Completing The Buddha Circuit: Balrampur-Sravasti-Taj Mahal

We awake on Day 7 of this 8-day tour with our train silent and stationary at Balrampur station, the sky grey outside and the early morning cup of chai clanking its way down the corridor. Amongst the Punctual group we have bets on how much we’ll miss the 6.30am departure time by: Lovely Malaysian Lady wins with a punt at 7:05 which proves to be out by just one minute. Thirty four minutes late. Here we go again.

Of course we have some very decent people with us on this train as well as those who have surprised us with their behaviour: Malaysian Lady and Pretty Girl are just two of them but there are plenty more. Ben for instance, a highly personable young physiotherapist from Leicester who came on the trip well briefed in Buddhism and perhaps seeking the kind of spiritual experience which he definitely didn’t get. His sense of humour has nevertheless never left him and he has been excellent company.

Kuade is a quiet and obviously highly intelligent guy who is without doubt the most softly spoken New Yorker we have ever met……..indeed probably the only softly spoken New Yorker we have ever met. Bob, also from NY state and somewhat less circumspect, has been as gregarious as you would expect someone from that state to be and has clearly enjoyed meeting fellow travellers and exchanging stories. Bob too is excellent company.

And then there’s the third NY state guy Patrick, hair swept back into a pony tail with a look resembling that of a retired lead guitarist and engaging eyes which betray his Irish descent. Patrick is effortlessly genial, chatting with everyone, always happy to take someone’s photograph, unable to pass a trinket seller or a tat shop without making a purchase, and always sneaking a useful gift or a small amount of cash into the hands of needy children. There’s no doubt he would help every single one of them if he could. Of all this group on a pilgrimage, Patrick is the one who displays a character closest to the mantras of Buddhism and we wonder whether certain other individuals are taking note. Maybe they should.

Our sole destination today is Sravasti, the remains of a vast complex where a very large settlement of the Buddha’s followers must have once existed. With Lord Buddha seeking a site for such a metropolis and seeking funding for the purpose, a wealthy merchant follower purchased the land from its previous owner at an exorbitant cost said to be the equivalent of the number of gold coins it would take to cover the entire plot. Whilst we find that a stretch of the imagination – it was once big enough to be India’s capital city after all – the land obviously fetched a princely sum.

Revered by Buddhists worldwide and of great importance in Hindu and Jainist faiths, Sravasti played host to many of the miracles said to have been performed by Lord Buddha, who is thought to have spent more time here after enlightenment than at any other location.

Evidence suggests that a plethora of temples existed here, and that Lord Buddha spent the entire rainy season here amongst his followers for something like 25 successive years. Fitting then that as we wander around the complex, a crack of thunder sounds and large raindrops begin to fall, even though the rainy season is at least a month away. Muddy puddles form quickly and even the docile dogs open one inquisitive eye to see what’s going on.

On the last evening on the train, travellers and staff gather in the dining car for a hugely convivial and mutually grateful gathering where there is much talk of togetherness and camaraderie: clearly the fractious exchanges we Brits found awkward earlier on the journey are both meaningless and forgotten, leaving us doubting whether our earlier thoughts on conduct are even valid. One man’s meat etc etc.

Sravasti is the last of the Buddha connections on the Buddha Train Circuit, we have in the last week visited all five of what are considered to be the most revered Buddhist places on Earth. We pull out into the darkness with most of the adventure behind us for a final overnight journey to Agra, home of one of India’s, maybe the World’s, most iconic sights.

As with Varanasi, this is the second time we’ve visited the Taj Mahal, and it looks even more splendid this time around as the gleaming white marble reflects today’s bright sunlight. Normally one’s first ever sighting of such a beautiful and recognisable monument is the sighting which lives with you for ever, yet this second visit is every bit as thrilling as the first. This place is just beautiful.

Built on the instruction of Shah Jahan in memory of his favourite wife Mumtaz Mahal, this is one of those places with huge tingle factor, recognisable from childhood text books all those years ago and a fixture in our minds as a result. As ever, the place teems with visitors today, but nothing can detract from the sheer gleaming beauty of this “monument to love”, as it is known. Behind the palatial mausoleum, the River Yamuna rolls by with its own brand of majestic beauty. The Taj Mahal is more than just a UNESCO World Heritage site, it is a World icon.

By just after 6.30pm we are back in Delhi, disembarking the train which has been our home for eight days, and bidding farewell to those we have met on this changeable journey, this slightly offbeat experience. Final conclusions? Well, we have of course visited some wonderful places, some of which we would probably have never seen without joining this tour, but the constant delays blighted the week and did little to enhance our opinions regarding group travel. We never did feel completely comfortable with the brusque attitudes of the higher caste Indians, either, nor get used to the lack of symmetry between their Buddhist beliefs and their daily conduct.

It’s been an experience and has absolutely had its highlights, but as we step out into the noisy Delhi evening, it feels as if we’ve thrown off the shackles.