Despite best intentions I’ve taken well over a week to tap out a line or two from India.

This country consumes you. India is a senses kaleidoscope. So setting aside time to sit down and type is a struggle.

Anyhow, early nights and early mornings is my daily framework here. Mass at Prem Dham is at 7.00 a.m. It’s a home for poor elderly separated from or without family. The half hour walk from Raphael where I am based accounts for the early start.

Sometimes I’m asked why do you return to the same place in India? (The implication being, isn’t that a bit boring!?) I’m here not as a traveler but as a volunteer and friend. So it works well. Far from boring or repetitive, I get involved with people and their trials quickly because I’m known. Trust and friendship across cultures and social strata take time to build. But the fruits are great.

The attached photos speak for themselves. Enjoy! As I am. They are of Ava Viha school and hostel for special needs children, its physio unit, and the lawn outside the Raphael TB hospital with patients (and a visiting wife) enjoying the evening sun.