What a Difference a Day Makes

The last post was written at the end of a few days of Indian silliness. Of course I don't feel that way all of the time, but India has a habit of amplifying one's emotions! I can be having a good day, when all of a sudden something quite unexpected will throw me off-balance. And Indians seem to sense an off-balance foreigner like dogs smell fear, and they seem to all start playing up at once. Of course nothing has changed, I have just allowed their usual behavior get to me.

It is like doing a tricky balancing posture in yoga. You will be calmly balancing, when you think, "Hey, I am doing well on this asana today", and all of a sudden you start to wobble and fall over. You only start to wobble and fall over with the Indians when you start thinking too much about it... it is like some days I go looking for trouble.

Today was a much better day. I woke before my 5am alarm to go to yoga. My head was clear from my cold for the first time in a few days. The over-enthusiastic dogs that have been chasing me on the way to the shala decided that I wasn't worth the effort, due in part to some well aimed rocks at their leader yesterday.

I enjoyed the practice, with the postures coming a lot easier this morning as I didn't have to struggle for breath and I had enough energy to keep the vinyasa going between postures. I am starting to take a real liking to Mr Iyengar, he is a strict, but funny and understanding. When he was putting me into a tricky posture the other day I let out an unnecesary groan, and he mockingly groaned in return. This might offend some, but it was clear that there was no need for me to moan like that. His adjustments are strong, but he seems to know what my limits are, which is the result of knowing what he is doing and 50-odd years of teaching. His catch-cry is "all will be revealed!", and if you ask him a question about anything a torrent of information and funny stories is unleased.

My usual after-class, chai-drinking buddy Sean was not in class today, so I walked to the chai stall on my own. The guy who runs the chai stall is one of the good Indians, always ready with a smile and a well made chai. For 6 cents one gets a couple of short, sweet chais to start the day.

On the walk down my street to home, the kids were well mannered and in high spirits. They were happy to play and chat, without asking for pens or coins... and the little rascal who threw fruit at me when I didn't give him anything was absent.

For breakfast I made myself cardamom coffee arabic style, and banana porridge with cloves, cardamom and cinamon. It is full power cooking with my new stove.

Then the guy who lives in the flat next to mine, a nice-enough Malaysian bloke who is also studying yoga, and I went to the Mysore Zoo. The zoo was well kept and organised by Indian standards, with lots of different animals (including my fave, the hippo). That said, some of the animals' enclosures were not that well kept, and a lot of the mammals were showing signs of stress. The big cats and bears in particular looked very agitated.

It cost one dollar to get in with my camera. I took a few photos for the first time in a while. I only took one shot of the animals, instead I took photos of Indian tourists taking photos of animals, Indian tourists taking photos of one-another (which is funnier than it sounds), the tacky signs, some well-designed rubbish bins and other little things that make an Indian zoo a unique experience. This Martin-Parr style of photography is a lot of fun in India. And if you don't know who Martin Parr is, I recommend doing a google search for him.

Then a vegetarian fixed meal, called a thali in these parts, was had for 50 cents. That entails rice, some fried breads, 2 types of curry, 2 types of spicy soup, set yoghurt and a dessert. And free top-ups on the curry and soup. Delish, healthy and affordable.

So, not a bad day. Now that I am over my cold and feeling well it is harder for the locals to rock my boat, and easier for me to get along with them. I might not end up "enjoying" many of my Indian experiences, but I certainly am learning a lot from them.