Genesis - soumya.org

Monks and Monlam in Bodhgaya

The diagonal NH 56 brought us from Lucknow to Varanasi, where we rejoined the Grand Trunk Road crossing from Uttar Pradesh into Bihar en route to our next destination, the dusty little town of Bodh Gaya where the Buddha had attained enlightenment many centuries ago. Arriving into the single main street, our car gingerly made its way through hundreds of ochre clad monks silently shuffling back to their monasteries in the mystical twilight of the setting sun. As we walked from hotel to hotel in search of a room, we quickly realised that we had landed during the silver jubilee celebrations of the Kagyu Monlam, where thousands of monks from all over the world were participating in prayers and ceremonies for a period of ten days in the hallowed grounds of the Mahabodhi temple. A night trip to the temple complex serendipitously allowed us to sit in a special prayer ritual in the main sanctum  and an early morning start the next day witnessed elaborate chanting ceremonies followed by the magical ritual of an alms procession by the monks. As it was the last day of the monlam, a prayer for world peace was held in the evening, an ethereal experience to sit under the bodhi tree surrounded by thousands of chanting monks...the energy and tranquility of which made our Bodh Gaya experience a special one to remember...

Lucknow - The Old And The New

The historic city of Lucknow was the first stop on our long awaited drive down the Grand Trunk Road From Delhi To Kolkata. An early morning start from Delhi and the holiday of Eid saw us coast through the marvel that is NH2,  through Mathura, Agra, Etawah and Kanpur, from where a sharp left turn and 75 km brought us to the home of our friend's, the Rastogi's. Two days passed by gazing awestruck at majestic monuments like the Bada and Chota Imambaras, viewing old paintings at the Art Museum, strolling along the Gomti and the Residency Grounds and of course gorging on delicious eats at small food stalls all over town.The camaraderie which we experienced with them during our first meeting in Spiti was enhanced even more by their deep hospitality and old world culture which allowed us to experience Lucknow through a lens which very few visitors get to see. Here are some highlights of this unique city and its people as their lives comfortably move between the old and the new...

Ayyars Cafe In Varanasi

Having started our explorations of the ghats of Varanasi before sunrise on a cold winter morning, our hunger pangs were reaching a crescendo when a shopkeeper pointed us to Ayyars cafe, located in a small alcove on the main Dasashwamedh Ghat Road. Pleasantly surprised to find a restaurant serving South Indian food in the heart of the North, we ordered our upma and idli and struck up a conversation with the genial old man at the counter with the quintessentially Indian question: "Where are you originally from?" His eyes brightened and face warmed as he looked up and said..."Kerala, but I was born in Benaras". The food arrived and and as we tucked into the delicious dishes and ordered more dosas and real filter coffee, he regaled us with the history of how his grandfather moved from Palghat to Mumbai and then to Varanasi many decades ago and established an outpost for South Indian food. We also learnt that the man serving us tea not only ran the restaurant but was an accomplished practitioner of yoga, who was also the director of a yoga institute in his prime. Now retired, his son Balaram runs the restaurant, his other children are settled in Varanasi and other parts of India and he spends his time practicing yoga and supervising the restaurant in the mornings. We left the restaurant  after an amazing breakfast, a complimentary copy of a book on Yoga and fond memories of S. Balakrishnan Iyer, the proud owner of Ayyars Cafe in Varanasi...

College Street Coffee House

A stone staircase winding past poster splattered walls, signs for bookstores and banks of silently humming electric meters usher all seekers into the iconic Indian Coffee House in College Street, Kolkata. Established in 1942 under the vaulted ceilings of the Albert Hall the Coffee House has remained the favorite place of of artists, writers, revolutionaries and of course groups of bright eyed students in animated discussions on every possible topic from changing the face of India to the latest political gossip. Elegant waiters in spotlessly white uniforms with turbans and cummerbunds waltz through the tables serving coffee and snacks from the eclectic menu where the prices on the balcony floor are strategically priced at two rupees more than the main hall and tea remains conspicuously missing. Spending a few hours here is like stepping into a time capsule where everything moves in a slow unhurried pace like a graceful ballet in a world where the images are still in black and white...