On and Off the Beaten Path in India

It’s time for the Red Clog Blogger to head out on some new international adventures. But first, there is unfinished business to report on from October 2024. Read on!

It’s Day 66 of our 70 day Around the World Trip #3. The sunscreen is running out.  We have just brushed our teeth with tap water for the first time in over a month. (Huzzah!)  The 4+ week course of anti-malaria medication is coming to an end. Our limited wardrobe of hard-working pieces is causing us to yawn – that is, what’s left after relinquishing many shabby items along the way. Time to start heading home. But first, Nepal, Singapore and Hong Kong before completing our 3^rd global circumnavigation.

From a chronological standpoint, I will write to you today about India. I’m actually in Nepal now (which has been a wonderful surprise!); I can’t wait to share more about this unique land. But it’s important to try and capture the essence of a place as soon as possible because the bits and bobs that define it for me have a tendency to fade quickly. And I’ve already missed blogging about a few stops along the way – Serbia, Zanzibar, and the Mosel River Valley in Germany and France where the local Riesling tastes like nectar from the gods.

But back to India. This was my third time. It was on the initial visit, in 2016, when I had the Eyes Opened Wide experience where the extraordinary colors, tastes, smells and sounds tangle in a frontal assault on the brain. How does one process India? I was mesmerized then by the restorative Masala chai served in disposable rough clay cups (yep, just throw them on the ground!), the rainbow of strikingly-colored saris, the mouth-watering spiced cuisine, the gentle cows meandering in streets and at shop entrances, my chances to perform yoga at sunrise in Rishikesh, where yoga began (if you’ve been to chaotic India you understand why yoga and meditation are so important here!), the unintentional gulp when you lay eyes on the Taj Mahal for the first time, the cheerful strands of orange and yellow marigolds, the festively-decorated trucks, the vast stone bowls of floating petals and blossoms, and the emotional feeling of being greeted – everywhere – with praying hands and “Namaste”….technically meaning “I bow to you”, but I like to think of it as “the light in me honors the light in you.”

The second visit was to Kerala – in the southernmost part of India. A different experience altogether. We ate coconut-influenced cuisine presented on banana leaves, watched local performances of Kathakali (a very elaborate form of dance and hand gestures),

spent a night on a houseboat cruising the verdant backwaters of Alleppey, and visited “Jewtown” (aka Mattancherry) in the main city of Cochin to explore a 450 year old synagogue with stunning Belgian glass chandeliers.  

So this trip had some repeat components for me – Bruce had yet to explore Delhi and Agra, home of the Taj Mahal. And I finally reached two destinations which had been on my list: Varanasi, the most holy site for Hindus, on the banks of the Ganges river and Amritsar, the holiest site for Sikhs, home to the glorious Golden Temple.

A few highlights:

• Sunrise on the Ganges, where we observed the early morning rituals of bathing (and drinking!) in the holy waters. (more like Holy Sh*& – you shouldn’t be drinking/bathing in THAT!)

• A riverside Aarti ceremony at dusk, with pink and gold-bedecked Hindu priests lovingly laying wreaths, chanting, and scattering armfuls of flowers at the shrine of Lord Shiva, then performing offerings of fire and incense with sweeping circular motions using brass and gold candelabras. (some shaped like cobra heads!)

• We solemnly watched ritual cremations take place on the river’s edge. It’s considered sacred to die in Varanasi as it is believed that only here, one will bypass the need to experience all those pesky reincarnations and instead, achieve instant salvation. Hindus see death very differently from Westerners; death here is simply part of the natural cycle of life. Observing the funeral pyres and ceremonial rites was a meaningful experience I cannot forget.

• A visit to Sarna, the exact spot where in 528 BCE, Buddha gave his first sermon after attaining enlightenment. It’s a pinch-yourself moment to stand in a place like this and imagine the scene that occurred thousands of years ago.

• Nighttime and morning visits to the Golden Temple during a major Sikh celebration.

• There were elaborate decorations, a performance by a school marching band, elegantly-attired Sikh men on horseback, and fervent worshippers all pushing and shoving to catch a glimpse of the Guru Granth Sahib – the holy book.

• We got to volunteer in the massive and extremely efficient kitchen which feeds between 100,000-200,000 people daily – all for free. Crouching on low stools at a communal table and rolling out balls of dough for chapatis alongside the local women was a irrefutable highlight of the 70 day trip. My fellow kitchen compatriots were gracious enough to advise me on the technique – it’s not as easy as it looks!

• Sunset at the Pakistani border – the one place left on the subcontinent where it’s possible to cross between India and Pakistan. On the Indian side, there was deep patriotism –Indian women taking turns running a lap with the raised flag, a large group of school boys in white dress shirts and dark pants sporting India hats and flag designs painted on their cheeks, and multiple rousing Call and Response interchanges between a military MC and the throngs cheering in the stands.

• An emotional moment occurred when the Indian soldier and the Pakistani soldier shook hands before both flags were simultaneously lowered for the night.

When it was time to leave India, I was ready. Not that it wasn’t a great experience. But It’s a raw and frenzied place and you need your wits about you to stay safe from all sorts of things, not the least of which are the reckless drivers and incessant honking. As we were told, “In India you need 3 things – Good Horn. Good Brakes. Good Luck.” 

Will there be a 4^th visit to India? Only time will tell. I’m intrigued by lesser-known places in the north – Kashmir, Assam. But first, Nepal, Singapore, and Hong Kong are waiting.

Namaste!

P.S. Note caption under the final photo. I travel for so many reasons – to have adventures, to learn, to be reminded that I can rely on myself to overcome unexpected challenges, to experience new ways of life, to sample unusual flavors.

But mostly I travel to connect, to seek and offer compassion, and witness our similarities which are so much greater than our differences.