“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”
Category Archives: India 2019
the road to partition
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”
guess who’s coming for breakfast
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”
a road runs through it
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”
on golden temple
Amritsar is known for it’s history especially for the impact of the partition (subject of a future blog), and as the home of the Golden Temple. It is the Vatican to the Sikhs, with all the splendour and ceremony and reverence. More than a visit, our time was a pilgrimage witnessing the devotion and passionContinue reading “on golden temple”
tuktuk
For the last couple days we have been moving about the city in a tuktuk; think of a motorcycle with encased in a metal, covered chariot. They vary in size from two to four to six person seating; and the operative word is seating, because we have witnessed them overflowing with bodies beyond the recognizableContinue reading “tuktuk”
last train to Amritsar
Early this morning, 6:30 am to be precise, we left our hotel with the same driver accompanied by an assistant from the travel agency who’s only responsibility was to get us on board the train to Amritsar. It is a 447 km, six hour “express” ride, which turned out to have numerous stops along theContinue reading “last train to Amritsar”
and so it begins
The plane left Toronto November 4 10:30 local time, an hour late, landing in Delhi the next day at 10:30 pm. Twenty four hours squeezed into 13, consisting of two and a half movies, an attempt at reading, spurts of shallow sleep, a somosa snack and two airplane meals. The lyrics from David Bowie’s SpaceContinue reading “and so it begins”
anticipation
We can never know about the days to comeBut we think about them anyway Carly Simon In less than 48 hours we board our flight to India. Preparations for the trip have been a long, drawn out process of ensuring every detail has been considered and/or a plan is in place. Permission for vacation timeContinue reading “anticipation”
Wonderings 