Had perhaps the best practice of the month, staying at home suits me so much better. Headed off to Laxmi Road in the hope of finding presents for the girls, this experience also better solo. The time to wander in and out of shops without inconveniencing anyone else. No pressure, no hurry. Well perhaps not quite ‘no pressure’ – if you even so much as glance at a stall or shop there is an immediate “Yes Mam?” said in an expectant and demanding tone. It gets kind of irritating after a while, so today I greeted every loud “Yes Mam?” with an equally loud and expectant “Yes Sir?” and nine times out of ten we ended up smiling at each other and they just left me alone to get on with it.
Went into a marvellous fabric shop and purchased 6 different fabrics to make into tops when I get back to Bristol. Should keep me busy in my dressmaking class for a good while.
Pranayama with Geeta this evening and again I found myself sitting right at her feet. Before the class had even begun we got a telling off for waiting for instruction and watching her put her socks on when we could have been preparing ourselves to sit well. She told us watching her put her socks on was ‘very spiritual’ in dryly sarcastic tones. The thing is, I’ve got very fond of Geeta over this month and fully understand why people have previously talked about her as being motherly. It’s certainly not motherly in a soft, nurturing kind of way – much more in a ‘tell it like it is, cruel to be kind, whichever way you play it is the wrong way’ kind of motherly and yet all the while she is giving with every ounce of her being. It would be much less effort to ignore all our faults and just deliver the information.
The class followed a similar format to last week, alternating between long periods sitting for digital pranyama – Surya bhedana and Chandra bhedana and lying down ujayii breathing. She said we always start and finish with ujayii and we even die with ujayii – death is not something to fear but another gift that we receive. I find her teaching very clear – she is very adept at articulating elusive ideas in a colourful and often dryly humerous way.
After class headed off to eat on my own as I had nothing prepared and it felt too late to start cooking. Went to a new place just at the crossroads and had a very pleasant meal with plenty left to eat tomorrow. If you want a ‘doggy bag’ you have to point to your leftovers and ask for ‘packing’. One of the good things about eating Indian in India is there is a choice of gluten free options to have instead of chapatti or naan. Today I opted for uttapa – but could also have gone for a dosa.
A very pleasant and productive day.
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