Mysore…India?

Namaste everyone, i got to Mysore yesterday, and i’m feeling culture shock, like i left India somewhere between the all night trip from Rishikesh to the Dehli airport, the 5 am flight to Bangalore and then a taxi ride into tropical Indian suburbia, Gokulam, Mysore.

i’m not complaining, it just took me by surprise, the cleanliness of everything, the high-rise apts & condos, the air-conditioned supermarkets, all the new cars, okay so there are motor rickshaws, it must still be India, although i’ve yet to see a single cow in the road.

people barely seem to take notice as you walk around town, the Indians here are so used to seeing westerners walking about they don’t bother with you. and the westerners are living so comfortably here they don’t “need” each other, the way backpackers tend to have a sense of connectedness when traveling through India, which gives rise to a friendly acknowledgement, or at least just eye-contact.

i’ve yet to be in the shala, although i’m staying just around the corner from it, so i walk by it several times a day. from the outside it looks to be a condo. or an upscale private house, with a gated drive way, and wall around the outside. there is a classy engraved black granite sign on the wall revealing it to be “the place.”

i’m hoping to get into led class tomorrow morning, although i haven’t been able to register yet. i got here Friday, and registration is Mon-Fri. 4-6pm, but the amount needed for registration fee plus the first month, exceeds the 20,000 daily limit from the ATM, so i had to wait another 24hrs to get more rp’s. today being Sat., no registration, but i was told by some relative who was there today, that perhaps i can come early, like 5:30am and pay the money before class, “if you are requesting, possibly Sharath is letting you?” so we’ll see what happens.

more reports form inside the walls, coming soon. till then…