A FIRST TIME FOR EVERYTHING – OCT 9 2015

THERE’S A FIRST TIME FOR EVERYTHING
Including stomach problems in India!!

SUNRISE, MOON AND MORNING STAR

In the 15 years I’ve been coming to India, despite having an extremely sensitive stomach (or perhaps THANKS to it because it makes me super cautious), I have never once experienced any sort of stomach discomfort….UNTIL TODAY! Actually, it didn’t surprise me…two days ago, I went down to eat at one of my very favorite restaurant for truly fresh food and delicious dishes…The Ganga View Restaurant. When I arrived, I didn’t see one familiar face, and something looked different…the bakery display was empty, as was the restaurant. THIS should have been enough for me…as this was a place where sometimes I might have to wait for a place to sit!!! But I went down to my comfy place, saw the menu (completely different), and already realized that it had changed hands. I was very specifically “told” to get up and leave, but I was tired, hot and very hungry and decided to stay figuring “how bad could it be?”
That same evening my stomach was slightly upset, and yesterday I didn’t feel up to doing anything at all, and this morning, woke up with “delhi belly” and a general weak feeling. Immediately went down to Dr. Arora, my ayurvedic doctor. I was planning to go to him today anyway for a general consultation….but obviously that wasn’t going to happen. He checked my pulse and immediately said “what have you eaten the last couple of days that wasn’t good for you?” Gave me some pills, which I am to take for three days, and keep eating my regular, good for me meals of porridge, steamed veggies, fruit salad and kitcheri in the evening, and all will be well.
Not a very interesting post but waking up to the blessed view above was definitely compensation!
I am always blessed by God and the Universe
Much love light and JOY
Jane

EARLY MORNING WALK #4 2015

October 1, 2015
EARLY MORNING WALK DOWN TO LAXMAN JHULA, ALONG GANGA PATH AND BACK ACROSS RAM JHULA

I decided the only way I would get past this spell of unseasonably, really hot weather, is to take advantage of the cooler times of the day. So this morning, I was already out walking at 6:30 AM and walked for 5.5 km with ease, and took lots of photos.

VIEW FROM LAXMAN JHULA EARLY MORNING

First of all, it was deliciously cool, even chilly, and down by the Ganga, the wind was so strong it was kind of scary walking across the swaying bridges. Look at these shirts which were hung up on the trees to dry, and apparently be ironed as well, and you can imagine the wind blowing off the Ganga….or this willow tree blowing in the wind

CLOTHES DRYING AND BEING IRONED BY THE WIND

WILLOW TREE ALONG THE GANGA NEAR RAM JHULA

But it was delightful…
Secondly, It was a whole new experience. After so many years of walking in India, I’ve never been out at this time of the day and it was a completely different experience. ALL shops were closed, very few people in the streets

EMPTY STREETS

LOTS of stray dogs which scared me a little as they kept approaching me…..but a while new world out there. Of course, no colorfully dressed woman in scores to photograph, but a I saw things which I’ve never noticed before on walks when I’m usually surrounded by people on all sides.

DOOR FRONT IN LAXMAN JHULA

And of course, seeing the town slowly come to life, mainly children going to school, street cleaners, several people bathing in the Ganga or setting up stands to sell to people later in the day…quite lovely to say the least.

STREET CLEANERS

SCRAP COLLECTOR

And the lighting on the mountains and Ganga and bridges was so different and beautiful to see.

NOTICE MOON SETTING OVER LAXMAN JHULA

VIEW FROM LAXMAN JHULA EARLY MORNING

RAM JHULA EARLY MORNING

SUN RISING OVER MOUNTAIN NEAR RAM JHULA

A VIEW FROM AFAR OF WHERE I LIVE

Hope you enjoy the photos in this post….look forward to doing this more often, maybe even tomorrow in a different direction.

I AM EXTREMELY BLESSED AND GRATEFUL

with 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

Beautiful Last Evening (and day) in India – Nov 21-22 2012

Last Morning in Rishikesh-Clouds Over the Mountains

I was invited to Dr. Arora and Manju’s for dinner together with my friend Michal.  I usually spend quite a lot of time visiting with Manju while I am in Rishikesh.  Daytime visits where we just chat and I watch her in the kitchen-best cooking lessons available-and these visits were missing during this short stay.  But at least I would get to spend the evening with her, and I was excited about going.

We wound up spending the evening in prayers, chanting and singing with all the female members of the communal family dwelling (5 sisters-in-law, a couple of THEIR daughters-in-law, a visiting sister of Dr. Arora from Delhi, and even one baby granddaughter).  I couldn’t have found a more suitable, uplifting and beautiful way to spend my last evening in Rishikesh, or better company.  I have no photos, as it seemed neither appropriate nor necessary at the time, but the wonderful pictures will remain in my mind for a very long time.

It seems over 30 years ago, Dr. Arora’s father decided that every Tuesday there should be an evening of Kirtan (sacred chanting) in the family temple situated in the center of the family dwelling, and the women at the time decided they would be the ones to do it.  And to this day, this is precisely what happens every Tuesday evening.

There is nothing that compares with the power, and empowering energies of the prayers of women.  The chanting was done joyfully, sometimes playfully, sometimes with deep serious mindfulness and devotion, but always directed directly towards the deities.  I felt it on a deep soul level and felt myself being swept away with the power of the connection to God felt in the small room.  Since the chanting is repetitive, and the women took turns leading it, I was very often able to join in. And from my years in India, several of the chants I realized I actually knew the words to myself!  This surprised me and of course brought great joy and approving pleasure to the faces  of the women. And of course, clapping along with everyone else was a no brainer, even for me!!  🙂

The visit afterwards with Manju and the Doctor was thoroughly enjoyable as always, with good conversation, seeing the beautiful wedding album from their eldest son’s wedding last year (the daughter in law of course now living there with them) and of course a superb light dinner.  With soup, idlis, subji, shahi paneer (Manju makes the best in India for sure and she always remembers how much I like it and makes it for me when I come), chutney and of course chapattis with ghee . Dr Arora drove us home, quite late…tired but with full stomachs and happy hearts.

Now having my last breakfast here at the Pundir Restaurant after being treated to a wonderful whole wheat chapatti and homemade ghee when I stopped by Seema’s house earlier.

The sky is cloudy today for the first time in 6 weeks.  I feel “cloudy” myself. Must be raining somewhere up in the mountains to bring the clouds and colder weather today.

Neelkanth Temple in Distance

And somewhere deep inside of me there is a “rainy” feeling as well.

evening clouds

The day continued quietly, with goodbyes to everyone, always difficult, but even more so after such a short stay, and of course packing up my stuff for storage as well as for taking home.  The sky was beautiful to watch during the day and evening,

and before heading off to Delhi by taxi, I had my last supper of schnitzel and chips!!  🙂

The ride on the new highway took less than 5 hours….

Sachin provided me with a pillow so I could sleep in the car on the way.  I dozed on and off…and to my great surprise was in delhi in less than 5 hours!!  New road is good for sure.
Found a nice bench in the departure lounge to lay down on for another hour until they opened the RJ check in counter.  They really hassled me about my carry on- it didn’t fit into the “rack” which measures them.  Finally they called the supervisor, and she allowed me to take it.  What a pain in the ass.  The whole thing took over an hour but luckily I was first on line and when I got to the gate, there was even a free bed to lie down on which I did of course.

Last Sunrise Over Delhi During Take Off

the flight was fine but it seems the AC as not working….it was really hot on the plane.
Good flight to amman but it is over 7 hours going back.  The plane was not full so there was no one next to me which made it easier to  sleep a little with my legs over the handle of the next seat.
1/2 hour delay in Amman but that meant yosi actually got the airport in time to pick me up.  It was nice.
We went and had a nice breakfast in Yehud and then headed home and got stuck in a HAIL STORM!!  Thought the car windows would crack the pieces were so big!
And then later on in the evening, my house was struck directly by lightning and my phone went dead while talking to yosi.  and my cellphone needed to be charged but I had no electricity, so we couldn’t talk.  It was easier talking to him from India!

And now I am home, a week later, writing this last post!!  I will be posting several more photo posts, and then saying goodbye until next year!  Look forward to seeing you all once again then!

Namaste from Herzlia, Israel

A Blessed Day from Sunrise to Sunset – October 24,2012

Blessings from Sunrise to Sunset

It is actually the next day, evening time, and I am now getting ready to go to sleep.  I had two amazingly beautiful and active days….so full that I have had no time to write or post.  But tomorrow I begin the more difficult part of panchakarma, and wanted to take best advantage of these last two days…and  I DID!  I will have lots of time resting over the next days, so will have plenty of time to write, post photos I have shot over the past couple of days, and tell you about all my lovely adventures.

You may remember that the day yesterday began with a beautiful sunrise (above) .  Well, I was still out and about late enough to also enjoy a spectacular sunset,

and in between also was able to enjoy the Vijayadashmi festival, which ended the 9 day Navrati festival.

Will be posting photos and video from this as well.

So here is just a quick post to let you know all is well , and that I just have had better things to do than “blogging”  the last couple of days.

Me Enjoying the Sunset over the Ganga

Namaste from Rishikesh

Jane

Sunrise through Clouds-Dawn of Another Day-October 24, 2012

Sunrise through Clouds

If there were no clouds, we would never have beautiful sunrises and sunsets.  I woke early this morning and was blessed with these beautiful views out over the mountain.

 

Namaste from Lovely Rishikesh

First Sunrise –October 16, 2012–10–16

The Joys of Waking Up Early

I awoke this morning to birdsong.  Long before life in general begins its daily process, with all its accompanying noise, I find myself awake.

And the only thing I hear are the birds.  No traffic noises, no people noises.  Natural silence accept for the birds-all chattering away saying good morning to each other.

And of course the added blessing of sunrise over the mountain.

Hope there will be many more of these to share with you.

Namaste from Rishikesh

Jane

Back in Rishikesh 2012 Part 2

View from Guesthouse at Dusk

I write this as I sit outside in the morning sun which warms my bones after the chill of the evening, night and early morning.  The sun is not too hot to be uncomfortable or prevent hours of happily walking around.  And it’s heat is felt truly for only about 3 hours a day.  It is a beautiful time of the year to be here…before the need for warm clothing, uncomfortable layers etc., of the winter weeks, and without the scorching, debilitating heat of the hotter months.  And of course without the rains of the monsoon.

Everything is still very green and lush and walking around is just complete pleasure.

At night and early morning it is already fairly cold with the strong winds which are so typical of Rishikesh…but of course, the sun rises just over the mountain , (now at 7:20 but it is getting a little later each day), through the window which faces my bed and gently pulls me awake (if I happen to still be asleep), with it’s shining kiss.

And then I sit in it’s warm embrace as I do my morning prayers and meditaion. Could there be any better way to begin a day?

There are of course changes, as there always are in India, and yet things continue to feel like ‘time stands still” in most things.  The first shocking change was a wall which was put up on one side of “my” rooftop by the neighboring hotel, which completely blocks one of my views…very disconcerting but doing my best to come to terms with it.  If you can’t change something, learn to accept it and change your perception of it!

And all the local places are now setting up WiFi which is lovely, but still not truly working well yet.  Perhaps by next year.

And then of course more new rooms, more new guesthouses and a lovely surprise.  My friends who run the wonderful Pundir Provision Shop

Pundir Shop Tapovan Rishikesh , have now opened a restaurant upstairs.  We have eaten their twice and the food was superb!  AND, it is air-conditioned!!!  It was actually so cold we had to ask them to turn it off!  J

But of course tomorrow I am starting Panchakarma, so no more of the lovely food I’ve been eating up until now.  I had my full of yummy stuff over the past few days…am sure I gained at least a kg., and will now be able to settle into my very boring and limited diet for the next month.

And of course hearing the lovely news from my friend Devi that her sister is getting married!  Just wonderful.  This is a family of 5 daughters, the father has not worked in 15 years.  The oldest daughter was already married but the others were sure they would never marry because they would never have enough money for a dowry.  This sister has found an arranged match with a wonderful man who wanted a very limited dowry, just for appearance sake, and everyone is extremely happy as you can imagine.  The bad part is, the wedding is 2 days AFTER I leave.  If I had know, I would have flown in a couple of days later.  I cannot extend for even one day due to problems with my government pension…really sad.  However, the owner of the guesthouse has already invited me to TWO weddings of his niece and nephew, and so once again I will get to go to the production that is called “India Wedding”.  Should be fun.
Indian Wedding

Walking through the streets here is like coming home.  So many friends to see, from local shop keepers, to beggars and rickshaw drivers.  And of course my dear local friends and their families, who I will see often and visit over the weeks to come.

And then, to my great surprise, I am being recognized as a “celebrity” in the area and didn’t understand why.  Seems the guesthouse has finally put up a website, and they used MY photo (from several years ago-don’t know where they got it) as part of the cover photots of the website.  So when I walked around the first day I was hear in my red “suit”, the same one I am wearing in the photo, people were pointing at me until someone finally showed me what was going on.  It is soooooo  funny.   Here is a link and if you check out the dots under the cover photo, you will come to one of me.  You can see me in my red suit on the rooftop and the room behind me to the left is my home here in Rishikesh.  http://newbhandariswisscottage.com

And that’s about if for today.  Hope begin getting out and about and getting back to my camera over the next few days.

View from Guesthouse at Dusk

Namaste

Jane

Back in Rishikesh October 9-13 2012 Part 1

Sunrise over India

Well, I’ve been here now for just three days but it seems like I’ve been here for a couple of weeks at least.  I am now sitting in my room with Tata Photon+ mobile broadband service stick which my friend is lending to me whenever I want it so that I can use internet in my room.  The wifi services here are not working well enough for me to take advantage of them in my room, so this is a real blessing from him to me.  I am listening to lovely Israeli folkdancing music (which I love), and eating Besan Ladoo…which I also love!!  Heaven on earth.

I honestly haven’t felt like writing since I arrived, but have many things written in bits and pieces in my notebook….hope to eventually get them all up here.  And to my great surprise,  I haven’t taken (hardly) any photos either. But I won’t force anything to “happen”.  Just flowing with things as they go.

Sunrise over India from the taxi window

I arrived in Delhi on Wednesday morning at 4:30, with my friend M.  We were picked up by a taxi which I had ordered previously and began our journey to Rishikesh.  And to my great surprise, it took a long time for me to feel like I was actually in India!  Everything has changed so much over the past year and 8 months.  It took hours before my friend had her first traumatic meeting with Indian culture shock.  She was beginning to become complacent, maybe even bored, but India being India…it will finally find its way to you in all of its glorious, and not so glorious ways!!

what a unique idea!

At the airport there was no initial assault on the senses as there used to be.  We could have been in any lovely airport in any country in the world.  The new terminal has nothing to give you the feeling that you are truly back in India.  My friend was pleasantly surprised, and happy, but I was actually disappointed.  .  Pleased of course that progress is moving things forward, India as always moves ahead while standing still….But I wanted desperately to “feel” India on a gut level, in my soul!

We were taken to our taxi, and to my total astonishment, there was AC working!!   And it worked most of the journey to Rishikesh!  Quite unbelievable.  Not only is it obviously more comfortable during a hot drive, but it keeps all of the dirt and dust out of the car!

I was already told that the new highway is open and running between Delhi and Rishikesh, but had no idea what to expect.  Well, the first 150 KM of the 250 KM journey took under 2 hours, Then we stopped for breakfast and toilet and lovely Cheetal Resort.  When we got back in the car, the driver explained that the highway only continues for another 10 KM and then we are back on the old road for the last 90 KM of the trip to Rishikesh.

So, finally, we would “feel” India!!  The highway is approached through a bypass road from the airport, so we didn’t even get to ride through Old Delhi or New Delhi on our way out of the city.  And all of the hussle-bussle was truly missed by me.

Once off the main highway however India finally “hit” with full force.  I was ecstatic, my friend traumatized.    We were back to the horror and magic that is travel on Indian roads.  (You might remember the previous post- Rules of the Road).

The last 90 KM took well over 3 hours of nerve-wracking driving, noise, smells, near death passes, a cacophony of humanity coming to life in the morning hours.  Just wonderful! But my poor friend!  I think you NEVER forget your first drive on Indian roads.  Just like you never forget childbirth (!).  It finds a place of honor in your soul and stays there forever, but hidden enough to allow you to venture onto the roads again for travel in the future!!

I am going to end this post here so that I can finish it up and post it.  And hope to continue either tomorrow or later today with one more catch up post about our first two days here. They have been a blur of sensory, culinary and physical stimulation…exploring, showing my friend the local sights and also how to find her own way around, eating wonderful food, enjoying the perfect weather, see all my wonderful friends again and just feeling peaceful and tranquil and back home after much too long.

Namaste

Jane

March 6-7, 2011- Vacation Days 5-6 – Knees, Books, Kitcheri, and Ram Jhula on a Sunshiny Day

March 6-7, 2011- Vacation Days 5-6 – Knees, Books, Kitcheri, and Ram Jhula on a Sunshiny Day

Sunrise this Morning

I have just finished reading a book “Dog Boy” by Eva Hornung and am speechless.  I sit here in shocked silence, choked with tears.  All I can say is, if you can find this book, you must read it. It was published in 2009 so should not be difficult to find. I usually just post the books I read with short comments on the tab marked “What I am Reading” at the top of the blog, but this time I MUST say a few words here.  There ARE really no words I can find to truly portray the stunning beauty and sadness of this book. It is sobering to say the least, the concept for the story not a new one, but the author has realized it magnificently.  Do your best to find this one!

Now let’s head back to yesterday.  As I mentioned in my previous post, my knee had been complaining after my long day of walking, so it was obvious to me that today would be a close to home day.  The knee was actually worse than I had imagine, and I found my self limping even when walking a short distance, and the stairs up and down from my room were really difficult and painful.

I spent a good part of the previous night, and the rest of today, doing Reiki, but then realized that the pain originated not in my knee but in the calf of the same leg.  I began to think that perhaps I had overdone something in yoga yesterday morning, and then the extended walking just aggravated the problem. (Good news is, the next day, when I am writing this, my knee is good as new and I will go out walking soon).

The day dawned beautiful and sunny again, and I was able to do my morning meditation, pranayama, prayer etc. outside in the sun.  Had a very light breakfast of hot milk with my chawanprash and dried fruit, and di a lot of reading.

And then a lovely young Israeli girl who had “heard” about me, came up to meet me, and we wound up having a lovely and intense (for both of us) session.  I received a powerful channeled message for her, and also was “adopted” by three angels at the end of the session.  It was really wonderful!

Then I went down for a light lunch of steamed veggies, but wound up eating a vegetable burger on a roll, with salad and chips!!!!  I just couldn’t resist and it was soooooooooo delicious.

Came up to my room and slept for a couple of hours to my great surprise, probably a result of the long day out the day before.

When I awoke, was outside again in the sun, and offered to cook dinner for my neighbor and me if she would do the shopping for the veggies…she happily agreed.  Just then, someone else came up to talk to me (the wife of the guy who I had emailed for quite some time – the yoga instructor who mentioned me on her ABC interview…this all in a previous post).  We had a pleasant talk for awhile but then the neighbor came back with the veggies and I had to excuse myself to cook kicheri for us.  Which I did!  And it was really nice cooking for someone else and eating with them…first time this trip I did this-forgot how pleasant it is to be able to cook for other people once in awhile.

The day ended pleasantly, outdoors, and I had a lovely sleep last night, waking early to the beautiful sunrise at the beginning of this post!  Pays to get up at 6:30 and go outside!

It is now after noon and I will be heading out soon for a short walk to make sure my knee is really OK…and will be back later with perhaps something else interesting to write.

Back from my short walk…only out for 4 hours…and my knee is fine, thankfully.

Had a very expensive lunch at the “spa” restaurant in Ram Jhula, and it was interesting but not something I would ever order again.  A wrap, made in whole wheat chapattis (4 of them on the plate – too much for me to eat – of grated beets and carrots in tehini with mint chutney on the side.  It sounds much better than it tasted, believe me.  But it was a change and the place is nice to sit at, so I can’t complain.  Walked around the ghats in ram jhula for a while and then came back,

 

Ganga Panorama from Ram Jhula Ghats

check out more scenes from today’s walk here:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=275070&id=547896544&l=a04e7fe4d1

did some shopping for the next week, visited with some friends staying at Seema’s and am now happily back on my rooftop where I will relax and read and play and listen to music for the rest of this lovely day 6 of my vacation.

cross the ganga and succsss your journey

Don’t forget to check out this link for some more shots of today’s stroll along the ram jhula ghat.

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=275070&id=547896544&l=a04e7fe4d1

Namaste

Jane