South Bay Travels: India, The Back Story

REDONDO BEACH, CA – In another lifetime I lived in Riyadh. I had a husband, a daughter, 3 dogs, a cat, 5 guinea pigs, rabbits and too many tortoises and one day it all changed. After three years of living the expat life, my husband died and I had to start life over, so I did so in California.

I took with me some of the animals and my daughter, but what I left behind was Abdul, my driver who had become my protector and Indian brother. Eventually he too moved back to his home country to join his family, but he never forgot me and my daughter, his American family. He called us every Christmas, birthday and in-between.

When I found love again, he welcomed Ken into his heart. I missed Abdul and the years spilled forward. We got older, I married Ken. Abdul found success post-Saudi. I missed Abdul. My husband Ken always tries to fulfill my biggest heartfelt dreams, so when he planned a trip to India, he heard my wish, “I want to cast my eyes upon my Indian brother before I die." And so it was, we were off to India! Rejoicing is an understatement. Grand welcome another understatement.

Ken and I got to meet Abdul’s family, the old and the young. We experienced Abdul’s life in progress – we ate in his home, treated to dinner with his family at a restaurant. Memories and tears I will never forget and will be unable to repay. The owner of the tour company, Raju of Incredible Real India, also became a friend after this trip. He came to stay with us in Redondo Beach! We took him, his biz partner and another friend to the Hollywood Bowl. I held a special event to promote his company at Pull & Thread in Palos Verdes with wines by Barsha of Manhattan Beach. He had Mexican food and his first tequila. We all hit it off. We were fast friends

While we reflected about the trip to India, and what an amazing job Raju and his team did for us, Ken mentioned that Varanasi (a very holy place for Hindus where 24/7 cremations take place at the banks of the Ganges) was especially meaningful to him and Raju then said the Pivotal words, “If you like Varanasi then you HAVE to come to Kumbh Mela."

Kumbh Mela was totally unknown to us, and when I found out what it was, I would have liked it to stay that way. Ken became obsessed with the idea, the photos, the magnitude of humanity, the scope of the Pilgrim’s devotion. He really wanted to go. A 10/10. I took a deep breath and said, “Book it."

Editor's Note: This story is part of an ongoing series detailing South Bay local Alison Clay-Duboff's travels to witness a Hindi pilgrimage. To read more about her experiences, click here.