In the past two months I’ve carved out a fairly regular pattern of life here in Varanasi.Every morning I wake up at 5 a.m., take a walk along the Ganga, have a cup of chai or two, go to work, come home, have dinner, read, chat with or visit friends.I’m usually asleep by 10:30 p.m.
All but the most tenacious tourists have now left Varanasi for the mountains.The daily temperature is now upwards of 40 degrees, and I can’t seem to drink water fast enough to replenish the water I’m sweating out.To add insult to injury, while I lug around as a salty, pasty mass of damp cotton, the Indian ladies around me float radiantly and sweat-lessly on clouds of cool air, smelling of jasmine and fresh cucumber.
I’ve just returned from a week in Nepal where I attended what is reported to be the World’s Largest Passover Seder.At first Nepal seemed to be an unlikely place for the gathering of thousands of Jews.But when I stepped out of my taxi in Kathmandu and into my guesthouse, the Varanasi Mystery of “where did all the Israelis go?” was quickly answered.The thousands upon thousands of Israelis who spend a year or two traveling in and around India after their army service head north to the mountains in India and Nepal during the hot months.
The seder was held in the hall of a big hotel in Kathmandu.There were estimated to be over one thousand Israelis there, and the service inside was conducted in Hebrew.Outside, two small tables were set up for about 60 of us mainly non-Hebrew speakers.I sat with a very interesting group of people.
I sat across from a young male Nepali engineer who had been brought to the seder by his elderly Jewish Norwegian friend.This Norwegian had been visiting Kathmandu for the last 20 years and staying at the family guesthouse of this Nepali boy.The Norwegian sponsored the Nepali’s education at a university in Stockholm, Sweden.The exotic woman beside me, who identifies as Christian-Muslim-Jewish, is fluent in eight languages, including Hebrew, and has never lived anywhere for longer than four years.She is currently living in Gujarat, India, and is a former resident of Germany, Jordan, and Canada (Montreal).
I also met a Thornhill Jew who was in the process of making a documentary about the phenomenon of “Bu-Jews” – Jews who study and follow Buddhism.Apparently he was struck by a statistic that 30% of Buddhist converts in America are Jewish.This prompted him to explore the reasons for this phenomenon and he has spent the past months interviewing and filming Bu-Jews all over India.There was also a large group of American students who are participating in a study abroad program in Kathmandu.
I was very lucky to meet a fun Bu-curious Dutch girl who was looking for a trekking partner to join her for a few days before she started her 10-day meditation/Buddhist philosophy class at a Kathmandu monastery.We did a 3-day hike in the Kathmandu valley area and were extremely lucky as we work up on our first night to a perfect sunrise and view of the Himalayas (which had apparently been obscured by haze for 10 days prior).The most memorable moment was watching the sunrise from the temple perched above our guesthouse in Nagarkot.
We spent my last night in Boudha – a quiet and beautiful Buddhist area of Kathmandu.Boudha is full of Tibetan monks and also has a significant population of Westerners studying Buddhism.We met an interesting group of Mexicans and Canadians who had come to Boudha for study and enlightenment.
I’m now back in Varanasi, trying to get all my projects competed before I leave on April 23rd.Last night a friend and I escaped to the new “IP mall” – an American style, heavily A/C’d mall.I cooled off by eating an ice cream sundae and drinking a cold coffee and we watched locals practice riding up and down on the escalator – for many it was their first time using one.Tonight I have to run a few errands and then will try, for the fourth time, to make it to my friend Nitu’s roof before the sun sets.I always seem to arrive half an hour too late.
I’ll be spending four nights in London before returning to Toronto.I’m staying with my friends Gemma and James and am hoping that my friend Jesca, from Holland, will be able to join me for a day or two.
