We leave at four in the morning. Guman, whose love for genuine conversation has managed to overcome the fact that I cannot understand Hindi and he cannot speak English, is telling me how Guru (teacher) is god. It is apparently written in the Bhagvad Gita. Those from whom we have the opportunity to learn gifts … Continued
My most awe-inspiring trip was an unlikely voyage. I went to a place of ice and snow, yet I hate winter. I crossed the roughest sea passage in the world, yet I am someone who gets seasick as soon as a boat starts rolling. Perhaps the destination was made more special because of the hardships … Continued
When I saw the bag on the seat opposite me moving on its own accord, I did a double take. When I looked again, it was perfectly still. I rubbed my face and presumed that it was sleep deprivation that was making me delusional. I was at the bus station in Savannakhet (Laos) sitting on … Continued
Vipassana: 10 Days of Silence, Journey of a Lifetime! Morning wakeup call at 4 A.M., last meal of the day at 5 P.M., complete ‘Noble Silence’ (No talking, No gesturing, No writing, No reading, No NOTHING!), jail-like rooms to stay in, 10 hours of meditation a day in a hall full of 100 complete strangers, … Continued
As the sun was about to say goodbye, we dropped anchor at a small bay at Komodo Island in Indonesia. As I sat at the front of the boat, the sense of enormity of the landscape in its entirety started to set in. The sun was now distributing its parting gift to mankind, an array … Continued
This Christmas felt different from the other four Bill and I have spent together. 2007 was white and freezing at -31 degrees C (-24 F) in Calgary, Alberta! 2008 was wet and cool in Seattle, Washington. Then it turned sunny and just right at the Suwannee River Music Park in Florida in 2009. It was … Continued
All Out Of Proportion By Barry Divola I fell in love with New York long before I got there. It was 1979 and I was sitting in a cinema in Sydney, Australia, where I live. The lights went down and luminous black-and-white images of Manhattan flickered across the screen while Gershwin played in the background … Continued
The sea of saffron edged along slowly on hundreds of bare feet on the rain-drenched path. Mud caked the heels, splattered the ankles. Occasionally, a cry of “Har Har Mahadev” erupted from one trembling throat and got carried over to others like a wave, until it rose in a crescendo. And fell. To the muffled … Continued
In the heart of Trastevere, I heard a heavy Roman accent bounce off the bright colorful walls of the near-empty Via dei Salumi. I could now clearly distinguish the circular sound of the plastic ventilator as it moved the summer warmth inside the cozy apartment that had once belonged to June, my dear grandmother. After … Continued
Growing up, all of us want to believe we are special … special in our personality …special in our choices, special in the way we shape our lives… Bestowed with a well-educated independent upbringing, a fairly successful career, I am now the Urban Indian stereotype- the caring wife, the ‘Nurturer’ in a nuclear family; complete … Continued