Goodbye Mysore.

This is it, last nite in Mysore. We had a packed day. Chai first thing at Amruth Café. Then we headed to Om Café for breakfast. Mags was a bit tired, so she actually took a quick nap on the bed in the back. That was good as we then headed to Shobha and Randy’s to learn how to make Coconut chutney and Coconut rotis.

I am in heaven! It was 2 easy recipes and they are amazing. I think that will be my first Indian meal I make when I get back. I just have to figure out how to scrap out the inside of the coconut. I can crack one open now, which is an accomplishment I was hoping to leave with from here. There is this great machine here they use to scrap out the coconuts. It is a piece of wood with a long blade that has teeth on the end of the metal blade. You just run the coconut half over the teeth and there you go…shaved coconut. So perhaps I can ask Ray to create something like this when we get back.

After a full morning of eating breakfast #1 at Om and  #2 at Shobha’s, I decided that we would leave here with eating everywhere. Off we went with Laura and Julia and a few others to Nagarantha’s house. I am taking back 3 saris and a ton of homemade snacks that she made for her daughter, so we were going for the yummy lunch she makes for us out of her house, but also to pick everything up.

Again Mags took a 10 minute snoozer on one of their beds and we ate so many amazing dishes with chapatis that our tables instantly became quiet when the food arrived. Truly amazing! Our rickshaw drivers waited for us too, so when Mags woke up she went out running to them, calling “Swami, Swami!” Swami is very Hanuman to me. He is 23, but looks about 34. He is quiet, doesn’t speak a word of English. Sadly his father was big drinker and wouldn’t let him go to school when he was young, but made him go to work and support the family. He is a quiet man and has a huge heart. When Maggie was locked in our place, it was Swami who ran to get his rickshaw friends and he ran to the neighbors getting the huge coconut cutter to use to unlock the door through the screen window. He is always picking Maggie up and putting her shoes on, helping her in the rickshaw. He really is kind to her. So naturally she is calling for him. If we go to the rickshaw stand and he is not there, she says to the other drivers…”Where Swami?”

So they played outside as one of the other drivers was shimmying up a tree collecting Nem leaves. Tomorrow is the New Year Holiday in 2 states, one being Kanaada, here. I can’t quiet get a straight answer why it is not the New Year for all of India and only 2 states. But it is. Everyone worships in the temples and it’s a huge holiday,just like our Ne Years. Tradition is you eat Nem leaves (which are super super bitter and taste like dandelions) and Jagari together. I said to myself, oh no, Mags loves that Jagari, which is like brown sugar. So the girl is going to be in heaven. At the restaurants she says, sugar please. I cave in and give her a 1/8 teaspoon and she says, “Thank you!” then asks for more again and again and again.

We left Nagantha’s and Mags fell asleep across Julia, Laura and I on our way back. Those 2 jumped out at the coconut stand and with Mags laying across the seat of the rickshaw, Swami ran me around to do errands, which is perfect. It’s like having a built in babysitter while I run in 2 seconds to pick up a gift, buy diapers, say goodbye to the tailor, cancel our car for the airport since we had 2 booked and so on.

We pull up to the house and of course she pops up, saying, “Swami coming?” I tell her no, he has to work and we go in and she is wide awake. I put on Hotel for Dogs and catch a 10 minute snoozer myself. Laksmi then shows up and I am off in a rickshaw again to Jayasharee for chanting. I have been wanting to study with her since I got here, but she was in the states doing workshops and when she arrive back, I was in my level 2 Sanskrit nightmare. Today was my first and only day to go. I sat down with 7 others and I loved it! We chanted the yoga sutras and some other mantras and I was so happy. She is the teacher of all the teachers for chanting and philosophy. She has the most beautiful voice and even the gurus go to her to learn chanting. I felt honored to be sitting there in her home, with her husband next to her, with only 7 others to here and learn the chanting. I was also now thanking Laksmi, my Sanskrit teacher, as it did really help me in pronouncing many of the sutras and I know what is long vowels and short vowels and how to chant them now. I have to remind myself that everything happens for a reason in the order that it happens. Once again that motto rang true here.

She ended with this amazing Indian children song. It is about a sparrow and how he is left alone to fly for himself. It is so sweet and beautiful when she sings it, I had tears in my eyes chanting it back to her. I honestly can’t think of any other way to end my trip here. I thought to myself, Mags would love it, so I am going to learn it and sing it back to her.
Here is Jayasharee singing it in San Francisco
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qAfTuBfIHCI

I am home now. Mags fell asleep at 6 p.m. I am making a light fruit salad of banana, papaya and apples. I am up at 3:45 a.m. tomorrow for the last led class by Sharath.

I cannot say enough how blessed I feel to have been here. To experience the shala, Sharath for teaching me patience and showing me that the practice truly does work in time, the yogis from all over the world, Kumar – my amazing transgression guru, Laksmi for teaching me Sanskrit how to write Sanskrit sentences, Lokash the amazing tailor who saved my butt by making me curtains for our place which one of the spayed dogs ate, Dr. Arun for neutering/spaying 12 dogs and being so kind and happy all the time, for Sanjay and Swami our rickshaw drivers for taking us everywhere, including carting the dogs to and from the vet with me, for all of our neighbors for waving and smiling to us every day and for loving Maggie like she has always been here, Prakash – the shala security guard for always smiling and bowing to us even though his wife and 4 kids are still in Nepal as he can’t afford to bring them here, Guru and his sons fo cracking coconuts at their stand and sitting Mags on the bench with her own sweet coconut, Tina/Shobha/Anu for teaching me to cook and making me prepare the meals with them so I can really learn the recipes, Shiva and his crew for helping us out by letting the street dogs stay in our house while they recovered from their surgeries, Randy for giving us a place to feel safe and comfortable in our first days here and always helping us out from mosquito nets to converter plugs, Jessica and Andrew for giving Maggie play dates and being so kind to us, Laksmi for being with Maggie every morning and afternoon when I had class, for loving Maggie like she is her own and for shedding tears when we are leaving. My family and friends for supporting me on this journey and cheering me on as we did this spiritual adventure. I can’t tell you how the emails and Facebook posts were helping me on this path. Thank you! And last to my husband, Ray, who has been more than supportive in allowing us to leave him for two months and come here. It has wrenched his heart inside and out. I am so blessed at your beautiful kindness and support always. It is so hard to be a spouse of an ashtangi woman. My married girlfriends all talk about this with me. We get up at the crack of dawn 6 days a week, then we ask to leave our lovely men for 2 - 3 months to travel half way round the world to study with a guru. It’s not easy to be the one to stay at home and many times they think it makes no sense what in the heck we are doing here. I can say it is not unnoticed and it not for nothing, I am a changed woman for this and I see it in my girlfriends here too who have left their men at hoem to pay the bills, work, have bachelor meals and keep it going at home. I can say that I understand now that this practice does work and I understand what and who God. I understand what love and devotion is from a marriage and from a loving man, who let us come here, toddler in tow. I have learned so much more than just those things alone, but I thank you so much Ray Ray for letting us be here.

We are home in 2 days and I’ll be back teaching ina  week and those who live far from us, I will do my best to keep updating this blog as I carry on this spiritual journey back in the states. We leave at 1 a.m. by car tomorrow nite to Bangalore where we board our first plane at 7:30 a.m. We will be in route for a total of 40 hours making our way with weird Indian snacks, books and toys to keep Ms. Mags happy

Each and every one of you reading this took part in my journey in more ways than I think any of you will know.

Truly Namaste!