoy immensely. The boy lifted the buffalo's tail and cleaned it thoroughly which he (the buffalo) didn't seem to enjoy, much less immensely. Then, with two whacks from a stick administered to his rump, the buffalo submerged his powerful animal body up to his shoulders. His bath over, his black coat was all shiny.

Like a Discovery Chanel documentary, this timeless land unfolds as we glide soundlessly on the river. Am I still in the 21st century? 

A ferry boat crosses the river--standing room only.

I watch people work. With their hips swaying, women in vibrant saris balance great bundles of harvested grasses on their heads. A fishing boat filled with men gather sand from the river bottom to use in building their homes. They use perforated buckets on bamboo poles.

We pass fields of tumeric and mustard greens, banana trees, sugar cane and pampas grass.

At all times during the day small children come running out of their homes screaming "Ta-ta, ta-ta, ta-ta," the equivalent of hello. There are no other boats on the river like this and they are thrilled at the sight of it. Sometimes I wish they were not so thrilled. Today we cruised past many small villages. Children streamed out of the jungles and onto the banks like ants from a flood. Okay kids, I see you. Please give your little lungs a rest. You're scaring the birds.

Locals on the river bank.

And there are a lot of birds: gray headed lap wings, open-billed storks, and white breasted kingfishers. Clouds of white egrets are as plentiful as pigeons, The other day I saw a pack of jackals including a male and female nuzzling each other.

Farming, bathing, fishing. Daily life goes on, even when it stops. Yesterday we slowly passed by two bodies being cremated. It was the first time I've seen this. After lighting a fire beneath the head, they slowly slipped off a white cover from one of the bodies. It seemed completely natural to see this. It's part of the ebb and flow of life here.