because of the kids I meet…
slum children in Madurai…all they asked for was to have their picture taken and then to see it on my camera.
and signs like the one below…
I’ll take one snake, please
Tag: India travel
how I spent my last day in india
this is how I spent my last day in India (tuesday afternoon), flat on my back from food poisoning. I am still sick and have had “loose motions” and stomach pain since last Friday evening — a long time. as I said in the previous post, I am sporting the fashionable emaciated heroin chic look right now. I weighed myself this morning and have lost almost 10 pounds. I wanted to lose weight in india, but not this way!
I won’t bore you with the gory details but I was stupid and ate a “jam cake” in Fort Cochin, Kerala late at night. I realized at about 3 am early saturday morning when I woke up puking my guts out that the thing had been sitting out all day in the heat. what an asshole I was. I have survived indian street food and drinking chai from street vendors where the chai cups are washed out in who knows what type of germ-infested phlegmy water, and a pastry does me in. am going to rethink drinking street chai for my future trips. chai cups washed in water that sits out all day doesn’t appeal to me. and while I’ll be contributing to India’s worsening garbage problem (like it could get any worse), think I will only drink chai from stalls that use plastic cups from now on.
My friends Nick and Sushi (my thankachi in tamil, i.e., “younger sister”) picked me up Tuesday morning from the 5 star hotel I stayed in for my last two nights in india — where I spent most of my time in bed or on the toilet — and took me to their house. since I was facing two flights totaling 18 hours, Sushi (Nick’s wife) thought it would be a good idea that I go to hospital for an IV. I had thought that on the way home from the airport I was going to tell my husband to stop at an ER for the same thing.
When they took me, I was very sick. I basically had not eaten anything substantial for 5 days and my brain felt like it was in a fog from lack of food. I felt very disoriented.
They took me to the hospital that is admininstered by Sushi’s daughter-in-law’s father. Sushi made the call and they were waiting for us. I was treated by the head doctor and the head nurse — for free. The head nurse is in the pink sari and sushi is in the orange sari, but she is hiding on the left side. I saw Nick taking the picture and said “oh no you don’t!” and put my arm over my ashen face.
They wanted to give me two bottles of glucose and salt but it was already after 6 pm when we left and I had to repack my bags, we had to get back to the house. The hospital director (sushi’s in-law) did not ask for one rupee, but I would not have felt right if I did not give something so before we left I gave him 1000 rupees for my treatment and told him to donate it to a charity if he wants to — 1000 rupees is about $26. The hospital, by the way, is a hospital for leprosy, TB, and AIDS patients. The room I was in was a private room.
This was my third trip and I never got sick before this. my husband said since I got sick I should never go back to india. I looked at him and said, “you know that’s not going to happen…” but he was happy that I told him I decided not to go to sri lanka this year with the buddhist monk whom I sit with because the tamil tiger and sri lankan ceasefire is over, I decided it would not be safe. but I do feel like a big chicken for deciding that.
Thanks to all my Indian friends!
down but not out
whew! I returned from India about 12 hours ago sicker than a mangy Indian street dog. I’ve had food poisoning for the past 6 days from a “jam cake” that I ate in Fort Cochin. I am amazingly svelte — eating nothing but 2 slices of bread, 2 bananas, and water each day for the past 6 days does wonders for the figure, however, my face is very ashen and gaunt. Oh well, it’s that heroin chic Kate Moss look.
Thanks to my network of friends in India I was taken to a hospital for a “drip” (what they call an IV infusion) of glucose and salt just to help get me on the plane for an 18 hr. flight home. It’s good to be home in my own washroom….:)
what a long strange trip it was! It was a very different trip for me this time physically but especially emotionally. I experienced the beautiful and the terrible of india, but hey, that’s india….both enthralling and repulsive all at the same time.
one of my teachers at the school told me that I’m a native now — that the first time you go to india one is scared and apprehensive; the second time you’re in india, you love it, you want to stay forever, nothing is ever wrong; the third time you begin to see things as a native does, the good, the bad, the horrible, the indifferent, india with its warts and all. what I found amusing this time around was that instead of asking me “what country, madam?”, people asked me, “do you live here, madam?” I’ve arrived.
india never fails to make me rethink this suburban life — if people here only knew what goes on in the rest of the world, maybe they would appreciate what they have. Yes, people have it bad here, but I would rather be dirt poor here in the United States than anywhere else in the world. If you want to live a Hurricane Katrina experience EVERY SINGLE DAY OF YOUR LIFE WITH NO GOVERNMENT ASSISTANCE, be a slum dweller in India. so quit your moaning and belly-aching about what you don’t have like those hand-painted yoga pants or the latest yoga book or that eco-conscious yoga mat. I was with slum children in Madurai, India who have nothing compared to many American children, yet they had the biggest smiles for me.
my favorite experiences of the whole trip was my serendipitous visit to a slum school where I was the “guest of honor” and my dancing with tribals at a Pongal (harvest) festival at an Indian village outside of Madurai. I took two train trips and a four hour bus trip through the back roads of tamil nadu where I swear I felt something run across my foot. I discovered that four hours is about my limit on an Indian country bus, especially when one has to listen to cheesy Tamil videos from the 1970s played at full-blast.
but here are some pictures from tracy . You may recall that she was collecting shoes for the street kids of Mysore, India and I sent her three boxes of shoes that I collected at my former yoga studio. I also sent her my own baby shoes from the 1950s and requested that she take a picture of the baby that they went to, so here are the pics:
wow. my baby shoes from the 1950s now worn by an Indian baby. incredible. incredible india. thanks, tracy.
more stories and pictures from India soon…
shanti!
on the road again
adios, y’all.
this is my last post for 2007. no blogging for almost a month. the new year will dawn for me in chennai, india.
I started this blog in 2005 before my first trip to India. I had been around the sun over 50 times and had never been overseas in my life. I went to India alone, not knowing what to expect but having an open mind to everything. I wanted to chronicle my yoga studies and my travels but as it turned out, it took a long time for my india experiences to marinate me. I returned to india only 6 months later for another training and more travels.
so now this is my third trip for more yoga and more travels to different cities, even to another sea. now people think I’m the well-seasoned india traveler and they tell me they want to go to india with me. a former yoga student of mine and his girlfriend are meeting me there and neither one have ever been to india. frankly, I’m not so sure how the girlfriend is going to handle india, but they both know that I won’t hold anyone’s hand and baby them. I told them that they needed to be independent travelers and go with the flow.
no one babied me in 2005, but that’s the way it’s been most of my life anyway. So far I’ve stood up to what life has thrown at me on my own strengths, so a 17 hour train ride through the Indian countryside doesn’t phase me too much. I like the people I will be with, but I can’t wait to be alone and traveling. as jerry jeff walker sings, fast freights make me wonder and that full moon still drives me wild.
they say that once you’ve been to india you are never the same. india either hardens your heart or opens you up completely. either way, you never look at life, especially your own life, the same way again once you get back. people always ask me about the culture shock of india…my culture shock is when I come back to the US of A.
I know I will have the same experience as I did last year – as I laid in bed tossing and turning in the very early morning when I arrived, I realized what india means to me. it is yin and yang, the Tao, and as I thought about Ma India, I literally felt both halves melting into One, the One that makes me whole.
jai bhagwan
soon
Crows
cows
painted elephants
starving pups that won’t live the week
begging children
laughing children
in just pressed clothes
run to touch you
giggling girls and
one pen boys
mango eaters
stone cutters
coconut choppers
bucket sellers
tout screamers
traffic
chaos
walk
run
jump out of the way
of the family on the scooter
baby on the gas tank
beggars with one eye
beggars with no legs
women dressed in gold
and rainbow saris
gliding in the streets
unbroken
straight
cool
dust
dirt
sweat
mixed with jasmine flowers
scenting my hair
music of the people
for the people
cars honk all day
every day
every night
laughing
crying
spitting
fighting
chanting
om kali ma
om muruga
temple music wakes me
temple music to sleep by
healing
yoga
ayurveda
pure yoga
from the heart
this is the heart
of yoga
birth
life
death
on the streets
go with the flow
or you go crazy
I’ve seen the
dead men walking
my india
ma india
home
mantras and shoes
Tracy from A Lotus Girl wrote about the Tantric Heart Wheels and when I saw them I knew I had to get one. om mani padme hum is one of my favorite mantras and there are over a million mantras on microfilm contained inside the pendant. From the Tantric Hearts website:
“The Om Mani Padme Hum mantra is unique in its incredible potency in purifying karma and accelerating enlightenment realizations. Known by advanced yogis and Dharma masters to enhance siddhis (spiritual powers) it helps to uplift others from lower states, accumulate merit (good karma) and actualize the wisdom to realize enlightenment.
These sterling silver mani-wheel pendants are easily spun. With a flick of the finger they whir like a mini-tornado radiating blessings. Spinning a prayer wheel while intoning Om Mani Padme Hum imbues you and your surroundings with the expansive luminosity of Pristine Interconnected Non-duality. This is another way of saying that while spinning a prayer wheel you are practicing a profound Dharmic path that will help you realize the true essence of your natural mind – unlimited cognizance free of solidifications. At the heart of this Dharma practice is the ACCUMULATION OF MERIT (good karma) and the BLOSSOMING OF WISDOM. Prayer wheel pendants this powerful bestow extensive compassionate benefits to those openhearted enough to reap their fortunate karma.”
I ordered the one in the picture and I received it in within a few days. The picture does not do the pendant justice so if you love prayer wheels, order one because you won’t be disappointed. I think mine is beautiful and I will wear it in India.
and below are the shoes I am wearing with a sari I will wear to a wedding….
I made a good friend on my first trip in 2005 — she calls me “akka” which is Tamil for “older sister” — and she invited me to her son’s wedding. I am honored and very excited about it. it is not a Hindu wedding, but I will borrow a sari from my friend, or if she does not have one that matches my shoes, she said she will buy one for me to wear. my friend is taking me to a beauty parlor, will arrange for my hairdo, sari fitting, facial, makeup, and anything else I want. hmmmmm….not many Indian women have hair like mine — curly/coarse/frizzy/ringlet curls. we are also renting jewelery because I can’t wear a sari to an Indian wedding without the proper gold. I so wish I still had my pierced nose!
if I look awesome all decked out in a sari with lots of 22K gold and a bindi, you can bet I’m taking lots of pictures!
christmas gift idea: poo paper
My students love me so much that they gave me a box of paper made from elephant ca-ca!
Seriously, I love it…this morning my private students gave me a box of handmade note paper that is really made from, well, elephant poo poo. Go to The Great Elephant Poo Poo Paper Company. My students know I’m all about the environment and that I love elephants so they thought it was the perfect gift. The paper is 100% recycled and odorless (good thing!) A percentage of the profits from the sale of the poo poo paper (I love that phrase!) is contributed towards the conservation of elephants.
So check out the website. They have neat journals for people on your Christmas gift list who love to journal and also stationary sets for people who still write letters.
I love handmade paper. It has character. One of the things I’m taking to India is a handmade journal I bought at an art fair. Everything is handmade, even the leather cover. The artist told me that he buys hides from a beef processing plant (yuck), tools them into journal covers, and also makes the paper. My journal has a deep, rich burgundy cover that will become seasoned and burnished the more I handle it, like the way an old saddle gets or an old pair of boots. The paper inside is rough and scratchy with a nice earthy feel to it. I looked at many journals at the artist’s table, but when I picked up this particular one, a picture flew into my mind — I saw myself sitting outside a temple in India, journaling. I was meant to have this special journal. When I paid for it, I said to the artist, “I know this sounds weird, but…”, and I told him what I “saw.” He looked at me, smiled, and said, “it’s not weird in my world…” mine neither, bro.
and yes, that IS a picture of me being blessed by the temple elephant in Pondicherry, India, 2005. now THAT was the money shot!
feel good friday
For those of you who want a little taste of why India is in my heart.
This video has a nice “first time in India” feel to it and the Three Dog Night song is perfect for it. Video was shot in north India where I have not been — yet. One day…..
you’ll see lots of westerners in the video, but where I go, I’m usually the only one! and that’s just the way I like it….
peace!
ditto
“i am so very happy to be a student instead of a teacher for a few weeks. cause teachers need love, too. often my students don’t understand this & don’t want me to go away. but we are no different from them. we are all students who need guidance. and i can’t give if i don’t receive. a teacher who does not continue to study & practice is nothing but an empty vessel with nothing to offer.
and no one wants that.”
[emphasis added]
another pithy bindi comment from from her blog bindifry’s itty bitty brain basket. I emailed her to tell her that I’m lovin’ what she’s writin’ because she’s sayin’ what I’m thinkin’….
The Buddha pictured above is the Medicine Buddha. Read more here:
“Medicine Buddha’s blue sky-colored holy body signifies omniscient wisdom and compassion as vast as limitless space and is particularly associated with healing both mental and physical suffering. Making a connection with him, practicing meditation, reciting his mantra or even just saying his name helps us achieve our potential for ultimate healing.
The historical Shakyamuni Buddha provided teachings on healing and systems of medicine which were collected into four volumes called “The Four Medicine Tantras”. These teachings became the basis for the system of medicine practiced in Tibet and other Buddhist lands. They are characterized by a belief that all disease is essentially rooted in a psychosomatic cause, namely, spiritual confusion…”
I am using my trip to India as a healing mission. I have private classes set up at the yoga school where I will get a private consultation regarding my health, physical and otherwise, and a yoga/pranayama/meditation practice will be prescribed. I will then do my private asana class every day with a senior teacher of TKV Desikachar along with pranayama and meditation classes and a Sutras class.
There is nothing seriously wrong with me, at least that I am aware of. A medical procedure I was to have today has been rescheduled. but all this year I have felt “off” and ungrounded no matter how much yoga I did or how much I meditated. I have only myself to blame because I went off my thyroid meds early this year which wreaked havoc on my body. let this be a lesson for y’all: don’t mess around with your thyroid!
But in my bones I know it is more than that. being in a state of energetic dis-ease all year took its toll, and then the coup de grace of the dysfunctional yoga studio was the finishing blow on my subtle body, my sukshma sarira. I know that the rage I felt about what happened, while no longer consciously apparent, settled into my subtle body which then manifested physically into conditions relating to the first, second, and third chakras.
So I’m going to India to heal myself. India is always psychically healing to me but it is my hope that it will especially be so this time. like bindi’s experience, my students also are never thrilled when I’m gone for a month, but it’s the way it has to be. India feeds me and nourishes me and without it I am just that empty vessel that bindi wrote about. This is only my third trip, but each time I am there I feel like I have always been there.
My students know how I feel about India and they always ask me if I am coming back “this time.” Last night a student said that if I don’t come back he’s going to come looking for me which I thought was sweet and funny.
I told my students last night that this time I am not bringing anything back. I usually return home with a large suitcase filled with gifts and items to sell like shawls and silk scarves, jewelery, and cool Indian “yoga stuff.” this time I will be selfish — no lengthy travelogue emails home describing every street cow I see or every bit of yogic insight gained. and absolutely no blogging about my adventures. I’ll be in-country and off the grid. So to my friends who read this blog, sorry, but don’t expect to hear from me for an entire month.
It’s time for me to lose myself in the arms of Ma India. and whatever happens, happens.
it’s time for this vessel to be filled.
losing myself
namaste, namaste, namaste!
It has been a while since I’ve posted — the closer it gets to blowing this American pop stand at the end of December, the more I have felt the need to take a break from blogging.
I’ve posted a map of the Indian state where I will be waking up less than two months from now, and believe me, it can’t come soon enough.
I’m going to a wedding in Chennai, and although it won’t be a Hindu wedding, I’ll still wear a sari. It is the wedding of my friend’s son and she said I can borrow one of her saris. She has already told my usual rickshaw driver that I am returning and she said he is happy I am coming back. He has three young daughters, and I want to bring them silly presents. They will be a big hit in their neighborhood when they walk around blowing bubbles from those soap-in-bottles I’m going to bring them. Maybe it’s time silly string hits Chennai.
My friend calls me “akka” which is “older sister” in Tamil. I call her “thankachi” which is “younger sister”. My thankachi told me she can not wait to see me, she has much to tell her sister. She loves birds and listening to them, so I am bringing her a DVD of Midwestern birds.
Then I spend five days at my yoga school in private classes — asana, pranayama, meditation, and a Sutras class. One of my students is meeting me, he is bringing his girlfriend, and they have never been to India before. I told him a long time ago that I don’t mind him meeting me as long as he doesn’t cramp my style. We will all take the classes together at the school and I will do things with them everyday until I feel stifled and encumbered by them, then it will be time for me to be alone. I have found a Buddhist temple in Chennai that I want to visit everyday, along with a Kali temple, jai ma!
After 10 days of Chennai (Madras on the map), I will tell my student what bus to take to Pondicherry and I will tell my driver to take him there, then I hop a 10:30 pm train that takes me off the beaten path in Tamil Nadu so I can explore temple towns. Not before I get mehendi on my feet though. My student and his gal will have to make it back to Chennai on their own, because I will be long gone. But he’s a big boy, I went to India the first time all by my lonesome and this woman of a certain age was fine. More than fine.
If you click on the map, you can see a route that meanders down to Madurai, where I will hop on another train to take me Kerala, on the other side of South India on the Arabian Sea, where I have never been. I plan on lots of yoga and ayurvedic massage. And being alone. Another new experience for me will be flying domestically in India — I’m flying back to Chennai from Kerala. A 90 minute flight costs $75.
As my gal pal in India, Sirensongs, says “Why do people go to India to find themselves? India is where you go to LOSE yourself.”
45 more days and I step into my freedom. India nourishes me and I need to visit Ma India as much as I need air to breathe. Mike says it all for me: “…if I don’t follow my Heart, I will lose a piece of my aliveness. It doesn’t take too many compromises to become a walking dead person…”
I do not belong here. Ma India, I’m coming home.
Linda's Yoga Journey 
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