Amin, auto rickshaw driver extraordinaire, took us to Aga Khan Palace today. Originally built in 1892 by Sultan Mahuammmed Shah Aga Khan III as an act of charity to help the poor in the area of Pune suffering from famine, the palace now holds the Gandhi Memorial and the organization that runs it. Mahatma Gandhi, his wife Kasturba, and his
There are fewer people in class as we approach the end of the month long study. And a few new faces have shown up for the beginning of their month. All month classes have started on time, if not early. Prashant is often getting us to “settle” at two minutes before 7 AM. So today, when there wasn’t a teacher
Navaz is direct, caring, specific, clear, compassionate and gentle. Her delivery is slow enough that I can understand her words and the timber of her voice is deep. It was a powerfully inward going class, as only pranayama can be. It is hard to describe in words. There is a place where I get quiet, touch on my emotional self,
Our flat mate Lally left for England this morning so last night was our last meal the three of us shared. Aneeta outdid herself and made coconut rice, which was extra delicious. We took this photo of the four of us using the 10 second timer, which Aneeta couldn’t seem to wrap her brain around. We all like it so
After a pranayama class I feel like an unreliable witness. I know things were said and we did some breathing but it all seems as slippery as an eel. I can’t hold on to much. After the invocation the third row was instructed to hand in rope Sirsasana and the rest of the class was in supta baddhakonasana. Prashant talked
As we entered class we were advised by one of the other students to get the cushy mats because we were doing pranayama today. Rajlaxmi started the class with the invocation, Adho Mukha Virasana and Adho Mukha Svanasana and while in theses first two poses, there was some fussing going on in the front of the room. When we came
Prashant started his two hour lecture today where he left off yesterday, expanding on “Learn to do, then do to learn.” Not only should we do to learn we should “do to prepare, do to sense, do to perceive, do to investigate, do to experiment, do to try, and not just do to do.” Certainly a wordsmith could rearrange these
And here are some photos of Trishunda Mayureshwar Ganpati Temple. Notice the guy hanging out on the balcony on the apartment next door noticing us?
“Hill stairs” was a new term for me. It means just what you might think: a hill (or slope) with an occasional stair. To get to the top of Parvati Hill there are 103 of these stairs each separated by a slope of about five or six paces. So, the entire time you are going up (or down as the
We are an anomaly here and get looked at, especially when we are in public places where there are mostly local people. Yesterday Lorene and I visited Parvati Hill (next blog post) and were approached by two groups asking to have our photos taken with them. One group consisted of seven or eight 18 year old girls who were shy