Journey to India 24-25, 1: The Start
Journey Part 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, Summary
The last days before the start of the journey to India were very intense. I was happy to finally close down the computer and to finish last details of packing very early morning. It was 20 December, the day before winter equinox, and there had been ice rain in the night. Luckily, I had covered the car windows the evening before, so that the ice could easily be removed.
My wife took me to the nearby railway station and we said good-bye – I won’t be online the first 11 days of the journey. In the train, people were on their way to work, and I on the way to Zurich airport. After arrival, the luggage was quickly checked in. When I was on the way to passport control, I took a shortcut. A lady in the 30th smiled to me saying, “I also thought of taking this shortcut but then took the longer way.” We met again in the queue and later at the dock of the Etihad flight to Doha.
We quickly started conversation. She was a Kundalini yoga teacher from Zurich going to a seminar on an island in Thailand and I told her that I was going on a pilgrimage to places of Lord Dattatreya in central India and a seminar on wisdom teachings in Visakhapatnam on the Bay of Bengal. She was from Albanian background, Muslim by origin but felt drawn to yoga. Her family of origin had let her go where she felt drawn to, being the youngest of the children. I enjoyed hearing this – spirituality makes rigid mental / emotional concepts porous and opens inlets for the light of the soul and new ways of life.
We spoke about this special combination in her spiritual background. She shared more about her search and how she had traveled with her husband in an old camping bus to Turkey and Syria, originally planning to go to Afghanistan a few years ago, dreaming that a day might come again to travel to India via land like it was possible some decades ago… Then, we exchanged the addresses of our websites, and our paths took again different directions in Doha.
The plane to Hyderabad was a little late, but this way, Karin and Katrin, my two travel companions from Germany, whose plane from Frankfurt was late, arrived in time. On the plane, we sat in different corners. I took a cinema journey to a distant future in another galaxy – diving into “Dune, part 2“. On my last journey to India a year ago, I had seen part 1. I only watch and enjoy movies while traveling.
We arrived early morning in Hyderabad. There was a long queue at immigration. Later, money change and taking a taxi. Vasishta from Divya Kalanjali, a WTT group of Hyderabad, gave directions to the taxi driver via phone.
We arrived at the WTT center during morning prayer / meditation, hearing “Namaskarams Master CVV” and were happy to sit down. Later, after breakfast, when I unpacked, I couldn’t find my spectacles. We searched everywhere, recapitulated every step, from the money change to the room – but we could not trace where the glasses had left nor the taxi driver find anything…. Luckily, a group member helped out with reading glasses from her late mom which worked fine for me…
We relaxed the rest of the day and met different families in Divya Kalanjali. They gave us a very warm welcome. It was like coming home, a soft landing in India.
January 25th, 2025 at 1:57 pm
🙏🏼🌷
January 25th, 2025 at 3:39 pm
Such wonderful photos, Ludger, and details of your beginning trip…I wonder if you evern found your spectacles? love, Risa
January 25th, 2025 at 4:19 pm
Thank you for your feedback, Risa – no, the spectacles didn’t show up. I had to buy new ones – they came yesterday. Love, Ludger