There and Back Again

Home.
We made it.
Sneaking into the studio this morning I felt as if we never left, and that a lifetime has passed since I took this photo three months ago.
Thank you everyone for helping each other through this long winter, and for the support you gave us in our absence; family, teachers, co-workers, friends-- you know who you are and what you've done. We hope to give back some of the sun and magic we stored up on our travels. We had a long time to reflect on the connections we've made in our community these short few years, and are so fortunate to have them to come back to.
So again, thank you.
It is good to be Home.

--- aeryk ---

Details, Details, Details...

India provides quite the opportunity for a kaleidoscope of colorful moments, fragments, and shafts of experience, it is often overwhelming just experiencing them; to synthesize such datum and distill the essences into tangible nectar to share is harder still. There are so many 'you had to be there' times that I wanted to give a taste of the stories that are best told at greater length. In no particular order to the pics or stories, here are some of our highlights missed...

Temple carvings are way cool up close. There is a detail that is still vibrant and active... the figures literally jump off the walls at you, and are expressive, down to the mustachioed grimace and ringed fingers and toes on some of these brutes. These ancient heritage landmarks are often in use, and even under the watch of the Gods, it's just another day for some staff. Visually these compounds look relatively unchanged. People are amazing and unpredictable. Shout out to our Chennai bus mates! Public transportation is an amazing thing here. Even with busses, there seems to be distinct grades of service depending on who's driving and where you're going. there is a difference between a public city bus, a state-run bus, private charter, DVD-Express, or overnight "sleeper." They actually call it that, but the movie is cranked. We keep running into people we know, which is cool. Vivian had breakfast with Krista who says says, "Hey, Tom, when are you gonna come to Mysore?" Some of you back home are already closer than five degrees of separation... I never hooked up with my Bangalore Playback theatre connection, so I started a group in Mysore. Our show is Friday night. Vivian is documenting all of this for later incrimination... I have a whole tale of making didgeridoos, performing them at Mysore University with Julie, Ajai, and Tobias, then recording with Julie and David in an undisclosed location. Also unspoken, is honoring friends former treansitions, and a full report on amazing construction practices.

--- Aeryk ---

Top Ten Things Heard Around The Shala

(This image came from Mamallapuram. This a cat copying a yogi on a 1200 year-old stone-carved wall. It was the most yoga-like image I had.)

And now... "Late Night" presents:
The Top Ten Things Heard From Sharath in 2008.
10. "You're late."
9. "What's your hurry, hungry or something?"
8. "Lift up. Don't come down."
7. "No fear."
6. "No crying."
5. "Taiwan? Taiwan?" (or Japanese, Sweden... addressing a student)
4. "Don't leave your leg, don't leave your leg. OK, leave your leg."
3. "Don't break my picture."
2. "You don't go home until you stand up."

And the number one thing heard around the shala...

1. "One More!"

--- aeryk ---

Happy Sankranti !

Sankranti, known as Pongal by the Tamils of South India, is the only Hindu festival to follow the solar calendar and begins the 6-month journey of "daytime" for the Gods. This ancient 4-day harvest festival begins with casting off of old unnecessary goods, and cleaning house. We celebrated "Bhogi" by ditching our responsibilities and climbed Chamundi Hill, and met this pilgrim in the middle of the 1000+ steps. There were monkeys scattered throughout the journey, and actually outnumbered the visitors we saw on the stairs. Surya Pongal is day two, and this Sun-Day is when the celebrations really begin. Women rise early to make extra-special rice-flour designs, or Kollams, outside their doors. This is meant to be a peace offering to pests and a symbol-filled yantra to represent the overflowing rice pots that are, well, literally overflowing in the kitchen. Walking around the neighborhood I was entranced looking at the colors, like driving around to see Holiday lights. Mattu Pongal is day three. This is the day for cows. They get to eat first, get washed first, and they are the first to get painted. I didn't have a camera in time to catch the "rainbow-bull" but later there were a few lemon cows around. This one had purple horns. Some villages have bullfighting on this day, in the city we just bet on them. Kaanum Pongal is day 4, and is another solar day. Families are foremost for this day. I guess after walking your cow in a parade all day, you just want to kick back on the fourth day. That's what I'll do tomorrow, cow or no cow.

--- aeryk ---

An Indian Mirage

Traveling through India, experiences are as vast as these images suggest. Many layers of reality coalesce as centuries collide into one pin pointed, yet passing moment. What you see is what surrounds, but how you see it remains your choice and here there is a magic hat full of options. The paths to take are many.

Now in Gokulum, Mysore a routine persists. Each day sewed together by a thread of light-lit joy - that's the Mysore morning. A room filled mat to mat. Who stands next to you you may never know, but their presence is a part of the tide bending back and stretching toward space created.

Many times I have opened my eyes here to feel fortune beyond fortune. My palms feel fresh and open. Walking light we roam.

Love, Laura

Car Races

It's not what you think, but it's not too far off, either. Imagine thousands of sportsfans rushing to catch sight or touch one of these massive 'formula funny cars.' In the Indian version there is no gasoline, the tires are wood and steel, but the fans still run the risk of a good ol' fashioned sports-related auto beheading as one of these 4-ton behemoths careens off the guardrail and heads for the crowd. This very real and very celebrated event happens all over South India on prescribed "race days" drawing thousands of pilgrims into the narrow streets to cheer on the Gods as they roll down main street to do a holy lap around the hood before storming back into the garage for a new paint job and plans for the next racing season. I don't know if there is ever a clear 'winner' as I think it's more of a parade, but if you lose, it's like runnin' with the bulls only crazier. The fenced-in chariot is from Belur in Karnataka State, and is is a 20 ft cube of solid wood, steel, and paint. The smaller two are from Chidambaram, Tamil Nadu and have the stone-temple look. All are several hundred years old and are still in use. But times have merged, and no space is sacred enough. You can see recent advertising crassly plastered on one sandstone landmark, advertising some bodybuilding event coming. I like how they used some stock photos of Arnold Schwarzenegger from the eighties. How retro...

--- aeryk ---

Fever Pitch

First came the bubbles, then the flush of heat, my hands and face went numb and I wondered if I would be able to finish either lavatory project I started before I passed out. Three days now, no yoga, little sleep, too much spice on an empty stomach sends me back to square one. The body has a way of self-regulating it's energy. I was obviously running on high for far too long. Vivian peeled her layers off on the car and train rides from the coast. I saved mine up until now. Conscience and consciousness flow like waves through my memories, alone with my thoughts and migraines I can lord judgment upon my transgressions, question my good motives that led me to where I am at. Where we are all at. Am I the butterfly tempting the world to help me shed? Is my catharsis enough to give back? Sleep takes me at a whim, then spits me back upon the shore of fitfulness too soon to drift off to sea. Curtains of haze rain down on my left-sided-thoughts, pressing shafts of pain and heat through my ears, and I hear the voice again. When did I hear it last? I was young, too young for a fever delirium like this. I was at the beach. It was new and I was safe. Now older I hear the same ocean still echo, was it only a year ago? Sepia storms mist me in false shadows, now again the ocean a loop of white noise waxing to wake me again, just enough to feel the heat burn through my eyes, another wave pulls the sheet back over me and I search for the fleeting image of calm salvation on familiar shores.

--- aeryk ---

Sign of the Times # 2

Here is our street sign.
The signs are low, probably because people must keep at least one eye on the road, and because they are stone. That will keep people from stealing like they do at home. They list the house numbers, but there is a weird logic I haven't figured out yet as to how this fits with the surrounding blocks. We are apparently on 2nd-B, not just regular 2nd. I'm glad that I don't need to find anything today...

- aeryk -

Stairway to Heaven ?

Forget those lines of pilgrims sweating their way to nirvana, THIS is the way to go for the Brahman who has plenty of dharma but not enough energy for all the prostration and walking. Now modern hill-top temples offer sandal-to-statue services... That's right! Four mostly healthy lower class fellows will haul you up the incline, saving you valuable genuflecting energy. How much would you pay to be first at the feet of the fifty-foot fellow? Don't respond yet--- they'll also throw in a backstage pass to party with the priests. Get as close to Shiva as a Nandi bull as you rub elbows with such Temple favorites as Ghee boy, Tikka-the-hut, Tour Guide Torach, and the man behind the flame, armed with turmeric and vermillion... it's the Pujinator. Don't forget to tip him on the way out. How much would you pay now?

--- aeryk ---

What I Did For Winter Break

What I Did For Winter Break, or How YOU can survive the Holidays away from home...

Step One: Pack your own toys and decorations. India has it's own ideas about what a western Solstice/Christmas should look like. There was a Santa in town, but the Caucasian mask looked creepy. I was wished a 'Happy Christmas Tree' and a house was painted with 'Happy X-Max.' We decked up our room with a strand of lights and a bag of Playmobil Santa's & gear, plus assorted candies and small packages. This is the key: pack light. You've got to get Christmas home, too.

Two: Make magic where you can, and look forward to Plan B. Maybe you will end up at the beach, maybe you wont. Use the challenges in front of you to create mandalas of sense for those around you. Or just play with the pretty shells the kids collect for you.

Three: Know that you too are a tourist. Get in the middle of it. Blend in when you can, but stay on the perimeter for the random opportunities. We saw an aquarium inside the crocodile/snake preserve, then handled a baby burmese python. Get used to the pacing of the crowd as soon as you can, then pick your 'counter-tempo' and get your needs met. You can practice your own crowd movement at home by attaching glow-sticks and balloons to your jacket then walk through the mall during the busy hour.

--- aeryk ---