While I enjoy wandering around a place by myself, I know that there are times a guide is indispensable. In Dharamsala, Dholdun is my guide. Born in China’s Autonomous Region,… Read more

What does one do at night in Haridwar? Of course, go to the Har Ki Pauri Aarti sunset ceremony! So, along with hundreds of others, I move toward the Ganga riverbanks. A… Read more

I’m like others. I want to see something new; I want to return to a place of distant, cultural memory. I get to see for the first time Haridwar. In… Read more

Delhi has numerous Hindu religious communities. After my 1990 conversation with Professor Raymond Williams, I become familiar with the modern Swaminarayan branch of Vaishnava Hinduism. While the headquarters is in… Read more

My flight to Delhi is uneventful this time. No falling luggage from overhead bins. No developing a chest cold which requires a doctor visiting my hotel room. Instead, a smooth… Read more

We reached Bombay (Mumbai). The seminar is ended. Besides last meals and conversations together, we are asked to work on our individual projects. I take time to reflect on my… Read more

I’ve met Hindus. I’ve met Muslims. I’ve met Christians. I haven’t met a Buddhist.  My experience is not unique. Professor Raman reminds our seminar of Buddhism’s connections with India. Born… Read more

I long to visit Varanasi. Einar, one of my college roommates, studied at Banaras Hindu University and returned to DePauw a changed man. During his 1896 world tour, Mark Twain… Read more

Visitors are pulled to Varanasi for the ghats on the Ganges River. For probably five miles, there are numerous ghats, stone steps which enable the thousands of Hindu worshipers to… Read more

In Kolkata, Subodh Mondal, our host, take us to an amazing array of places and enable us to meet fascinating individuals, Hindus and Christians. The highlight is our visiting Mother… Read more