Category Archives: Religion

We’ve heard of walking tours in New York City based on celebrities or shows, such as the Sex and the City walking tour. But we didn’t expect an evening outing in the ancient city of Varanasi to turn into a Goldie Hawn tour. Varanasi is a holy Hindu city on the banks of the Ganges River. Our intention last night was to attend the sunset aarti, a daily outdoor offering performed on the ghats, or steps leading into the river.  We were warned the area is chaotic between the pilgrims, locals and tourists who all congregate within a few hundred meters of each other during sunset. Hence, we did what we rarely do. We asked the hotel to arrange for a guide.

Our guide, Pai, an enterprising business man, spoke perfect English. We later found out that he also taught himself French and Japanese (his abilities in both were better than my own, and I’ve lived in Belgium and Japan) because of the influx of tourists that speak these languages. One of the first questions he asked when he found out we were from America was “Do you know Goldie Hawn?” It seemed an out of context question.

For the rest of the evening, between explaining the goings on of the aarti and guiding us around streets that turned back on themselves, Pai went through Goldie’s entire life story, and her relationship with his family. Apparently, Goldie comes to Varanasi every couple of years for spiritual reasons. Pai mentioned several times that he is her guide of choice.

We stepped into the ghats and bought a flower offering. Pai explained that Goldie too buys offerings to give to the river. We were elaborately told how she and Kurt Russell have bought the offering together and the very same spot.

The aarti was far less serene than we expected it to be. Experiencing it from river certainly seemed the calmer alternative to standing along the banks, but the boats were packed so tightly we could barely hear Pai explain how much Goldie loved to take pictures of the aarti. He reminded us a few times that Goldie uses the same boat when she is in Varanasi.

After the aarti was over, Pai invited us over to his house, where we were shouldn’t have been all that surprised to find a silk shop waiting for us. We declined Pai’s offer of tea, which launched him into a discussion about how Goldie likes her chai. I would have thought the Goldie tales were fabricated, except that Pai pulled out a photo album of him and the star over the years. Goldie holding his baby son. Goldie talking with the same son some years later. I asked if I could take a picture of the album, and Pai said “Oh, if you want to take a picture, let me get the newer album.” And out he came with a leather-bound version.

I don’t know how much we learned about the sunset aarti. Our time was limited, and the aarti we attended at the main ghat, Dasaswamedh, was very much catered to tourists. But now we know how Goldie likes her tea and what color scarves she prefers to buy.

If we had more time here we would attend the aarti at one of the smaller ghats. I suspect these offer a more authentic experience. At least now I know to plead ignorance if someone asks whether I know Goldie Hawn.

We decided to baptize Kayan in Kerala, where Christianity goes back to the earliest periods of its history. It is accepted fact here that St. Thomas, on of the twelve disciples, landed in Kerala in 52 A.D., much before Christianity had made its way to Europe. It seemed fitting to celebrate the occasion here, where Sandeep’s family is from and where his parents  have retired. Kayan, however, had other ideas for today, all of which involved tantrums of some fashion. At some point, I heard Sandeep muttering that he hoped the baptism water would cleanse Kayan of his temper, to which my father muttered that it was a baptism, not an exorcism.

After a forced nap and warm bath, neither of which did much to calm him, we managed to wrestle Kayan into the chosen baptism outfit. The only way I was able to avoid getting kicked while changing him was to point out that Ava, who is his idol, had a matching dress.

Once at the church, Kayan continued violently fighting back against his religious induction. On an occasion where parents are meant to step aside and godparents play center stage, Kayan refused to let me go. He returned the priest’s sign of the cross with a dirty look and smacked the bible out of his hands. When Kayan noticed that everyone had their hands clasped together in prayer, he loudly announced Ommmmmm. At least our New York City baby yoga classes registered somewhere.

Once in the pool of water, Kayan’s temper cooled enough to allow his godfather, Sandeep’s brother, to hold him. Maybe the water really did cleanse more than just his sins.

His pleasant mood continued when, after the baptism, we allowed the kids to dismantle a left over wedding bouquet.

At the after party, we also celebrated Sandeep’s dad’s 60th birthday, which is a big deal in Kerala. The cake ensured a happy temper until the end of the evening.

Today, as we celebrate the end of 2011 and the start of a new year, Kayan celebrated a new beginning that hopefully includes a cooler temper.

All our best for 2012. May your year include happy journeys with those you love.

Handicraft markets are familiar sights to travelers. Most tourists stroll through them out of curiosity. Those that do shop have very basic exchanges with the sellers, mainly focused on bargaining. Prior to today, handicraft markets have been somewhat of an annoyance to our traveling family. We aren’t purchasing anything during our trip, so they provide little practical value. We don’t enjoy browsing because they are usually so crowded we worry about losing a kid or them breaking something. Furthermore, after four weeks in Asia, we’ve found that the markets run into each other regardless of country. There are always the handbags, Buddha statues, jewelry, shawls…

So we were somewhat surprised to find ourselves trying to save a handicraft market today.

Our family supports the Free Tibet movement, and my mother has gotten to know some of Goa’s Tibetan community. We went with her to a fundraiser organized by the Tibetan Welfare Association. The fundraiser was for the 300 or so Tibetans that come to Goa during the winter high season to earn some money selling handicrafts. They spend the rest of the year in northern India, where they mostly work in some form of tourism.

In order to sell their wares, the Tibetans take out sizable loans to purchase goods and pay rent. This year has been a particularly hard year for tourism, so the community banded to raise money to support each other. Many of these sellers have left family behind in hopes of making a living. All of them are refugees.  Loans are hard to come by because of their refugee status, and the community is the only means of support.

The fundraiser included an art installation wishing wall by Subodh Kerkar.

Under Tibetan prayer flags, one could tie blessed cloth, make a wish and a donation to support the sellers.

The event was technically a food festival, and there were plenty of juicy Tibetan momos (dumplings) and noodles for sale.

We’ve always been supporters of the Free Tibet movement, and after spending the day tying wishes, purchasing food and chatting with some of the sellers, we felt invested in making sure the market continued. While we stuck to our trip mentality of not purchasing anything, we did make a donation to the wishing wall.

I’m not claiming that we are going to frequent handicraft markets going forward. However, we certainly have a better appreciation for what some of the sellers go through to make a living.