Diary Excerpt: 05/02/09: Vishwanath

I met probably one of the most interesting people I will or ever have met. Sorry. First, the boat to Ramnaga palace. Nothing much happened. Then I made the decision to hang out more with Viswanath cyclerickshawing (or riska as he calls it) across Varanasi. Life altering. I heard all his stories from Varanasi. About Amitabh Bachchan's visits to Varanasi in a black car with black windows, about Sunny Deol's Ghatak, how people starting insulting Amrish Puri when he slipped on the steps of Raja Ghat, Viswa's bengali friends, that cycle-rickshaw guy I liked. Luvkush, the dinner place. The guy there who was drunk and made a scene, twitching on the face, his friend who kept repeating something in undecipherable hindi, something "woh aapko bool raha hai", the other guy who looked like Anant Nag, mop on the head, worried. Goodnight. This is the time I will spend with Viswanath. Subtext: many cycle rickshaw rides later, I would grow to be a little older and a little wiser.