on the road still...

april 14th
near mandvi, in baruch district, gujarat

at the house of one girinbhai shad, replete with broadband internet
and playing children and lipan mudwork and mango trees. it's been an
interesting parade of characters all disguised as organic farmers over
the last two weeks (we left on the first). nature cure center to
commercial farms, some hardcore spiritual slavedrivers and a few
people committed to personal sustainability and doing no harm. young
personal management advisors. seasoned mango farmers. all god's
people, naturally.

tomas and i are keeping in good health. tomas had diarrhea for a day
and we somehow kept him still long enough for the ayurvedic and
personal cures to work. we suspect the interdit sips of slovak liquor
he took in the bathroom were the real curative drops.

there are still people out there who make their own soap and spin
their own clothing, and we have been blessed enough to meet them. i
dont know what else to say, a little stuck in this world and hard to
reach out. but the blessings blow down in tons like the sugarcane
harvest -- we cycle for 4-5 hours in the morning to arrive at a house
in the country, to people we've never met, a name we heard perhaps
just the day before. and they make us tea and lemon soda, cook us
lunch even though they are fasting, cry when we leave. it's something
more than incredible. i am so proud to be somewhat indian, to be able
to look at tomas, amazed, and think, "yes, this is our india".

that much is sure. everything is ours. a guys looks at my flute for a
few minutes and we talk and by the time he asks the price -- perhaps 3
minutes later -- its not how much did your flute cost or how much did
the flute cost but how much did Our flute cost.

nice like that, you know.

tomas has been gifted with some genius drawing talents. evidence to
follow, shortly.

love
ankur

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