For some years Rama had been trying to get me to visit his bookshop in Varanasi, India. I had been coming to Nepal for about ten years, and during that time I had become acquainted with Rama and his Pilgrims Book House in Kathmandu. At Dashain time one year, I decided that the following fall I might take time to go to India after my annual visit to Nepal. Rama was very excited, writing to me with much encouragement as I prepared for the trip. Shortly before I left home he wrote, "I can’t wait to show you the sunrise over the Ganges River." I must admit I was not very interested in sunrises; I prefer to sleep during those hours! I could not imagine how it could be any better than the few other sunrises I had seen, but it sounded like an adventure to me, so I decided to go. "You can go any morning to see the sunrise," he said, as we drove in from the airport. I felt I was doing him a favor by going once! It was late in the day when we arrived in Varanasi, so I spent the evening unpacking and preparing for my first River Ganges sunrise. The weather is warm in late October, so I decided to wear a pair of khakis and a tee shirt. "What time should I set the alarm for?" I asked. "Four thirty," came the response.
Since I first went to Varanasi in 1999, I have become increasingly involved with India, traveling there usually twice a year. [have seen much of India, but have always arranged a stay in Varanasi. We have always included at least one viewing of the sunrise over the Ganges and a tour of part of the river Ganges. Varanasi is dirty, noisy and overcrowded. But there is much more to it than that. [have valued the interplay between the spirituality evidenced on the river and the city. These have become an integral part of my very being.
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