temples. beaches. (cliff faces.) sunrise. to sundown. pt 3.

Some roads in India aren’t the very best. Actually, I take that comment back- the roads in India are so unbelievably bad, I would rather walk barefoot on hot coals than sit in a vehicle for 10 hours constantly bumping around the terrain as if it were the moon and the vehicle were a golf cart. It was this point of the journey where my patients grew thin- “Don’t worry, we’ll be there in 30 minutes” proclaimed my mother 30 minutes ago- I slowly could feel the anxiety building inside me like a shaken bottle of champagne-

I simply wanted to burst, just wanted to scream, blow some steam, you know, let loose for a second. The cool air from the air conditioned car had no effect as I could slowly feel beads of sweat rolling down my forehead, my hands grew clammy as I held them together.. I decided I would meditate (I know what your thinking, me meditate- ha! a joke right!?) well call it what I you want- I laid my head back, shut my eyes, and held on for dear life- thinking pleasant thoughts and on the way to my “happy place I realized I felt- NO relief-

it was official. This was my nightmare. My mother became the devil, my masi’s (aunts) the people who poke you with sticks in hell- my cousin Kaushal and I… prisoners! Mum, Kshama Masi and Koki Masi were having a blast at the expense of our misery- Occasionally the bump in the road was so large it caught everyone off guard and had a reciprocating effect- instead of melancholy it became comical with everyone in the car laughing so hard they either defecated or lacrimated (cried people.. cried..)

Eventually we made it- Narayan Surover- a small town, nothing major except for atop a hill was tucked another temple- at first glance I could understand why people would merely pass by without ever experiencing what it was hiding behind it.. walking up- we approached and entered, passing through old hallways we reached a small courtyard where a tree was/is growing, small trinkets, and coins had been left at the base of the tree by previous visitors as a token of good faith- as we headed towards the back- what we found was… breathtaking….- hundred foot cliffside drops with views of the Arabian Sea, the wind was blowing swiftly, pigeons flying without worry- around and into this open air temple- and finally in the distance- Pakistan…. Remarkable.

With our journey over- and the sun setting- it was time to make the trek home- see you tomorrow.


“He who does not travel, does not know the value of life.” -Jack Kerouac