Pascal and I met on the last of my 3 days in Varanasi. I was at Niyati Cafe drinking a cup of coffee when we struck up a conversation. Once he found out that I had a food blog and that I had written restaurant reviews for some magazines, he went from being ‘just friendly’ to ‘I love food - I want to be you’!
“Do you know why I keep coming back to Varanasi?” he asked. Of course I didn’t since I had just met the guy! “It’s the lassi (smoothie Indian style) - they have the best lassi!”, he said salivating. I laughed out loud but also couldn’t help agreeing with him since Aparna and I had had the best lassi of our lives the previous day. Even better than all the ones I drank during my Punjab trip the previous year. Who would have thought?
Pascal was born in Switzerland 26 years ago, stands 6 foot 2 inches and weighs a scrawny 62 kg. Born in a reasonably wealthy family he decided that all he wants to do is to see the world. He works for organizations like Greenpeace for 4 months in the year and travels the rest of the time. India is in his itinerary every year. Travel is on a shoestring budget, staying/eating at the most basic hotels/restaurants or with friends, unreserved compartments of trains and non-luxury buses for commuting.
“What makes you do this?” I asked. “You could have such a comfortable life back in Switzerland.”
“It’s boring”, he responded. “I love my country but everything is the same. I come here and every place I go to has something new to offer.”
“But don’t you find it hard roughing it out like this? It couldn’t be very easy?”
“It’s easy,” he replied. “If you’ve always had everything, you realize that money isn’t what’s important in life.”
That sounded profound to me, especially coming from a 26 year old. It reminded me of my favorite line in The Fight Club - The things you own end up owning you.
When most people at his age would be working to climb the corporate ladder, spending their earnings on possessions, clubbing, partying, Pascal had figured out that he didn’t want any more than was absolutely necessary.
“All my possessions are in these,” he said pointing to a small duffle bag and a backpack. “My parents force me to carry a cell phone.” He laughed as he showed it to me saying that he didn’t have a connection. “When I go to a place that has free wifi, I send them an email to let them know that I’m okay.”
I, on the other hand, while in Varanasi, had probably used my phone a hundred times sending text messages, making and receiving calls.
“They must worry about you,” I said. “You should stay in regular touch with them.”
He told me that he had thought of becoming a sadhu for a couple of years, to experience their lifestyle, to not have any emotional ties. “I think I would make a good sadhu”, he laughed.
“There must be a reason that you are the way you are,” I said.
He shrugged. “I don’t know. I’ve never lacked anything, I grew up in a normal home with parents that have always loved me.”
“When was the last time you sent them an email?” I asked. His smile told me that it had been a while.
“Let’s go to the Blue Lassi Shop,” he responded looking at his phone. “They have free wifi.”
**
The day I met Pascal, he was on his way to Rishikesh and decided to stop in Varanasi for a few hours. I got an email from him a few days later saying that he was in Vashisht in Himachal instead. “I still haven’t made it to Rishikesh,” he wrote. “I’ve been here since 7 days - it’s so beautiful here. I hope to meet you again soon.”
I hope to meet you again too, Pascal.
