20th of February, 2023.
Hitchhiking in India: Chandigarh.
The laws of getting direction of Google Maps don’t apply for India. No matter how well prepared you think you are, there will be always more alleys, streets, roads and some small passages on your way, that Google couldn’t possible have predicted. But just by asking here and there I manage to arrive to the main road leading to Chandigarh. In order to do that, I had to cross some really suburban alleys, which probably are almost never “visited” by tourists.
When I was coming out of under one of the bridges, a guy in bicycle passes by me. Right ahead there is a tuk-tuk and two guys are hanging on around it. When the guy in the bicycle passes them, one man goes after him and starts to dance… kind of. I notice he is under some kind of substance and immediately I know he will bother me. And he does. What scares me is not his presence per se and the fact he wants to chat and keeps walking side by side me, but what he has in his hands: a syringe. I know I over reacted for getting scared. They would never waste a product in some one who is not paying. But still… Loki knows what was on it.
This guy keeps annoying me for a few minutes, walking by my side. What pisses me off is that, quite a few other people by pass us, and nobody offer to tell the guy to fuck off. Not even a police officer who passed by us in his motorbike. I want to believe that it is because they knew he was harmless.
After he finally gives up and leave me alone, I decide to take some rest and eat the nuts I still have left. When I get the package from the outside pocket of my backpack, I notice that some crumbs come off. I do think it is weird because there were no wholes on the plastic bag yesterday, when I was eating some nuts for breakfast and lunch, but I stupidly don’t pay attention to it and start eating. Only after having eating part of the nuts is that, for some reason which I don’t remember, I notice the big whole on the plastic bag. It was made by the rat from last night. So basically, I am eating the nuts which the rat was also trying to eat last night. How lovely: we share! I don’t know how much touching there was and how much of the touched nuts have I eaten. But also, the next thought is: we also shared the bed, because my backpack was in my bed. Lovely! I have a rat for lover.
While I am still walking, a car stops. The two guys inside tell me they are going to Jalandhar. I take it!
Bikram and Karam are twin brothers, 28 years old, and they are Sikh. They are very friendly and polite, and we have some nice chats on the way to Jalandhar. Holding in the rear mirror there is a big pendant which says in Hindi: “I love mum and dad!” How cute! We eat some bananas and they insist for me to take some with me too. They drop me off on the road, in a good spot.
It does take some minutes until somebody finally stop. And they actually passed by me but came back. Anita and her husband Thakur are going to Chandigarh and they offer to take me with them.
We make a stop soon to have some food in a lovely place called Havani. Here we have some delicious chai, and a cheese chili sauce with butter and some bread. Everything is amazing! The best comes after, when we have a type of ice cream, with a white chocolate or milk powder cream over it, and nuts. It is simply heaven! I cannot imagine any other Indian desert better than this! It is the first time I have Kulfi!
On our way driving to Chandigarh, Thakur introduces me to his master, a man who he calls “The True Master”. Anita and Thakur are Hindu but they follow the teachings of the current Master / Guru called Baba Gurinder Singh, who is Sikh. The Institution behind it is called RSSB (Radha Soami Satsang Beas). I watch some of their videos online, where Baba Gurinder Singh answers questions of the audience. And although I agree with most of the things he says, I cannot agree with what Thakur believes: that he is not only a true master, he is god.
Don’t get me wrong, as you read the website of the Institution or watch some of their videos, they seem to do a good thing. They give good advices to people; they suggest vegetarian diet and absence of drugs and other bad stuff, for example. But my main reason for not to follow them blindly, as they were THE absolute truth is simply this: everything what BGS is saying in the videos I learned myself, all through my experience in life and travels. Nobody told me that, neither a master, a guru, or a supreme force or something, no. I learnt all by myself based on my own life and experiences. Should I start calling myself a Guru and start teaching people? I don’t think so.
And, of course, there is always the “money” issue. Even though in the website they say that BGS is retired now, and he doesn’t live on / accept money which is not coming from his own income, we can see on the videos that his home is quite luxurious, with a huge LCD television and fancy things. Why is that? Why should ANYONE who claims to be a spiritual leader or a religious person, someone who prays for compassion and the path of enlightenment, leave a luxurious life? What about all the people on the planet who live in misery?
Anyway, changing the topic a bit. Anita and Thakur ask me to spend the night in their house, as their guest, and tomorrow they will drive me to Samritika’s place. I call Sam to check if she is OK with that and she says yes. I am happy to stay with Anita and Thakur because they are very kind to me, always trying to make sure I am comfortable and have everything I need.
When we arrive in Chandigarh, after they resolve some personal issues and shop for some clothes, we go to have dinner. We eat in a nice restaurant and the food is superb! We first have some pani-puri and after some Chinese noodles and some sauce. Everything is delicious! I have never had noodles with so real flamed taste. But again, the best came after. For desert they order Ras malai, which consist in small balls type of cheese called Chhena, which is cooked with milk, cardamom and spices, all becoming a thick and delicious cream, and on top of it you have some nuts. It is simply fantastic!
When we finally arrive to their home, I am dead. But I need to take a shower. Anita is very kind on boiling some water and after taking a quick bucket shower with hot water, I finally go to sleep. Actually, before that, I quickly meet their daughter in a video call, because she is studying Medicine in Canada.
10 Years Around the World 