Bold Benares #11

A Hindu holy man, or sadhu, is usually identifiable by orange robes. Generally such people have left home to pursue an ascetic religious life, owning only what they carry. On the Ganges bank in Varanasi (setting of my novel Sister India), a holy man or two is sometimes available, for a few rupees, to look after your sandals and belongings while you bathe in the river. Some of these holy men are considerably holier than others but it doesn't appear to be an easy life for any.


Tomorrow I head to Tecate, Mexico to teach writing for a week (and do yoga)at the idyllic Rancho La Puerta spa. I'll be there over Thanksgiving and I'm indeed thankful: Conde Nast Traveler readers have voted it one of the best three spas in the world. I'll be popping in here to report.

And a welcome to this blog to Padma Pillai. I hope you'll visit often.

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Bold Benares #10

This rickshaw in Benares, or Varanasi, India, represents a variation on "Bloom Where You're Planted." The idea is: "Splash Color Wherever You Roll."

I like to go places where decoration shows up unexpectedly, where the ordinary objects and the unsung corners are turned into something wonderful.

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Bold Benares #9

This is the mosquito net on my bed in Benares, or Varanasi (where--did I mention?--I was doing research for my novel Sister India.) My first few nights there I didn't have one of these, and so many tiny moths were darting around my room in the dark that I pulled the sheet over my head to sleep.

Then the little creatures batted against my pulled-tight sheet in large enough numbers that they sounded like steady soft rain patting just overhead. I was very damn glad to get this spooky-looking rig. Once inside I felt safe from not only moths but wall lizards and any other trials in life.

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Bold Benares #8

What, you might ask, is bold about the Indian city of Benares or Varanasi--(other than being the setting for my novel Sister India)?

It sits by a holy river, the Ganges, which purifies the sins of sunrise bathers, draws millions of devout visitors, and floods regularly high up the city walls. It is the city of Shiva, Hindu god of both creation and destruction. Since it is the auspicious place for a Hindu to die, dead bodies carried on stretchers are a steady traffic. It is believed to be a microcosm of "sacred India"and the first created bit of land, the Hindu Eden. It's the world's oldest continually inhabited city. The gods themselves bathe in the water here. That's a lot to live up to.

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Bold Benares #7

Another of my favorites from Varanasi (or Benares) where I spent a winter doing research for my novel Sister India. I like it because of the angle of the light, the feeling of motion, and again the sisterhood image of the two women. And the red.

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Bold Benares #6

Some culvert pipes are left on the street for construction and quickly turn into a market, a little strip shopping center. I love the enterprise and ingenuity of this.

This is at the market area called Dashashvamedh in Varanasi. This central site turns up in my novel Sister India. It's the point of reference for most explorations of this city. The marigold garlands are for celebration of a Hindu holy day.

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Bold Benares #5

This man, Sakhai Prasad, was my model for the character of Ramesh in my novel Sister India. Like Ramesh, Sakhai was an innkeeper; he was the cook and manager of the two bedroom guest flat where I spent my three months in Varanasi (or Benares).

I think he's the only real-life model I ever used for a fictional character. I needed that kind of help, though, to write from an Indian's point-of-view. He and I were locked up in curfew in the flat for the two weeks that Varanasi was shut down by riots during my visit. He spoke little English and I spoke only a few words of Hindi. Still I felt we'd had full conversations.

You writers among us, do your characters come to you or do you base them on particular people or combinations of people?

(Welcome, BTW, to Judy and to Jewon An in South Korea. One of my stepsons is teaching English now at a university in South Korea, so I feel a special connection there.)

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