Bonfim to Yemanja in Salvador, Bahia

I really did not plan it this way.. but, I guess I am lucky. Millions of people were in the streets of Salvador partying the day I landed and the day I left Salvador, Bahia. Yup... Bonfim to Yemanja.

I reached on the day of Lavagem do Bonfim, a sacred festival where the steps of Igreja Bonfim is washed. There is a long parade from the heart of the city to Igreja Bonfim, almost 9 kms away. Millions of people make their way to the church, dancing, singing and drinking beer. Once they reach the church, they tie colourful ribbons which say 'Lemrbranca do senhor do bonfim da bahia'. Every ribbon is tied to the fence of the church with three knots and you are supposed to make a wish for every knot. After dancing all the way to the church in the heat and not really drinking anything (I dont like to mix religious festivals with beer), I was more than glad to get my share of ribbons.





































Bonfim made me realise that Salvador can be overwhelming even without all the Capoeira I was looking foward to. I was staying with Alda, who incidentally I met in Peru on a boat trip. We just hit it off because she loves India and I love Brazil. She invited me to stay with her at her place in Rio Vermelho, a beautiful beach 30 minutes west of the historical centre of Pelorinho. I was glad to be far from the tourist crowd and more than happy to see that my room had the most amazing view of the sea.

















Salvador is supposed to be the Mecca for Capoeira, one of the main reasons I wanted to travel to Brazil. Just the week before reaching Salvador, I had attended a huge event of capoeira in Ilheus Bahia. The event was Capoeirando, the annual event for my Capoeira group Cordao De Ouro. As much as I had been looking forward to this event for as long as I knew, I discovered many things about Capoeira and the way I feel about Capoeira in those few days. I am not going to really elaborate too much on this. But, Ill talk about the few things I learnt...

















Capoeira is my Capoeira family back home. I was with 200 people, who all belong to Cordao de ouro family, the group I am a part of. But, at the same time, I did not feel a part of this larger family. Maybe it was my mental state of mind or missing home or whatever you call it.... To me, Capoeira is my group back in India. They are my family and the entire event seemed meaningless without being able to share it with people I love to play with. With people I learn from. With people whom I drink beer with at home. For the first time in these 3 years, I was afraid to enter the Roda and I did not like that feeling.

















Brazil cannot make you do a backflip. Well... everyone thinks that training Capoeira in Brazil is going to make you fantastic Capoeirista. Well, I suck big time at that. I havent been playing regularly. I havent been learning anything. I think I was playing a much better game when I was at home. In Brazil, Ive been caught up so much with the whole `I want to soak into the Brazilian culture` that a lot of things other than capoeira have taken priority.... So, unless you focus on Capoeira, whether its at home or in Brazil, no miracle can happen. And especially, attending a huge Capoeira event cannot teach you anything superhuman. Philosophy is the only the only thing youll get. So, am enjoying that.

Mestres are not Gods. I loved waking up in a small house (Casa of Dona Maria) in Capoeirando and walk out to see Mestres lying around in the hammock, drinking coffee, singing, talking, walking... doing everyday stuff. Mestre Suassuna was staying in the same house. Mestre Lobao was our neighbour. Mestre Deputado always hung out in the verandah. All the Contra mestres stopped by for coffee. It was a little dreamy... yet so real. I used to know all these Mestres only thanks to the MP3 songs in my Ipod. It was amazing seeing them in flesh and blood and realising that they are human... (I guess Ill be partial to Mestre Suassuna here and call him God.. it was truly incredible to meet him)

















Everyone is a student at something or the other. All mestres, contra mestres, intructors, students.. everyone is learning something. Working on something. No one is really perfect at everything. Capoeira is something you learn all your life. Baba, my teacher at home has always told us this. But, it was nice to see this in Brazil. To see that everyone is putting effort on something that they know they have to work on. It just inspired me to take up one movement or one song a month and work on it. Im sure that by 4 or 5 years, the list of things I can do will be substantial then.

















Women can play kickass capoeira too. It was fantastic to see some women mestres, contra mestres and students playing some fabulous games. Even at home, we have more women in the group, but since acrobatics gets associated with Capoeira, people think women cant play. Thats not true. Capoeira is not just about acrobatics. It was wonderful to see challenging games devoid of acrobatics and yet look fabulous. (Dedicating this para to my dear friend Mel, who I share a laugh with everytime people are doing one hand Au's and flips)


















Back to Salvador from Capoeira....

Reaching Salvador, I was keen on getting as much Capoeira as possible. If there is one thing that I have been shattered with in this whole trip, its this wish. I went to many schools in the past 2 weeks.... schools of Angola and Regional... in Pelorinho and other places... but, just did not find what I was looking for. Classes were very touristy thanks to the Carnaval season approaching. I was charged 20 reals per class to play with other tourists. Classes started on Bahian time (thats a whole new chapter I am not getting into.. If you people were making fun of IST.. Indian standard time, you havent witnessed Bahian time). I dont know whether it was the classes I picked or generally the way things operate here.. But, I really missed the rigour, discipline and more than anything the Axe..... I missed Cordao De Ouro. Also, Im not doing justice by trying a class once and deciding its not for me. Im not doing any justice by staying in Salvador for just 3 weeks and deciding its not for me. I guess thats possibly the reason I will return one day to Salvador maybe for a couple of months and stay put doing Capoeira regularly. But, I am aware that I do need ample time to research the schools that I want to play with. Capoeira was the reason I decided to come to Brazil and Capoeira was the reason Im deciding to leave salvador and go back South. I do know that spending some extra time in Rio and Sao Paulo will only help me discover nooks and corners that I love to stumble upon in large cities.

Anyway... other than the Capoeira fiasco in Salvador, I had a bloody fabulous time thanks to Alda. Alda works in an organisation providing culttural opportunities and leisure activities to industries in Salvador. She has amazing friends, who are involved in something cultural or the other. Every day, we landed up meeting her friends and doing something wonderful... Whether it was a Samba night listening to Lazzo sing... or a Jazz night at the Modern Art Museum.. whether it was evening eating Chocolate desserts... or an Indian dinner night.... whether it was dancing at Boomerangue or Borracharia or getting an Afro hair makeover at home.... whether it was lazing in Praia do flamengo or parading with Hare Rama Hare Krishna group.... whether it was a musical night with Aleh playing the guitar or Danilo playing the Berimbau.... Alda knew how to get things going. I was spoilt like a kid by Alda for a couple of weeks.

















































More than what we did, its the people I got to meet thanks to Alda.... Willy, her American neighbour who works in Bahian tourism and the only guy Alda allows into her house with shoes... Marie, his friend from France who is a Yoga teacher and a masseuse.... Danilo, a yoga teacher and a experimental musician....

Survived the Carnival,Brazil

Every year, sometime around February, I remember media channels and publications covering the Carnival in Rio De Janeiro. From a distance, I have been party to bits and pieces and always imagined the Rio Carnival to be an orgy of millions of semi-naked Samba dancers in glittering costumes. I was terribly wrong. This very moment, as I am sitting in the balcony of a South zone apartment in Rio, sipping Cerveja (beer), and listening to a Samba band pass by in the street below followed by hundreds of people moving to the addictive rhythm, I feel a part of the real Rio Carnival.
One of the toughest decisions since I reached Brazil was choosing the city where I would spend time during the Carnival. Whether it is the traditional carnival of Olinda or the Afro-Brazil influence in Salvador or the mud parade in Paraty, every city in Brazil boasts of a Carnival with its own unique touch. Having read that it was possible to do something every hour for the entire month of February in Rio and wanting to experience everything possible as a first timer at Carnival, I chose Rio.
It has been 10 days since I reached Rio De Janeiro and I learnt a few things about the grand Rio Carnival. If there is one word to describe 72 hours of no sleep, having beer and barbecue for breakfast, thousands of people sporting crazy costumes and dancing in the streets, its called 'Blocos De Rua' – the street parties of Rio, that take place in every neighbourhood all day long.
If there is one place where there are more feathers than the bird population of the world, more colours than you can mix on Corel Draw, more perfect bodies than you can imagine, more fireworks than Diwali, more cheering and competitive spirit than any sporting event, this place is called 'Sambodromo' - the place that houses the Samba Competition among the top schools of Riode jeneiro
If there is one place where you can see carpenters, electricians, painters, artists, musicians, dancers, writers and technicians working towards one goal, with incredible teamwork and effort, its called 'Cidade Do Samba' – Samba City, the place where the Carnival paraphernalia is produced.
If there is one reason why bumblebees, mummies, angels, devils, prostitutes, musicians, magicians, clowns and cross-dressers hang out together, its thanks to 'Fantasia' – costumes, the very DNA of the Carnival
If there are people peeing on the streets, homeless picking up beer cans to sell and make money, dirty starving street kids crawling under the stands to pickpocket tourists, drunk men beating up their women in broad daylight, people throwing up from bus windows, its called ‘Realidade’ - reality, one thing that even Rio Carnival cannot escape.
If there is one word for energy, life and spirit, it is ‘Cariocas‘ - the people of Rio De Janeiro, who are the drivers behind the biggest party of the world. I leave with a backpack full of glittering memories from the Carnival and symptoms of a strange disease. My feet move three steps even when I am asleep and this disease is called Samba Itch. What a perfect souvenir from the Carnival!

Ultima dois semanas,Brazil

The last 2 weeks in Brazil went away so quickly it almost felt like it never happened. I was torn between just staying back in Rio and dancing away every night or heading to Florianapolis and lying around in the beach or diving in Ilha Grande or taking a boat ride down Pantanal (the Kerala of Brazil).... But, then I figured that it involved 20 hour bus journeys or 2 hour boat rides, both I was sick and tired of.. So, I just decided to head to Sao Paulo and attend classes at the Capoeira Academy and do the 'oh so brazilian things' and 'some not so brazilian things' before leaving...

I drank Cerveja.. lots of it..

I ate Acai.. tons of it..

I overdosed on Guarana..

I ate at the cheap Comido por kilo places.. Ive now perfected the art of loading the plate only for 10 Reals or under..

I ate at the Japanese quarter of Sao Paulo... (Incidentally, some of the best Jap food in the world is served in Sao Paulo)

I ate at the best pizza place in the world .. (Thats what my host Luiza calls it)

I drank loads of coffee.. and bought lots..

I ate Pasteils in the Mercado Municipal.. (Mauricio in Chile. i did try to ask them if they would deliver in Santiago .. I remember your request... and they said thats not possible..)

I drank Caipirinhas.. (and even volunteered at a street fair trying to make some)

I drank Maracuja juice.... mmmmm,....

No guesses.. I am a foodie... In between all this eating and drinking, I did some Capoeira. I injured my wrist trying to do a stupid move that I cannot do and had to stop doing classes.

So, I decided to Samba instead... I went to my favourite Samba club and was amazed that I could sing a lot more than I could 5 months back.. the band remembered me and the singer (who looks like an ex boss of mine) even dedicated a song to me..

I learnt to click my fingers like the Brazilians.. (am still learning).. my right fore finger is almost green..

I bought some backless tops.. (god knows if I can wear them in India)

I went to a Brazilian waxing parlour and experienced excruciating pain... (they are not kidding when they say Brazilian women go through a lot of pain to look beautiful)

I shopped for Brazilian porn for an American friend... (and learnt about the different grades of porn)

I spent an afternoon reading Vinicius Moraes Poetry with a dictionary and fell in love with him..

I watched an Israeli film with Portuguese subtitles.. I think my Portuguese reading and comprehending level is way better than Hebrew listening level..

I went to a circus rehearsal with a girl from Honduras..

I went to a film archive and learnt about film restoration..

I bought hawainas... (brazilian rubber chappals)

I paid homage to Senna... visited his grave....

I downloaded Season 4 of Prison Break and saw most of it... and Im tired that its going nowhere.. and Michael is getting fatter..

I watched Lost with Portuguese subtitles and fell in love with Sawyer all over again..

I chatted with a Lebanese liquor store owner and discussed a part of the world I knew nothing about..

I hung out with wonderful couchsurfers..

I watched the corporate world walk by Aveneida Paulista as I sat around eating Acai flovoured ice cream in backpacker clothes... its a thrill...

I tried to hand stands in Ibirapuera park..

I slept on a few bus rides and missed my stops..

I bargained in Portuguese...

I discovered my artistic side and made a fabulous looking belt...

I skype called everyone I missed...

I tried to flip coins everyday to decide whether I should stay back in Brazil or leave.. I even tried best of threes..

Anyway... I did board that flight on 11th March. Took the metro to Tatuape and the bus the airport and drank a Cerveja and a Caparinha in the 1 hour in the airport. Quickly ate Acai too. Boarded the flight and was disappointed to find only Hollywood films and English music. Searched Delta In-Flight entertainment desperately for a Portuguese film. Spoke to the airhostess in Portuguese though she spoke fluent English. Was extremely delighted to be sitting next to a Brazilian exchange student. Saw the night lights of Sao Paulo as the flight took off.. and cried a bit...

The flight started heading northwards.... it got colder (though the flight had temprature control, I could feel the warmth of Brazil being sucked out of me) .... When I landed in Atlanta, the welcome was the coldest welcome in my whole life. Will do justice to that by writing the bitchiest blog post ever very soon.

Now Im here... cold.... missing Brazil sooo much... craving for Cafezinhos... missing hearing music everywhere... all the oh so Brazilian things... and wondering whether I should have done 'best of 5' when I flipped that coin. Only meeting my 2 school friends is making up for leaving Brazil.