Varanasi

Varanasi, India’s holiest and oldest city, is also septic. The city is built along the Ganges River and is comprised of 80 different ghats (or areas with steps leading into the river). Ancient (feeling) architecture hugs the shoreline while smoke billows from pyres from the cremation ghats. The river, so filthy now, houses those generations past sins. Just imagining the sheer volume of people who come to this river to cleanse themselves of actual or spiritual impurities suffocates me. It grabs hold of my chest like a punch to the solar plexus might leave you gasping for air. But even still, children play in these waters. They still take advantage of what the river is giving them. It has been the most obvious showing of a word so often maligned: Faith.

The Hunt for Bhut Jolokia

It is known as the spiciest chili is the world (in fact, Guinness ranked it as such), and it can be found in one area in India. It's apparent white color gives it the nickname "ghost chili;" I just hope it doesn't disappear before I can get to it. Imagine a thumb-sized chili having the same sense of awe and adventure as the Holy Grail.

Nearly honest

There’s a bartender in Patnem name Brahma who left his family a year ago to come southward. He was trained as an electric engineer, but didn’t like spending days in a lab. So he packed up his things and left. All he had was the belief in himself that he was a “people person.” Speaking with him is how I imagine a conversation with Confucious would be. He says things like “There is no profit in lying.” And quickly follows that with “I only lie to my father.” There is humor and sadness is this. Much like how I imagine India to be.

Medicine Man

This is Ayrgun. He is a medicine man from Karnataka. He "diagnosed" my health and considered me to be of "medium-bad" health. I asked what that meant and he said I had too much fire. Then he promised to cure me for $40 USD with an herbal mix that I would take 3 times a day for 2 months. I said I couldn't carry around all of that powder with me while I traveled. So he shrugged and said, "ok, 1 month and you get less medium."

Ayurvedic Massage

I was a little scared. First of all, it is a massage I could hardly pronounce, secondly, they wanted me to strip and lie down on a wooden table that resembled a torture device (I was given a loin cloth for cover). Next I knew, two people were rubbing and pulling me simultaneously. This, to help circulation as the belief is that poor circulation is the root to poor health. Herb-scented hot oil is poured over your body and as you get tugged, you also start to slide around the table (thankfully there were no splinters!). What amazed me most was that the lead masseuse (the one who sets the pace for the other masseuse) knew within 5 minutes that I had problems with the right side of my body. Sure the bowling ball-sized knots probably gave it away, but he was able to narrow down that my problems emanated from my cervical spine. For those of you who know me well, this is the moment you should go “ah hah!” For those of you just getting to know me, your “ah hah” will come.

The Un-India

Patnem is south of Goa and is the place to go when you want to be in India, but feel like you are someplace else. Here drinking is allowed, as are tank tops and even bikinis. It is rebuilt every year after the monsoon season shreds the make-shift huts apart. Everything is make-shift. Mattresses are yoga pads, toilets are holes, but there is nothing like showering with a bucket of cold water under the stars with the occasional frog hopping through.