Gentle, Charming, Goa!!

I had 10 lovely days in Goa, and spur of the moment arrangements were done as only the BK’s can. I stayed in a flat with Sister Maduri who was just lovely and did everything for me possible, plus she was a wonderful cook, she wouldn’t let me lift a finger! I wanted to buy the sister a present for the centre and the flat, she said no and then said she would like matching bed sheets for guest bedroom, where I was.

‎She was so humble in her request, I brought 2 bed covers and 2 matching towels, she showed them to everyone that came in, they were very colourful, purple and blue! I think they will be well used.

I had a car and a driver, so I did lot of touring around. Goa has 2 parts North and South. The North is very crowded and busy with lots of Indian and British Tourists, the South is very serene with beautiful resorts and beaches, lots of Europeans and Russian tourists, and the hotels are very expensive!

Goa has brand a new airport and they are building a second‎ one, to bring in charter flights, I feel some of the charm will leave as the traffic gets worse, new housing is going up all around! The BK’S are very strong with centres all over the place, some in the cities, but many are serving the villages (lots of Meditation programs). I visited one very old centre, where the house was 100 years old, the original beams and structure was there (quite beautiful). As usual I needed a manicure and pedicure, I asked the driver if he knew of place, he led me down alley, where I discovered 3 floors of shops offering every service you could possibly imagine, it was clean, beautiful, efficient, and fast. I had a pedicure, a manicure, and my eyebrows threaded and tinted for just about 25 dollars. The quality was superb!

On either side of me were 2 brides, one was having a 2-day wedding with 700 people, and the other young woman was having just under thousand. I asked how they could afford such events and I was told that the parents save from the time these girls are born; anyhow I was invited to both, which was very gracious!!

I talked to the Sisters in Chennai and wondered how things were going; life was slowly getting back to normal, which was great news.

I also met Lila,

who I had met 3 years ago when I had strange visit to Goa to see a project, which wasn’t really there, by a friend of Lila’s. I am now on plane to Singapore. Next stop Bali!!

Thank you Prashant!

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