Weekend Excursion: The "Caves" of Ajanta and Ellora

Because my time here at the Institute is precious, I am only making two small trips out of Pune.  The first is a weekend to visit the “caves” of Ajanta and Ellora.  Briefly, these are national park-like settings consisting of temples carved into rock, the former dating from the 2^nd century BC – 600 AD, and the later from 600 to 1000 AD.  I was prepared to be in awe – these are, after all, World Heritage sites. 

Here’s what I was NOT prepared for…how incredibly fascinating and eye-popping the road journey itself would be. With a few exceptions, I shot the photos from the car.

Between my hotel in Aurangabad and Ajantha lies 120 km of countryside, peppered with farms and tiny villages.  In the beautiful and fresh early morning hours of this two-hour journey, I witnessed rural India come to life.  Animals were being hustled along the road to fields, adding a new dimension to the traffic.   People were collecting ground water in stout, silver containers, then carrying them on their heads home.  Women were doing washing on the ground in front of their cinder block and corrugated metal abodes. Men were opening up their kiosk-sized shops and restaurants along the road, and already many men were gathering at the tea stands.  

Women young and old, regardless of whether they were doing their food shopping, laundry, working in the field or carrying water, were dressed in colorful saris. Each village had at least one Hindu temple and many had a Muslim place of worship as well, both usually very colorful.

Adding to the cacophony of morning activity were the animals – dogs, cows, oxen, pigs, goats, the occasional chicken...and camels – mingling alongside the villagers in the markets, around the houses, and just out and about on the road on their own.  We shared the two lane road with cattle carts hauling harvests of sugar cane, the cattle’s horns painted bright colors; elaborately painted transport trucks or “goods carriers” of all sizes from no bigger than a rickshaw to a shipping container on wheels; rickshaws jammed with male and female farm workers and the very occasional bicycle. 

Then there is my personal favorite – the motor bike.

Clearly the most ubiquitous and economic form of personal transport, the motor bike seems to morph, like Mary Poppins carpet bag, to handle whatever it needs to hold.  The most common sight was a man and woman together, the woman sitting side-saddle, her silky sari shivering in the breeze.  

Merchants loaded for market were my next favorite. 

My most-excellent driver, Mahadev, and I made a game of finding the craziest thing on two wheels.  Three teen-age guys…boring.  A family of four…yawn.  Four grown men….that’s a lot of togetherness.  A family of five (one was a babe in arms)…getting more interesting.  Three guys and a goat…we have a WINNER!

Outside the villages, which were never more than a ½ km along the road, was the farmland.  I saw fields of sugar cane, wheat, and onions, and stands of fig trees.  At first I thought the roadside was littered with paper, then realized when I stopped to take a few photos that it was puffs of cotton blown over from the cotton farms.

  

Cotton

Tomorrow a bit about my actual destination that day – Ajanta.

Time for exploring Pune

Local color:  Fresh flowers sold to decorate the home shrine to Ganesh

 

Local Color: Outdoor Music Concert  

We were the only non-Indians there in a crowd of 2000, but, having just done a shopping trip, we were dressed like proper Indian women.  The instruments were a santoor (like a hammered dulcimer) and the tabla.  

 

Local Color:  Traffic and the Auto Rickshaw Experience
The rules for traffic here are simple (thanks to Pratap and Vishal for explaining):

- Might makes right:  The bigger vehicle always has the right of way, even when wanting to cross through oncoming traffic.  Pedestrians and the rare bicycle...beware.  As Sophie, who spent at a few weeks here this past summer said, "Mom, they will NOT stop for you."  She was right!

- Location is everything:  When two vehicles of the same size are positioned a a light, the one that is slightly ahead has the right of way...therefore, there is constant jostling and jockeying for position at any stop.


- Honking...it's the new signal...use your horn to let people know you are going to be changing position.  And only worry about the people on you right.  The people on the left will take of themselves. 


Here are a few experiences in the ubiquitous auto rickshaw.

The Teachers

It's the beginning of Week Three, and I have had classes now with Prashant, Geetaji, Abhijata and Gulnaz as well as two different teachers for Pranayama.

Prashant's classes (7 am) are intense and unlike anything I have ever experienced.  No demo...no instruction.  He calls out a pose, then talks philosophically about yoga.   Sometimes it is a three-ring circus in a good way...some of the group hangs from the ropes in various poses, some are in chairs, some are on the floor in front of him.  There is a theme each class, and as he talks, we all work in the pose using our own internal dialogue.   His talks can be entertaining (he invents words, has a rapid-fire delivery, and has a quirky sense of humor), inspiring (when I eventually catch on to the theme and start working in that way, it starts to sink in to the body), and confusing.  The three hour practice afterward always begins with a restorative pose for me!

Abhi, Guruji's 26 year old grand neice, is a wonderful teacher in her own right, clear and with a wonderful sense of humor.  At times she teaches with Guruji sitting in his spot on the side of the room...he sees everything and throws her tidbits that he wants us to work on.  These classes are rare and so humbling.  For example, after we had all gone up, in waves, in hand stand, his comment was that our hands all looked like "cow pies"...just dropped on the ground, no focus!  That got a laugh.  The instructions that ensued next resulted in big improvements and "AHHs!" from those in the pose.  

Geetaji...we are so lucky that she is healthier and feeling well enough to teach.  First timers only get one class a week with her, so it's precious.  Her themes are wonderful, vigorous and challenging.  There is no demonstrating...we are expected to know and do, and even if we don't know the pose (which happened last week), she explains it step by step until we get there.  Last week she started with quick sun salutations to warm us up and then we went right into revolved standing poses.  I had just practice those that morning so I was prepared...but then she brilliantly led us progressively through a series of seated twisting or padmasana/marichyasana variations that I had never done before.  Something to aspire to!

Gulnaz...great sequencer, very thematic, very focused, great sense of humor as she gets us logically from A to Z in the class.  She does demonstrate, but usually not until she sees something she wants to correct.  Today's theme headed us toward Headstand drop backs!  I say "Towards" as I had never tried these before and worked at the wall toward bringing my feet to the ground...I think I can do some by the end of the week now that I know how to get there!

Practice Time...

Week one:  Getting the hang of using the practice time well...I now plan ahead of time what I will work on, get there before the start to snag some floor space as soon as the studio opens, or even a spot near a column when available.  When it's crowded, one has to practice with tremendous consideration for those around you.  It helps to keep one's gaze and focus inward so as not to get distracted by what others are working on.  Amazingly, the three hours seem to fly by.  

Week Two: I focused on using the practice time to sequence the poses for Intro II certification.  More experienced teachers are so helpful and willing to share ideas and offer observations.  It's starting to feel more like a community.  People are offering/sharing props with their mat neighbors.   In spite of the 100+ people in the room, it's surprisingly serene.

Note the photos in the upper wall area...enlargements of Guruji in all the poses from Light on Yoga....a great learning and teaching tool.

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

Shopping, Thai Style

A Chiang Mai native sent us off to the Warwot market area in search of the real Thai shopping experience.  In the crush of people and stalls in this multi-level indoor market selling food and merchandise, one can find the most marvelous and the most mundane things.  It's a marvel of shopping efficiency.

The view from the 2nd of 4 floors

Offerings for the Buddha

Defying Gravity

Dried Seafood

Dried Fungi, Pulses and Veggies

Snacking, Thai Style

 Nearly all day, on any random street, parking lot or back alley, food carts and stands abound, usually surrounded by 3 or 4 people picking up a "little something-something", as one of my friends calls it.  From fresh fruit popsicles to bowls of soup, nothing cost more than 30 Bhat or roughly a $1.  Here a a few choice examples:

Banana or hotdog on a stick in a waffle!!

 Green Tea and Fresh Fruit  Popsicles:  4 Bhat!