Author Archives: henrydecock

They said he wasn’t in town. Our destination was a hotel in Mcleod-Ganj, a suburb of Dharamshala, further up the mountain. Mcleod-Ganj has been the home of the Dalai Lama since 1959 and is headquarters to the Government of Tibet in exile. It is possible to get a meeting with the Dalai Lama provided youContinue reading “searching for the dalai lama”

We said goodbye this morning to our wonderful hosts and staff at the Basunti Lodge to make a trek to Dharamshala. The entire day was one of traveling up and down and around, left and right, a swerve here, a quick move there, with a stop at a Tibetan arts centre and a nunnery forContinue reading “nine billboards outside dharamshala, india”

The condensation on the window this morning was probably the first clue. It could have been the stars overhead in yesterday’s night sky, but we know how the weather can change before dawn; or the previous crimson sunset could have foreshadowed the next day, but a hint of morning red suggested another possible outcome, determinedContinue reading “a lot of miss sunshine”

You’re the fellow who is spiving. Excuse me? What do you mean? Spiving. You’ve never heard of the term? Not doing what you are supposed to be doing. True. Sort of. We came to India because Olga wanted to complete an international yoga retreat. We had never been to India, so it seemed like theContinue reading “stretch by me”

We have not seen the sun for a few days. It welcomed us on the day of our arrival, opening up the land around, sharing the colours of the foliage, parading the snow capped mountains in the distance. The second day teased us with more warmth to accompany a walk to the lake, enticing aContinue reading “lock, stock, and two twin beds”

The destination of “a road runs through it” is the Basunti Lodge, where the yoga retreat, the impetus for our trip to India, is taking place for eight days. Basunti Lodge is the ever evolving manifestation of a vision of David Butterworth and his wife Izzy to create a home and a small paradise inContinue reading “the grand basunti lodge”

“How far is London from Toronto?” “About two hours.” “Two hours by bus?” “Yes” The border agent continued sorting through the documents, tapped more keys, looked at the screen. I thought it a bit of an odd question. Maybe it was a test, meant to see how I respond. My passport does show I wasContinue reading “when harry met soumya”

Preparation for this trip included reading literature (Canadian authors, of course) situated within or directly related to India. Many years ago, my first memorable exposure was Anita Rau Bandami’s, The Hero’s Walk. Paradoxically, I have a limited recollection of the plot but enough to recommend it to others. More recently, I was subsumed by AnoshContinue reading “the road to partition”

4:30 am. David welcomes me with a good morning, asks if I would like a tea. Every day begins in the kitchen in preparation for the upcoming meals of the day, including fresh baked loaves of bread, my reason for rising at this hour: to witness the work of our host here at the BasuntiContinue reading “guess who’s coming for breakfast”

Travel day. We left the city of Amristar on the next leg, this part by vehicle. Our experience on the train, and the view from the road shows extensive flat lands in this part of the country. Not the wide open fields of Canada’s western provinces where the only sight across the long span ofContinue reading “a road runs through it”