thai airways became my favourite airline
just because of the orchid they give to their women passengers
i always ask for one for myself
and they always accede without any fuss

this orchid always touches me
it connects me with thai airlines
and the warm thai sawadika welcome

the maroon of the orchid and the airline catches my attention

i have left poona and am no longer a sannyasin wearing orange
my past tibetan life i was a lama
where i wore this exact same maroon
i will now wear maroon and state that i am a tibetan seeker

i arrive back to hongkong
atleast some normalcy now
no constant judgements and attacks
the world seems very friendly and warm towards me
people look curiously at me but are kind and friendly
many asking me my experiences as a monk
naive and inquisitive in their questions but extremely loving and considerate

i am very happy to see my sister shona and her husband ramesh
i love his gentle mixed thai indian nature…his humbleness and goodness
and his real love for my sister
i love them dearly and their new born son tushar

i miss the greenery and the trees and nature
the tall towers of concrete make me feel out of place
i have forgotten how to walk in normal surroundings
the city makes me dizzy with its speed and rush all around
every passing vehicle makes me feel like i am spinning
and i am always giddy and losing balance

i have arrived with no money and no clothes
just the one faded and transparent robe…which my sister hates
and in a few days i find it missing
as she had secretly thrown it away while i was sleeping
i was angry with her
this robe was my samadhi robe and priceless
it was my first robe and i wanted to preserve it as a treasure

what to do…the love of a sister
she only wants the best for me
she loves her brother and cannot see me this way

i now want to wear maroon robes i tell my sister
she also likes this colour
atleast i do not look strange in maroon…more acceptable in hongkong
much better than that bright orange hindu monk colour she says
so ok…we make four robes and these are my new tibetan robes

both shona and ramesh sit down to talk to me in earnest
they both want to help me get back into the world
live my life normally
get married settle down and have children like them

mama mia…where have i landed…out of the frying pan into the fire

i remain silent understanding their simple views of life
atleast they genuinely love me…that was enough
i needed to feel and meet some real earthly people
they were here and i was thankful for this

i feel totally useless
my slow bodily movements make me seem handicapped in the real world
i would need to find new ways of living
find ways to make money and take time out
to understand the balance of zorba and buddha

ramesh and shona are very kind and allow me to take my time
but in the meanwhile as my tourist visa would run out in three months
make arrangements to apply for a work permit in their company

i go to the doctor and get scanned
to check on my head neck and spine damage from the violent hit
the scan shows the vertebrae intact

i go to another doctor to discover dislocation in the shoulder blade
with heavy muscular tissue twisting in the upper torso
the blood sample taken from my left wrist makes me faint into a blackout

i need to find deep tissue body work which i cannot afford in hongkong

i decide that i love martial arts
and to work upon my body myself
and take up the soft healing movement of tai chi chuan
i call upon master chen zhulin who asks me to meet him
where he would decide if i would meet his criteria