Yeh hey hey... we leave today

Why Kumbh?
You are crazy going into those masses and masses of people?
Sadhus – all fake, pranksters
WOW – I envy you… its going to be such a different experience!
Remember to try out the foods.
Some of the responses I have been getting when I tell friends that I’m off to Kumbh for a month or two.
Have been wanting to get out to a totally different space and people and here was rishikesh and Kumbh going on …. A gift… a chance to mingle with the largest spiritual marketplace there is, to experience and write about the amazing richness of polytheism, many paths, many gods, many understandings, all co existing, interrelating and all occurring chaotically, of itself, open to anyone who wanted to be there.
I have been once to a Kumbh in Nasik and the experience baffled, amazed, zonked me out. Since then had been studying and trying to practise advaita. The last two years have been difficult looking after my mother who was ailing and who took her last breath at 91 on Dec 28 2009. A sense of relief … and this opened up the possibility of going … with no worry about wether a phonecall would make me rushing back.
It was beautiful, for the first time the entire family was together for new years eve .
And finally today we leave… Ashis friend Rohit is coming with me and am so happy since it will be so much more fun together. Things have been falling into place so beautifully… over dinner mentioned that I was looking for a place to stay…and came the reply our family has a temple with a guest house with rooms overlooking the Ganga…and I was booked… I didn’t want to go alone … and Rohit is coming…a journalist and fiction writer…train tickets were still on waiting list… got tatkal… in between bought a video camera with the help of Deesh (I know, but that is what he calls himself)… and he spent hours putting up a video cutting software yesterday… Rollika sort of organizing the things…jay testing out all the equipment…. Its been a great group effort…..and all are promising to come to the mela….
So this is going to be a hopefully twice a week blog, where we give you our experience of the mela…. Along with short video footage…….we hope that it is interactive, and people who are here will add so we can go visit them…we plan interviews.. the whole Monty. We plan to cover many things, the different kinds of spiritual paths and gurus, the food, the shopping, the healers, the people who have come, the Sadhavis, the list goes on… our aim is to make it a its like I am there experience. And the final hope is to bring out a narrative book, with CD with video edits… and there are others who will be contributing…. Gita, A PHD in Hindi, Giti a researcher in feminine history and discussions with her have been very important in shaping a vision, there are many and they will be on this blog.
So do follow our adventures…..