Your new life is going to cost you your old one

Maybe the fact that i saw my first dead body floating in the Ganga today prompted me to write this. He was all curled up, face down, left leg missing from the knee down. Sadhu's orange clothes bundled up, back showing. His floating had come to a stop, the river's current being slow and we helped him going his way moving the water with our cupped hands to create waves. My first thought was to take a picture, and the second 'how insensitive of me to even think that'. i mean, it's not like i need a photo to remember the feelings, emotions, and thoughts this event brought up. It's an image i will never forget.

Also possibly the fact that i was attacked by two stray cats in two days, in two separate occasions made me think about death and the brevity of human life. It is quite frightening, let me tell you! Without notice the cat shape-shifts into this crazy fast ball that you think is going to attack your hair or something. In both instances the mother cat was trying to protect her babies, so she is excused and pardoned. But did you know that you can get rabies just by a tiny scratch  from a rabid animal? i used to think it needed to be a big bite, but no! At least according to google...

i am more and more thinking about life these days. The meaning of it, the purpose of it, the karma of it, its dharma and how quickly it all moves towards the death of the body. Because the soul continues his/her journey, i believe that. At times i get a mixture of irritated/mad about all the things i have to do without here, in India. My favorite foods, for instance - and i didn't even know i had any, because they were always there, available whenever i wanted them, no big deal - fresh salads (YES PLEASE!), olives, (even not organic), gluten free protein pasta, power bars, greek yogurt, the occasional diet coke and the organic red wine no way whatsoever absolutely positive i am not going to find here. The list goes on, but i have (almost) blocked the rest out. Except FAST INTERNET! why why why? Can you please function more that 30/40 minutes a day? And i am not even complaining about the electricity that comes and goes more times than not, or the A/C that is a rarity. And what about the clorox wipes? Ah! The necessary things! Then of course there is my make-up: the black eye pencil i never leave (left) home without, the water proof mascara, all my lotions and potions, the chinese lady who used to do my mani-pedi every other week. Can you please come here?

It's amazing what we think we can't do without until doing without is the only option there is. We get so tangled up into our beliefs, the stories we play in our head, desires, wants. If we give in to them they can drive us crazy. The mind is so powerful! It can keep us slave or it can bring us to freedom. Taming it is the key.

i like to take pictures of random people. i like to photograph them unfiltered, as they are. i like to wonder how their lives are. If they too ponder upon the same things that cloud my mind. Like the man in the picture above, sitting by the side of the road, next to his vegetable stand, where are his thoughts taking him? Or this woman: frazzled and confused, preoccupied about telling us the story of how her family doesn't like her and forgets to feed her, she couldn't even feel her thirst and hunger -although she had been walking in the hot sun for hours, disoriented- until we brought her food and water. 

And this man. He has been at this same spot making chai and smoking bidis for so long... he still remembers when he British were here. He is not shy about telling his opinion and what a joy to be able to understand him! (i will leave my love/hate relationship with Hindi for another post). 

And what about this guy? He too makes chay, dal, and rice for the people of his village, and the occasional tourist. Does he know that there is a whole other life outside of this tiny dusty road? And has the stove ever being washed? Is it on his "to do" list? does he care? This is where my brain takes me as i skeptically savor his spicy meal while shooing away the flies. Which water did he use to wash the plates and spoon?... 

These two girls live somewhere in Karnaprayag, the town dedicated to my favorite hero in the Mahabharata. Super happy to be photographed, were in a hurry to get to the market. The one with the purple dress had such pretty braids i wondered who did her hair. And the other one, with the short cut... i find my self wondering why? When more or less every girl/woman in India has beautiful long hair... what are these girls' dreams? What do they worry about? What makes them smile? 

As i ponder upon my own life and the ones of the people i took pictures of i can't help but feel that -albeit in different forms- we are all connected. The wants and needs might be different, but we all desire some kind or roof over the head, enough food and clothes, to give and to receive love, joy, and peace. In the end we all going to end up (although maybe not floating in a sacred river) like the body i saw today. Can you too see that? 

The moral of the story  

don't waste time

be nice 

it all ends quickly 

LOVE