Murali and I are deeply blessed to be together at this Himalayan retreat house offered to us by one of the Ananda members in Delhi. Murali is busy working on his “AY” project and I’ve had some seclusion time. Yesterday we explored the local area which is very hilly (we are about 6,400 ‘ up) but very beautiful. The good news is that it is monsoon season so the air is crisp and cool, if torrentially raining at times, but the bad news is the distant Himalayan peaks are hidden by monsoon clouds that extend into Tibet. Our hosts showed us the hills where the borders to Tibet (China) and Nepal are (relatively close by).
The hills are lush green and the valleys below sport terraced rice fields and the upper hills forests that are mixed with sub-tropical, jungle-like trees and, in the upper reaches, beautiful pine forests of the stately Deodar tree.
The property here converted one of the bungalows to a meditation room but also has its own traditional shrine dedicated to both Krishna and Shiva among others. Some staff reside here; others, in local villages which dot the hills in a picturesque manner.
We are roughly 8 to 10 hours drive from Delhi, with the last three hours up sometimes treacherous but extremely winding roads. Murali’s drive up was delayed by an avalanche and mine was pock-marked by washouts where you’d see that the guard rail hung out over the cliff by itself as our car inched carefully around what was left of the roadway.
We are blessed with three squares a day of homemade Indian meals (rice, dal and vegetables plus fresh cut veggie salad), delicious mountain-chai (Murali insists its much better than plains-chai), and mountain stuffed breads (paratha?). The property is beautifully landscaped with flowers especially hydrangeas (sic?) and other recognizable flowers whose common names are beyond me.
The home has four bedrooms each with attached bath, so it’s very comfortable and the temps are very, very mild night and day. Humid but just perfect. The monsoon rain is gracious to pour out Her beneficence only once or twice a day, leaving the rest of day with sun breaks.
We (mostly) have internet. The government has bestowed the mountain areas widespread cell coverage and electricity which helps us both do things we need to do, including watching last Sunday’s service!!!!
I’ll return Monday night July 21 and Murali the following week. This adventure has yielded many outward and inward blessings for which I am deeply grateful though I am also looking forward to returning.
We are much blessed in our soul-aspirations, opportunities to serve, friendships, and devotion.