A day dedicated to spiritual places and devotional art. Bulli The Auto Rickshaw Driver (so named, no doubt, because of the way he stamps, snorts and roars like a bull when anyone dares get in the way of his wildly careening vehicle and the way he e-bulli-ently sings “La La La La La, La La La La LAAAAA!” after a particularly hairy patch of traffic or especially arduous pothole) takes command of our itinerary and in a matter of hours we zip around to The Bharat Mata (Mother India) Temple (home of an incredible pre-partition 3D marble map of India inaugurated by Gandhi himself in 1936), every single temple, stupa and ruin in Sarnath (the deer park 13 km from Varanasi where Buddha meditated and taught the Dharma to his first five followers), Ramnagar Fort (watch out for the sham shamen lurking in the temples overlooking the Ganges out back!) and the vast Kashi Vishwanath Temple (the holiest of Shiva Temples, where the figures of the Hindu deities look right into your soul with their piercing eyes). Plus we learn never tip the shoe-sitter guy more than 5 rupees and where to get the tastiest afternoon chai served in the little terra-cotta handmade cups I’ve been coveting for weeks! Thank you, Bulli!
‘ little terra-cotta handmade cups I’ve been coveting for weeks! ‘ – the inspiration for new line from Mystery Hand enterprises?! By the way, this blog is the best!
I was just thinking about Mystery Hand yesterday! And how much I love making stuff with you. And how much I appreciate your friendship and inspiration. Here’s to all kinds of collaborations in 2014!
Is it true the Buddha never travelled more that 25km from his birthplace?? 🙂