Creative Nudge – On to Varanasi

Many of you who follow my travels and creative essays may have already figured out that I write and send these essays very spontaneously. It is a creative challenge that I made for myself when we started our midweek Creative Nudge a couple years ago.

Right now I have about 15 minutes to write down my thoughts, pack up, and head for the airport to our last destination – Varanasi.

Two days ago, what was supposed to be a 6 hour cross-country drive, turned out to be an 11 1/2 hour drive on severely rutted rural “highways” which ran through remote areas (don’t even think about what would happen if we broke down) and punctuated with crazy crowded noisy villages full of people, cows, trash heaps, pigs, goats, bicycles, all headed in different directions at the same time.

Travel is a great test of character, and every day we’ve felt like part of all of the day was like being in a National Geographic documentary. We did not take the usual tourist trip, but the 3 of us hired a car and driver, and took off in search of the most interesting photography subjects. Traveling in India is not for the faint of heart, especially if you go off the tourist track. I certainly wouldn’t recommend this trip for just anyone. There are days that we had to prepare for the worst so we could be happy if everything went as planned. Ha!

On the other hand, I must say that we could have exposed ourselves to many dangerous situations here, but we did not. We had a driver and a guide. We stayed in nice hotels where we knew we could eat safely. We did not go out alone or at night. If too many people crowded around us hawking their wares or begging for money, we left quickly and spoke forcefully to anyone invading our space.

I’ve seen extreme poverty up close, and interacted with people living lives of hopeless destitution, but each new culture carries its own heartbreaking version of what it means to be poor. The villagers we see as we pass through rural roadside villages, are so poor they can’t afford to send their children to the free public schools here. That is really something to think about. However we were happy to see that many rural children DO go to school, and that will drive the progress of this densely populated nation.

It has been an intensely rich experience of colors, textile arts, fabrics, sights, sounds and smells. As many have said to me, it is impossible to explain the constantly intense experience of being in India, but once you visit here, you know. It is beyond words. However I have taken thousands of photos and I am working to condense them down into a visual story for you.

I’ve posted many photos already on my photo page, and also several videos on my personal Facebook page. I also purchased several gorgeous elephant and horse-themed embellished wall hangings which I will make available on eQuilter when I return. (thanks to my buying assistants and fellow travelers – Pam Holland and her sister Jan!)

I am unplugging now, here in Khajuraho, and flying to Varanasi. Tomorrow we tour this sacred city on the banks of the River Ganges, and Friday I begin my long journey home with an extra suitcase, and a heart and mind full to the brim with emotion, inspiration, and exquisitely complex memories.

Feel free to share your thoughts on my blog.

Namaste….
Luana