CHASING WATERFALLS





My gentleman friend in the US is always urging me to "Speak Hindi!" (as if that were possible).

The version of Blogger that came up in this computer (at Ammu's recently-expanded browsing center) is in Hindi.

ब्लॉग आपकी प्रयोग में सरल वेबसाइट है, जहाँ आप अपने विचारों को जल्दी से प्रेषित कर सकते हैं, लोगों से बात-चीत कर सकते हैं, और भी बहुत कुछ कर सकते हैं. और सब मुफ़्त.

So now I am trying to "Read Hindi!" ... or at least faking it anyway.

***

Yesterday was my birthday.

I was in a deep sleep when I heard something that sounded like my door buzzer.

I ignored it of course.

But it persisted.

So I crawled out from under the blanket, made a hole for myself in the mosquito net and crept towards the door.

"Who is it?" I asked, having no idea of the time.

"Ammu!"

I let him in.

His arms were filled with flowers and a birthday cake.

It was 5:40AM.

Apparently I'd told him what time I was born all those decades ago.

But now, I was half asleep.

We postponed the celebration until after yoga practice.

And after that we chased down waterfalls. It's monsoon season here and the dams are full, which makes for some spectacular water shows.

(The dams are not supposed to fill until September; they also reached maximum height early last year. According to the cyber Saddhu this is due to global warming).

In any case the search entailed a more than six-hour round-trip motorcycle ride over pockmarked roads.

Ammu and I made the same trip in 2002 with no ill effects.

This time there was pain in the back and neck and tailbone.

What a difference five years makes.


And that's the teaser. I'll post details as soon as I can download the pictures tot he thumb drive -- and locate a free USB port.



***


SEEN IN THE SHALA:

Sharath's daughter (Sharda? Shrada?) in her white school uniform with pink backpack and matching bag, saying a dignified goodbye to Saraswati. Last summer she was bursting in and out of the shala and running around like a wild little girl. What a difference a year makes.