Hi,
TGIF! We have just finished our eighth week here in Mysore. We had our led class this morning at 4:30 and the day off tomorrow. Of course, that means some celebration is in order for tonight. There are two sides to every coin, and we are also one day closer to the end of our adventure here in India. We realize that this will be our last Friday practice here, as next week there is the new moon and that means no classes. But, we are both looking forward to returning, and especially to see our families and friends, and at the same time we will miss this place and the people and the craziness!
The biggest reminder of the fact we are not home in northern NY is the weather. It is sunny and warm almost every day. It is still February, of course, but that means every day will be getting warmer and hotter, as winter is over in India after January. The mosquitos are already out. One morning after yoga practice as I was lying in relaxation pose in the locker room I was bitten seven times by mosquitos! Itchy and scratchy, just like home! It actually rained on Thursday night and early morning, enough for puddles to form. That is very unusual for February, and more like the rainy season of June and July.
We thought we would share some of the things we have noticed over here that make us realize we are not in Kansas anymore.
“You are what you eat,” they say. We have found quite a few different places to eat and subsequently- metamorphosize. One of the most confusing aspects is the timings of the menus. We found several restaurants where you can only order certain things at certain times or on certain days. Invariably, you spend the first few weeks ordering food you can’t get. Like trying to have a thali meal for dinner, instead of lunch. Or ordering dinner before seven o’clock, and wanting a “chat” or snack at dinner. Or wanting the Sunday special on Sunday, of all things! We have not returned to the Grean Leaf because we never seem to be able to get what we want, we are always too early or too late- even though it is all clearly listed on the menu. One of the most fun things we did last week was go on a road trip, and stop in a very typical small Indian town not used to foreigners, (unlike Mysore which has had many years to adapt to the white devils.) Our taxi drivers, whom we have befriended since coming here in January, showed us to this local “hotel” (Indian for restaurant.) We always like the “thali meals” which are sort of a one-man buffet, with small bowls of various curried dishes, some yogurt, lentils and rice and vegetables and sometimes pudding or soup or whatever. These meals are always different, but similar, wherever you go. This we were used to, but the real fun started when we began to eat. We had asked the drivers to join us and were very glad they did, because there was no silverware or napkins to be found! Not a spoon, not a fork, not a knife. We watched, and learned, how to eat everything with your fingers! At first we used the flat bread to pick up the food, but it was soon apparent there would not be enough bread to save yourself from using your hands. We could not eat as fast as they, but we did a pretty good job for out-of-towners and decided we really liked it after all. So the next time we went out to eat we ordered a thali meal and dove right in up to our wrists! You have to try it to like it, and it’s not a bad thing to realize how we often draw boundaries around ourselves, and when they can be happily discarded.
One thing we have noticed is that is is hard to keep enough small change on hand for buying goods and services. A cup of coffee or chai is about 12 rupees, (26 cents), and most of the time the smallest money in your pocket is a 100 rupee note. Most businesses don’t seem to carry any small bills or coins to make change. Especially rickshaw drivers, but also cashiers at the grocery store. Often you don’t get back the right change, or need to come back tomorrow with the correct amount. In the largest grocery store, Loyal World, the cashier did not have any coins at all, and she owed us 2 rupees. So, she asked us if we would take two carmels instead! “Okay,” said Kathy, and the girl reached into the cash register and sure enough, gave us two wrapped candies for change! Wow. I thought it strange, but other people said it happens all the time.
In good old northern NY, we deal with seagulls who seem to come from nowhere to try and steal your food and scraps from right off your table. Over here, it’s the job of the monkeys to make sure no scrap goes unattended. At restaurants or even here at our apartment, the guards and staff are on constant lookout for monkeys which will sneak down looking for food. Mostly, they will shoo away with a word or two, or maybe a small stone thrown at them, etc. Gotta keep ‘em out of the garbage, for sure. The other day we say about a dozen or so in the trees outside our third floor balcony. I looked up from my computer to see a large monkey right on the railing of the balcony, about ten feet away. Didn’t try to come inside, although if I had not been there, I am sure it would’ve. Our friend Marika, from Sweden, was awakened one evening to find a monkey in her bedroom. She screamed at it in Swedish to “scat” and he sort of walked away slowly, back out the half open door and eyeing her with some disdain. I guess because she was so loud.
We have rented a small scooter to putt around with while we are here. I drive a motorcycle back home, and this bike is quite cute, no gears to shift and kind of beat-up, but practical. You drive on the left hand side of the street, (a carry-over from the days of British rule, no doubt), which is already somewhat disconcerting. Four years ago when we first encountered Indian traffic “rules” we were amazed and thrilled and a bit afraid to even venture out onto the streets. Now we are getting somewhat used to driving, and this is what we have noticed; bigger vehicles always have the right of way, (or as one friend told us “Big fish eat small fish.), that makes the bus the king of the road, with dump trucks a close second. Near the bottom of the food chain is the scooter, the bicycle and the pedestrian, in that order. At an intersection, the first one to “beep” his or her horn usually has the right of way, excepting the above mentioned rule about size. In fact, “beeping” is the preferred method of driving. In America, you use your horn in anger, to get revenge or to applaud the “other guy” for some brazen act of stupidity. In India, you are requested to use your horn, (all trucks have the lettering “Please sound horn,” written across the back). It is a sign of respect and if your brakes don’t work, that’s ok- but if your horn doesn’t work- you’re in deep doo-doo. Also, you are allowed to drive on the wrong side of the road if you (a) are in a hurry, (b) only have a little ways to go, or (c) the only other option would be to stop. When you drive on the wrong side you must stay waaaay over to the right so people will know that you know that you are driving on the wrong side on temporary permit. Last Monday there was a road block in Gokulam. I got stopped for driving without my helmet on. (Duh.) My only defense is that we drive very slowly, and about half of the population also drives without a helmet. In fact, only the driver needs one, and only then if stopped (by a road block.) The fine is 100 rupees ($2.20), you pay on the spot and continue on down the road. Oh, the other weird thing, is that there are cows everywhere in the streets. (Occasionally horses and goats and of course, dogs and rarely, a family of pigs.) Sometimes the cows come out in packs, walking slowly across the street. As slowly as they move, they never get hurt, and everyone drives around them and the cows look so peaceful and carefree! Downtown, in Mysore city, we saw a cow cross a four-lane road, gently push a police barricade out of the way, and continue across to the other side. Most people were using the underground tunnel to get across the street, and we don’t know how the chicken would have done it.
The last thing we will touch upon is the language business. In Mysore, there are two main choices for language- Kannada and English. Every school child learns English, and Kannada is the language of the state of Karnataka, where we are. In India there are many different states, as in the US, but each state has its’ own language, as well. That leaves English as the common denominator, and this is found on street signs, in menus and used in most packaging, etc. Added to this is the fact that there are many foreign students here in Gokulam who have come from all over the world- many from Europe, but also many from Japan, South America, the US and Canada. That makes one very large bowl of polyglot soup. And it seems as if everyone else but Americans can speak at least two languages, some even more. (I can sound like a complete imbecil if French, if I need to.) It seems to us that knowing a second language gives your brain a chance to spread out, take a small vacation and maybe see what the other side of the world is doing. We imagine that being bi-lingual gives you sort of a leg up on the socio-evolutionary ladder and allows you to be more understanding and accepting of other cultures and, more importantly, other people as well. That’s the up-side. There is always the other side, you recall, and this is when you realize that no matter how hard you try, you can’t get the store clerk to realize you are looking for clothes pins or a can opener and they insist on showing you a drying rack or corkscrew instead. These are the times when you have to laugh and wish you both were a whole lot better at charades. Some other coloquialisms: “plain” water is room temperature, not iced, “black” coffee is instant coffee with milk, “shifting” is moving, as in packing up, “auto” is a small taxi, “in station” means at home and lastly, “bhogy” is someone who practices yoga on the mat but not off the mat.
Thank you all so very much for your correspondence and news from home. We have enjoyed hearing from you all. We appreciate all of your words of support, even for these lengthy e-mails. We have just one week left and will be returning on March 8th. We leave at 5 in the morning from Bangalore and arrive at around 10:30 the same (calendar) day in Syracuse. Actual travel time will be over 28 hours, though. Gonna outrace the sun, I guess. Hoping to share some more good times and some great yoga with you when we get back. Please take good care of yourselves and we shall see you very soon.
Love and peace,
Jeff and Kathy