
I mentally braced myself for weeks prior to my visit to India. Get ready. Indian toilets, only cooked food, hundreds of outstretched hands daily, walking around with your very own paparazzi as Indian men follow you around with their cameras, no personal space, indescribable smells, “no change” claims for every rickshaw you take, buying a bag of chips is one of 20 negotiations that day...
And then I moved into my room in Gokulam. After I paid Shiva for his house-finding help, my friend Ross from San Francisco offered to “give me the lay of the land” and buy me a smoothie afterwards. Ross informed me there are a few institutions that I needed to know, we passed the Yoga Shala and he pointed out the coconut stand – the epicenter for all social rendezvous in Mysore. We moved on to Anu’s Internet café where we ordered banana shakes and sat under the stars with 20 other westerners on their laptops and cell phones chatting with friends back home. He informed me about breakfast at Tina’s or the Shakti house (delicious fresh fruit, western or Indian breakfast at both), coffee at Coffee Time (India’s very own Starbucks), cooking classes, chanting classes, Sanskrit classes, ayurvedic consultations, astrology consultations, pool time at the Southern Star, and not to be too overwhelmed by the shala sub-culture, it can feel a little bit like college sometimes.
The Guruji-devotee sub-culture is the ultimate in viral marketing – and the Indians who support it are making a killing (and rightly so - they are wonderful people to put up with us!). Ross’s introduction was only the beginning. Linda, from Finland, gave me a hand-written map from her yoga teacher (I showed it to a yoga student later that day and she said she would have paid $50 for it when she got here). Tina’s and Shakti’s don’t have signs let alone numbers on their homes, you only know of Tina’s by “the green house on the corner after you take a left at the end of the field.” Linda’s map pointed out the un-signed 6 or so restaurants around my hood where the local yoga students go – I have yet to see an Indian eating there. Other unadorned landmarks include the house that makes home made chocolate around the corner from me, the tailor who can replicate my favorite “QuickSilver” pants, the best place to get pre-paid cell phones, the DVD hire, “Doctor’s Corner” where the good Ayurvedic doctors practice, the Green Hotel with the Sunday 10 am organic market, a great astrologer, the only thing I couldn’t find is my mani-pedi place?
Life is rough. I quickly realized that one meal with my fellow yoga students each day is enough. And although I do have a new pair of pants coming, a scheduled massage on Saturday afternoon and a plan to visit the organic market, I am filling up most of my other free time with exploration. Meals with the Indians, meandering around town, visits to the local schools to interview teachers, Indian cooking classes from Tina and Meena, a climb up Chamundi Hill, a day trip to Srirangapatnam…
1 comment:
J,I am not repondint o this article. Dad asked me to send you the title of a book that was recommended to him. I am anxious to start it. Title eat,pray,love. The author is Elizabeth Gilbert. Maybe Anton could get it and take it with him. It is one woman's search for everything across Italy, India and Indonesia. Have a great weekend.
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