Ineffable Varanasi

First off, apologies for the lack of pictures. Uploading them in this town has proven a task requiring more computer patience than I currently have...

Listening to the Universe
Events have conspired to keep us here a bit longer, and a happy conspiracy it's been! Here's how it's gone: we were meant to leave on Friday morning to spend Shabbat and the weekend in Bohdgaya, the place of Buddha's enlightenment. Thursday, I went to a booking agent to get our onward ticket from Patna, a transit point for Bohdgaya, to NJP, the station serving the vicinity of Darjeeling. I returned in the evening to pick up the ticket. As we made small-talk, our time of (Friday) departure came up. When I told the man that we were leaving at 10am, he looked at me and said, "I think your ticket must be for Thursday?" I responded that, no, we had planned a Friday departure. He then showed up the schedule book, and sure enough, the regular 10am train only runs on Thursdays and Saturdays. We went home, a bit apprehensive, but pretty sure we had our ticket right - maybe we had mis-remembered the time? Anyway, our ticket hadn't been ready, so the booking agent promised to bring it by our guest house around 9 o'clock that evening.

At ten minutes past 10pm, Mr. Santosh arrived, all smiles and apologies. We had been waiting anxiously because, indeed, we had flat-out missed our train that morning! Santosh being an experienced train guy, we wanted to ask him about our options, especially since we had just booked our onward trip. He explained what we could do (take the 6 Rp -$.14 - with the other half a million people on the unassigned seat car) and handed over the promised onward tickets. Upon careful scrutiny - not going to make the same mistake so soon - I saw it wasn't for Patna-NJP, but rather Varanasi-NJP! This was too much. When the universe speaks this clearly, you have no choice but to listen.

Shabbat Shalom
The opportunity we had been presented was nothing short of a blessing. We had both been bemoaning the fact that we were going to be leaving so soon. Four nights had seemed like plenty on paper, but we had both been swept up in this city. Everything I've read about Varanasi does it justice and sells it short at the same time. The best word to describe it is 'ineffable'. There are so many facets to the city, from the breath-taking sweep of the river Ganges aside it to the barely-navigable alleys that take you where you want to go, even after you're convinced you're lost. This is also India's spiritual core and cultural cross-section. Life happens, full-on, in the streets and on the holy river's banks. You can eat, sleep, bathe, defecate, dance & die at the river's side, even get a shave (mine took off my sideburns clear up to my ears, but that's another story) without losing sight of the water.

A gentleman I spoke to today said that when the Buddha came through 3500 years ago, he was so intimidated by the spiritual power of this place, that he dared not preach here, instead going down the road to Sarnath for his first teaching. Now that's the kind of place to observe the Sabbath! We spent most of Friday shopping and getting ready for Shabbat - our first such thorough readiness. As we have been observing Shabbat, we realized that an important part of the observance (as it is for any spiritual occasion) lies in the preparation. The tasks put you in the mind of the event. We got some real bread and cheese from the bakery, fruits & vegetables from the market, home-made muesli and jam from a woman's cooperative, and new candles and fruit juice (sadly, no wine to be had) for havdallah. The day was peaceful and truly special.

Yoga on the Ganges
You knew this was coming: the day I finally broke down and took my first yoga class. I have resisted intense peer-pressure in San Francisco, where yoga practitioners must outnumber us heathens by at least 3:1... I couldn't resist the offer though, to do yoga at dawn overlooking the Ganges. We had met a beatific Saddhu a few days before at the Ganga temple, where a nightly riverside ritual is prime-time entertainment for pilgrims and tourists alike. I had gotten to know Saddhu Mishra over the last few days over some chai and afternoon chats. When we went by on Friday afternoon with news of our travels' postponement, he dangled a carrot too juicy to leave on the string. We could pay on Sunday, and take 3 sessions: Saturday and Sunday 6am and Saturday 6pm. We bit. The instructor (a sometime resident of the temple) walked us through in very broken English, but I got a couple of essential nuggets to keep me going. The best yoga ever? Doubtful. An absolutely amazing experience? Check.