Chart of Life: Part 13.
Author: | Posted on: May 17, 2012
A spiritual encounter with Sai Baba was imminent. The decision made, plans were rapid and with a matter of no time, the girl and her family found their way through the crowded airport. With a flight to India booked, the group gathered and looked at one another. This was it. This was the time when seconds ticked by like hours because in a matter of a few minutes the whole tour would be seated and directed to a place where their dreams and ideas would become an adventure. It was hard to think of how things would be, it was all the girl could cope with, to try to keep hold of her heart’s desire.
It was no ordeal to board the flight. No, the anxiety started after that. The word buzzing round that Sai Baba may have gone to his other location, which was miles from where the tour group would be landing. That atop all the heady planning which went into organising and seating her mother, daughter and husband did not make a stress free environment for the girl. It was also lightly mentioned that there were two festivals being held in India, just at the time when they would be arriving, both huge affairs which warrented a lot of needed accomadation and as such there would be a lack of places when they arrived. Crashing reality felt like cold water being poured all over the girl’s shoulders and whilst she was sitting strapped into her chair she could not turn back. Neither as she looked at her young daughter and frail mother could she feel an ebbing of the responsibilities. This was a vital trip, she knew that. However as much as it offered healing, it was also the opportunity that was so necessary. Why or what had led her here? There was so many points which had led her, and now she was faced with possibilities that were bleak. Going to a country where she knew that they needed propper accomadation was vital; it was serious an issue which could not be left to chance, yet she felt as she sat on the plane with all the chatter and eager excitement going on around her that she had to do just that.
Leaving things to chance. Deep in her heart, the girl felt restless, her duaghter had only just been undergoing more medical procedures to straighten her back and so she clasped the thought of Sai Baba and once more asked for him to help.
Accomodation was a necessity; not a luxury.
Sai Baba, she thought, could you once more help us on this trip.
Landing in India was strange, it was an ecclectic and electric experience. With the hustle and bustle moving the family towards the doors. Officials warned of the risk, disease which had just effected the community and yet once more the girl felt the weight of danger hard pressed on her shoulders…
The girl had been the one to arrange this and to take the chance. She had pushed her little girl in her pushchair, as she found walking difficult and helped her mother on and towards the exit. The airport was left in their wakes, and they came up against the humid and dry air of the new and exotic country.
India was a remarkable place. A silk of vibrant colours and textures. Sights and sounds were profound. The roads were full of chatter, buzz and light. The heat was only heightened by the swirls of mist from the road side which only added to the exotic sense of excitement. There was a mix of plumes of smoke and particles which could swirl in the air and create a heady concoction. India was a wonderfully rich environment, filled with the sights of a reptile crawling on the greens of fields to the white marbe of temples. India was a maze of wonder and to a girl who had just stepped off the plane it looked a long way from home. To a grandmother and husband it was a holdiay with a spiritual edge. To a nine year old girl it was one adventure waiting to happen. ..
With bags and weighed down carts of suitcases the family rode the wave of a rush of bodies and chatter out towards an awaiting bus.
This was no ordinary mode of transport.
This was the Indian bus. The large car with four wheels which was the main way for all people, chickens, goats and children to ride alike.
It was a shock; as the girl squeezed herself and child into a small space with a lady holding a chicken on one side and a golden haired animal nibbling on a skirt on the other seat.
Smoke, smells and bustle was everywhere. Her little girl looked up at her as the goat tried to swipe her skirt in to its mouth, and with a look of shame trotted back off down the end of the bus. This was no bus as she knew it, this was a strip of animal and human life all thrown together. It was active and fast. The girl tried to adjust, and then as the bus roared into life they were all thrown forward and through an adventure that they had never been involved in before.
India, it was where they were bound,
With wishes and thoughs left unsaid
and unfound
and yet when they stepped off that plane
It was to a journey which would not leave them the same
Because it was here where lessons could be learnt
and new respect and level of love earnt
it was here where spirit could take shape
and in India where new marks would be made.
Read more next Thursday.