Indian like a lot proverbs. On my mobile phone I receive one of them almost every day. Some are funny, some are stupid, some are very spiritual. And some are all the three put together. Let me share some of them with you:

"Before you speak, LISTEN, before you write, THINK, before you spend, EARN, before you criticise, WAIT, before you pray, FORGIVE, before you quit, TRY, before you die, LIVE!

"Life is something that everyone should try at least once."
Question: who has never tried?

"Good judgment comes from experience. Unfortunately, the experience usually comes from bad judgement."

"Even a small person can make a big difference. If you think you are to small to make a difference, then you have never spent a night with a mosquito in your bed."

Varanasi may be the most important city in India related with the Hinduism religion. And until now, it is certainly the very first place where i have felt the spiritual side of India that everybody is talking about. Indeed, since I arrived, I don't think I have met many people really involved in increasing their personal Karma, or they did not give me such a feeling.
In a general way, I think I expected something more from India. I thought it would have been a country more difficult to visit, a kingdom less accessible. But I realize it is not. You can travel to India as you would do in any western countries. I mean... In South Korea for example, confucianism affects the society in such a way that you MUST understnad it to survive, otherwise you do not understand people, the way they behave or react, the relation between them, etc... There, either you completely immerge yourself into the culture, or you fly back home after two weeks, there is no choice. Nowerdays, many people travel to South Korea for business purpose, as they would do to Singapour or Kuala Lumpur. But it is not the same, definitively. And without an adequate preparation, they can easily get crazy! I heard so much about the spiritual aspect of a travel to India that I expected something similar, and I did not find it. If someone is interested in Hinduism, indian music, yoga, culture, etc..., then he may spend years and years studying it, he will never finish. But if someone absolutely does not care of all of this, he may travel the same, spend a long time here, see only what he want to see among what India offers, and neglect all the rest. My guidebook alerts the reader before travelling that India is what you make of it. And it is exactly like that. No obligation, no constraint, no need to integrate the culture.

Well, let's back to Varanasi!
This is one of the oldest living city in the world! Traces of the most ancient major public events here are more than 3000 years old! And historians do believe that civilization here is even older than that!!! Hinduism religion has always played a very important role in this city, and Varanasi is supposed to be the city of Shiva, one of the three representations on earth of Lord Brahman, the equivalent of God in the catholic religion. Many people who is about to die come to Varanasi, because it is said that dying here allows you to be liberated from the reincarnation cycle. Usually, one can achieve it only by improving his Karma life after life. The liberation is called "Moksha".
I am not hinduist and I do not believe in reincarnation, but personnaly, I suppose that if I was given the possibility to live twice, I would not reject such an opportunity. After all, live is not so bad...
An indian man I met on the bank of the Ganges river provided me some very interesting comments. He showed me (from outside) an hospice in whih suffering people from all over India come to expire. I saw cremation ceremonies on the same banks of the river. Between 200 and 300 bodies are burned here every nights and days, this is a 24 hours business. And when I use the word "business", I do not mistake. Cremation may be very expensive for the family, it depends on the wood used (quality and quantity), the oil with wich the body is embalmed, and also the origin of the fire used. Using the "eternal" fire is very expensive. But you probably wonder what is the"eternal" fire, don't you? Well, there are several of them, and all are kept alive for centuries!!!! I am not sure to have udnerstand it well, but I think they comes from the cremation of some important people.
Varanasi, the magical atmoshere of the old city, the peaceful gardens of the Benares university, the early morning classes of yoga, the concerts of indian classical music, the kites filling the sky at evening time, all of it contributed to make my eight days stay here very pleasant.

On monday, I will take the tren to Satna from which I will reach Khajuraho the day after, very famous for its erotic sculptures. So be aware, next week pictures may be of particular interest!...

Parmi les rencontres faites ces dernieres semaines, il y a Jean-Robert. Il travaille pour la croix rouge, a deja fait une mission d'un an au Darfour et vient juste d'en finir une autre au Nepal. Son role: visiter les prisons et s'assurer que leurs hotes y soient bien traites. Expliquer egalement aux differents protagonistes de la guerre civile que meme pour se taper dessus il y a des regles a respecter. Maintenant il voyage en moto a travers l'Inde. Il fera ensuite un break de quelques mois a Barcelone avant de s'embarquer pour une probable derniere mission. Il souhaiterait la Colombie mais ne peut helas pas decider... Nous nous sommes rencontres a Kolkota, puis retrouves a Bodhgaya. Nous suivons plus ou moins le meme itineraire mais nous ne devrions plus nous croiser, il voyage bien plus vite que moi.

Une autre recontre, peu commune celle la, fut celle de Mister Both. Je ne sais pas par quel moyen cet homme de nationalite indienne, desormais a la retraite, a pu un jour devenir consul de Turquie. Son mariage avec une importante femme turque a peut etre joue un role. Une personne remarquable, presque admirable, qui fut notmment ami de Jean-Paul Sartre et qui rencontra Charlie Chaplim. Comme tout ambassadeur, il a voyage a travers le monde entier, et cet homme de culture, naturellement, comprend le francais. Ce serait complique d'expliquer comment Jean-Robert, moi meme et quatre autres francaises et francais nous sommes retrouves a la table de Mr Both dans le restaurant d'un hotel de luxe a Kolkota. Ce serait complique, voire embarassant de decrire les scenes pathetiques auxquelles nous avons pu assister au cours de ce meme diner. De toutes manieres, je me garderais bien de les raconter sur cet espace public... A un certain moment, j'ai du glisser a l'oreille de Jean-Robert un truc du genre "Apres tout, on sait pas comment on sera quand on aura son age", et tout en explosant de rire, il a bien du admettre que c'etait la phrase la plus sensee qu'il avait entendue ce soir la. Toujours est il que si ma vie est moins riche que celle de Mister Both, je ne lui souhaite pas pareil ecceuil.

Qui d'autre? Michelle, une jeune femme anglaise (30 ans) venue en Inde avec son fiance. Ils pensaient voyager six mois ensembles, mais ils se sont separes au bout de quatre mois, lui et reparti quatre mois plus tard, tandis qu'elle est la depuis plus d'un an deja. Et elle n'est pas prete de retrouver la stressante vie d'infirmiere qu'elle menait a Brighton avant de partir.

Enfin une derniere rencontre interessante fut celle qui m'a oppose aux echecs contre un viel homme de Benares. Depuis que je suis arrive en Inde, j'ai eu l'occasion de jouer cinq ou six parties, les premieres depuis des annees alors bien sur, j'ai perdu quelques automatismes. Avant de voir a l'oeuvre le viel homme de Benares contre un de ses pairs, la derniere partie que j'avais jouee s'etait meme soldee par un cuisant echec conte un israelien de mon age qui pourtant me paraissait bien mediocre. C'etait a Kolkata, une nuit a quatre heure du matin sur la terasse de l'hotel Maria. Non content de m'avoir ridiculise devant les espagnols, il enfonca meme le clou en me sortant une boutade du genre: "Tiens, vu que t'as l'air assez bon, je vais t'enseigner deux ou trois trucs". Autant dire que lorsque le viel homme, vainqueur de son homologue, m'a propose de l'affronter, je n'etais pas au top de ma confiance, d'autant plus que ces deux la savaient y faire, ca se voyait. J'ai fait semblant d'hesiter quelques secondes, puis j'ai accepte le defi. La premiere de deux manches a ete tres diputee, sans negligeance de part et d'autre, et je me suis finallement impose avec les blancs par abandon lorsque le final de pion a tourne de maniere decisive a mon avantage. La revanche quant a elle a ete spectaculaire. Apres une ouverture et un developpement classique, on atteignait le treizieme ou quatorzieme coup de la partie et presque toutes les pieces etaient encore sur l'echiquier. Mon adversaire a alors joue un coup hasardeux, m'offrant non moins que le mat... en trois coups! Je crois que c'est la premiere fois que je suis parvenu a faire un truc pareil dans une situation aussi etriquee!!! Le maitre a la barbe blanche est revenu en arriere, il a cherche et cherche la parade et n'en revenait pas. Il semblait surpris mais finallement admiratif devant ce coup imparable. Une petite satisfaction qui donne envie de s'y remettre pour de bon!