After I left Delhi and Rita's protective bubble, I learned what everyone who has ever traveled through India knows. It seems like everyone is trying to scam you, either a little or a lot, depending on how gullible/trusting/stupid you may be. To make several long stories very short, I've been plenty of all 3. So like everyone else who has savvied up some, I have now developed an automatic response as soon as someone, no matter how pleasant their delivery might be, comes up and says, "hello" or pretty much anything else. After, "hello" their favorite lines are, "where are you from?", "Can I help you?", "Where are you going?" (I, in particular, usually look lost). As soon as I hear one of these lines I immediately tense up and tell them, pleasantly at first, "no thank you." If they persist, which they usually do, I turn up the volume and by the third time it's even money that I'll deliver some version of an unrestrained, "get the hell out of may face!" scream.
And so it was on the banks of the Ganges this evening when an old (70?) grizzled guy in a torn t-shirt came up to me and shook my hand. I offered mine hesitantly and he immediately began to massage it, telling me that for only 10 Rs (about 25 cents) he would give me a head and shoulders massage. In automatic mode, I told him politely but firmly, "no" I wasn't interested. As he disappeared down the steps into the crowd that had gathered for an Indian music and dance performance I began to think about the persistent pains I've had in my neck, upper back and lower back for the past couple of months. I began to think that perhaps in this instance I had been too rash.
So when he came back up the steps I did not immediately avert my gaze and he started in again saying it would only be 10 Rs, not 50 Rs or 100 Rs.
So finally, I said, "ok."
He took me over to the edge of the steps and had me sit cross-legged as he started massaging my head. Now one of the things I know how to do pretty well is fully accept a massage without inhibitions. So except for trying to keep my eye on my pack, i immediately began to relax and let him do his work.
And it turns out he did very good work. He had very strong hands and knew how to use them. Pretty soon I was laying on my stomach as he upped the ante to a full body massage. It was all great and he was truly an expert. Later he described himself as a, "master" and I would have to agree. I was enjoying it all but there was one point when I felt a drop of something on my earlobe. I was hoping it was a bit of his sweat but did I mention that when he came back up the steps he had a mouth full of chew? All I could do was laugh at the prospect.
After he had finished with my back he had me turn over. The massage itself was probably one of the best I've ever had, certainly the most vigorous as he combined massage with chiropractic procedures to get as much of me unstuck as anyone could in the 45 minutes he blessed me with his talents. But aside from the massage, I found it darn near incredible to realize I was laying on the steps of the main Ghat in Varanasi, next to the Holy Ganges, listening to beautiful Indian music and gazing up at the moon as I was melting into this old man's hands. Of course it is true than no moment of our lives can be duplicated but in this case that realization was particularly easy to grasp.
And for 500 Rs, it was still a bargain (talk about up-selling!).
Sometimes you gotta say, "yes!"
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