Thank you Thank you for the comment. I think you are very lucky -- I love Raiwala village and the incredibly warm and friendly people there. I never wanted to leave!
beautiful writing Mariellen ! I have often felt unexplanable peace around some rare individuals like you feel around swamiji . I was born in India and everytime i travel there it grabs me by my soul and shakes up my conciousness.
To witness the contrasts in life and trying to explain them in earthly terms makes you question your own affluence and its origin. Suddenly God seems possible!
Arun
Bon voyage Have a wonderful trip, Mariellen! I just got back from 3+ weeks in Madagascar so we'll have to catch up when you're back in town. Bon voyage!
I have been there, too! I lived for 4 years (1998-2000) in South Delhi (Lajpat Nagar, Defence Colony, Karol Bagh, etc.) Your blog made me remember all those beautiful days. It is weird that you find India unpleasant at first sight but every second day you start feeling you are falling love with her!!! I am planning to settle down in South Dehli for good. Hurray!
paradise! Oh Mariellen, what a wonderful experience. The way you described everything... the beauty of the place and people...that is a blessing forever. Thanks for sharing it!
Rosanne
Extraordinary experience Mariellen,
Just read all your blogs and you are good at looking beyond the usual in India, and appreciating it.
India is the mother of the legends and father of real spirituality, and I love it too.
May God bless you.
Prashant
Cinicinnati, Ohio
Such a beautiful telling of your soul's Indian journey. and reading it resonated with my own Indian journey and odyssey. A country that for all its annoyances get right under your skin and into your very fibre and leaves you changed for the better for ever.
Well Done! Dear Mariellen,
thank you for all your words, your fotos and most of all; your inner thoughts shining through every written line.
This have been a wonderful trip also for me to follow, and perhaps you understand why. I know, going to India is much, much more than just taking a trip somewhere. I hope we will send a few mails to each other now and then, sorting out the mysteries of life. I often think of Shin Shiva, with gratitude. I can only imagine how this must be for you, frankly - i thought you were going to stay and become "Indian". But perhaps you don´t need to, you´ve got it in you! Take care, love from Mette.
Thanks I am an Indian who has been living abroad all my life. Your writing is something I have been looking forward to for the past 6 months !
This piece of yours has brought tears to my eyes and I felt compelled to write something :) I too am returning to my India for good after 17 long years outside. I wish you happiness and God's choicest blessings !
Thank You! Dear Mariellen, being able to share your travels with you was very inspiring and I want to thank you so much. I hope you got nearer to peace through your journey and wish you all the best for your future. Take care, Christina
Safe Journey I have been reading your blogs on regular basis. It was always interesting to see my country thru your eyes. Very balanced writing. By the way, you hardly look 46! :) Safe journey home!
hibiscus ah, the hibiscus flower!
i read this blog after i read the very last one... which makes sense, i think.
the habiscus flower grows in northern australia and really really reminds me of my care free years as a child in the long, humid rainy days on the esplanade in queensland. The vibrant pink ones are my all time favorite! How did you know?
Love C
the universal "home" Once again, you have not failed to move me to tears with your poetic and emotionally uninhibited, and thus "wise" ways!
Something I like to say, a personal "mantra" that passes through my head from time to time, is, "that some people are rivers and some people are bridges"...
there have been times in my life when i have been a river, running through places and people and things, full of renewable energy, different everytime I was gazed upon but leading the wandering eye someplace else and taking the heart's gaze to the infinate sea. There have been other times in my life when i have been a bridge; strong and stable and old, taking the weight of the universe on and allowing passage to and from places...
It is not easy to be a bridge or a river.... but I understand what it is like to be both. Supporting you on your journey was my pleasure and please remember this: rivers always remember where they came from and the places they run through and where they empty into the sea and bridges always remember where they root into the earth and what crosses over them. So, my friend, the moral of my funny story is now it is time to just be a river or be a bridge and shift easily between the two: TAT VAM ASI/ THOU ARE THAT!
love Chrissy
All the best for the future! Mariellen, Though we didnt spend much time together, each time we met, i had a wonderful time. We somehow got along pretty well. Its a pity we couldnt go out together much, maybe next time! I hope you found what u were looking for through these 6 months of travel and experiences. Have a safe journey back home, and im glad to have made a new friend! I will be meeting you tomorrow, and i hope the next time after this wont be too far away.
Finally, heres wishing you everything good!
Every star a guiding one.
Every sky a blue one.
Every heart an open one,
Every friend a true one.
Every dream a lasting one.
Every song a bright one.
Every path an easy one.
Every turn the right one.
Your someone ill always wish good things for.... :)
- Sona
Sad and Glad You're Coming Home Well, dear friend, I'm sorry you're leaving a place that's dug its way into your heart and soul, but it will be wonderful to see your smile in person. Have a safe trip home!
Safe journey back I will be saddened to not be able to read your adventures in India anymore. I have read all of your entries many times over, and I must say you have changed a lot of my outlook on things here in India. Being American and being married to an Indian for the last four years and living most of that time here in Delhi has been very challenging for me, and not always the best of times, due to the religious and culture differences. I have never had a positive outlook on anything here until I started reading your journals. Seeing how you see things, it opened my eyes and helped me to accept and understand the differences in our cultures. I thank you for that, and also for sharing your wonderful photos and giving us all a look into your life for the last six months. I do pray you get to come back to India, and as you have mentioned many times, India seems to suit you, and in return, you suit India. God bless you on your return home and may you have a safe journey!
What a great end to your trip! I will miss reading these blogs in the morning, but it will be good to see you when you get back. Be sure to drop by the "hood" for a tea on the front porch.
Please visit my new site Breathedreamgo.com for updates. I continue to write about India, travel, yoga, spirituality and other topics on Breathedreamgo. Please visit me there. I am dedicated to sharing the beauty of India's culture and ancient wisdom with the world.
I began planning to go to India in January 2005, during yoga teacher training in Toronto, and left for my first six-month trip on December 4, 2005. I have been back five times since then, for a total of 14 months in India ... so far ...
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Margaret
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Margi
Wow. What a place . Its look very cute. Beaches all around Shinshiva. Great Hospitality