27.11.2004
Family reunion... Indian style
While the McFamily were partying it up in NYC, I was indulging in my own McFamily reunion here in McLeod Ganj. It’s not often that you stumble across family in weird and wonderful parts of the world, so I was so very excited about meeting up with my long lost cousin Elizabeth here in Northern India.
26.11.2004
Art of living
Life is full of suffering. This is not a statement of despair by a pessimist; merely an observation of reality as it is. I will die. You will die. Unwanted events will occur and wanted events will not occur. Mortals such as Thoreau are prompted to pen such words as "Most men lead lives of quiet desperation". Mortals such as us are prompted to comprehend and remember.
13.11.2004
India 101: Expect the unexpected
Move aside 'Psych 101' or 'Communications 101' - first year uni courses. The greatest learning will unarguably come from 'India 101: Expect the unexpected'.
09.11.2004
Varanasi
Varanasi has a certain radiance which grows on you (following from ‘holy dip’). Once you get past the stench and dirtiness, you start to appreciate its spiritual qualities, drawing millions of pilgrims to the city each year.
Cows
I read with interest in the latest India Today magazine (similar to Time magazine) a 'mail of the week' entitled GENIUNE DEVOTION:
Like the donkey sanctuary at Sagroli we need to set up shelters for cows all over the country...We claim to worship cows but make no effort to tend to them when they are old and ailing. Instead they roam the streets where they cause accidents and injure themselves.
More...08.11.2004
Holy dip
Just when we thought we’d reached the true traveler Nirvana – becoming one with our personal filth and dirtiness so our surroundings don’t seem as filthy - our boundaries were challenged once again. Bring on Varanasi...
06.11.2004
Bodhgaya
After a four-hour bus ride from Darjeeling down to Siliguri we took an overnight train to Patni and on to Gaya. We finally arrived in the poorest state in India just in time for breakfast.
