After a long day of taking pictures and listening to tour guides at the Buddhist cave-temple, Ellora, in the heart of the Deccan Plateau, my classmate Tom and I got hold of a cheap bottle of rum and began to read Tagore's verses aloud in our hotel room:
What divine drink wouldst thou have, my God, from this overflowing cup of my life?
My poet, is it thy delight to see thy creation through my eyes and to stand at the portals of my ears silently to listen to thine own eternal harmony?
With almost literal 'fire in our bellies' and God as our audience, we decided to sneak in and read these words inside the hallowed halls of Ellora. The stars felt distant in the moonless sky and the breeze blew comfortably as we hopped the short, stone fence surrounding the religious site. Standing together, at the mouth of the cave, we disrobed. My skin quivered with life in the sweet, thick Indian air and I was at peace.