Arrival in India

2/13/12                Getting off the plane I got into a panic because texts came in on my i-phone and I could not remember what the setting was to disable or disconnect so I would not incur big charges. I quieted myself with the thought that money was there if it came to that and that I would find out later. At this time of writing I cannot access Internet properly because I don’t have a code for the local wifi.

I could not believe the taxi ride from the airport. Young guy very pleasant – old beat up car. Each time he turned off  the engine at a stop sign I feared it would not start up again. Then there were the bumpy rutted  roads – shockers gone a long time ago on that car. At one point on a three lane highway we were met by headlights going in the opposite direction. My driver muttered “traffic” and then “hold on” and he then promptly did a three point turn in the midst of full speed traffic to follow suit with the headlights that we had met and to find a less congested way around the traffic build up – which we scarcely saw ahead. He just knew what the oncoming headlights in the middle of the night would mean. Later we passed lots of motorized rickshaws and young men pushing covered wheelbarrows at 11:00 p.m. with no protective lights or reflectors. Darkness was intense all around – hazy with polluted air, no street lights to speak of. My driver had no idea where the address was but he did get the general area correct. He stopped and asked countless people how to get where we were going. In the end it was quite undramatic, or should I say in TS Eliot’s familiar phrase “satisfactory”. We found the entrance. The gatekeeper opened for us and he drove into the courtyard of Brotherhood House. From there another of community met me and together with a young boy who enthusiastically carried my biggest bag they showed be to my room in what seemed last night to be a kind of annex. “Do you need anything” “No” I replied in an inaudible awe… “Many thanks.” “See you in the morning he said. You can join us for breakfast. You will be tired.” I had the presence of mind to ask what time and where were the prayers. 7 he said and gestured with his left had to indicate left of the dining hall.