Indian Style or Madness

Wow thank you for going to the pool. He says following my lead as his friends is joining some minutes later. We’re having our private pool party. A pool! For me. For us. Of course I had to jump in directly after spotting it. Apparently as once and so often inspiring all the rest to also have a refreshing dip into the fresh water. The two boys who will be with us the next two days, starting at the pool that I return to two mornings later, experiencing a typical Indian morning. Finding this refreshing source of energy I make it my mission to use it for the early mornings to get a good morning wake up energizer for the days to come.

It's her birthday. Hers. And it's her last days. I wake up early as expected, organizing my apartment making my way to the pool. The sun is already full power although it's only 8.30 in the morning. Once out of the apartment trying to carry my body the few meters up to the pool, feeling my muscles still aching from the 10 hours on the bike the day before, I will not even have to walk any more steps than necessary as just the same bike is stopping right next to me. Good morning. You're going to the pool? Want me to drop you? I still find astonishment in these moments. Still am I amazed by the ways of the Universe that the exact guy who has been driving me around half a day in the mountains, pops up next to me right there the next morning when my bones feel too heavy to even walk up to the pool.

Dropping me off he makes his way up to the waterfall. Once again the pool is all mine. And also once again not for long. Some Indians from the camp passing by greeting me happily Good Morning Mam. Smiling at me. For the first moments my German imprinted mind still expects someone to call me out as yet Indian style the opposite is happening when every person appearing, is only happily wishing me a good morning, admiring my swimming skills and finally some camp customers, young boys asking me if I felt comfortable enough to have them join me in the pool. I own it. The pool, the situation. It's become my natural habitat. Just like I was joking with my twin sister birthday girl two days ago when I said You know now this is our pool and people will ask us if we allow them to come in. We will make some money. 500 rupees per hour. While we were laughing like little children swimming around while some boys joined us. Now here two days later I find myself in exactly that spot, having another Indian train of thought. Having them standing around the pool I could ask them for the time so I don't have to get out of the pool. In the Western world we would have a polite way of asking the question as in do you know what time it is? it's going through my head. The Indian answer would be. Yes. In India you don't ask you say Ji tell me the time. What's the time? In my thoughts I realize that I've adapted my thoughts and communications skills naturally to my surrounding and I like it.

I'm getting out just as they get in since my flesh has been cooled down to my bones, producing little goose bumps all over my body. Enough for the morning. I can see the disappointment about my leaving the pool, yet they don't miss their opportunity to chat the usual Indian chat with me, pointing out my swimming skills as they unfortunately haven't learned. Dropping their curious questions, asking for my yoga skills and background. Happily serving their curiosity, I stuff some pineapple in my mouth and put my clothes on. Still the curiosity is not only for my stranger's personality as I've learned over all this time. An enjoyable Indian style morning to my taste before I make my way back to make sure to not let my Love wait for too long on her special day. 

Getting ready, finishing off a few things, I hold the door handle in my hand as my phone is ringing. It's my girl. The one that I've worked with the closest, the head of the holy cacao ceremony. What she tells me comes as no shock but gives me more insight about the situation that's been taking up space in my thoughts over the past days since our last event. I seem not to be the only person with similar views on how things weren't going ideally and whose responsibility that was. Having felt unseen in what I've had given to the community, more people seem to have been overlooked and treated unfairly as my sister in pain and his right hand, comes up with a similar story on the birthday table an hour later. 

After having picked her up, ordering an L-style birthday table full of food, she comes to join first, bringing up the same topic on her own. Making the same statements and observations that I've had about his personality regarding his actions at times when what he teaches and how he acts don't match. When the little boy is unable to stand up to his flaws and mistakes, hiding behind the face of his master. His safe space that he made his identity to have control over the world that he wants to live in. Yet at some point this world will slowly crumble and fall apart once people look behind the mask and refuse to blindly follow his lead that causes them inconvenience and disadvantage like I felt it had caused me. Once it feels like things become unbalanced, out of proportion and unfair. As it seems to have happened now. I apply for a talk as I don’t want to stay in the shade anymore.

Yet it is her day. Hers alone even when people seem to mix and match. Having our friends sing and play for her, we decide to go to the Ganga where unfortunately we don't make it before one final short argument, connected to our bike trip the night before, taking me to my place of fear when I refuse going down to the river on one of the monsters that I was so scared would kill me, finding her in no position to accept my decision. Leaving me upset and irritated about not accepting my boundaries in the moment of the heat. 

Reconnecting through the healing energies of the Ganga we lie in each others arms in tears. I don't want to see you hurt because I love you. You are my friend. I don't want to fight with you. The Ganga has cooled us down, cleared our hearts and souls and brought us back together, closer than before. Without having to even explain our sides, we naturally return to our understanding for each other. Back to our love for each other, the roots that we’ve built, our endless joy, full power inside jokes and food explosions all day long until darkness is breaking over us, laughingly rolling on my bed. Exchanging pictures, making plans for acro yoga together and inviting the sleeping ghosts to come to India.

It takes no more than a few minutes for them to listen. Ping another message on the phone. Guess where I am? Universe always answering within minutes here as we know and for to understand naturally in this place; like earlier this day when I share my thoughts and concerns towards hiM. Mentioning that also for the first time I have not seen hiM nowhere around even for the entire week. She shoots me a look. I know what it means and minutes later he passes by us on his bike giving her a high five. 

While she is on the phone I answer her birthday messages. People are clearly confused about whose birthday it is, making her me and her birthday mine. We're fusing, merging, I've foretold her what would happen like we've both learned to read the Universe's messages clear as the waters from the pool when we receive them. Even when she's leaving my place to receive another birthday surprise I receive her birthday wishes. Two months early. 

But how did we get here? Rewind two days back. We're deciding to have a trip with our two boys the next day. On their bikes, somewhere into nature. Indian style. Trying to find an understanding of the early morning hours of when to meet we make an agreement which yet is being omitted coming as no surprise, still interrupting my eager attempt of my yoga and plank practice, annoying me to the point that I confront our friend once he arrives. He apologizes and we get going two hours later than agreed upon before. Indian style. 

Once I sit on the back of his friend’s bike I get the chills. Most certainly not from the blistering heat or the fresh wind of the ride but from the fear for my life. His driving skills giving me a sense of death while I repeatedly ask him to slow down which according to his young and excited nature he doesn't seem to be able to realize, leaving me in distress and finally in anger when I see no solution but to yell at him at the next stop until we change bikes. The situation unpleasant, yet we all manage to solve it in benevolence and a large intercultural understanding for one another. 

The blistering heat making the ten hours on the bike a challenge, yet another Indian Style experience I don't wanna miss, including a panoramic view over a beautiful dam, my cold source of water, a flat tire that needs to be changed, when day turns into night and a lost contact lens that our friend patiently removes from my eye once he finds it.

Full power Indian style we return in the madness of the darkness. Exhausted and ready for her day. Madness. The one word he asked me to describe India with. This morning in the pool. Reuniting us at the birthday table when both our cultures explode with laughter when we can all fully agree on that one word. Spot on. Madness. Indian Style.