GANGA VIEWS AND DEVOTIONS OCT 5 2015 -#5

GANGA VIEWS AND DEVOTIONS
TRIVENI GHAT – RISHIKESH

GANGA DEVOTIONS

Had a lovely day in Rishikesh Market yesterday, shopping for shoes for the upcoming weddings I am invited to, a lovely visit with a good friend and her first grandson, and of course a lovely lunch as well.

Will post some photos with market scenes in the next post, but here are a few scenes from Triveni Ghat, just off Rishikesh Market’s main roads.  A place of serene quiet, powerful spiritual energies, and just a beautiful place to sit.

with love light and JOY

Namaste

Jane

END OF ONE WEEK OCT 4 2015 #5

October 4 2015 PHOTO POST END OF ONE WEEK

SARIS DRYING IN THE SUN

A full week has gone by since my arrival and it has been nothing like what I expected, and everything I expected and more. After being away for two full years, the impact of finally getting back and realizing how much my soul needs to be in this place, has left me moved to tears of joy more than once over the past days.
In addition, the welcome I’ve received everywhere I went has been nothing short of astounding. But the final surprise gesture which was totally unsuspected, came at one of my favorite restaurants, 60’s Beatles Café, yesterday. I love this place for the ambience, the wonderful music always playing softly in the background, the truly delicious and special food served (see a couple of sample pages from the extensive menu)

VEGAN CHOICES

SPECIAL SMOOTHIES

and of course a view to die for (especially at sunset).

PRACTICING MY SELFIE SKILLS

While there, relaxing on one of the lovely sofas, drinking a smoothie and recovering from the heat and long walk-enjoying a fabulous breeze coming off the Ganga….one of the owners handed this to me with a big mile and greeting. I was totally surprised, truly moved to tears-which in turn totally surprised the owner!

Later on in the evening, watching a lovely sunset which is only possible when we are blessed with clouds, I went back to coloring mandalas as a relaxing, sort of meditative practice I began awhile ago at home, with a new collection and coloring pencils which I bought here

I’ll hopefully be writing more about the week-which has been filled with ups and downs, some doubts, but great joy and contentment as well-and I’m extremely grateful for these blessing-but at the moment, have no great urge to write – so will let my photos speak for me for the time being.

GANGA RAFTING

CROWDS ON LAXMAN JHULA BRIDGE

TOURIST TAKING FAMILY PHOTOS

SNACK ON THE GO

GANGA BATHING

WEEKEND TOURISTS

VIEW FROM MY TERRACE

Namaste
Much love light and JOY
Jane

FIRST IMPRESSIONS AFTER TWO YEARS AWAY

BLOG 2015 #2 September 30

FIRST IMPRESSIONS AFTER TWO YEARS AWAY

FIRST SUNRISE

Insight about when to fly in to Delhi for best travel options.  Arrived with Turkish Airlines at 4:30 AM…ON A SUNDAY MORNING. Flying out of Israel was the easiest yet since it was Shabbat, and the airport was fairly empty.  Check-in was an all time record at only 10 minutes start to finish!  Also, Delhi airport was almost empty so no long lines to wait on and I was out of the airport, including getting my luggage, in less than half an hour

And then driving at that hour, on a Sunday morning, through Delhi, was child’s play…no traffic, no noise….and this continued for the first 2/3 of the journey.  The first 150 km., all on the new Highway, took just under 2 hours!  The last 100 km, through towns and with morning activity already beginning, even though Sunday, took 3 hours.  But still a very reasonable ride. Most of the way we drove at the unheard of speed of 80 kph on the new road which is fabulous. There were times when the speedometer hit 90 and even 100!

NOTE THE SPEED ON THE SPEEDOMETER

By 7:30 I was already sitting down to a breakfast of Aloo Parantha and Masala at Grand Cheetal rest stop.

Two Road signs along the way:

SAY NO TO PLASTIC BAGS.  PLASTIC IS NOT TRENDY

CELLULAR O WHEEL WILL BE COSTLY DEAL

….and indeed…you can now ad texting while driving to the already existing hazards of India roads.

SEE VIDEO IN LINK BELOW

TAXI RIDE DELHI TO RISHIKESH

India itself has stayed the same in many ways, and continues to change and grow as well at amazing speed.  WIFI access for example, which only two years began to find its way into restaurants etc., and was very “iffy”, is now almost everywhere, and WORKS beautifully! The prevalence of Western mode of dress, particularly among younger girls and women, is extensive although in the towns along the way, I saw none of it.  But here, in Rishikesh, where there are lots more Indian tourists, not pilgrims, just tourists, all are dressed in Western clothing.  It has become a very popular “get away” for the younger Delhi crowd, as well as families, and I’ve been told that for most of the year, there is actually more income from Indians these days than from Westerners, who have become unreliable as a main source, and also pay much less money for the same services and accommodations than Indians do.

But mainly these are cosmetic changes…new restaurants and guesthouses everywhere I look (and I’ve been out and about very little these first few days as it is very hot…unseasonably so), fancier cars, clothing shops etc., but the essence, the soul of Indian, remains the same.  It is something which never seems to change and it is what brings me here time and again.  I will be writing more about this as the time goes by.

Enough for this first post….next one will quickly sum up my first few days

Namaste

With love light and JOY

Jane

HOMESICK…

Sites and Sounds of Tapovan Village, Rishikesh

India is not all noise and bustle. There are beautiful sounds and sights of Nature as well!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WBzFSMomOoE&sns=em

 Uploaded on Jan 9, 2010

While walking up the mountain past the village, I was accompanied by rapids, and the beautiful music of the water was with me all the time. Other than the occasional bird-call, that was the only sound I heard most of the time. The sound of the water became progressively louder the higher up I walked, until it was the only thing I heard. And if I ventured off the main path for awhile, I was greeted with almost an eerie silence once the water sounds could no longer be heard.Make sure you watch until the end and see the lady bathing her buffalo!

Namaste

Much love light and JOY

Jane

 

 

 

Observations from India

This was originally a part of a longer post published years ago and came across it recently.  So I’ve decided to share it once again.
Observations:

Just a quick note: I’ve been watching in many places as roads and even houses are built and can’t help be amazed at the processes. Rocks are brought up from the river bed by donkey …dumped in one place near the closet existing road, and then sari dressed women, some  with babies tied to their banks or toddlers following them, carry them on their heads and dump them closer to the actual work site

…and then they are hit with sledgehammers in such a way as to create one side which is completely flat. These are then place one next to the other with the flat side facing out to build retaining walls…or the foundation for a road – the spaces between them are then filled with cement and layer upon layer is built in this way. The cement is mixed by hand, with no seeming consistent way of doing it…water is added (and sometimes gravel – which is also made by hand by men, or women, sitting all day and pounding stones into gravel) until the cement “feels” right – like you might mix bread dough.

Mixing Cement

I’ve seen branches cut from trees and trimmed of bark with sickles being used with string as surveying instruments, and I’ve even seen a place where optic cables are being laid, but the labor is still done with pickaxes, shovels, hand ploughs etc., and the debris carried away in trays on the heads of sari dressed women.

Foundation Wall of New House-Note Rocks used as Raw Material

This is all part of what India is, and although I really haven’t written much this trip, I’ve been reading over some of my older journals, and realize that much of what I found worth writing about in the past, I simply take for granted now

Retaining Wall

….Nothing seems as strange as it once did, or even noteworthy…it is just the way things are here and accepted as normal.

Namaste

Jane

Butter/Garlic/Thyme Naan-Homemade!!

I am in Heaven…and so Blessed and Grateful

BUTTER/GARLIC/THYME NAAN AND MASALA CHAI

I just finished eating this truly, amazing and delicious meal served with my own special Masala Chai. 

You can see how delicious it is from the photos, but there is no way I can photograph the wonderful aroma still pervading my house from baking it.

The recipe is one of so many I have tried from one of my all time favorite blogs:  Peri’s Spice Ladle.  http://www.perisspiceladle.com/2014/03/14/garlic-and-thyme-naan-indian-bread/

Just some photos during preparation….really worth a try.

Dough Resting

Divided into Six Portions

Ready to go in the Oven

Baking

Namaste to all

Jane

 

 

 

Delhi Oct. 2013 #2

Masjid Fatehpuri at Dusk

Just some photos.  It was so beautiful….no words are necessary here I think!

Namaste

Jane

Delhi-October 2013 – #1

Chandni Chowk and Spice Market

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As promised, I will begin posting stories and photos (mainly) from my recent sojourn in India.  I found blogging to be a true intrusion this trip and did very little posting while actually there.  So I will now begin trying to catch up, for myself as well as for my followers.

Spice Market

I blessed this year with an amazing first time adventure of experiencing, and exploring Delhi with local friends, rather than as a tourist, and it was a whole new experience for me.  I will begin this post with my first days in Delhi.

I explored places I’ve never beendto before, travelled on the Metro for the first time, saw some of the new wonderfully modern areas of Delhi as well as the traditional markets and local antiquity sites.  I hope you will enjoy the next few posts which will hopefully tell this story, mainly in photos.

Spice Market

Here are photos from a day spent roaming Chandni Chowk Shuk and the Spice Market, mostly on foot, but with the help of bicycle rickshaw as well. It was a very long but very beautiful day.

Spice Market

Spice Market

Lunchtime in Chandni Chowk

Signs of a Splendid Past

Red Fort on a Very Hazy Day

view from Jama Masjid

Namaste

Jane

Chole Bhatura from Start to Finish

Chole Bhatura from Start to Finish

chole bhatura

Chole bhautra is an amazingly delicious treat prepared from chickpeas in a wonderfully spicey sauce and served together with Bhatura, a fried, puffed, light bread.

It is a sinfully delicious Indian snack/meal and I was privileged to eat it during my stay this past year in Delhi with my dear friend Preeti and her lovely husband Sudeep.

deep frying and starting to puff up

Golden brown and puffed to perfection

It is a popular Punjabi dish but is now enjoyed all over India. I’ve posted a series of  photos of the entire process in case it interests you…watching the preparation and all the effort involved made me even more grateful for this wonderful meal!

Namaste

much love light and JOY

Jane

A Cow Story in Photos

This will be a story in photos of one particular cow, on one particular day, in one particular place, ….

But first, just a few words in general about cows and India.

Cows are everywhere in India.  It would not be India without cows. Cows roam the streets, walk on main highways, pop in to have lunch in restaurants, stroll through open shops, take naps in the middle of the street…there is no place where you will not find the cows.  The amount of photos of cows I have is exceeded only by the amount of photos of monkeys that I have!  🙂

Some cows seem mean

Some are regal

Some are motherly and loving

Some are just an integral part of the scenery

But this cow seemed to enjoy the energies along the Ganga, and to enjoy interacting with those who had come for prayer and devotion, or just for fun, along the ghats of Ram Jhula.

At first, she came straight up to me to say “Hi”….

Hi There… Namaste

She seemed to be most curious, and quite intelligent.

…and then headed down the steps to check out the other people and see what they were doing.

What’s This Guy Doing?

At one point she seemed to be posing for photos along with the tourists

Take My Picture Too Please

Or asking to be included in someone’s devotional prayers.

Say a Prayer for Me Too Please

In short….an interesting cow day….

There always seems to be something happening wherever you happen to find yourself.  The trick is to be mindful, to be grateful and to appreciate and enjoy everything to the fullest.

Namaste

Jane