I arrived in India a stoned freak. India was the pot of gold at the end of the hippie rainbow trail that stretched from London to Goa and Kathmandu.

We were the “Freak Nation”, everything was possible, we could change ourselves and society with love and understanding. India bewitches you with its beauty: technicolor deserts, pristine beaches, majestic mountains and lush verdant jungles; this is the Yin of India.

The Yang, the other India, is grinding poverty, overcrowded chaotic cities and resigned acceptance of your place in society. However, it was the people I met along the way that changed me.

The Indian people opened me to new revelations on religion and what is really important; an alternative way of life to our Western culture and materialism. The Nepalis were blissfully living in a medieval society, where religion was a daily part of life, while the Bangladesh students were struggling to make “A Brave New World” out of the horror and chaos of the Independence war.

The freaks, religious seekers, and lovers along the way were guideposts on my “Pilgrim’s Progress” to understand what I really wanted out of life. Join me on my Magic Carpet ride, to paraphrase Proust, “In Search of Glorious Time”.

HIPPIE-KI-YAY. .