8 weeks in...

Howdy,

I hope everyone is doing well and enjoying their respective existences in their respective places of residence. These last three weeks at Anand Prakash ashram have had their ups and downs, but I have really grown to love this city of Rishikesh, and will miss it a good deal, it being only the 3rd city I've lived in for more than a couple weeks. There have certainly been times when I've had some disdain for this place, and for all the people looking to prey upon you and take advantage of you, but truly, despite the over-commercialization and sometimes far-too-touristy feel of certain parts, this is a majestic and beautiful city, and it and many of its eccentric citizens have grown on me these last couple months. I will say though that I've been a bit disappointed with the yoga teachings I've encountered. Though this is supposedly the "yoga capital of the world", I haven't had much luck finding a place or person to take me to a new level of practice, which has been a bit of a disappointment. I've gone to several different places, and all have been either ultra-basic with very little guidance and insight, or else just ridiculously challenging and fast-paced, with very little guidance and insight. Anand Prakash got a new teacher right after writing my previous entry, and I have to say the way he teaches is something of an insult to the science and art yoga. I realize you're not supposed to take your practice too seriously, but this guy has us making animal noises for 2 minutes at a time, and has us forcing ourselves to laugh while in the middle of many postures, which we usually hold for around 5-10 seconds each, and which he himself performs with extreme sloppiness. Plus there is never any variation in his classes, so I had to stop going to the twice daily sessions, and just practice on my own and try to find what else was out there these last couple weeks. There is a guy here though from Spain named Juan, who has lived in Rishikesh for the past 4 years, and is very proficient in Iyengar Yoga, which is probably the most technical of all the different schools in terms of alignment of postures. He's taught me several things that have made a huge difference in the way I practice, and pointed out many things I was doing incorrectly, which was very nice. He also told me though that he would like to come to Tallahassee and study, as he was very impressed with the way I practiced and had never seen anything like it, which was a nice compliment to me, as well as to all my teachers over the past couple years, to whom I owe very much. There are about 500 different places in Rishikesh to learn yoga; from hotels, to small huts, to ashrams, to proper studios, and without having an inside on where to go, it's kind of impossible to know where to look, so I've sort of given up hope of finding some ultra-guru. Also, several of the other ashrams I've tried to visit have dismissed me at the door, due to me being a non-Indian, which is a bit disconcerting. Anand Prakash was honestly little more than a glorified hotel, with optional classes and meals, so it's been nice to be able to freely explore the city and surrounding areas, without fear of getting kicked out, like at my previous residence.

With that said, I have decided it's time to move on to other things for the time being (though I plan to return to Rishikesh at the end of my journey), and have reserved a train ticket for Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh, which is about 1200 km SW, and only a 26 train ride to boot. Ujjain is another fairly sacred city, with many ashrams and wild-haired dope-smoking 'ascetics', so it'll be interesting to see how it compares, and to have a change of scenery, though I somehow doubt the change will be as spectacular, but you never know. I've heard travelling by rail is an unforgettable experience, so hopefully it will live up to its reputation. The most amazing thing about rail travel though is the cost; to travel roughly halfway across the country will cost me $9, which is pretty darn tough to beat. With the cheapness and ease of travelling huge distances (nearly the entire country is connected by rail, with the exception of the far northern mountain regions), I've been planning somewhat of an itinerary of places to visit and things to see all over the subcontinent, from tip to tip, and think by the time it's over, I'll have...seen and done a lot of cool shit. Snow-capped mountains, isolated beaches, volcanoes, glaciers, caves, ice caves, wildlife preserves, botanical gardens, abandoned cities, hippie communes, desert camel rides, more ashrams, buddhist temples, river rafting excursions, enormous lakes with floating temples, and whatever else I find along the way are so far part of the plan.

I've finally read through the entirety of my 1500 page "Rough Guide to India", and there is so much awesome stuff here to see and do, I can't simply just sit on my butt and focus on my 3rd eye for the next 10 months in the same place. I realize that my original intention of coming here was to explore meditation and various yogas with the utmost seriousness, and find some sort of guru to change my life and hold my hand into enlightenment, but I am realizing more and more that living some ultra ascetic, austere lifestyle, while certainly very honorable, is just not something I'm willing to throw myself into with full force at this time. At first I was very gung-ho about this whole thing, and the experiences I was having were pretty amazing, but I've also had some really crappy experiences, and felt pretty low and depressed at times, and the more I've gotten out and just enjoyed being in the beautiful natural settings and amongst the craziness of India, the more I've been able to do so with a greater awareness and greater respect for life. I've been reading many books these last few weeks, with many conflicting views, and many new ideas, and lately, the middle path of not taking austerity or indulgence to extremes, seems a nice way to go. Reading over my last blog, I realize how ridiculously seriously I've been taking myself, and basically realize I need to lighten up and enjoy the hell out of this place while I'm here, rather than stayed holed up in an ashram cell, meditating all day and convincing myself that this is the only way to true happiness, and that I'm completely above this body and mind and their needs and desires. Not that I plan to forego my practices by any means. They have been an important part of my life for the last 2-3 years and have had an indescribable impact on my philosophy and well-being, and I plan to continue with at least as much seriousness as I did in the US, but...I have so much time, so much freedom, and so much amazing stuff to see and experience. I also realize that just because I'm sitting in my room with my eyes closed, or standing on my head or my feet for extended periods of time, I may be getting no more physical, mental, or spiritual benefit than if I am walking around outside, enraptured by the beauty of the mountains, the river, and the wildlife, and realizing the connection of all things through day-to-day experience. Many of the places I'm going to visit will have ashrams and yoga and meditation teachings, which I plan to participate in, but my overall attitude has changed a bit. Anyway, enough of the self-indulgent new agey mumbo-jumbo...

I've had quite a good time these past few weeks, especially after getting over another nasty stomach bug that lasted for a few days. Sickness though is really just a blessing in disguise, and basically forces you to confront your body and your thoughts, and try to make peace with everything and stop resisting your natural healthy state. A sick body usually means a sick mind, and I've certainly felt a good deal of loneliness, anger, and depression at times, but waking up and feeling like my good old self again after a few days of suffering gives such a refreshing view of life, and a much greater appreciation for the small things you take for granted. I decided to go out into the city and explore some new, more isolated parts after being shut in for so long, and I bumped into my friend Girish on the street after having not spoken to him in about a month. He treated me to some food, and then took me to a nearby waterfall a couple km out of town, where we went swimming and hiking and sang many songs. This had to be one of the most scenic parts of Rishikesh, and on the drive there, the huge valley formed by the mountains, with the river spiralling through like a serpent, and the huge boulders all along the beaches was just, like, totally killer, man. He told me that during my last week he would take me around and show me all the cool stuff Rishikesh and surrounding areas had to offer, so the next day we went to another, much bigger waterfall (Neer Garh Falls) a little farther out of town. We went to his house before for a bit while he got some lunch, and I ended up watching about half an hour of a Bollywood movie with his dad and nephews. The movie played like an American spoof-type movie, and was very sensationalistic and over-the-top, but I guess that's what's in in India. The father certainly seemed to enjoy it quite a bit. Afterwards, we headed out on his motorcycle to the 16km away destination. We rode through some hilly terrain and dense forests along a small highway, and I got to see some more rural parts of India, which easily could have passed for the poorer areas of St. Marks or Wakulla, if not for the prevalence of Hindi writing at every turn. He ended up borrowing his brother's cell-phone, or "mobile" as Indians like to call it, and played a loop of 5-6 Indian songs his brother had purchased, ranging from nu-metal, to boy bandish songs, to rock ballads, to hip hop, to more traditional stuff, with me holding the cellphone up to our ears the whole time. Indian pop music seems to be at least 10 years behind the Western trends, and is incredibly derivative of all that has come before it, but they definitely add their own charm, and some of the songs have been stuck in my head ever since. We arrived at the park after about a half-hour's drive, and had a long, arduous hike up the incredibly steep and rocky terrain. The falls had to have been at least 3,000 feet up at the source, and the climb was tiring, but quite rewarding. The views below from the summit were pretty amazing, and the waterfall was huge and magnificent. There was a pretty large area to swim, and many Europeans and Indians were doing so when we arrived. The water was freezing, but invigorating, and we climbed some tall rocks several times and jumped into the falls below, much to the bewilderment of some watchful Indians. I actually received several questions on swimming from Girish, as well as some other Indians, who obviously didn't have the first clue on how to swim. I guess it's just something taken for granted in America, as most kids take lessons somewhere in their youth, or at least I think they do... I haven't really had a proper swim in at least 10 years, but I did my best to offer what instruction I could, though from the constant floundering, I could see it didn't do much good. Anyway, after heading back, with more cell-phone stereo entertainment, and a brief stop for some chai and biscuits/cookies at a small shop, he insisted I come back and eat dinner with him and his family, which I happily agreed to do. Prior to that though, we went to an "aarti" or Hindu worship celebration, located along a huge bathing ghat facing the Ganges. The view was really awesome in the twilight, and the sound of all the singing coupled with the lighting of flowers and various things on fire as an offering to various deities, and having them floated down the river on banana leaves was quite a nice sight. Watching the diverse crowd was also an interesting spectacle, as there were at least a couple thousand people scattered around. Amongst the screaming children and older couples making out, tourists, and beggars, there was a huge group of sadhus smoking grass and hash out of their chillums (they are legally aloud to do this as part of their religious practices), and I was offered illicit narcotics too many times to count. The nerve!

We arrived back at Girish's home and went and sat up on the roof, or "bridge" as he calls it for some reason, and he asked me a ton of questions about yoga and meditation, and also asked for all kinds of relationship advice, which I'm probably not the most apt to give, but I did my best. I guess he's juggling two relationships, one with a girl he is passionately in love with, and another with a girl his family is trying to arrange a marriage with. I can't say I envy his situation. He told me he had to take his mother to the doctor before dinner, so I ended up sitting on the roof alone for a good hour and a half, with random visits from various relatives and neighbors, who knew just enough English to ask a couple of questions, and then stand around awkwardly until they realized there was nothing else to say. I watched the city go by below, and the countless children running after each other and laughing maniacally. I guess "tag" is as good as it gets for a lot of these kids, at least from what I've observed. After he got back around 9:30, we dined on the roof and ate an enormous smorgasbord of rice, ultra-spicy dal, chappatis, cucumbers, tomatoes, radishes, curd, apples, and mixed vegetable dishes. He kept forcing me to eat more and more, and I politely did so, until I was about to explode, and then had to gently deny about 20 more requests to keep going. By this time, I realized the ashram gates had been closed, so he insisted I spend the night, which I reluctantly agreed to. After taking a brief walk with him and his cousin down to the river to let the food settle, through the winding alleyways of inter-city Rishikesh, and teaching me some basic Hindi phrases and laughing at my difficult time mastering them, we headed back, and a bed was set up on the roof. I figured I would be sleeping up there alone, and was looking forward to laying on my back for awhile and looking up at the stars, but I soon realized him and his cousin and I would be sharing a moderately small double bed, which I have to say was a bit strange and uncomfortable, but I guess it's nothing uncommon in India. I'm not sure if I slept at all, as the noise from the city was pretty incessant all night, the dogs from every corner never stopped barking, and I wasn't really able to change my sleeping position, but I got through it somehow. We got up around 5:30, and I noticed that beds were set up all over the sprawling household, with many of them in open-air spaces. I'm not really sure what the family does when it rains, but I'm guessing it must be pretty uncomfortable. Altogether, from what I can tell, between 12 and 15 people live in the household, inlcuding six small children and a couple of his brothers and their wives and his parents, but I couldn't really get a good handle, and no one really spoke any English except for him. He then took me to the Sivananda ashram (the most famed ashram in the city), where he does yoga every morning, and we did a bit of easy early-morning yoga, then finally took me back. I got back just before breakfast, and realized I had lost my padlock key. They issue you a padlock and key at the ashram, but from what everyone's told me, it's smart to bring your own, as there are no extra copies of the key. I was basically locked out with no way to get back in, so a maintenance guy had to take a hacksaw and cut through the metal for a good 20 minutes, which made a ridiculous amount of racket, and had me feeling pretty stupid. Finally got in though, ate some breakfast, and went to sleep for a bit after quite an exhausting day(s).

A couple days later, Girish insisted I see a proper Bollywood movie in the theater, which I have been wanting to do since I got here, so we went downtown to the theater to see "Cham Ku". Tickets were $1, and the theater was actually very large and nice, though there was of course no a/c. Smoking is allowed, which was a bit of an annoyance, with several chimneys sitting in front of us, but it is what it is. There were only maybe 50 people in the theater as it was a Thursday afternoon, and not a single female among them, which I guess was a bit strange. The previews were honestly the best part of the experience, with one for a horror movie, one for an animated disney film about the Bhagavad Gita, and a pixar-type movie. The previews were actually very well done, but again, all the movies seemed very derivative of those in the West. "Cham Ku" was a highly stylized political action movie, which would normally put me to sleep in seconds in America, and this was honestly no different. From a technical standpoint, the movie was ver well done, and had nice editing and cinematography, but it couldn't really make up for the boringness, although I will say there was an incredible amount of action and rather graphic violence, which was surprising. About 15-20 percent of the movie was randomly in English, which actually served to make it more confusing, so I just stopped trying to keep up after about an hour. The best parts though were when it would shift from incredibly melodramatic, serious scenes into music and dance numbers which resembled music videos, and seemed to sharply contrast the main aesthetic of the movie. There was an "interval"/intermission about halfway through, and Girish agreed the movie was too boring, with not enough comedy or singing, so we left. He then took me to get a shave and a haircut from his "guru" Sanjay the barber. I know I promised I would let my hair and facial hair grow out, but I honestly just looked completely ridiculous, so I said F it, especially knowing a respectable barber would be doing the work. Sanjay was actually a pretty smart guy, and very knowledgeable about the west and was very interesting to talk to. He was also a darned good barber, and I have to say I hardly recognized myself after having looked like a mendicant for the last 2 months. The facial hair, however sparse, definitely adds 5-10 years, so I'm now back to looking like a high school graduate again.

For a final last hurrah, Girish took me to Mussoorie, which is a mountain town about 60km west of Rishikesh, that has amazing mountain views of the snow-capped Himalayas, as well as an amazing view of the vast valleys below on the opposite side. The ride was a good 3 hours by bike, which was honestly pretty treacherous and uncomfortable due to the horrific state of many of the roads, and the chaotic driving, but when we got up in the hills, it was all worth it, and just watching the scenery go by as we climbed up to around 6,000 feet was awesome. The weather quickly dropped a good 20-25 degrees, so I was glad I had brought a jacket, which was pretty much a necessity, especially on a bike. We went and saw yet another waterfall called "Kempty Falls", which was a really steep, but nice hike, and a really spectacular...spectacle. People were actually swimming at the bottom-most part, which must've taken some major cahones, but we opted out and headed over to the highest point in the region, where the view of the distant snow-capped mountains was said to be the best, and it did not disappoint. I thought Rishikesh had some grand views, but this put it to shame, and got me very excited about venturing futher north into the mountains next summer to see the incredible peaks and landscapes. It would've been nicer to hang around and see the city a bit more by myself, but we had to head back, and after another 3 hours of ass-numbing travel with the same 5-6 songs playing over and over on the good old mobile, we made it back in one piece.

Girish certainly made my last week here very interesting, and showed me a lot about the area, and also shared a ton of wisdom and insight into Indian lifestyle and culture. While he speaks pretty good English, there were still many communication difficulties, but I honestly think that makes friendship a bit easier, as you tend to not sweat the small stuff, and just focus on the good, because it is the easiest to communicate. Altogether I found him to be an incredibly friendly and helpful guy, who taught me a good deal about how to get around, and also inspired me to want to see all that this subcontinent has to offer.

Well, today I will head to Haridwar, a nearby town from where my train departs, and stay a couple nights before I head out. It is also a very holy city, and plays host to the Kumbh Mela, which takes place every 12 years, where tens of millions of Indians come to bathe in the river as a form of devotion. There should be a couple interesting things to see, but we'll see how it goes. I mainly just don't want to have to hassle with waking up at 4am to make sure I catch a cab and bus in time to make it to the train station from Rishikesh on Tuesday morning. All in all, like I said before, Rishikesh has its ups and downs, but it feels like a second home to me now, and I will definitely come back here at the end of my journey to see how much myself, and it has changed.

Miss you all. Love you all. And until we meet again, take care and keep on truckin.

Phir Milenge,

Adam