Want to see more from the las two weeks? I have put a Flickr badge in my sidebar, but if you get this by email, just follow this link.
Showing posts with label chennai. Show all posts
Showing posts with label chennai. Show all posts
Sunday, August 19, 2007
Photos!
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
School's Out! (Almost)
Two more days of yoga school, how time flies. I am learning loads, simple yet sophisticated techniques that I will need time to absorb and digest so I won't be blogging about them just yet.
Instead, here is a guest post from my husband. I thought this story was hilarious when he told me.
Instead, here is a guest post from my husband. I thought this story was hilarious when he told me.
i was at a tourist destination called marina beach,
apparently the second largest beach in the world.
and home to chennai university that has amazing architecture on the campus.
so being who i am and enjoying architectural pics i wondered onto the campus
to capture some of said wonderment.
in order to get on to the campus there were a number of ancient security guards
with batons and large whistles that i just walked past.
so i get to the first building and i am just getting my composition desirable
when i start hearing whistles blow behind me, like an invasion army.
but not realizing the cause of the blaring i continue with my crafting.
and before i get to take the first picture i am grabbed from behind by
a red faced, eyes bulging, midget whistle blower
having a seizure with a d*mn whistle.
he scared the cr*p out of me!!!
so now after having jumped in fright it dawned on me that i was the creator of the
whistle symphony and that i was being escorted off the campus for trespassing.
go-figure...
white touristy guy taking pictures a threat to campus security.
so after the indignity subsided i nearly wet my pants from laughing...
man...
it happens all over the world.
give a guy a whistle and a baton and he is important.
he will blow it at every opportunity.
it is crazy out there...
Saturday, August 11, 2007
Bad Tourist
We spent the day today doing the tourist thing around Chennai. A little bit, anyway. There is only so much you can do in the stewing heat before you need to repair to a nice air conditioned restaurant.
We began our morning by oversleeping, thereby ruling out the possibility of visiting the Kapaleshwarar Temple before it got too hot and they padlocked the gates. We consoled ourselves with brunch and light shopping at Amethyst, and then we went off to the Theosophical Society headquarters. It was closed. We were told to come back at two pm. We then went to the Ashta Lakshmi Temple on Elliot Beach (temple to the goddess Lakshmi). It was closed. We were harassed for money by pretty much everyone around the temple gate and ended up paying four times the going rate for some kitsch stickers of Indian deities.
It was almost two, so we went back to the Theosophical Society, and there, we were underwhelmed. It droops with an air of disuse and general neglect. We weren't allowed into the library to see the fabled book collection. The Big Banyan tree under whose shade J Krishnamurti disavowed his association with the Society is dead, leaving behind only its many skinny offspring - still technically the same tree, but not quite as impressive. But the sign still announces the Banyan as the largest living tree of its sort. Hmmm.
It was nearing four, and we decided to repair to a nice air conditioned restaurant. Did I mention that this is how my touristing invariably ends? There we ate a belated lunch and drank frozen beverages. Yes, ice, just like we are not supposed to do in India. I eat raw food here too. I am a bad tourist this way, because I don't follow all those rules we are given ' for our own safety'. I figure that the quality of the establishment is a better indicator of whether you will get ill than the type of food. Hope I don't have to, ahem, eat my words.
Another reason that I am a bad tourist is that I have almost no interest in little-visited museums, closed temples and the like. I prefer nice restaurants, pretty shops, and the homes of real people when forming an impression of a city. I suspect there won't be much more wandering around looking at monuments in my relationship with Chennai. If I am lucky, though, a Chennaivasi or two will invite me into their home, and I will see how they live...
PS: For more of J Krishnamurti's thoughts, check out his recorded talks, Direct Perception and Transformation, on emusic.
We began our morning by oversleeping, thereby ruling out the possibility of visiting the Kapaleshwarar Temple before it got too hot and they padlocked the gates. We consoled ourselves with brunch and light shopping at Amethyst, and then we went off to the Theosophical Society headquarters. It was closed. We were told to come back at two pm. We then went to the Ashta Lakshmi Temple on Elliot Beach (temple to the goddess Lakshmi). It was closed. We were harassed for money by pretty much everyone around the temple gate and ended up paying four times the going rate for some kitsch stickers of Indian deities.
It was almost two, so we went back to the Theosophical Society, and there, we were underwhelmed. It droops with an air of disuse and general neglect. We weren't allowed into the library to see the fabled book collection. The Big Banyan tree under whose shade J Krishnamurti disavowed his association with the Society is dead, leaving behind only its many skinny offspring - still technically the same tree, but not quite as impressive. But the sign still announces the Banyan as the largest living tree of its sort. Hmmm.
It was nearing four, and we decided to repair to a nice air conditioned restaurant. Did I mention that this is how my touristing invariably ends? There we ate a belated lunch and drank frozen beverages. Yes, ice, just like we are not supposed to do in India. I eat raw food here too. I am a bad tourist this way, because I don't follow all those rules we are given ' for our own safety'. I figure that the quality of the establishment is a better indicator of whether you will get ill than the type of food. Hope I don't have to, ahem, eat my words.
Another reason that I am a bad tourist is that I have almost no interest in little-visited museums, closed temples and the like. I prefer nice restaurants, pretty shops, and the homes of real people when forming an impression of a city. I suspect there won't be much more wandering around looking at monuments in my relationship with Chennai. If I am lucky, though, a Chennaivasi or two will invite me into their home, and I will see how they live...
PS: For more of J Krishnamurti's thoughts, check out his recorded talks, Direct Perception and Transformation, on emusic.
Friday, August 10, 2007
Saluting the Sun
Dang, it is hot here in Chennai. You know I was saying it was hot the other day? Well, it got hotter. Yes it did.
Today at school, we saw a case study of a lady who has suffered from terrible fear and anxiety, to the point where she couldn't leave her house on her own. She has been practicing yoga since March, doing mainly breathing and meditation as prescribed by a KYM teacher, and now she travels the city alone, and has completed several computer courses, which she didn't think she had the concentration to do. The secret ingredients?
Her own faith in the effectiveness of yoga, and the sun. Or rather, the meditation she was given on the sun. She was told to imagine she was absorbing the strength of the sun, and to chant several sun-related mantra's. We did a similar practice in our meditation class afterwards, and it was wonderful, and after school one of the women on the course told me she healed a difficult relationship with an extended family member by chanting the Gayatri mantra and then 'talking' to that person mentally.
In such a hot place, just like at home in JHB, the direct connection between the sun and life is all too evident, and the power of the sun is unquestionable. Consider:
In other news, my never shop unless you need it policy is rapidly being eroded by the loveliness of India's textiles. And so cheap! All the teachers on the course wear these gorgeous punjabis or saris, and never ever the same one. One teacher actually told me she has now filled all the cupboards in her three bedroom house! They have as much trouble resisting as I do!
The principal culprit so far has been Anokhi, where my husband also got several kurta's, but tomorrow, since it is Saturday and we failed to get into the Ideal Beach Resort (fully booked) we will be having brunch at my old haunt, Amethyst. I anticipate that we will be parting with a little bit of cash. Or perhaps plastic!
Today at school, we saw a case study of a lady who has suffered from terrible fear and anxiety, to the point where she couldn't leave her house on her own. She has been practicing yoga since March, doing mainly breathing and meditation as prescribed by a KYM teacher, and now she travels the city alone, and has completed several computer courses, which she didn't think she had the concentration to do. The secret ingredients?
Her own faith in the effectiveness of yoga, and the sun. Or rather, the meditation she was given on the sun. She was told to imagine she was absorbing the strength of the sun, and to chant several sun-related mantra's. We did a similar practice in our meditation class afterwards, and it was wonderful, and after school one of the women on the course told me she healed a difficult relationship with an extended family member by chanting the Gayatri mantra and then 'talking' to that person mentally.
In such a hot place, just like at home in JHB, the direct connection between the sun and life is all too evident, and the power of the sun is unquestionable. Consider:
- The sun is always there: it rises every day, at the same time, give or take seasonal differences, and when we can't see it, people on the other side if the world are in its light
- Although the sun will one day die, by human standards it is immortal
- Without the sun there would be no life on earth
In other news, my never shop unless you need it policy is rapidly being eroded by the loveliness of India's textiles. And so cheap! All the teachers on the course wear these gorgeous punjabis or saris, and never ever the same one. One teacher actually told me she has now filled all the cupboards in her three bedroom house! They have as much trouble resisting as I do!
The principal culprit so far has been Anokhi, where my husband also got several kurta's, but tomorrow, since it is Saturday and we failed to get into the Ideal Beach Resort (fully booked) we will be having brunch at my old haunt, Amethyst. I anticipate that we will be parting with a little bit of cash. Or perhaps plastic!
This pic is from last year, a leisurely lunch at Amethyst. Pics from this year to follow when I (er, my hubby) figure out the USB picture loading thing.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
