dude descending a staircase

And so now we find ourselves at one of those many points in the labyrinthe where one has to make a decision: Yesterday morning Jas got on a boat to cross the river to take a bus to catch a train to go to a temple and sit and think; and i sat; and i exercised; and then i said farewell to Hampi for the second time... alone, this time. Alone again. And the good bus from Hospet took me to Mangalore which i did not see much of except from the ricksha that took me to the station where i caught the train to Kannur. Which is here. Which is another city, a "real India" city. A city where my great great grandmother was born when it might not have been such a city. This place is now popular as a gateway to the nearby tourist resorts which are all well out of my budget. And there is nothing much to do. Other than sweat. Which i am doing. I would like to dig the Theyyam spirit dancers - but so far no luck finding one. Oh well.

And so i am negotiating with the wonderful staff at IndiaRail again. And they get better. Kannur even has a ticketed waiting system. And in a very Beetlejuice moment i find myself holding a number several figures away from the next to be called and so i am in an internet cafe writing words on a screen and feeling a bit duped for coming here, for leaving the shimmering sun and dribbling jungle, the heave and collapse, the head spinning ecstasy of Gokarna. And then there was Hampi, which was worth a second visit. We did go rock climbing after all - and we met more awesome people and swam in a lake. And now i am wandering alone - without a guidebook - without companion - without certanty about what to do next. The one thing i definately have is the afterglow of recent all consuming joy - Joy that wants with a burning heart more and more and more. Joy that seeks honey and waves crashing and graves and their mournful attendants and sunsets behind mountains as the pulse begins to race and the collision of passionate bodies, a joy that lusts even for its own shattered heart.

And so now i wonder whether or not to go further south to Cochin and meet some friends and see the back waters... or to take the next fast train back up north - to spend 3 days getting to Utteranchal and the Himalayas... and i think i will go south yet a little further; a little deeper into the choking humidity; to smell those waters and hear the jungle cry. Yes. Why not.
My ticket may be drawing close. And so i must leave you now my brothers and sisters. But before i do, please consider for a moment the fast approaching reality that none would have thought might steal my show: I am going to be an uncle. My sister and her husband have whipped away the breath of song, if only for a moment, to breathe new life into the world. Thanks Katie. Thanks Cameron. How am i gonna top that one?