The Long Journey South
Trip Start
Jul 08, 2008
1
16
23
Trip End
Ongoing
Varanasi,
Uttar Pradesh,
India
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
The man to my left started asking me the usual questions and the topic turned to the spiritual side. "Are you familiar with ISKON?" "Yes. The International Society of Krishna Consciousness. They had a large presence at my university." He then pulled out a book full of Sanskrit verses with a picture of a bearded guru on the back page. "This is my father." After talking for a few more minutes the man proceeded to chant the verses from the book from cover to cover. This took him about 15 minutes and when he finished he turned towards the open window sitting cross-legged and began meditating. After he finished we talked for the rest of the night. "Do you have arranged marriages in America?.... If your parents don't arrange your marriage then how do you have time to do it yourself with your job?" As the night advanced and I grew more tired I climbed up to the bunk to sleep. All of the sleep I've had on the Indian trains has been pleasant as the movement gently rocks you to a deep rest.
When morning came we pulled up in Lucknow, which was the half-way point to Varanasi. The man I had spoken with the previous night wished me well as he climbed off and I was surprised as my car became almost completely empty. We started moving and the solitude was a rare experience I enjoyed as we rolled through the countless rice fields characterizing the Indian countryside. We would stop briefly in small towns along the way and people would jump on, hopping off a couple towns down the line. I began to wonder if I was the only one who had actually payed to ride.
About six hours into the day's ride a group of kids climbed on and decided to sit in my berth. With most of the car empty my berth, meant to seat a total of six, now had eight people crammed into it as the kids sat facing me with their stares fixed directly at my face. They were wearing school uniforms and took turns asking questions to practice their English. "Are there mango trees in America?" "How do I become tall?" "Do you like president Obama?" Every day these kids took a two hour train ride each way to get to and from their school. As we stopped at their village the kids climbed off informing me that Varanasi was about three hours away.
A few villages later a man boarded and sat in my berth. He was wearing a police uniform and was taking the long commute to Varanasi to work his shift as security at the Vishwanath Temple. Somewhere in the conversation the man showed an interest in seeing some American currency so I pulled out an old one dollar bill I had forgotten to leave at home. The man showed great excitement and began to examine the bill, reading aloud some of the writing: "this note is legal tender for all debts, public and private". "How many Rupees is this worth?" "What can you buy with this in the U.S.?" "It makes me so happy to see this!" After admiring the bill for a while longer he handed it back and tried his best to give me some pointers about Varanasi. He informed me that the train we were riding was the slow one that stopped in every town and at one of the stops he poked his head out the open door noticing a faster option so he decided to switch trains. Whenever I'm in unfamiliar terrain I stick with the sure path rather than gamble with a faster possibility so I wished the man well as he left the train.
For the remaining two hours the afternoon sun was making her presence known as it was clear summer was far from over. As I had a fan and the breeze from the open window I couldn't imagine the heat outside the train where men and women were working in the rice fields. The train continued to stop every five minutes the rest of the way until we pulled into a much larger station and I read the welcome words "Varanasi Junction".
