DAY 1-2

The first day was mainly spent acclimating and entering the action-packed environment. The group (aka magic troop) got to know each other, and the got down to planning our journey.

While walked through the uniquely lively streets on Mumbai we were, frequently, not surprised that we had lost Tom. He was a block behind us doing a few coin tricks at a corner. There is no end to peoples excitement. A crowd appears swiftly, cheering, laughing with faces of anticipation. So far, the peoples reactions span from terrified to elated. It's a remarkable experience to witness and to be a part of.

DAY 3-4

We took a sleeper bus from Mumbai to Fatehpur. The bus ride was long and bumpy. Some of the magic troop slept, others did not. It is very arduous to get off an all night bus ride only to realize that there are no toilets, there were bed bugs and its cold. Being ill-equipped (commode wise) we boarded the taxi jeep, as all strong travelers do. We arrived at the hotel resort in Fatehpur an hour or so later.
ENTER: Walter Spink, the unparalleled historian of the well known Ajanta caves. It has always been an honor to personally know Walter, he is such a great man. While there, we performed serveral shows. The first at a local Muslim grade school. The girls were very shy, but loosened up when Janet did her routine "goofy miming antics". The show was fantastic, the magic touched many people. Our presence was that of celebrities and everyone wanted their photos taken with us.
Walter has been sharing some of his knownledge of the history of the caves. From Walter's friends he has made over the years, we have had the opportunity of them inviting us to their homes to visit with their families. We have had the pleasure of meeting women who kindly offered to do exquisite traditional henna on our hands. One of the beautiful women doing the henna turned out to be a very traditional Muslim. We were grateful to realize that behind close doors this womens borders no longer existed. After having a wonderful evening of drinking chai, dancing with the children, we noticed how this women put on her burqa before even stepping out of the kitchen. The walls we were in that night protected her from being surpressed.