Random Specifics

The Collector of Discarded Dreams

Karanji Lake, Mysore

Yes, we are alive and well. 

The heat is something to behold and Vivian and I will hereafter be careful of what we ask for. There is a newer, different way of 'surviving' India each time we come, each time the variation is presented. With temperatures topping 100 this week we welcome refuge where we find it. The shala has been surprisingly cool the last couple of days, before that it was dripping before we started at 4:30am. Our apartment never cools off less than 85, we guess, so our morning naps are important! In fact, everything slows down or closes down midday. We have been watching DVD's of Planet Earth so we can see footage of cool waters and oceans and ice in the hopes that we will cool off through our eyes.

There is still indoor wildlife to battle daily: 3 varieties of ants, cockroaches,  roach imposters, mosquitos, and two huge flying bugs... and bedbugs of some sort. 

 

This guy's on our side.

 Of course we have spiders and these house geckos working on our team.

Beyond our walls we have recently seen a grass snake, toads at 4am, skinks, an iguana-looking reptile, and possibly a mongoose. This is in the city limits.

 

"On a long enough timeline, everything returns to zero."

Tyler Derden, Fight Club.

I was mesmerized by this freshly burned area. We often see these flash-burn areas, some controlled and set along borders and others random, or destructively started. Change is inevitable. It has been hard to stay focused for me here; part of me stepping in this experience, part already treading in my future returned-self path. I am left wondering about what I have burned away in my journey, what have I found to plant the next forest. There is also so much to be said collectively and individually that cannot be shared on these airwaves, but there will be nuggets to be revealed in a safer environment. There is also the test of patience here as we sit amid swarms if info, tidbits, and gossip that require distillation before action. By the next day the information may be different, or at least not worth repeating. But rest assured, we will bring back the spirit of the shala.

  

aeryk

Pilgrimage to Nanjangud

Lord Nanjundeshwara under remodeling

Two Tiny Worshipers look up to Siva

One of my favorite things about India is that as tourists we can visit the actual physical location of the myths we read about back home.  Faced with an extra day off from the Shala, Aeryk and I hopped a train, costing all of 20 cents, to the Shaivite pilgrimage center of Nanjangud.  Worshipers have been coming to this town nestled on the edge of the Kabini River for over one thousand years to visit the Lord Nanjundeshwara Temple, the place where the old stories say that Siva swallowed poison to save the Universe from destruction.  

One of the Tallest Gopurna in Karnataka 

Part of one of the Oldest Temples in India

A sweltering lazy day, most pilgrims, including us, rested up in the shade before entering the Temple.

Going into a large Hindu temple is a little like entering a carnival.  There are lots of bodies shuffling from one deity or puja to the next, and Aeryk and I allowed ourselves to be swept up with the herd, armed with small rupee coins like ride tickets.

Every Image is Adorned with Fresh Foliage and Flowers

Inside the Temple there is almost too much to see, literally more than one hundred separate linga of a variety of sizes and ranging in age from 200 to 1100 years, as well as a great variety of God and Goddess statues tucked into alcoves,  some of them completely buried in flowers.  Out of respect for our surroundings we  refrained from taking pictures inside other than this one that Aeryk discretely snapped out of the corner of his pocket -  and a couple of the resident temple cat.    Shuttled from one alcove to the next, there were many sacred fires, many priests, many blessings.  A highlight was squishing through a great metal doorway to witness through the mass of bodies as the priests ritually bathed an ancient Siva Lingam and then pelted us with spoonfuls of specially herbed water.  Another stop, worshipers circling a rounded statuary of all the Gods of the Planets, was especially magnificent to watch .  Participants looked a bit like planets themselves as they orbited the sacred images and their little flames.  Every blessing comes with a little toll, a plate one decorates with coins.  There is even a "money changer" priest that sells coins...Now I know where they hide all the change in this country!   

 

A bit of history in the Kabini River

As full of blessings as we could handle, and our rupees nearly spent, Aeryk and I headed outside to the Ghats, the sacred bathing site, and to be honest, town swimming hole.  Dozens of men and women were taking the plunge, and in the near hundred degree heat, there was a lot of laughter and joy involved.  I took no photos there, as the only foreign lady in town I did not want to get attention for snapping shots of naked Indian men.  Instead we focused our attention down stream at this beautiful vestige of the past.  Other than a man doing his laundry we had this spot to ourselves, only for the price of hopping rocks over garbage water.

  

The Unfortunate Usual - Garbage Surrounds the Sacred

 

We contemplated the beauty and appreciated the history, but in spite of the voraciously healthy looking fish abundantly seen at the water's edge, and the high spirits of the bathers, neither of us particularly felt drawn to wade through the trash.  We wandered off to find a quick bus to Mysore.

The Gentle Herd at Rest by the River

Aeryk's Last Gaze at the Kabini Ghats

(no it's not a superhero cape...it's a travel bag!)

 The Ubiquitous South Indian Serpents

Post Script to our Adventure:

If one remembers the myth this town and temple are built on, the Gods and Demons churn the Ocean in search of nectar, but before they yield the good, poison erupts from the waters.  Siva in his form Lord Nanjundeshwara swallows the poison and saves all the worlds.  Parvati saves Siva by grasping his throat so the poison doesn't go down and kill him.  Narada holds his mouth so he doesn't vomit it out.  Well, none of those deities were apparently on hand to bail us out.  Aeryk and I came home with a violent poisonous gift from Nanjangud, one of the classic India vomiting and fever illnesses one hears about.  We must have swallowed plenty for all the illness we experienced for the days after.  I'll remember next time to read the fine print on any stories I decide to visit.  

Vivian 

By Special Request...

 

10 seconds to spot the parrot... Go !

The problem with nature photography is that the subjects are presenting their colors in the most spectacular ways right up until the moment that a camera is pointed at them. Then they get shy, or just have an attitude. It would also help if our camera was a bit better on the zoom, without losing quality. I guess most if this is one of those 'ya had ta see it' moments. Around the lake we have seen (and tried to photograph) many colorful birds. School-bus yellow finch-like fliers, iridescent blue 'acid-turkeys,' glowing green sparrows-- there ARE many here to see. It's just hard to get them to commit to the photoshoot.

Take it quick, take it quick! Yes! 

Of course, the credit for these wildlife photos goes to Vivian. She has the patience to get the job done. I'm good with temples that won't move out of the shot. We still have yet to get a spotting guide for all this wildlife we're seeing, but our walks are nice without making them projects. Here's some color though---

 

 Today is Holi, the festival of colors. Young men will gather and color each other in powders and waters in a animated display of bravado. Others will get swept up in the frenzy, adding to the panorama of pastels. Sorry for the colorful crack in these photos. Like Olympia, some local youth insist on a 'no-belt, man' policy. These hues are about as vivid as the birds we've seen. The colors were seen yesterday, much like our Third of July warm-ups, only with less bottle-rocket fights.

Here's an unrelated photo for Russ the Librarian who requested our theme today.

Bengalese on the move in the Srikanteshwara Temple's inner sanctum; Nanjangud, India.

More about temples, gardens, waking up sick, and spotting house gecko's later.

aeryk

Construction Zone

Careful across the street; no hazard pay

I'm trying not to read too much into it, but I am fascinated by the remodel happening within view of the apartment. Almost transfixed, actually. I gave up trying to find the perfect metaphor or simile for what I am experiencing with my global daily life and how I see it mirrored on the small plot of land across the street. I wanted to get more pictures of it under it's stages of growth, but it seems to be a never-ending flow of tasks completed. The building began only one story tall until the hand cut and hand shaped re-bar supported new cement beams 8' up and the roof and stairs were propped by planks and poles. Hollow blocks replaced boards, more gridwork held more cement and then bricks, and then another layer of cement. Scaffolding steadied the project from the ground up in the signature hemp-and-stick style and also hung across chasms- above still running shops and cars and walkways and off of nearby second-story railings. Barred windows were set in fresh walls just as the bricklayers arrive to finish the facade; each skilled crew required and received. The water tank sits atop a new still drying platform, it's tubing cut to size and set alongside the new wall. More work is to be done, for sure, but it goes at a calm pace, through the heat and dust to it's accomplishment.

And that's how it is sometimes, I remind myself.
Sometimes it takes a while to see that you're getting somewhere, sometimes something is happening when it feels otherwise. Progress is seen by the footprints left down the path of the past. There is so much happening here and yet it seems unreportable, hard to wrap up and express what we do all day without mentioning the lunch and nap, and not feel like slackers for it. But things are happening. Rumors are spinning around town that we can't talk about, we've had trips switched and canceled, our practice has changed and plateaued, electrical power remains an elusive element. Our meter here ticks on just the same and we savor the world around us with every moment. It seems that there is still so much we want to do and yet the heat conspires against us. Even getting household supplies can become an arduous 95-degree hour long walk. Our studies have been solo lately; reading at home is cooler and cheaper than a class across town. Last night's brief rain spell was a welcome diversion to what will likely be a hot and dry five weeks, and a reminder of the weather of home, and seeing a baby goat today reminded me that spring will be waiting for me in April!
There is so much beauty here, so many goats and houses and flowers and people- it's hard to carry the camera everywhere and be in that mindset, to actively be a tourist and not live the experience, but I will try to capture more of the sights, like that baby goat.

Any requests? 

What intriguing things or scenes would you like to see?

aeryk

Coconuts, continued

A four-branch pile-up

Two days ago, a wicked western wind kicked up and the frail fronds were falling fast.

The local coconut street service came to assist our neighbors again. This time, there was no trunk scaling, no party truck, just a good old fashioned sickling. In their version, a sharpened steel crescent is tied to a 20' strip of bamboo. The ground man poked and speared then tugged and shred until the limb gave way only to snag on one of five power lines below. Including ours. The pro was able to clear two, but got hung up on the rest. With permission from the homeowner manging the whole situation from his doorway, he bagged three from the rooftop.

 

Go, go, Gadget Poleaxe!

The official moved down the road, but the work around the hood was far from over. There was still a huge pile of downed coconuts from the last visit, plus this fresh 'windfall' of fuel. The family sent grandma out front to split coconut shells for, like, five hours. they gave her a dull machete and a rock. After that, junior grabbed an axe and joined her for a couple more. This went on for two days. If you look close in the picture at the house on the left, you can see how full the eave already is, in front and along the side above the girl in the doorway. Today the family was stacking the hundreds of split husks and freshly cut 'firewood' in what little space remaining. They did this, of course, with a bamboo ladder poised precariously on the fence.

aeryk

The Hot Season Has Arrived

 

Shiva's Shade

The lovely lady that gives me ayurvedic massage put it like this: 

"Sivaratri (Feb15th) comes, cold is closed.  Now hot is here.  Hot is coming still March, April, May.   Then June, Mysore is crying (monsoon).  Mysore cries June, July, August."  

I almost wish I could be here to see it cry, because it is really really hot right now.  I know it could be hotter.  Today it is floating around 34 degrees (93.2f), tomorrow forecast for 35, but I would swear it feels like more.  My shirt is stuck to my back and every night this week I have tossed and turned praying for the coolness of dreams to overtake me.  We have ceiling fans to move the stillness but due to the on-again off-again power it's mostly not really happening.  I fall asleep when the power turns on my fan, awakening half an hour later when the heat is pressing down on me again.  Fortunately Sharath told us a few weeks ago at conference that sleep is overrated.  According to Sharath we all tend to oversleep and with more yoga we will find we need less.  He himself sleeps only from 9pm until 1am when he rises for practice.  He takes a nap for one hour in the afternoon, which he also recommends.   Count it up....he sleeps only five hours of every 24.  Why should I complain?  I must be a lazy spoiled American - I go to bed at 8 and rise at a luxuriant 2am.

I have never been so appreciative of the pre-dawn practice!  

(And of that cooling coconut oil massage!)

Vivian with Sunanda and Ana, Rooftop Massage Specialists

Vivian 

Seen Around Town

When we are not busy with yoga, chanting, reading, eating, meditating, or riding in a car out of town, we are walking to yoga or to James' place to chant or back to the Ashram for books or over the hill to Green Leaf for lunch or making our way back home from whence we came. My point being we get around a lot on foot. Here are a few images from some of these seemingly random outings.

 

You can click on any picture at anytime to enlarge. Here are a few examples of the 'houseplants' we see: 7' poinsettias blooming in February and this soon-to-explode flowering cactus, also well over 8'. 

The building under construction was smaller, and will become a three story monstrosity before they are done. As people's wealth increases they move to a bigger house, or build up by adding floors above. It is also common to see one story shacks right next to these private high- rises.

Below is an example of the lack of division of church and state: this beautiful gazebo-like altar surrounds a sacred tree adorned with serpent carvings, sacred imagery of Shaivite beliefs. This is in front of the local fire station.

Once the camera comes out in a public space though, everyone wants to get in the shot.

We were nearly mobbed by this class of boys after the first photo. Everyone wanted to be in the front row. 

Of course, no outing would be complete without properly disposing of our snack trash. The Happy Hungry Garbage Beast is all too eager to help!

 As always, more photos and moments are always on the way. 

Thanks for staying tuned!

aeryk