In Balanced Baku

April 29 - Day 39

We’re on the road to Baku, long empty stretches with lots of old cars on the roads. It’s Day 39 of the Journey. When we reach Baku, though, it’s a very different scene. It has the elegance and charm of a combination of ancient and modern aesthetic. A coastal city, well planned with many walking areas that are neatly laid out.

When we arrived to the hotel in Baku, there were people lined up at the hotel lobby. We entered the hall and before rushing to check in as we normally did after many hours on the road, we all just stood there waiting (im)patiently. The silence was broken by the graceful voices of Samskriti students and a mesmerizing dance performed in impeccable unison. Their devotional welcome ceremony left us all in awe. 

Isha Samskriti couldn’t have asked for a better stage to put up their opening performance. The auditorium in Baku which hosts the Save Soil event is apparently a tourist attraction – a beautiful, mammoth, well-lit stage with an ultra-modern design. Needless to say, the hall was packed to capacity for the event.

“No country has really sunk in because we were there for such a short time,” says Varun from the Media Team as he reflects on the journey so far. He’s part of the team that handles preparations for live telecasts. “Everything that goes behind the live telecast,” Varun elaborates, “like camera position, lighting, angles, technical cover…”

He shares that the best part is bearing witness to how people have responded to Sadhguru across continents, from his arrival to his presence. With the constant change of team members and volunteers joining and dropping off for each leg of the journey, Varun is likely to move to a different role, that of filming Sadhguru on the road. Expressing his wholehearted commitment to this mission, he says, “Honestly for me, none of these things are difficult. I can do this for 200 days and it’ll be the same for me. Nothing is difficult.”