Report from Rishekesh

Happy reunion in Rishekesh: 20 kids were waiting on the steps of the hostel when I arrived, healthy, sun-kissed, and a little scruffy. It’s so good to see everyone. Rishkesh is beautiful, a deep river gorge surrounded by craggy jungle, mountains. The emerald green Ganga (Hindi for Ganges), carves a wide swath through the valley and is cleaner and clearer here than in Haridwar just below us, where 20 million pilgrims are washing their sins away over the next few weeks (and raw sewage pours in untreated).

Crossing the massive suspension bridge across the Ganga was an interesting experience. People, motorcycles, and an occasional cow or donkey, jostle for space on the narrow trestles. I stopped midway to talk to a rather large monkey who was perched on the suspension wires and he nearly bit my face off. I had forgotten that monkeys in India are not to be trusted. Last time I was here, one peed on me and evidently, last week, Hillary narrowly escaped when she offended a monkey and it chased her around the temple grounds.

The kids did the inevitable shopping in the street markets. Most are now outfitted with balloon pants, head scarves, cloth bags, etc. Eli pierced his left ear and a couple of girls pierced their noses (we may be in trouble), then we joined a Hare Krishna ceremony on the banks of the Ganga at sunset. It was lovely, really. A small ensemble of locals played drums and chanted while an assemblage of holy men dressed in orange robes and turbans prayed near us. A group of young brothers filled small aluminum tins with fresh chrysanthemum blossoms and placed a half nut shell at the top of each one with a small candle in it. As the sky grew dark, they gave each of the kids a tin, lit the candles, and we floated them down the Ganga. The intent, I believe, is to send you dreams or wishes out to the gods.

There’s a large expat population here and an ashram or yoga center on every corner. We never did find the Beattle’s ashram, but plan to explore further today. I can’t imagine why anyone calls us the hippy school.

Off to wake the kids for river rafting down the Ganga. It’s wide and calm, so not too adventurous, but certainly gorgeous. The sun is just rising and it looks like another lovely day. Thanks for letting us spend time with your kids. They are being incredibly kind, helpful, respectful, etc. Not a single incident of misbehavior to report. I’ll try to get some of them to post photos later. Evidently it’s kind of an ordeal to download with this narrow bandwidth. My luggage remains lost and I’m wearing the same outfit going on day three. At least I had a shower (cold).

Diana