Humans, mangos, dolphins,
You are with us, and we are in Gangotri, and so you are in Gangotri. We got here on the 6th, after 8 days of padyatra (including one day of rainy rest in Gangnaani hot springs, delicious healing). Ankur has gone to bring Kate from the plains. We (4 of us) head upstream for Gomukh and Tapovan day after tomorrow, inshallah. We are drinking lots of masala chai, even Ankur, for the cold.

We have found a tree robed in paper! No more killing trees, this bhojpatra tree sheds paper for us all over the forest!   [Malavika]

And so we have arrived. This far, at least. The cold is bitter at times, and the sun is brilliant and warm at others. Gangotri is full of pilgrims who come on buses for a few hours, sadhus and beggars who line the streets, workers hauling stones and sand to build more ghats, trekkers preparing to leave for the really high country, people here to meditate, to pray, t bathe in the holy (frigid) waters, to explore the hills, and more… Through the middle of it, the rushing waters of the Ganga, murky brown with glacial salts, crashing through the rocks all day and night. Soon we set out for the glacier, , to the true source… [May 8, 2009: Denali]

Three Little Pilgrims

You take the high road

I’ll take the low road

And I’ll get to Scotland

before you

May 1, 2009: 3 days from Uttar Kashi

After 3 days of walking upstream from Uttarkashi, we have discovered the following:

“You have to take the main road, there is no footpath on this side of the river,” or “the footpath only goes to the next village, then you have to cross back to the asphalt,” or “You can’t do that,”

all actually mean “I wouldn’t take the footpath myself because I’m afraid of it,” or “I’ve only taken it as far as the next village,” or “I have no desire to do that myself,” respectively.

Nevertheless, we have walked all but two hours of the last three days on the footpath, with no cars or buses, no dust or smog, and no engine noise. Up and down the valley walls, through thick forests we only lost the trail in once, in tiny villages where perfect strangers feed us and put us up for the night and bring us tea in the bed in the early mornings. Life is too glorious. The road just keeps climbing, and Gangaji keeps on roaring down below.

April 27, 2009: Uttar Kashi

It’s really hard to be in need
& have people treat you poorly
when you know how poorly
you’ve treated people in need.
That’s why a majority of humans
do everything in their power
not to be in need
of other people. [Ankurbhai]

Learning about giving & receiving, expectations & offerings, what it means to walk together, & how big together can be. [Ankurbhai]

We ate a lot of cucumbers today. No potato chips. We saw a sadhu buying potato chips a few days ago. But I drink chai. Perhaps I should not be given to till I purify myself? I don’t think it works that way, friends. [Malavika]

But what’s wrong with chai? Besides, Ankur shaves. We all have our vices… [Denali]

April 23, 2009 [baadaam sheikh]

Denali’s newest AVTAR — Badam Sheikh [Ankur]

Or, “almond chief”, in Hindi-Arabic-English.

Today we bathed in the Ganga at sunrise, in silence, with only a few other pilgrims around us at the banks near the ashram we slept in. Two hours later at the main bathing site in the city we watched hordes of people splash around like a carnival. And we gave thanks for our early morning of solitude. [Denali]

April 23, 2009
Ganga Ma bathed us today. And we now sit in an orchard of jackfruit, guava, mango, mulberry, and a chipmunk experimenting with sitting on Ankurbhai’s knee (whose new pilgrim name is Swami Poojitji) [ie Just Poojit]
Tomorrow we walk, really walk, packs and all, and you all, Beloveds, come with us.
Love, (signed) Malavika, Ankur, Denali

There is no owner

[Please think of this picture as lying down -- its head to the right... -tara]

April 16, 2009
Shikshantar is fertile for imagination; an ocean sunrise can be green. Denali and I, trying not to wonder what would have been if we had spent our 7 months here, but grateful for at least two days, and all that we have learnt elsewhere. [Malavika]

But the road beckons, ever onward… no matter how calm the waters, we cannot anchor here… [Denali]

Rise up, lonely suns! This is just a glimpse of the worldly carnival! Your true heart lies elsewhere — find it! Find it! [Ankur]

Rajasthan is made of ROCKS. That’s why the meals are so hearty and the people so hale — even their turbans and veils are crafted folds of stone and the sun is flaming granite.

We are inspired everywhere we turn. MKSS (organization for workers and farmers) is a portrait of humble constructive work, set at the feet of the people as an offering.

No end to gratitude.