During 2010/11 I went on a creative and charitable journey across India for a year, including Kerala, the central plains, the great north way and the mountains near Tibet. I did a little book-writing, worked on a film script, had some spiritual and meditative experiences, and worked for several charities. Here is my journal:
Amritsar: Reflections on a spiritual place
Fri 24 Dec
I felt sad leaving the Golden temple. If I have seen something in Amritsar it is this: Spirituality is something. It is something that moves the soul, that has a life of its own. It does not matter whether God is true, whether you believe the religious story. Spirituality has an impact within the hearts of these people, and therefore on all of us.
I had a celebratory dinner with Donny and Brooke, a remarkable couple who started their own charity, the GROW intiitative. They have travelled the world including Ecaudor and Peru assisting around 50 community projects in education, environment and health. Now, they are here in India, living on a budget of almost nothing, trying to understand this intractable land.
Tomorrow I move from two weeks of calmness and reflection into a week of hedonism and intoxication in Mumbai and Goa. What will I discover in this transition?
Photos: (1) Sunshine breakfast of Puri and Chhole. (2) Woman makes tea in village Rajewal (3) An evening with Donny & Brooke.
The people you meet along the way
Thu 23 Dec
Narinderjeet Singh's tale reads like a fable. An ailing father wishes to divide his city property and country farm equally among his sons. The older son is more materialistic and says "Father, I have a head for business, you should give the city property to me alone. My younger brother is a simpleton, and will be happier among the animals and the fields of the farm".
The father is placed in a quandary as the farm is of much lesser value. However, the younger son reassures him: "That is okay father, I shall move with my family to the farm and you can come stay with me to be near the animals you love and the crops that you have sown". Eventually, the father dies in the arms of his younger son on the soil of his home village, bestowing great wishes upon this son as he passes away.
"Those wishes are with me still", sighs Narinderjeet, who has gone on to turn the family home into a heritage eco-retreat for travellers. All profits from food and drink are retained by the village workers, and there is a swimming pool open to locals for a pittance. He also breeds white horses (popular for weddings) in high standards of animal welfare, and is about to open an Emu breeding programme!
Photos (1) Narinderjeet Singh turned his ancestral home at Village Rajewal into a heritage retreat.
(2) Fauj Singh spent his working life in the army, returning to Rajewal to take up the kirpan (holy dagger) and swapping liquor for the intoxication of divine servitude. (3) Sajit Singh retired as a government transport inspector, returning to Rajewal where he runs a kirana store as a pastime.
Goa: Do not look. See.
Fri 31 Dec
"Did you find what you were looking for?", enquired the proprietor of the Presa Di Goa at breakfast. "Yes" we replied, "if you mean temples, churches and beaches". "No, not that - Russian Girls" ! Admittedly, the three musketeers had set off the previous afternoon in search, more specifically, of Ukrainian girls. Fresh from his stay in Kiev, my friend Ash was eager to practice his Russian and had extolled their virtues. The northern beach towns of Ashwem, Morgem and Arambol were supposedly wall to wall with partying Ukrainians!
And so it was that we found ourselves utterly alone on the dark and deserted beach of Morgem, with not a bar or a human in sight. Three musketeers on creaky wooden recliners discussing philosophy, the waves of the Arabian sea lapping at our feet in the moonlight. It was here that Shashank came up with his insight. "When in India, do not go looking for artificial fun. Instead, see what India offers in her abundant nature".
Indeed the things we had stumbled upon without looking - the spice plantation with its elephants and its prawn curry, the Italian chef who married a Goan and cooked by the sea, and this beautiful deserted beach were perhaps the highlights of our trip.
Next evening we celebrated New Year's in the open air at Tito's, with celebrity DJs, fire artists, acrobats and thousands of guests. Much of this evening was spent in the charming company of Anna and Ina from Odessa. Only when ye cease to look, shall ye truly find!
Photos (1) The heavenly Dome Bar in Mumbai (2) Zanzibar beach shack, Goa (3) The fire artists of Tito's. Happy New Year!
Rural Punjab
Mon 20 Dec
I settle into a village for a day of writing. The villagers oblige by laying out a cot in the middle of the street for me, and bringing out cups of tea at perioding intervals !
Amritsar: Brain Fry
Sun 19 Dec
I ask my autorickshaw driver where he goes for good food. Presently we enter an insalubrious neighbourhood and pull up at the Sunder Meat Shop, a little fry cafe specialising in Brain Curry. I skip the brain, but the mutton is good:
Amritsar: Lazy Days
Sat 18 Dec
My long sojourn is affording me time for contemplation and creation.
Yesterday, temple by night. Today, afternoon nap at the Golden temple.
The Sikh religion welcomes all visitors and feeds them. Many tourists sleep the night in the temple courtyard.
Photos (1) Temple by night (2) Lunch at Kesar da Dhaba (3) Afternoon nap
Amritsar: The Holy City
Thu 16 Dec
The narrow crowded lanes of this market town wind fiendishly ever tighter around the great Gurudwara. Inside, the golden inner sanctum emerges from a pool of holy water like a domed cube of bullion. Orderly lines of worshippers wait in rapt silence, bursting occasionally into song as devotional prayers float across the lake. I am at one of India's holiest sites, the Golden Temple of Amritsar.
I settle into Amritsar for ten days of divine isolation.
Photos: (1) Rural scene. (2) & (3) The Golden Temple of Amritsar
Punjab: Princely Patiala
Tue 14 Dec
Visited the former princely capital of Patiala. Along the highway, the lush green fields of Punjab made fertile by alluvial soil, Himalayan rivers and extensive irrigation.
Photos: (1) Scooter Singh (2) Fresh produce (3) Gurudwara in Patiala
Grounded for two days
Mon 13 Dec
I break my own good health guidelines, drinking tap water while travelling. I fall ill, becoming very tired with a bit of nausea. I sleep continually for two days and two nights. The Batra family look after me with simple hearty Punjabi food.
On the third day I am ready to venture into the world.
Photo: I am well looked after by the Batra family. Mr Batra crossed the border from Faisalabad (Pakistan) to Ludhiana during partition in 1947 as part of the world's largest migration. Millions of hindus and sikhs crossed to India, and muslims to Pakistan.
Delhi: Our nation's capital
Fri 10 Dec
The sedate grandeur of Delhi's government district plays Washington D.C. to Mumbai's Manhattan. I visit some government offices, see the magnificent Humayun's tomb and the stadium of the Commonwealth Games. Tomorrow, I continue to Punjab.
Photos: Humayun's tomb. Precursor to the Taj Mahal. A magnificent palace built to house just one person, who was dead at the time.
The Indian Railway: Heading towards Punjab
Thu 9 Dec
I set off for Punjab, whose fertile fields are watered by the fresh water of the Himalayas. Religious home to the proud beturbaned Sikhs. Iconic backdrop to countless Indian movies - Villages set in fields of yellow mustard, swaying farm girls in red cholis dancing to the rythm of the Dhol. Will Punjab deliver the mythic dream? I want to see some dancing . .
Nagpur: The Journey is thrown into turmoil !
1-9 Dec
I get something I had dreamed of. I am accepted as a Kaufmann Finalist ! (a fellowship that helps with venture capital jobs, eduation and networking). I had applied in the summer and I really wanted it.
But to take this up I'll have to give up the Journey immediately. Quit my creative and charitable quest. Come back into the world of business and finance now ! It's asking for too much, but I'd like the best of both worlds.
I mount a plea to defer this fellowship by one year. There is uncertainty for some days.
They accept. The Journey is saved !
Photo: Mum and Dad read my acceptance letter !
Nagpur: Equanimity
Mon 6 Dec
Two weeks into the journey, I feel have reached a point of stability. Made a break with the past. Emptied my inbox. Unsubscribed from the London Transport updates, the technology news, the air miles, the marketing messages, the networking invites. Spent time with parents and family. Reconnected with friends I haven't met for ten years.
Meditated every day.
I am ready to allow what comes creatively. To move forward into the months ahead . . .
Photo: Christian temple of Lourdu mata (our Lady of Lourdes)
French President comes to India
Sun 5 Dec
Indian Express: "Let the marble be covered in honey for the French President's visit" joked a man suspended on a rope above the 54 metre door leading into the Dargah mosque at Fatehpur Sikri, banging on the hives on the dome to chase the bees away ahead of the visit. As he struck, clumps of honey fell to the ground. Later, inside the Dargah, Carla Bruni whispered a prayer that she should have another son. Meanwhile, French ministers across Inda were busy opening renovated consulates.
Nagpur: Grandmother turns 90 !
Thu 2 Dec
Dear old Akolyachi Aji. Turns 90. Cuts cake. Does yoga.
Nagpur: The books arrive!
Wed 1 Dec
Wee hee - my reading list for the journey has arrived, in a cardboard box from London.
The books include:
- "The Celestine Prophecy", by James Redfield
- "Life with full attention", by Maitreyabandhu
- "Stumbling towards enlightenment", by Geri Larkin
-
"Following Fish", by Samanth Subramaniam (who travels the south coast of India writing about the culture of catching, cooking and living with fish)
- "Nine Lives" by William Dalrymple (on the people and beliefs of India)
- "The kindness of strangers", by Kate Adie
NOVEMBER 2010
Nagpur: Celestial swimming
Tue 30 Nov
I get a guest membership card at the leisure club of the Vidarbha Cricket Association.
A place of contemplation, delicious snacks and the most magnificent blue swiming pool ever !
Nagpur: Coming home to roost
Sun 21 Nov
I settle in to Nagpur, central India for a few weeks. Place of refuge, home-cooked food, wide well maintained roads and relatively little traffic for an Indian city. One of the aims of my trip is to spend time with parents and family.
Photos: (1) An Ayurvedic medecine man prescribes herbal remedies from his tent (2) Abbas Miya can get you any railway reservation you desire, even when the train is fully booked.
Mumbai: A steamy welcome
Sun 21 Nov
I am enveloped by humid tropical air as I exit the airport. The fine white canopies of the airport quickly give way to the creaking dusty infrastructure of Mumbai. The next thing that strikes me is the human warmth of the people-welcome from strangers. The feeling of being looked after that I get from the taxi driver, the gatekeepers at the block of flats and the watchman downstairs require me to have just some connection with them - it is enough that I am travelling in his taxi, staying in his block of flats or related to Aunty-ji.
Photos: (1) At a "Cafe Bar Restorent" in Kandivali:
Sweet milky coffee is served in a dish with two glasses, one empty and one full so you can pour from one to the other to cool it down. (2) Porter takes afternoon nap
Italy: Mozzarella, Ravello and the Amalfi Coast
Tue 16 Nov
Visited rural Campana to see where Mozzarella cheese is made, travelled the winding Amalfi coast to Sorrento and to spectacular historic Ravello whose town square looks across a valley to pastel villages clinging to the cliffside.
Italy: Napoli
Sun 15 Nov
I am robbed clean of my wallet, my cash and all my credit cards on a Napoli city bus. A rude reminder that I am behaving like an amateur traveller. Wakey wakey ! But no, I haven't lost all my cards. I dig out a hidden Indian visa card which I have never used in Europe before. Magically, it keeps me afloat for the rest of my trip.
The people of Napoli are quietly angry, sometimes loudly, It expresses itself in the way they drive. A reflection of my own annoyance? Darkly beautiful, grand old buildings in colours bolder and more raw than the yellow-beige pastels of Venice or Florence are testament to its faded glory as a great port city of the south.
Italy: A family welcome
Sat 14 Nov
I am welcomed into the heart of an Italian family by Flavia, Maurizio, and Flavia’s mother, brother, cousin and son, who look after me with warmth and kindness. The first meal is a multi-course affair dripping with the taste of fresh Napoli tomatoes!
London: Leaving friends
Fri 12 Nov
Leaving parties remind you of the bonds and friendships you have built.
Some are wonderful in the moment. Some will endure.
London: My life in five boxes
Fri 12 Nov
Goodbye beautiful house. Good bye beautiful car. Most of my wordily possessions stand here before you in five neat boxes. My flat is being handed over for safekeeping to some really nice people.Murielle the Mazda and Bertie bicycle, along with my boxes are being taken on by good friends. In the past few months I have got rid of half my possessions to charity and elsewhere. I have also given up my job, and lost a girlfriend!
Life is a clean sheet of paper,
Rich with potential, ripe with opportunity, tempered by uncertainty,
Most of what we truly have in our lives is enabled from within,
A journey begins.
Newcastle: in Academia
Mon 8 Nov
I am working in Newcastle. Yes, I am still working! Two weeks at a university helping with plans to commercialise (licence, partner, spin-out) ideas in energy and clean technology.
Newcastle itself has energy. Grand old stone buildings reminiscent of Edinburgh. Up and down hills with winding lanes that give it character and require you to commit to its exploration with body as well as mind. Ambitious cultural buildings and newfangled bridges say Newcastle is thriving, forward looking, having fun!
There is something wonderful about working in academia. A world that gives people space and time to absorb, learn, think and create. Universities are engines of innovation, generating ideas that move society forward.
Three more days of work before I pack and set off !
Wiltshire: Centerparcs
Sun 7 Nov
A weekend at Centerparcs (the Butlins of the middle classes!): Live in a forest, cook meals at home, cycle everywhere and play sport sport sport until you can feel every muscle in your body. Table tennis, squash, orienteering, badminton, crazy golf, swimming. There is something to be said for playing two sports and breathing lungfuls of clean forest air before breakfast.
The meals on this trip were something to be remembered. On day 2 Orlando cooked the most amazing and dedicated multi course Colombian meal which went something like this: