Water, Conference and Puppies

Water crisis is the news of the day. It has been very dry but we don't think that lack of rain is the cause of our taps running dry this morning. The paper on Friday had a story about the main pump blowing at Mysore's water supply...Apparently the pump was manufactured in 1971 and had a 25 year life span. The story was reported with no humor, outrage, or irony. Of course it wouldn't be a surprise that the most important part of your cities water supply died after outliving its life span by nearly 10 years. So water is off and on throughout the city while the government "takes appropriate steps". I have taken my own appropriate steps and started hoarding water when the tap is on and asked Frank to get another 25 liter barrel of purified water just in case things get desperate. We usually have one barrel in use and we call AquaOasis when it is getting low...Mr. Chandrashekhar sends his son on a motorcycle to deliver water within an hour or two. You can also pick up 25 liter barrel yourself at some of the local bakeries...pay a deposit for the barrel (we paid 150 rupees) and 50 rupees each time you pick up a new one. No one actually seems panicked in our neighborhood but in Mysore some neighborhoods have been without for two days...and folks are protesting. We'll keep you posted but don't foresee any real crisis...we also have a gravity tank on our roof that we fill out of a storage tank in the driveway. (If nothing else, India is a fascinating plumbing adventure.)

I took the scooter out of the neighborhood on my own yesterday...all the way to the Southern Star to help a friend with her second birthday cake of the day. If you haven't been here, well then the Southern Star is really far away and very complicated to get to from Gokulam. (And I am very brave for going on my own...) If you have been here then give me a break, I know its just around the corner, but it was a big step for me. I did get lost on the way home but used Frank's advice and just kept driving till I saw something familiar. All was well...I made it home in time to pick up Frank for our first conference with Guruji at the shala. (more later)

At home I don't mind getting lost and have been on some wonderful adventures when I can't find what I was originally looking for (hi mom) but in India I start to get a bit flustered. It's silly because I have a phone, rickshaws are everywhere and I could park the scooter and get a 20 rupee ride home. And Frank has hand-drawn me a fabulous map , on the back of an "official" map, with the streets and all the most important landmarks (maps here are hilarious and official street names are not posted, nor what anyone calls the streets), and I'm actually not a helpless person. But when you get lost here you can end up in some weird situtations. Next step is to go on a little scooter trip with a girlfriend...we are going to ride our hogs into Mysore proper and go see a khadi man. (Local talk for picking out hand loomed cotton and having some more clothes made...) Life is so complicated here!

The conference happened but also didn't happen yesterday. Sunday is the first day of the practice week (Sunday thru Friday) and is led practice. Usually there is a primary series led practice at 5 am and a second series led practice at 6:30 am...but right now there are so many people practicing at the shala (and the vast majority of us are doing primary) they had to schedule three led classes on Sunday morning to accommodate everyone. Besides leading so many classes, Guruji goes into Lakshmipuram every day to visit old friends and perhaps teach Ashtanga to locals at the old shala (not sure about this part). Not surprisingly, by 4:30 pm he was too tired to do a full conference. It was very sweet though...we were all in the shala dressed up (always ready for a photo op with the guru) and anxious to begin the first conference in many weeks (our first as well, Guruji didn't do any conference in December) and Guruji came onto the platform at the front of the shala, sat down and said that he was really tired and would like to reschedule for next Sunday. Many of us laughed because he is such a jokester and it wouldn't be at all out of character for him to start the conference off with a funny. But he wasn't joking and it took a student to ask Sharath to clarify what he said before we realized that he was truly rescheduling (Guruji's english is a bit hard to understand until you get used to it). Actually he spoke for about ten minutes about the fact that practice is not something you do for weeks or months but years and that yoga asana, ayurveda, and Sanskrit are linked and should be practiced together. Next week we get to ask him questions about the topics. Then we all took lots more pictures.

It was really fun...sitting in the shala and talking with everyone and joking about the questions we'd like to ask Guruji. "Oh Guruji...why do our teachers at home make us do five of each sun salutation but here with you we only do three? Is it that we are just so much closer to enlightenment and the sun here in Mysore or is it because you are a bit tired of counting?" It will be great to get together next week too.

Yoga life is going really well. We just paid for our second month at the shala which is impossible to believe and have started talking about the next time we come to Mysore. Now it is hard to imagine not coming for a few months every year. Others have warned us about this illness...we'll see if we still have it after four months. I am finally feeling comfortable in my practice here and less frantic and Sharath has given me my first second series pose (secret, happy grin). Did pashasana today. I'm pretty sure I heard a drum roll as I jumped forward and cheers after I finished...or that coulda just been my heart trying to pound out of my chest! Bound the pose and kept my balance....phew.

Frank is getting his own applause from some pretty lofty heights. I won't name names or give details but when I told a few students today that Frank was practicing at home because he has a really bad cold, they were impressed. Most ashtangis will bring just about anything with them into the practice room. I did get lots of good and ayruvedic suggestions for treating his cold and I'm sure it will be cleared up soon. We are going to get in touch with the famous Dr. Kumar!

P.S...Water seems to be back on today without interruption. Hmm, what do I do with my hoard?

P.S.S...I've fallen in love with a puppy and want to bring him (Albert) home but Frank won't let me. Send suggestion for breaking down his resolve...he claims that Albert isn't "his dog".

P.S.S.S...Big yogi tsunami fundraiser last week. Not sure how much was raised but people seemed pretty generous. We have another one this week...birthday party for Joseph and fundraiser.

Love from India and thinking about Mexican food,
Rebecca