I was woken up at 0600 for a yoga lesson. I really wanted to stay in bed after 6 hours of coughing sleep and mosquito avoidance. There was one mosquito in the room and I couldn’t find it so I ended up sleeping with my head under the blanket which I never do. I was really glad I got up though. “Father” and Dev, my host, talked a little about yoga, explaining that is it a very different exercise that works on not only the body, but also the mind and is spiritual. It is a slow exercise that involves every muscle and a lot of control. I’m not talking just muscular control but also breathing control. He demonstrated various positions which into which one places the body and then holds it for several minutes. I couldn’t even think about twisting and balancing like he did! Then he demonstrated breathing exercises including one where he took his abdomen, which had a little extra adipose (fat) on it and exhaled every last bit of air, more than one thinks one can, and drew his abdomen up inside so he looked almost emaciated then moved his abdominal muscles side to side and all different ways with his breathing. It was incredible to watch the skill and control. He has been doing yoga for 25 years. When I get back to America, I think I am going to take up yoga myself. He seemed very balanced and controlled and at peace with himself and the world.
Along one of the roads going to the school, we observed a pole cart race with buffalo bulls pulling the carts. It was running right down the road in between all the traffic and motorcyclists were riding alongside and beating the bulls with sticks to keep them running. I know it sounds cruel, and the rest of the team was rather taken aback but I have worked with cattle before and I know from experience that the bulls probably hardly felt the sticks any more than a race horse feels a crop.
We visited the Kolhapur Public School and observed about 650 children practicing their routine for an upcoming holiday. They really did very well. Then Jennifer did a short tune with an Indian bugle the school provided. Considering she’d never played it before, and it was a last minute request, and 650 pairs of eyes were watching her, she did extremely well! I was impressed with the military precision of the students in their formations. They were all happy to wave to us though. Afterwards we all received henna tattoos from the students. The girl who painted my hand was shaking with anxiety; I think she wanted to do well. It came out beautiful and I made sure she knew I liked it. They say it will last about four weeks so I should still have traces of it when I get back to NJ. We then watched a demonstration of yoga on a rope and a fencing demonstration. I am still trying to figure out how the girl climbed the rope by gripping it with her toes! They were like fingers and her big toe wrapped around the rope like a thumb.
We went to Panala, an ancient fort on top of a mountain. The stonework was incredible as were the views. We watched the sunset from the highest point. We also saw and went into a hole in the rock that had five chambers. In the fifth chamber, the first guru who started Panala resided thousands of years ago (I forget how many thousand, two, I think). We had tea at the overlook restaurant and a man who was having a birthday today gave us each some of his cake. We then had a great honor of meeting and talking with the guru. It was very rewarding and I think a lot of us had some spiritual questions answered. I know I did. They also have “The Way of Life” schools and classes at locations around the world and are having a class in NJ in April. I have to check into it.
On thing of curiosity I have noticed, the babies here hardly ever cry. No matter what, they always seem happy and smiling. If a baby even starts to cry, it is immediately comforted before it can get very far.
My host, Dev, pointed out a billboard with his photo on it and it was advertising the latest action movie he has filmed. He said he starts work on a new film in a month.
Something that I have noticed that Indians do that I have not seen anywhere else is a nodding of the head sideways, in addition to front and back. It is peculiar and I asked my host about it and he laughed and said it was “yes”, the same as nodding front and back.
Along one of the roads going to the school, we observed a pole cart race with buffalo bulls pulling the carts. It was running right down the road in between all the traffic and motorcyclists were riding alongside and beating the bulls with sticks to keep them running. I know it sounds cruel, and the rest of the team was rather taken aback but I have worked with cattle before and I know from experience that the bulls probably hardly felt the sticks any more than a race horse feels a crop.
We visited the Kolhapur Public School and observed about 650 children practicing their routine for an upcoming holiday. They really did very well. Then Jennifer did a short tune with an Indian bugle the school provided. Considering she’d never played it before, and it was a last minute request, and 650 pairs of eyes were watching her, she did extremely well! I was impressed with the military precision of the students in their formations. They were all happy to wave to us though. Afterwards we all received henna tattoos from the students. The girl who painted my hand was shaking with anxiety; I think she wanted to do well. It came out beautiful and I made sure she knew I liked it. They say it will last about four weeks so I should still have traces of it when I get back to NJ. We then watched a demonstration of yoga on a rope and a fencing demonstration. I am still trying to figure out how the girl climbed the rope by gripping it with her toes! They were like fingers and her big toe wrapped around the rope like a thumb.
We went to Panala, an ancient fort on top of a mountain. The stonework was incredible as were the views. We watched the sunset from the highest point. We also saw and went into a hole in the rock that had five chambers. In the fifth chamber, the first guru who started Panala resided thousands of years ago (I forget how many thousand, two, I think). We had tea at the overlook restaurant and a man who was having a birthday today gave us each some of his cake. We then had a great honor of meeting and talking with the guru. It was very rewarding and I think a lot of us had some spiritual questions answered. I know I did. They also have “The Way of Life” schools and classes at locations around the world and are having a class in NJ in April. I have to check into it.
On thing of curiosity I have noticed, the babies here hardly ever cry. No matter what, they always seem happy and smiling. If a baby even starts to cry, it is immediately comforted before it can get very far.
My host, Dev, pointed out a billboard with his photo on it and it was advertising the latest action movie he has filmed. He said he starts work on a new film in a month.
Something that I have noticed that Indians do that I have not seen anywhere else is a nodding of the head sideways, in addition to front and back. It is peculiar and I asked my host about it and he laughed and said it was “yes”, the same as nodding front and back.
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