Letters from India

30. Delhi and Kurukshetra - June 1985

Delhi and Kurukshetra

June 9-12, 1985

New Delhi

Dear Peoples,

You’ll have to forgive me if my wiring is sloppy – my pen is vanquished and I have to get a new one. Right now I'm writing with a pen refill only – moan.

Got 7 AM Delhi bus from Vrindaban. Arrived around 11 AM in Delhi. Seemed soo short! I guess cuz the roads were paved. I'm used to a 150 km trip taking 5 ½ hours.

First thing I did was to go to train station to book train for the 12th to Amritsar! Crazy but true.

Then I wondered about looking for hotel or even a decent restaurant (hadn’t had any food or drink that day). Was Sunday – no banana (literally!). Checked out a few hotels – Rs 250 and Rs 200! No way, José. I'm used to Rs 12 or Rs 20. Finally at 2:30 PM after resting at a park then getting lost looking for the train depot, I found the train depot. I figured I would get some tourist info – Delhi seemed too big to do on my own. But then I saw a foreigner on the sidewalk and asked about hotels. She told me about this place – Tourist Camp. So here I am. It’s only Rs 22! Places that would be Rs 12 in the smaller cities, go for Rs 60 here!

But guess what it is – a 7 foot by 4-foot bare room, which they put a cot into! No shelves, nothing! But it does have a fan and a small, open light bulb. Bathrooms-toilets are waaay across the courtyard, your choice of Indian or Western. Which when compared, Indian ones are truly more sanitary, cleaner and more decent. Or is it that I'm just an Indian Child? :-)

(10th June) Most all who stay here are of your foreigner white-skinned peoples. It’s the only place in India thus far that I’ve seen a number of brothers, Dad. :-)

Most seem from Europe – I haven’t seen so much flesh since the US. Which makes me quite a novelty in my sari, hair back, and japa beads around my neck. What is this – stared at by Indians, stared at by foreigners! What to do.

Which reminds me, when I went to Agra I heard constantly from all sides, “Hare Krishna! Hare Rama!!” They thought that because I wore a sari, I was a Hare Krishna person! Ooooooh! Moan! They didn’t do this in the South!

So now I'm getting it here in Delhi, too. As I go by I hear from behind, “Hare Krishna!” and rickshaw drivers ride past singing bhajans, to get me to choose their rickshaw to ride. Well at least it seems that I get a little more respect because people figure right away that I'm of a spiritual nature. One even asked if I was a Ramakrishna person!

Besides that, today a Hare Krishna guy who just happened to be staying here (Tourist Camp) came up to me saying, “Hare Krishna!”

Delhi, Delhi, Delhi! Upon arriving an instant affection hit - I know I’ve lived here before in the past. Faaar past. It’s a big, huge city with super-wide streets, traffic lights and lanes divided by cement blocks (so traffic can't switch in & out of the other, counter-traffic lanes). Like a big American city. But what can I say, my judgment is clouded by love for Delhi, wonderful Delhi!

It’s bigger than Bombay – and probably even more worldly – but it was “Home Sweet Home” in the distant past for me, I can't image putting down Delhi! Yes, Bombay was definitely worse.

The temples that were lining the streets and on every corner in the South, are strangely absent in the North. I haven’t seen even one temple yet in Delhi – and I’ve traveled halfway across town already too!

Many Sikhs around; one thing I have seen is mosques, must be a lot of Muslims also.

The menu here at the Tourist Camp is mostly all Western – tons of eggs plus meat. Uck. Staying at an all-foreigners Tourist Camp in India! Sai is giving me all sorts of experiences!

Today I had nothing much to do soo, I went to the Hare Krishna temple – a 45-minute bus ride away. It turned out, it’s just one room with an elaborate alter and deities! Coming back, I wasn’t sure where to get off so just decided to ride to the end of the line – I had great fun watching Delhi and Delhi life! Ended up at the bus station I had arrived at from Vrindaban. Which is just were I wanted, cuz I had heard Kurukshetra was nearby. So I asked about it and got the bus timings for tomorrow.

Kurukshetra was the field where the Mahabharata war took place, where Krishna was Arjuna’s charioteer and gave him the Gita teachings. Om Sri Sai Krishna! :-)

I'm quite comfortable in India. In the bus depot I found a post office, mailed your letter, postcards to Sis & Brother, wrote postcard to SH saying don’t send mail to Vrindaban, hopped on bus home (here), now am munching quite contentedly on grapes (terribly expensive!) and oranges. Fulfilling a lifelong desire to travel in the North, Sai sure doesn’t do much for the “be unattached to the fruits of your actions” teaching! Talk about enjoying good karma!!

Beggars are strangely absent. Sure haven’t seen many beggars in India. In Vrindaban, no; but there were some in Govardhan. We’ve had three storms so far and it's really windy now – the monsoons are beginning early! Unlucky for me because, traveling in the monsoon season will be hard.

Imagine the worst, loudest, lightening-racked storm you’ve ever experienced in the US – it isn't as bad as one normal rain in the monsoons time, in India! Lightening is constant, with many streaks in the sky at once. There’s so much thunder it seems as if the sky is literally caving in on your roof; or as if a big war is going on and bombs are being thrown all over our doorstep. Our dog Suzie would never make it through - !!

But it’s perfect for me – I’ve always loved storms! Knowing out there it’s a mess, and you’re inside safe & warm but maybe in pitch blackens cuz all the electricity is off. Lovely! :-)

By the way, hope that everything and everyone is doing very nicely over there – and if anyone asks, yes, it’s true that I have disappeared in India and I’m not coming back! :-)

Last evening, I was writing and heard a sound and looked, a huge 4 or 5 inch rat had half-way entered my wide-open door and was sniffing about! I made a sound and he/she promptly split. I prayed that the Lord would please protect my room from many creatures entering it in the night – I couldn’t close my door or I’d suffer from head suffocation and all my luggage & papers were on the floor, the room lacking closets, shelves or tables to put them on!

I’d just like to say that this is my one-month anniversary of leaving Prasanthi Nilayam and the physical form. One month in India, away from Sai! Ugh.

(11th June) In case you’re wondering about my foot, well, surprise, it’s still the same. Reminds me of a brick – solid swollen red flesh. What to do. This leela is wearing a bit thin. (No pain though.)

Today (11th) I caught the 7 AM bus to Kurukshetra, a 4-hour ride. On the way we had some rain. Well, a lot of rain, but it wasn’t a loud storm. We stopped at two smaller bus depots and the parking lots were 1 inch to 2 inch lakes! Ugh.

Soo, I got off the bus in Kurukshetra and the first thing I saw was a “Sikh museum” sign. That was only bloody photos of Sikh battles. Perhaps it is fitting, cuz Kurukshetra is a war-ridden place. I also went to the Sikh temple inside. That was nice but I wasn’t really in the mood to go a-searching for the nearby Hindu temple, wondering about following the Hindi “just over there” direction to it, so I returned to the bus depot figuring visiting the Sikhs was my “Kurukshetra experience” from Sai.

Delhi bus came soon and I hopped on. If you just happen to be following my adventures on a map, Kurukshetra is almost directly north of Delhi, in Haryana state. We went through Panipat and Karnal to get there. We were stopped twice going, then again coming back, as police officers at a checkpoint searched our bus (don't know why!).

(June 12th) Good thing I'm leaving today cuz people here are getting used to my presence, starting to talk to me, ugh. But Sai did bring some interesting information to me though an Iranian boy: that foreigners are not allowed in the the Punjab without a permit! Didn’t know that! Then he said, or you have to register at the police, once there. That’s more like it. The Lord is kind, huh, giving this info so I wouldn’t be so put off/surprised if I'm stopped. On Sai Ram! :-)

Well anyway, must leave soon, check out & go to train station etc., sooo have to finish packing. Om Sai Ram form the adventuresome one!

Love,

Eileen