Fab...

We went to Fab India.. Is there really more to say.. 5 women at Fab India. Running around looking at all the cool stuff. Trying on clothes and getting excited about it all. We purchased our ‘items’ as an Indian would say and gathered into 2 rickshaws to go to the market…

Oh but before I forget, a sort of panicky thing happened. On our way to Fab India, we stopped at an ATM. The machine swallowed one of our cards. I ran into the bank and the first guy I talked to said. ‘Sorry Madam, the card is automatically destroyed’. A small, tinge of pain went through my body, but I knew better… So, I asked to talk to the manager. He said, “No problem Madam, the man will be here between 4 and 4:30, it is best if you come at 5 or 5:30. Your friend will need her passport and we will have the card.” Ok.. That was a much better answer.. And we were on our way to Fab India..

So.. After Fab India two rickshaws to the market.. Devaraj Urs market is spectacular, unless there are 5 Indian guys following you around with gourd flutes and small trinkets. We could not, for the life of us get rid of them.. So, we tried to ignore their insistence. We wandered through the fruit section, the flower section, the stainless steel kitchen items section, and of course the puja offering section. It was time to have lunch.

mmmm… Traditional thali at the Dasaprakash, of course, we all mmmmmm’d our way through the meal and that was that.

It was a busy day. One thing after the next. So we then went to the scarf shop and whirled our way through, making a thorough disaster, looking at so many things. We had to go though and meet Kumar and see his workshop so we took a rickshaw there, spent an hour with him, asking questions and seeing what he does. He had to leave. So we wandered through the goldsmith section of town and I tried to explain what I could of goldsmithing in India.

It was time to check in on the ATM card. We went back to the bank. He got the card and handed it to her. Yay!!! India success...

We made our way back to our hotel for a short rest before going to Kumar’s jewelry shop. Again. More shopping ladies. So much fun.. Beautiful jewelry came back to our hotel with us.

We had a lovely dinner at one of my favorite places in Mysore. Tina’s café and then, after a very very long day. We crashed..

S. India tour; day 1, Bounty

Day 1.

Bounty.

Today is Shankranti, the harvest festival. A day to be thankful for the fruits of the labors of the cow. Kumar said, “We are worshipping the cow like our mother, because the cow gives us milk.”

It is day 1 of the 2012 S. India tour. We’ve had an adventure to say the least.
The ladies arrived from Bangalore around 11 this morning. They settled in and we had a meeting to go over the ‘details’ of this journey. We had a fabulous lunch with many Indian delicacies.. mmmmmm…..

Kumar picked us up at 3:30 for the beginning of what was to be a grand adventure. First stop; Chamundi Hill. The Goddess Chamundeswari protects all. We explored the top of the hill and entered the sacred temple hoping to receive her blessing for a safe journey. In my mind an auspicious way to start.

Kumar suggested we walk part of the way down to the big Nandi Bull and he would pick us up. We agreed it was a fabulous idea. There are over 1000 steps to get up to the top of Chamundi Hill. We did not climb them today, but it was fun to walk part of that path down to the sacred Nandi Bull (Shiva’s vehicle). Kumar was waiting there for us.

On we went to a spectacular event. The running of the ‘bulls’ of sorts.. During Shankranti, people decorate their cows in honor of the festival and bring them to an event where the cows jump over the fire. We drove down from Chamundi to an open field and Kumar said, ‘Here we will see the cows jump over the fire’. So we parked and thought maybe we should leave and come back, but suddenly, we heard drums and 20-30 decorated cows proceeded around a corner running toward us.. We all kind of hid behind the car and the cows ran past us. It was totally amazing. We followed them into the field and took photos. They stood throughout the field in their colorful array of decoration. Kumar said to me, “Samia, shall we go to the rooftop?” The owner of the building across the street invited us up to the best view in the house. It was quite amazing! We were so lucky and everyone was excited. After they lit the fire and the cows ran through, it was said and done in 1 minute and 45seconds. We all felt like we had to come down after that high.. Emily said, ‘Ok, now that I saw that, I can go back to NY.”

But, we had more plans for the evening. Kumar took us to the temple near his home and we had coffee with his family and then on to the palace. In Mysore the palace only lights up on Sunday nights. We drove there and as we were driving the lights disappeared ☹, we approached the palace and everyone was coming out. Kumar, convinced the guards to let us in. So, we swam upstream and saw the majestic palace, in the company of each other. Then, the police came and told us to leave.. We snuck in a few more shots and Kumar took us back to our hotel..

Phew.. that’s a lot for 4 hours.. Today we are off on another adventure..

a little slice of slow down

The morning started early, with sun salutations followed by a lovely yoga practice in my room. Aaaahhh.. There is nothing quite like doing yoga in India.

A friend and I decided we were going to spend Tuesday afternoon walking from one side of the city of Mysore to the other side and up 1000 steps to the top of sacred Chamundi Hill.

We met for breakfast and we were on the road by 11:30. We meandered our way to the city, through the city, stopping when we felt the urge, for a coconut to drink, to take photos, to talk to people, to rest.

I was looking for the subtle. Walking is one of those magnificent ways of slowing life down and observing. We did not have a schedule, just a destination. We enjoyed the journey so much, talking of life and the meaning of it while wandering in the deepest sense of the word.

I’d have to say, it was inspiring, walking by all the magical things you see in India…A spider spinning an intricate web, women carrying buckets on their heads, cows in the street, monkeys running about. A little slice of slow down, was just what I needed.

We made it to the top of the 1000 stairs up to Chamundi Hill around 4:00, drank another coconut and somehow hitched a ride all the way home…

It was inspiring, beautiful and a lovely way to spend a Tuesday afternoon.

a little slice of magic.

It's a magical place. India. Even after years and years and even after looking around and seeing strange things and thinking they are normal and even after all the difficulties it entails to get here and be here and even after all the emotional energy exuded and the abundance of creativity I feel while here. Still the magic persists, it pervades me. I LOVE IT HERE! Even during the illnesses and the frustrating moments and anything else that may come up.

Yesterday was spent relaxing and chatting with old and new friends at the river. A tranquil and gorgeous place. A beautiful countryside home full of art and artists. Although, as a rule, I typically don't swim in rivers in India, I did yesterday and it was fun to manipulate the current, climb out and sit on the warm rocks and sit in the swirling jacuzzi like pools. aaaahh...

The evening brought me to Kumar's shop. We sat, he, his wife, his son and I and talked about life and jewelry and gifts from America. We discussed the new pieces we will be making and we drew pictures and estimated gold weight. We designed and talked. It's one of my very favorite things to do in this world.. Sit with Kumar and 'make' jewelry... Oh, I am blessed...

May you all have shanti (peace) in your hearts.. one of my favorite Kumar quotes.

Veg. or non-veg

Looking for a room. ‘You know sanjay, the rickshaw driver? He is finding people rooms.’ While sitting at the cocounut stand, I called Sanjay, who just happened to be sitting in his rickshaw, kitty corner from the coconut stand.

I arrived in Mysore early early this morning after a very long journey. I’m now staying at an old hotel in the city, but decided my first day’s mission is to find a flat to rent. I’m exhausted at the moment. It’s 1:10 pm and I haven’t slept in days, and am a bit dehydrated, but am totally determined to find a flat in the next two days. You see, not only do I study goldsmithing here, I also study yoga. Mysore is a sort of yoga mecca and students from all over the world come here to study. January and February is the busy time and it can be difficult to find a place, but it’s always worked in the past, so I know it will work again.

Sanjay came over to the coconut stand and got to work, calling this person and that person. I hopped in his rickshaw and first looked at a dingy little room… um no thank you.. then he asked ‘Madam, what would you like?”

I said, ‘One bedroom in a small house with a small kitchen and internet if available.’

‘ Yes. Yes madam. Do you want veg or non-veg house?”

We then tried a couple more places, but none were going to work.

At that point I realized, I had just been asked my first ‘only in India’ question. A little smile appeared on my face and I no longer cared if I found a room today.

I wrote this post a few days ago and have since found a lovely little room with nice light..