Delhi, December 30th: Yoga

I've just finished my two week yoga course, and I must say, I do feel a bit more limber and flexible.

I am taking the course at an Ashram which is only about a 5 minute walk from our apartment, called the Sivananda Vedanta Nataraja Centre. Apparently they have international sites in other countries, including one in Montreal and Toronto, and a retreat/ashram in the Laurentians as well.

Anyway, I wanted to take a yoga course, not only to prevent me from becoming a sloth, but also because India is the place to do Yoga! I didn't really know what to expect, but the centre required me to take the beginners course, even though I have done some yoga in the past, albeit the kind you take at the Y/sports complex and a couple of classes at a yoga studio. So, I signed up for the course, which included 4-90 minute classes per week for two weeks, plus a further week of drop-in classes. They don't have a charge, but a "donation" is requested, and was set for $50 - so cheaper than Canada, but not dirt cheap.

I arrived at class the first day, expecting mostly westerners, but I was surprised to see that I was the only one out of a class of 10 people. The centre teaches Hatha yoga, so there was a lot of emphasis on breathing and meditation. We usually started off with breathing exercises (forceful abdominal, alternated nostril, and retention breathing) which I wasn't that keen on, although I did find myself zoning out a few times while doing them, which is the point I suppose.

The breathing exercises were then followed by endless sun salutations and then into the 12 basic postures, which we learned progressively. There were no warrier or pigeon poses to be seen, which is what I am used to. Rather, we did headstands, the peacock, the crow, the locust and other poses which I was not that familiar with! However, I am happy to say that I can actually do a headstand (I still need a little assistance getting up there :)) and hold it for about 5 seconds before dropping ignominiously to the floor. Not bad for an old bag of 50!

While I must say that the breathing exercises were the least favorite aspect of the course, what I enjoyed most was the prayers at the beginning and end of each class. I was familiar with the "Om's" and "Shantih's", but I hadn't been exposed to the prayers before. I found them almost akin to a song, very melodious, and quite peaceful. Of course, I could only hum along as the words are in Hindi and I don't know a word!

Next week will be drop-in classes so we shall see how I fare in the general class. However, I must say that most of the folks in my class were very reluctant to try new/hard poses even though they were all younger than me, so I don't think I will be the worst by any means.

That is all for now. Jay and I have been exploring our surroundings, looking for a gym we can join (most of them are pretty sad by our standards) but there is a convenient one in a nearby fancy hotel that we will likely join -not cheap but clean and functional. Today is our booze quest - trying to see where we might purchase some gin and whiskey. Beer is of course plentiful and quite good, Indian wine not so good, and imported wine is twice the price as back home. Wish me luck!

Om, Shantih, Shantih, Shantih.

Delhi, December 25, 2011: Xmas celebration

Hello again, and Merry Xmas! We have had a very different but very enjoyable Xmas celebration this year, although we have missed friends and family. Fortunately, we were able to Skype many of you and at one point, had a Skype conference with family from 4 different continents: North America (Rob, Jan, Nicola and Anik in Ottawa), Europe (cousin Fi in England), and South Africa (Mum and Aunty Marg in Capetown) - the wonders of technology! We hope to Skype brother Mike and family  (Tracey, Ann Marie and Jasmine) in Antigua later on today.

Yesterday, which was Xmas eve, we took advantage of a very nice gourmet shop in the neighbourhood that caters to westerners and upper middle class Indians, or rather their cooks. Although we have studiously been eating Indian fare since we have arrived, we decided to treat ourselves and splurge a bit for Xmas Eve on some more customary western fare. Hence, we feasted on cheese (German Blue, a French Camembert, Dutch Gouda and an Indian herb and garlic goat cheese) and crackers, as well as cooked up some shrimp in coconut mustard sauce and spicy fried okra, all washed down with a little vino that I got in the duty free shop in the arrivals lounge at the Delhi airport. Delicious! I think we will try the shrimp and okra recipe with guests as it was so good. The recipes are from a new chef we have found on TV called Anjum Anand on the Cooking Channel - she is Indian but lives in London, England.

For the Xmas Day splurge, we decided to try a nearby hotel, called Eros Hotel, run by Hilton. They had a lovely brunch buffet that was absolutely outstanding and decadent! Free flowing sparkling wine (a Chardonnay/Pinot Noir blend by Jacob's Creek, or any other cocktail you might have wanted) and endless food with salads, seafood, turkey/stuffing/gravy, tandoori, sushi, mixed grill (with beef and pork!) and it goes on. We also had Xmas pudding with hard sauce along with many other Indian and western desserts. It was all heavenly, and we stuffed ourselves silly. The hotel was very nice, and we might buy a gym membership there, as they have a very good facility. We will certainly need the exercise if we eat there again. Fortunately, it was only one Metro stop from us, so it is very convenient.

So, all said and done,  we are not suffering, despite being so far away from home. The pictures above tell a bit of a story:
1)  a picture of a neighbourhood street mall. You will notice a few Xmas decorations strung up high over the street. Generally, there are very few Christians here in northern India, but it seems that it doesn't stop the general population from celebrating Xmas in a small way, although it is very much just another day like any other day for them.
2) we have come across a few Santa's here in Delhi - this one with Jay was not a real one, but there was a real one in the hotel today!
3) Jay and me after our Xmas Day pig out. You will notice the buffet cook areas outside behind us. Such a feast!
4) Jay and me in front of the hotel Xmas tree in the lobby.

That's all for now. I wish you and yours the very best for the holiday season.

Sue

Delhi, December 18, 2011 Shopping / Markets Part 1

Hi everyone: I've decided to try a themed approach to blog updates, so this one will focus on shopping- I've called it Part 1 as I imagine I might have a few parts to this theme! Grocery shopping deserves a theme of it's own with several parts as well. I've got a list of about 20 other tentative themes including cooking, sounds/smells, animals, Xmas, etc. Let me know if you want me to write about something in particular. I'll try to take a few pictures of the 'hood and perhaps write about that a bit more next time so you get more of a gist about our daily existence.

Shopping - no doubt about it that this is a wonderful opportunity to stock up on clothing, scarves, shawls, tablecloths, bedspreads etc. I purposely didn't bring a lot of clothing with me as I suspected that there would be lots of options here to replenish/replace anything I was missing. For example, the evenings have been colder than I expected and I was turning into a bag lady (see last blog!), but yesterday, rather than buying a not so attractive sweater from the sweater wallah's cart on the street, I purchased a beautiful wool/silk shawl for about $35 and I was the toastiest I have been since I got here. Jay is accusing me of making the cold an excuse for shopping, but it really is born out of necessity in this case :))

The types of markets range from a bunch of stalls on the street to street malls to large open air markets to multi-level buildings filled with different stores. We have several street malls within walking distance of us where we have bought our cell phones, some kitchen gadgets, food as well as a couple of those essential clothing items I have referred to above.

FabIndia is a wonderful "chain" store with both clothing and other textile/household items. I say "chain", as it probably has at least 5-6 different locations in Delhi and others throughout the country. It is not technically a fair trade organization but its business has been built on assisting communities in developing a sustainable cottage industry and becoming part owners in the enterprise. Its clothing and other textiles come from all over India and both Indians and non-Indians shop there. It's a wonderful place and there is one in our neighborhood. I purchased an outfit (silk tunic, pants and scarf) there this week as we are going out for dinner at a colleague's place and I needed some nicer clothing- another example of an essential purchase!

We have also ventured farther afield to a few other outdoor markets, requiring the use of the Metro and rickshaw to get there -transportation will be another blog theme I think! The first one we went to was a state run market called Dilli Haat, where there is a huge variety of scarves, saris, rugs, brass, jewelry etc from artisans from all over the country who rotate in and out every few weeks. They also have quite a few food stalls from different regions across the country. We had a great Thali from West Bengal there. Jay says that the variety here is even greater than the huge state run emporiums in central Delhi. Of course I had to buy another shawl to match my new silk outfit as I would freeze to death otherwise - another essential purchase!

Yesterday we stopped in at Khan Market on the way to Lodi Gardens. This is a street mall catering to westerners (although most shoppers were still Indians) with specialty food shops where you can buy Brie cheese, chocolate, pasta and other assorted yummies. There are also a few bookstores as well as lots of clothing places and another FabIndia store, where I bought my essential wool/silk shawl! Jay will likely get a suit or two made there as there are quite a few tailor shops as well. Gee - more essential purchases!

Well, I think that does it for Part 1 of the shopping theme. Tonight we are out for dinner and tomorrow my 2 week yoga course starts which I am looking forward to. We also have a couple of guests coming to stay with us for a few days- some former students of Jay - so I may not have time to write another update till closer to the end of the week.

Delhi, December 16, 2011 - adjusting

Well, it's been about 4 days since my last posting. I feel like I don't have too much to report on, and yet I don't know where to start!

We've fallen into a bit of a daily rhythm consisting of waking up fairly early (unfortunately early means about 5-6 am before the sun is even up), having coffee, checking email etc. And then waiting for the cleaner to come. He is rather erratic, and although he is supposed to get here about 10 am, I think the earliest he has arrived is 10:30 and one day he hadn't arrived by noon so we got fed up and decided not to waste anymore time so we went out. His tasks seem to mainly consist of sweeping and mopping the floors and wiping down the surfaces. Everything gets hugely dusty as it is quite dry and there is quite a lot of sand and dirt on the roads which gets kicked up by the traffic. Anyway, it's a real nuisance waiting around for him, but I'd rather he be washing the floors daily rather than me.

Jay has started to call me a bag lady, as I have taken to putting on layer after layer of clothing as the evening goes by. It's actually quite a bit colder overnight than I thought it would be and I didn't bring enough warm clothing. Of course there is no heating, nor is there any insulation around any of the windows or doors. I guess I will have to break down and buy one of the "attractive" sweaters I have seen from one of the street vendors as I don't think I can survive another month being this cold. Fortunately, there are nice warm duvets on the bed so I'm not freezing at night.

I've had a few foray's into a couple of markets so perhaps I should make that the focus of my next blog. I've also signed up for a 2 week yoga course from an Ashram only 5 minutes from the apartment. It starts next week so I will report on that too.

That's all for now.

Delhi December 12, 2011- arrival

I arrived in Delhi last night after the typical grueling flight that everyone has to through. Luck was smiling on me though as I got upgraded on the 10 hr Paris-Delhi flight and found myself in the upper deck by the emergency exit!

I was greeted by a smiling Jay and the smell of woodsmoke and car exhaust - I guess that's why it is so polluted. A quick taxi ride and we were in the neighborhood of Greater Kailish 1 (GK1) where the apartment that we have rented is. I couldn't see much as it was very dark at that time, but I do recall being somewhat apprehensive as the taxi drove along the highway beside huge trucks with loads that looked like they would topple over at any minute!

I woke up at about 5am after about 3 hours sleep and listened to the various sounds - occasional motors going on and off, a cat meowing now and then, a couple of dogs barking, water hitting the ground (someone peeing although they must have had a big bladder?)and the ubiquitous horns honking, which thankfully weren't numerous at that time.

We had a slow start to the day, and then wandered off to the local Market. GK1 is a middle upper class neighborhood, where there are actually very few non-Indians much to my surprise. I also thought that it would be a bit more modern, given that it is a bit higher end, but then again I have to remember that this is India! The apartment is one floor of a 4 story building, much like many of the other buildings beside us. They are all rather crammed in together, and the streets are narrow, with no sidewalks or parking spots, which means basically you are dodging both parked and moving cars and you have to keep your wits about you in order to avoid a collision. Very much like any other third world country I've been in.

We picked up a few household /grocery items and thewalked to both M and N colony markets, which are supposedly high end. They were both an odd mixture of typical Mom and Pop stores and then high end jewelry and clothing stores. However, we did come across a few very nice clothing stores, one being Fab India where I will definitely be purchasing a "few" items in the very near future - like tomorrow! Nicola- I saw some beautiful silk scarves to die for.

Well that's all I have in me for the moment. I'll check back in a day or two and let you know what I purchased.

My New Blog

Hey everyone: this is my first blog about my trip to India. I haven't left yet but I'm in preparation.