Cows are still hanging streetside in Pune!

Whew.   The cows may not be hanging out in the streets near the Iyengar Institute, but they are still around town.     I woke up at 5am ravenous (but without my camera) and while I was searching for chai, I did see a gigantic hog in the hood and a random chicken walking around....later in the day, when I was closer to Laxmi Road, the central shopping district, I saw this fellow and a few of his cow friends hanging out along with a couple of long-horned goats.    Truthfully, I'm a bit relieved.....India is still India, even with it's new found wealth!

I registered at the Institute this morning and am lookng forward to the practice session at 9am tomorrow.   I've been given the "Geeta" schedule (hurrah! hurrah!), meaning most of my classes will be with Geeta Iyengar in the evenings.

First day in India

I spoke to this gentleman who works for HSBC, a British bank, in NYC.   His job is to try to convince American "Indians" to invest in India.    A difficult task for the older generation of Indians who still believe that India is a third world country.    He said that the US economy is growing at 2.5% (roughly) and that India and China are growing at 8.5%.   

I'd say by the looks of Pune,  what he says is clearly true. 

There is a brand new 6 story sparkly MALL across the street from the Iyengar Institute (so much for breathe deep into the quiet).   Flashy, expensive and packed full of young people shopping or using the free Internet, these young Indians are dressing more and more like Americans....and are apparently doing it on Credit.     In this mall, there is a Tommy Hilfinger section, a Bennetton section and surely loads of name brand Indian clothing that looks expensive...and western.   There is still an "ethnic" section with people shopping in it, but it's not the predominant genre.

But that's not all.   There are new compact cars (I wish that we had in the US) everywhere.   Cute, economical, sporty.     There are no longer any cows in the streets.    It would seem even less beggers.   Pune, or at least this neighborhood in Pune, is booming.

Should we be frightened?   Our American "kama"  (sanskirt word for "desire") is catching up with the rest of the world,  though they are still smiling.

Swami Dayananda writes the following:

A human being sees himself as a deficient person. His constant, compulsive pursuits make his sense of inadequacy evident. To escape from this deficiency, he struggles for a large number of things in life which fall under four main headings:  dharma (ethics), artha (security), kama (pleasures), moksa (liberation).  

He continues these thoughts at the following link: http://www.arshavidya.org/vision/v1n4.htm

That said, there is a magic here.  Even the flea-ridden street dogs have wonderful personalities in spite of their plight in life.    Whether it is the non-English speaking front desk fellow, who without me asking made me an omelet in the middle of the night because I was up and he could tell I was hungry, or the restaurant owner who lived in Atlanta for ten years as a photographer, who guided me to a photography shop with an English speaking owner who can hopefully reset my new camera, the people of India are wonderful, beautiful people quick to smile.

Blessings to you all.

On my way to India

As I sit here in the fancy lounge in the Kuwaiti airport sipping Camoimille tea, I find myself immersed in gratefulness for this journey.   It has been a blessed one so far.  

So far I have managed to get my clay pot crockpot (the Vitaclay) through four security check points.    First I had to go through security in Albuquerque where they patted me down and emptied my bags as we had a delightful conversation about my upcoming trip.   Then once I succeeded the first security check point no less than twice, I then met my next challenge.  Amazing that my carefully planned styrofoam protective casing for the cooker made the bag *just* above the size that the security guard at the plane gate deemed allowable via his tester baggage compartment.  In a very less than yogic fashion,  I crammed the backpack, styrofoam and all, into the "allowable" space (to the amusement of everyone watching) to show the kind gentleman that the bag would indeed fit into the overhead compartment.    He told me I'd have to take a bus (and this was in Albuquerque mind you).   So I took out all my belongings for the third time, removed the styrofoam and made the bag fit to his satisfaction.    Whew.  

Dallas was a breeze.   On my flight to JFK, I befriended my Italian seat companion, who told me she lived five minutes from the airport and offered to show me a good Italian restaurant in Queens so that I might eat and kill a few hours of my five hour layover.   In a thick barely understandable Italian accent, she told me she'd been ripped off by the taxi cab driver who took her to JFK the first time and was consequently suspect of them all.     The cab driver, poor fellow, who picked us up received a fair bit of nearly unintelligible Italian instructions as to the location of her house.   Sheer comedy here:  Chinese cab driver can't say the words,  Italian lady can't speak properly and I'm just watching it all go down.   Predictably he missed the turn, she yelled at him more relatively unintelligible instructions while he was shaking his head and I'm feeling amused and somewhat embarrassed for the Italian's behaviour.   Alas, we make it to her house, she tipped him well, pointed me in the direction of a good restaurant and everybody was happy.

Instead of Italian, I found a Sushi restaurant, which given it's garlic and gluten free nature is by far a better choice for me.   In the same block is a manicure/pedicure place where a cute Asian girl,  who is kindly cleaning up my nails and scrubbing my feet, laughs and asks "does that hurt?" everytime she jabs me with her cuticle tool.    I'm grateful for the massage chair, the place to sit down and the attention as I smile and say "yes" everytime she asks.

Across the street is a grocery store, where I pick up my last minute items of Pomegranite Juice, and organic apple and cucumber.   I like to be prepared food wise on airplane trips.    Food on airplanes is like winning the lottery:  you might win but most likely not.

I call a cab company to pick me up outside the grocery.     The cab company tells me it will be about a 40 minute wait as I'm standing on a now dark, windy and cold street corner in Queens carrying 27 kilos of yoga props and food to India.   Just then, I look up and stopped at the light is an empty cab with a nice Haitian fellow, who tells me that I would have been outta luck ever getting a cab on that corner had he not been driving from his house to work.    Oh sweet angels! was I glad he picked me up.

After I manage to naviage the long check in line to Kuwait Airlines, I'm told that the flight is full and there is no way that they are going to let me take both bags as carry-ons.     I'm only allowed 7 kg of carryon baggage.   The vitaclay cooker and german devices was 11 kg.    The food is in the other bag.   I repack again (this is the fourth time): the cooker, the laptop and the airplane food must all go in one bag.   Now the bag weighs 13 kg.   Luckily, the manager took mercy on me and let me take it onboard anyway.   I checked the other bag.

Security in JFK was much more reasonable...as I was waiting in line the security guard suggested that if it doesn't fit in your pocket, take it out and put in a bin.  This time I managed not to get taken to the side and patted down.   I repack for the fifth time.

I nice mathmatetics professor from Bangladesh with broken English sits next to me this time.    We laugh at the terrible service, the fact that my remote control works his tv, my tv doesn't work at all which is exactly how I like it, and the horrific food.  Thank god I brought my own.     I spot a place where I can lay out my sticky mat (behind the last row of seats in the middle of the place, backs up to a "wall") to lay down on my neck german device to sleep.   He is grateful for the two seats to stretch out.

The Kuwaiti airport is small, crowded and packed with smiling faces.   People are obviously friendly here.   I escaped and paid my $30 to this Lounge to have a hot shower, a great meal of saffron rice and hummus and vegetables of all kinds, a two hour nap on the massage chair listening to the iPod, an Internet moment (ie right now) and a bit of yoga (that's next) in the Ladies Prayer Room.   Perhaps I'll take some Pumpkin Soup on the next flight......







  

We raised $456 dollars for FOOD DEPOT!

Thanksgiving Day Yoga at Yoga Different

Blessings to all for your generous contributions.

Getting Ready for India

As you can well imagine, getting ready for a two month trip to the Iyengar Institute is no easy task.    Yet, in spite of all the work, I am excited to have the opportunity and I would like to thank you all for making this trip possible. 

Before I leave, my last class is intended as an offering to our community.   While your sweet potatoes and green chiles are roasting, please join us on Thanksgiving Day for our Relaxation and Digestion Yoga Class from 9:30-11:30am.   The class is open to beginners and advanced students alike.   We ask that you make a monetary contribution, which will be donated in its entirety to the Food Depot,  Northern New Mexico's Food Bank.

Immediately after the class,  I will pass on the studio to my wonderful substitute teachers Mary Judge and Gail Ackerman who will share their yogic experiences with you while I'm away.   I then head to a friend's place for Thanksgiving dinner, then to Albuquerque where I will spend the night with a friend who will then take me to the airport before dawn so that my long journey to Pune, India can begin.

Blessings to you all and I hope to see you in class before I go....