My ear is tuning in more and more to Prashant’s accent, which fit one of his themes today. He kept asking “how far have you come?” Encouraging us to not focus on the future or how far we have to go but to be here and use our senses and perception like the instrument panel of a car to tell
The first person in line for the women’s class this morning was a man. There were a half a dozen or so men in the class, most in the very back center row. Sunita, one of Mr. Iyengar’s daughters, taught the class. She is a large woman with a commanding voice and sharp eye (and tongue). The theme of the
Yesterday we met the woman who will come in and cook for us. Her name is Anita and for 1,000 rupes each for the month she will come to our flat and cook whatever vegetables we buy. She’ll also make bread and chai and more. Tonight will be our first meal cooked by her. Anita took stock of what we
Our flat is opposite the Institute. I have always had very short commutes but this is the absolute shortest. I haven’t counted the steps yet. By the time I think of it, I am already at the gate of the Institute. It’s three bedrooms. Two of the rooms have two single beds with attached baths and the smaller bedroom, one
There were more people in class today. I took a mat closer to the center but after chanting the invocation, I was never on it again. Immediately Prashant broke us into groups, all the men on a mat in downward facing dog, a group of women at the rope wall hanging on with arms behind, and another group in rope
My two roommates and I walked across the street to RIMYI, otherwise known as the Institute, for our first class of the month. Although I have seen many photos, this is my first time at the Institute. My initial impression was that it is smaller than I imagined. I had that same feeling I have when I go back to
Humayum was the last mohgul leader and his wife built this tomb in red sandstone and marble. It has the same architectural elements of the Taj Mahal and other tombs. I think there are about 100 people buried here. This is our day on the tour and, as it goes, I get pretty saturated. The history is long and the
The second highlight of the day was learning about the Sikh religion. There are five “Ks” in this practice. Kesh, which is long hair. These people never cut their hair, shave or wax any part of their body. They often wear a turban with all their hair in a bun under the turban. Kachh, cotton underwear, worn because in early
Each morning once our group boards the coach our tour manager, Mansi, reviews the agenda for the day.linig up the schedule she told us there would be two highlights of the day. The first, a rickshaw ride through the market. The streets are chaos, especially as they narrow. Buses, four wheelers, two wheelers, rickshaws, autorickshaws, carts, donkeys, bikes, motorcycles and
From Jaipur we headed down the highway (three lanes separated with white lines!) for Delhi. Along the route the driver pulled over when he saw a banana cart and monkeys at the side of the road. We hopped the barrier and Mansi bought bananas from the vendor so we could feed them and get photos. At least three of them