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Published: February 17th 2006
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near my hotel
I saw this woman sleeping on the sidewalk near my hotel as I started my walk on Sunday at about 4 p.m. I am in my favourite cyber cafe in Chennai on Friday morning, February 17 -- playing hookey! I took the morning off school because I feel so overloaded, after almost two weeks. This is an intense learning experience at Krishnamacharya Yoga Mandiram (KYM), in many ways. I am learning about yoga of course, and about India, and, perhaps mostly, about me in India.
So, I had a very quiet morning in my hotel room, which is actually really very comfortable, especially given it is a budget hotel. I have a large room, on the top (fourth) floor, overlooking the pool. From my window I can see a lot of trees and the blue sky of India. I am very lucky to have such a sunny, spacious view in this crowded city, which I have dubbed the Hamilton of India. And I have a fridge, so I can snack on fruit, and juice, and other healthy things. Health food is not on the menu in India ...
I took the time this morning to have a long (slow) yoga practise and begin to incorporate some of the things I am learning into my personal practise (such things as breathing techniques
another sleeper
This woman is probably taking a break from begging. Women often hold up their children and babies when begging, to elicit wallet-opening compassion. and the therapeutic use of asana: I am still recovering from my foot injury). One of the only things I am disappointed in at KYM is the morning (7 a.m.) asana practise at the school. I don't get it. It's not a "yoga class" as I know it; and it doesn't seem to include many of the things we are learning. A man who is very good at asana demonstrates and another man talks us through the various poses, most of which are too challenging for me as I am not warmed up enough, I am injured and I am out of practise because of all the travelling I have been doing. So I think I will do my own practise in my room in the mornings.
I will write more about KYM and what I am learning, both personally and professionally, in a later entry. I am definitely feeling that I am on a journey .... but too soon to talk about it. I am processing a lot of information on all levels of my being ....
In the meantime, I entitled this entry "the real world" in response to my friend Shawn's comment about wanting to
water
Many people in Chennai, and elsewhere in India, have to go to tanks such as these for water. You see women carrying colourful plastic water contaners in the traditional pear-shape all the time, often on their heads. They have beautiful posture. see more of the "undesirable" things about India. I have been thinking a lot about her request, and the implications. As Shawn well knows, this opens up a whole can of worms regarding the nature of reality -- which I have studied in depth during my many years at the Gestalt Institute, and now studying the science and philosophy (and psychology) of yoga. Both Gestalt and yoga are concerned with many of the same things concerning the experience of being a living, sentient being. And they posit many of the same ideas, especially about how reality is a personal, subjective thing that we primarily experience through our body/senses.
This travel blog has been a wonderful and interesting experience for me because it is interactive and I have received numerous comments and queries (and judgments) about my trip and my entries. It has given me an avenue of expression, a record, and thought-provoking ideas.
So, I have been thinking about how to respond to Shawn. It's not as simple as it sounds! I didn't really want to go around taking pictures of "undesirable things," for many reasons. For one thing, I didn't want to offend anyone. For another, I
buggy
Buggies are often used here for transportation, often pulled by oxen. It's still abizarre sight to see oxen-pulled loads on busy city streets. am currently deeply steeeped in yoga and Hindu pilosophy, and to borrow a phrase form my f iend Ajay (who is Hindu), it's "not nice." To sum up a profound spiritual and philsophical viewpoint, there is a big stress on the positive in the ideas I have encountered in India.
Okay, to make a long story short, here is my solution. I went for a walk from my hotel straight east on Dr. Ramakrishna Road to Marina Beach and simply took pictures of whatever caught my eye, without judgment. Without looking for the desirable or undesirable; the positive or negative. The only things msissing are the sounds and smells which are as equally intense as the sights in India. It is VERY NOISY all the time, and some of the smells you encounter could "choke a horse" as my Mom used to say. For esample, I passed an almost-dry canal lined with thatch shacks -- a very, very poor part of town. Obviously the canal was their toilet and their garbage dump. The smell was almost unbearable. Meanwhile, children were playing right on the banks, and people were living there, going about their regular routine. So here is my
pretty in pink
In a row of tiny shacks, this one stood out because the owners obviously have house-pride. foray into "photo journalism" to give you a taste of a typical Sunday afternoon in Chennai.
P.S. Today is the birthdays and anniversary of my friend's Paul and Tamara.
"Happy birthday and anniversary, you two!!"
Paul has been to India about five times, and I often think of things he has told me about his experiences here, such as: "India is the one place I've been where all of my senses were totally engaged." Thanks for your inspiration, Paul!
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Shawn
non-member comment
Thank you
Mariellen, Thank you for honouring my request. I have been enjoying all the pictures you have taken since your arrival, and I feel even more of a sense of understanding with the pictures you included today. Being nice has nothing to do with reality, and, I understand your friend's wish to conform. If you have read Siddhartha, you will remember that it was his witnessing of the suffering that motivated him to work for the benefit of all sentient beings and awoke his compassion for others. Before then, Siddhartha had never been exposed to anything but beauty and positivity and had no motivation to change anything. I was more moved today by those pictures than any of the others, although the others were beautiful, but more moved today, in a heartfelt way. Thank you again, and I wish you all the best with your studies and experience, and look forward to more blogs. Shawn