Yes Madame? A boat for you?

Taking a few steps back...

Dec 15 Varanasi

I left Dharamsala on Friday night for Delhi. Phoebe and I were supposed to travel together to Varanasi, but Friday morning she got sick and was too nauseous to get on the bus. Since my time in India is running up, I opted to travel on alone.

I arrived in Delhi early Saturday morning just as the sun was coming up. The full moon was still out in the smoggy sky. I was really nervous about traveling by myself, but so far it has gone quite smoothly and I've felt rather safe the whole way through. The train makes me a bit stressed. The tickets are so poorly marked and there are no signs on the platforms telling which trains are coming and going. And in the words of the boy who sat across from me, "Indian Railway--always late. If not late, then it wouldn't be Indian Railway." This morning the train was supposed to arrive at 7:30am. 7:30 came and went, then 8:30, then 9:30 and I was panicked I had somehow missed the stop. But I was reassured the train was "only" 2 hours late--apparently that's not so bad.

And I made it.

I was walking along the ghats of the Ganges this afternoon when a little girl selling prayer candles ran up beside me. I had already shook off about five of these kids selling candles, but this one made me cave. She popped up beside me and said, "Hi! What's your name? I'm Anita. Would you like a prayer candle for a blessing for your family? It will give everyone good health and karma."

I told her that Anita was my grandmother's name, and now I have a cousin named Anita who is the same age as her.

"Where is your cousin?" She asked.

"In America."

"There's an Anita who lives in America?!" She was so excited that there was an Anita in India and in America. I bought a prayer candle surrounded by marigolds from her, and she lit it and placed it in the Ganges, softly splashing water at it to float it away from the bank. And off it drifted down the river carrying its prayers for the health and good karma of the family.

For each candle she sets adrift for Western tourists, I hope Anita places her own prayers.