Intense and tense

Intense and tense

There is a unsureness, if I really shoud go the small way through the country side, but also there is no ’no‘! It will be 44 km towards Murliganj, which I want to walk in 2 days.
First steppps are until the village of Mangwar, 14 km. I start late, because of rain, so that’s the perfect distance.
After some 7 or so km the first incidence happens. I meet a loud young man. Typical questions ‚Where you are from‘ ‚Where you are walking to’… Then he wanted to see my bag ‚What’s in there‘. .. but I don’t let anybody from the street look through my bag. He became very unfriendly,  I don’t know what he said, but I continued walking shouting back ‚Fuck you‘. I was so surprised  by myself, but it was somehow a ‚equal‘ reaction to his border crossings towards me. Never in years I have used this swear word, and I use swear words anyway so rarely. … He shouted something back, but he let me go. Emotionally I was not soo involved in this, relatively calm inside, but whatching my sensations in the body. Little later he came back. Some friends by his side, one was a bit fatter, tall and with angry yellow eyes. There was a workshop at the side, some other people there and some motor cycles parked in front of the workshop. The young man asked me in a  commanding tone, to put my backpack there in the grass, he found obviously also the light green rain cover of the bag suspicious. But I refused. He got louder and organized a shovel from the workshop. The metal is somehow in a 90 degrees angle to the stick, what is used a lot on the field but also in construction work. He is really threatening me with the showel to force me to put down my backpack. But I was not willing to. He imitated hitting me, making more tensions towards me. To have some protection, I went between the motor cycles. In case that he would hit me, he has also to calculate to maybe damage some motorcycle. I told the guys standing around,  with words and gestures, that they have to stop him and have to help me in this situation. After some attack tries finally the guy with the angry yellow eyes, who had been earlier with him, managed to take the shovel out of the hands of the attacker, and they let me go. Surprisingly I was still not shaking or similars, also not totally calm, but just whatching myself and continued my way. Not to believe , what can all happen in this area.
Some km later another guy was interested in my bag, he was with a friend on a motorcycle. He also wanted to see my passport. ‚I am happy to show any police my passport or my bag, but not anyone.‘ He somehow accepted, but asked me to talk to me at the next temple. ‚What do you have in the bag?‘ In the conversation I mentioned that I have some oranges in there. ‚Can I have one?‘ ‚Ok!‘. I opened my backpack offering a orange. He refused. ‚I wanted just to look in your bag, he said. ‚So you where lying to me, take this orange‘ I insisted……

At around 3pm I arrive before Mangwar. Ramin with a bicycle walks suddenly beside of me. He is about 45 and likes to accompany into the village. He speaks only very little english and wants to invite me to his house. I am not sure, but in Mangwar we verify our understandings, there is also a police patrol, and they agree and confirm, everything is ok. I become more sure that he is the right one and he gets happy, that I agree. He lives 3km outside and understands, that I only walk. So he does too. We eat something and start our walk. After a while he understands, that talking with his abilities of speaking English does not really make sense. And finally relaxes. We start having a wonderful time. The nature is again so beautiful and I am so happy that I came this way. He is a real Hindu and at all temples he takes of his shoes, and asked me by sign language to do so too. Standing barefoot towards the temple he shows me how to put the hand together and bow towards the Hindu God. He is very pleased that I join in. From this time everything is ok. Calmness and silence overcomes our walk together. A second temple follows. Hanuman temple.

We have to turn toward his village. Clouds becoming thicker. They open a little bit up, so that the darker parts are before and behind us. Just when it starts heavily to rain, we reach a shelter. A newly done bamboo hut, open to 3 sides, with a corrugated iron roof. In the middle a kind of nest of bamboo leaves invited me immediately to sit down. I am amazed of this beautiful structure and most surprised how intense and beautiful bamboo can smell. This smell nourishs me. So sweet. Ramin is enjoying my happiness. The rain is pouring down and the sound and temperature, the little lake close to the shelter, a perfect moment. Mother earth is balming us. A wonder moment.
Nearly reaching the village Barsam another shower.  We rush to another temple. So villagers are sitting already under the veranda. But still, shoes off, that much time has to be, even in the middle of a heavy monsoon rain, bowing to the temple God, then sitting down. Wonder-ful moment again. Harmony with all. A water body in front of Barsam. Greenery. Bathing children. Wow, there to the right, this is a superold Bodhi tree. Rain is a bit lower, I switch my telephone on to make a photo, astonishing. What a beauty.

As I more often in this area witnessed, suddenly a wave of anather emotion arises. It’s more or less exactly 1 hour before the night arises. Fear – Corona fear
I get escorted out of the village area. Ramin is desperate, but because of 50 other people he is helpless. Ok, he says, back to Mangwar. ‚But what to do in Mangwar, same situation will arise there, and it will be already dark‘ He is willing to walk me all way back. ‚The situation will be exactly the same there, so I will stay here‘ just realising that I stand only 10 meter away from the bamboo shelter with the nice smell. I try to make the people understand, that I don’t go anywhere, I will stay here. I would only like to know, to whom the shelter belongs, so I can ask the person for permission. On a higher level, I already understood that this shelter with the inviting smell and the bamboo leave nest is prepared for me for this night (and I would not be surprised, if the construction had been finished today) Some of the village people understand and help me to install my mosquito net above the bamboo nest.
At least 70 people are standing around there now. But I will not go anywhere. Also I would not be surprised, that the stucture of the nest is so, that I immediately could find a comfortable sitting position (without using a cusion) I sit down there, and let them discuss, and I meditate for two hours. This is there problem. They are not willing to have a peace walker, a guest, in there village, because they are overwhelmed with fear. So they have to deal with the situation, that the guest sleeps outside the village in a open shelter. At least 70 people stand for 4 hours around my shelter. The police is informed and comes after 2 hours. They are so sorry that I have to sleep like this, but I ensure them, that I am really fine. It’s nearly impossible to talk and understand a word here, because the frogs make enormous sound. After another hour a second police car arrives with the Superintendent police officer (SP). He is responsible for the whole district. Also he is ok, that I sleep here. The lady owner is informed. Papers get controlled and the SP orders two village people to secure my night, by guarding me.
It’s feels a little bit like a village-police-frog-monsoon-party and luckily my earplugs help me sleep for 4 or 5 hours. The two guards are talking all night long loudly. Most villagers went to bed before midnight. Ramin also disappeared without saying goodbye. Hope he is not to unhappy with the situation.