Travel Stories

February 5, Jodhpur, India, by Xerxes Marduk

Part 2

While he was clamoring, in the nicest way possible, for my attention, his mother was smiling and looking at me in a way that made me wonder if she was going to try to get me to marry one of her daughters, who were all quite attractive by the way and spoke very good English. I had a conversation with one of them, I would guess her to be 20 but I didn't ask, about religion. Raising my voice to be heard over the babble of voices and the noise of the train while at the same time trying to make eye contact with the five other people who were trying to talk to me and have a serious religious discussion was difficult, but very rewarding. I learned that they were all Hindus that a red down between a women's eyes was more of a fashion statement than anything else, but a red line a little further up meant a woman was married. With men there was no way to tell their marital status.

They were interested in me explaining my beliefs, so I told them what I could about Christianity in a voice that was getting ever hoarser. They found it particularly interesting that the Christian heaven and hell closely resemble the Hindu heave and hell, they just have different names for them.

Around 10pm sensing that I was tired one of the men said, "If you want to rest just tell us and we go." Which was the ultimate in politeness I thought. Once I said I would like to rest for a while the area around me because quiet and serene, as if a silent command had gone out, the foreigner wants to rest now. The little boy fell asleep with his head resting on my shoulder, and this is how I awoke a hour later as we arrived at the Jodhpur train station. The boys mother told me, "He will miss you a lot." And indeed I knew that I would miss Vishnu too. In some way his sweet innocence seemed to capture the spirit of India.

I thanked everybody many times and gave out my email address to those who asked me for it. Getting off the train they all became more formal, as if they thought, ok, funs over, time to get back to real life. So I left them all at the train station and got an auto rickshaw to the only hotel open at 11pm, and slept the sleep of the dead, because I was so so tired. So far my traveling here has shown me India is the most beautiful, adventurous, and rewarding country that I think I have ever traveled in. And that's saying a lot.

I dedicate this story to Maja and Sissel. May your journeys in India be as rich and rewarding as mine have been.

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