something different

from Kerala, after sacrificing a cell phone to the gods of the backwaters, I make my way to the the southern tip of India- where the Indian Ocean, the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea meet- Triveni Sangam at Kanyakumari.

it seems like all of India has decided to take the ferry across to the Vivekananda Rock memorial at the very moment I do. an hour after the wait, we see the spectacular sight that is Kanyakumari from the memorial.

then comes a ride aboard a local bus to see a nearby palace- after which, I, with a fellow traveler, wait at the station for the bus back to Kanyakumari. I inquire about the bus from a man standing next to me.

the best thing about traveling in Asia is that there is always someone around who adopts you. at that moment, it is this stranger. the next half hour, I simply turn to him every time a bus comes around the corner and he shakes his head. of course, as soon as ours does arrive, he nods emphatically and announces the arrival, even before I throw my questioning look.

the next day, I am off to Madurai. In a cramped private mini-bus, while sitting on the last seat, I get into a conversation with the lady sitting next to me. she mentions Rameswaram as one of the four most sacred places for Hindus.

I am not particularly religious myself. but I respect all religions, and their holy places and other's belief in them,. I am intrigued by them, I want to know as much as I can about them. I like visiting religious places- I like the experience of being in a place, where faith and trust is in abundance, even if in an outer-worldly being, especially while living in a world where there is so less of it in each other.

the next two days, I spend in temples.
first is the Meenaxi temple in Madurai- with scaffolding shielding every gopuram- I was pretty sure the temple didn't look like this in my 8th grade history book. It is being repainted, i am told,- a part of the conservation program done once in 13 years and of course, this year happens to be that one year.

olympics, US elections, repainting of gopurams- indeed an important year in the history of the world ;)

the second stop in my self-proclaimed pilgrimage is the temple at Rameswaram. I barely reach the temple when a dark, wiry man appears from nowhere, with an aluminum bucket in his hands. He hastily pushes me through the throng waiting in line before me and leads me to the 22 teerthas.

then he goes on to inform me about the 22 teerthas/wells in the temple, and that I need to pour a bucket of water from each one of them on my head and drink some of that water. a precious little detail that the lady in the bus missed and I did too, being immersed in Malgudi. I find myself unable to turn around for fear of offending someone, once I have begun the purification process and so I follow him hurriedly to be absolved of my darkest sins.

the cast on the right ankle feels all guey, the bandage on the base of my foot all muddy. but even in this state of post-purification, I want to see Sri Lanka from a distance, if I can't go there. I get into an autorickshaw only to be told after half an hour that Lanka is actually not visible from there due to the earth's curvature! and it is only 33 Kms away from Rameswaram.

I catch the overnight Volvo bus to Bangalore the next day, in time for the biggest festival in India, Diwali.
there's just enough time to create a rangoli in front of my sister's house, pick a sari to wear from her vast collection and burst firecrackers- I can't recall the last time I did that.

this year will be different, I have reminded myself time and again. there are bittersweet endings, new beginnings and not much in between.

its the 10 months that I took out of my life for myself to follow a crazy dream. and while there may be many such months in the future, these are the most special.
its these 10 months that give me the hope of endless possibilities, the wisdom to separate dreams from reality, the courage to dream again and the strength to fulfill them.