Sometimes you are just too busy to write. Sometimes life is just so jam packed you wonder when you will ever get back to your desk. It was a bit like this on our recent Story Hunters tour to India. Our itinerary was so full it felt like we were writing on the run. Factor in travel fatigue, culture shock, unseasonable smog, change of diet and the pure excitement of being somewhere so different to your norm — and it’s easy to throw your arms up in the air and just give in to the experience. Luckily, as writers and artists, we came well armed with notebooks of different sizes, fast rolling pens and the instruction to observe and jot. When you are moving too fast for the muse to keep up, just make a list. In fact when I travel, this is pretty much my modus operandi —observe and jot. Describe what you see in concrete detail. Use your notebook as your camera, video and sense recorder.
Our daily workshops and prompts reminded us to bring in the senses and elements and link them with the pantheon of Hindu Gods and Goddesses as we travelled in the cardinal directions. From Delhi we travelled west to Jaiselmer where we explored the Golden Fort, Lake Gadisar, the ancient Cenotaphs and met Manganyar gypsies, musicians and artisans. Travelling east we returned to to Delhi overnight before heading south to Varanasi where we floated down the Ganges River at dawn on Diwali day, visited Sarnath where Buddha gave his first teaching, met traditional wrestlers, sahdus, a Sufi priest, third gendered Kinner dancers, and witnessed the 24/7 funeral pyres not far from our riverside hotel. Travelling back to Delhi (north) we visited a Tibetan settlement and spent the day with school kids and refugees listening to their stories. Our final day was spent in the Lodhi Gardens where we learned about the countless invasions by different foreign dynasties including the Mughals. Travel days also had assigned jotting/writing tasks and our evening readings continued til the very last night.
We were a large group, 17 of us, including our wonderful Indian faciliatators and helpers: Arunita, Rohit and our travelling musician Anubrato.
Often it’s not until we travel home after such a trip that the real work begins. It may take a few weeks, months even, to process such an experience. I’m looking forward to seeing what turns up on the page.
See pics on Flickr here.
Heading out next:
Haiku Walking in Japan, Mar 27 – April 1, 2024.
Sensing Italy, June 4 – 15, 2024.
Gascony Residency, June 19 – 30, 2024.
Moroccan Caravan, Feb 10 – 24 , 2025.
Contact Jan for more details!
