Palamariu Family Blog

It has been a while since our last post was published and this is because of being very busy as a consequence of a pretty big decision which involved many changes and challenges. We decided to end our traveling adventures and settle down in Singapore. Looking back, it is hard to realize that we landed in Singapore 2 months ago. Time is running so fast!!

To keep my promise I made in my previous post, I share with you what followed after Vipassana. As the meditation course was a very strong personal experience, both Radu and I needed two weeks to readjust to the reality outside the meditation centre.

One of the memorable events, in the following week after Vipassana, was Easter celebration in a Catholic Indian Church from Rishikesh. This was a very unusual Catholic Church. It looked rather like a big house and no resemblance with how I picture in my head a Catholic Church; was known as the Christian Temple. Together with Jesus and Virgin Mary, Hindu signs were covering the ceiling, also organ was replaced by harmonium and table drums.

The unique hitch hiking experience we dared to try is still present in my thoughts and I wouldn’t recommend it. One word description would sound like this: terrifying! No rules, crazy speed, going towards trucks coming from the opposite direction… Those were the scariest 10 minutes of my life.

In chronological order followed the 2 weeks trip to Dharamsala. The time spent in McLeod Ganj and the surroundings was delightful. Waking up each morning with the sunrise over the Himalaya peaks, lovely spring with thousands of pink flowers, many trekking trails inviting us to explore them, a very different energy  – more Tibetan than Indian – made us conclude that we’ll definitely be back one day. Pictures tell more than words; therefore we warmly invite you to browse the picasa albums from Dharmasala-McLeod Ganj.

Our adventures in India ended with 2 days spent in the extremely hot New Delhi (43 degrees C). I was very happy to meet my friend Deepak for the first time since 2007; being in India in the same time was a surprising coincidence.

Leaving the Mother country was not the smoothest process… I looked suspect for the immigration officer. After 30 minutes interview, I convinced him that I will not be back to India very soon, at least not this year. I was happy I finally guessed that was his concern… Well I also meant it. After 6 months of traveling, I will wait a while to plan the next big trip .

New pictures taken the past 3 weeks are now on Picasa.

We are a bit behind with the writing, but promise to recover the gap. As a compensation, we put comments on many of the new pictures

Enjoy!

Vipassana means “insight” in the ancient Pali language of India. It represents the essence of the teaching of the Buddha who seems to have become enlighten through this type of meditation.

Vipassana is based on observing ourselves, the sensations we have in our body and the mental reaction to them, in order to discover reality directly and deal with it in a positive and creative way.

Vipassana meditation is taught in course of 10 days. During these days participants remain within the area of the course site, having no contact with the outside world. For the entire period of the course participants are required to respect a code of morality: celibacy, abstention from intoxicants, keeping noble silence, no lies in the subscription papers or to teachers and assistants, abstention from writing, reading and from eating extra food besides the meals offered by the meditation centre.

Before giving you more details about the 10 days, I want to detail some more what “noble silence” means. This silence means no talking to the other participants at this course in a verbal or non-verbal way; it is recommended to avoid even eye contact with the other participants.  And the 10^th day, when we broke the silence, we understood that this rule was very helpful. Each of us experience Vipassana in a very different personal way which sometimes brings up emotions and struggles; it would have been even more difficult to continue with the meditation if doubts and other person’s struggles would have overcame one’s personal challenges. The silence was noble because we did talk when we had good reasons, but with teachers and assistants. We were encouraged to participate to interviews with the teachers for any clarifications regarding the technique and to talk with the assistants in order to solve administrative issues. Also we were free to express our emotions (crying, laughing…) as long as we didn’t involve other participants into this. I did burst into 15 minutes laughing twice during breaks … mostly because I was tired and this is the way my mind behaves in these conditions.

The schedule is busy, so one doesn’t have time to get bored during the meditation course. We followed the daily time table of a monk: getting up at 4.00am, meditate for 10h30’, listen Goenka’s (the fondator of the centre) discourse for 1h30’, no meal after 12.00am (except for tea and fruits around 17.00pm) and go to bed before 9.30pm. Getting up at 4.00am was difficult for me only the first 2 days, then I even woke up before the bell rang. If you think there is not enough food, you’ll notice even from the first day that you are wrong. When you don’t do physical activity, you don’t really need to eat so much and both breakfast and lunch were very consistent.

The experience of 10 days Vipassana meditation is likely to contain some surprises for the participants. One of the first surprises is that meditation is not really an easy work. Many of us may have the impression that meditation is some sort of inactivity and relaxation, but in fact the mind is working pretty hard to get focused and especially to maintain the focus especially the first days; after the first 3 days, the effort doesn’t seem so big any more. Also, by this technique of observation, we get to see ourselves from different angles with pleasant and blissful characteristics but also with some aspects which don’t represent our most pleasing expression; it can be a surprise to see yourself that way – it was for me!! And one of the biggest surprises is that difficulties of the technique, of the schedule or of accepting the insights, they all pass away. At some point the mind becomes calm, the discipline seems to be a helpful tool and the heavy schedule doesn’t seem so heavy anymore.

This experience brought us several realizations which make our life happier and more peaceful… and we like to think we are wiser, but that remains to be observed in the future

We liked very much the fact that no one tried to convince us to become Buddhist, that the technique was explained in a scientific, non-sectarian way and that this course was really on donation basis. All the facilities were covered by the donations of participants from previous courses and we were free to donate whatever amount of money and only if we stayed until the end of the course. They only told us once about donations during the 10 days; by donating or not we took the responsibility for this course to continue or not which I perceived as a very sincere attitude without any manipulation.

I would recommend to anyone to try at least once this meditation course (out of curiosity, as I have done it)! I think it’s an experience worth trying!

Just looking at the map, India seems a very big country, but travelling from one state to the other was an experiential proof of this reality. It took us 19 hours to get from Rajasthan – Jodhpur to Uttarankhan – Rishikesh, the ‘Yoga Capital of the World’.

We can confirm the surname of this city. Here are plenty of yoga ashrams corresponding to the needs of the seekers; from low budget with very modest rooms to very expensive ones which have 4 stars conditions, from very strict to flexible yoga programs.
As we had so many options, it took us about 3 days to find the right ashram based on our few but more or less strict criteria: good yoga teachers – which means teachers having good recommendations from travelers, relatively structured program, medium accommodation and food conditions and of course a room available for 1 week.

So here we are, experiencing life in Anand Prakash Yoga Ashram!! Traveler’s lifestyle is not really about structure and fixed program, so after all these months of traveling we ended up appreciating daily discipline and structure imposed within the ashram. Our life here is quite simple but in the same time intense… The bell rings waking up song at 5.30am, allowing us half an hour to get ready for the 2 hours yoga session. At first I thought it would be very difficult to stay awake at that cruel hour in the morning, but focusing on the respiration and postures I just don’t feel anymore what time is it and I’m always surprised to hear the bell ringing at 8.00am, announcing the breakfast time. Lunch at 12.00pm and a new yoga session from 16.00pm followed by dinner are the next points on our daily timetable; the gate closes at 9.30pm so if we go out after dinner we have to make sure we’re back before 9.30pm otherwise no accommodation for the night time… . As none of us is experienced yoga practitioner, it’s hard to appreciate the real quality of the yoga we have learned and performed, but definitely the impact on our bodies and minds was easy to notice. After the first 2 days we have already started to keep our back in a straight position, our need for sweets diminished, we had a better attention and focus on our actions during the classes but as well in our free time, we felt less tired in the after-noon.

Besides ashrams, Hindu temples and spiritual activities like meditations and religious events bring to Rishikesh hundreds of Indian pilgrims every week.  Due to the greatest spiritual event happening each 12 years, Kumbh Mela, taking place in the neighboring city – Haridwar, Rishikesh is even more crowded with both foreigner and Indian tourists.

Just to have an idea, see below the traffic on Laxman Jhula bridge.

Rishikesh is a city built in a very fortunate nature frame. The impressive Ganges valley is right there in the heart of the city, having along beautiful white sand beaches and splitting the city into 2 parts. This is one of the main reasons for having less traffic in Rishikesh! On one side of Ganges, only motor bikes and bicycles have enough room to circulate which means more room for pedestrians; as we are pedestrians, we are very happy with this. Also, rafting on Ganges is very popular especially among Indian young people. Moreover, in Rishikesh one can feel closer to the nature due to the fact that everywhere you look, there are mountains surrounding the city; also one can go trekking or exploring the jungle with a jeep.

Being close to the jungle, the cheeky monkeys get down into the city and are making “the guardians” on both Ram Jhula and Laxman Jhula bridges. They are making sure that no bag filled with fruits or vegetables will be transported from one side of the bridge to the other side. Therefore, one should be cautious about this: fruits and vegetables have to be hidden in non-transparent bags if one wants to enjoy them

Once more India showed us how amazingly divers it can be. Going into the desert was almost like going to another country. The only characteristic that remains always constant is the hospitability of Indian people.

We started exploring the desert under Mado’s (our host) guidance. Few minutes after we arrived in Osian by bus, Mado welcomed us with the “taxi” ready to take us to his home. The wonderful “taxi” was a big docile camel, with 2 seats – one in front of the hump and other on the back. And his home was not few streets away, but 7 km in the hearth of the desert which means 2 hours of camel safari.

Just few kilometers away from Osian city, nature is changing. As we got deeper into the desert, the sand became the king of the scenery; though from time to time we could see small spots of vegetation consisting in short bushes or trees. Herds of dears, energetic squirrels, few parrots and peacocks share the leaving space with cows and goats. They seem to cohabitate in peace and harmony and since Indian people are vegetarian, none of these animals are scared for their lives.

Together with the nature, the rhythm of life changes as well, especially because there is no electricity in the desert. As consequence a normal day starts at 7am, in the same time with the sunrise and ends by 9pm, just 2 hours after the sunset. There is neither light nor electrical plug, no TV, Radio or Internet.  Even so, people entertain themselves. Visiting or receiving visits, sharing stories and jokes are mostly the fun activities for grownups while playing outside games that don’t require any object/toy make kids happy in the spear time. Villages are small – around 10 houses spread over 3 km; this is in a big contrast with the places we visited so far (New Delhi, Jaipur, Jodhpur, Osian). Kids go to school at walking distance of 30 minutes up to 1h and a half over hills of sand or rock therefore they are in good shape and energy after so much exercising.

Besides having an adapted lifestyle to the desert conditions, Indian people from this side of the country are different also by the way they dress and accessorize. Men wear flower shaped golden ear rings while married women can be distinguished by the golden “tiara” tied around the head under a transparent cover made out of silk.

Going toward the inside personal world, this was a good experience!! Visiting such a simple, peaceful place offered us another perspective about living; I was able before to imagine how desert life it is like, but living it was really insightful. Was like a trip in time, before discovering electricity and I couldn’t help making a list in my mind with the advantages and disadvantages of such a lifestyle. Some of the main pluses in my perception are: more creativity in entertaining without all the technology, closer relationships with the neighbors which don’t involve discussions about 5 o’clock terrifying news. Some of the minuses: no access to information except for the few books received from school, there are not many activities one can do over there so after a while I would get bored…

Besides the cultural experience and the insights we had from it, we enjoyed very much camel safari, the delicious food Mado’s wife cooked for us and wondering around over the hills for hours without meeting any person.

The 1^st of March, Indians celebrate Holi, the festival of colors. In Delhi area this represent the first day of spring while closer to the desert, in Jodhpur, 1^st of March is the first day of hot summer.

The week before Holi, in all markets one can buy almost from each stall strong color powders like pink, green, yellow, red and orange. You may think this celebration is especially for kids, but in fact entire families are preparing to have fun playing Holi. Given the fact colors are very strong, even 1 week after Holi, you can still see on the street pink or green skinned Indians wearing the marks of the color fighting.

Besides the color fighting, Holi has a spiritual manifestation that depends from neighborhood to neighborhood. Therefore, on Holi’s eve, people gather around big fires, where they have prepared offerings and flower garlands to the Gods and are doing some sort of rituals.

We joined a neighborhood from Old Jodhpur for Holi’s eve celebrations and it was great!! The tradition there is to do a singing and dancing procession through the whole neighborhood in the honor of marriage. Whoever takes part of it has more chances to get married sooner. Together with couchsurfers from Jodhpur and Australia we got involved in the event and just at the end of it I realized that besides me and Jen (from Australia), no other women was out on the street for the celebration. In fact was more like a ritual for men

Radu was so active in the celebrations that the organizers thanked him many many times for the participation and decorated him with flower garlands.

After 2 weeks we finally start to mind more or less about our “business” for which we came here in India.

Why didn’t we start earlier? Well the reasons are multiple, but they can be summarized in 2 words: culture shock.  I name culture shock all the different things that I use to think are not normal to happen, but which seem to be the lifestyle here: cows, goats, rats, squirrels spending all day long on the street without anybody to make them go aside from the traffic, a lot of dust everywhere inside and outside, people paying 50 Rp (less than 1 euro) to have accommodation in front of the hotel in beds guarded by the hotel’s staff, many cars which are no moment lined up on a lane since everybody has his own rules of circulation or recycling garbage with the help of cows that use it as meals. Adapting to this life it’s a process that took us 2 weeks  :-D

Before telling you the “business” we are having in India, I would like to share with you more impressions about India. I perceive this country to be aggressive in almost all ways, which is not always a bad thing. One’s eyes can enjoy a multitude of strong colors just in the way women dress here: turquoise, green lime combined with red, dark pink, bright yellow or gold orange saris, a lot of golden jewelries, tenth’s of colored bracelets. More than that, no pylon escaped from the big, colorful advertisements in the cities or in-between cities. When it comes to your ears, one can enjoy the delightful chanting dedicated to divers Gods. Also, on the other hand, even if you wear ear plugs, you can still hear a determined Indian who wants to sell you something and keeps repeating sooo loud his speech (coffee man in the train, sellers in the market, auto-rickshaw drivers etc.) and the continuous horning from the street. When it comes to taste, I sincerely confess that food here is delicious, even if it’s aggressively spicy, salted or sweet. With the smell, I think I had the hardest time to adapt. The food’s smell is covered by the petrol smell coming from the thousands of auto-vehicles on the street, cow’s sheet which is rarely cleaned from the street (attracting so many flies), and human urine (because men sometimes just piss on the street).

Even geographically, you can have here all the extremes: aggressively hot in the south while close to Himalaya Mountains it’s extremely cold, both desert and very green places can be found in India. Good or less good things, both are in your face.

Now that I described the way I see India, up to this point, I’ll share with you what we want to do in India. We came to India having planned to explore nature diversity (desert, forest and mountains) but also the spiritual side of India. After overcoming the culture shock together with the hard moments of body weakness (cold or stomach ache) we are ready for camel safari and life in desert, do trekking activities in Daramshala, going in an ashram for Vipassana meditation and Yoga class.

Keep you posted!

“Tomorrow we are going to Deepak’s family!” Cristina tells me with great enthusiasm in her voice. Deepak is a good Indian friend of hers from the time she was studying in Brest. And, even if he is not currently in Delhi, he insisted that we go and see his family.

So, the next day, we take a rickshaw taxi and set out through a horrendous Delhi traffic to have an authentic experience of Indian hospitality. Though, hardly had we known how deep it can be.

“Welcome! We are sooo happy to meet you!” Deepak’s brother Monik was quick to greet us when we finally arrived at their place, having spent more than two hours in an insane Delhi traffic. Very quickly, we got introduced to all the family: Deepak’s father and mother, Monik’s wife, Nitty, and their two lovely children.

Hardly had we sat down and Nitty was already very fast to start bringing several delicious goodies on the table. “Take a little bit of everything!” Deepak’s father encouraged us.

Having filled up our plate, we proceeded to savour the mouth watering taste of Indian snacks. Wooooaw! It was a treat to remember!

And just as we finished and were already pretty full, Deepak’s father announced: “And very soon Nitty will bring dinner. “

“What? There is more?!?” myself and Cristina were thinking, feeling our stuffed up stomachs.

Deepak’s father continued “You really need to try the food as Nitty took the afternoon off from work especially to prepare it”.

This was just the first moment when we realised how much these people had gone through to welcome us in their home.

What followed was the most amazing dinner we have had in our life. Homemade Raita, Chappatti, Panner, Potatoes and some more dishes that I do not know the name of followed.

Needless to say, we were overwhelmed.

And Monik was always on stand by, filling up our plates the moment we were close to finishing what we had.

And when we left, they had yet another surprise. They had prepared gifts: a sari for Cristina, a silver coin that had been in their family for generations, a Krishna flute and box of sweets. And they also would not allow us to pay for the taxi back home.

Moreover, even after all this, when we felt quite overwhelmed and we could not stop saying ‘Thank you! Thank you so much!” they were still insisting: “It was nothing! As part of our culture, this is what we need to do for our guests!”