India. VRindavan

The Word Was with God: How India Found Me

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Dedication

“Which god do you like?” — a question from a statue vendor in Varanasi.

This chapter of my journey is dedicated to my beautiful family, who accepted my decision to leave for six months. And to the incredible new friends I met along the way.

To Nastya and Mykola – the main guides on this Indian path, without whom I would never have opened this country the way I did.

To Annapurna—Winni-Pu, whose balcony in a Vrindavan ashram is home to a thriving beehive. Through her love for costumes and characters, she transformed our trip. She was also the one who wrapped me in my very first sari.

To Svetlana — a deep, subtle soul and co-founder of India’s largest Russian-speaking Vedic astrology school.

To Kirill — my companion in surviving India’s beautiful chaos. His presence helped me pass through its trials relatively smoothly.

Thank you, all of you.

Prologue

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

I’m 51 years old. I’m Russian, but I’ve lived in Italy for many years. When people ask where I’m from, I instinctively reply, “Italy.”
I’m a philologist by nature — perhaps even by divine design — though I gave up the profession more than twenty years ago in favor of a more “stable” life.

But the Word never let me go. It has always been woven into my mind, body, and soul. I locked it away, deep inside my consciousness and subconscious, so as not to disturb the balance of my carefully arranged life.
But the Word rebelled. It slipped out, manifesting itself in what looked like spontaneous decisions.

One of those “spontaneous” moments was my decision to go to India. A country I had never visited — nor, if I’m honest, had ever particularly longed to see.
This decision was utterly unthought-out — and I don’t mean that metaphorically. It was another impulse in a long line of whims driven by a love of the unknown.

Two months later, in an ancient Ayurvedic clinic in Kerala, I learned that such impulses might not be so random.

“You are 100% Vata,” said the young doctor with a smile.
According to Ayurveda, everything is governed by the balance of three doshas — Vata, Pitta, and Kapha — each representing a combination of physical and mental energies.
Vata is air and ether. It’s movement, inspiration, restlessness. Seems like Ayurveda knew me better than I knew myself.

How It All Began

Let’s rewind one month. It’s early January 2025.

Maybe you’ve read Eat, Pray, Love. That’ll help you get into the right mindset.
Like Elizabeth Gilbert, I found myself in Bali after a month in Vietnam—catapulted there by some strange twist of fate.

A year earlier, I’d decided to spend six months traveling with no fixed route, just a backpack and the sense that some part of me needed realignment — ego, mind, soul, whatever you want to call it.

I left behind my stable job on Lake Como, my Italian husband (a high school religion teacher), my 20-year-old son (a biology student in Milan), and our cat Musetta.

In Bali, I joined a transformative training in humane education with a hundred other parents and children. It was intense, emotional, and humbling.

But the Word had already been sown, and the keys had been handed out.
All around me, doorways opened. Please see more about my journey.

Enter: Tabor 108

One evening, I stumbled into a concert organized by the training staff—a musical–theatrical performance by a group called Tabor 108.

In everyday life, I’d never have gone. But the Word took over.

What I witnessed felt like magic — pure, sincere, outside any frame I knew.

That night, I met Nastya — whose stage name might as well be “Miracles.” She’s a poet, musician, and traveler. She gathers songs and stories worldwide, weaving spells with her voice.

Mykola is a professional director and puppeteer who could build a theater.

Together, they had traveled the world, guided by music, faith, and an unwavering love for India.

Thirty seconds before their concert began, they made an announcement:

“We’re heading to India for two weeks. If anyone wants to join — come with us!”

That was it. No program, no details.

But when the Word is ready to act, it does not hesitate.
I made my decision on the second 29.

My flight to Thailand had already been booked, but that no longer mattered. Plans were scaffolding, and I was ready to jump.

Different Faces of God. Hello, India. I’m Your Peekay

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God.

And so began our journey: “Different Faces of God.”

A car picked us up in Ubud to take us to the Denpasar airport.

At that point, our group consisted of just four people: Nastya, Mykola, Kirill, and me. The rest would join later.

Nastya floated in her usual state of relaxed otherworldliness — or so it seemed to my spiritually untrained eyes.
Mykola was all movement, overseeing logistics and keeping our tiny expedition on track—Yin and Yang in perfect flow.

Kirill was still a mystery. Polite, quiet, composed — “a nice guy from a good family,” I might have said in passing. But his depths would be revealed in time. Let’s not rush.

By the way, I was the oldest in the group.
The others were in their mid-to-late thirties—millennials with a clear sense of mission: to live consciously, lovingly, freely, child-free, self-employed, and spiritually engaged.
In short, it is the living embodiment of work-life balance.

Of course, that’s the surface. Beneath it were layers of hard-won wisdom and winding paths.

Our flight — Denpasar to Hanoi and Delhi — went smoothly.

I had no real idea what awaited me.
Two weeks in India, loosely “organized,” in a famously chaotic land. That’s all I knew.

Spoiler: it would be much more than a trip.
A pilgrimage of sorts — full of talks, silences, soul language, misunderstandings, and moments of awe.

Sitting in the Denpasar airport, Nastya asked what I expected from India. I replied instinctively:

“Inner stillness. And maybe… relaxation.”

Looking back from a seaside café in Gokarna, I realize that intentions take form if you let them.
God needs a chance. Like in that old joke — the man prays to win the lottery, and God replies:

“At least buy a ticket.”

So here I sit — waves crashing slowly on the Arabian Sea, inviting me to take things one moment at a time.

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I begin to string together the sacred seeds of this journey like rudraksha beads, carrying the energy of Shiva and bringing focus, protection, and inner balance.

Rudraksha: A sacred seed traditionally used in Hinduism, believed to carry the energy of Shiva and worn for spiritual focus, protection, and inner balance

Each of us came with a reason, a need.
Mine? I didn’t know yet.

India carried me on the wind of some inner impulse.

The rest — revelations, breakdowns, laughter, and grace — would unfold in time.

Table Of Contents
  1. Dedication
  2. Prologue
  3. How It All Began
  4. Enter: Tabor 108
  5. Different Faces of God. Hello, India. I’m Your Peekay
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