The Kullu Valley

The Kullu Valley is in Northern India within the depths of the Himalayan Mountains. Here I feel a sense of awe. Mountains tend to do that that to me anyway. In India the intensity of that feeling is deeper, stronger and heavier.

Our friends, Jerome and Beth live here. They are followers of the Swami Shyam. I have heard about this Guru for many years. He has been a teacher for many of my friends who have spent years living or travelling with him. We have several connections with people who live in this ashram. Coming here was not only about Jerome and Beth, but we came baring hugs and messages for many people in the ashram as well. The bus ride to get here was brutal. We ended up on a local over night bus. The seats were old and dilapidated. The space was packed with people travelling from one stop to another. There was no room for our backpacks and, in the night time darkness, the roads were winding and narrow. I was tired, frustrated and very uncomfortable. It was cheap though and we arrived, in tact, at 5:30 am.

Jerome and Beth met us with delicious hot coffee, warm smiles and a cozy free schedule for relaxation and catching up. We felt landed and welcomed. People from the ashram began to phone with words of welcome and invitations for tea, pancake breakfasts, dinners or lunches. We began to feel overwhelmed with invitations.

Saturday morning we joined everyone for Satsang with Swami Shayam. Before the Guru arrived, the people in the audience invited Paul and me to our front row seats with huge smiles and hugs and words of joy. Swami came in and sat on the stage and immediately began with words of unconditional love and welcoming. He wore dark glasses throughout the entire hour and a half and laughed boisterously and spoke gently.

The celebration of Holi also occurred during the weekend. Holi is a festival of colour. Up until today you could purchase small bags of powder of various colours from local shops and vendors. After purchasing the powders, people mix them with water to make liquid dye. We have been warned about walking down the streets to avoid being squirted with toy guns and becoming covered with the various colours. Each colour represents different qualities wished upon the receiver. Pink is friendship. Orange is progress. Blue is sensitivity, Red is Prosperity. Green is Happiness.

Paul is happy because there are many musical instruments for him to play. Since we decided to travel without a guitar, there are times when he experiences withdrawal! Jerome organized a musical coffee house with people from the community. We had dinner and played music. Paul got to play a keyboard and Jerome put together a drum set. There were enough shakers and bells and sticks and chimes for everyone. It was a lot of fun and a rare opportunity to play with and listen to western music since we’re in India.

Yesterday Beth, Jerome, Paul and I took a day trip to Neggar and Manali. It was such a fantastic day together and being in the mountains was so inspirational, Paul and I decided to take off tomorrow, from Kullu and spend some time in the Himalayas before heading to Delhi and our final stretch of travel in India. It has been a fantastic experience here.