breaking up with your rickshaw driver

...manju's been very accommodating, i guess he's taken me round town at least 10 times since our first meeting outside the Green Hotel...each day Manju would be asking "what time tomorrow?" "Chamundi Hill tomorrow?" "Shops tomorrow?" Like all relationships, the one with the rickshaw driver requires patience and communication...and you've got to know when to call it off. There's variation in the price, some rickshaw drivers, when you ask the price will say "you decide", they're keen to upsell you to further away locations for more lucrative fares...either way Manju's a good one, upfront and honest...maybe it's just coz he's young and hasn't learned to lie with a straight face...yet

my scooter's given me a new lease on life...freedom and independence...and I'm pretty settled in Gokulam, get along to Loyal World when I need to, eat out at Green Hotel, Green Leaf, Alia's, Santosha, 3 sisters, Sandhia's, Aunties, Dasaprakash...all places I can get to on the scooter...

telling Manju that I don't need to be picked up everyday is difficult...we'd arranged a time yesterday, but I decided to break it off. Manju calls up on Monday and says "I pick you up at 5 today?" I say no, pick me up Wednesday at 5...Manju asks "tomorrow at 5?" i say No, no, Wednesday at 5, he says ok...today at 5? We repeat this cycle a few times until we hang up with me unsure whether he's going to show up at my flat today or not...so, I wasn't there at 5, or the day after...and no phone call...why hasn't he called??? i think we're officially broken up...good thing there's another 2000 rickshaw drivers in Mysore...

Mysore Birthday - thanks Facebook

...while my birthday crept up I was mixing with a group of people I'd known only a short while, in most cases less than a month...I was thinking that maybe my birthday would arrive and it would be my secret...then Facebook intervened and my new FFs suddenly knew it was my birthday...3 sisters for late lunch, with a nice chorus of happy birthdays...then a cafe - can't quite remember the name, for a surprise cake, thanks Kalei!!!

the pic is from the first time I went to 3 sisters for lunch, but it gives an idea of the place...thanks Oden, Frederick, Elizabeth, Alex, Kalei, Lee, Natalie and Harold for singing happy birthday :)

then, when I got home, I was pretty spent from lack of sleep, a big lunch, big lassi, big piece of cake...and Hanuman and Simone had decorated my room with balloons and bought me a gift...awwww, thanks to those guys...Hanuman and I then used my present for a couple of games of Carrom, kind of a snooker board game, with 4 players...I'm new to it, so it might be a future blog topic

another night of not great sleep on my birthday :((

but then...

i've been having a daily Ayurvedic treatment - 2 hour hot oil massage and hot herbal packs, my 3rd one was yesterday, April 28th...3 indian guys, virtually no clothes (on me), lots of oil and deep massage. Lee's quick to point out, I think in jest, that it's a bit much for a homophobic aussie like me (only part of that description suits me, I'll take the aussie bit, some of my best friends aren't gay)....besides that, yesterday i felt great after it, really relaxed...then in bed by 6.15, for 10 hours of deep slumber...

my practise today was a bit tight though, but I've settled into a spot in the shala - front left, next to Javier, joined by Lee today. I've been there the past 3 days and I like it...my Pasasana isn't getting any better though, but Saraswati's soldiering on and wrestles me into it every day. touch wood, with all this Ayurvedic massage work, my left knee, which had been bothering me, is getting more comfortable by the day.

there's one blog secret that I've been keeping...Mum, I've got a scooter, but I'm being very careful on the roads. This admission is strategically at the end of this post, but at least I can tell my Mum that I told her...Getting the scooter has given me much more independence...so much so that I'm breaking up with my rickshaw driver, the subject of my next post...

milk it...

Lee's dead keen to get some raw milk to make some raw butter...so we were cruising along to Loyal World for some Khichiri supplies, when we spotted a group of cows being milked on the side of the road...we found the milker with the best English - Mahesh (see the pic) and took a try on the teat...Mahesh and his mates milk daily in the afternoons, so Lee and I arranged with Mahesh to come back and do some milking ourselves and get some milk...hopefully daily. Mahesh said that they deliver milk to the Shala...the milk was so frothy and creamy...just what Lee was looking for...

Mysore Palace has something like 97,000 light bulbs...Hanuman, Alex and I went along, though a bit late...next time i reckon get there a half hour before sundown as the lights are coming on...the street sellers see it as a perfect opportunity to sell to a captive audience...

After taking in the lights there was still time to make it to the shop to pick up the dhoti and kulta...i've loaded a pic of me in the dhoti - Hanuman helped me with tying it on :)

your dhoti and kurta is not quite ready sir...

the shopkeeper phoned the tailor's son, who said that the tailor was at the temple praying...so, it would be another half an hour before my dhoti and kurta would be ready...this was at 1845, after the shopkeeper had assured me yesterday that I come after 1800 and it would be ready...my suspicion is that the half an hour would be closer to 2 hours, so I took off back to Gokulam

i'd arrived at the silk emporium 1820, Manju my rickshaw driver picked me up around 1800, Manju asking - pick up the stitching?, his way of asking if the tailoring had been finished. I'd seen a couple of dhoti's around the place. My friend Andrew, from Adelaide via Encinitas, definitely looks the part in one, as does Arnet and Ben had a shot at wearing one too. Dhoti's are a traditional form of Indian clothing, I'd asked Andrew whether it was a cultural faux pas to call them a skirt...he said, yes, it is...i like the idea, there's a number of different ways to fold the rectangular piece of fabric that is a dhoti, most suited to warm indian weather, allowing some good ventilation up under the fabric, or so it looks like to me.

at the store, when i turned up, they didn't outright say that the tailor wasn't there, but instead suggested i check out some of their other goods for sale, upstairs...they have some awesome brass, marble, onyx, gold and silver, semi precious stones (see the pic in this post), sandalwood, rosewood...after that the shopkeeper gave me the "half an hour" line...enough for me to quit the scene and head back to Gokulam in the rickshaw...

what am I doing here???

...one of my facebook mates asked me that - what am I doing in India? Today and yesterday have been good to reflect a bit on that question. There was no yoga practise yesterday or today, so mainly relaxing round Gokulam.

I've been practising yoga for about 8 years, the last 6 years of which have been a style called Ashtanga, as taught by Sri Krishna Patthabi Jois, who, in turn was taught by Sri Tirumalai Krishnamacharya, a great yogi and teacher who taught and helped many people. Krishnamacharya also had a strong lineage of teachers...

A traditional method of learning Ashtanga under Patthabi Jois method is known as "Mysore Style" - Mysore being the city I'm in at the moment, practising with Patthabi Jois daughter - Saraswati.

I started my Ashtanga practise in Adelaide with Simi and David Roche, then on to Sydney and North Sydney Yoga with Angelika Knoezer who bought Graeme and Leonie Northfield and Dena and Jack Kinsberg to our school each year to teach. The practise involves a set of asanas, or postures, performed 6 days/ week.

All the while speaking with people who practise this style, a question often asked is "have you been to Mysore" - the source of the teaching and a place to really get in touch with your practise

So, for the past 6 years this question has been spinning away in the back of my head. I've had a few half plans to make it over here...then, at the end of 2008, circumstances conspired to open the door fully to this opportunity...everything fell into place, if you will...and, here I am :)

all it's cracked up to be...

the highlight of the day - an "alignment" with Dae, a Hawaiin, Korean girl who has a unique body work method, involving chiropracty, martial arts, yoga, cranio-facial...Lee was the first on the mat, I took a pic of Dae about to mount an assault on Lee...Dae's a really strong gal and the work was pretty deep...to start there was some stretching into the lower back to prepare the body for what was to come...then a kind of wrestle hold on each shoulder, kind of pulling the arm out, extending the muscles around the clavicle...some spinal adjustment and a big twist, arms crossed, one leg bent at the knee. I got some really nice pops going on...

we had late lunch at Tina's, then a dvd and sweets session...the sweets were a bit too much though, within an hour I was coming down off a massive sugar high...which carried over into practise the next day.

Lee's got firm ideas about diet, having gone primal just before he reached Mysore...i'm also starting to notice the effects as well, with the high carb food not really feeling grounded, without enough protein and iron, among other essential nutrients

before all this was breakfast at Joseph's house. Joseph came to practise with Guruji 15 years ago...and is still here. Joseph's spent time organising travel for Guruji's family on a lot of his touring round the world.

Joseph's breakfast spread included dosas, a massive fruit salad, various chutneys and curd...and muesli..

this was after i'd been to Om Cafe (at Alia's) for a cup of coffee, where Natalie and Lee turned up after an ill fated scooter riding lesson for Nat...whereby one of her big toes scraped along the road for a bit...they showed up at Om Cafe and Javier took to the first aid brilliantly...couple of days later and Nat's toe's looking good. Not a helpful injury for the practise though

yesterday (Thursday, April 23rd), there was supposed to be a mass migration to Ooty...but there was a freeze on crossing the Tamil Nadu border, we think because of the elections going on...so, the Ooty crew hung around and we went to the Green Hotel in the arvo, for some protein, mainly in the form of fish...and for a cold beer. Haven't worked out how to position my pics in the text, so i think the beer pic is up at the top???

when it rains...

my stomach probs of my first week in Mysore were almost a memory...but it went from one extreme to another just before my practise on Monday, April 20th. I keep adding in the days as I'm kind of losing track of the day of the week and the date, being disconnected from the daily news and plugged in to talking about yoga, living well, karma, dharma...so the date is kind of in the background. So, before my practise, the drought caused by my stomach being good again, was broken and I had the lightest practise that I've had so far - including my first attempt at Pasasana in the second series. A historically tough posture for me, I was able to bind the posture on both sides, but I was way up on my toes, so balance was near impossible. Saraswati gave me a good, quick, strong adjustment into it...then told me to take Krounchasana in two days time (today). So I took Krounchasana today.

Alia's for breakfast next where I met up with Hanuman and Simone...Simone's laptop was exhibiting some strange behaviour, so, given I've told everyone I work in IT, I took to some computer fixing for Simone, unsuccessfully trying to figure out why the Toshiba light on her machine wasn't working.

Ben and I then took the table at the back underneath the coconut trees. It's the table farthest east so it's in the shade the longest. Hanuman and Simone joined us to get out of the sun...then Lee, then Hanuman and Simone left...then I described some business ideas to Ben and Lee. Breakfast is the perfect forum to postulate and muse on ideas, dreams, ambitions...to prove this point, we were still chatting when Hanuman came back with his friend Ram...by which time it was near midday and time to move on

I'd been keen to work on some yoga sutra chanting, Lee was keen to further his chanting and some philosophy, so, we thought we'd kick off maybe a daily session. First, off to the Green Leaf for some food, after we'd found out that Shiva's kitchen was open between 1 and 2, so we'd missed it.

Shiva recommended the Green Leaf, so Natalie, Elizabeth Lee and I took off there...food was certainly filling...but a little stodgy for me...

now, chanting? nope, shopping at a couple of garage stalls..Natalie ended up with some really nice tops...Lee ended up with an Indian/ Afghani camel trader combo which suited him really well...Elizabeth and I were interested onlookers...sometimes not so interested :)

now, chanting? nope, off to Anu's for smoothies...now, chanting...nope, absolutely stuffed!

April 21st - yep, got some chanting in...after a good practise then I ran into Alex, a girl from Malaysia, who's arrived in the last week, off to get some coffee...I too was interested in some coffee, so we shared a large at Alia's, along with Lee, who added some to his daily large chai, served in the same cup. The combo of coffee and chai? - a dirty chai, apparently quite big in Mexico?

I'd been struggling with sleep, ever since the day I had paan, coffee, a big pot of tea and a couple of bars of chocolate in the evening, so i flaked for about an hour, rebounded in time to get stuck into some banana bread with peanut butter, purchased the day before from the guys sitting across from the shala...then get invited to lunch at Aunty's in Lakshmipuram...having heard lunch there was good, i was in...off to the smallest eating place - see pic - off a small road, down a narrow laneway, in the smallest eating room - 7 of us tucked around this table, getting stuck into the best chapati i've had so far...and some really nice, fresh food

after some ice cream and smoothies...and shopping for khichiri ingredients...i made it back to Lee's...for some chanting - first 10 sutras in all, but it's a start :)

all about the food...

robbie from San Francisco took off from Bangalore at 4am this morning. Yesterday there was a feast in his honour at the Dasaprakash Hotel, apparently the scene of the finest thali...in the world...my judgement is reserved, but, it was really good...really good. after the meal they served small sweets containing paan?, which is traditionally chewed and contains a mild stimulant...that and the chocolate I blame for keeping me awake well past 11!

that was after a 5am lead practise, which, to me felt like a really slow count...then, the coconut man wasn't outside the shala, so a tortuous 50m commute to guru, the coconut man on the intersection at contour road...for one coconut, then back home to lie down, then i was out like a light - heavy, deep half an hour sleep, then off to Alia's for coffee and omelette...then organic markets near the Green Hotel. The market kicks off at 10am on a Sunday...i was a newbie but picked up some dried celery, basil, lemon grass, all spice and drumstick leaves...this week i've resolved to get some structure to my days. The first week was a sensory overload - new at the shala, lots of new people, still very much getting accustomed to India...eating out...A LOT...so the herbs and spices i'll use in some stir fries, a bit of home cooking for some grounding...i've started to clean every couple of days - the flat has tiled floors, which is nice, but with the dryness, everything's really dusty and the ants are really persistent, so Andrew reckons sweeping and mopping regularly are essential...after my first sweeping session, I could see why...

then Dasaprakash for lunch...

then karenji lake, in a group of about 8, it was the first time to the lake for everyone, except me. it's on the opposite side of the city to Gokulam, so not really on the yogi's radar. I see myself spending some hot afternoon's there, it's so green and peaceful

what followed was a fun, random sequence of events...we were with a Hawaiian girl...there I am with names again...who heard about the Lassi's at the 3 sisters restaurant, we took 2 rickshaws with Lee and Nat on their scooter. I was in the rickshaw with the Hawaiin girl, so that means i'm going to Lakshimpuram looking for 3 sisters and lassi...the other guys are keen to head back to Gokulam, but somehow, since ours is the lead rickshaw, we all end up at 3 sisters...which isn't open...we try Aunty's, just down the road, who's somewhat overwhelmed by 8 parched westerners turning up at the small front door of her home on the hunt for good lassi...no luck there...

we're in the backstreets of lakshmipuram, the suburb where Pattabhi Jois' original shala is...with not many rickshaw options...that's when the most pimped rickshaw i've seen comes around the corner...6 people, no problem...headed back go Gokulam, my butt perched on the bar on the right hand side of the rickshaw, sticking out a bit...a little more exposed than i'd like to the traffic...

half way back to Gokulam, a beer at the Green Hotel sounds perfect, so we ask the rickshaw driver to change directions...he doesn't quite understand so it's a bit of chaos through Gokulam backstreets, taking corners on 2 out of 3 wheels, bopping along to some Bollywood tunes...then the sanctuary of the Green Hotel, where no one ends up getting beer, but we did end up with some nice afternoon tea...after paying the rickshaw man Rs 150 for the pleasure...

another 6 person rickshaw back to Gokulam for Rs 60...then an hour of general milling at the contour road coconut stand...where Ben "shouted" me a coconut. I'd introduced Ben and Robbie to the Aussie concept of a shout at the pub, which we then applied to coconuts...

by this time it's around 6 and the prospect of another rickshaw, back into the city is a bit too much for the Mysore Palace Illumination...

the next best thing is back to Lee and Nat's, via the chocolate man on 7th cross, armed with a couple of chocolate bars some more chatting and relaxing...chatting this time about a road trip to Ooty...

3 sisters...and blogging etiquette

just back from late lunch at the 3 sisters in Lakshmipuram (the suburb where the old Shala is located). late, for a couple of reasons. first, we booked for 1330, we'd arranged to take off from the coconut stand in contour road at 1315...and I'd arranged for Manju to meet me there at 1315...Manju arrives at my place just after 1300. We head up to the coconut stand where Robbie, Elizabeth and Ben are coconutting, waiting to go. We do the numbers and Appu's going to provide the other rickshaw...it's getting towards 1320, so we decide to head off with Robbie and I in Manju's rickshaw, following Appu's rickshaw. Appu's the only one who knows how to get there. We're about 5 minutes on our way when I get a call from Natalie, saying they're back at the coconut stand...I tell Manju to turn around, head back to the coconut stand, so we've lost Appu, our lynchpin in the whole exercise

we head back to the main street in Gokulam where we catch up with Natalie and Lee on their scooter...then Hanuman and ...can't remember her name...call...they're also back at the cocount stand...Lee takes off, directs them back to where we are...then we're off on the long way round to Lakshmipuram where Manju does his best to get us there by using the usual Indian GPS method of looking for larger, then smaller landmarks.

it's a tiny, charming place (see the pic on this post). It's Robbie's (sitting next to me in the shot, head away from shot) last full day on this trip to Mysore. Like most people leaving, he's got a plan in his head of coming back soon.

The folks who came with Appu were well into their meal, which was fine for Robbie and I at least, we'd both been to Andrew and Jessica's for a great breakfast at their place on Contour Road. I was ill prepared and didn't take anything along, while Erin, Arnet and Robbie bought fruit salad, flowers, incense...i'll be on the ball next time

I might be having two new flat mates - Hanuman and...can't remember her name, they're studying at a school in Gokulam as well.

there was a bit of talk about how well Guruji's faring, apparently in intensive care at the moment. Joseph was there for lunch, along with Carol. Joseph said that they were hydrating Guruji as his kidneys were shutting down without enough fluid. Andrew had said that Guruji had been saying some death shlokam in preparation. Hanuman asked why Guruji wasn't going off into the Himalayas to meditate before he passes...that kind of caused a few awkward pauses in the conversation. Joseph said, which I like, that he's surrounded by family and people who love him and are taking care of him, that's a good way to go. Taking that further, I'm not sure whether ascetism is the right way to go at that point in your life...i don't know.

finally, Lee read my blog, and was a bit quieter today. I really hope he didn't take my blog too personally, I'm gonna go round there now and apologise, if need be :)

too wordy?

i got a heads up on blogging today, apparently you can add images, tip courtesy of Ben Earl...who's also in Mysore practising at the Shala, back left in the shot above

5am lead class today, last for the week and 6th in a row and i felt a bit stronger...feels like it's been a big week. in between heaps of walking before my first practise and battling stomach ailments during the week to get to the mat, today felt good and strong...tho i'm gonna have to synch my time with the Shala clock, I think it's a bit faster than my phone - i keep turning up just in time by the Shala clock, when I feel like i have plenty of time...

Saraswati said something at the end of practise about Guruji going to the hospital as some kind of emergency.

Natalie, Lee and I were early to Alia's for breakfast, with my stomach holding up to a good, strong dose of coffee, so things must be close to right down there. Lee heard about the Acidopholous that Leah gave me, so he's taken some to administer...against the force of gravity, if you know what I mean. Lee's got loads of information...and is a willing subject for the experiments too.

I then took to my flat with some makeshift cleaning equipment...and now it feels a little more like home...i reckon the place had been empty for a least a month and the ants were starting to get around like they owned the place.

The pic was taken at lunch...Ben, Natalie, Robbie, me and Lee - left to right, back to front...we talked about ochre, the Burning Man festival, the Primal Diet...and variants - like Ben's roadkill diet...i didn't really get all the details, but there's definitely roadkill involved, it has to be fresh and the weather has to be cold...and it's taken raw.

The food at the restaurant was probably the best I've had so far - so fresh and light, we were eating in the room next to the kitchen, which you can see directly in to. The simple desert of chapati, jaggery and yoghurt was awesome for the freshness of the ingredients.

Turns out Lee and I will both be turning 36 while we're in Mysore - me in about 10 days, Lee in June...I'll be campaigning for a midway party between the 2 dates, sort of a midsummer's 36th celebration...we've got plenty of time on our hands to plan...and a couple of kickin pads for a party

Ben and Robbie liked it so much, they're back there, about now, for dinner...

as for me, I'm enjoying a relaxing Friday evening after a big week of practise, my first in Mysore...and learning new things, like adding photos to my blog :)

I hope the pic comes up - there's just a load of html on the top of my blog...here goes!!!

dare i say it???...

but i think i'm over the worst of the belly ailment, at least for the time being. i'm being ultra vigilant from now on and have had brekky at Alia's the past 2 days...a cafe/ guesthouse with a very clean kitchen and mostly a western menu...

no nasty surprises before practise this morning, so i was feeling a little stronger, but a little less flexy than all this week. I'd slept heaps so that might've contributed? Glad to have had 5 practises in a row, with tomorrow = Friday being a lead class. The Badger cream worked wonders, though it wasn't fully worked into my muscles, or that's just the way it is, coz I was badger slippery during my practise. Nice for Garbha Pindasana, but not so good for Marichyasana C or D, or Kurmasana...

I finished about the same time as Lee and Natalie. Lee's a Brit, who's been around a lot, Natalie's an American girl...and they live in the Baha, in Mexico. Lee's an ultra chatty bloke (or maybe I'm unusually unchatty?). Sounds like a pretty good life in Baha, lots of sunshine and warm weather, and surf. They're right into basic whole, raw foods. They gave me a bit of a rundown on the Primal Diet...sounds a bit extreme for me, but there are elements that I might take on board.

I checked out their place, one street further back from the Shala from mine. It's in a huge 3 level house/ apartment block. They're paying 15k Rs, like me, but they're moving up to the top flat with a huge balcony and really nice apartment. They're renting through Shiva as well, I think they talked a better deal than me.

We then went along to Alia's for a mid morning breakfast. I had a small chai yesterday, which was pretty large, so I ordered the large, which is huge, and really tasty...no coffee, which I might continue for a bit. At the same table was Hanuman, a young German guy, who'd lived around a lot. Hanuman's a Hindu, he was there with a German girl, who was doing the same yoga teacher training course nearby...then Lars showed up, who I met for the first time. Lars is practising at the Shala as well. A girl was with him, I didn't get her name...and Carol we'd arranged to meet there as well.

Lee had an interesting story about being arrested in Thailand for burning down a house, by accident...we then talked a bit about philosophy and other stuff. Lee and Natalie seem to be open to any idea, with a healthy goal in mind. Lee was DJ'ing for 10 years and had somehow reached a point where that was enough. I get the idea that he was getting into a bit of yoga, which didn't go along with the DJ lifestyle and he went the way of yoga.

I haven't yet met Alia, but Bruno's her partner, I think, who serves tables and keeps everything organised...including leaving my sunnies out on the table, which I'd left the day before and was grateful to pick up again today. He remembered my name, which is always a nice touch....something I appreciate moreso because I suck at it!

We were at breakfast til midday, which is such a nice way to spend a good chunk of the day.

I did some washing, then I'd arranged for Manju to pick me up in his rickshaw...I decided i needed some supplies...so, off to Loyal World, of course. A supermarket within about a 5 minute drive of the Shala. There's ultra tight security at Loyal World, I'm not exactly sure why. There were about 4 security guards there...it's arranged like a western supermarket and it was more of a recon effort for me, to see what I could get there. I picked up some easy noodle meals and some tea...tomorrow i think i might head back for something to discourage the overzealous ants that have taken up residence, or at least spend a lot of time, at my unit.

Tomorrow, a lead practise at 5

Mysore belly...

...after having been confident that the belly was operating nicely again...a rude shock this morning before practise...i was surprised to make it through a practise, i felt pretty bombed. Just topping up now with bread and honey, carbs and sugar, to see if that'll settle things down...

I'm about to reach for the Badger...muscle balm that is, a kind gift from Lainie on my last practise at North Sydney Yoga.

Saraswati surprised me, after I'd done my drop backs, she didn't see me do them...then asked whether i'd done them...i said..."Yes" and have even given Saraswati a couple of my attempts at Indian head wobbles...so Saraswati says - intermediate next week, start on Pasasana...so, I guess one of the important criteria for whether they start you on second is, if you drop back by yourself. I've been pretty flexy all week, despite the lack of sleep and tummy troubles, so into Marichyasana C and D ok, as well as Supta Kurmasana. So, second series next week it is.

A really nice coconut session followed, I was joined by Carol, then an American girl, Hawaiian I think, then Jessica came out after her practise and we had a nice catchup, I found out her 2 sons names - Anjanai and Narayan..I think that's right. They had Anjanai in Adelaide, when I was there. Arnet came along as well, he's the Mexican guy, who's name escaped me yesterday. Turns out he also works casually...very casually at the local western eatery.

I showed Carol my place as I was going over to where she was staying - at Chez Mr Joseph's place, to get the phone number of an Ayurvedic doctor - Dr Kumar. Mr Joseph has a really nice setup and makes for a nice, easy entry into Mysore, helping out with everything from Bangalore airport pickups, to the practicalities of shopping and getting around Mysore. I'd like to meet him, sounds like an interesting, nice guy.

The rest of the day I descended with my tummy bug, which is where I am now. I finished off "new moon", the second Stephanie Meyer book about the teenage vampires...each of the first 2 took me two days...now it's on to another gift from Lisa and David Rippon, a book by Rohinton Mistry, called a Fine Balance...looks to be some heavier reading in that :)

2 coconuts...2 adjustments

i'm now feeling more like a resident of Mysore, after checking out of the Green Hotel today. Though Gokulam seems to be one of the more upmarket suburbs in Mysore. I had about my best night's sleep in India last night in the new place, went along to practise and was able to get up at 5 and be there in heaps of time...I finished practise around the same time as Andrew, a guy who was in Adelaide when I started practising over there. He and his wife Jessica left Adelaide 6 months after I did, heading with their young son over to Encinatas in California. They've been living in Mysore for over a year, but Andrew reckons they'll head back soon, preferring Sharath to practise with, and, since Sharath's not back teaching at the Shala til January...they're reconsidering their plans. Which is making me reconsider my plans. Reckon I might head up to Goa for a few weeks, rather than spend the full 3 months in Mysore...we'll see about that one

We had a couple of coconuts out front of the Shala and a bit of a chat. A Mexican guy - who's name escapes me, joined us. We then went round the corner for a chai.

I had arranged with a rickshaw driver - Manju, to pick me up at my place at 8...there he was. He's a nice bloke, I think I'm starting to pick the genuine folks out from the money makers. So we took off to the Green Hotel, where I had my last complementary breakfast, then headed back to my room to do some reading and relax til the 12 check out time.

Manju's brother picked me up just after 12, back to my place for my first try at washing...the washing machine did everything...just not as automatic as I'm used to...and the water was literally grey...

I felt like a bit of a look around, so, after a couple of ORS - oral rehydration solution - premixed stuff that's a must at this time of the year I reckon, after a really sweaty practise at least...i got a rickshaw into the city, looking for a Vodafone store to charge my phone. I looked on the street that had the most Western stores...and i was charged, to the tune of Rs 201..

Rs50 for a kilo of small, tasty mangoes (about $1.50)

Then some samosas and tea in a western style cafe...i like the indian experience, but after being a bit down on energy after the tummy probs, and something Andrew said about being careful where you eat, i decided to go western...

now, one of my biggest tips for india - make sure you have heaps and heaps and heaps...of 10 Rs notes. When using an ATM, it usually dispenses 1000s and 500s...virtually useless for rickshaws, coconuts, chai. as soon as is practically possible, get your hands on the tenners or 50s

2 adjustments - putting my legs behind head in supta kurmasana, and the strong baddha konasana...and the drop back where the aim is to eventually grab your ankles..

rightyo, back to some reading...and another mango :)

First adjustment, first coconut

I got to the Shala just after 5, surprising, since there was about a 10 minute wait out front of the Green Hotel for a
rickshaw...then the one that came along had to head a bit further into the city, to drop off his mate, then wind out
to Gokulam. The trick of my rickshaw driver of the day before - double charging for a "night time" fare, I think was just that - a trick..live and learn...

I wasn't feeling too flash - a bit washed out from the stomach probs, which had seemed to subside, which turned out not
to be true, as I was to find out round lunch time. Not to go into too much detail, but that was the pattern yesterday as well.
Leah reckoned if it is the common, run of the mill type ailment it would probably subside after 2-3 days...and, not a bad thing
to get when first in a new country as the body adapts.

I was a bit earlier than the 530 self practise time that Saraswati had given me, but the shala was only about 3/5 full,
so, I went straight in, backpack into the changing room, then out to my spot from the day before, at the back, in the middle
...I was thinking about warming up, but the weather kind of takes care of that all of the time.

I'm quickly appreciating the structure of the practise here in Mysore. With a strong lead practise each Friday and Sunday,
the pace of the practise is set, getting you focussed on a good practise pace...this then spills over into your self practises,
we'll see.

I recognised Andrew and Jess, from when I started first practising Ashtanga with Simi, in Adelaide. I didn't get to say hello
though, I hope they're around for a while, would be nice to get some good catch ups with them.

Saraswati pretty much left me alone, which I think is the pattern for the first little while that you start at the Shala...or
with any teacher i suppose. I got my first adjustment in Baddha Konasana, very strong with one hand on my left thigh, a foot
on my right and pushing me forward with the other hand.

I was into shoulder stand when Saraswati told me we'd do drop backs together tomorrow.

I was out into the cool morning, with a couple of yogis milling and over to the coconut guy for a Rs 10 cocunut, sliced
open at the top for a refreshing start to the day.

I went over to my new abode, to drop off some clothes, remembering Shiva's warning about getting too friendly with anyone
on the street. Even though Gokulam seems to be an exceptionally affluent suburb, probably even by Western standards,
there are still bars on the windows and the doors to outside tend to be double dead locked

The place is real nice, heaps more room than I need, hoping that I'll happen upon someone needing accommodation and share,
maybe. I'm looking forward to settling my way into the place, but it had instant appeal when I checked it out for the first time
last Friday, which is a good sign...

I reckon I'll move up further into the room tomorrow...and be able to have a 5am get up, as I'll stay in the new place
tonight and check out from the Green Hotel tomorrow.

The Green Hotel's a good entry into India i think. It's comfortable and I feel secure here..yet it's on a main road, so
you can hear the honking of the traffic working itself along Vinoba Road...it's not ruled by the customer service models
of the large hotel chains, you kind of feel like things will get done, at a leisurely pace - for example, the wireless internet
connection's been down for a couple of days...asking the guys at the front desk, you'll get a vague assurance that it'll be
available....some time soon...though soon is as long as the proverbial piece of string

First practise

I hadn't slept well my 2 nights at the Green Hotel - the 2 preceding my first practise at the Shala. At about 3am I was in
2 minds whether I could drag myself along. I was a bit lame after a lot of walking the day before and having not slept well
I wasn't feeling as enthusiastic as I would liked to for my first practise there. I was up at 4.15 though, got myself ready,
remembering everything to take except my practise towel, which made for a slippery practise.

I was out at the front gate by 4.30, the time I thought I'd agreed for Mane to pick me up in his rickshaw. After waiting until
a bit after 4.30 and with an eager rickshaw driver just pulled up, I decided to jump in and head over to Gokulam. After asking the
rickshaw guy to put the meter on, to which he replied "no problem", we took off, taking the first left off Vinoba road with the
driver trying to explain to me what the street names are...with 0 success. We asked an older bloke walking through the streets,
for directions. He got us nearly there...then some asian yoga students within about 50 metres of the school...

The driver then charged me the nightly fare - double the daytime fare...a fact which I'm quite keen to verify. I wasn't too
happy, but wasn't keen to get into an argument about it, at 4.45 am, out front of the shala.

I walked in and it was mostly full. New to the space, except for the Friday, when I'd briefly been in to register and from photos
I'd seen on the web. It was less than whisper quiet as I walked around the back to the men's changing room, near the front of the room
on the left, the entrance to the space is on the right, as you're looking towards the front of the room.

I hid my money belt, wallet, hotel key under my long sleeved shirt, unrolled my mat and went out to find a space...at the very back,
pretty much in the middle. I strethed out a bit, then sat cross legged to wait. The silence was profound, a sign up to enforce the
quiet. There was a moment when I connected with the silence, then lost it again quickly, to the usual torrent of thinking.
...until 5.15, when Saraswati came from the office area...to stand at the front of the class. There was a nice strong energy
in the room just before the opening mantra, for which I wasn't as vocal as I usually am, I was trying to listen carefully
to the meter and tone of Saraswati in her recital.

Then we were into the lead practise - which is the norm for Fridays and Sundays at the moment. Four Surya Namaskara A's, 3 B's...
The full array of standing postures...The guy next to me was struggling a bit, so Saraswati asked him to stop at Parvritta
Padatonasana. When Saswati called out, I thought she was calling me, something I'd prepared myself for...and which the
registration form completed at the Shala made a condition of practising there.

On with the practise though...my body was quite open and soft, which was a surprise. But, that's often an experience I've had
after a few days off practising. I didn't push too hard, with this in mind. There were only a couple of small variations in the sequence,
2 paschimattonasana's, instead of 3 or 4...10 breaths bending forward in baddha padmasana...and 10 VERY long breaths in
uth pluthi (sp?). A very short rest at the end, then out to the milling yogis round the coconut man. Carol, from New Zealand was there
chatting with Robby, I think his name is, an older guy from the States. I didn't partake a coconut, or hang round for long.
Carol and I walked up to the rickshaw stop. Guruji was at the shala, though not well enough to get up at all, or even sit up,
for that matter...

A rickshaw back to the Green Hotel, shower and lie down...then breakfast of a couple of coffees, then joined by Leah and
some lime juice, coconut chutney and those dal and rice, ground, fermented steamed things, that I can't quite think of
the name of...back to the room for a prelunch lie down and read a bit of Twilight...my stomach didn't agree with something along the way...
so, i read, rested and kept pretty close to the toilet for the most of the day...

apart from a rickshaw ride out to Gokulam, to see Shiva and organise access to my longer term accommodation. The rickshaw driver helpfully
mentioning the illumination of Mysore palace on Sundays, to the tune of 97,000 bulbs...not exactly Earth Hour, but something I might check out
a few times while I'm here, seems like a real event in the city and a nice regular thing to get everyone together.

With Leah being within a month of being a MD doctor, she gave me some top advice, and some good bacteria tablets before we headed over
for dinner...then an early night before my first self practise

Mysore city trek

I met Leah, a graduate doctor, about to go into an internship in Toucson, Arizona. Leah was also staying at the Green Hotel. Leah's friendly, active, into a bit
of yoga, pretty liberal...so we've had some nice conversations about stuff and we went exploring on Saturday, April 11th. Taking
off down Vinobi Road, the main road out of town in one direction, that the Green Hotel's located on. I was thinking at some stage,
maybe even first up, we'd take a rickshaw...but that didn't end up happening, even after about 15km of walking round the city...

We took off into one of the suburbs at the sight of a temple under construction in an open field. Along the way walking past
some local Mysoreans going about their chores, rituals and starting out in the day. We got to the temple to find a few workers
hard at it and a couple of older guys hanging out the front...who encouraged us to take a look inside the nearly finished
marble temple, about the size of a tennis court or thereabouts.The opening is due on May 4th, I think...

From there we wandered the backstreets, coming across heaps of cows with implicit right of way, cruising through a nice fenced
garden, then heading towards the city centre with no real plan in mind. Along the way I overpaid for an amazing fresh mango and
Leah got a portion of Jack Fruit, which I likened to dry banana, with a different texture. It's a huge fruit, little bigger than
the watermelons I'm used to, full of flesh covering seeds.

More meandering saw us link back up to Vinoba Road, heading into the city. The pattern of shops would repeat throughout the
city centre, as they do in a lot of cities I guess. We ended up at the main markets, organised mayhem. We stopped for a while
at a perfume and oil store, the young, confident guy is a real good seller, keeping us engaged and interested, helping to remember
the name of the store as IRS, like the American Tax Agency...working out how much money we could spend, providing samples of the
scents...and finally giving us some incense sticks. All this will probably see me back there, because, in addition, he gave us some
great tips about local scams - come and see the incense factory, the beedie (cigarette) factory etc.

After negotiating our way out of the market, we were back on a main road and the city had picked up a couple of notches in pace.
Being a Saturday it was probably an especially busy day...we had any number of beggars, one of whom was on our case as we approached
a silk store. It looked like a nice store, so we stepped inside and evaded our pursuer. These guys were also slick in sales,
but, it's a state run shop, so the prices are fixed, but some of the normally attendant sales pressure isn't there. Upstairs to
look at various colours and patterns of silks and pashminas, ranging in price for Rs 250 to Rs 1550 for some of the nice pashminas.
I ended up getting a nice, pale green pashmina for my mum, Leah ended up with a range of pieces as gifts...though Leah's ATM
card wouldn't work in the store...a couple of the local ones didn't work either, so, we promised to come back when we found some cash.

I was in the market for a hat of some kind, the day was typically hot and I thought that I'd end up fried...I certainly would have
if I'd spent the same amount of time in the sun in Australia. We found an ATM, but, since it was just after midday, Leah pulled out
some Lonely Planet pages and we decided on a nearby restaurant...me being happy that she was happy to lead the way - I had no
idea which way to go. After a bit of toing and froing we found the restaurant, which turned out to be a first floor oasis after the
dodging of traffic, constant begging attention and general assault of the senses.

Recharged we hit the streets, back to the silk store for Leah's transaction, then off...to check out the lake...Karanji lake,
I think...or, as the shopkeeper told me Karanji Keddeh. That was a feat of patience, as the lake was off Leah's map, but in the
mean time we passed Mysore Zoo, the Palace on one side, a municipal hall of some sort...backtracked a couple of times, asked for
directions a few times...and we were finally there...not after passing a bus stop with a clock nailed to a tree, to help the commuters
with the likely bus traffic.

The lake was in some way linked with the zoo, there were peacocks, ducks, geese and the tallest birds in India...? in an enclosure.
The lake itself was another great sanctuary with huge trees, grass, sprinklers and the lake itself, to provide some welcome cool
after the hot city streets. We sat down for ice cream by the edge of the lake for a bit, posing for a photo with some locals...
then circumnavigating the lake, walking past young couple on the seats dotted along the edge of the lake...over to a butterfly garden...
and back again.

Now, I was hoping for a rickshaw ride home...but we kind of set out and never really stopped to get one. Some drinks from
a streetside vendor kept our pep up, along the 7 or so km walk back to the Green Hotel, just in time for a well earned shower
and dinner...and bed, ahead of a 4.15am get up for my first practise at the Shala...

Tharun and Smriti

Travelling from Bangalore to Mysore today, Good Friday. Tharun had been too kind, offering to pick me up and drive me to Bangalore.
He and his wife Smriti were travelling to Ooti, so Mysore is kind of on the way there. We'd planned to leave at 6am from the Radha Hometel,
so I was awake at 5am to make sure I was sorted to hit the road. I was checked out by 550 and sat in the lobby waiting to be picked
up. Tharun called at 6, to say that they hadn't left...another hour, at 7 Tharun calls reception to tell me they'd be there in 10 minutes.
Turns out they were up early preparing a breakfast and some South Indian Tea for the road. It is the first time I'd met Smriti and the
two of them seem well suited and talk like they'd been married for 6 years, instead of 6 months.

So, we hit the road at 7, by which time the traffic had thickened up as we headed south on a ring road, then west...missing a turnoff
to Mysore Road, then asking for directions from 2 or 3 people, all very helpful. The signage wasn't great to the roads and even when
we were going in the right direction, Tharun was asking anyone he could whether we were going towards Mysore. We ended up looking for
the NICE road, which I thought meant a nice road, but it's an acronym...for something...turns out it is a nice road! With a couple of
makeshift toll gates. There's quarries along the road just out of Bangalore, perfect for making roadbase I guess. The road ebbed and flowed
and we stopped over for breakfast of idly with coconut chutney and spicy sauce, which was so tasty...and so fresh, prepared that morning
and still hot, even after an hour's driving.

The ebbing and flowing was punctuated by check points for the elections that were going on, which mainly meant that the traffic slowed down
, I didn't see much checking going on. Then there were speed bumps, which it looked like the locals had arbitrarily put in - I think
they didn't like traffic moving through their part of the road so quick, so they put a speed bump in the road. Then there were buit up towns
on the main road as well, which meant people crossing and some cross roads.

All that meant that we reached Mysore about 11.30, so about 4 hours travelling for 180 kms from Bangalore to Mysore.

Banglaore seems to be drifting larger and larger, we went past a high rise development that was home to I think 400,000 people
or 4 lakh as Tharun said - a lakh being 100,000 and a crore being 10,000,000 or 100 lakh. There were offices of Honeywell, Accenture,
Intel and a lot of other IT/ Technology/ Offshoring companies along the way out.

The Green Hotel was reasonably easy to find...Tharun asked about 10 people where it was. It's a great method of finding the way...
first, we started with the suburb - Jayalakshmipuram, so people helped us in that direction, then we started asking for the Greens Hotel
and a few knew that, though the further away we were, the more complicated the directions were...so, we'd remember maybe 2 directions...
then ask the next person, until we were on the right road, within 200 metres and we were sorted.

I thanked Tharun and Smriti and said goodbye, left to settle into the Green Hotel for a few days.

I spent a bit of time settling in, then went and had a delicious vegetable curry, 2 roti, mango juice and south indian chai
for lunch, costing me about 9 dollars all up.

By then it was about 2.30 and, judging by my experience getting places in India so far, I decided to head to the Shala, to be
there by 16.30 to register. I took my first autorickshaw ride, with the help of the security guard at the gate. It was all of a
10 minute ride to the Shala in Gokulam...so, I was there waay early, by just before 3. Turns out the office was opening at
4, so I thought I'd have an hour to kill. There was a guy at the Shala who asked if I had accommodation, I'd planned to work
that out on the weekend, but it turned out to be a good opportunity, as Shiva lived about 3 doors up on the other side of the
road from the Shala. Shiva's business card says he is a Personal Assistant and can help organise Scootar, among a few other essentials
..including "Housing"...so I was introduced and introduced myself...said I was looking to spend about 10-15k rupee for 3 months...
Shiva closed his eyes, working through an inventory of accommodation he kept, in his head I guess. Told me about 2 places - 1 for 15k,
one for 6k, which are in the next street from the Shala. So we went round, checked out both places. The one for 15k has kitchen,
washing machine, internet, ups and a nice communal area...i checked the other one, a floor up in the same 3 storey building..
and decided on the place for 15k rupee, figuring that since I'd paid 10k for 3 nights in Bangalore, 15k for a month was pretty
good.

Shiva's offsider, I think his son, took me on the back of his scooter to an ATM, I took 20k, we went back to Shiva and went into
his office = garage and took care of business.

By then it was nearly 4, so I wandered back up to the shala...it was still a bit before, so I walked back towards the mainish
street and met Mane, another guy who organises stuff for yogis. A rickshaw driver and business man. Nice guy, who said there
weren't too many people round, most had left because of the heat...

I went back to the Shala and Prakash said that the office was nearly open...I waited 5...he told me to come in...my first
steps in the shala, through to the office to meet Saraswati...who asked whether I'd already sent a registration...i said yes,
in January...Saraswati didn't check, then had me fill in another, slightly different registration form, on the front was the same
stuff as the online form, on the back was a condition that you weren't to practise asana anywhere else but at the shala and,
that if you were stopped at a posture by a teacher, that's what you did. I got the underlying sense of strictness and discipline...
Saraswati told me to come on Sunday, at 5, then Monday to Thursday at 5.30, which Saraswati also wrote on my registration card
as I was giving my registration and first month's payment of 27,530 rupees and handing over a passport photo, of when I had a beard...
guess i better grow a beard :)

So, back to where I'd met Mane, who'd taken off, one of the other rickshaw guys took me back to Green Hotel, for 30 rupees -
about a dollar...then I went to find an adaptor...as my Indian one didn't fit the Mysore plugs...went back to the restaurant for
some water...darned parched...and some more South Indian Spiced Marsala...a few westerners were out and about and I met Leah,
an American medical student from Arizona, who'd been in India about the same length of time as me and taken the same route.
Leah's arrangement for some training at a hospital had fallen through somehow, so she was figuring how to travel round for a month.
I gave her some tips on Ooti and Kerala and got back to my room...and here I am!

just sweeping the lawn

the front lawn of the Radha Hometel was more immaculate due to the work of two lads who swept the lawn with long, thin bunches of
what looked like dried blackboy quills, which of course they weren't, but similar...it sure was nicer than hearing those infernal
leaf blowers that have become ubiquitous in Australia...and it is indicative of the sheer number of people over here to do work...
there are people doing work in the hotel round the clock, all manner of cleaners, restaurant workers...then you visit one of the
IT parks and there are at least 10 people on security on the front gate, then 5 on reception at the office you're visiting...i visited
Atos Origin India - an IT services firm, about 20 of their staff were in training to skill up to take over support of an offshore
Business Intelligence system, it was 2 months worth of training for these guys. This capacity is mindblowing and Atos isn't one of the
bigger IT services firms around these parts. If you extrapolate this to any service offering and offshoring services suddenly
becomes very attractive. Also, from the meeting I had with the guys, they realise there's allowances needed for cultural differences,
the lesson's been learnt the hard way, but these guys sure do learn quickly!

The other attitude I picked up today, while signing up for a mobile phone, typically there's an attitude of getting a result..
I was helped by Tharun and Shilpa, both colleagues from when I was working on a project in Sydney and they were providing development
work from Bangalore for SAP. Our confrontation (that's all I can call it) with the girl at the Vodafone shop was typical of the
attitude...the options for signing up for a mobile were very numerous, some were plans, some prepaid, some deals weren't available
any more, some phones weren't available any more...there was a lot of ID required and so on. It would have taken me most of the day
to understand what was going on, but Tharun and Shilpa perservered until the deal was done and wouldn't give an inch on bargaining
or asking questions.

So, the attitude seems to be keep pushing and pushing and take any route to get there...very similar to on the roads - there's
no rules except that whatever type of road user you are - just move in the general direction you want to go and let people
know that you're there - most times with the horn. so, the pedestrian is the bottom of the food chain in this scenario.

Tharun, Shilpa and I then went to a cafe and then Tharun and I walked down to SAP Labs, Tharun proudly exclaiming that it is the
biggest campus in Bangalore (in terms of area at least), home to 3000 employees, 300 Custom Development team members...all of whom
are provided free lunch and dinner and snacks...and buses. I think Tharun likes working there :)

I've just been out for my first real walk around the neighbourhood. No footpaths, plenty of dust and haze, loads and loads of people,
buses ferrying workers to and fro, came across truckloads of girls who were being picked up from their sewing shop/ factory.
Turns out the street I'm on runs East/ West, I walked West into the setting sun. Such mild and balmy weather - plants going
crazy everywhere, such lush growing conditions...and loads of stray dogs cruising round

Off to Mysore, planning to leave at 6am tomorrow morning (Easter Friday) with Tharun and his wife in his tiny Suzuki.

My knees are feeling a bit creaky, so I think it'll be a slow entry into practising down there...with plenty of Graeme
exercises to pump up the quads and take the pressure of those precious knees.

Keen to get on the road and see some of the countryside.

honk if you're...

got in to Bangalore after flying Sydney > Singapore > Bangalore, 10 at night and 28 degrees - welcome to Bangalore. The airport is amazing, the city's grown so fast, something like from 1m to 6m people in under 10 years, that they just decided to move the airport to cater for the increased traffic...speaking of traffic, the roads haven't been so good in keeping up, my first attempt at crossing the road could have gone better :)

meetings today with a business partner in India on how we might work with them, really exciting for me at least...almost as exciting as the food...even in the Radha Hometel where I'm staying, the food is as good as any Indian restaurant in Sydney...and the lunch was sublime...figure on taking a few more kilos on to my next flight!

met a fellow Ashtangi on the Singapore > Bangalore leg...Carol from Auckland. Carol was getting picked up from Bangalore to drive straight down to Mysore, quite a journey.

Turns out all the trains are booked out tomorrow ahead of the Easter break beginning Friday, so I'll spend one more night in Bangalore and Tharun will drive me down to Mysore on Friday morning...Tharun and his wife are going that way for some honeymoon time...I know, I feel like a bit of an intruder, but Tharun's insisting...I'll owe him big time!!!

Craig David...live

a chance encounter with Craig David, rnb superstar at Changi airport...bonus of the trip so far :)

the same...but different

today, April 7th i headed off from "home" on the train. starting at Stanmore train station, catching the morning crush of commuters in to Central, then platform 23 to the International terminal.

With all those commuters, one of whom I'd been for the past 5 years, it felt kind of different. they were all off to the 9 to 5 and I was headed to the airport. the route was the same but i felt like I was going in a completely different direction to them

before that, breakfast at the local cafe up on enmore road. Julie gave me a big hug and some advice on being careful and trusting myself...then goodbye to Adam...

i got to the airport round 830, check in took about 30 mins with a decent size queue. My backpack weighed in at 13.9 kg, which I'm pretty happy about, means i'm now out travelling with less than 20kg on my back. I like minimalism, but this is a whole new level..., then out through customs where i met an Irish girl who'd overstayed her visa by 8 hours, I lent her my pen as the other ones weren't working, wished her luck...then saw her briefly after customs and she'd gotten through ok

now i'm off to buy a gift for Tharun, who's going to pick me up at Bangalore when I land

last NSY practise

my first practise at North Sydney Yoga was on a Monday...thus was my last...at least for a while. it was a pretty quiet day with Kate running the class. got some nice goodbyes with Lisa and David, Kate, Laine and Sarah...

Now, while I remember some wise words from a couple of friends - on when i first get to india - go real slow, so slow you feel like you're going backwards - from wise Polly...and abundance is more than your mind can ever imagine from wise Andrew...all these wise friends...great :)