India, at long last

I still have some fun photos from Bangkok to post but I want to move on...the first few days and weeks here in Pune have been so full, so I'd better get started.

January 1, 2012

Wow…so here I am.  India.  At the Mumbai airport.  With the dulcet tones of Kenny G’s Christmas music playing over the audio system.  Outside, I find the driver and my roommate, Tahsha, and off we go.  We arrive safely in Pune 4 hours later, and by safe I mean no small children or entire families on scooters were maimed or killed en route, although at times I had to shut my eyes for fear that a collision was imminent!  My youngest, who spent a few weeks here this summer, had warned me about the driving and she was not exaggerating.  Lanes are merely a suggestion.  Honking replaces signaling, so it is constant, and passing…well, let’s just say it’s not for weak of heart. 

After unloading the bags in the apartment, we head out to find groceries, armed with a rudimentary map.  Most everything we need is close by and we find the shopkeepers charming and accommodating.  Each store on the adjacent street is about 8 feet wide and 10 - 15 feet deep.  There is no door. You approach the counter and let the shopkeeper know what you are looking for and he either has it or he doesn't.  Nothing has prices, but the shopkeeper magically knows what each item costs and writes out a receipt.  Each store has different specialties…photocopies, small electronics and light bulbs, dry grocer, an ironing service, a snack/newspaper kiosk, etc.  Fruits and veggies are purchased on the street at a cart or a permanent stand, and weighed with an old fashioned scale and weights.  We don’t really try to bargain as the prices seem very cheap to us.  More on that later.  We come home from this trip with loads of fruit and other groceries that will get us through the next few breakfasts at a minimum. 

We head out for the first of many memorable, delicious and incredibly inexpensive vegetarian meals.  Dinner the first night costs us about $5 each...and we have enough left overs for lunch the next day.

January 2, 2012 - THE Institute!

The next morning we are giddy and a bit nervous as we head out, through a beautiful park, find RIMYI and go inside to the reception area.  It’s a bit like old home week for the returnees and senior teachers.  Already I see the familiar faces of senior teachers with whom I’ve studied as well as faces from home:  Heather, Birgit, and of course my roomie, Tahsha.  We greet Pandu, the “COO”, who shoes us off to practice.  We’ll settle our account with him later.

We make our way up to the surprisingly quiet practice hall.  I say surprising because the lore of wall-to-wall mats becomes a reality.  We find some real estate, grab a few props, but before we can even begin, there is a murmur of excitement from the stairwell.  One of the American senior teachers runs in, making a path by moving props and mats out of the way, and in walks Guruji himself!   As he makes his way across the hall, students bow with their hands in Anjali mudra, and some come right up to him, get down on their knees and touch his feet.  He pauses ever so briefly to receive these greetings, and then settles into his spot near the prop room where he begins HIS practice, attended by folks I don’t yet know.  The senior teachers practice near him.  From what I can observe at my spot far across the hall, his practice is primarily long-held (20-30 minutes each) supported or hanging poses.  He stays the full 3 hours.

It is extraordinarily difficult to concentrate, what with the temptation to go see what Guruji is up to, and with all the activity around. I am not prepared mentally to practice, but I manage to pull it together and run through the standing poses, do some seated and supine poses and then headstand and shoulder stand. Each person is in his or her own practice. There is no space unspoken for, so if one gets up and goes to the trestler or the rope wall, one is likely to find someone has taken your mat upon your return, or at the very least, your props are gone! Tahsha and I are trying to watch out for one another.

My schedule

As a first-timer, I am given the same schedule as all the other first time women. Senior teachers and those who have been to the Institute before get a different schedule. The two hour classes are Monday through Saturday, and we have a 2 or 3 hour practice time each day…sometimes the hall is open earlier and we can get a longer practice in.


M/T: 7 am with Prashant Iyengar…practice 9-12

W: 9:30 Ladies only with Abhijata (more on her later) and Practice 4-6

Th: Practice 9-12 and 5:30 Pranayama

F: Practice 9-12 and 6-8 pm with Gheeta!

S: 9:30 Ladies only with Abhi and practice 4-6