Camp Silver Sands, Ganges River

Every year during the monsoon season the Ganges rapidly floods and swells up the surrounding banks. Last year in particular, the strong monsoon caused villages to be swept away. The entire camp I am staying at now is under river water in the monsoon. It is one of the reasons there is no electricity and the only structure other than tents is a tandoori oven.

I have my own  canvas tent, with two hard beds, a lock box and a sandy floor. It stands up well to the rain and deters the cows and monkeys. Sometimes in the night the wind cascading down the river valley is strong enough to blow open the entrance doors. I feel very comfortable in my tent. I feel very comfortable and happy in the whole camp.
On a normal day, the only people at camp are the guides, the kitchen staff and myself. This makes about 20 men and boys around. The best times are meal times when we gather around the tandoori for warmth and over 100 roti are made. Two boys produce all this bread, flattening dough and pressing it against the hot walls of the oven. As soon as the roti are taken from the oven with metal rods, they are snatched up by a hungry staff to eat with curried vegetables. The vegetables come from villages on the steep hills around us.
When guests come the food production and presentation is dramatically ramped up. I like the basic, oven lit intimate meals much more.

It's all Hindi spoken around the camp. Even when I think I hear English it's only phrases which have permeated into every day Hindi language (good morning, guide, raft etc...). A few of the higher level staff speak English well but normally I am quiet and don't disrupt the Hindi chatter and constant joking. I know a scattering of phrases now but my lack of knowledge of sentence structure and verbs prevents anything more.

I'm back in Rishikesh for a day off after a solid 3 days on the river. I have been safety kayaking and having a great time with it. Yesterday I was one safety kayaker for 7 rafts. Only one raft flip luckily, meaning that this guide needs to buy 2 small bottles of rum for the communal drinking pot. The section we run is big volume, non-technical and the water has been quite high for this time of year. This just means there are big waves (15ft and some bigger) to ride over and not a lot of consequences for flipping or swimming. The rapids are bigger and longer than what I've seen on the Ottawa and require the guide to be more active. It's a similar style of river to the Ottawa in that it is drop-pool, meaning rapids are followed by stretch of calmer water. I have a lot of respect for the guides at Aquaterra (one of the most biggest expedition companies). Some having been guiding on different rivers 11 months a year for over 10 years. Even the guides that are my age have much more time on water. I've had more of a deliberate, standardized training, but nothing compares to time on the water.

So though I don't know how much I'll be paid or how busy we'll all be, I'm really looking forward to my time at camp and on the river. We've had one large University group in from Delhi and 2 more to come soon. The students are well-to-do talk to one another in English. The girls are very entertained by the white safety kayaker. More than once I've seen them swim away from the raft and yell for me to come save them.
The other raft guides suggest that I should shave my scraggly, red beard so I look better, but there is no way that is happening.

Rishikesh

Where ever I've been the past few weeks, I has never far from the Ganges river. The Ganges flows quickly here, the water level rising and falling throughout the day. When I first showed up the river was bright blue, brisk and beautiful. I squat on rocks by the river and filter it to drink . If bathing in and drinking the water are purifying, I can only imagine how I'll be when I start rafting.

Rishikesh styles itself as a centre for yoga and spirituality seekers. As much guidance as you are searching for, you can find it here. The experience that you find depends on what you are hoping to learn. Most of the visitors moving through are Indian pilgrims, who come to the area for spiritual guidance and teaching. They come through in family groups, women dressed in ornate, colourful saris carrying food. The men wear buttoned shirts, khaki pants and western jackets. The local men wear traditional loin clothes and head wraps.

Groups of Sadus (holy men) live along the beach and squat in abandoned buildings. Their orange clothes decorate the shore and they lie, finding shade throughout the day. Some Sadus are holy men and live simple, nomadic lives. They count on the universe to take care of them. I must be look like a white gift from the universe as they regularly ask me for money when I pass. Many Sadus sell drugs and for generations, orange cloths have been used to disguise criminals and people hiding from police.

Westerners who come to Rishikesh for spirituality are easy to spot as they walk down the street. Often with large dreaded hair or shaved heads, they parade a style of loose fitting, patched clothing. Some dress in orange cloth, indicative of Sadus or monks. They are the type that come to ashrams for a specific guru or teacher. At speeches from these gurus, I've heard topics ranging from love to the necessity of separating from former friends and family. At these gatherings, you can see people burst in tears and line up to kiss the feet of the guru. I was talking with a Indian-Canadian who expressed frustration with some of the spirituality seekers. Her analogies compared people travelling Canada and taking up Christianity on a whim. These people would buy clothes covered in crosses and memorize the songs about Jesus we know from childhood.

There are backpackers who come through to stay in the tranquil setting along the Ganga river. It is peaceful by Indian standards and the green hills foot hills of the Himalayas dominate the landscape. From on top these foot hills, you can see the big snow-capped mountains towering on the horizon distance.

I came here to slow down, live a healthy lifestyle and wait for the rafting season to start. I stay away from almost all of the spiritual teaching here. However Hinduism is connected to all aspects of life here. The Ayruvedic cooking, reiki, yoga, daily rituals and even the river which flows through the city are connected to Shiva and Ganesha. It's all encompassing in many ways and I recognize it as a culture that is not my own.

I have no interest in adopting the teachings of a guru, though it's interesting to meet people who are.

I've settled easily into a relaxed existence which centres around yoga and long meals in a scattering of vegetarian restaurants. My body is changing to suit this new environment. My torso shrinks, my legs bend in new ways and my lungs feel healthy and full. I've found what I was hoping for along the river here, amongst the ashrams, restaurants, stores, ghats, sadus and cows. It is simple, healthy and admittedly aimless. With no looming stress or decisions, it is easy to enjoy and be content in the day to day.