Rude Awakenings - Forest Sangha Publications

^0 F I R S T M O O N 06The damp grey morning was littered with people—a few in a rush,others randomly strewn around, barefooted, squatting on their heelswith heads wrapped in cloth. Staring. A few blanketed forms were stillasleep on the platform. Seven in the morning is a threshold that must becrossed gently, especially on a raw and empty stomach with a thick head,but arrival meant galloping behind Nick, who was in organizationalmode. Of course every notice board said no train to Gorakhpur. Gettingout was not going to be easy.Nick left me in the tea room at Lucknow station while he foraged forbiscuits. He returned having found the station master’s office. “Ye-ee-s;he reckons there’s a local train to Gorakhpur at eleven something thisevening. The whole city is under curfew because of the Ayodhya riots;none of the through trains from Delhi are running, so as to prevent organizedfundamentalists from pouring into the area. So what would youlike to do, Bhante? There’s nothing worth seeing or doing in Lucknow,might as well stay here for the day.” Interesting way with options, Nick.I straggled along behind Nick as he went through the ticket queue forthe left-luggage office and checked out the waiting rooms and the cafeteria.We in turn were subject to scrutiny by various stares: Nick is allred—red hair and beard and red freckles (Indians think he has some kindof skin disease)—me, head newly shaven, bald and white as a baby andswathed in ochre-brown robes. Thus the stare, whose chief function isto keep our curious presence at an objective distance. Its glassy qualityemphasises that contact is not what is sought. In fact, if you speak tosomeone sustaining a stare, they become disconcerted, as if you hadsomehow defiled a sacred ritual.The duty to keep the stare going was passed from person to personas we cantered up and down the platform, the staircase, this office, andthat notice board, arriving where we started with a few fragments ofinformation. All this getting nowhere proved to be quite a business—itwas soon eleven o’clock and time for a meal. In the cafeteria we snareda waiter who moved around with such a highly developed stare that he2 4