Living and Learning in Amritapuri, India: December 19-22, 2016

Saraswati Gardens

I have been working in Saraswati Gardens for about an hour-and-a-half most days. The sun is so hot that I can’t tolerate more than that. Sometimes I work in the garden and sometimes I help with dye related projects.

I saw three newly dyed fabrics yesterday. The dye for this first fabric was made from red onions.

This color came from avocado peels and pits.

The one that surprised me the most, was this one, which was made from spinach leaves! How can green leaves produce cream color dye?

Today we harvested more turmeric roots. This big pan was overflowing with them. Some roots were small and some were quite large.

Weather

It has been so hot the last few days. Someone had a weather app that listed Amritapuri. It said the temperature was 89 degrees but that it felt like 105 degrees. That sure sounded right. Even being at the beach in the morning for Tai Chi is difficult at times. There hasn’t been much breeze even near the sea. The forecast for the next two weeks is for the same, or hotter. No rain in sight.

Crosswalks

On Monday morning, I was surprised to discover that crosswalks had been painted in front of all of the ashram gates on the beach road. I thought maybe the ashram had done it, but when I took the rickshaw to Kuzhitura Farms the next day, I saw there were crosswalks at frequent intervals all the way down the road. I wonder if the drivers, and the pedestrians, will pay any attention to them.

Play

Today was the dress rehearsal for the Christmas Eve play. The costumes are so beautiful. The singers, musicians, actors and dancers are doing a fantastic job, as are the people in the support roles. There is so much I would like to share but I don’t want to give anything away so my sharing will have to wait until after the play!

Food

Dinner tonight was a real treat. The ashram gardens are producing a tremendous amount of organic spinach. It is used in the soups and in a variety of other dishes. Tonight we had it raw in a salad. Fresh spinach, plus cabbage, carrots and other things. It was so good that I felt like it had been sent from heaven. I also had some kitcheri, and later in the evening indulged and had carrot cake. Yummm.

Tai Chi

I am loving my Tai Chi classes. Doing that process for an hour-and-a-half six days a week is so helpful. At the end of the class we always do the Yang 108 form. That is my favorite part of the class. I find I am remembering more and more of it, although I still need to follow the teacher. I look forward to seeing if my work here transfers to my Seattle class.

Rupees

The money situation stays the same. I discovered today that for every 2000 rupee bill ($30) I withdraw from the ATM, I get charged a $5 transaction charge by my Seattle bank. That is very frustrating, but at least I have the money I need.

Kuzhitura Farms

I will end this post with more photos from Kuzhitura Farms. Five of the eight photos are from two water retention ponds. As always, you can click on the gallery and enlarge the photos.

To see all of the posts in this Amritapuri series, click here.