In Jubilant Jordan

May 4 - Day 45

And just like that, it was summer. After 45 days of being on the road, the gears were shifting. Entering Jordan felt like being on a totally different journey altogether. For one, all the remnant hoodies and coats of Europe got relegated to the bottom of our suitcases and replaced by new Save Soil tees. It was also the first time the team had a little break from on road travel. This time, we flew in from Baku, Azerbaijan. 

The film crew landed in Aqaba with Sadhguru and spent that day blazing the deserts of Wadi Rum and breath taking Petra, the Rose City, an archaeological masterpiece with tombs, temples and cliffs. The ancient city was mesmerising, like stepping into a different time and place. 

The Jordanian landscape took on earthy tones and we could see camels in the distance. Jennifer, who could be seen at any time of the journey with either camera or camera gear in hand, recounted her excitement at seeing a camel for the first time. Out came her cell phone as she tried to lure the camel in from a distance for a momentous selfie. 

Meanwhile, in the heart of Amman, the rest of the team was stationed at the same hotel where the public event was scheduled to take place the following day. That night, we received dinner in cute boxes with special messages like, ‘Save Soil’ and ‘Be the change.’

Fuad, the regional coordinator and part of the events team, explained the extensive liaising that had taken place since January. The activity ranged from identifying and contacting vendors, assigning volunteers to various tasks, searching for venues, overseeing travel logistics, “pretty much everything needed to set up the event from the tech to the seating to crowd management, security…” 

About the thrill and challenge of planning a series of events across the Middle East, Fuad shares, “I had previously only worked on planning for one event at a time and usually that event would take one month of work. So this time, we were planning for five events in parallel within a month and four of those countries Sadhguru had never visited. Two of those countries, we barely had a handful of volunteers. The first volunteer meet we had, there were barely a dozen people planning for a 5,000 person event!” 

When Sadhguru was due to arrive to the venue in Amman, the Arabic version of the Save Soil song resounded through the entry way of the hall. Drums, flutes and an enthusiastic group of local volunteers gathered. A few attendees had even flown in all the way from Iraq! 

Sadhguru had spoken many times during the events about the movement being not only an ecological movement but also an endeavour to bring humanity together beyond caste, creed, and religion. “Hearing the song in Arabic gave us goosebumps,” shared one of the local volunteers. “Another country, another language, one mission.”

And we’re back on the road…