beauty

Traveling around India for the past couple months has really opened my eyes to such vast beauty and richness. India is not rich by material standards...but what she lacks in capital she makes up in sheer beauty.I have seen oceans, rivers, lakes, bouncing green hills, and steep cliffs. I have seen the most beautiful sunsets and tasted the sweetest teas. Above is the Pondicherry sunset and below are the tea fields of Munnar.

I have heard the most intricate music and touched the most savage of animals. Well an elephant isn't too savage but they wouldn't let me touch the tigers.

In Munnar we stayed at a guest house overlooking jagged mountains and a deep valley.

In the fog, I found the Tao.

The steep cliffs of Varkala were a sight to see. With the beautiful beach just below, they are a constant reminder that you're not in the Bahamas. Though the touristy atmosphere sometimes made it feel that way, but of course as soon as you sit down for a delicious meal and realize it only costs five Dollars then you're right back in India.

Down in Kerala, there was more than just natural beauty. the culture is extremely interesting. their whole cuisine is different than the rest of India. We went to a traditional Keralan dance and, well, that was something. To the rapid beat of Indian music these intricately dressed actors would perform with facial expressions and various mudras, or hand signals. the meaning of which escaped me. But it was an interesting show, and the music was fabulous.

We took a house boat tour down the back waters of Kerala. Surrounded by water, palm trees, and the sound of crickets gave me time to contemplate existence. Rarely have I had that opportunity in Bangalore, the city of dogs barking and motorbikes honking. I slept outside under the stars. Peaceful dreams.

We stopped. I sat under a tree and meditated. Watching the rice farmer pick rice, I found some sort of peace within. My fellow travelers went exploring and ended up in a TV commercial.

"Rest is not idleness, and to lie sometimes on the grass under trees on a summer's day, listening to the murmur of the water, or watching the clouds float across the sky, is by no means a waste of time." Sir John Lubbock

“We need to find God, and he cannot be found in noise and restlessness. God is the friend of silence. See how nature - trees, flowers, grass- grows in silence; see the stars, the moon and the sun, how they move in silence..."
Mother Teresa