I took a holiday. 10 days in the mountains, 10 days of perfect bliss, a road trip (too) many people took this year, across some 600 odd kms of winding roads and head spinning altitudes, where every moment you look out of the vehicle window was a revelation, Majestic mountains, sunsets, sunrises, lakes, deserts, temples, glaciers, freezing temperatures, snow capped peaks, tobogganing and the list goes on. Even the sky seems more beautiful somehow, mostly clear, always blue, compared to the drab grey it is here back home.
But this post is not about the drab in the city and the beauty in the mountains. Its about belief. In that span of 10 days and 600 kms, there was a stark difference in the religious beliefs followed by people. We went from an Islamic state to a Buddhist region in an Islamic state. But what does religion matter to a traveler? (for a tourist only selfies matter) How does religion matter to anyone, other than the people up top who try to classify (divide would be too british ka jamana). After all, we are just a bunch of crazies, wanting to live life a little out of the ordinary sometimes.
It's always about belief. Our Driver stopped at the beginning of the journey to put a coin in a shrine of sorts. Most of our mornings began with songs played in the car that could only be a quasi prayer. Once we reached the Buddhist region, the songs changed to an actual prayer. India must be the only country where in that span of 600 kms I visited a temple, a Gurudwara, countless Buddhist monasteries and the journey starts with a small token at a Muslim shrine.
Where else will u find a Gurudwara at the end of the world, an abandoned town among the sand and salt pans of Kutch called Lakhpat, Where else will you find a not so well known Japanese Temple in the middle of a busy city (outside of japan), a humongously famous Hindu temple granting wishes and an even more humongously famous mosque all in a 20 min driving distance.(13 without traffic. Source maps, yes we mumbaikars talk distance in terms of time) (Also, Gurudwara's have such reach! One in the mountains of Leh, One in an abandoned town from where your guide points out to the Pakistan border) I'm glad they (co)exist, I love the peace once you enter there, if it's even possible to find more peace than in an abandoned town. I love the peace when you enter any place of worship. No one cares, there is free entry for everyone at each place. An amalgam of belief. A hopefulness in faith.
Where else will u find a Gurudwara at the end of the world, an abandoned town among the sand and salt pans of Kutch called Lakhpat, Where else will you find a not so well known Japanese Temple in the middle of a busy city (outside of japan), a humongously famous Hindu temple granting wishes and an even more humongously famous mosque all in a 20 min driving distance.(13 without traffic. Source maps, yes we mumbaikars talk distance in terms of time) (Also, Gurudwara's have such reach! One in the mountains of Leh, One in an abandoned town from where your guide points out to the Pakistan border) I'm glad they (co)exist, I love the peace once you enter there, if it's even possible to find more peace than in an abandoned town. I love the peace when you enter any place of worship. No one cares, there is free entry for everyone at each place. An amalgam of belief. A hopefulness in faith.
What I absolutely don't understand is offerings. They seem meaningless in excess. They seem meaningless even in moderation. When homeless beggars search for one mouthful of a meal to fill their empty since days stomach, it costs 4000 bucks to clothe 10 stone idols in new clothes in a temple, a mere 5 mins away. assuming them beggars are not trying to make a business out of it. How do you rate need in this case. Do the gods need new flashy sequined silk stitched to absolute perfection? Will the gods feel bad if their clothes are not the newest selection of silk and velvet ? Would you rate clothes on God more important than clothes on a person can't afford to cover themselves ? Will this said person rate a mouthful of food more important than the tattered clothes they wear? Will God be upset if you don't offer them those flowers, which last a day, or those annual cheques which give you 80 G tax benefit?
Life is funny. Will I do anything about this? Maybe not as much I would like to. But maybe giving a frail old lady at the traffic signal food you have is definitely a start. Maybe that's how the new peace at any place of worship ought to be found. Maybe our belief should now be humanity instead. When we were at the Gurudwara at Lakhpat, we were offered a simple meal, the first langar I have ever been to. It was late and very off lunch time, you tend to under estimate time when you travel, and we joked about how the pampered bitch me may not even know to wash the plate and glass we ate in, and left after one of the most soul filling meals I've ever had. It was only 2 years later that someone told me the people at the Gurudwara went hungry that day. To feed us hungry travelers.
Maybe going hungry like this once in a while is a good thing.
