http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/Rajasthan/Pali/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from Asia , India , Rajasthan , Pali en-us Thu, 31 Dec 2009 06:11:55 +0000 Thu, 31 Dec 2009 06:11:55 +0000 Aiden has a couple of boils on his legs and is louder than a firetruck in excruciating pain with them. We now have the magic cream so are hoping they heal quicklyCal has had a heat rash for a while now though it's becoming quite itchy and uncomfortable as the heat increases. The diagnosis is that we move up to the top floor of the accommodation building where there is air conditioning. My researc http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/Rajasthan/Pali/blog-428282.html Now I am running the kitchen here at the Ashram. We have about 25 people though sometimes this fluctuates. Irsquom learning about some different vegetables lots of new Hindi vocabulary and some Indian cooking. Also how to use an abundance of milk that we get from the Ashram cows. During the day we churn the yoghurt to make butter which is then heated to get the ghee. When the milk separates we http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/Rajasthan/Pali/blog-402933.html Have been enjoying some late night swims in Talab. Purnima full moon is soon so it's great light. Especially floating on your back because it's so quiet and relaxingLast night we enjoyed a typical Indian feast. Lots of oily spicy food and of course lots of overly sweet halva for dessert It was great to have puri again. We do have delicious chipatis every day for lunch and dinner but there i http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/Rajasthan/Pali/blog-402880.html When Swamiji was here I went and listened to some of his lectures and when the Bhaktas came to sing songs. When I see Swamiji I go up to greet him. He asked me if I had any wish but I didnrsquot so I said no. Then I heard there was a tour. When Swamiji left here he was going to visit the other Ashrams in India and then go to Europe. I asked if I could go and Swamiji said yes if my Mum came with http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/Rajasthan/Pali/blog-402842.html I was going to ask Swamiji for a Spiritual name but Callum asked for Mantra so I asked for it too. Mum was really surprised Swamiji doesnrsquot usually give Mantra to kids. The day I got my Mantra there was a lot of people in the Bhakti Sagar. We gave Swamiji a tray with some incense a candle a coconut papaya and sweet melon some flowers and 108 rupees. Swamiji gave us the candle to keep a http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/Rajasthan/Pali/blog-402831.html I saw a snake on the way to school. Someone found a scorpion behind the alter at the Bhakti Sagar. We are getting ready for exams at school. We are celebrating Navaratri the start of summer. Itrsquos a 9 day festival event and wersquove had a few days off school for it. Today is the last day of Navaratri and we had a fire ceremony. http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/Rajasthan/Pali/blog-402375.html I am having fun here. I got a thumb drive and Avatar hid it but I found it again12290Well Gretchen our friend in China sent us Harry Potter number 5 the movie and two really cool Dr Seuss Books. At school itrsquos pretty easy now exams are finished. Itrsquos hot so we start early and finish early. We start at 730 and finish at 1230. Irsquom doing some revision of the Hindi alphabet le http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/Rajasthan/Pali/blog-402370.html We have been swimming in the fountain in the middle of the kitchen eating area and enjoying Easter eggs. The Easter bunny even found us here in the desert Exams are on now. We only go to school on the days we have exams. Cal looked at his fingernails this morning and said ldquoLook at these Mumrdquo. He also asked ldquoWhy do you think they look like thatrdquo I said they looked great an http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/Rajasthan/Pali/blog-402365.html Cal is helping raise money for the hospital in our Ashram grounds. He has been selling stickersI happened to chance 5mins alone with Swamiji on the lawn. They'd set him up there on his special chair and gone off to prepare other things and for some reason no one was around. I took the opportunity and asked what to do about Aiden's nose which has been how it is since I left the boys in Sept to ret http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/Rajasthan/Pali/blog-402359.html The past week we have also had a few accidents. One 1820yo Indian guy drowned in Talab our dam while doing some repairs. Santoshpuriji had sunstroke and was out of action for a couple of days. Chandrapuriji got stung by a bee up his nose and had bad swelling on more than half his face for a few days. One of the horses here sustained an injury though seems to be recovering. One of the bhaktas wh http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/Rajasthan/Pali/blog-402349.html Elections are on and this is one example of what happens in India. One guy up for consideration has a Guru that in this case just happens to be Swamiji. So although the candidates are not allowed to feed their supporters he charters about 25 big buses and moves somewhere between 510 000 people along in these buses and they just happen to be in the area where his Guru has an Ashram. So they stop http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/Rajasthan/Pali/blog-402343.html We have been in India for a few festivals now. In India they have a holy Trinity but it is a bit different to the Christian one. They have The Creator The Destroyer of evilLiberator and the Protector who looks after the earth after it's been created. Shiva is the destroyerliberator so they have a festival to Shiva once a year here. When it was Shivaratri Mum and Dad stayed up all night for i http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/Rajasthan/Pali/blog-384073.html We navigated our way on the local buses to arrive at the Ashram which is just near a very small town called Pali. We crossed a fair bit of desert type country and saw many camels and a few deer. I'll have to work on getting some pictures of these.Ashram means lsquowelcome to come and do somethingrsquo meaning something for yourself and also something for others. The current focus of the Guru h http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/Rajasthan/Pali/blog-381246.html Irsquom having fun at my new school. One of my teachers gives me a toffee most days and sometimes sultanas or rock lollies that look like rocks. They are white and you have to crunch them. Irsquom teaching my class English some art tricks and one and two handed cartwheels. They are teaching me Hindi.Irsquom exploring lots around here and making awesome things. Someone in the workshop made http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/Rajasthan/Pali/blog-381240.html Namaste Hello. We came here by plane. We arrived in Delhi and went to a big mosque and some rickshaw rides around the city. I like the Gandhiji Museum a lot. There was a spinning wheel that Callum and I had a play with. Gandhiji wrote a lot about truth love and how animals are scared just before they are killed We tried to see the Red Fort but we couldnrsquot get in.I now live in India at Jad http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/Rajasthan/Pali/blog-381238.html