We had a 3 day weekend this past week because of a Hindu Festival, Maha Shivaratri (the night of Shiva). This is a festival in honor of Lord Shiva which consists of a day long fast and a nightlong vigil with music, dancing, chanting, and a special drink of milk, honey, rosewater and the kicker – cannabis leaves (traditionally this was bael leaves which are very sacred for it is believed the Goddess Lakshmi resides in them).

I and my lovely group of adopted daughters (my fellow volunteers) planned a trip to the historic town of Amritsar in the Punjab region of India. It is a mere 5 hour journey by car over extremely rough terrain, through mountains, over rivers on single vehicle bridges and through some very beautiful farmlands. With Lord Shiva’s blessing on our backs we set forth Friday morning at 7:30 am in two vans. What a spectacular city Amritsar was. It is the birthplace of the Sikh religion and they have a spectacular landmark there – the Golden Temple and it is indeed stunning. I booked our hotel right near this temple and we were happily greeted by a very obliging staff. Honestly, all I could think about was having a shower, a real shower with wonderful warm water flowing down from up above. Until now I have only been able to take bucket showers and if you never took one, use your imagination …. a large bucket and a smaller cup for dipping and pouring. I am not complaining, mind you, at least we have warm water. Well, most of the time. You get the picture. This was going to be a great day no matter what because of an overhead shower!

We checked in and found a great place for lunch – continental food. This is what they call all other food that is not Indian or Chinese. They definitely get an “A” for effort but where was the tomato on the bruschetta I ordered? And my pasta dish was swimming in its sauce. Oh well, it did the trick and it was a welcomed change for all. We washed it all down with some great local beer, Kingfisher Strong and after lunch we were off to the border of India and Pakistan to see the changing of the guard ceremony. Each country tries to outdo the other in showmanship and pageantry as they change guard in front of stadium packed crowds. It was quite exciting and felt almost a little dangerous to be so close to Pakistan. But truthfully at this particular point along their borders it is really no man’s land on the Pakistani side so really no worries. It was a once in a lifetime opportunity to experience.

We returned to our hotel at dusk and I arranged for us to have a little party in one of the rooms. While the girls ordered Dominos (yes, Dominos!) pizza, I asked the front desk to arrange some beer and wine for the room. It was a lovely time for all of us to laugh, unwind, tell stories and be silly. Oh, but before the party started a few of us went in search of the closest Hindu temple to see the celebration of Lord Shiva. With persistence we finally found the temple and men were singing to loud music outside, some worshipers wandered in to pray and make offerings. We were welcomed like old friends with smiles and cups overflowing with their special milk and honey drink.

The next day we visited the famous Golden Temple. It was very beautiful but the morning’s visit there was overshadowed by an interesting encounter as me and two of the girls, Melissa and Sarah, exited the temple area. A woman came up to me with her camera in hand and said, “Can I have a snap?” I thought she was asking me to take a photo of her and her family. I shook my head yes and next thing I knew she was putting her child in my arms (the child look scared to death) and began snapping pictures! We were like a side show in a circus as a whole group of them congregated around the three of us and another baby was put in Sarah’s arms. Finally after numerous poses with different groups of family members the same woman that asked me “for a snap” said “thank you” and luckily took her frightened child back. We then promptly headed for some local shopping on the streets. After lunch and more shopping we began the adventurous trek back 5 hours to Dharamsala. Safe and sound by Saturday evening at home base. Whew- what a couple of days!

Sunday, Valentine’s Day, was to be another fun time with ‘my girls’. I just love them all and I am really happy to be around them. We went to Upper Dharamsala or McLeod, higher in the mountains and where the Dalai Lama resides. We spent the whole sunny day there having lunch and doing some more shopping and suddenly the girls saw a sign, “Hookah Lounge” and there we ended our day. For the first time in my life I shared a apple flavored Hookah (for those of you who are not sure … a hookah is a tobacco pipe of Near Eastern origin with a long, flexible tube by which the smoke is drawn through a jar of water and thus cooled) with five girls and our last beer of the weekend. Great fun and much laughter was exactly what I was blessed with this weekend of Lord Shiva, Pakistan and a Hookah Lounge. Odd combination? Perhaps, but isn’t that what makes living so interesting? Now, to begin a new week of work and service. All my vices will have to wait now until next weekend.

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