International Kite Festival Day, Jaipur

Kites fill the sky today. Young men and families cheer their kites on from rooftops, roadways, and just about everywhere. From our hotel rooftop, we captured a fallen kite, one of many decorating the trees. A guy from the rooftop next door generously tossed over some extra string attached to a pebble and tried to show us his technique. Let the record show our small paper kite was air born for about five seconds!

Hawa Mahal, Wind Palace in Jaipur, the Pink City

The landmark of Jaipur is an elaborate screen built in 1799 by the maharaja for the women of the royal household to observe processions outside without being seen. There was a strict "purdah" observed at that time. The top is meant to replicate the crown of Lord Krishna, the deity of the maharaja. It's five stories high with the outside wall about a foot thick. On the inside there are some 900 niches and alcoves for viewing through small windows.

Jal Mahal, the water palace

Built for royal duck shooting parties...

Amer Palace Wall

Please don't make me pose!

Amber Fort, Jaipur

Built in 1599 on a rugged ridge line just outside the city of Jaipur, the Amber fort and palace of the maharaja was built with red sandstone and cream marble. Taking 25 years to finish, attractive frescoes adorn its walls and one of many ample chambers has colored tiles and inlaid mirrors.

Cruising in Kerala

Two men, one on the bow and one on the stern, punted the rice barge houseboat with long bamboo poles in the shallow waters. Moving at a walking pace, we cruised through public canals in between flooded fields next to small farmhouses. The birds were especially diverse due to fresh water in the rice paddies after the monsoon season clearing out salt water. The ubiquitous paddybird, heron-like with white wings, contrasted against the deep green of the floating hyacinth. The white-breasted kingfisher with an iridescent blue and brown back fished from the coconut palms while a brahminy kite, like a smaller bald eagle, soared above. Rice is grown for six months and the other half of the year is for prawn farming. For meals, the men served fried fish and tiny prawns coated with hot Kerala spices. A coconut gravy over potatoes and a cabbage-like vegetable dish also prepared with local spices was accompanied by rice and chapatis. Fresh pineapple for dessert. We slept under mosquito nets in the hot, still night, Dan and I on the bow.

Converted Rice Barge Houseboat, Kerala Backwaters

Amritapuri Ashram, Kerala

It wasn't long before I heard the greeting unique to Amritapuri, the home, ashram, and foundation headquarters of Amma. Om Namah Shivaya. A local twist on Namaste, it means, I salute the divine within you.

Amma is known as the hugging saint and spiritual teacher whose message is love. A devout mother-figure to millions, she is a tireless woman of otherworldly compassion and energy especially focused on the suffering. As a young girl, Amma first provided meditation and unconditional love to neighbors from her family's cow shed in their remote coastal village in Kerala, near the southern tip of India. By now she has hugged over 26 million people, and her organization has donated substantial funds to needy people in India and around the world. In India, she is considered a mahatma (a great soul) and counted next to spiritual leaders such as the Dalai Lama. She's been recognized by many organizations, including the UN.

First stop on arriving at the ashram, a Hindu monastery, is to check in. To a new visitor like me, it felt like arriving on campus for the first time. Find your dorm room and where meals are served, get bed sheets and a pail with a cute little broom. Dan and I are the guests of his sister, an Amma devotee who graciously guided us through the in's and out's of life in an ashram. We each listened to the evening music program: Dan with the men and me with the women in the colorful Kali temple. The singing is soothing and repetitive, mainly in Hindi and Sanskrit, with a meditative beat to purify the mind. Soon candles were lit. Flames danced around the forbidding figure of Kali, a fierce goddess in Hindu mythology that conquers demons. As my sister-in-law explained to me later, the demons are thoughts in your mind that keep you from finding peace. Well, everyone has demons so I gladly took the smoke from Kali's flame and ran it through my hair three times when the singing was over.

Soon after, we had dinner on the side of the large open-air auditorium where Amma gives Darshan, or hugs, that stretch through the night. Tasty meals are Indian and Western, all served by volunteers doing seva, or service for others. Everyone washes and dries their metal plates and bowls.

Dan's and my seva was folding sheets for the hundreds and sometimes more than a thousand visitors who stay at the ashram. It was a pleasant duty on the 12th floor with a great view and warm ocean breeze.

The complex itself runs smoothly. The day starts at 5 am with chanting I heard from our room. It is the most "green" lodging experienced on our trip so far. Recycling, no litter, and reduced power consumption (for example, there was no AC, no appliances, and no hot water in the basic rooms).

On the last night, our group of four joined the sunset meditation on the beach. The sun, a perfectly round orange ball, set into the haze of the sea. Then, the moon, just a sliver, appeared directly above the sunset, smiling on Amritapuri. The only sounds were the rustling fronds of the palm trees and the crashing waves.

It is time to explore the backwaters of Kerala but long remembered will be the loving embrace of Amma's home. Namah Shivaya.