Dehradun Stay

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Well, I made it to Dehradun after a 10 hour bus ride from Amritsar on a government bus…always an experience. Again, I had to endure immense amounts of staring and curiosty which is unnerving. I just ignored it as best I could instead of doing what my alterego wants to do sometimes and that is scream, “What are you looking at? Do you want to know something? Do you know it’s rude to stare? Do I have snot hanging from my nose? If you have a question, then ask it, don’t just stare!! Goddamn it!” I have once or twice stared a few people down just so they “got a piece of their own medicine,” but this is not the most harmonious approach, nor the type of person I want to be. Plus, I think this is what they are looking for in a sense…better just to be oblivious to the staring and carry on doing what I am doing. The people in India are so naïve, and all they are is curious…they just aren’t subtle about it.

I found a hotel from the Lonely Planet book.-The Saurab. I have realized that hotels are really deceptive here in India. Lobbies can be these elaborate marble room and realize what a façade it is that attracts people in to stay. The Saurab was like this. The room was quite clean, but not to detail like I would expect in North America, and the musty smell again prevailed…it was tolerable though for only the three nights I would be there. Bed was hard as the ground and no hot shower of which they insisted anything above freezing cold was actually “hot,” when I inquired if my hot water was broken. It seems electricity is so highly priced that in many places they cut corners where they can…hot water and cleaning supplies seems to top the list. And I finally succumbed to an Indian phenomenon…bed bugs. I got bitten on my arms…dam they are itchy and last a long time. You cannot see the buggers and apparently the only thing that gets rid of them is burning the mattress!

My reason for stopping in Dehradun on the way to Mussoorie, a hill station just 25 km from here was to visit the ashram of Baba Shri Shivarudra Balayogi Maharaj aka Babaji, the disciple of Shri Shivabala Yogi Maharaj. Also, I know Dehradun is a spot where many, many great past spiritual masters have ashrams or satellite ashrams. I met Babaji last year in southern Washington and was amazed at his presence. Babaji is an amazing, aware being whose energy emits joy and peace. I will do great disservice to his spiritual journey if I try to explain it, but his website is wonderful to see his life journey and specialness.

Dehradun central is nothing great…busy, and dirty. There are many, many “western” type stores here and the thoroughfare on Rajpur Road through town is quite nice. There is a huge park in town which is a great refuge from the traffic and noise. The noise in India is horrific..in the cities at least. Honking of horns is endless and some vehicles have such a high pitch sound that I truly have felt a loss of hearing for a brief moment when my ears have been caught off guard. Drivers have NO patience whatsoever here in India and will not wait even 10 seconds for traffic...the horns are blown as a normal way to drive. The pollution in India hits every sense…sight, smell, hearing, taste and touch. I have become accustom to cow dung smell as being just normal as there are cow patties everywhere you can imagine; I have admittedly slipped on a few…you just can’t help it especially at night. Cows are amazingly liberated here, they can go anywhere.. .Holy Cow!

Dehra means “valley” so this is the Valley of Doon. There are many ashrams and international schools here nestled a bit away from the hub of town, up the road where it is lush, green and very pleasant. The great yogic poet Patanjali was said to have lived here for quite some time. I ventured into the Aurobindo ashram talked to the caretaker and went to the temple. I also went to the Ramakrishnan one too…this temple and ashram is brilliant. I saw an Osho centre too. All these places have me quite ecstatic as I have read much about these people and so to see these organizations has been a dream. It is somehow soothing knowing these movements are promoting love, peace, truth and “Can’t We All Just Get Along” sentiments. It feels good to see the seriousness and importance given to what I think is the most important thing in the whole world.

I did an unspeakable thing and I went to MacDonald’s. I was curious as to the menu items so I ventured in. There are not too many MacDonald’s here in India, thank goddess, but I have seen three now. Well the menu is completely different than in the west. No “hamburgers” of course…Holy Cow again. I had an interesting chat with some young Indians and they had no idea that beef was eaten in “America” and they were shocked…I am sure a Texan taking an Indian out for lunch would be a disaster! The veggie burger and fries was good…a hint of masala in the burger and usual fries were a familiar comfort. Now that I am back to my old vegetarian self…and glad, the Indian diet is very pleasant for us non-flesh eating souls- even at MacDonald’s. The line-up at McDonald’s the day I went was compromised of a couple from Kentucky, a young woman from California, a Brit and me. Geez! This was a meeting place for all the foreigners. I hadn’t talked to anyone from the west for weeks so this was a nice change. I have talked to many people who spoke English, but hadn’t talked to anyone who spoke “western culture.” I didn’t think I missed home, but turns out I do. I have come to the realization I do not belong here, and never could. I will be able to fully embrace the culture back home when I get back as I have now became aware this is not my culture…something I needed to find out on my own. There are aspects of I relate to here of course, but many, many I do not. Here, when I dress in my Indian suits, many people know I am not from here, but westerners think I am…so again I am between cultures…the story of my life. If I want to be approached by westerners, I dress touristy, if I want to talk to Indians, I dress Indian…Sometimes in one day I can be doing a dress change like Superman in a phone booth…depending on my mood.

So as usual, I did some sight seeing and shopping the first day. Every city has something different in terms of interesting items to buy. I have heard if I like something, snap it up because I will probably not be able to find it again. Dehradun has great jewelry…this is the place to be for traditional Indian jewelry…and of course this is my weakness. The Paltan Bazaar is great for this. After dropping a load of money…I had to remove myself form the marketplace before I got into really big trouble financially. I mean things are cheap…but it adds up. Of course every time I go shopping, it is others I think about first…saying to myself, “So and so will like this , and so and so will like that.”

I ended up at Babaji’s ashram in the late morning and spent the day there just relaxing and then doing meditation and bhajans in the evening. Rekah, Babji’s fulltime caretaker I met last year saw me in the halls and was so overjoyed to see me. We embraced for a long time. She couldn’t believe I had made the journey to India. I like her energy a lot…she is strong, and sweet. She remembered everything about me and the connection we made over a year ago was still there…it was a special moment. I was invited to stay in her room and they would find a mattress, but I had already paid at the hotel.

Babaji, as usual is his graceful self…I love his smile. It is powerful being in his presence, but he is not intimidating. He is very approachable. He remembers me and is very, very grateful I came to see him and the ashram…he said I was welcome as long as I wanted. As it turns out because of my non-planning, planning, I just showed up here out of the blue without anyone knowing so the ashram was full due to Baba’s birthday. Darn it all. I didn’t want to invade Rekah’s space either as her room was full to the brim with visitors who came for Baba’s birthday. The ashram’s setting is beautiful. The building is a nice size and the gardens overlook the lush valley. There is a beautiful mandir, (temple) in a courtyard. Tomorrow is Baba’s birthday and so it was sheer serendipity I will be here for the celebration. I cannot wait.

That’s it for now….Leila

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