CONNECTED AGAIN

Online again!  There were problems with wifi availability at our apartment which took some time to sort out with the landlord.  Since I last wrote there have been several other restablished connections. I met up with my Kansas friend, Lisa.  It makes it special to be able to reexperience India with such a good friend.  Then to be back inside RIMYI to register for classes and finally start classes brought back many memories.  Best of all was seeing Mr. Iyengar come into the practice hall; the light in him still filling up the room. But somewhat bittersweet because he looks physically smaller from aging. The connectedness between Guruji and his granddaughter, Abhi, is such a tight bond.  And then to see him clucking to Abhi's 5 month old baby, his great granddaughter, was incredible.  If Abhi is in the practice hall or even teaching (as she did Wednesday), someone brings the baby up for a brief visit. Absouluty everyone oohs and aahs and the baby calmy engages with each and all.

The Institute seems poised for the younger generation to carry forward.  From the new assistant Pandu, the registrar, has to the very well trained teachers, especially the very confident Abhi. She has blossomed (even more) since I last saw her at the Portland Convention in 2013.  At the Women's Class on Wednesday, we experienced how Guruji teaches her as she teaches us.

All the sounds tell me I am in India:  the beep, beep of the rickshaws; the rooster crowing in the morning; the goats bleating outside our window; the chant of the pushcart vendors.  The sights too:  the chaos of traffic in the roads where the painted lines are merely suggestions; the cows ambling in and around the traffic; the brightly colored saris; and sadly the ramshackle shelters wedged anywhere.   I think everyone should experience at least once bouncing around in a rickshaw with the driver brilliantly negotiating traffic, near misses, and, for you West Virginians who might still be complaining about the new Mile Ground roundabout, going through those traffic circles with just the slightest use of a hand signal (on the left side of the road, mind you!).  Remember to wear a face mask as you are right down in the exhaust fumes and pollution.  My previous visits here were during the month of February, well past the monsoons, and the air quality was so bad.  There has been one day of rain so far and the air gets a little "wash" making breathing less "chunky".

I am excited to tell you about the classes we have had but will do that in my next entry.  The Internet connection seems to be wavering a bit so I will post this pronto!