Bye Bye India

Time to say farewell to India, by far had the best white tea I've ever had! I bid thee a fine farewell till next time. Next stop is Italy and ancient Rome.

Caste System: More in depth

So the actual Caste system really is only Broken up into 4 groups: the Brahmin at the top, followed by the Kshatriya, Next are the Vaishya, and at the bottom of the "actual" caste system are the Sudra. After that there is even a group of outsiders known as the Hariajan or the Untouchables. The Brahmin are at the top of the Caste system. They are the priest and other religious figures in  india, or nowadays those who come from the descent of those priest. They were the highest because they took care of all the religious matters, like sacrifice which were very important to them.

Kshatriya Warrior

Next on the chart are the Kshatriya. They are all the members of the warrior class who kept peace within the Hindu villages and fought all the battles for the Hindu people.

Painting of a Merchant

 Next are the Sudras. They are at the bottom of the caste system, but they don not necessarily have the worst jobs. They are the merchants, bakers, farmers, etc. for the Indian people. A strong middle class is important to any thriving society, especially one that grew to have as large of a population that India has. Seeing that their population was able to grow to over a billion they must have had a very strong farming class and a large surplus of food at all times. Great job farmers!

Last in Hindu society are the "Untouchables". The untouchables are outsiders to original roots of hinduism and receive the worst jobs that India has to offer. They are called untouchables because they are considered to be so low that they are now outside of the caste system and everyone looks down to them. In modern day there is still very much a sense of biased and profiling against the untouchables. Even to this day India has passed anti-racism laws against poorly mistreating members of this class.

Well I'm out of tea for the night. Great history lesson, Chance Parson out.

Three in One

As I continue to hear about the fascinating Indian beliefs I now know of the great Indian Gods or God.... Just that all wrapped up into one major god are three gods: Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva.

Brahma

Brahma (Just above) Is the god of water and life here for the Hindu people. I really like the idea of water for the god of life seeing that water is one of the key necessities to bring life to any civilization, especially India who relies on the monsoon annually for its crops and survival.

Vishnu

This is the god of preserving life and maintaining life in the universe. He was once a lesser god, but stories of him going on several quest through the Vedas and other stories have risen his popularity over the years. Praying to him is seen as the everyday prayer to keep going in the current moment, and that you may preserve your life for another day to come as long as Vishnu is constantly watching over.                                                                                  

 

Shiva

Last is Shiva, she is the liberator and the destroyer, and i guess the end to cycle of Hindu life. She brings the destruction and end to life when the time is ready, but is also known for liberation and protecting of the areas. I can't wait to learn more about the gods, and i also found out about this great psychedelic tea at our next stop!!

Aryan Invaders

As I've made my way through Mohenjo Daro and the Indus Valley I've not only discovered this magical tea known as Hindustan Unilever tea, but while sitting down drinking tea with its maker I learned that here in India they didn't come up with these ideas all on their own! A group of people known as the Aryans migrated to India from no one knows where, and brought with them horses, language, architecture and so much more! A lot of Indian culture might not be here if it wasn't for them, and as a matter of fact I believe it was the Aryans who probably were in the higher castes back in the day. This is truly remarkable because had the Aryans not invaded long ago India may have never become the great country it is today!

Caste System

I've just found out a great deal about this social hierarchy here in India known as the Caste System. Here in america it's not considered the highest life being a priest, but back in ancient India i guess it paid to preach! more on the caste system coming later.

Sanskrit at it's finest

तगका गि बदह पोना ोल ालुतगेप ूद ेोलेकीगू ूीोलेतोूदीऍऍऍ छ)

Like if you have an English to Sanskrit translator :)

1st Cup of Tea!!!

Hello ladies and gentleman, I've  made my way to the ruins of the once great civilization known as Mohenjo Daro! Here I've received my 1st cup of tea from this vast country. We have no idea as to how this civilization ended, but i do know that they did manage to pass down this beautiful tea recipe! #Approval

As I make my way through the Indian market in search of a tea stand I have learned all sorts of religious idea beliefs from seeing to amazing statues they have here in the market. urns out the reason this man, yes all the gods are men, has so many arms is just purely to show that he is in fact a god. As a matter of fact they do this with all of their gods.

Hello all, my name is Chance Parson and in my most recent escapades i have found myself touring through India and the boarder of Pakistan. Since finding out that the book Three Cups of Tea was not only fabricated, but had nothing to do with tea, I shall be filling you in on my findings in the middle east, and of course how the tea taste.