From the ashram recluse

Here I am, in Varanasi, the holy city on the banks of the Ganges. Leaving tomorrow for Bodhgaya, the one and only place where the famous Buddha attained enlightenment, and from there, to a few more places that mean something to Buddhists. After that - who knows?

The first thing that I want to tell each and every one of you - is - NEVER, EVER, EVER take a four-day train trip in India. I was actually told this before I set out, and heeded not the warning, so the diarrhea, the fatigue, and the sore muscles - serve me right.

On the other hand, I met a few interesting people - a group of India Railways employees, for instance, who were on a job-sponsored trip to become more acquainted with the tracks they operate. One of them, a guy named Apur, spent some time with me, explaining the Hindu philosophy of how to attain enlightenment. This guy, who has been engaged (well, at least he has been seeing this girl) for four years, is now planning to finally get married in two months time. He was actually waiting until he felt he could support a family. He was taking the three-day train journey to visit his girl-friend for one day, and then three more days going back to the job-sponsored tour. And it was a surprise visit on top of that - her parents knew about it, but she didn't. If that isn't true romance, then what is?

Then there was an elderly married couple, of whom the husband gave me a long lecture about the benefits of the Hindu religion when he saw my "Yoga" T-shirt, and then there was the railway official on his way home, who started asking me personal questions as soon as he sat down, grilling me about my country of origin, my age, my marital status, my kids - and he was shocked, appalled and dismayed to hear that I was divorced, because - who will take care of me when I'm sick?!? Then he took it upon himself to explain to me that Indian culture doesn't have much divorce, and that he has been happily married for thirty years, and I got to see a photo of his wife, and to smell (no, thank you, I didn't want to taste any) the food that she prepared for his lunch - each and every item of it.

So all in all, maybe it wasn't such a terrible experience, although I really think I could have done without the 7-hour wait at Delhi station, where I think I picked up the diarrhea, and where I also got quite chummy with the local rats. People don't seem to mind these little (about the size of my foot) beasts - there we all were, sitting on seats, boxes or whatever else we could find to sit on, waiting for the train (a 3 hour delay, nothing unusual in India) - and the rats keep running in and out of the tracks, onto the platform and off of it - and I seem to be the only one noticing them. What can I say? Still a Westerner...

So what now? - I hear you ask (are you asking?)

Well, this morning I sailed on the river Ganges - which is imperative to any self-respecting pilgrim in this holy land. It is everything they say it is - holy river and holy bathtub. People come to jump up and down in it at sunrise (and yes - it's COLD), burn their dead (don't stand downwind from the smoke), meditate (sometimes completely covered with a prayer-shawl, so all you see is a sheet sitting up), perform acrobatic skills (don't ask why, I'm just telling it like I saw it), sail little leaf boats with flowers and lit candles in them (beautiful just before dawn). They bring little urns with which to gather water and re-pour it into the river as offerings to the sun, or soap, or both. Or else, they bring all kinds of souvenirs, to sell to the other people, who come to watch the other people - so you can see, we all keep each other pretty busy... Definitely an experience, after which came the walk in the old city, complete with being careful not to step in the numerous cow-pies along the way, all the while avoiding (or at least ignoring) the more persistent street hawkers who were still trying to sell me postcards.

And speaking of the cows, and their bountiful produce (and I don't mean the milk)!!! I have never seen a city that houses people and animals so equally!!! Cows, pigs, monkeys, dogs, goats and people (have I forgotten anything?) - all have equal status around here. I have seen men and monkeys sitting side by side, eating. I have seen cows and naked men lying in the middle of the road (not necessarily together), just because that was where they wanted to be at the time.

Had enough for today? (I can hear you begging for mercy...) So enough for now, and you'll probably be hearing more in the not-too-distant future.
Love from Varanasi