India 2015

Trip to India for BODHI; January-February, 2015: beginnings

Dear Aryadharma

I first met Suresh in Nagpur in 2005, at the INEB meeting (organized by Lokamitra), and I’m sure Suresh does know a lot of the Triratna community in India. And it is possible the Young Buddhist Society is the same or related to the Youth Buddhist Society. I have searched on Google for “Young Buddhist Society, India”. Nothing is obviously right. But, in Hindi both forms of YBS could literally be identical. (ie “Young Buddhist” could be a translation of “Youth Buddhist”).

I do, normally, eat out, when in India. I have gotten sick many times in my 12 visits so far to India (1985*2, 1988*2, 1990, 1992-3, 1997, 2003, 2005*2, 2009, 2013).# In 1988 I was hospitalized in Srinagar with fever, vomiting and diarrhea; in 2009 I seriously considered going to hospital in Dublin, where I had just arrived from Delhi. (Mercifully I was ok on the flight). Getting sick again in India is something I am anxious to avoid!

I don’t even fully trust bought water in India. I prefer to boil water and store it and carry it, but hot drinks should be ok. Sometimes boiling and carrying enough water is not practical. I have also learned to not ask or trust others to boil the water for me – once (1997) I did that, but my hosts brought hot water that clearly had not been boiled, as it was too rapid and not hot enough. I got sick soon after though there may have been another cause. (And they were a medical family – you would think they would know better.. but I think to some people the idea of pathogenic micro-organisms in water is as much gobbledy-gook as evil spirits may be in the West.)

Fruit that one peels should be safe. Salads and ice are risks.  Not eating salads is also a risk, over a long time.

As for Pune – if you stay with a family that will likely reduce BODHI’s costs and probably means I can stay with Karunadeepa (also reducing our costs).

Regards and metta

Colin

# note to self – I should document these visits before they all escape from memory.