I'M IN INDIA AGAIN!!
hahaha! maddess i know! what can i say about my khwaja (love)?? over and over i am called - no, pulled to her feet and this time to the sacred and special city of varanasi in the uttar pradesh province.
thankfully, i'm not plonk in the city itself... i'm on a 300 odd acre estate on the banks (literally) of the ever blessed Gangaji (i have a crystal clear view from my door). based in rajghat, the krishnamurthy foundation has warmly invited me into its arms and i've found myself in a haze - still trying to absorb this paradise. it's truely something else.
ok, enough foofy talk. here's a bit of history, varanasi is known by 3 names: kashi, benaras and varanasi. the ancient city of kashi is said to have been on the rajghat plateux (where i am) around the varuna river. the current location of the city is a more 'recent' development relatively speaking (considering that the history of kashi dates back more than several centuries). the name varanasi comes from the varuna and assi rivers between which varanasi lies. and the ganga-varuna confluence lies plonk in the middle of the krishnamurthy foundation grounds. i'm not going to go into the layout of the campus here cause it's rather complicated, but essentially, the krishnamurthy foundation consists of; the rural centre (where i am), rajghat besant school, study centre and vasanta college.
there are a few ways to reach varanasi city from rajghat, either by boat up gangaji (my FAVOURITE thing to do), auto rickshaw (indian standard), tempo (larger than a auto - seats about 10 plus) or walk!;) i really don't know what to say about varanasi city. truth be told, i'm still trying to get my head around it. in an sms to ba and bapu i said one word to describe Varanasi city... huh? :) it's just a mixture of everything - as people here say - it is india in one glance. i think the most alluring thing about varanasi is not so much the religious pull but the blatant paradoxes that stare you in the face. swamiji mentioned in one of our 'chats' that profound truths are paradox, and i think that the allure of varanasi is in this. there is really no telling what's in store. as shayur says - it's organised chaos. the traffic is MAD - dude, believe me when i say this - mumbai bangalore... they're kabootars (pidgeons)! it's amazing that one can get from a to b. and although there are traffic police around, there's this crazy rush to move at 20km/h!! aaah, how to describe the madness, even as i'm typing this words seem inadequate. on a completely different note, the pictures of varanasi are not 'just pictures'!! the sadhu babas, the pandits, they're all real - they're all here!! i think one of the nicest things is going up the ganga early in the morning or at dusk and simply observing the various rites and rituals - even morning p's and q's!! ;) i'm not going to go into my thoughts on gangaji and pavitra etc, but it's almost enlightening watching the variety of activities that take place at the shore. there's a simple beauty in observing.
ok, my fingers are tired. this keyboard is wack and i haven't been on a comp in ages! i will try keep in touch as often as i possibly can and try get some pics up too.
with love from kashi
:yogi
hahaha! maddess i know! what can i say about my khwaja (love)?? over and over i am called - no, pulled to her feet and this time to the sacred and special city of varanasi in the uttar pradesh province.
thankfully, i'm not plonk in the city itself... i'm on a 300 odd acre estate on the banks (literally) of the ever blessed Gangaji (i have a crystal clear view from my door). based in rajghat, the krishnamurthy foundation has warmly invited me into its arms and i've found myself in a haze - still trying to absorb this paradise. it's truely something else.
ok, enough foofy talk. here's a bit of history, varanasi is known by 3 names: kashi, benaras and varanasi. the ancient city of kashi is said to have been on the rajghat plateux (where i am) around the varuna river. the current location of the city is a more 'recent' development relatively speaking (considering that the history of kashi dates back more than several centuries). the name varanasi comes from the varuna and assi rivers between which varanasi lies. and the ganga-varuna confluence lies plonk in the middle of the krishnamurthy foundation grounds. i'm not going to go into the layout of the campus here cause it's rather complicated, but essentially, the krishnamurthy foundation consists of; the rural centre (where i am), rajghat besant school, study centre and vasanta college.
there are a few ways to reach varanasi city from rajghat, either by boat up gangaji (my FAVOURITE thing to do), auto rickshaw (indian standard), tempo (larger than a auto - seats about 10 plus) or walk!;) i really don't know what to say about varanasi city. truth be told, i'm still trying to get my head around it. in an sms to ba and bapu i said one word to describe Varanasi city... huh? :) it's just a mixture of everything - as people here say - it is india in one glance. i think the most alluring thing about varanasi is not so much the religious pull but the blatant paradoxes that stare you in the face. swamiji mentioned in one of our 'chats' that profound truths are paradox, and i think that the allure of varanasi is in this. there is really no telling what's in store. as shayur says - it's organised chaos. the traffic is MAD - dude, believe me when i say this - mumbai bangalore... they're kabootars (pidgeons)! it's amazing that one can get from a to b. and although there are traffic police around, there's this crazy rush to move at 20km/h!! aaah, how to describe the madness, even as i'm typing this words seem inadequate. on a completely different note, the pictures of varanasi are not 'just pictures'!! the sadhu babas, the pandits, they're all real - they're all here!! i think one of the nicest things is going up the ganga early in the morning or at dusk and simply observing the various rites and rituals - even morning p's and q's!! ;) i'm not going to go into my thoughts on gangaji and pavitra etc, but it's almost enlightening watching the variety of activities that take place at the shore. there's a simple beauty in observing.
ok, my fingers are tired. this keyboard is wack and i haven't been on a comp in ages! i will try keep in touch as often as i possibly can and try get some pics up too.
with love from kashi
:yogi
