Philosophy Dinner

Mysore Magic film

What a great souvenir. Alex Medin has made a film of the yoga community in Mysore during the first two weeks of January 2012. Lots of people I recognise from my time there, great memories.

You can watch the trailer here

Christmas day

Here’s a few photos from our Christmas day here in Mysore

Yogi Santa’s waiting at the Shala Gate.

Santa Anna

Coconut man

At Amruth for after practice Chai.

Yogi Anna with Chai, first of many glasses.

Scabs is always around now she’s feeling better.

After practice and Chai we watch the sun come up.

Lunch at Green Hotel

Then a walk round the Lake.

Boat Jetty

The Silk Factory

Saturday, the day to sleep in, have a leisurely breakfast, then decide what to do.

A few days ago I was talking to an actual “tourist” one of those rare species in Mysore who doesn’t get up before the sun to try and get their feet behind their head! She had a very bright silk scarf and I asked her where she got it, “the silk Factory” she explained. Yes it has the usual shop but also you are allowed inside the actual factory.

It’s a very interesting experience being inside a third world factory. You go through a security hutch where you get to write your name in a huge dusty book, the time you arrived and then sign, I was tempted to sign M.Mouse 🙂 You also have to hand your camera in. You are then given a ticket for your camera and a pass to enter the Factory.

The first thing to hit you as you go through the door is the noise, it’s incredible, it made Diwali seem quiet. Then you see the Looms and the ladies who keep the silk thread going round. To say the machinery is antique doesn’t really do it, there are wheels with no protection from hands, it looks like something out of a Dickens novel, the noise is something else, I imagine everyone who works there must be deaf when they leave, some have cotton stuffed in their ears, but most have nothing at all. Elf n safety at home would shut the place down in a second.

The photos were taken with my mobile phone, for some reason they don’t seem to mind that, so the quality isn’t great, but it gives an idea of what the Factory is like. All that said it’s well worth a visit.

Too fast for IPhone camera

The morning

Waiting for the Shala Gate to open

The Coconut Man

Amruth Chai shop.

Barat pours the Tea

Cookie jars

The Locals

Chai Vat being stirred

A bit of a wander

Think most Ashtangi’s would agree

What rules?

Public drinking stand, note the chain on the mug which isn’t washed between drinkers!

Just how many kids can you get in the School bus Rickshaw ?

Mr Bo Bangles

Fruit sellers

Market Porter

Man with his Monkey

The Muts of Gokalum

Although there are quite a few dogs that hang out in Gokulam, there are three that like to interact with the yoga student community and who subsequently get lots of treats, two are owned, ie they have collars and go home at night, the third is a stray who lives on the street.

Scabs

More recent picture of Scabs looking much better.

Scabs is the stray, she can usually be found somewhere between the Coconut Stand and the Temple. Scabs was named by my flatmate Laura. She is being treated for her coat at the Vet, some students clubbed together, thanks to the treatment her coat is now thickening up and she is much more lively and happy these days, even some mornings hanging out at the Shala with Butter Naan. I have no idea how many people feed this dog, but it must be the best fed stray outside of Battersea Dogs Home!

Butter Naan

Butter Naan, named after her colouring, a cross between Butter and the local Naan bread. This pooch is always to be found in the road outside the Shala, especially early morning as the students sit outside waiting for the Gate to open. She runs down the road to greet each new student as they come round the corner. He likes to mingle with the crowd and even tries to sneak into the Shala, especially between shift changes on Fridays and Sundays when the practice is led.

Juanita

Juanita is the most pampered pooch, she lives a cozy life at the Anokhi Garden Cafe, this one certainly doesn’t get fed by the students, well apart from the odd biscuit. She likes to say hello to everyone, but is very quiet and likes to just hang out in the sun.

Sravana Belagola

We made a trip by car 80km north of Mysore today to visit the Jain monolith at Srivana Belagola.
We thought we would just be seeing the giant 58ft high statue of the Gommateshvara
, but in fact there was lots more to see.

It’s a steep climb up the steps in bare feet, you have to hand in your shoes, there are people who try to sell you socks at the entrance!

Zoe, Anna and Dorothy climbing.

View of the Lake.

You can be carried up!

Thousand year old text, preserved under glass.

You can be blessed by the man in orange.

Feet of the Gommateshvara

Copper plate

Anna being mobbed after taking a photo!

Great architecture

A different view of the lake

There’s so much more to Karnataka than getting your legs behind your head!

Eating chapattis

I got bored with Dosa, strange soups and the crap bread, so after a discussion about the merits of Chapattis and how to make them ( there are T-shirts here with “EAT MORE CHAPATTIS” on), I watched a you tube video on how to make chapattis, basically chapatti flour and salt, total ingredient cost 30 Rupees.

How hard can it be I thought and decided to have a go, well harder than it looks, my first attempt a week ago below doesn’t do justice to the way the mix welded itself to the rolling pin and stuck to my fingers, when I cooked them they were hard and rubbery and mostly went in the bin.

The first attempt.

Today after using the pan for lunch I decided to try again after getting advice, much better, the mix rolled out to the 1-2mm thick without getting stuck to me or the rolling pin and they actually seemed to rise in the pan. They are not sweet enough for me and after cutting one of todays efforts I found a space between top and bottom, I threw some butter and raisins in-between and they tasted not bad. So maybe if I eat more chapattis I will rise from Urdva Dhanurasana.

Chapattis second attempt.

Dosa tedium led me to the supermarket where I found a kind of chicken substitute slices, fried with mash and peas, with a topping of Oxo gravy they were surprisingly tasty.

Almost like home!

Of course there is always the Green Hotel for tea if things get desperate.

The Green Hotel, afternoon Tea

If only I liked coffee

You meet some interesting people in Mysore with some special skills.
Umit from Turkey has a gift of being able to read the coffee grounds left in the bottom of cups of Turkish coffee and often spends breakfast predicting people’s futures.

I am not a lover of coffee and she doesn’t read Tea leaves or Tea bags, so my future will have to remain a mystery.

Umit

The cup is upturned and Umit goes to work.

Umit reading Natalie’s grounds. I hope it was good news