Farewell, Mike and good bye, India

India has been a trip, but we are cutting things short.

Instead of being here until just before our visa expires on 9 November 2007, we leave here on 15 October 2007.

My cousin Michal’s death is certainly a significant instigator in this new plan, and perhaps this is one of the good things that I can try to take from his passing. Changing our plans will mean that we will be returning home one month earlier than planned, and more important, that we will be present for many family gatherings in Chicago and Toronto in November and December.

And besides the gatherings for celebrations, holidays and admittedly some grieving, our new plan will enable us to see many friends and family sooner rather than later.

Early tomorrow we board a train that will take us on a more than 24-hour journey to cover the vast distance between Delhi and Hyderabad, the former being where we leave India from and the latter where have we have spent yesterday and today as we head north from Kanyakumari via Chennai.

Our original plan to head to France after India has not changed, simply because some of those family and friends we want to connect with are scattered across this delightful country. We already had booked our flights to Paris and figured out the itinerary for our month in France long before Michal passed away. All we did for $50 was change the reservation to take us to Paris next Monday instead of a month from now. Thankfully, our family and friends there have been very accommodating in this rather last minute change in plans.

Believe it or not, I am not sad to leave India earlier than plannedanticipated. As I told jft and my family, I have made my dream to see India come true. Whether or not I see another Hindu temple, visit Kolkata and Varanasi and explore another market bazaar will certainly not make or break me. As much of a beautiful and inspiring experience I’ve had, in particular in the last two months of completing a meditation course and then exploring very green, lush and much more laid-back south India, I am also done with the dirtiness, the traffic congestion, the haggling to get a fair rickshaw price and even some of the Indian food, like vegetables cooked to mush in thick gravies. I am proud of myself for pursuing this dream and making it come true, but I can admit, with much thanks to my cousin Michal for putting some things into perspective, when I need to wake up from the dream and move on.

I’m a little sad that while Michal’s funeral is going on in Toronto, I will be on such a long train ride instead of being able to go somewhere more spiritual or special to grieve, pay my respects and acknowledge the moments my family is passing through. I realized though, that train rides in India can actually be something quite special. The landscapes you race and chug past can often be breathtaking, and you often see village and city, slum and mansion dwellers just living their life as you pass by, from taking care of toilet duties by the side of the track to young and old waving at the train, trainspotting being an integral part of the day. And I can’t overlook the interesting people and things you see on the trains themselves. Whole families and lone travellers unpack whole meals, snore and often share their rich, ghee-filled sweets with us. Life proceeds as usual on the train as much as much as it does in the often anonymous places we pass by rail.

So I will celebrate life as I witness it from the train and on the train while Michal is laid to rest. And I will thank India for showing me a slice of her, even if sometimes I didn’t like what I saw or experienced. Good-bye to the land Gandhi fought for. I cannot say when I will return, but I hope when I do, it will be to reconnect to the many friends I found here.

For now, I am ready to go home.