Instant Karma; Tim Lott Went to This Retreat in the Himalayas in Search of Enlightenment. He Found It - but on the Way He Lost Nearly Everything Else as the Children Sang, Tears Streamed Down My Cheeks

Lott, Tim, Daily Mail (London)

Byline: TIM LOTT

EVEN by the standards of the holiday trade, the promotional material for Ananda in the Himalayas is hyperbolic. 'Your quest for eternal bliss,' it gushes, 'ends at the foothills of the majestic Himalayas.' I've never set much store in eternal bliss. As a pessimist, when I considered a week at an Indian spa retreat, disaster rather than ecstasy was at the forefront of my mind. There would be robbers, beggars, mosquitoes, diseases and snakes.

My Meldrewesque tendencies were confirmed on the train from Delhi to Haridwar. My luggage and laptop safely in the rack above my head, I stared out of the window at the seething, impoverished humanity, counting my countless blessings.

Then I looked up. My shoulder bag and laptop were gone. I searched the racks, hoping someone had simply reassigned the luggage. They had; out the door and down some Delhi back alley.

I was helpless. If there was such a thing as destiny, it was clearly intent on initiating my karmic rebirth with a renunciation of my worldly goods.

I had only 50 rupees in my pocket, a copy of Stephen Pinker's The Blank Slate and a bag of clothes (without underpants - which, for some reason, were packed alongside my laptop).

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Publication information: Article title: Instant Karma; Tim Lott Went to This Retreat in the Himalayas in Search of Enlightenment. He Found It - but on the Way He Lost Nearly Everything Else as the Children Sang, Tears Streamed Down My Cheeks. Contributors: Lott, Tim - Author. Newspaper title: Daily Mail (London). Publication date: November 2, 2002. Page number: 53. © 2007 Daily Mail. COPYRIGHT 2002 Gale Group.

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