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An Unexpectedly Remarkable Mahashivaratri Experience

March 2, 2022

Off duty priests.

Once I realised that deeper study of yoga needs a closer look at it in its cultural and traditional context, I started to consciously seek out yoga stories and connections in daily life in India. In retrospect, I’ve been doing this ever since I started researching for my book ‘Beyond Asanas’. Perhaps if I hadn’t been on this quest, I wouldn’t have had the unexpectedly special Mahashivaratri experience I had this past weekend…

Always Make Time for the Temples…

Sowmya and I reached the Perur Pateeshwara temple at 6 am. This temple was built in the 2nd century and is one of oldest temples in the state of Tamil Nadu. We assumed we’d be able to beat the crowds early in the morning, and were surprised at the number of buses on the road. It finally dawned on us that these were the days leading up to Mahashivaratri and these crowds were probably headed to the Isha Yoga centre.

There is sufficient parking space outside the temple and you can park for Rs. 20/-. We left our shoes in the car and took a bit of loose change with us for dakshina.

The temple has a huge towering entryway. Once you enter you’ll see ancient pillars on either side of the hallway, with carvings on them. These pillars are likely 500-700 years old.

There were many such carved murals of Shaiva siddhas at the Perur Pateeshwara temple. At first glance the large ears made me think about the Bahubali statue in Shravanabelagola, which also has large ears.

Shiva depicted during his tandav – the inspiration for this temple.

There is also a small Ganesh shrine in this area called the Patti Vinayagar. The sanctum sanctorum of this temple contains a Shivalingam which is ‘swayambhu‘, which is a Sanskrit word meaning “self-manifested”, “self-existing”, or “that is created by its own accord”. The shivalingam here was adorned with a white dhoti and bedecked with shiny stones which might be diamonds. We did a quick darshan here and were handed the vibhuti. The interesting thing about most of the temples I’ve visited in South India is that the priest will hand you the vibhuti and you apply it to your forehead yourself. Perhaps the priests aren’t supposed to touch the temple visitors.

We managed to get a word with the chief priest in the sanctum sanctorum. He told us about the legend of Kamadhenu grazing in this area and found the swayambhu Shiva. It was decided by the kings of the time that this area should be made into gowshala. That’s why the temple is called the Pateeshwara temple – Patee is the Tamil word for gowshala. Happy that I could communicate with him in English, I asked him about the age of the temple and whether the entire temple complex was built at the same time. He told us the sanctum sanctorum was oldest part of the temple and various kings had built other parts of the temple through the ages. He also told us to watch out for the inscriptions on the temple walls – which record the details of the temple’s history.

The detailed inscriptions on the temple walls. These are in old Tamil script.

There are also statues of Shaiva siddhas along the walls made of black stone. An interesting detail is the row of lingas following the siddhas statues, which ended with a statue of the Jnana Bhairavi. There is also a shrine to Karthikeyan, the son of Shiva and Parvathi, and god of war. Kartikeyan, or Murugan, is a popular deity in Tamil literature.

The Hall with the 108 Dance Mudras

Next we entered the hall where it is believed Shiva did his ananda tandav. We looked for the peepul tree under which he supposedly danced, but were unable to find it. This part was only about 500-700 years old and has 8 life sized statues of various deities in front of the sanctum sanctorum. A priest was singing odes to Shiva and a microphone was carrying his soothing voice to all parts of the hall. The ceiling has amazing painted murals, depicting different stories from Shiva mythology. There were life-sized statues of Dwarpalakas guarding the sanctum sanctorum.

One of the dwarkapalakas. The pose reminds me of standing Marichiyasana, using his gadhayudha (mace) as a prop.

The 108 mudras of the tandav. These were mounted on the walls of the hall.

I’ve always been fascinated by the similarities between Indian classical dance and yogasanas, and spent quite a bit of time observing these postures.

A Literary Connection

There is also a shrine dedicated to the divine feminine (devi), called Pachainayaki. This is located in a hall with the usual carved pillars and also many paintings of female deities mounted on the walls. Here the priest anointed us with a red tilak and didn’t seem to have a reticence in touching us.

Possibly the poetess saint Andal.

Once we were done, we decided to take a moment to sit and soak it all in. We’d been in the temple for 2 hours now, examining the architecture and the finer details and studying the yoga connections.

Yogasanas on the Temple Walls

Not a yogasana, but we found this mural very interesting. The expression on the face reminded us of Santa Claus.

All in all a fortuitous visit, specially with Mahashivaratri just around the corner

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Travels

Beyond the Gomateshwara in Shravanabelagola

February 23, 2022

On the way back from our recent vacation in Coorg, we decided to take the road less travelled.

Our First Stop – The Maṭha Temple at Shravanabelagola

The road was scenic, bucolic and mostly under construction. We crossed a flower market and picked up some jasmine for our hair. And finally, looking at the map we decided to take a small detour to Shravanabelagola. Shravanabelagola is one of the most important Jain pilgrimage sites in the world. It is marked by the presence of a 58-feet tall statue of Bahubali. I’ve been to Shravanabelagola before and trekked all the way up to the deity. This time we were hard pressed for time and couldn’t do that, but there was another delightful surprise in store for us.

The Jain maṭha that maintains the temples in Shravanabelagola (including the Gomateshwara) also has its own temple, which we visited. I saw some incredible murals on the wall. I hope the maṭha restores them in the future. For now, they’ve put up barricades to discourage the poking of curious fingers.

Some of the murals:

National Institute of Prakrit Study and Research (NIPSAR)

It is no coincidence that NIPSAR is in Shravanabelagola and is also a major attraction for Jains and scholars of Jainism. Most ancient Jain literature is in Prakrit, and this institute was established for the study of Prakrit. It houses many manuscripts, most of which are more than 500 years old. I was very interested in seeing these manuscripts as I had only seen pictures of original texts but had never actually seen one in person.

We were well received at the institute by a few of their scholars, who proceeded to give us a tour of the institute and show us the original manuscript of the ‘Gurudev Charite’, which was from the 10th century. Along with this they showed us the restoration and translation work that is currently underway of the ‘Trishashti Lakshana Mahakatha’ – a collection of talks about the Jain tirthankaras. The ‘Trishashti Lakshana Mahakatha’ is also known as the Chavundaraya Purana and was written by Chamundaraya. Chamundaraya was a military commander, a poet, an architect and a statesman, who lived from 940 CE to 989 CE. He commissioned the building of the statue of Bahubali found in Shravanabelagola. The Trishashti Lakshana Mahakatha is the second oldest existing work in prose in Kannada. Chamundaraya meant for this work to be read by the masses and therefore wrote it in Prakrit and ensured it was easy to read by the masses. It relates the legends of a total of 63 important figures in Jain history.

An original manuscript in Nadugannada or Medieval Kannada.

It’s been a while since I’ve seen a card catalogue!!!

Reams and reams of texts – a library such as I have never seen before!

NIPSAR also works on restoration of other artefacts. These are made on parchment made of coconut bark, using natural dyes.

Importance of Sanskrit/Prakrit for Yoga Seekers

Although I’ve always been interested in yoga philosophy and texts, its only recently that I’ve started to contextualise it. This was partly due to the exposure I got during my master’s at SVYASA (studying the Hatha Yoga Pradipika and the Patanjali Yoga Sutras in a cultural context). Hence, my interest in not only yogasana but also in everything (peripheral) about yoga. I found that the more closely I look at the society and culture surrounding the practice of yoga, the more insight I gain into the subject.

When I started studying Vedanta, I realised that the Sanskrit I learned at SVYASA came in handy. Although numerous English translations and interpretations of yogic texts are available, to be able to read the original script forges a connection that is highly empowering.

It’s hard to describe what it feels like to hold such ancient literature in your hands. It’s not only what you’re holding, but the fact that this is intimately connected to something you’ve been immersed in for a decade. Which was another reason why I was so keen to visit NIPSAR.

So do you need to learn Sanskrit/Prakrit if you’re interested in yoga? In my opinion no, but if you do then you’ll be privy to a whole new dimension of the subject.

What a beauty.

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Travels

Dharamkot Diaries – Day 1

October 19, 2021

Getting to Dharamkot is a bit of a journey. There are no direct flights so Medha and I took a late night flight from Bangalore with a long layover in Delhi T3. Thankfully we found a place serving AirrToast and then promptly fell asleep at 2 am. We woke up 4 hours later and boarded the flight to Gaggal Airport, Kangra. It was my first time on a propeller plane and both of us got amazing window seats. Dharamkot is about an hour from Gaggal and we had arranged for a taxi to pick us up.

Today was about walking around looking for a big breakfast and piping hot coffee at the Alt Life Cafe. Then gazing out at the wonderful Himalayas from our room, and catching up on life, outside the mundanity of our actual everyday lives.

Many years ago, on a workation here, Animesh had spent a wonderful evening at the Morgan’s Cafe. In the evening today, we sat there watching the clouds descend to kiss the verdant hills. As the soft rock wafted from the ancient radio into the nippy night air, we discussed journeys and paths, and the confluence of the two.

As I write this, Medha is on a call with her folks back in Bangalore and I’m gazing up at the lone star in the clear skies of Dharamkot. Thinking of the necessity to escape, even if only for a few days…

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Travels

Three Offbeat Things I Did in Coonoor….

December 21, 2017

…and you should too.

I love the hills. I love the weather, the vibe and the people in the hills. I feel my skin takes on a special glow and my mind a rare calmness when I smell the hill air.

So it was only inevitable that I would take my parents for a vacation up in the hills. Although we are from the Uttrakhand hills, I haven’t spent much time there. But I’ve spent quite a bit of time in the Nilgris. I was in Coonoor a couple of months ago to participate in a run. This past weekend Coonoor was colder, quieter, prettier.

We didn’t have many days and I wanted my parents to love the place as much as I did. So I wanted to do something different and memorable. Also, I have an affinity for all things weird, offbeat and quirky. So, without further ado, here are three offbeat things to do in Coonoor.

Hit up a local and badger them for information. There’s no better way to really get the vibe of a place than by hanging out with a local. You end up hearing fascinating personal anecdotes and hopefully getting an interesting story or two. My favorite kind are the scary ones and I was #sorrynotsorry to find out that there aren’t any ghost stories in the hills around Coonoor. In fact, the lone deserted house that I was so sure was haunted was only up for sale…and not because it was haunted. We were lucky to meet Zubin Contractor, resident and Coonoor expert. From tea factories to how Eucalyptus oil is extracted. From the history of the five tribes of the Nilgris to scenic walks around town, Zubin had us covered.
Visit Acres’ Wild, Mansoor Khan’s cheese making farm, complete with its own gowshala and geese in a pond. I had been to this property years ago on a cold and foggy day. This weekend it was nice and sunny and we were there to find out how cheese is made. We were given facts and figures, shown the apparatus and the equipment and had our questions patiently answered. We came away with a few packets of their delicious cheese. (You know what you’ll be served if you drop in for a visit.)
Visit the cemeteries. We went to two cemeteries and they were beautiful. An old one with centuries old tombstones and a beautiful statue of an angel. The other one we visited had graves from World War 1 and was maintained by the Commonwealth Graves Commission. Although slightly creepy, its in cemeteries that you get a sense of an era long gone. Of the aesthetics and beliefs of the time. You actually get a sense of the individuals that lived and walked in the same pathways centuries ago. It brings history to life.

Also, we go on vacation to take a break from the frenzy of city life. A cozy little nook helps. It is important to find a comfortable home away from home to stay in. Coonoor has many options and when dusk falls all you feel like doing is putting on some comfortable socks and crawling under a soft blanket with a good book. Luckily, I had the home away from home, the socks and blankets, a good book and family.

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Sunday the 18th – Koregaon Park

September 20, 2016

Early morning walk around Koregaon Park.

Half the month is over, and, as Anuja pointed out in the car earlier today, half the year is almost over. I bet a lot of people already made their New Year’s Eve plans. I’ve only been able to plan for the first week of December when I may be off for a new adventure.

This should be better by December.

However, while I’m here I would like to experience a bit more of Pune. So this past Saturday I decided to meet up with a friend of mine from my Infy days. While in the UK, Bhavani and I were out frequently clubbing, pubbing, eating or just watching movies. The last time I met up with her we went to Mallaka Spice (Bhavani & Me @Mallaka). Last Saturday we went to a popular hangout here called The Bar Stock Exchange. Nice place. Good music, good crowd and nice drinks :). We headed back to Bhavani’s house with plans of watching ‘Sinister’. Once I realized I’d already seen the film, I promptly fell asleep.

The next morning was Sunday and I’m not one to miss out on a delicious breakfast. Because of the early classes here, I’ve become very frugal with my breakfasts. But I think I’m essentially a breakfast girl. The other day (at Funky Kona in Baner) Anuja and I were discussing how much more fun and romantic breakfasts are over dinners. Show me a breakfast and I’ll show you girl who isn’t afraid to stuff her face. So we drove around a bit to get to our breakfast place. The Yogi Tree is right next to the Osho Ashram. Bhavani had her usual parantha while I had a sandwich. I have to confess, I don’t miss south Indian breakfast, but I do miss the coffee. I’ve started to hallucinate the smell of fresh filter coffee!!! I guess I know the first thing I’ll have in namma Bengaluru.

I wanted to indulge in a little bit of street shopping also while here. I did go to Lakshmi road a day before the Ganapati festival. It was crowded and I don’t think I’ll ever willingly go there again. But I managed to pick up two pairs of beautiful Kolapuri chappals, which; for the record; happen to be my favorite kind of footwear.

Many people told me that Koregaon park is known for its small quirky boutiques. Bhavani and I decided to walk around. I was looking for nice spots to take yoga photos. Sadly, couldn’t find a single pretty background. However, we did go to a few of the small boutiques and indulged in some retail therapy. I got a sense of the vibe of the place which is youthful and vibrant. There were interesting little food joints interspersed with the clothing and accessories boutiques. Lots of places for dessert, but I’m keeping my chocolate addiction under control these days.

Once I got home I said hi to Aston. Aston makes a dog’s life look very chic. He moves only if he has to. He sprawls under the TV and sort of rolls around there every once in a while. And he spontaneously has barking fits. Playing fetch is his only form of exercise, but we know he’s in love with the tennis ball. Anuja claims that he sleeps on his back and sometimes dreams about running after the ball. So she says Aston’s legs move, as though he’s running after the ball. Except he’s asleep.

I decided to strike a few poses while Aston was catching his breath.

Sunday evening Anuja and I decided to go back to Koregaon park to Dario’s. I’d heard so much about the place and I have to say I wasn’t disappointed. They have delicious food. We decided to taste the vegan cheesecake and had some bruschetta and coffee. We thought we’d go for a round of shopping before we sat down for dinner.

When we emerged from Dario’s it was raining, but the weather wasn’t going to keep a couple of girls away from clothes. We browsed through a few boutiques in Koregaon park. I was looking for interesting quirky stuff while Anuja was checking out the merchandise. We headed home early so that I could be up bright and early for my 7 am.

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Nightlife of a Different Sort

September 13, 2016

Lord Ganesh would probably be the poster boy for Hindu mythology. I’ve rarely met a foreign yogi who hasn’t heard at least one legend about how he got the head of an elephant. I’ve rarely been to an Indian or an Indophile’s house which doesn’t have a picture or a statue of Ganesh-ji. I don’t profess to have more than a rudimentary knowledge of Hinduism and am not in the least iconoclastic. But I also have a beautiful statue of Ganesh in my house. One of my favorite pieces of jewellery is a gold Ganesh pendant that a friend of mine gave me when I was about to embark on an import journey in life (thanks Lakshmi).

I guess it was destiny for me to come to Maharashtra when the most special festival is going on. Ganesh Chaturti here is celebrated like Dusshera in Mysore. The festival has been immortalized in numerous Bollywood songs and last night I had the pleasure of visiting the 5 famous Ganesh mandals here in Pune. These are so famous in fact, that it is rumoured that Bollywood celebrities come all the way here to offer their prayers. Going to the old city and walking through the crowds to make your way to the Ganpatis is no easy feat, and I guess it was destiny once again that I had a group who was kind enough to think of me when they made their plan. Had it not been for Hariharan, Shivangi and Subbu I don’t think I would ever have had the chance to participate in the festivities.

The route.

We had a very capable and organized navigator. Hariharan did the groundwork. We had the names of the famous Ganapatis and the walking route printed out. We knew that it was going to be crowded, so we left our bags behind in the car and ventured out on foot. Don’t get too close to the venue to look for parking because you won’t find any. We parked on the other side of the Mula Mutha river and crossed the bridge. The area is cordoned off for vehicles.

Have to go back to this. I’ve heard there is a sound and light show here. Also, it looks very different from how it does in Bajirao Mastani. I will have to go back for a closer look.

The Ganapatis we wanted to visit were:

Kasba
Tambdi
Guruji Talim
Tulsibaugh (we missed this one)
Kesriwada

So the Ganapatis, in no particular order are:

The oldest Ganapati.

While here I want to make sure that I have as much vada pav and pav bhaji and other local fare, and in keeping with that we stopped at JumboKing for their famous Wada Pav Burger.

Mario Miranda on the wall.

Fortune tellers, old and new friends, phenomenal yoga teachers and amazing practice sessions…what else will Ganesh-ji bring my way during the rest of my Pune travels and in my life?

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Stretching – Then and Now

September 11, 2016

@Malaka Spice

It’s been close to 10 days here and my routine here is as challenging as ever. I realize that if it’s your first time here, then it does take a while to adjust and adapt. The first time I had a 4 hour practice I was incredulous … and didn’t know how to deal with it. Rather, I didn’t know how to make the most of it. When I practice at home it’s only for an hour and a half, and by the end of it I’m drained out. So the first few days here, I was always exhausted. So much so that I felt I couldn’t give the best in the asanas and always felt sloppy and ungainly throughout the practice. Mondays and Tuesdays specially, since practice on those days is almost 4 hours long, and by the time I’m done with practice its an ordeal just to walk home. My fantasies these days centre around buying an apartment next to the institute so that I can crawl home in no time and surface again only for the next class.

However, now I’ve started to get used to the routine. I’m actually able to make the most of the extended practice sessions. In fact, 2 hours is just about enough time for a satisfying practice…how I’m going to sustain this when I’m back in Bangalore is the stuff other blog posts are made of.

Yesterday I had my class in the evening (where I’m referred to as ‘Bangalore’, and another

girl is called ‘USA’, oh and then there’s ‘Madam China’ in the 6 am session). It was an amazingly intense session. The class was fast paced with a focus on stretching the lower body (Janu Sirsasana, Paschimottansana, Baddhakonasana etc). Finally we did the Upavista Konasana, which is a challenging pose for me. I slowly made my way down and eased my torso onto the floor. I remember the days when I started practicing yoga and this pose was a big challenge. I wouldn’t be able to extend my back and my hip joint was stiff. As the years went by, I was still pretty reluctant to practice this pose because it didn’t come naturally at all and it was frustrating. Even now, sometimes I’m able to execute this pose well, and sometimes I feel like lead.

Yesterday I was able to ease myself down and placed my forehead on the floor. I stayed there kind of happy and satisfied with myself. There’s always an element of pleasant surprise also, because some days your body can extend and some days it just doesn’t. This reverie lasted until I heard, “BANGALORE! You’re sleeping! Extend more! Walk forward with your hands!!! That’s it, that’s good. Trance mein chali gayi thi phir se.”

And I realized that for the most part, this is how I practice. I arrange myself into a pose and then my mind says, “This is it, you’ve done well. You’re done.” And then my pose goes dead, and progress stops. Or, as the teacher said, I fall asleep. So when I was told to extend more, I had to push through the limitations of my mind (kind of still the internal dialogue) and discover if I could, in fact, go further. I realized that I could, and for that little bit of time I experienced new life. And received a bit of enlightenment.

The Halasana is a pose that we do daily in class. We use props to ensure that the spine and neck are straight. The picture is of me doing the Halasana many years ago. When my internal dialogue was loud and overpowering. I’m sure it’s improved over the years. And after this class, I know how to work in this (and in all other asanas).

Halasana (Plough Pose)

How To

Lie down straight on your back making sure your head lies on the floor.
Exhale, bend your legs at the knees and bring your knees close to your chest.
Lift your buttocks off of the floor supporting your back with your hands.
Make sure to plant your elbows firmly on the floor.
Bring your body perpendicular to the floor, until your sternum touches your chin.
Gently extend your legs out behind your head.
Keep your face and neck relaxed.
Practice with your arms stretched out behind and fingers interlocked to relive pain and cramps in fingers, hands, wrists, elbows and shoulders.

Benefits

Relieves fatigue.
Helps to calm down the mind.
Relaxes your eyes and brain.
Controls hyper tension.
Improves digestion.
Lengthens the spine and improves alignment.
Reduces insomnia and anxiety.
Relieves stress-related headaches and migraines.

Contraindications

Don’t practice during menstruation and if you have cervical spondylosis.

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Travels

A Yogi in Pune – Day 5

September 5, 2016

I’m a lover of stories (maybe a collector of stories?). The house I’m living in is located on Flight Lt Sudhir Pawar Road. I found out early that Sudhir Pawar was actually related to my landlady. He was her uncle. Once on a sortie, the plane malfunctioned and he crash landed. The government named the road on which he lived after him. Once upon a time there were several bungalows on this road, however now there are only two left, one of which is the one I’m staying in. The compound has 3 bungalows within it, and the grave of a fakir. That piqued my interest.

Yesterday, I had a chance to speak to my landlady’s father who is a retired architect. In his 80s now, he is bedridden but his mind is spry and alert. Deaf since the age of 17, he approached Morarji Desai for permission to travel abroad (in the 50s) to see if there were any doctors who could help him with his hearing. Morarji Desai provided 400 pounds and letters of references to top doctors in Austria to help him out. He set sail. While on a quest to find a cure for his hearing loss, he managed to get a job in London, rented a Viscount’s house, learned lip reading from nuns in Birmingham, travelled all over Europe and finally decided to come home to get married and look after his younger brothers. Still deaf, he decided on a final jaunt to Dubai for work before he came to India to settle down and start his own architecture firm.

So I decided to ask him about the fakir’s grave. “No no he doesn’t walk…he doesn’t go anywhere.”

“What?” I was puzzled.

“Yes, he doesn’t walk anymore. We’ve created a walkway for him and given him a house, so he doesn’t bother us. He stays there only.” So he was talking about the fakir.

The house he’s referring to is right behind the room which I’ve taken. There’s a tree under which the fakir lies. For obvious reasons I choose not to dwell on that right now. However, I will try and get a picture of that house and tree one of these days.

Ganesh Chaturti is a big deal in Maharashtra and today was one of the first holidays (besides Sunday). I realized this only last night and I got so excited when I realized last night that I could actually read all night if I wanted to. That’s exactly what I planned on doing, but stumbled upon ‘The Painted Veil’ on YouTube. I’m having issues putting the book down these days, and I was curious to see how they’ve done the movie.

I could hear ‘Ganpati bappa moriya!‘ as my hosts brought their Ganpati home and I went up later to see what they’ve done. Family members have been visiting all day and festivity is in the air. Tomorrow is the visarjan, where they will take the idol and submerge it the river. Good to be in Maharashtra at this time.

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