Last day in India

... so I'm flying back home tomorrow morning.
It feels too early to have, let alone to share, some general thoughts about this trip.
All I know is that I had an amazing 3 months and it feels natural to go home now.
I'll try to keep that blog going a little bit to let you know how I settle down in London.

Love,
Om Shanti,

Caroline

last 2 weeks stories and pictures...

India 2010 - part 5

As you can see from the map of the previous post, from Hampi, I went on to Mysore, where I stayed 2 days.

Pennywise and pound foolish
I've always loved that phrase and really applied to its best there: I stayed in a really nice hotel, with swimming pool, A/C etc and then got in a row over half a roupie that the cloakroom guy wouldn't give me back. I also walked a block to get my Rs 10 coconut, because Rs 20 really is a rip-off... only to pay Rs 80 for chai at a hotel/palace!!
Anyway, Mysore has a nice center, with an Indian/art deco maharadjah palace and a beautiful market for vegetable, flowers, spiced - so I really enjoyed those quiet 2 days...

On Friday 12th, 5pm, Mariette and I agreed to head to Rishikesh that same night.
The main reason for our hesitation was the Kumba Mela that is taking place in Haridwar currently. It draws millions of Hindu with its many auspicious dates for bathing in the Ganges and as it is on the way to Rishikesh, we didn't know if we'd be able to get through. Well, getting to Rishikesh was fine. For Mariette to get back to Delhi the night before one of the most auspicious days is another story... that she will tell in her blog shortly!

We enjoyed fruit juices on the riverside and white water rafting during that weekend, and then Mariette left as she had to get back to work. I was able to attend really nice yoga classes at my hotel and found someone who held 1h meditation session every morning. It felt as if many sensations were coming together at the end of those 3 months. Accross the town of Rishikesh, I was touched by all the pilgrims who travel such a long way, in difficult conditions, who sleep on the side of the river Ganga, to be able to bathe there at the right time.

Philippe became my travel buddy to get to Haridwar, as we were not sure what we'd find and it's nicer to be with someone when things get rough. Anyway, it ended up being a very nice and relaxing day as not that many people were there. We watched the pilgrims, the Naga Babas (naked holy men or not so holy), the swamis, the river go by. The day finished with the climatic aarti - when fire is shown to the gods and then to the devotees for purification, along with chanting. As most of the devotees, we deposited some flowers with a light on the river. I was really moved when depositing my little basket on mother Ganga: each light goes their own little way, some flipping over quite soon, others traveling quite a bit - so it doesn't matter if one's own doesn't go far. I felt like the power of this ritual was that Ganga slowly turns into this river of light and hope and this makes each individual prayer/wish possible.

Eventually, it was time to go back to Delhi, to enjoy a girls weekend with my cousin sister Mariette, staying at her very homey flat...
We did some yoga, some shopping, some pedicures, some nice wining and dining - who can ask for more?
As today is my last day, I went for a marathon of visits:
- Humayun's tomb at 9 am - what an amazing site. it is so grandiose and simple and peaceful. I simply loved that place and could have stayed hours in the shade of a tree there
- Purana Qila at 10:30 am - another very peaceful site, very green
- National Museum at 12 - many reminders of the rest of my trip + I realise I make more sense now of all the various deities, who is the avatar of whom, etc, so it was really fun to walk through those regions and centuries. (+ the museum has A/C :) )

Guess where I am :)

I know I can be a little hard to track, so please find below my itinerary of the past 2 weeks (I did fly from Bengaluru to Delhi...)
I am now at the foot of the mountains, enjoying the views on the Ganges and the quite special atmosphere of Rishikesh. I am this minute hesitating between a 4 day trek with views on the himalayas or laying low, doing yoga and meditation here - still a beautiful view. Any thoughts on that? (we can make this an interactive blog :) )
On Friday I go back to Delhi and then fly back to Paris next Wednesday.






View Larger Map

some pictures

India 2010 - part 4

now in Hampi...

so, I did go to the beach... and stayed there one day. I really enjoyed the view and swimming in the sea but I was ready to move on at the end of the day!
So after spending a quiet day in the very cute town of Gokarna, I took the night bus to Hampi; certainly an adventure in itself. I was welcomed by Muttu, the guide recommended by Meghna, and he has taking me around this amazing World heritage site for the past 2 days. I'm resting today - the mainy things to visit + the heat are taking their tolls, and I need a break from my holidays :)
Maybe I will try to go for the waterfalls tomorrow...

Hampi is an amazing area where the remains of volcano activity form hills of boulders, on which kings of the 14/15/16th centuries had temples and palaces built (carving directly their raw material out of those granite boulders). Witnessing sunset over that landscape, I imagine that they are the giant ruins of giant people whose civilisation was swept away, and small humans arrived and settled over those remains, trying to replicate in their small way the grandeurs of their predecessors, only to be swept away in their turn...

love

inner peace and cosmic happiness (bis)

The 2 weeks I spent at Sivananda ashram were amazing and challenging at the same time. It was a very good complementary experience to the time at Manav Sadhna.
While giving, self less love and compassion were at the core of MS values, Sivananda ashram's approach is more focused on Bakhti (devotional) yoga and raja yoga (physical practice and meditation).

A discipline is imposed to the students to help them focus on that personal development and can be quite exhausting if you launch at full steam into it. Being me, I, of course, jumped up to intermediate class on the second day and gave the asanas (postures) and the overall program all I had. After 2 days, I was surprised to be completely exhausted and with a really stiff neck; seriously, that was only 4h of hata yoga a day! ;)

To rescue me from that stiff neck, a yoga teacher gave me a powerful shiatsu massage, that relaxed me so much that I spent 2 days like a zombie. I also received a very sweet and beautiful tarot reading by Asrael: the outcome card had "peaceful strength" in store for me - it sounds like a great goal!

The ashram life is quite full on and, after a couple of days of embracing it while trying not to judge, I took a step back to assess what, amongst all the activities and values they shared with us, was part of my journey and what was really not for me. Since I am not going for enlightenment (at least not in this life ;) ), I could kind of pick and chose what can really help me in my daily life...

Did you know you can actually learn to relax? well, I must have learned it as I find myself more relax than I have rarely been (even if things are not always going exactly as I want...).  I also certainly developed my ability to sit crosslegged: up to 5h sitting on the floor, that was a lot for me! I can now be still for 15/20 min, which is a progress on the 10 min from when I arrived in India... I also noticed that each time I had a low, I could be kind to myself and hang in there just a little bit more, and that low would just pass (so no fighting...).

The daily life is sharing a dormitory with 31 other women of all nationalities; washing your clothes by hand (which I have been doing since the start in Jan, so I was used to that); waking up at 5:20 am to meditated and chant at 6; going to bed at 10:30 pm. and yes, I sung Hare Krishna every morning noon and night!
so you let go of a lot of little comfort elements and prejudices...

 I have also now accepted that I am NOT detached from food. The food served at the ashram is satvik, which in short means that it is supposed to help you meditate - no meat of course, no eggs, but also no spices, no onions, no garlic! and only 2 meals a day. Each time I'd close my eyes, after 1 week, I'd see steaks, saucissons, oysters, etc. dance in front of me. I am ok to eat in silence and mindfully, but if the food has some taste and consistency. As soon as I left the ashram last monday, I went for a butter chicken: the most silent, mindful and tasty meal I'd had in a long time! :)

I think I could write pages more on my experience there, the great people I met etc.
The main lesson is that the journey to inner peace and cosmic happiness (thanks oli for that phrase ;) ) requires acceptance, courage and perseverance - but results can be reaped as early as the first step on it...

Love

moving on from Kerala

A bit of catch up to do as I was on internet detox the last two weeks!

Firstly, I would like to share the pictures of the wedding I attended over 2 weeks ago in Nagpur, Maharastra. it was a buddhist wedding - a great opportunity for me to observe different traditions and even take part in them, also a great opportunity for fun! (I've also included last pictures from Gujarat)

India 2010 - part 3

For more recent news: I just spent 2 weeks in Sivananda Ashram and am now travelling alone towards Gokarna, in Karnataka, to spend a couple of days relaxing at the beach.
I'll tell you more on the ashram - and the beach soon.
I realise I have "only" 3 weeks left: I'm trying to keep my mind focused in the here and the now, once again, planning only the bare minimum.

xxx
Caroline
PS: for this album and the previous one, I've tagged the photos on a map in picasaweb, so you should be able to see it!

inner peace and way to cosmic happiness

no time to write long post, just to confirm that I am in Sivananda Ashram in Kerala and all is well.
love to all,
Caroline

a wedding in Nagpur

I left Gujarat on Tuesday night and after a 17hour train ride arrived in Nagpur, Maharastra.I'm here until Monday, as Mayur, a friend of Adrien, who is a friend of Michael, who is, etc, invited me to his brother's wedding. Thanks to the long train ride, I was able to recap with Mayur who is who in the family and don't feel like I'm making to many blunders...
I was warmly welcomed by the family!

I got a blue and pink Sari and am getting initiated to the art of what a sari encompasses and all the relevant accessories. Everybody here thinks I have very simple taste... yet it will be the most bling I've ever worn! :-)

yes, I will make sure pictures of me in a sari are taken, and I will take plenty of pictures of the wedding. Not sure when I'll be able to post them, though, as I'm flying out to Kerala on Monday afternoon.
There, I will join the Sivananda Ashram. I believe I will stay there 2 weeks and I have no clue if/when phone or internet connexion will be available to me...

Love to all!

Pictures

random notes on daily life...

1. Getting used to bucket showers (lucky to have had hot water almost everywhere so far).
2. Learning how not  to use toilet paper.
3. Difficulty to sit crosslegged for a long time. for lunch, for Prathna, for meditation, anywhere I'm invited for chai... my legs get numb after 5 min! still, after 1 month, I seem to have made progress.
4. Eating papaya for breakfast and 4pm snack. Found some melons the other day - exactly the taste of French summer for me. Adding lentils to my porridge to make sure I have enough protein and iron
5. Days getting warmer - first in Amhedabad, then as I travel south.
6. I am writting regularly in my diary, I am really happy about that; usually, I drop it after 1 to 3 days of vacation...
7. Yoga almost every morning. the beauty of saluting the sun as it rises across the Sabarmati river
8. Keeping the meditation routine also going. after yoga and when some voice in me tells me it is time...

om shanti!

The little prince - on why saying goodbye can also be hopeful...

"My life is very monotonous," the fox said. "I hunt chickens; men hunt me. All the chickens are just alike, and all the men are just alike. And, in consequence, I am a little bored. But if you tame me, it will be as if the sun came to shine on my life. I shall know the sound of a step that will be different from all the others. Other steps send me hurrying back underneath the ground. Yours will call me, like music, out of my burrow. And then look: you see the grain-fields down yonder? I do not eat bread. Wheat is of no use to me. The wheat fields have nothing to say to me. And that is sad. But you have hair that is the color of gold. Think how wonderful that will be when you have tamed me! The grain, which is also golden, will bring me back the thought of you. And I shall love to listen to the wind in the wheat . . ."

The fox gazed at the little prince, for a long time.

"Please--tame me!" he said.

"I want to, very much," the little prince replied. "But I have not much time. I have friends to discover, and a great many things to understand."

"One only understands the things that one tames," said the fox. "Men have no more time to understand anything. They buy things all ready made at the shops. But there is no shop anywhere where one can buy friendship, and so men have no friends any more. If you want a friend, tame me . . ."

"What must I do, to tame you?" asked the little prince.

"You must be very patient," replied the fox. "First you will sit down at a little distance from me--like that--in the grass. I shall look at you out of the corner of my eye, and you will say nothing. Words are the source of misunderstandings. But you will sit a little closer to me, every day . . ."

The next day the little prince came back.

"It would have been better to come back at the same hour," said the fox. "If, for example, you come at four o'clock in the afternoon, then at three o'clock I shall begin to be happy. I shall feel happier and happier as the hour advances. At four o'clock, I shall already be worrying and jumping about. I shall show you how happy I am! But if you come at just any time, I shall never know at what hour my heart is to be ready to greet you . . . One must observe the proper rites . . ."

"What is a rite?" asked the little prince.

"Those also are actions too often neglected," said the fox. "They are what make one day different from other days, one hour from other hours. There is a rite, for example, among my hunters. Every Thursday they dance with the village girls. So Thursday is a wonderful day for me! I can take a walk as far as the vineyards. But if the hunters danced at just any time, every day would be like every other day, and I should never have any vacation at all."


So the little prince tamed the fox. And when the hour of his departure drew near--

"Ah," said the fox, "I shall cry."

"It is your own fault," said the little prince. "I never wished you any sort of harm; but you wanted me to tame you . . ."

"Yes, that is so," said the fox.

"But now you are going to cry!" said the little prince.

"Yes, that is so," said the fox.

"Then it has done you no good at all!"

"It has done me good," said the fox, "because of the color of the wheat fields."

Leaving Manav Sadhna...

Today is my last day in Manav Sadhna - I take a night + day train to Nagpur in Maharasthra at midnight.

This time here has been a wonderful experience for me. I feel that I'm leaving much richer than I arrived: I've met so many different, loving, caring people, I've learned so much through observation and through doing. I take away with me all those warm smiles and some small seeds of selfless love and compassion. I hope I'll find it in me to nurture them and share them...

Thank you Manav Sadhna.

travels in Gujarat

On Monday 25th, I joined a small group of friends (Madhu, Tim, Kunal, Father Henri) on a trip to explore the remote region of Kutch, famed with incredible artisans and the Great Rann of Kutch (aka white desert).

As you can see through the link below, we got quite a bit of both as well as an amazing music festival - discovering new instruments and new sounds - and countless variations of the local thali! We have now many "homes" there where we are welcome as family; I've all invited them to Paris as well :) (so friends and family who have spare beds in Paris, be prepared ;) )

I returned on Saturday Morning 5 am to find Mariette had arrived just 2h before me. We celebrated the weekend in many ways - also by going on a road trip with an historian (Adrien) and with Mayur to a 5000 years old harbor of the Happaran civilization.

India 2010 - part 2

some pictures!

The universe had conspired to let me enjoy the here and the now by leaving me without internet; it now seems to have changed its mind - in the shape of a temporary roommie sharing her laptop and connection with me! I'll try to keep the camera going (as you know, not my favorite activity :) )
xx
Caroline

India 2010 part 1

first week at Manav Sadhna

I've now been serving at Manav Sadhna for exactly 1 week.
Somehow, I had expected it would be a shock to be confronted with the poverty,
the illnesses, the poor conditions of living, etc. But somehow, no shock. I guess
my brain must be filtering all that, because all I see are the smiles, the sparkling eyes and the incredible energy available.
Meghna also said within the first 10 min I had arrived at A'bad that Manav Sadhna would
feel like a family in maximum a week and it does. I live in the volunteer house
with 2 really nice australian girls. Some other key characters in my life are also mentionned in Mariette's blog :)
Every morning at 10:45, we meet for "prathna" which is a
spiritual session + a team meeting. Good opportunity for me
to get to know who works here and to sort out practical points. Also to take
a moment to myself and focus on my intention and listen.

The highlights of this week have been:

1. the day out with the blind school - 50 children + 8 teachers
+ 4 of us from MS. Someone had donated the funds for that day
and we really had a lot of fun; so did the kids and the teachers.
I took mostly care of Kaulash, 5 years old; somehow, beyond the obstacle
of blindness and lack of common language, we managed to create a bond.
by the end of the day, while he didn't master my name (which is difficult for
indians to get), he could recognise me by my voice and touching my wrist + he
would call me ben (= sister in gujarati). Wherever we sat, he was
really good at exploring the environment around him with his hands...
I hope life will be kind with him. I feel he is equipped with abilities (intellectually and
emotionnally)
that will help him make the most of what comes to him, so I am hopeful...

2. Craftroots festival: 3-day fair bringing together artisans and crafts from Gujarat with the A'bad
people.
to understand what the festival is
Gramshree is a sister organisation to MS
and was the main organiser of that event.
open 10am to 10pm, with everybody working the whole day. I had an
amazing time, learning and doing so many different things - talk about being the moment!
- I made chiappatis (only some for the 1000 we were making that day for the staff and visitors).
- I helped demonstrating, folding and selling bed covers,
- Jillian taught me how to make earings
- I greeted the visitors in hindi/gujarati/english and even sometime french
- I got a tribal wall painting on my arm
- I learnt about all sorts of crafts, directly from artisans themselves
- I got my picture in the India times :)
What made all this valuable was the people I was doing it with, and the people I was meeting in the course of doing it!
It was amazing team work, with communication and work crossing
languages, religions, borders.
; we all came out happy and exhausted :)

Today is day off for all of us :)

Next objective when I get a chance is to share some pix with you.
xx
Caroline

Arriving in Ahmedabad - tomorrow is a mystery. 1 to 3rd/01/2010

On Thursday night, I took a plane to Ahmedabad, where I was welcomed by many of Mariette's friends, to celebrate new year!
And then, surprise: Mariette arrived Friday morning!! She had managed to take a flight almost as soon as she had gotten her visa, and there she was. We made the most of the 3-day weekend - enjoying time with Meghna and Madhu, Samir, Jignasha, Naman, etc...; touring key parts of Ahmedabad (including getting a better understanding of Manav Sadhna, Gramshree, etc); getting the most important tips from Mariette on what I need to know about living here :)
some pix to follow...

Since Monday, I'm staying at Manav Sadhna as a volunteer.
The best way to understand where I've landed is go through their website:
http://www.manavsadhna.org/

To get also the perspective from Mariette on India, Manav Sadhna and the crowd in A'bad, you can also go through her blog as she introduced me to MS and the people I now know here:
http://growinginthisworld.wordpress.com/

I have limited internet connection, which is why it is taking sometime between each update and am not posting as much as I would want, but my thoughts go back to you all regularly.
Love,
Caroline

Playing tourist for 2 days in Delhi. 30&31/12/2010

I was trying to escape the busy city life by visiting the lotus temple and trying to meditate there. I was not the only one with that idea! Still an interesting building.




I also visited the Red Fort: amazing Fort from the Mogul times. There was certainly a Persian influence there...







I met Guilhem and Aurelie visiting the Fort, and we had a nice ride to the airport together...