namaste and jullay
When I first got to the Himalayas, it was hard for me to say “namaste” to people, because it’s can be such a cliche back home in the US, like prayer flags on all the houses near CU Boulder. When I finally broke free, it felt good to say. For a while I was saying it a lot, and buying stacks and stacks of prayer flags. Now, however, I’m in Ladakh, where they don’t say “namaste.” For the Muslims you say “Salaam Allakum” and for everyone else you say “jullay.” I love saying “jullay.” You can say just the word, or you can greet people with a string of “jullays,” like this: “jullllllaaayyy jullay jullay jullay!” It’s almost musical, sometimes I’ll say “jullay jullay” in a low pitch to someone and they’ll reply “jullay jullay” in a corresponding higher pitch. An old man here at the guest house who walks around it all day praying says “jullayjullayjullay” to me as if he’s talking to a baby everytime he passes by. The question is, will it be obnoxious of me to sign all my emails “jullay” in the future?
