A street corner in Delhi
I have spent more than a year traveling in India, and months living in Delhi. I love India, and I love Delhi. In fact, I think Delhi is one of the most under-rated cities of the world. It has incredible richness of culture, layers of history in the form of monuments, gentle foggy mornings and iridescent pink sunsets, a jungle of greenery, great food, a treasure trove of shopping … and children, living on the streets. You see them at traffic lights, skinny bodies, huge eyes, wearing shabby clothing, sometimes no clothing at all. They turn somersaults, cling to their mothers, sell toys, flowers and magazines. They sleep under bridges, on the railway platforms or in blue-tarp juggis.
The street kids of Delhi always tug at my heart strings, and I sometimes find myself dreaming of finding ways to help them. I dream of giving them proper food, clothing, health care and shelter, and of educating them and giving them a fighting chance to rise above their status and at least earn a living making handicrafts, driving an autorickshaw, selling chai … and who knows what else. There are stories of former street kids who, after earning an education, had successful careers, made money, and seriously challenged the stereotypes.
What would it feel like to know that you helped a child beat the odds? You can help by donating to the fundraising project for Deepalaya through The Intrepid Foundation before October 26, 2011. (more…)
I have a lot of feeling for the elephant-headed Ganesh because he has protected me during all my travels in India (I always carry a representation of Ganesh with me).
Breathedreamgo grew out of a travel blog I wrote on Travelblog.org while I was traveling in India the first time. On December 5, 2005 I flew to Delhi, India for the start of a six-month odyssey. Blogging about that first trip really helped me gain meaning from the experience and also bolstered my confidence as a writer.
By the summer of 2009, when I was planning Breathedreamgo, I realized that blogging about my travels in India, yoga and Indian culture was my passion. But it hasn’t been easy. It has taken a huge leap of faith to pour my time, energy and skills into this blog — and it has taken those things away from other aspects of my life and career. I am now at a critical juncture. Back in August 2009, I gave myself two years to “breathe, dream and go.” To follow my dreams unfettered by thoughts of money, practicality or the future. Today, the two years is up. (more…)
Aurovalley Ashram, Rishidwar in North India is a haven of peace and conscious living — and it also offers services to the local community. There’s a school for village children and a new playroom filled with toys and art supplies, for kids who have almost never played with toys before. To help fund the school and playroom programs, Aurovalley recently initiated an Adopt-a-Soul program. You can read more about it on my blog Help a soul to grow at Aurovalley Ashram.
School children at Aurovalley Ashram, Rishidwar, India
Teacher and program manager Adriana Gonzalez with pupil
Adopt a Soul program helps children grow in an atmosphere of peace and love
In the morning, golden sunlight pours through the broad-leafed trees lighting up simple, white buildings, masses of vivid red tropical blooms, profusions of delicate butterflies, wide expanses of scrubby meadow and flaxen wheat fields. In the distance, the rolling hills of Chilla National Park fade into a misty hue. Birds fill the trees cackling, calling, singing and chirping. At any time, you can hear four or five distinct songs. The feeling is peace, harmony with nature and sweet sacredness. Here, you can hear yourself think, feel your heart’s stirrings and sense the movements of your soul. Here, the divine force lives almost unimpeded by man’s systems and notions.
chanting Gayatri Mantra in the ashram temple
I have written many times about my spiritual home, Aurovalley Ashram in north India. You can read my original post on Travelblog.org here, Peace on earth – this is the one that compelled at least three people that I know of to come to Aurovalley. Two of them are here now, Andrea (Ireland) and Charlotte (The Netherlands). Or, you can read the post I wrote last year, when I was here, Aurovalley Ashram: A haven of peace and conscious living.
But Aurovalley is not just a beautiful retreat, a haven of peace for spiritual seekers and a fountain of yoga knowledge for sincere students. It is also a community, and a part of the local community, Rishidwar, which includes several villages such as Raiwala. Aurovalley founder Swami Brahmdev (Swamiji) takes his responsibility to his community to heart, and he has established many worthwhile projects over the 25+ years he has been here.
Notably, for the past 15 years, Aurovalley Ashram has run a school for local children on the ashram grounds. These are children who might not otherwise have the opportunity for education. The education system in India is spotty, and if you can’t afford to send your children to a private school, you are sometimes out of luck.
Note — Aurovalley Ashram is a great place to travel with kids.
To make a donation, and Adopt a Soul, click this link to get to the Aurovalley Blog and click the DONATE button in the header.
Spotted deer at Ranthambhore National Park and tiger reserve, Rajasthan, India
My first night at The Farm Villa, near Ranthambore National Park and tiger reserve, I pointed out the constellation Orion to owner-manager Satish Jain. The hunter was highly visible in the night sky over rural India, his belt of stars particularly bright. I told Satish that my father, Douglas, taught me about that constellation and I have associated it with him ever since — and especially since his death seven years ago.
The next night I walked out onto the rooftop terrace of The Farm Villa and, though the night was clear, Orion was nowhere to be seen. There was a hole in the sky, a hole that mirrors the hole in my heart, where I am missing my father. Likewise, there is a hole in Ranthambore since the March 1, 2011 death of legendary tiger protector Fateh Singh Rathore. And there is a hole in the effort to save India’s tigers from extinction. Though the 2010 census figures show an increase in the tiger population in India from 1,411 to 1,706 over the past four years, the habitat — and especially the all-important corridors — have decreased significantly. Tigers need a lot of land to hunt, roam, and mate, and without it, it is unlikely they will be able to survive and thrive in India. For an excellent article that captures the complexities and challenges of the situation facing India’s tigers, I recommend reading The failing fight to save India’s tigers by Stephanie Nolen of the Globe and Mail. For the rest of my story about visiting Ranthambore, read on. (more…)
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The terrible thing about tigersThis year, 2010, is the year of the tiger according to Chinese astrology — and according to the World Wildlife Fund. But though the year is over, the crisis facing the tiger is not. A hundred years ago there were 100,000 tigers in the wild. It is now estimated that, worldwide, there are only about 3,200 tigers left in the wild, putting tigers in danger of extinction.
As India has about 60% of the world’s tiger population, the tiger crisis in India is particularly tragic. For many people, the image of the tiger – orange-and-black stripes flashing as it prowls with power and stealth through dense jungle foliage – is the symbol of India. Anyone who has visited India recently cannot help but be moved by the billboards that bear a photo of this magnificent creature against a black background and the words: “Only 1,411 left.”
Donate $10 or more to help build a village in south India and you could be going to India with Indus Travels! Award-winning tour operator Indus Travels has generously donated a $500 gift certificate towards any of their tours as a prize for making a donation in the annual Passports with Purpose fund raising drive. To enter the contest, visit the Passports with Purpose website and make a donation, which will go to Land for Tillers’ Freedom (LAFTI), a non-profit organization that is focused on changing the conditions of the Dalit caste or India’s “untouchables.” The video explains how a tragic event inspired the founder of LAFTI to help save Dalit’s from double slavery.
Created by four Seattle-based travel bloggers who act on the power of travel to make change, Passports with Purposes goal is to raise $50,000 to build a village in Tamil Nadu, India through the Friends of LAFTI Foundation. Passports with Purpose will begin on November 15 and end on December 13. Many travel bloggers are participating in this fund raiser, and there are loads of great prizes to be won. See the Passports with Purpose website for the complete list.
On the Ganga River in Varanasi, India
Right now in India, G.D. Agrawal, an engineer-turned-swami has been fasting for 43 days in an effort to try and get action on cleaning up the Ganga (Ganges River). The National Geographic News Watch is providing updates on the situation as it evolves. Agrawal is in hospital and officials are starting to take the situation seriously, and say they will meet with him. Here’s the latest from the Times of India — Agrawal is saying he will end the fast on Friday.
November 10, 2010: Today is Blog Action Day and the theme for this year is clean water. This week’s Photo-of-the-Week on BreatheDreamGo is of the Ganga (Ganges) River in Varanasi. It is one of the most beautiful, sublime and sacred places you can visit on earth. Varanasi is one of the world’s oldest living cities and the pujas (religious rituals) performed there have been happening in the same way, at the same place, for thousands of years. It is also a very significant place in Hindu mythology, as both Shiva and Vishnu have left their marks on the city; and nearby, in Sarnath, Buddha gave his first talk.
October 31 is National UNICEF Day, and October is the charity’s biggest fund raising month. Read on to find out how you can get involved and help UNICEF raise the money it needs to help improve the lives of children everywhere. For example, UNICEF was a participant in a gathering of hundreds of religious leaders in India on October 11, who met at the Art of Living Foundation near Bangalore to discuss ways they could help people living with HIV / AIDS.
On the morning of April 14 approximately 10 million people streamed into the sacred town of Haridwar in north India to bathe in the Ganga on the most auspicious day during the 2010 Kumbh Mela. I was one of them. Find out how I found myself alone, and at home, at the world’s largest spiritual gathering.
In Varanasi, where the veil between life and death seems very thin, a boat ride on the river can become a journey to the other side. Come along with me on a boat ride on the Ganges River in India’s oldest, holiest city and pierce the veil.
The Ganges / Ganga River is the Mother of India. The River speaks in many voices as she travels from the high Himalayas to the Bay of Bengal. At the source, her song is joyous, full of the the jubilance of youth, the rush of fresh mountain streams, the sincere chanting of pilgrims and the excitement of the onward journey.
