Hatkoti

The following days I ofter cried in the morning doing my first kms. Today it was because of rubbish laying around and also weeping out the smell from the night. Together I could say, tears are rolling out of eyes and nose because of clensing.

From now on people passing by, stopping for selfies….. some more, some less questions, happy to see me….asking, what kind of help I need, offering money or something to eat….
One situation besides many others. A car stops, he opens the window, says happily hello, namaste, opens his purse, with a warm smile and heart wave a hundred rupie flies to my side. Bye… so touching….

In the evening I arrive Hatkoti. Not knowing, to what a important place I will be introduced to, I meet Shubam and Happy who will show me around the following 18h.  Shubam is also a priest in this Hateshwary temple, where Durghamata (Mother Durgha) is worshipped. First I have to leave my shoes outside. Hmmm. I never had a problem with this anywhere, but because I have now this superfancy and expensive barefoot walking shoes with me, I can’t leave them outside (later, in other places I wrapped them in a plastic bag inside my backpack – in fact, this is also not allowed, also no animal pieces, like leather belts are allowed in any Hindu temple) Anyway, after a while we found a good solution and entered the temple inside area. This temple part, where Durghamata is worshipped, is at least 5000 years old, actually they said 5000 B.C., before Christ. I tried to check in the net, but I could not find a proof. Shubam told me, that experienced scientists often say, that this place is so unique and old, that they could not think of anything like this somewhere else. Only 25 years ago this temple was only surrounded by nature and farmland – I see beautiful pictures, now lots of buildings, partly hotels and shops a build close by. Shubam and Happy asked me, what I feel,  and, until the next morning I could only say, that I have no visual connection to all this Hindu gods and godess, but that I have a deeper connection through chantings and mantras, which I have practised. But next morning, sitting with time and company at Durgamata’s Temple I truely felt a connection from my heart to this place and to her and/or the worshippers. I really would have liked to stay in Hatkoti a day longer, but because of 4 weddings there, Shubam could not arrange something.

Coming back to the main road, I meet Ritzyy. He invites me for breakfast. As he understand my need for a rest, he immediately books a hotel room for me including all the food I will eat during that day and the next morning. In fact, I had to wait a few hours more, before I can really enter my ‚rest’room, because the room seems to be ‚busy‘. They always say ’some more five minutes‘. When I finally enter around shortly before 3pm I can still smell the ‚cigarette after‘ leaving a flavour. Also here, in the little bit more expensive room, the quilt has no sheet…..

Next day, late afternoon, my friend Steve from South Africa is suddenly on whatsapp, suffering from the city of Johannesburg. I just sent him fotos of everything gorgeous nature around me and we have a great dialog through multichatting. Even I take him visualy to my next host Rohit and his family and how it looked there,  close to Pabbar river. Here I have first time on the walk, a really nice clean bed. What a joy . Hot water included.