Seeking Enlighten-something

 

 When I first came to India in 2004, I was definitely seeking something. I also think I wanted to be seduced by the exotic-ness that seemed to emanate from everything I saw and experienced. Now coming to Mysore to do yoga again after Patthabi Jois' passing is another level of experience. Coming for a week for a 'tune up' is what I had in mind. I thought it would be nostalgic, instructive, fun. It has been all those things. Now a week after being here and practicing for 6 days in a row (not my usual tally for weekly practice), I am still connected (though my back is kind of sore, as is my belly) more than ever to the practice. 

Guruji is still very much present in the shala. There are a lot of new people who do not have any experience of him, but want to do Ashtanga practice. (I remember when). My time slot is late in the morning, 9:15 since I only come for a week, though now it will be two, and my level is a bit remedial. It's a nice to be there because it is less crowded. Saraswati has her eye on everyone, all of us are addressed as 'you', and each 'you' seems to know which 'you' we are. The questions she asks are, if we did an asana and did we bind in it. She normally knows the answer before we tell her. If we have moved on without her assistance, 'why not you vwait?' Or she looks over while assisting someone else, saying 'no, no, you do this, not that'. Anotherwords there isn't a lot of theory. Guruji's (Patthabi Jois) phrase, 'Ashtanga is 99% perspiration, 1% theory' holds strong. Maybe it's the warm weather, aka lots of perspiration, or the vegetarian diet, or being in the shala where I learned so much in 2 months 6 years ago, but my practice is so much more solid, flexible and ENJOYABLE! 

This isn't a glib statement, but I really do feel 'the guru's grace' doing my practice. I feel so fortunate to have known and worked with Patthabi Jois in this yoga path/journey I've taken. At the same time, practicing in my room on Sunday when I first arrived to Mysore, I realize that I am  my own teacher. That after years of doing my usual practice at Eddie's, being busy with my life, dithering over this and that. When it comes down to practice: it's me, the mat and the breath, period. I've learned this before, it's an easy lesson to forget. Listening to oneself in a life so full of 21st century distractions it's easy to go deaf to the quiet inner voice or even  forget it's there. So, I have one side of my practice being part of a tradition and another side of just doing it. The reminder I came all the way here to receive, again.

"That is not possible, madame..."

Didn't I say something previously about India getting you right between the eyes?
Well, maybe I tempted fate. The travel plans that I came to India having, ok, they weren't solid as in booked train tickets, hotels, etc., but I thought well, I'll figure it out.....well, it figured me out. Mother India has decided where I will be going and it's not quite what I planned. My plan was to spend about 8 days in Tamil Nadu and have 3 days in Madurai. Madurai is happening, as of tomorrow by way of an overnight train.

But what I was REALLY planning on was going to Kumbakonem and Thanjavur and all these Chola temples and bronze works...unh uh... not happening. You can't get there from here. Train tickets are booked 90 days in advance and though as a foreigner I can use that status (along with rupees) to get a reservation, it can't be planned more than 2 days ahead and if it's already booked, I'm stuck. So there is a bit more flying in my future. Also, even if I could get trains there is a LOT of driving involved to make any kind of practical loop. It gets expensive and timely and just too damn difficult. It would be best made as a shared adventure, time in the car as well as expense. I've come to realize that I like to go places, but I'm not so sure about liking to travel. I do a bit, an oernight train here and there, a day with a car and driver...but here in India it can really be a bitch when it gets on a larger scale.

So the alt plan is coming back by plane from Madurai, due to no train reservation available with a car ride from Bangalore for 3 hours, which is pleasant, but in this case mostly dark. Then another week here in Mysore doing yoga and maybe a day trip or two. Then for the south India finale, I will go to Cochin for about 3 days. Ta dah.

It wasn't what I expected, but it never is here in the motherland of India. After 10 days of being here, I surrender! I kind of have been all along, or so I thought, the trip change is the biggest one so far. Not to mention the time of getting the wrong train ticket and sitting with the travel agent trying to figure out another itinerary (about 3+ hours), he's a great guy, focused, efficient and putting up with me writhing around the map of south India. I should do a puja for him, actually just paying him for the tickets, etc., is just fine. Now I have to go return the wrong ticket I bought before.

Sorry if this was a rant of a post.I'll write another about yoga (the joys, the back spasms) quite soon. The wifi seems to be hooked up to the solar power so the flinty intermitant service may be in the past? We'll see.....I'm almost afraid to write that down.....

Downtown Mysore:mini-photo essay

A woman selling oranges outside of the Mysore Market

'Special Thali with lime soda at Dasprakash Hotel restaurant

Woman making flower garlands at Mysore market, a small garland is about 10 Rs or 25 cents

The Green Hotel in Mysore

This place use to be a palace for a princess (an immediate draw for me). Then it became Premier Movie Studio with a giant sound stage built next to the palace and a double high row of rooms for the actors to live versus trailers used today. That row is now called 'traveler's rooms' and that is where I'm staying. It's very nice and atmospheric, the rooms are not ac, but the weather cools down at night and the ceiling fans make things comfortable. The hotel is operated mostly by solar power and the soap is locally made with lentils, honey and coconut (very nice) and they've painted murals on the doors, mirror and bed frames, in a similar style to how they decorate the trucks, maybe a bit more pastoral. It's nicer here than when I visited in 2004.

There are more cars, less beggars and the dogs are mangy, but not as many of them have their ribs sticking out. The roads are better, the buses newer and there are a good number of new buildings. TIna who had a patio where she served breakfast, the occasional dinner and cooking classes has expanded. She has a cafe that has lunch and dinner out on one of the main streets, a small free lending library, and the cooking classes too. One place has gone through several change of hands, expanded the dining area out to a front garden and still has a great breakfast. Now it has more rooms to rent (all booked for the month) and free wifi (which makes me growl, I am paying a lot for not a lot of wifi, addiction has it's price I guess). The tailor shops seem to be doing really well too. Going to the tailor when I was here in '04 seemed to be my hobby here. I had a nostalgic return and got a couple of things 'stitched'. Good results! Yay! Sadly, one of the tailors, Krishna passed away, it seems he had a heart attack. Was he even 40? His brother has taken over the business, yet to visit there, but see some of the gold threaded yoga bags around Gokulum where the yoga shala is.

It's pretty ok. India has a way of 'giving you your lessons' right between the eyes. Today's aggravation is the wifi connection is not that solid and I went to the train station for 1.5 hours to get a 'tourist ticket', I got a ticket and saw some of the back offices, but I came back without the ticket I really need. The travel agent here was a bit exasperated asking me why I didn't tell them I was going and they would have sent someone with me....I thought I knew what to do. The rickshaw driver brought a friend who had excellent english language skills and he seemed to know his way around the place.....What I did get out of it were more gifts from a crafts emporioum and the fellow I just mentioned telling me how G-O-D got it's name.

So  I have more to say about yoga and other things, but the wifi went off due to a power outage. It's a daily occurance, around 8 for about an hour, so a late start to the blogging. I have to get my yoga rest, even though I'm not admitted inside the shala till 9:15. Wow! Not the usual rising at 5:30 am. It's a novelty for me here, but kind of nice.

Weather 64-82 Farenheit. Clear blue skies, sunrise around 7am. Not too bad.

Heaven Scent

Today I went to the Mysore palace. I have been to this city before and stayed here for 2 months and never went. I decided to change that and went to see one of the big tourist draws for this town. Well, I could have lived my life complete if I hadn't seen it. It's ok, very Victorian, opulent, very European. It looks like some baroque confectionery, it would be a great stage for a bollywood dance number. It was kinda crowded and kinda hot. I left and went downtown to the Mysore market.

Now to me, this is a palace of a place---food and flowers everywhere, actually everything everywhere. I experimented with the 'Flip' video camera while I was there, will get to posting those results once I figure out how.  I would film and then show the people what I shot. I remember doing this 6 years ago when I had a digital still camera about the same size as the video camera is now.

Anyway, I really enjoy the everything of the market, the people running around, working, stringing flowers, hawking their goods, the colors and the scents.....I love all the flowers. But this time a little boy said to me as I was photographing,'do you want to see me make incense?' I had never seen that before, let alone be asked to watch....So, I followed him down to the stall where he said he would show me. The stall counter was covered with glass perfume bottles on stepped platforms with boxes of incense off to the left.....I hadn't noticed a stall like this before. I shot his demonstration of making an incense stick, his older brother was intrigued by the camera, we chatted. His brother asked me to smell some 'watermelon oil'. WOW! My nose was completely hooked! Then he proceeded to blow scents at me, dab them on my wrists or scarf. Wonderful pure scents. This shop has been operating for 60 years by the same family. He showed me a notebook filled with people telling how much they like and use the oils. The shop is even listed in some non-English editions of Lonely Planet. A french woman comes here to get oils because she prefers them to French parfums and the price is much less. Mysore has a 'sandalwood' tradition and an essential oil tradition. The south of India is big on oils and Ayurveda which incorporates many.

It's another day in India. Just when you think you know what your doing and why your there, you just get turned upside down. In most cases, afterward, you are gently set down after the summersalt. Or you hope that you are. I guess that's why I keep coming back, there is has a magical quality, that can be totally aggravating or blissful and you aren't ever quite sure what you are going to get.

Looking In

Arriving in India can be a bit abrupt even though it takes 15+ hours to arrive. We sat around Newark for an extra couple of hours, just to de-ice and then de-ice again. Funny to write the words now sitting in south Inda that is warm and sunny. Delhi is an abrupt place to be, a place that works best if your wits are quite about you. It was fun, lovely weather, everything is dug up because they are building an underground metro and repairing the streets at the same time, (kind of like Houston street can get).

After a brief stay in Delhi at Abracadabra Guest House (yes really) I am now down in Mysore. It was a race from the start. I was late for the plane because I didn't double check the delay and it disapeared. Huh? How? Then racing from airport to train station, and a mad dash unpon entering the station to the platform, running up and downstairs with a porter carrying my bag on his head (worth the 200 rupees though I was hyperventilating for an hour afterwards.

I took some video of driving around Mysore in an 'autorickshaw'.I'll explain all that tomorrow.
All this running to get here made me tired. I will report back from warm, sunny, south India tomorrow. Or living in the future as I am here, later in the evening for you.
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Waiting to start

Here I am at the airport, I paid for wifi and I'm looking for possible 'hotspots' in Delhi.Is there something wrong with this picture?
Don't answer that.

When I write next, there will be a picture of something and I'll be in India.
What I ask of you dear readers is to 'follow' me, I think you have to click on the google link to the right of the entry and it links you with the site. This improves my 'find ability' or some other tech term and it could increase readership. Why do I care? It would be nice to have more people share. I have decided to e x p a n d the ganeshagirl view of the world, and you (y'all) can help by following me, commenting on line, etc.
If you don't want to, that's cool. Just enjoy yourselves. I'll let you know how it's doing from here
(somewhere on the other side of here) real soon.
Be well.
Love,
Deborah