More Updates
1) I have updated my Bangalore Restaurant Guide and Book Recommendations.
2) I had my first yoga class with my original teacher. She had moved back to her home country in July but miraculously she is back!One and a half hours of torture - wow - this is not hoity toity relaxation, deep breathing yoga (not that there is anything wrong with that). This is serious Iyengar Yoga and you must work every muscle and every part of your body. It's one of those "if it hurts so bad, it must be good for you" things. And it is. You know that you are doing each asana properly as she spends time with each of us (3 in the class today) making sure each body part is in proper alignment. So the "hurt" is from doing it properly, not from doing it "wrong."
3) Today the headlines scream "Ayodhya verdict will end six-decade-long wait. It's tomorrow @ 3:30pm." They have declared Thursday and Friday school "holidays" so the kids will be home. I really hope they do proceed and give the verdict this time because my kids have mid-term exams next week. At least they now have a four day weekend to study - that's not a bad thing.
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Update on Posts
Updates
1) Yesterday my post was in regards to the Ayodhya verdict. I really didn't think the verdict would come in today but around 1:45pm we heard that the verdict would be announced at 2:00pm. And the verdict is..."likely to be pronounced by the High Court on September 30th."
So once again people cancelled events and worried about religious conflict - and nothing happened. We had an OWC charity event this morning and I am so glad that we did not cancel it. And certainly they will not announce on Thursday, right before the Commonwealth Games start - especially now that Camilla and Charles are in the country (see #2).
2) A few weeks ago Michael and I spent two days at Soukya Holistic Health Centre. Guess who's staying there now - Camilla Parker Bowles, (Prince Charles wife). Other famous people have stayed there as well: Sting, Tina Turner and Sarah, the Duchess of York to name a few.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bangalore/Yoga-ayurveda-for-Camilla-in-Whitefield-spa/articleshow/6640552.cms
3) And the most exciting update of them all - my yoga teacher Osnat is back - and she is starting classes again tomorrow! Can't wait!
1) Yesterday my post was in regards to the Ayodhya verdict. I really didn't think the verdict would come in today but around 1:45pm we heard that the verdict would be announced at 2:00pm. And the verdict is..."likely to be pronounced by the High Court on September 30th."
So once again people cancelled events and worried about religious conflict - and nothing happened. We had an OWC charity event this morning and I am so glad that we did not cancel it. And certainly they will not announce on Thursday, right before the Commonwealth Games start - especially now that Camilla and Charles are in the country (see #2).
2) A few weeks ago Michael and I spent two days at Soukya Holistic Health Centre. Guess who's staying there now - Camilla Parker Bowles, (Prince Charles wife). Other famous people have stayed there as well: Sting, Tina Turner and Sarah, the Duchess of York to name a few.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bangalore/Yoga-ayurveda-for-Camilla-in-Whitefield-spa/articleshow/6640552.cms
3) And the most exciting update of them all - my yoga teacher Osnat is back - and she is starting classes again tomorrow! Can't wait!
Monday, September 27, 2010
Ayodhya
The ongoing Ayodhya debate here in India is making my head spin. The judgement from the courts was supposed to be made last Friday. Since this is a religious disagreement between the Hindus and Muslims, outbreaks of violence were anticipated. Last Wed., two days before the decision was to be made, the government declared Friday and Saturday a "holiday" for schools.
The children would be staying home on Friday. Not a big deal but we also had plans to do a Habitat for Humanity build (as a family) on the Saturday. We worried that it would be cancelled now too.
However, late Thursday afternoon (come on, keep up with me now) the courts decided to postpone judgement until Tuesday, Sept. 28th. Shortly after that we received an email from the school saying, "school is back on." The kids weren't thrilled, but off they went to school and we looked forward to Habitat on Saturday.
However, Friday night much to our disappointment, we received an email cancelling Habitat because the organizers felt there still might be some unrest in the village. They didn't want to risk 45 foreigners getting in the middle of a religious confrontation.
I guess I should quickly mention what the Ayodhya debate is. The main issues (and we're going back centuries here) revolve around a temple built at the birthplace of the Hindu God Lord Ram. When a Muslim emporer defeated the Hindu King in 1527, the temple was torn down, and the Babri Mosque was built on the same site. Fast forward to 1992 when the mosque was demolished by Hindu radicals who believe it is a sacred Hindu site.
Hindu or Muslim? The courts are supposed decide tomorrow. But no "holiday" has been declared for the children, in fact there has been almost no news about it at all. We suspect that the decision will continue to be delayed - with the Commonwealth Games next week and then Obama's in India, and then it's Diwali - just too much going on. I don't think they can risk anymore bad press right now.
The children would be staying home on Friday. Not a big deal but we also had plans to do a Habitat for Humanity build (as a family) on the Saturday. We worried that it would be cancelled now too.
However, late Thursday afternoon (come on, keep up with me now) the courts decided to postpone judgement until Tuesday, Sept. 28th. Shortly after that we received an email from the school saying, "school is back on." The kids weren't thrilled, but off they went to school and we looked forward to Habitat on Saturday.
However, Friday night much to our disappointment, we received an email cancelling Habitat because the organizers felt there still might be some unrest in the village. They didn't want to risk 45 foreigners getting in the middle of a religious confrontation.
I guess I should quickly mention what the Ayodhya debate is. The main issues (and we're going back centuries here) revolve around a temple built at the birthplace of the Hindu God Lord Ram. When a Muslim emporer defeated the Hindu King in 1527, the temple was torn down, and the Babri Mosque was built on the same site. Fast forward to 1992 when the mosque was demolished by Hindu radicals who believe it is a sacred Hindu site.
Hindu or Muslim? The courts are supposed decide tomorrow. But no "holiday" has been declared for the children, in fact there has been almost no news about it at all. We suspect that the decision will continue to be delayed - with the Commonwealth Games next week and then Obama's in India, and then it's Diwali - just too much going on. I don't think they can risk anymore bad press right now.
Friday, September 24, 2010
Commonwealth Games
"Sheila Dikshit made the Canadian news!"
Yes, my husband felt it necessary to tell me this - at 5:30am this morning as he scrolled through the Canadian news on his phone - while lying in bed.
The only thing I asked was, "How did they spell her name?"
Sheila Dikshit is Chief Minister of Delhi, but we've noticed that the papers sometimes spell her name Dixit. Split personality? A bit of a complex?
As it turns out Sheila Dikshit has been brought in to clean up the mess at the Commonwealth Games. Have you seen the pictures of the Athletes Village?
Oh, I know the feeling. The day before we moved into our house I came to see how it looked - it looked like a war zone. Paint was everywhere, dirt was everywhere, it was a mess. The painters were frantically rolling - the ceilings, the walls - with nothing to protect the floors or windows or anything else for that matter. Paint was being flung everywhere, including on themselves. The cleanup team (which consisted of one or two cleaning ladies) was busy scraping paint off the floors, the windows etc. and washing everything down.
I've seen the pictures of the bathrooms in the athletes village - it doesn't surprise me in the least. And it doesn't surprise me that the Indian people (in charge) see this as a minor problem - along with a roof and a bridge falling down. IT'S JUST THE WAY IT IS.
India is India. There are 1.2 billion people living here, a good portion of whom don't sleep on mattresses, but floors. Some have toilets, but many use squat toilets and many still use nothing but the great outdoors. People eat to live and they work their butts off to send their children to hole-in-the-wall public schools.
Progress is being made in India...at a snails pace. India has been doing things their way for thousands of years. Things don't get things done ahead of time. Yes, yes, the politicians would have told the International Organizing Committee that everything would be done ahead of time, but anyone who knows the "Indian way" would know that it was all talk and the bobbing of heads. In other words the IOC should have spent more time here learning how things are done. Instead of having the requisite "three cups of tea," they obviously only had one.
Now that push comes to shove, Sheila Dikshit has come in with 1000 workers (probably paid $1/day) and 5 star hotel managers to get the place up to international standards - with one day to go! And they'll probably get it done, to the best of their ability, in the little time they have.
As for the athletes - good luck with the air conditioning, the electricity, the hot water and so on and so on. This will be an experience of a lifetime for the them. Sport is about endurance, and this surely will be about who can endure what. However, I have a feeling no one is going to remember these games for the sports - but for the life experience - which is what life in India is all about, right?
Yes, my husband felt it necessary to tell me this - at 5:30am this morning as he scrolled through the Canadian news on his phone - while lying in bed.
The only thing I asked was, "How did they spell her name?"
Sheila Dikshit is Chief Minister of Delhi, but we've noticed that the papers sometimes spell her name Dixit. Split personality? A bit of a complex?
As it turns out Sheila Dikshit has been brought in to clean up the mess at the Commonwealth Games. Have you seen the pictures of the Athletes Village?
Oh, I know the feeling. The day before we moved into our house I came to see how it looked - it looked like a war zone. Paint was everywhere, dirt was everywhere, it was a mess. The painters were frantically rolling - the ceilings, the walls - with nothing to protect the floors or windows or anything else for that matter. Paint was being flung everywhere, including on themselves. The cleanup team (which consisted of one or two cleaning ladies) was busy scraping paint off the floors, the windows etc. and washing everything down.
I've seen the pictures of the bathrooms in the athletes village - it doesn't surprise me in the least. And it doesn't surprise me that the Indian people (in charge) see this as a minor problem - along with a roof and a bridge falling down. IT'S JUST THE WAY IT IS.
India is India. There are 1.2 billion people living here, a good portion of whom don't sleep on mattresses, but floors. Some have toilets, but many use squat toilets and many still use nothing but the great outdoors. People eat to live and they work their butts off to send their children to hole-in-the-wall public schools.
Progress is being made in India...at a snails pace. India has been doing things their way for thousands of years. Things don't get things done ahead of time. Yes, yes, the politicians would have told the International Organizing Committee that everything would be done ahead of time, but anyone who knows the "Indian way" would know that it was all talk and the bobbing of heads. In other words the IOC should have spent more time here learning how things are done. Instead of having the requisite "three cups of tea," they obviously only had one.
Now that push comes to shove, Sheila Dikshit has come in with 1000 workers (probably paid $1/day) and 5 star hotel managers to get the place up to international standards - with one day to go! And they'll probably get it done, to the best of their ability, in the little time they have.
As for the athletes - good luck with the air conditioning, the electricity, the hot water and so on and so on. This will be an experience of a lifetime for the them. Sport is about endurance, and this surely will be about who can endure what. However, I have a feeling no one is going to remember these games for the sports - but for the life experience - which is what life in India is all about, right?
Sunday, September 19, 2010
Ganesh Festival - The Life Cycle of a Ganesh Statue
The Ganesh Festival is one of my favorites and this year I have seen it from beginning to end. Here's the low down on the life cycle of a Ganesh statue:
It all starts with mud.
In Pottery Town potters start making Ganesh statues six months in advance. They churn out fingers and toes, bellies and trunks and heads.
Eventually all the parts are put together: big and small, painted and unpainted, simple and ornate. Some are funny, some are happy, some are scary.
Ganesh is one of the most popular Hindu Gods: the God of wisdom and good fortune; the destroyer of sorrows and the remover of obstacles.
Every family carefully chooses a Ganesh statue to take home. Villages build "pandals," small tentlike structures, to house a larger Ganesh - where everyone can go and worship Ganesh together. It is very much a festival-like atmosphere. Impromptu dancing and music are very much part of the celebration.
The festival carries on for eleven days. During that time everyone chooses a day (certain days are more auspicious than others of course) to gather together - whether it be a small family or the entire village - and take the revered statue to a lake, ocean, river and immerse the statue in water. Sometimes it becomes a procession with drums and singing and Ganesh's pulled along the city streets on tractors. Sometimes it is a small Ganesh carried in a plastic bag.
At the lake puja usually occurs: some chanting, clapping of hands, ringing of bells and lighting of a flame. A coconut is cracked open and an offering of food and flowers is given.
Finally the statue, be it big or small, painted or unpainted, simple or ornate, is dunked into the water three times and then completely immersed and let go under the water...
where it eventually disolves...
...and becomes mud...
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