Partial Truths

…and because I miss it. All of it. The being in India part and the writing part; the vague sense of obligation that the birth of this blog planted in me, to take the time to articulate ongoing experience – where I was and what it meant. And the unique and incomparable satisfaction of Having Written. I miss that. The dearth of public internet facilities in the States, together with a lack of internet in Abhinav’s room and no computer of my own (and, yes, a degree of inertia, no doubt) has reduced my writings over the last two months to an occasional scribble in my journal and a lot of good intention to transcribe multiple musings from head to screen as soon as the chance arises.

Which it has! Because I have a shiny new MacBook! Whose wireless capabilities, crucially, surpass those of Abhinav’s two year old model, allowing me to capture just enough signal to get online. Oh, happy day.

Coupled with this turn of events is the fact that I’m going home in a week. Going Home. Which will mean time for reflection on where I’ve been and where I’m going. And time to write. Watch this space (if any of you still do).

On my last evening in Goa, I was standing on the shore watching the sunset. The second it had disappeared, a boy came up to me: “Ma’am? Sunset is finished – what do you see?”

…an excerpt from today’s old-fashioned, hand-written diary:

At Camilson’s, on the beach. Facing out on to the sand, the wooden outrigger there with its fishing net piled up on top after the old man spent all of yesterday fixing the holes. And the dead remains of a plant that is left looking like a driftwood tree.
The wind is strong but gentle, whipping up the sand while masking the heat of the sun. White-crested waves stretch for kilometres up the coast and the sun creates a metallic strip of water as it begins its slow journey back to the horizon, leaving the sky open to its cousin moon.

And all I need is to sit, and watch, and be.

And I feel the fates raise their sleepy heads to look me in the eye again; and I want to be a writer.