[As the story begins, on the right page it reads:]
A Warm Welcome
In India, a toran* is hung over a doorway to welcome God and guests. Torans made of fresh flowers and leaves can be seen all across the country.

In the state of Rajasthan* in northwest India where the story took place, torans are made of fabric and then decorated with brightly colored embroidery, appliques, and mirrors. The cloth pennants that hang down from torans represent leaves from sacred trees.

This toran welcomes you to Finders Keepers? As you step through its portal, may you be blessed to always seek truth.

[On the right page it reads:]
The Bus Ride
It is hard to look out a window and see the sights of India when every time your bus goes over a bump, you bounce so high off your seat you almost hit your head on the roof! But there I was, bouncing along on my way to Mt. Abu,* a small town on a mountain in the state of Rajasthan.

Some adventurous men and boys who could not get seats inside the bus rode on top with the luggage. Though I would have enjoyed the cool breeze and a panoramic view from the top, I preferred to stay where I was!

[On the right page it reads:]
The bus was packed with people and their belongings. Most of the women were dressed in brightly colored saris.* Many of the men were wearing traditional clothes and had colorful turbans on their heads. They had full mustaches that curled at each end. The rainbow colors of their clothing gave the inside of the bus a festive look.

Though most passengers were strangers to each other, we quickly became like a big family traveling together. Some people shared food, and others passed young children and babies around, perhaps to give the mothers a rest. The children were happy and contented to be entertained by total strangers - even by me!

I knew I was far from my home in the United States when I watched a man take off his turban. To my surprise, I saw that on top of his head was his lunch. It was several flat pieces of bread called chapatis* and a few carrots. I had never seen anyone use a turban and his head as a lunchbox!

[On the left page it reads:]
We stopped for lunch at a roadside rest stop. As I got off the bus, I saw several people pointing up at a tree. I was amazed to see large bats hanging upside down from the tree limbs, roosting during the day. The harmless fruit bats, called flying faxes, looked like special effects from a vampire movie.

At a nearby food stall, a man was boiling milk mixed with sugar in a large cauldron over an open fire. I bought a glass of hot milk that he topped with some cream skimmed from the surface of the steaming liquid. To cool it for me, a boy skillfully poured it from one glass to another. The delicious drink tasted like a milkshake. The savory snacks that were piled high looked appealing and I bought some to munch on for the rest of the trip.

[Starting on the left page, then continuing on the right, it reads:]
I Meet a Monk
Our rickety old bus chugged up the rugged mountain and finally we arrived at Mt. Abu. I was staying in a Hindu* monastery that is called an ashram.*

An old monk greeted me at the door. He was a tall man with a long, gray beard and gray hair. He wore a wool sweater, a cotton wrap-around skirt called a lungi,* and a pair of sandals. I wondered how he stayed warm on such a cold winter's day. What attracted me most was the friendly sparkle in his eyes.

After dinner, we sat around a small fire. The monk told me that he had spent many years as a hermit living in a forest and praying to God. "The Lord is my provider. I don't need to own anything to be happy," he said to me.

As I lay in bed before I fell asleep, I thought about something else the monk had said: "All men are my brothers and every woman is my mother."

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