These Holy Bones: Vol. 2-Episode 9: Called to Serve-Kamal's Journey

This episode is a wonderful tale of Kamal's call to walk the Camino Frances and to feed the fellow pilgrims he met at the albergues he stayed. Kamal is from the UK and had never heard of the pilgrimage. He tells of how it began to haunt his dreams and how he finally capitulated to the call. His forty day journey is filled with profound insights into the Camino and listeners will come away from this episode edified and inspired. Have a listen.

Transcript

These Holy Bones: Vol. 2-Episdoe 8: Called to Feed-Kamal's Journey 

Host: [00:00:00] Hello and welcome to another episode of These Holy Bones. A podcast about the ancient pilgrimage to the Cathedral of Santiago, where the bones of St. James are interred beneath the high altar. I'm your host, Robert Nerney. This episode is being sponsored by Ocean Magic Surf and Skateboard Superstore in Jupiter, Florida.

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Host: Swing by Ocean Magic and Jupiter, just minutes from the water, ocean magic, surf, and skate. Florida's home for all things surf. Skate and stoke. Check it out. Welcome to another episode of These Holy Bones. This is Robert Nerney. I'm your host, and today I am with Kamal, who is the owner of Camino Curry. A, a restaurant that's been open for 52 days here, um, right outside of Santiago and many pilgrims passed by Camino Curry every day.

Host: And actually I passed by it yesterday and I was like, oh, Camino Curry. I said, that's an interesting place. But in a fortuitous way. I interviewed two, um, Irish women, uh, Marie and Giselle today, and they demanded now they really encouraged me to come by and to interview Kamal if possible, and at, at [00:02:00] the very least to have their food.

Host: And I just ate dinner and it was wonderful. The chicken is fabulous. Everything's fabulous. As an Irishman, I was a little, you know, the spices were a little No, I was fine. I was sweating a little bit. So, Kamal, welcome. Thank you so much for being on the podcast. And can you say a few things about yourself as a way of introduction?

Kamal: Sure. Thank you very much. Uh, and, uh, thank you for having me, uh, on your podcast. Oh, no, no, no problem. Thank you. So I'm Kamal from uk. Um, I'm born in the uk, uh, in Birmingham. Uh, so born and bred Arumi as we're called. Okay. So, uh, at the age of, uh, 52, I, uh, walked the Camino last year. Oh, excellent.

Host: First time? 

Kamal: Yes. The very first time. 

Host: What brought you to the Camino? 

Kamal: It's very unusual because I come from an Indian heritage. The Camino wasn't heard of and we didn't [00:03:00] understand what the Camino was or what it involved. I can only explain this and say to you that the Camino was calling me. So at first on social media I would see Camino and not understand what it was all about. It would sort of say go and do the Camino, and then gradually it became stronger. I even began dreaming about the call to walk the Camino. I would get inklings of doing the Camino. But still not understanding what the Camino was. I was brought up as a Hindu and a lot of the sort of pilgrimages that my ancestors have done and my parents spoke about were all based around India. And this being on my doorstep I'd never heard of it--never  knew about it.

Kamal: So to me it was something [00:04:00] very new. And, um, when I started looking into what the Camino was for me it was very confusing at first because I didn't understand where the Camino started because they were like, you know, um, people would be talking about messages on Facebook or on Instagram and on the net.

Kamal: They'd be saying, oh, I've started my Camino in Spain. And somebody would say, I've started my Camino in Portugal. And so it was so confusing. Where does it start? 

Host: It starts in the heart, right? 

Kamal: Yeah. Yeah, exactly. And when I've spoken to people on the Camino and they've said, it starts from the day you leave home. And that's where it is. That's how confusing it was because I didn't know where it started. But then I didn't also understand how long was it would take. So when I spoke to my dad and I mentioned to him, I'm going to go and do [00:05:00] the Camino, and so he goes to me, so what is it? So that was very difficult to explain to him that I was going to be carrying a rucksack, and I'll be walking the journey.

Kamal: Because he thought it was like some sort of holiday destination that I'm going, and then I tried to explain to him that I will be away. And he would say, how long for? And I said, I don't know. He then said to me, where will you be staying? I said, I dunno. What are you gonna be eating? Who you're going to be with?

 And everything was, I don't know. I don't know where it starts. I don't know how long going I'm going to be away from home and I don't know nothing. He was like very confused. That's 

Host: That's the beauty of it though, isn't it?. 

Kamal: And no matter where you start every journey is very unique. We could both start the journey together at the same point, but , our walk's going to be completely different. Our, our journey's gonna be completely different. And for me when I started the Camino, I thought my mission was that the Camino was calling me to do this wonderful pilgrimage. And every stage. So on every particular day, I would go into a church or a monastery or a cathedral, and I would meditate. And I would do my beads and I did that in the [00:07:00] language that I know, which is Sanskrit.

And I said my mantras in a Catholic church, but in my mother tongue. So, um, and for me it was very, very spiritual peaceful and enlightening that every day I would do this journey and I'm getting closer and closer to Santiago, but not understanding what Santiago had to offer. I felt that my purpose of the journey was that I carried a 15 kg rucksack. 

Speaker: How many pounds is that? 

Speaker 2: I don't know--it felt so heavy. I left home thinking, yes, I'm going into the wilderness. And I took two tubes of toothpaste, two toothbrushes. And on my first stage uh, when I got to Roncesvalles, I took out all the unnecessary things. And during that first [00:08:00] week my sort of planning was like a sheep following a shepherd in the first stages because you tend to go with the flow. And so everybody's leaving at  four o'clock or five o'clock in the morning so I just followed suite. 

Then I met this gentleman within the first few days and he said to me, Santiago was there yesterday. Santiago's going to be there today and it will still be there tomorrow. And so the, it didn't sink in, but then when it did, it made a lot of sense. He was trying to explain to me that you are going to miss all the beauty on your journey, and if you leave in the middle of the night you are not going to see anything.

Kamal: When I sort of understood what he was saying to me, I sort of took a deeper breath and said I basically [00:09:00] waited for everybody to leave and, and I would leave when the cleaners came in and they said to me, come on--you need to be out of here. And this was the first time in my life I've stayed in albergues or in a hostel. I've been very fortunate when I didn't have to stay in a hostel. So that was a culture shock.  But you get to meet all kinds of different people. Different generations. And that was such a beautiful thing. When I walked the Camino, I sort of adapted four children who for several weeks [00:11:00] we all kept crossing paths 

Kamal: So my wife  joined me in Sarria and we then did the last hundred kilometers together.   

Going back to the point where I was carrying this 15 kg rucksack and it's a lot of weight. And then amongst that was one and a half kilos of spices.

Host: Oh!

Kamal: That I brought from home. 

Host: To add to your food? 

Kamal: I thought the Camino was calling me to do  a good deed, and I felt that when I would meet other pilgrims, I would ask them to come and join me for dinner. And so if I was staying in a particular albergue and I would meet you, I would say to you, Hey what are you doing for dinner tonight? Would you like to join me? 

Host: That is such a beautiful gesture because food is essential and on the Camino, it's so important. I think it is so beautiful to share a meal with a pilgrim, I think. Yeah. That's almost the most profound. That's one of the, if you ask me some of the high moments, it would be sharing a meal.

Kamal: It is. Because food unites everybody. 

Host: Absolutely. 

Kamal: When other pilgrims could smell the aromas and the spices it would bring everybody together. And that's what used to happen when I cooked the food--everyone would gather. And I would say to a pilgrim, if you know somebody else, let them know I'm going to be in this particular albergue or this is where we are going to be. And if you would like to join us that would be fantastic.

Host: You must have been well loved. You brought yourself to the [00:16:00] Camino and you felt called to literally feed other pilgrims. That's a generous spirit, and a great gift to others. And it's a simple gift. You know, it's funny because the simplest gifts are the most profound, you know what I mean? It's not like the ring or the car or the house. These simple gifts are what we're made for. 

Kamal: Well, I felt that's what the Camino was asking me to do. Oh, that's amazing. Um, so when I'd completed the Camino I, I sort of felt that I, that was the mission and this is what the higher being God spirits were asking me to do. And then I went back home iin August of 2024. We went back home. My wife and I, we stayed in Santiago for a couple of days.

I said to myself: That's it. I can go back [00:17:00] to being in my normal day to day and enjoy life again. But it was calling me again. And then come November I say to my wife, I said, Santiago was calling me and I have to go. And she says, how long for? I said, I'm not sure, but maybe three, five days a week maximum.

She says to me, is it gonna be as long as the Camino? And I said, no, no, it won't be as long as that because I was away for 40 days. And so I thought it won't be as long as that, but I've got to go. And so I came back to Santiago and then I stayed in an albergue--and they have a kitchen in the basement.

 So I just felt I had to cook. And so every day I was just cooking. So I woke up in the morning and [00:18:00] the albergue would be empty because the pilgrims have left. And then I went to the market where I bought chicken the first day, uh, with some vegetables, and I cooked and left it on the stove. Already cooked and by mid-afternoon, you know, the pilgrims all came and if anybody helped themselves, that's perfectly fine. That's what it was there for. Right. And. Come the evening. If I 

And naturally, the first thing they would say is Yes, is that the smell that's coming in, did you cook that? And I said, yes. There's an Indian meal on the menu tonight.

And they said, what time? And I said, come, whatever time. What time suits you? Uh, and it would be like seven, eight o'clock. Okay. Or most of the time they'll say, I'm gonna go to Mass this evening or, and can I come? Yeah, don't worry, there'll be a seat [00:19:00] waiting for you. And I put all the tables together and about 15, 20 of us would eat every day.

Come the 10th day, I had a calling to go home. And so I went I rang my wife and I said, I'll be coming home tomorrow. 

She said to me, did you find what you were looking for? And I said, yes, I believe so.

Host: That's so wonderful. That reminds me of a book entitled Unreasonable Hospitality. I've only read half of it, but it's about extending hospitality in a deeply thoughtful way. You epitomize the title of this book, unreasonable. Like, what is he doing? He's from England and he's on the Camino; what is he doing feeding us?

Kamal: Every day was a celebration. 

Host: That's wonderful. It's wonderful that you were open to the call to walk and serve.

Kamal: It's a strong calling. It is unusual because the question that I do get asked by a lot of people is that you are a Hindu and the Camino called you. And I said, yes. The Camino did call me.

Host: So you crossed the Meseta? 

Kamal: Yes. From Burgos to Leon.  

Host: That's my favorite section--before I go there though--I would love your impression about the Meseta, but I do want to just say that my wife and I did our first Camino in 2015, and so we were called through the movie The Way.

Kamal: Amazing. I love that. 

Speaker: Yes. So I was, I was showing my students this particular movie, and they had to write a response. I've said this before on the podcast, but anyway, we ended up on the Camino and we were probably the two most, ill prepared pilgrims. We had people asking us if we were all right? Are you gonna make it? And we're like, oh, we have no idea. But we only made it to, um, Villadangos, which is a stop after Leon. I said to my wife, I think we should just go home. So we packed it in. We didn't even take a bus to Santiago, we just packed it in and went back to the [00:23:00] states. 

Kamal: Oh. 

Host: And when I got home, I said to my wife, seven days later, I said I have to go back and finish. And she said, well, I'm not coming with you, so you're on your own. And I did--I came back in 2016, but in 2015 we shared a communal meal. It was beautiful. And at the end we gave our donation. And I hugged the host and he said, Buen Camino and many more. I said, you're out of your mind. I will never come back here. Gosh. And then I've been back 10 times, you know what I mean? So it's amazing how it draws you, but it's also very difficult to explain that to people. Like, you are out of your mind? I'm like, well, a little bit.

You know, like, why would you do something more than once? Back to the Meseta-- what did you think about it? 

Kamal: Oh, I loved the Meseta. I walked in the mid heat, so I would walk when there's nobody around, to be [00:24:00] honest with you. I would start around eight, nine o'clock and take my time. And in the Meseta, when I was walking I always took the alternative route. 

But I didn't expect that I would be opening a restaurant in Santiago. It's because it's not what I came out to look for. 

 Host: Tell us a little bit about your restaurant.

Kamal: Back in November of last year, I came back to Santiago and when I was cooking in the albergue and having put all the tables together on the 10th day, I just felt that was it. And that was the mission and why the Camino was calling me.

 But the [00:26:00] Camino, to be honest with you, told me to go back home. On the 10th day, and that's why I went home. I just felt that this is what I was supposed to do. And then my wife goes to me, she says, well, I haven't seen much of you because you were on the Camino for 40 days, and then you went back to Santiago.

I was going to be in Santiago for my birthday, so I came for the first week in November and then I was going to spend my birthday here. But because I left early, my wife had already planned a surprise--a holiday for us both to go and spend my birthday in Morocco. 

Host: Oh, nice--when is your birthday?

Kamal: The 25th of November. 

Host: Oh, mine's the 27th. 

Kamal: Hey, we're very close. 

And so, she was so happy to see me and she says, I thought you were going to miss it because I booked a holiday for us. And this [00:27:00] was another calling telling me to go home. Yeah. And my wife and I we're sitting in Morocco and then the following day we're in a rooftop and I'm just looking at my phone and I see this beautiful restaurant advertised.

 Wow. And I said to my wife straight away, I said, this is it. This is what we're supposed to do. This is what Santiago wanted me to do! And her first words were there's no we in this. She goes I am not moving to Spain. And I said, no, no, seriously, this is what Santiago really wants us to do.

It has bigger plans in place. And I said, we, we're supposed to do this. This is what we are supposed to do. And then her second words were. You don't even know how to cook.  

Host: You'd been practicing.  

Kamal: Yeah, yeah. She's fully supportive. Wow. She's very, very supportive. Now I know exactly why I'm here. It's because the Camino wanted me to walk and understand what the Camino is and understand the struggles as well as the enjoyment, the fun the pain that you go through whilst walking.

 But it's not pain that's there forever. It's a pain as a reminder to say that you are doing the Camino, it is not a walk in the park, but it's a very sensational way. That you continue, you even though you are in that pain, you still carry on. And you have a bigger sense of so much joy when you get here to Santiago.

I said to my wife, this is [00:29:00] why we have to open this restaurant because it's a celebration. We are celebrating a Pilgrim's journey to Santiago.

We have taken a tradition of India how my ancestors used to eat. So this is not just an ordinary dish you are eating. In fact, this is the traditional way of eating Indian food. And it closely resembles the way tapas is served here in Spain.  

Host: That's true.

Kamal: And I don't know why. Right. But there is so much similarity. 

Host: Well, it does show the overlap. I think a big part of the Camino as individuals is that we meet people from other [00:30:00] cultures, other ethnicities, other religions, and we are like, wow, we really get along well. And we're very different and we have different beliefs, but I really love that person. And they see, and they really were kind to me. There's an overlap, you know--be it food, but it's us. You know what I mean? It's not like we're so, we're not dramatically different. No. Not at all.

Kamal: On the Camino iyou are without technology. You are you. The sense of belonging on the Camino is completely different because we basically unite. There's unity amongst pilgrims. And there's no segregation of which faith you are or even if you believe in God or not. But [00:31:00] it's a sense of belonging to one another and humanity, and this is why I said to my son, if you come to Santiago with me, you will learn a lesson in humanity.

Everybody who walks through our door for us, we see you as a very important person. And the only way I can explain this is one day God's going to be walking through these doors dressed up as a normal pilgrim and come here to eat. And that's why we treat every single person with that same respect and a higher purpose of coming here.

And as I said to you earlier, before this podcast, when you and I just briefly spoke, I said to you, there's a synchronicity that you have to be here today. Um, and something drew you with the two women that you met and you interviewed earlier. Right. And they suggested that you come to Camino Curry.

It's because it's not a marketing campaign. It's the fact that [00:32:00] we are here and united through food. That we're able to give pilgrims a choice. We're able to give pilgrims something that's so tasty and so divine. Because our ethos is we buy fresh, we cook fresh, we surf fresh.

Host: Oh, it's awesome. I'm not done actually with that plate. But no, I, I definitely agree with all of that. And I think that in our case, you know, when I was interviewing. Marie and Giselle and they mentioned you and they mentioned your restaurant and how wonderful your restaurant is and how wonderful you are.

And then I brought them to the pilgrim's office. They hadn't gotten their Compostela yet. Yeah. And I said goodbye, and then I walked back up the ramp and then in front of the cathedral, you have the square with, maybe a thousand people. Milling around. 

Kamal: Oh, yes. 

Host: Oh, and I saw people lying down smoking cigarettes while they were, you know, [00:33:00] propped up against their pack. And I'm saying, Lord, who do I interview? I mean, I'm here for only a few days, and I feel like my mission is to interview people, to hear their story. And I'm looking around now, there's no connection. You know what I mean?

I said, no, Robert, follow your nose. Okay. They just told me to come to this restaurant--this is what I'm supposed to do. I'm not supposed to interview anyone here. Just go to Camino Curry. And I walk in and your son was so pleasant. Right off the bat I was welcomed. 

Kamal: You're supposed to be here. 

Host: Yeah. 

Kamal: Oh, absolutely. There is a connection. Yeah. There genuinely is a connection. Hopefully you'll be able to send out this message to many more thousands of people, right? Um, and let them know that, you know, we are here, we are here to unite, and coming here to [00:34:00] Camino Curry, it's not just a meal. It just gives so many people so much fun and energy.

And how we're preparing the food is we've packed it with protein. So we've done a lot of research on the food--it's not just the flavor, but also sustainability, how we source the product and how we're serving it. There's a big reasoning behind it. 

Host: It's wonderful food. And I love your spirit. I love your spirit of hospitality. It's beautiful. And that's one of my like pet peeves. Like, I'm like, man, what happened to hospitality? What happened to like welcoming people into your home and saying, Hey, you know, sit down and I'm going to serve you.

Kamal: Oh, definitely. And it's going to be here for a long time. That's good. That's all, that's a blessing. Oh, thank you so much. Thank you. And, and I'm so glad that you are here today. Um, I appreciate it. We are blessed with your presence. 

Host: Thank you.

All right, give me two or [00:35:00] three takeaways from the Camino. Okay. So someone says, Kamal, I'm thinking about this Camino thing. What do you think? Should I do it? 

Kamal: The Camino will call you. Oh, it will call you. And when the time is right for you, you will know that you need to go and do the Camino.

And the Camino opens many doors. A lot of people go looking for something and you may not find it. It's not necessary that you are going to get it instantly. It may come afterwards. And the same thing as me. I had to learn the struggles. I had to learn and understand what the Camino was and why the pilgrim is walking the Camino and this is how we've derived the end result of having a banquet meal for you--for when the pilgrim arrives to Santiago, we're able to celebrate, and this is, if I'd [00:36:00] just come and open the restaurant, I wouldn't have understood.

Host: Oh, no, I hear you. No. The fact that you walked it, the fact that you were called to walk it is very, very important.

Kamal: And the other thing is, you are never alone, right? Because you will start by yourself and you will meet lots and lots of people on the Camino. And then at the end you may not finish with the same people. It's because people's journeys are marked out in their own way. And so yours was marked out in a different way. So you started, you made lots of friends and then you finished.

But when you come here, you're never alone because you are going to [00:37:00] celebrate your Camino with every other pilgrim who's here with us. 

Host: That's true. 

Kamal: And so we put all the tables together and then, we embrace. 

Host: No, I really love it. I love it. You're cool. Thank you so much for your time and your generous spirit. It's very infectious. 

Kamal: Thank you. Thank you so much. I hope many of the listeners when they come here we will be able to give them the same hospitality.

Host: It's self-evident--that's going to happen. Thank you. Thank you so much, Kamal. 

Host: Buen Camino. 

Kamal: Buen Camino.