Hey There,
Twelve hours after touching down from India, I taught my weekly writing class on Zoom. I was tired, so I asked one student to give us the prompt. She said, “Something you had to simplify.”
Damn, that’s a good prompt. Right now, I want to tell you everything I experienced in 10 days in India. I wanna say, “Short story long,” but it’s the writer’s job to simplify. So here goes.
Nothing is simple in India. Time moves slowly there, at least it did for me. If our guide said touring the Red Fort would take two hours, we knew it would take four. The traffic looks like a frenzied rush, but we learned to walk through it slow and steady, like a cow—literally, like a cow.
Americans give India a bad rap. I’m embarrassed to admit this, but I went in afraid of the crowds, the smell, the potential lack of bathrooms... Americans, listen up: India is crowded, but not overwhelming and there were plenty of clean bathrooms. India is crazy beautiful.
Our tour was hosted by International Yoga and took us through Delhi, Agra, Jaipur, and Varanasi. In the land where yoga was invented, we saluted the sun in Lodhi Gardens. We visited mosques and temples and were invited to join in prayer. We experienced the world’s most profound love letter, the Taj Mahal.
We haggled in the markets in Jaipur. Except for the salesmen, the people were gentle and totally welcoming. Smells were amazing. All of the sudden you’d be overwhelmed with ginger and masala (chai tea), which is boiled in giant pots everywhere and served in tiny clay pots that get thrown onto the ground and eventually turn to dust. So much better than single-use styrofoam. The food was delicious.
Every night at sunset, 20,000 people gather in Varanasi on the banks of the Ganges River to pray and heal and to bid their dead loved ones goodbye in one of two open-air crematoriums and then the river. I was one of the 20,000 one night, watching quietly from a boat offshore. Smoke rose from several wood piles. The chest bone of a man and the hip bone of a woman are the last to burn. A man stood at the water’s edge holding a black mass about the size of a hand…kurplunk.
My understanding is Hindus practice non-attachment. Our guide told us they release their loved ones with joy.
I don’t know if this is true. I wasn’t close enough to see or hear if anyone was crying. But from the calm and serenity I felt, I think it’s possible to experience something completely universal—death—in a completely different way than I know.
What does this mean about our shared humanity? What can I learn? I don’t know. I’m open.
THIS SATURDAY, 12 to 1 p.m. ET, join Allison Langer and me for our monthly Tips Clinic. We’re talking about how to decide what parts of your story stay or go. We’ll write and put that tip into practice.
If you’re already a Patreon, here’s your FREE Tips Clinic Zoom link. If you’re not a member, join us for $10. Register here for TIPS CLINIC. If this is your first experience with Writing Class Radio, click the free link, we’d love to have you.
As always, Writing Class Radio has two First Draft weekly writing groups where you write to a prompt and (if you want) share what you wrote.
You can test drive First Draft for free with these links.
Tuesday, 12 to 1 p.m. ET with Allison Langer.
Monday, 8 to 9 p.m. ET with Eduardo Winck.
Here are our last two episodes I’m crazy proud of. Allison Langer and I are teaching scientists how to personalize their science stories because stories are the best way to reach someone’s heart and change the world. These stories were originally performed on stage at the Flagstaff Festival of Science in October 2023 in collaboration with The Center for Ecosystem Science and Society (ECOSS) at Northern Arizona University (NAU) and Story Collider, a podcast that airs true science stories.
Here’s Episode 175: Fighting Fire with Aspen and Birch. Nick Link tells his story about how a dumb moment in college burned a lasting memory that led to his smart work building natural fire breaks in the forests of Alaska.
Here’s Episode 174: For the Love of Science. Dr. Bruce Hungate, one of the ecologists leading this effort, tells his story about connecting in love through science.
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Love,
Loved it! Great summary. You captured the essence and made me want to go to India!
Love this story and love you!