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Slow Boat Down the Ganges Update 56 Needless to say, I slept like a log. Chandru and Raghu found a couple of tables that are otherwise used to display the wares that Golu sells from his shop, while I was more comfortable on the floor. The shack was closed in from all sides and the…

Slow Boat Down the Ganges Update 55 Cracked rib, busted car, a couple of weddings, celebrations of a wedding conducted thirty one years ago, and finally I am back on the river again. And this time with a reality reminiscent of the time when the expedition started. I have a road support team. Chandrasekar Sambasivam…

Slow Boat Down the Ganges Update 54 Dec 05 was our wedding anniversary. For people of my vintage, parties are few and far between, particularly those celebrating important watershed moments like birthdays and anniversaries. It is up to the children to set up some kind of celebration. And they did. The two daughters and the…

Slow Boat Down the Ganges Update 53 A couple of decades ago, bottled water came to India. I was living in Delhi then (as now), and was convinced that this new product was meant for all those inbound tourists, afraid of coming down with Delhi Belly, a notorious condition of an upset tummy, brought on…

Slow Boat Down the Ganges Update 52 There is a decision I have taken a few days ago, while in Delhi resting and recuperating, that redefined this expedition a little bit. Well, revisited, if not redefined. I am going to have a road support team once again. Much simpler and not as grandiose as the…

Slow Boat Down the Ganges Update 51 I am halfway down the river on A SLOW BOAT DOWN THE GANGES. The down trip starts now, when the distance to go becomes lesser and lesser compared to the distance completed. And it has been an exhilarating trip so far. The river has changed, and continues to…

Slow Boat Down the Ganges Update 50 The rib does not seem to be cracked after all. It is awfully sore and for the first two or three days, it was difficult to deal with the pain, particularly when sleeping. Moving around even a little bit was accompanied by shooting pain, and the nights seemed…

Slow Boat Down the Ganges Update 49 Babu Khan, the autorickshaw driver of yesterday offered to come with a four wheeled vehicle to transport me and the gear to edge of the river. He promptly did, as promised, at nine in the morning. I was a little troubled by the rate he charged, but he…

Slow Boat Down the Ganges Update 48 Varanasi. Arguably the world’s oldest living city. It is believed that it has been continuously inhabited for the last five thousand years. It is a major religious hub in India, particularly among Hindus, Buddhists and Jains. It is considered the most sacred among the seven sacred cities. Most…

Slow Boat Down the Ganges Update 47 I had slept in a temple in the night, with Lord Shiva as company. I had already been elevated to God-like status last evening. And I had a good night’s sleep. When I woke up around dawn, I kind of felt, rather than saw, people around me. Wondering…