India Blog

Finally... a birthday I can celebrate!

anna_daisy — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 06:58:50 GMT

So let me tell you the whole sad story. Every year my birthday falls a day or two before burning man, everyone is rushing around trying to organize and pack stuff for the burn, and my birthday is generally all but forgotten. As a hardened burner (6 years, I've done my time) I have resigned myself to this fate - there could be worse situations than being too busy cos you're packing to go to the playa, right? Well, as the Gods would have it, this year my birthday is not before the burn, it is during the burn! On Tuesday to be precise!! And I look forward to celebrating it :) Please be gentle with me...

Last Leg

anna_daisy — Mon, 19 Feb 2007 12:07:42 GMT

I'm in Delhi ready to fly out tomorrow night back to cold London. Not that Delhi is much warmer right now. It's been 16 to 21 degrees celcius and I've had to wear a sweater and jacket. Who would have thought... After leaving the ashram I first went to Fort Cochin - a seaside town with a laid back feel and tourists aplenty. I visited many spice markets and antiques stores as well as Jewtown (it is actually called that!), one of the only Jewish settlements in India. Fort Cochin was a fun place to be, marred only by the constant smell of burning plastic bags and bottles that the Indians seemed to do on every street corner. Since they have no landfills, burning is the only way they can get rid of waste. This was fine up until the introduction of plastic into India, quite a shame. Our last night was spent in Cochin proper, in a placel called "Hotel Aiswariya." Is it just me or if you say it slowly does it sound a bit like...oh never mind. Next we took the 12 hour train journey to Chennai and shopped in glitsy malls and ate like royalty. It was fun to treat ourselves a bit after staying in very basic rooms and eating at tiny grubby restaurants on roadsides. One flight later and we arrived in stinky dirty crazy fun Delhi! I was looking at a couple of hotel rooms to choose somewhere to stay and wandered into the Prince Palace hotel. The boy led me up to a room and as I looked in, the owner of the hotel stepped out of the bathroom flushing the toilet behind him and pulling up his trousers. He hacked up a big glob of phlegm, spat it onto the bathroom floor and looked up at me inquiringly. "So, are you taking the room then?" Needless to say it was not my first choice. Yesterday we went on a day trip to the Taj Mahal (see pic!) and tomorrow night we head out. I'm sad to go and happy to be back in the land of carpets and supermarkets and price fixing no horns blaring every second of the day and night and comfy beds and a nod meaning yes and of course to family and friends. See you soon ;-) love Anna

Monkey business at the ashram

anna_daisy — Mon, 29 Jan 2007 14:27:47 GMT

The ashram is in an uproar! A monkey was on the loose. I was having my lunch one afternoon in the outdoor cafe and a big grey monkey with the cheekiest grin sauntered past. At first we quite liked him. He'd swing around high up in the trees and on the buildings and even posed for photos. But he was really here for one thing and one thing only...FOOD! He quickly learned that sitting by people earned him a big plate of deserted food, and that he could simply take people's milkshakes out of their hands if they let him get close enough. Cages went up and he strangely disappeared a day later, not a cage had been touched. The place seems empty without him... The groundhog pancha karma serial continues. After having to take a week off for a bad cold, the rice bundles treatment turned out to be lovely. At the end of being massaged and bashed with these bundles of rice and milk I was very relaxed and thoroughly covered in white custard. The next treatment was basti. I shall spare you the details but to say that my large intestines are now thoroughly toxin free. Im sure you're all very happy for me but please, no street party necessary. The final treatment is shirodhara. I lie back and receive a continuous stream of warm medicated oil poured slowly over my third eye (forhead). It is bliss. I have one treatment left of the 7 they give. Perhaps you might like a description of where I am. My bedroom is on the 15th floor of one of the 4 residential high rise buildings in the ashram. It sits on a little penninsular with a view over the backwaters on one side and a view of the ocean on the other. The sunrises and sunsets especially are breathtaking. We are surrounded completely by a forest of coconut trees, under which dwells the small town of Vallikau. Despite it's small stature, Vallikau has learnt the art of sounding big. Amplification is the key. Some days we are woken up at 5am by a really loud loudspeaker from across the backwaters chanting religious mantras and talking in Mallayallam (the Keralan language). At times it finishes at 11pm or after. There was one week where they pelted it out so loud that on the 15th floor we had to practically shout at one another in order to be heard. Thankfully that has stopped now. We think some of the ashramites went over and lynched the amps, there were enough plots being discussed around the ashram. The Ashram itself consists of several buildings housing visitors and resident renunciates; a beautiful temple; several small stores and a gigantic chanting/dining hall. I can walk just outside the ashram and for a few rupees can get a fresh coconut - drinking the water with a straw then scooping out the flesh to munch on. Amma, the resident guru, is currently touring around India so it is quite empty of people. I prefer it without the crouds. I enjoy being here and I hate it. Pancha karma dictates that you do very little so I'm feeling very constricted and fed up of the little there is to do here. I'm antsy to leave this little hub and explore the country a bit more. Next steps Varkala, Chennai (AKA Madras) and Delhi. I fly home on the 21st February. Well done if you've managed to read this far! much love Anna

The Sisterhood of Snort

anna_daisy — Fri, 29 Dec 2006 06:41:32 GMT

Happy New Year everybody :) After I last wrote, My friend George and I went to a little cliffside town in Kerala (on the East coast) called Varkala. It is pleasant and very backpackery so western food was abundant - good for the soul! Immediately after we got there though, George got really ill with a high fever and aches all over. I looked after him for a week and we even went to hospital just in case. Just as he got better, I got the same thing :( A fever of 103 is no fun in the hot humidity of India. So another week gone but thank goodness no serious illnesses. The two weeks after that were spent resting, going for swims in the sea and eaing rather extravagantly. One meal I had was beautiful. It was served on a big banana leaf instead of a plate. Five small curries were placed on it in a semi circle and a mountain of rice piled in the centre. Then they brought a pappadam, some chutney and some curd. They kept topping up all the food until I eventually begged them to stop. There was also a little sweet dessert for afterwards. All of this was eaten by hand (they had no cutlery) and came to a grand total of 20 UK pence each(about 40 US cents)! Yum!! We then came to an Ashram called Amritapuri (the home of the Guru Amma) for a 6 week Ayurvedic Pancha Karma cleanse. Talk about intensive! The first week I received oil massages at 6 or 7am every morning with the lady chanting sacred chants over me, followed by a nasal irrigation treatment every afternoon. This involved a quick sauna followed by warm medicated oil being droppered into my nostrils as I lay back on a bed. My face was massaged to spread the oil through my sinuses and then I sat up and had to cough up all the delightful stuff that became loosened in my sinuses. Picture the scene: a little group of watery-eyed young women all sitting in this room wearing very little, snorting and hacking like a huddle of snotty old men with nasty colds and no shame! Nasal passages feel good now though... This last week I've had hot oil baths every morning. This is where the oil is poured all over your body whilst two ladies massage you whilst again chanting. It's done on a big slightly hollowed out wooden table that looks a bit like a badly designed canoe. Tomorrow I start with the rice bashings. They place medicated rice into cloth to make bundles and bash you all over with it. It sounds a bit silly but people say it feels good. I'll let you know. Meanwhile George has done the theraputic vomiting. He drank a cup full of medicated ghee (clarified butter) every morning for a week, then on Christmas eve he had to eat vast quantities of ghee rice and a vomit-inducing drink. He threw up two big bowls full and reports to have never felt better since he did it! The sad thing is the stories people tell of the Tsunami, that hit the Ashram and neighbouring villages two years ago. Amma brough as many people to safe places as possible before it hit without telling them what was going on. Unfortunately not everyone could be saved and many villagers died, especially children. Amma has since raised money to build a bridge so that the villagers can escape quickly to the mainland (we are on a little peninsular separated from the mainland by the backwaters) if any other disaster hits. The president of India came to inaugurate it last week and the whole ashram was decorated beautifully. My free time is currently spent resting a lot, going to Amma for Darshans (energetically powerful hugs), visiting the two temple elephants and daydreaming rather a lot about sushi. Write and say hi when you get a chance :) love Anna

Scorpions and frogs and mould oh my!

anna_daisy — Mon, 06 Nov 2006 15:17:51 GMT

Well I've just left Auroville after a week of getting to know God's littler creatures on a much more intimate level. Some of the highlights were watching a swarm of ants trying to carry my friend George's rucksack (hiking bag) off in our room; chasing a scorpion out of the shower and having twenty pairs of beady little eyes watching me every time I went to the toilet. What eventually chased us off was the mould slowly growing in all our posessions, beds and brains. It got really bad one night and we decided to leave the very next morning. Ugh! Now we're in Pondicherry experiencing the wonders of having people peer down my top and try to sell us drums and cheap jewellery. No seriously it has been quite nice here - and very civilised (comparitively). We went out for a very posh dinner last night to treat ourselves and the whole bill came to 3 GBP ($6) per person! This afternoon we were walking through the market streets, a very fun experience in itself, and a guy came over to us offering his wares: "Bracelet?" "Um, no thank you." "Drugs?" It was quite surreal! Tomorrow or the next day we are heading to Kerala to travel down the backwaters in a houseboat and get some intensive Ayurvedic cleansing treatments. I can't wait - Kerala was beautiful from what I remember and people can't seem to say too many good things about it. take care now y'hear! love Anna xx

Monsoon and the drowned rat

anna_daisy — Mon, 30 Oct 2006 13:52:28 GMT

India is very wet. At the moment it is anyway. I was out with some friends on the beach the other day and the rain had been constant for the last two days. We saw a gigantic rodent staggering its way towards shelter looking like it was on death's door. Someone commented on how it looked like a drowned rat...then we realised that it was indeed a drowned rat. Funny. Mammalapuram was fun - not much of significance to talk about becuse the rain made it difficult to see much. But the day before yesterday I came down to Pondicherry and Auroville. Auroville is a small intentional community made up mostly of foreigners. For me it is basically a chill-out place. There is very little to do except play cards and talk to my friends. I'm staying in a little concrete hut thing with an outdoor bathroom and sporadic electricity. This morning my friends and I went on a nature walk in the bathroom and spotted several weird and wonderful amimals and insects including a family of frogs who had made house behind the mirror. The rain has been pouring down like faulty plumbing and I am having such a good time. Yes, I'm happy :)

They say silence is golden...

anna_daisy — Wed, 25 Oct 2006 09:58:31 GMT

I've just come back from the 21 day silent retreat - and silence is not unfortunately golden. The thoughts were running around my head like chickens with their heads cut off - not very peaceful. It got better though and after a while I felt calmer and clearer minded. We meditated and received teachings and got lots of deekshas. The predetermined outcome of the retreat, apart from feeling great inner peace and joy (oh it feels so good!) is that I am now a Deeksha-giver. This is a very powerful energy transferrence, rather like an energy healing. I'll explain the specifics in person when I'm back because it is a bit complicated, but be assured I am very happy about it :) It takes only a few minutes to give and you are all of course welcome to receive it from me any time when I see you. Yesterday my friend Victoria and I went to a beauty salon. We got body treatments that included an all-over mud pack, steam and shower. Well they really meant all three! We did the first two quite happily then the lady (clothed, thankfully) simply walked into the shower with us, soaped us up and rinsed us off. Victoria and I were speechless at first, and then couldn't stop laughing! I also got a haircut. Due to an unfortunate communication 'challenge' she cut a ton of my hair off (it felt that way to me but was really about 4-5 inches off the bottom). It's layered at the front with a bit of a 70's feel to it. I sort of like it now but was ready to cry when she cut my hair and showed me what she'd done. Only got an instant camera unfortunately so I can't send a photo. You'll have to wait and see! Tomorrow I start my travels, heading south to Mamallapuram to meet up with other people from the retreat and hang out on the beach for a couple of days, then wherever from there. lots of love to all of you, you are in my thoughts:) ~Anna

India Bound

anna_daisy — Sat, 30 Sep 2006 08:55:02 GMT

I have just arrived in India - a very happy day! 10 years ago I was here in amongst the dirt and the heat and the chaos and the poverty and the smells and the noisy rickshaws and the raw beauty that Mother India has to offer. Today I'm staying with some friends - a rich family with 4 servants and 2 chauffers - taking trips to the air-conditioned mall, visits to beach houses, and 'nice strolls around good neighbourhoods'. It is a world of difference. Despite all the luxury of never having to fetch my own glass of water, I kind of yearn to be a part of that chaos again. It will come soon enough. On Tuesday I will go to a silent spiritual retreat for a month's meditation, energy healing and initiation. I expect it to turn my world around as others have reported that there are powerful energies there, and am filled with fear and anticipation. Following that I will get my wish to sink my teeth into India. The plan is to backpack India alone and on a shoestring for two months. Oh the adventures to be had...