How horrible!! The little nasty bugs got you! At least you had your wife to help you get through it.
That is the thing--if one is traveling alone and the sickness jumps on you, well, it would be an even greater disadvantage than just being a "stranger in a a strange land." The travel advisors for South India do not advise to even drink the bottled water ...
"you must be careful to ensure that the bottles you purchase are properly sealed before you buy them ... if the cellophane seal is loose over the cap, insist on opening the bottle and sniff at the water, if there is any odour or there are bubbles visible then do not purchase the water - also, destroy the plastic bottles by crushing them after you have used them to prevent the locals from refilling them with tap water."
It seems that even Bhavanath Chattopadhyay contracted a parasitic disease in Bangladesh. The details seem vague from the biographical vignette in the book, but from what I can follow he died from the parasitic disease kalagaar. If you google this disease and look at the photos of the skin sores it sort of takes the breath away.
Okay, there is a plan B that has surfaced. I may be behind in the details of what is going on in the world of Vedanta in the West but I happened upon this website yesterday and it brought me to tears when I read that this place in New York was a residence where Swami Vivekanada spent time and was welcomed and also that the place, "Ridgely Retreat", was helped to be debt free by a generous bequest from Sister Gargi, well, when I read all of these matters it spoke to me deeply, so yesterday at work I took some breaks to look at travel possiblities for New York. It won't be easy to get there but the people there will meet you at the bus or train station and they seem very kind and welcoming. This website has a wonderful slide show which is capitoned with quotations by Swamiji and is highly recommended for perusal. I couldn't find the photo this morning but somewhere on the website under "links" there is a beautiful photo of a pine tree that had some meaning for Swamiji. This was another feature (in imagery) of Ridgely that seemed to pronounce my name. So, for now, a weekend retreat to Ridgely has been bumped up on my itinerary, God willing!
Yes, it was horrible! Especially since I also caught a wicked cold as well.
And I agree that you would do well to find a traveling companion.
RE: Water bottles being re-used
Boiling is the only solution. A rolling-boil for three minutes will kill
the little suckers....hopefully..
You mentioned Kalagaar, which I Googled, but to no avail. Perhaps you meant
"Kala-Azar"? Here is a quote about that parasitic disease from "In The Company
Of The Holy Mother":
Holy Mother, besides suffering from rheumatism, which made her limp while walking,
frequently fell victim to malaria. In February 1920, as a result of illness, she bade
farewell to Jayrambati and came to Calcutta for treatment. The disease was diagnozed
as kala-azar, which at that time was considered incurable, Different physicians were
consulted, but the illness only became worse.
The Western term is Leishmaniasis. You may read about it HERE
Very nasty stuff indeed!
A weekend retreat to Ridgely sounds wonderful. Especially, if you can avoid driving
and take the train or bus instead. You may also find some compatible soul over there,
who would be willing to accompany you on your pilgrimage to Mother India!
Om Shanthi Om
=============
PS: If we wish to continue this conversation, I suggest that we start a new thread, since this one
is becoming a bit too long in the tooth :)
As Tom said, your typing is fine. No need for html.
As for spelling names and places associated with Sri Ramakrishna and Mother, even now i must double-check. :) I think it is because these are words we haven't heard (mucb if ever) in a language that is unfamiliar. I can tell you that simply "hearing" did not help me much because I "heard" in English. What did help is that I had the opportunity to learn the Sanskrit alphabet -- NOT the language, which takes years -- just the alphabet. This helped me hear the sounds as pronounced. But spelling, remembering, names and places is still challenging. I think Mother understands. :)
