Sunday morning whizzing through the streets of Pune, what a visual feast! The KARE van came to collect me at 9.30am for just over an hour’s drive to the hills on the outskirts of Pune, overlooking Mulshi Lake. The streets were full of life, people going about their Sunday morning business; the coffee shops full, children playing, goats rummaging through the rubbish and at one point we passed four camels, complete with brightly attired riders perched up high, strutting majestically along the edges of the traffic flow! At a set of traffic lights a bright and beautiful girl of about the same age as my youngest (who is 8) came up to the car window smiling and it took me a moment or two to realise she wanted money. By the time I got my purse from the depths of my bag, the lights had changed and I just caught the weary expression of her mother as she looked at her daughter coming away without the prize. Sad. I hoped she’d managed to get Jenny the day before on her trip through, as she’d certainly have given her something.
As we left central Pune and the buildings started to become more sparse, we came across multiple out of town developments – massive concrete apartment blocks under construction with huge billboards selling the idea of ‘the beautiful life’ make a deposit of 10% and own your own apartment- cost for a one bedroom was starting at 19.99 lakh (about £20,000) so a deposit of £2000 and you’re in – wish it was that simple back home! The construction method here is quite different to the UK and you see as each level goes up, the ceiling is braced by a myriad of wooden or metal poles. There is no landscaping around these buildings so that they stick out like the proverbial sore thumb against a background of dusty, dry scrubland.
A little further out and the setting becomes much easier on the eye; humble
farmsteads with hay crofts and oxen and women tending the fields. The road began to climb steadily upward and became increasingly bumpy – we passed a truck whose weight had caused the driver to lose control coming down the hill and he’d ploughed into a corner with his load pushing into the back of the cab. The driver sat disconsolately aside, presumably awaiting some kind of assistance.
It was good to arrive and feel the slightly cooler temperature – for a brief moment my cardigan saw the light of day, the first time since leaving Heathrow. The surroundings are very pleasant; a beautiful view of the lake, sunshine, trees and a constant chatter of birdsong. I joined Jenny for a light breakfast of fruit and idli before heading off for an ayurvedic consultation with the resident doctor (drink more and don’t fast so long during the day – I tend to eat my breakfast very late as of course yoga is practiced on an empty stomach). Then off for my first treatment – I hesitate to call it a massage as it lacked any of the finesse that you would expect from an accomplished masseur – more a complete body and scalp oiling. The facilities are rustic and functional – you are issued with a strip of tissue and a piece of string to cover your modesty! After the oiling you are directed to a shower to rub in terracotta -coloured sandy paste which removes the oil. Once washed, scrubbed and dressed you are given a pinch of powder to inhale and sent on your way. The treatments are given by a pair of young sisters – it must take some guts to overcome the natural shyness of a young girl bought up in this culture, to actually be able to confidently massage almost naked westerners two (or three or four!) times their age. Hmmmh.Although Jenny tells me that at least they only work with women.
I made an unscheduled decision to stay the night and hitch a lift with Jenny in the morning – it felt too abrupt an ending to leave so soon, though I am reluctant to miss my ‘proper’ practice in the morning. There is an extremely well-equipped yoga hall (ropes, chairs, backbenders, halasana stools) here and two sessions of yoga a day, billed as Iyengar yoga, but not taught by an Iyengar teacher these days. All the staff here are potentially great, but need their management to invest in some proper training. Still all in all, comfortable rooms, in beautiful surroundings and a very welcome escape from city life.
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