Mother Ganga

Lest my mother or any other medically minded folk remain worried, let me begin by saying that my health appears to be returning to normal. I will keep you posted, but for now, things are looking up :)

On to business. Yesterday morning was spectacular. A group of us woke at 4:30AM and made our way down to the river. We got in our boat and headed upstream -- our group leader, Bapa, was in search of a small village where he could conduct some anthropological studies. Some of the other students were anthropology students, and then some of us were just along for the ride.

Being on the water in the early morning was such a treat. The air was actually pleasant, without the sun beating down -- and everyone was out bathing and washing clothes in the water. So many colors! Imagine a rainbow of saris stretched out on the bank to dry!

We ended up not going to the original village where we were heading (he thought it looked too large and developed). Instead we stopped at a small temple (grass hut on a cliff) for tea and cookies with the local hermit. Then we continued upstream, not quite sure what Bapa had in mind.

Out of the blue, we pulled over at a sandbar/ island in the middle of the river. Bapa casually said that this looked like a good spot to swim, if anyone would like to jump in. At first we were all a little shy, slowly getting off the boat and wading. The water was too clean and the sand too soft for that to last long though. Soon we were all in, floating along the bank with the current (Grandma Sadie -- I thought of you as I was bobbing along! you would have loved it!). Since we're right at the end of a long dry season, the river is shallow and gentle right now. It was heavenly. And for the first time in weeks, I actually felt cool! What a concept!

Now I must run off to another day!
xo