by this, and this only, we have existed / which is not to be found in our obituaries

Ganga was sunken, and the limp leaves
Waited for rain, while the black clouds
Gathered far distant, over Himavant.
The jungle crouched, humped in silence.
Then spoke the thunder
DA
Datta: what have we given?
My friend, blood shaking my heart
The awful daring of a moment's surrender
Which an age of prudence can never retract
By this, and this only, we have existed
Which is not to be found in our obituaries
Or in memories draped by the beneficent spider
Or under seals broken by the lean solicitor
In our empty rooms
DA
Dayadhvam: I have heard the key
Turn in the door once and turn once only
We think of the key, each in his prison
Thinking of the key, each confirms a prison
Only at nightfall, aetherial rumours
Revive for a moment a broken Coriolanus
DA
Damyata: The boat responded
Gaily, to the hand expert with sail and oar
The sea was calm, your heart would have responded
Gaily, when invited, beating obedient
To controlling hands
-from 'The Wasteland' by T.S. Eliot

I was too busy at work today to have the chance to get anything done, which is always horribly ironic. I came home, read a little bit (a serious book this time, rather than romance: V.S. Naipul's 'The Guerrilas'), then had dinner upstairs. I hung out in that apartment the rest of the night, and we ended up watching 'Star Wars II: The Clone Wars'. Unfortunately, we didn't start until midnight, so the movie didn't end until after two a.m., and I am v. tired.

Tomorrow, I should really go to Meena Bazaar to find a tailor and get my outfit stitched for the wedding that I'm going to in two weeks. However, someone else expressed interest in going to a museum, which I would really like to do, and so maybe I'll go to the museum and then run the errand to the bazaar later in the week.

I think I'm finally starting to feel settled here; it takes me time to warm up to new groups, since I'm rather shy initially, and it's hard to be the new person in a group whose social dynamics have already formed. I've now been here long enough to feel at home in my surroundings, and I'm developing a shared history with my coworkers that makes future interactions even easier. I am definitely going to have to start taking more pictures, especially if I go to the museum tomorrow--the weight of history here is amazing, and I can't wait to go to the north, where the history is incredible. I would write more about the infinitely interesting subject of whether or not I should take pictures, but unfortunately it's time for bed.