Last time I visited India was the first time I visited India, back in 2006. I volunteered at the media archive at Namgyal Monastery teaching video editing, DVD production, basic computer skills, things like that.
The second time is always riskier psychologically—I’ve done all this before and so I don’t take the same precautionary steps this time around. The tendency is to attribute success to one’s raw talents rather than from simply being prepared. Awareness of this phenomenon is helpful, but branches into even more subtle mind games, like the angel on one shoulder saying “Pretend it’s your first time,” while the devil on the other whispers “But you’ve already done this, you’ll be fine.”
One thing is different, though: I’m going with my brother, Bennett. He just got accepted into the AFI cinematography program and has a rare window of opportunity to travel before two years in the graduate school trenches. We haven’t spent this much time together since we were kids. We’re teaching together this time. He’s focusing on cameras and lighting while I get into motion graphics and database-building (it’s an archive, after all).
We started out the trip at San Francisco International Airport. They currently have an exhibit about the history of automata (circa the 19th century). I love this violin-playing rabbit guy.
He looks like he just stopped playing the fiddle because of some devastating realization, as though he left the gas stove turned on or a faucet running at home.
We’re flying on Air China (not to be confused with China Air) to Delhi by way of Beijing. There’s no better way to comprehend the size of the Earth than to fly from the U.S. to India. The trip will be about 30 hours door-to-door.
