Delhi- The Second Visit

I had to stop in Delhi on my way from Ahmedabad to Hardiwar for the day. If you recall, my first experience of Delhi was really difficult. I arrived late at night and we were staying in the Parha Ganj area in the market place which was very grungy, dirty and smelly. I also got a bit ill and the smell of that place still lingers in my memory. So, when I arrived in Delhi I felt like I knew my way around after spending a few days here initially.

I met a very nice fellow on the train who was adamant about teaching me what he knew about yoga. So every chance he got he grabbed my attention and spoke with passion about his favorite subject. He was a sergeant in the Indian Air Force. There was also a young couple across from me that just had gotten married a couple days before and were on their honeymoon. I took a picture of their feet here because they looked so beautiful. It is a tradition to paint the feet at wedding in this way. It's called Mehandi. I suppose for it is seen as a way to attract each other for the honeymoon.

Anyway, the sergeant decided it was his duty to see I got where I was going safely. I turned out I knew the way and I think that surprised him. When we arrived at Sam's Cafe it was filled with western travelers. We sat in the back and I ordered a huge breakfast of eggs, potatoes and this amazing sour dough roll toasted with butter and jam. I was starving because the food in Ahmedabad had not been easy to find for me and I ate very little in the past several days.

While we sat there chatting about yoga and spirituality I asked the sergeant if he understood why I liked it here - he said no! I told him because there are so many westerners. He got a bit defensive and asked if I did not like the people in Ahmedabad. If he could see my blog he would see that, on the contrary, I loved the people. I could do without the noise, pollution and heat though. I tried to explain to him that I loved Ahmedabad but I felt lonely because no one spoke clear English and I missed talking with other people from where I was from.

While this whole conversation was going on a woman at the next table was listening and laughing. I asked if she spoke English and she said yes. We ended up talking to her for over an hour and after the sergeant left I we spoke for another 2 hours. Her name is Elizabeth and she was in Delhi for a conference. She is a lecturer on Religious Studies. Jackpot! One of my favorite subjects. She told me so much about the Hindi culture that I didn't understand. She also knew so much about Buddhism and Christianity and that has inspired me to look further into the study of Jesus. I want to read his Sermon on the Mount. I feel like there are so many interesting things to read about and learn in this lifetime. She has also written a book called Dreams and Transitions by Elizabeth .............., which is not yet available in the United States. I will leave her last name out and if anyone is interested I can get a copy of this book and distribute it when I get back home.

Elizabeth and her husband live in a very strange and unusual place called Suriname in South America, just above Brazil. It is a very tiny country filled with political controversy and danger. She has been doing research on soon-to-be-lost cultures there and says that some of them have only four people left in a tribe. She has a friend who is literate in many of the native tongues and the friend helps her obtain information for her research. Suriname has 500,000 people and 26 different languages. The government, she says, is trying to smother these tribes out of existence. The place is so corrupt that, for the first couple of years she lived there, every piece of mail she received, once she finally received it, had been opened and resealed. She laughs when she tells me that after the authorities saw her mail contained nothing more than boring scientific information they stopped looking.

Her husband is from India and is a research scientist. She lectures, as I said, on Comparative Religion and, after 5 years of living where she does, the university still will not give her a full time position. The spots are being given to less qualified friends of you know who. Elizabeth has a PHD and is obviously a very brilliant researcher but is also a beautiful, charming, charismatic woman with a girlish smile and a laugh that touches my heart and soul. I don't want to leave but she is heading out of town at noon. It had been 2 hours since my friend from the train left and we both felt like we just got started. Elizabeth said she felt bored sitting with the others from the conference, saying they were way too serious and needed a break, so she came to Sam's. Lucky me!

So I spend the rest of the day shopping the market - incredible prices and variety here in Delhi, compared to all of the other places I have been so far. I like Delhi now, feel kind of at home here. Some shop owners remember me from last time and I get around effortlessly. I catch the train to Hardiwar at 3:20pm and, well, you know the rest. Leaving Hardiwar tomorrow for Rishikesh, supposedly the "Yoga Capital of the World". I'll let you know and see when I get there. I will be in a week-long training there but may have time out to write and post pics.
Sending lots of Love & Moksha from Hardiwar!
Lynne