dungdollops and red spit

Work team finally got themselves into gear….. no not true, we have all been pretty busy. We just somehow feel as if we need to perform more, but we seem to tend to forget that God is doing His own work… in us! Ji ji ji, we know this with our heads, but the heart is another matter completely. 

When any operation takes place, in a surgery for example, there is going to be some pain, but in the long run, things get fixed and are better….  Right now, some of us are under the knife in the surgeon’s hand, and pain is, well as pain is.  To say that God is at work in and among us would be an understatement.

We are at real peace here in the Ashram though, and sometimes we forget that we are in Varanasi and as soon as we step out from under this wing, it hits us – hard! There is an incredible amount of peace around us, and a sincerity and gentleness in the people.

The view gets interrupted by death regularly. Corpses burn upon the smoking pyres outside our hotel day and night. Smoke sometimes stings our eyes, as we focus on the amount of love God has for these people. Dollops of dung decorate the streets as do bells on young girls’ ankles. 

Chocolate eyes ringed in kohl, stare at us from babies faces. Red spit on the cobbles marks the time spent with friends, betel-nut is abundant. And in all this colour abounds. Singing prevails in the early morning air, while mothers dip their babies in the chunky waters of the River. Fathers lead their sons in ceremony as the sun rises above the Great Mother.

The train will be our mode of transport to return to Delhi…another “interesting” experience.Chai wallas and more sprinkle their wares along the compartments, the aroma of  Tikka Mirche Alloo garam teases us from the passing platforms and all this breathes India.