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Mysore Diaries – Day #10

December 9, 2015

As a teacher I come across a lot of people who start to look for ‘results’ after only a couple of days of practice. I think it’s always a good idea to practice yoga for at least a month before you start to look for ‘results’. And in my experience, the changes come more as a realization, than as a tick on a list of goals. Usually, when a student approaches yoga with a time bound goal, they get disappointed. Truth is, you can’t put a deadline on when you will start to notice changes and how long it will take you to get a particular result. The more effort you put into your practice, the better your practice will be. But there is always room for improvement because it is a continuously evolving practice. I’ve spoken to a lot of yogis here about what makes them converge here from all over the world, saving up holidays, leaving family and friends behind to come to practice in a small city in Karnataka where their classes are bursting at the seams, they have to acclimatize and they are not likely to get any personal attention from the super busy teachers. If they want to ‘learn’ something, they could go to an exclusive workshop or practice with their teachers in smaller classes. I’ve found that for a lot of people this is like Mecca. This is where their guru’s guru taught. They come to soak in the energy and practice with the most famous Ashtangis in the world.

I agree with these sentiments now. But when I applied to practice here, I realize that I didn’t really think too much about what I was going to achieve and learn here. At this point I can’t really define what drew me to Mysore, except for the fact that I wanted to try Ashtanga yoga and I reasoned that if ‘the’ school for Ashtanga was next door (in Mysore), then it only makes sense for me to drive down here. I’m glad I had no expectations. It allowed me to immerse myself in the classes with calmness and no sense of urgency. My mind wasn’t constantly busy and noisy. Although I felt that my body was made out of wood the first couple of days, gradually I started to feel that I could actually extend more. Now, in forward folds I am able to make minor adjustments that make a great difference to the asana. I have become better at the asanas, but I suspect another reason I’m able to make the minor adjustments is that I have a better connection to my body. The intense focus on breath with movement ensures that you slow down and feel what the movement is trying to teach you. Today Saraswati showed me the Tiryangamukha ekpada paschimattanasana. It’s a slightly longer sequence but I think I’ll be able to repeat it tomorrow.

Even though I endured chanting class today, I went for a Yoga Sutras class today. This class also involved a lot of chanting. I’m coming to the conclusion that although I love yoga philosophy, I would rather it not be mixed with chanting Sanskrit.

Another thing I notice is the serious lack of Indian yoga students here! There’s just a handful of us. It would be worth finding out why there so few when the number of yoga teachers has grown exponentially all over the country.

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Mysore Diaries – Day #9

December 8, 2015

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Today Saraswati helped me with the Utthita Hasta Padangushtasana and then asked me if I could do the Ardha Baddha Padmottanasana. I said yes and showed it to her. In her usual clipped style she told me, ‘Good. Tomorrow new asana.’ So in her clipped style I asked, ‘Today?’ She responded, ‘Not today. Today is Tuesday.’ I was confused but decided that they probably don’t teach anything on Tuesdays. Later on I found out that they don’t. I’m not sure why, but maybe the answer lies in the ‘Yoga Mala’ which I’m waiting to get my hands on soon.

Since we didn’t have chanting class today, a bunch of us decided to go to the Lalitha Mahal Palace. It’s the second largest palace in Mysore and situated on a small hill. The architecture is very British and I think it was actually used by the British resident of the state of Mysore at one point. It has sprawling gardens on all sides and a great view on all sides. The building has been renovated, but the colors they’ve used on the outside of the palace are kind of tacky. I wish the interiors had been done up better too. The furniture is shabby and the upholstery, dirty. They’ve painted ghastly religious figures on some of the glass work on the first floor. The life-sized portraits are of the kings of the Wodeyar dynasty, but the pencil sketches are all of the fall of Srirangapatnam and the surrender of Tipu’s sons. Some of the furniture is really nice though. They have huge tables with intricate carving on the side panels. These have just been pushed into corners with obvious disregard. We saw a wooden chair that I liked so much that I would’ve brought it back with me if I could have snuck it out. The most comfortable wooden recliner ever. For some reason it had two sets of arm rests, one of which could swivel out and around to the front and across the chair. We put our heads together but couldn’t figure out what the chair was for.

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There was another curious looking piece of furniture pushed against huge dirty French windows. It was too high to be a table, and besides there were not carvings on it. I went closer and saw that there were hinges on the surface and that you could actually open this box on 4 legs. Alexa helped me lift the lid and this largely ignored piece of furniture was a grand piano. And you could still play it. Feedback for the Ashoka group: try and preserve the character of these heritage properties when you take over! 12325025_10153135417542461_1327757027_n

Once we were done wandering around we sat down for some tea. The hotel staff started to ‘politely’ clear away our cups by the second hour of our conversation. The sun had set and the lights of the hotel had been switched on. We took photos. We stopped by Bombay Tiffins Annexe to pick up some Mysore Pak and then Dose Corner for dinner. Tomorrow I will be up bright and early for the new asana that I have been promised by Saraswati!

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Mysore Diaries – Day #8

December 7, 2015

The first day of the week should be easy and relaxed. For me, the more intense the practice, the more relaxed the day. As though all my latent energy gets pumped into the practice, leaving me with a pleasant ‘ease’ that I then carry along with myself for the rest of the day. In this one week I’ve noticed that I feel taller and straighter somehow. It could be the yoga, the sleep, the rest or a combination of all of these. I would suggest two weeks like these once a year to everyone!

After yesterday’s ‘led’ class, I was excited to try the new asanas today. So I actually practiced all the way up to the Archa Baddha Padmottanasana! I felt a sense of major achievement. And except for the Cakrasana, I did the entire closing sequence and then had an amazing Savasana.

Today we had the dreaded chanting class too. Thankfully it’s only half an hour long. I got through it somehow, chanting out of tune and turn sometimes because I wasn’t paying attention. I wonder if I can skip these classes all together…no one takes attendance J.

Once the class was over I contemplated going to the Lalita Mahal Palace. We stood around having our naariyal paanis and talking about it, but I was itching to get back to my book. Today was a slow lazy day, the hot sun making it more so. I came back, had a heavy lunch and then lost myself in my book until long after the sun had set.

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Mysore Diaries – Day #7

December 6, 2015

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Today was my first ‘led’ class. A led class is basically one in which the teacher leads the entire class through the usual routine. The class started promptly at 5 am. As usual, by the time I got to class, most places were taken. (And I get to class at least 15 minutes early!) However, I was happy that I found place. Some people end up practicing in the changing rooms! The nice thing about a led class is that it allows you to explore asanas that you may not have done in your daily practice. So I actually went beyond the Parsvaottanasana. And also, while I haven’t done any of the finishing postures, in today’s class I did quite a few of the closing asanas as well. I’m assuming that I will be able to practice all the ‘new’ asanas in tomorrow’s practice session.

Sharath and Saraswathi have different off days. While mine was yesterday, a bunch of students had their off day today. So a lot of people were in the weekend mood. And where does that mood take you to in Mysore? To the palace of course, to see the lights. The last time I saw the palace lit up was 10 years ago. Over the years I’ve tried to plan day trips form Bangalore to see the lights, but somehow the trips never materialized. I was really eager to see the palace lit up (for some reason more eager to see it lit up, than during the day). For some reason I had assumed that it would be really crowded and noisy. I was pleasantly surprised that it wasn’t too crowded. We were able to walk around without having to elbow through a crowd and were able to see the palace from different angles. And we took the obligatory pictures.

After the palace we headed to Mylari, a dosa place which I’ve only just heard of, but which is very popular. They only have plain and masala dosa on the menu (Rs. 35). The dosas were fresh, soft and delicious.

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Incidentally, Mylari closes at 8 pm, but our cab was on its way at about 8.10 pm. When we suggested that we wait outside, the owner and the waiters told us that it’s ok if we wait inside. We decided to find out a bit more about Mysore from the owner. We found out that Mylari has been around for 75 years and is named after the man who started it. Currently there are 2 Myalri hotels in Mysore.

Remembering my quest for RK Narayan’s house, I asked the young owner of Mylari if he knew where it was. He seemed taken aback by the question and said he doesn’t know. Well, at least he knew who RK Narayan was. When I asked him if he knew who Shri Pattabhi Jois was he said he didn’t!

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I simply love the colors in this photograph.

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Mysore Diaries – Day #6

December 5, 2015

Can you spot me?

I came to Mysore for the first time on July 25^th 2005 for the coveted Infosys training. Little did I know that I would be back on Dec 1^st 2015 to train at the prestigious KPJAYI. In fact, in 2005 we were a bunch of trainee software engineers who thought Mysore was about masala dosa, the Mysore palace, Chamundi hills, and of course Infy. It seems inconceivable to me now that I didn’t know that yogis from all over the world were converging to this sleepy town…and that Shri K Pattabhi Jois was also in the city! I tell myself that everything happens in its own good time, but that’s small comfort.

In 2005 I didn’t know about the Jaganmohan palace. Why it caught my attention this time is its large collection of paintings and artefacts, including paintings by Raja Ravi Varma. Also, the Wodeyars (the Mysore royals) used this palace while the Mysore Palace was being built (their old palace had burned down).

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And strangely enough, there is a yoga connection too. In the Yoga Makaranda I read that the Ashtanga yoga classes were conducted on the grounds of the Jaganmohan palace before moving to the Mysore Palace and then to the current location (Gokulam 3^rd Stage). While walking around the palace I tried visualizing how it would look without the commercial enterprises that have sprung up all around it (sari shops, food stalls, souvenir shops). Basically trying to visualize how T. Krishnamacharya would have seen this place when he was teaching. How a young Shri KP Jois and BKS Iyengar would have seen it.

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The palace hasn’t been maintained very well, but I wasn’t expecting otherwise. There seems to be no order in which the artefacts and paintings have been placed. There is hardly any security and no security cameras. In fact, if someone really wanted to, they could actually walk out with a small cup or dagger. The brass and copper items such as ashtrays and decorative plates are in wooden display cases with cheap metal padlocks on them. I’m sure these locks are easy to pick. There are no metal detectors at the entrance of the art gallery. They did ask us if we had cameras and asked us to deposit our phones only because they spotted them. No one checked our bags.

On the ground floor there are old pictures of coronations and durbars, which I really liked. I wish we could’ve had a better look at these photos. Some photos are placed at an angle where you can hardly see them. The first floor had paintings by several painters, including ‘Lady with the Lamp’ by Haldenkar. This painting is definitely awesome, but I wish they had done something about the lighting. The surface of the paintings reflected the light, making it difficult to see the details. I crib for I was there only for the paintings!!! In fact, I had to squint a lot and walk back and forth in front of the Ravi Varma paintings until I was finally satisfied.

The Ravi Varma paintings that stand out in my mind are called ‘Draupathi’ (I think they meant ‘Draupadi’) and ‘Galaxy of Women’. The woman in ‘Draupadi’ is depicted in a beautifully draped pink sari with a golden border. Her hair is loose. In one hand she holds a brass plate with a small jug on it, and with the other hand she appears to be wiping away her tears with her pallu. She is climbing down the steps of a large stone structure (temple? palace?). I love the way the sari seems to blaze forth in the largely muted background.

The ‘Galaxy of Women’ shows a bunch of women, every single one of them dressed differently. Each is wearing different styles of jewelry (even their nose rings are different!), and different styles of clothing (there’s an English woman among them too!). Some of them are playing instruments, some are standing and some are seated. The detail that stands out in this painting for me is the rug. You can actually see the folds and creases on the rug beneath the women. This little detail seems to bring the women to life.

Once done with the palace, Alexa and I decided to walk around a bit to see if we could find a place to grab a bite. I’ve been missing south Indian food a lot so I was looking forward to dosa. A receptionist in one of the hotels pointed us to the Raj Bhavan hotel and we had a nice lunch there.

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