June 14, 2003 From Oxford to London (and, among other amusements, an excellent stage revival of My Fair Lady), and then to Delhi, where I sweltered only as long as I had to before heading to Benaras to swelter some more. June is often the worst month of the North Indian summer, as the humidity rises in anticipation of the monsoon, but the relief provided by the rains is still to come. This year the populace contented itself with temperatures that hovered around 108 F (instead of the oft more common 115), and I even found myself able to enjoy the mid-June full moon as it rose heavily above the shrunken River Ganga.

Shortly thereafter it was back to Delhi, and then north in stages to Gaumukh, the glacier that is the Ganga's source. First stop on this pilgrimage was Dehra Dun, for a quick rendezvous with Swami Jnanananda, a dedicated spiritual practitioner who, though born in Switzerland, has not left India since he arrived there at age 20, 50 years ago. I first had the privilege of Swamiji's company nearly two decades back, and have benefited from his company every so often ever since. This visit was in a way the conclusion of my previous stay, five years ago, when I was accompanied by Peter Zachariadis. Peter was in fact the reason for this trip, for though he proceeded north in June 1998 in Gaumukh's direction he never made it there, nor did he return. His story is a tragic one..

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