let's get lost

my last day in bangalore and everything went perfectly backwards, or opposite to what i had planned. isn't it?

i met renee, an melbournian, on my last night at the ashram, and we realized that we were both heading to bangalore so we took a taxi to town together having reserved hotels 5 min away from each other!

it was fabulous having a pal in the big city with whom to roam (and one who had an air conditioned room!). but more importantly, she is also a TAURUS! so we shopped and talked (and i painted my toenails), and went for a delicously decadent buffet at the hotel sheraton at windsor square. this is india - all extremes, contrasts and contractictions living side by side. like rohinton mistry's A Fine Balance between hope and despair, between opulence and poverty...

well, OM-y-god this hotel was just stunning. we sat in the atrium, all glass and high ceilings and wicker chairs, with lapel-ed waiters who put your napkin on your lap. we were facing a beautiful blue blue blue pool, fountain, lawn and chaises longues. the buffet was simply, how to say? OUT OF CONTROL. so many dishes, and for me, so much delicous green and raw foodS. plural. not just one, but many salads and lightly steamed BOK CHOY and veggies, and fruits and and beet halwa. it was pure bliss.

and even more importantly, renee and i talked and talked and de-briefed the intensity of the meditation/art of living/ashram experience. i had not talked to anyone about anything up til then, let alone talked!; i had only been experiencing. the course leaders had said, come out of the silence slowly, and i really did, but 6 days later i just talked and talked...

so debriefing was just wonderful. we were able to put our experiences in context - including the PATIENCE required to move gracefully through the crowds, line-ups, misunderstandings, heat, dust, did i mention the line ups of 100s of people (and line budders), and different cultural norms (i think in mongolia and russia it might ok to go to the front of the line to do one's thing, but north americans get really stressed and anxious about that).

we also put this in the context of some of the knowledge/values in which we were immersed at the ashram - accept people the way they are!; opposite values are complimentary! this was really fun, and we gleaned many insights into ourselves, the experience, Life, People, the Universe. it was one of those conversations like you have on a canoe trip, when you are so far away from everything, that time takes on an entirely new dimension and 5 hours talking is like knowing someone for 5 months or 5 years.... you just skip past all the social niceties and go deep.

so she left last night and today i had a solo day in bangalore. i had planned a smooth day of errands, but the universe DEFINITELY had other ideas for me. the first 5 rickshaw drivers had no idea what i was talking about so my day was actually the reverse of what i had thought it would be, and it was just perfect! and get this, the post office experience that i was just dreading (it took me 5 hours to mail 2 parcels in mumbai. I AM NOT KIDDING! 35 min line up at one post office, oh you can't send that from here, go to the other post office, lline up, oh you need to sew the package, line up, oh you can send that from this counter, but the books you have to go to another building...)

today it took no time at all! and there was so much help! i find once i send the goods, they are literally gone from my mind. they may or may not arrive, whatever. but the lead up to the sending is such a big deal.

yesterday's excursion to get my tickets for the next leg of the trip (vegan eco forest and pondicherry) and then thailand, was just wonderful! i took a rickshaw to an area called cambridge and after getting my tickets, i just walked around this neighbourhood and got intentionally lost. THIS is bangalore. cute streets, trees, people just doing their thing... i found an esoteric shop that sold little buddhas, crystals, books, insence... and then bought dried fruits at a supermarket-y place, and then some veg at a wonderful vendor. on the street, there were carts of oranges piled beautifully in massive and perfect pyramids, a mandir (temple) surrounded by flower and garland vendors, a jute shop, many little restos... it was a great hour.

and at the end of my day today i finally got to the first place i wanted to go to - called the Raintree where there is a shop called Anouki - an eco-friendly shop in an old mansion where other designers and artists showcase and sell their goods. they do vegetable dyeing and make beautiful clothes (a bit like sarah clothes) and it is just a beautiful place /oasis.

so i'm at Cafe coffee day, a hip internet cafe near MG road (there is a Mahatma Gandhi road in every major city), listening to beyonce singing (loud!) and sharing some space with urban hipsters. i've just eaten a huge guava from a street vendor (7 rupees, he cuts it up and puts spices on it which i had to wipe off b/c I LOVE GUAVAS the way mother nature made them!).

so i'll sign off and head back to my room to pack and then hop on an 8:30 am bus tomorrow... the getting losts and reversals have been highlights of the trip (expectations reduce joy!) and i'm finding there is an underlying flow that i just need to pay attention to, and i'll be taken care of!!