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Published: January 18th 2006
post treatment
My Russian friend Ksenia took this picture of me after an ayurvedic treatment. I am standing in front of the treatment centre.I am writing this from my "home" computer in Ajay's house in south Delhi, on the evening of January 18. I flew back from Kerala yesterday morning, stopping very briefly in Mumbai (Bombay) -- but we weren't allowed off the plane, so I still have only seen India's most bustling city (which features Asia's biggest slum) from the air.
It was a very tiring road trip, but I really love Kerala. Lush, historical, friendly, relaxing, abundant -- they call it "god's own country." (But then so does Kashmir. And many other places around the globe. Personally, I think everywhere is god's own country!)
The principal reason the road trip was so tiring was the Hindu temple festival, dedicated to the god Ayappa -- a major diety in southern India. The temple was very near Shinshiva Ayurvedic Ashram, and for six days leading up to the festival they blasted music about 20 hours per day through HUGE speakers placed alll along the road. In other words, for the last week of my treatment (I had a two-week body purification treatment at Shinshiva), I did not get enough sleep. It was only possible to sleep 4-5 hours per night (they started
life size chess men
This is an enormous chess board on the lawn of the old palace, south of Kovalam. at 4:30 a.m.!!!), and during the day our nerves were hammered. Very bad combination with deep and intense ayurvedic treatment, that makes you feel vulnerable and emotional.
Sometimes, the music was quite lovely, sometimes it was weird (can you imagine the sound of that strange flute that snake charmers play at top volume), but most of the time it was just plain annoying. We did make one or two attempts to go to the festival, but seemed always to miss the main events. Until I left, I hoped to see a parade of decorated elephants, but alas, it was not to be.
Otherwise, I was extremely happy with Shinshiva and the area it is in, the town of Chowara. I think it must be one of the loveliest and quietest beach areas in Kerala. I spent one afternoon in Kovalam, one of the primary tourist beach towns in Kerala, and disliked it instantly. Small dirty beach, beggars, souvenir hawkers, high prices, grumpy, pasty tourists. A terrible place. But I did have quite a nice lobster lunch there -- two small grilled lobsters (small by Canadian standards) for R. 550, which is about $12.
There are so many
Agnes and I
My friend Agnes -- a wonderful German woman who was doing the full 51-day panchakarma treatment -- and I in front of my cottage at Shinshiva. I moved to a cottage to get further from the loud speakers. things I loved about being at Shinshiva, which I will miss. Watching the sunset from the cliff top terrace; the glow of the fishing boat lamps on the pitch black ocean each night, looking like a glittering diamond necklace floating on a sea of black mist; the fresh food, each dish full of fresh spices and herbs, small leaves, large peppercorns and all the bounty of this glorious area; drinking and then eating freshly opened tender coconuts; the red earth; the big, warm friendly smiles of almost every Malayli person I met (people from Kerala are Malayli and they speak Malayalam); the cameraderie of the guests -- most of the time, we sat at one big table for dinner, sharing treatment stories and forging friendships; the sound of the ocean (the Arabian Sea) waves on the beach; the lush greenery of the palm trees and other rich foliage; plump, juicy prawns and tandoori fish; the friendly and helpful staff, especially Benny and Suhesh ...
And then there are a few things I won't miss. The blaring music, of course; seeing three giant cockroaches, each the size of a mouse, after I moved to a cottage; the vasthi treatments (don't
sunset on the beach
This very thin man was the only beggar I saw on the beach near Shinshiva. I gave him R. 50. ask); getting ripped off by two tailors (before I found Devi -- Devi is great!); the grubby tourism and ridiculously high prices of Kovalam.
But overall it was a great experience and I would DEFINITELY go back to Shinshiva (though I would call first and make sure there are no temple or church festivals).
I left on a rainy morning, January 14. Most of the time I was in Kerala it was hot and sunny, 33 C. every day, and a balmy ocean breeze taking the edge off. But we had some clouds and rain on my last two days, which was also breautiful and made the place look like a rain forest. I booked a driver -- Baiju, my favourite Shinshiva driver -- and off we went in a white Ambassador taxi. Those cars have style!
First we drove to Sivananda Yoga Ashram, which was about 40 kms away, inland. I was inspired by my friend Rachel, in Toronto, who trained there last year. I wanted to see the place because I am thinking of also doing a one-month training course there one day. I wasn't disappointed. It's in a beautiful, hilly area, near a mystical
Indian women swimming
As a rule, traditional Indian women don't wear swimsuits -- too revealing. Some of these ladies waded in to the water up to their knees. and holy mountain -- that was shrouded in evocative mists when I saw it. The ashram seemed very lovely, and peaceful, and it's heart is a serene temple. I really liked the atmosphere, much more than the Rishikesh ashrams. But of course it is very secluded and surrounded by nature, while the ashrams in Rishikesh are side-by-side.
After my tour, Baiju drove me to Trivandrum in the pouring rain. I have seen very little rain in India -- this is not monsoon season -- so it was quite interesting. Trivandrum is the place the monsoon hits India first, at the beginning of June. I saw an amazing documentary in Toronto last summer called Chasing India's Monsoons that captured my imagination, so it was cool to be in Trivandrum in the rain. For about 15 minutes. Trivandrum is not very enchanting, well the parts I saw anyway, so you may notice there are no pictures of it. I was not very inspired. I wanted to see the temple, which only allows Hindus. I had heard you can enter if you wear a saree, and south India is the place to buy silk, so on a previous trip into Trivandrum from
lurid sunset
Honestly -- it looked like this! Shinshiva I bought two sarees at one of the big saree stores. It was fun! I got a fabulous deep pink and bright orange one; and another much more subtle, for evening -- a pale green, the colour of water on a cloudy day, studded with tiny rhinestones. Together they cost about $70 Canadian -- for about 10 metres of amazing silk.
However, I was misinformed (very typical in India) and the only way into the temple is to get permission. It's a huge rigamorole and I didn't have the time. Also, I was exhausted, it was the full moon and I was basically fried when I was there. I bought a gold bangle studded with semi-precious stones and met three Canadians at the Wild Palms Guest House -- the first Canadians I have met in India! One of them lives here in Delhi and works at the Canadian High Commisssion. I called her today and she is going to give me a tour next week.
I don't want to say anything against Trivandrum, but my advice would be to just make it a stopping off point. It's not somewhere you would want to spend a lot of
the evidence
Here is just one set of speakers, lined up along the road behind Shinshiva during the Ayappa festival to blast music. time.
The next day, January 15, Baiju picked me up and we spent the day driving up to Fort Cochin, my last stop in Kerala. So many people told me Cochin is great, including my friend Rachel, so I felt I just had to go. Plus, driving there would take me past probably the two biggest tourist draws in Kerala: Mata Amritanandamayi's ashram and Alleppey, the base for the rice boat tours of the famous backwaters of Kerala.
Mata Amritanandamayi is known the world over as Amma, the mother. She is one of India's few female gurus, and she is famous for giving people hugs. Her ashram is built near the poor fishing village in Kerala where she was born about 53 years ago. It is huge, with several buildings of about 6-10 stories. Apparently about 2,000 stay there at any one time, Indians and foriegners alike. To find out more visit her site at www.amritapuri.org. Toronto is now on her regular world tour.
I was very lucky. Amma travels 8 months a years and gives darshan only four days per week. But the day I showed up, as I was driving by, there she was, larger
lotus at Sivananda
I took several pictures of the gorgeous Sivananda Yoga Ashram outside of Trivandrum, but I like this lotus blossom best. It was in a pond with a statue dedicated to Lord Siva. than life, up on stage with two long lines of people waiting for their hugs (mostly Indians), and another group of about 50 people seated on the floor behind her (mostly white foreigners). In the huge auditorium in front of her, hundreds of people waited, mostly Indians. I think they use a token system. You can read all about this procedure in detail in the hilarous book, Holy Cow! by Sarah MacDonald.
I registered at the foreign visitors office, as requested, and told them I was only driving by and couldn't stay long, and they told me to jump the queue. So I did, and after being at the ashram for only about 15 minutes, I was hugged by Amma, and invited to join the small group on stage. I feel very lucky to have received these honours. But that is all I am going to say about my experience. At this time, I have decided not to talk about it to anyone.
Then, off we went again, driving in the hot sunshine along the coast of Kerala, to Alleppey. Alleppey is a charming spot, very green and rather sleepy, gateway to the backwaters. I stopped and looked
backwater rice boats
Here are examples of the rice boats you can rent to cruise the lush backwaters of Kerala. at several rice boats, of varying qualities, and Baiju asked around for a nice place for me to have lunch. And boy did he find a place! We drove down a long, dirt road to the Punnamada Backwater Resort (www.punnamada.com). It's gorgeous. Wow! And located in a tranquil spot on a very large lake, which is the entrance to the backwaters -- the system of lagoons that runs through this area of Kerala.
Finally, exhausted, we reached Fort Cochin, my final destination at about 5:45 p.m., and I had a guest house reservation at 6 p.m. So I was feeling very tired but very satisified. Until I got to the guest house and was abruptly told I couldn't stay because I didn't reconfirm my confirmed reservation. A nightmare situation ensued -- Fort Cochin seemed to be fully booked up -- and I almost came apart at the seems. Eventually I was saved by the amazing people at Arches Hotel. Yay Arches Hotel!!
Without going into detail as to what happened, I would say it was the classic Indian experience. The type of thing that gives rise to the love-hate feelings most foreigners have for India. The manager of
Chinese fishing nets
This is one of the many Chinese fishing nets on the beach along the north side of Fort Cochin. Kublai Khan brought this technology to India! the first guest house was obviously motivated by greed, and rented my room to a couple because he would make more money. He used the bureacracy of having to reconfirm a confirmed reservation to justify his actions. And then he treated me rudely and blamed me for what happened. A scum bag, really.
Then, I was taken to nearby Arches Hotel, and although they didn't have a room available, the three men at the front desk saw how tired and upset I was and they were unbeleivably kind to me. I had to stay in a terrible room that night, elsewhere, but the next morning the people from Arches sent a car and picked me up and deposited me in their best room, which had been vacated and cleaned before 9 a.m. They went out of their way to be kind and helpful, even calling me several times to make sure I was okay. It wasn't just business. They were moved to compassion by how upset I was the night before. Only in India!
So I had a VERY comfortable room in a brand new boutique hotel, and off I went to enjoy Fort Cochin. I have to
buying lunch
My English friend Gilly took this picture of me buying giant tiger prawns (they were huge! definitely not shrimp!) on the beach at Fort Cochin. They take them to a nearby shack and grill them in front of you and you eat at tables set up under the trees. say, Rachel, you were right. Fort Cochin is great. It's a small area, surrounded by a much a larger metropolis that I ignored. It's like the old city of Quebec City, though larger. A very historical port town, its history is well preserved. I wandered around, visiting Asia's oldest Christian church (Vasco de Gama was buried there until his remains were moved to Lisbon), watching the fishermen haul up the Chinese nets, used since the days of Kublai Khan, and generally soaking up the atmosphere of the major port-of-call on the Malabar Coast for traders from all over the globe for hundreds of years. Fort Cochin has Dutch buildings, a Jewish area, a spice market and some of the most elegant boutique hotels in India. I stopped in at the nicest one, the Malabar, where I met Gilly, an English woman, and we decided to spend the day together, touring around, having lunch and shopping. We had a great time!
One of my all-time favourite movies is Sense and Sensibility, and there is a scene in which Alan Rickman's character is asked by a young girl what India is like . He replies, in a slow, sensual drawl, "The
saying good bye
In the fashion of a true English eccentric, Gilly bought a huge crab and had them release it back into the ocean. Here she is saying goodbye to it, as it swam away. air is full of spices." Well, I have now finally been in a place I can say that about. I went to the ancient spice market in Fort Cochin and "the air was full of spices." Oh my.
The other two highlights of my tour with Gilly was buying fresh seafood on the beach (she released her live crab into the sea; I had my giant tiger prawns grilled, and savoured their freshness with barbaric gusto) and visiting the Dutch Palace. It was built by the Dutch for the Maharajah of Cochin a couple of hundred years ago (to secure trading rights). It's chief attraction is the beautiful murals that, upstairs, depict the events of the Ramayana and, downstairs, depict erotic scenes involving several Hindu gods. There are signs everywhere prohibiting photography, but the three guards told us that for 200 rupees, when no one else was around, we could photograph the erotic murals. (Another typical Indian contradiction. Actually, there really are no rules here!) So we had a lot of fun! And I genuinely loved the murals. There was one unfinished one of Vishnu in pale, muted green tones that reminded me very much of the murals I
perfume!
Kerala is famous for many things, including seafood, fruit, spices, herbs, ayurvedic medicines and essential oils. Here, I have just bought three beautiful bottles of oil --sandalwood oil, kashmir wood oil and a blend called Arabian Nights which I could not resist of course. Actually it is really nice: exotic, rich, fragrant. painted on my walls when I was a teenager of scenes from the Arabian Nights. I have a new feeling for Vishnu, now, after communing with the unfinished mural of him.
That night I was extremely tired, and ate at my hotel, spending the last part of the evening enjoying the only real western-style hotel room I have been in India. It had all the mod cons. I got into bed, after having a long hot shower (normally, you have to have a quick shower because the small hot water tank runs out) and watched a large TV, playing with the A/C (A/C!) to get the temperature just right. The bed was incredibly comfortable, brand new crisp white sheets, and I finally had a good sleep. I was also looking forward to getting back to Delhi, so that helped me sleep.
The next morning, which was yesterday (Jan. 17), I flew back to Delhi, happy to see Ajay and his family and Delhi, which feels like home-away-from-home. And I also saw my very good friend Sanjay from Toronto, who is staying with his brother here in Delhi. He called and said come over, and all I had to
ginger factory
Gilly and I visited a ginger factory in the heart of spice town in Kochin. Here they are sorting the ginger, getting it ready for drying. do was go downstairs and walk across the street. We marvelled at the amazing coincidence, and I visited with him, his brother and family, and had a fantastic dinner there.
Today, after a very long deep sleep, I went to the Sivananda Yoga Centre (which is only about 10 minutes away by taxi, in Kailash colony)and took a yoga class. Finally.
Now that I know the ropes, being in Delhi is great. I am here 10 days before flying down to Chennai on Jan. 28 to begin my one-month yoga course. It's great to have this "break" in my schedule to recuperate and relax. Phew.
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Mary Lynn
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Wet blizzard
Hi Mariellen, I'm working today right beside a window on the 32nd floor of the TD Tower here in Toronto, and we're having a wet sloppy blizzard outside. The air in this office is as dry as a bone. The very best thing about my work day today has been reading this chapter of your blog and looking at your wonderful, excellent pictures. Thank you!