INDIA - A SPIRITUAL JOURNEY 

 

Diversity in food –

India, being the large country it is, is subdivided through provinces and regions where particular food is a specialty. This was great for me, because for the entire month away I indulged in everything South Indian, North Indian, Keralite for breakfast, lunch and dinner. With hundreds of dishes, I rarely found myself eating the same thing twice (unless I thoroughly enjoyed it). I’m so lucky that I didn’t ever get sick of the food or sick from the food (considering the fact that we only ate out). I set myself a daily challenge to eat at least 1 Mysore Pak (a sweet made of Ghee, ghee and more ghee), by the end of the trip I gained 2 kilos and every sweet store in South India would have remembered me as a ‘loyal’ customer.

 

Country of colours –

Indians love vibrancy – clothes, spices, buildings, food. They love it all!
I had a stack of spare time, in which I spent buying different kinds of material and designing clothes to have them made. I finally got my delivery at 1 am, the night we were leaving!

Family is the most important-
I spent a lot of my trip road tripping between 4 states (due to our large family). I spent most of my time at my Grandma’s house. I must say it was the most enjoyable part of the trip.
Where my Grandma lives is a secluded area, she moved there in her old age so that she could find peace and serenity (miles from shops, restaurants or anything like that).

We found ourselves spending a lot of time doing nothing. Lying in bed singing songs, playing dress ups, sharing stories from the past and building plans for the future. I was so happy to see her but so sad to leave her.

 

A real holiday -
About 98% the time, someone was doing something for me. Be it washing my clothes, driving us, opening doors, filling up petrol, giving us bowls filled with water and lemon to wash our hands after every meal.  I definitely became relaxed during the course of the trip, because it was just the same growing up.

 

Overall, it was like any other regular holiday. I spent most of my time shopping, at the beach, visiting friends and also undertook a 2 week Yoga Course.

As I am not Hindu, I didn’t focus on mantra’s or types of worship. It was all about the body movement, flexibility and cleansing the body through meditation.
However something that the Yogi explained was very relevant to people in all walks of life.

‘Would you pour fresh milk in last night’s unwashed bowl?’
At first, I had no idea what the heck she was referring to …..

She went on to say that like the analogy she was making, our body should be cleansed daily from negative thoughts or actions before we start the day.
If I learnt anything from the endurance of the one on one sessions with her, it was that ^^

Unfortunately, due to the snow storms I was unable to make it to see the Taj Mahal. But there’s always next time!
Overall I had a great trip with my family & friends and I can’t wait to go back to spend some quality time with my Grandma again.