DRIVE (Day 11)

Our plan was to leave early in the morning, partly due to the long drive ahead of us and partly wanting to get out of town before the festival really got started. But they beat us to it... at 5:30 am, the same one minute long song started playing in an endless loop for over an hour. Finally the announcer came on and diversity of sounds began to flow in through the hotel windows.

Since we were mostly just going to sit in the car all day, I decided to wear my sari. Unfortunately none of us could remember how to put it on. Even Mukesh couldn't figure it out. So he went outside asked two local women to come in and help me. We stood in the lobby while they bickered over how to do it. They were clearly experts though... all decked out with tons of jewelry, bindi and all. By the time they had finished and left, there were throngs of spectators!

Trying to figure out the sari

This was my one big moment of fame. Both Ron and Mukesh had to hold back the crowd as I hurried out to the van. Hands reached out to touch me from all sides. Once inside the vehicle, people pressed up against the window to get one last look at me... the gori in the sari. It took Mukesh a while to pull free of the crowd, but eventually we were on our way.

It took us a full day to get to Varanasi. Throughout the day, I had many problems keeping my sari on. The silk was quite slippery! But it seemed as if even the local women were constantly tugging and adjusting them as well. Some of them even held them on with their teeth when their hands were full. Others used pins.

I still hadn't quite lost my celebrity status. Often as we drove behind trucks loaded with men and women, they would just stare at us the entire time. Once, the men kept asking Mukesh with hand signals if I were his wife. He seemed to enjoy the attention.

The road was absolutely terrible. Sometimes the holes in the road were so large, it was easier to drive on the dirt shoulder. Surprisingly there were several more toll and paper booths. Often local dogs would chase us. Some of them looked in such bad condition that it was a wonder that they had any energy for such sport. At least the landscape seemed healthy - many green fields and large trees. As we drove north through the forest, we saw plenty of posted signs informing us that this was 'tiger area'.

We arrived in Varanasi around 6:30 pm. It was a bit difficult to reach the hotel because the streets were still packed from people celebrating the festival here too.

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