The WiFi in our flat has been less than adequate the past few days making it nearly impossible to download photos to WordPress in order to post on my blog. WiFi is still pretty slow so it’s taken me a long time to bring these photos to you.

The following photos were taken Friday and Saturday while I was either on foot or out in an Uber. Uber is the way to travel here nowadays. It costs less than $3 USD to get just about anywhere in town. It doesn’t matter what language the Uber driver speaks. The drivers have the destination and navigation so it’s foolproof … most of the time.

Shoes anyone?

This group sends the youngest ones out in traffic to beg for money. The second photo down shows this little girl in pink knocking on a driver’s window. She looks like she might be 6 or 7 years old.

A look from the backseat of an Uber. Most of them have decorated Ganeshas sitting on the dashboard.

This is the Maharashtra Store where I buy most of my groceries.

Here’s one of many produce carts near our flat.

Free Whilly …

Coffee Nation …

Live entertainment …

Waiting for the bus …

Fine artwork, and look, it has graffiti which is rare here.

So, it wasn’t raining when I walked to the store, but when I stepped out of the store to go home it started pouring!

Murtis outside RIMYI…

Hanuman …

The flat I’m staying in is on the ninth floor of this 10-story apartment building. RIMYI is next door to the left of the flat.

I can’t believe my trip is almost half way over. Five weeks sounds like a long time, but it’s going by fast. We’re still experiencing rain off and on daily and extended forecast still calls for lots of rain.

Blogged on Amma’s iPad from India with LOVE!

We’re getting a bit of a reprieve from the rain. It’s still raining every day, but not continuously. The 2-week forecast says we’re in for more rain, showers and/or thunderstorms every day and night. In fact, I just heard thunder …

The river water has gone down several feet. However, now the banks of the river are littered with piles of debris. Much of the debris is from homes in the slum areas destroyed by the river’s rushing water. The photos in this post were taken Wednesday when the banks of the river were still high.

By posting many random photos I hope to present the every day Pune I’m experiencing without too many words. While sitting in the back of a rickshaw or Uber, getting good, clear photos is not always possible. I trash many blurry photos but sometimes I choose to keep slightly blurry ones because they still convey a story.

ManYee (flatmate) scored on this stylish rain jacket.

Not all bananas are this small, but I thought this one was cute. Because the water here is so bad, we can only eat cooked fruits and vegetables unless there’s a skin around it.

Chai and street food across the park.

Beautiful people of the park …

Happiness is coming back to the flat to see Anita in the kitchen. Her cooking is always good and by the time I sit down to eat it (even if I have to reheat it) I’m ravenous. By the way, these lady fingers (okra) … I really don’t like them so she made me a separate vegetable dish of green beans that was very yummy. She knows – no bell peppers, no lady fingers!

Anita showing off curry leaves she grows at her house.

From back home, these are my beautiful students who are practicing in my home studio every Tuesday evening while I’m in Pune. I provide the venue (actually Bruce is the one providing the venue in my absence) and the sequence, and all they have to do is show up. I can’t tell you how happy I am there’s such a good turnout for practice (L-R – Maribeth, Linda, Joyce, Monette, Katie & Eva). Way to go ladies, and thanks for sending the picture! I’m looking forward to seeing your Ardha Chandrasana in September …

My studio is also being used by Ron who’s showing up regularly to do therapy on his own while I’m gone. He’s got plenty to work on and a good foundation to make some progress without me. I took a private lesson with one of the senior teachers here, Abhay Javakhedkar, to go over the therapy we’re working on. He is tremendously knowledgeable and I feel fortunate to have this opportunity ?. Abhay is going to work with me again Tuesday, and perhaps this will be a weekly appointment while I’m here.

Why wear the mask while out and about in Pune? The pollution here is horrible. The vehicles emit disgusting black crud. Wearing the mask may not be fashionable but it’s much easier and better than holding a scarf to my nose and mouth.

Blogged on Amma’s iPad with love from Pune.

This is Vasant, one of the locals who comes around on his bicycle carrying bags of items for us to rummage through – t-shirts, stationary, props, etc. I’ve known him since my first trip to Pune.

Spicy peanuts, and yes, they are very spicy.

The road to Ayurveda in the rain.

Although there is trash everywhere here, I’m not seeing the heaps and heaps of garbage I’ve seen in the past. Hopefully this means they’re making an effort to clean up these garbage heaps.

The poorest of the people here are often seen at busy intersections selling cheap products. Most I’ve seen since I arrived here are either selling these colorful umbrellas or small packages of garbage bags.

This young woman is carrying an infant.

I love the contrast in this photo.

I asked Nana what’s in the jugs. Milk.

Podi Kizhi (for joint pain and stiffness) at Ayurveda.

Lunch today at Geeta Bhojwani’s house… My friend Cyndy invited me and some other yogis to join her for lunch. I should have taken a photo of the dishes before we all dug in, but the next photo is of my plate so you can see everything there. Dal, fried potato, rice, sabzis (cabbage, corn and paneer) and chapati.

Here’s the group L-R Karen(Cleveland), Jill (Australia), Carolina(Chili), Geeta (Pune), Cyndy (San Diego), me.

Geeta gave us a ride home. By default being the tallest, I sat in front in perfect position to take this photo of the other four in the backseat of Geeta’s Prius. Look how much fun they had.

Keeping it short and sweet, blogged on Amma’s iPad from Pune with LOVE!

It has rained every day consistently since I arrived. Yesterday, being a Sunday and a day off from asana classes at the Institute, Jill and I went on an outing with Nana. We had planned to go on an adventure but because of the rain we opted to take Nana to lunch and go shopping for some not-so-needed items …

It poured most of the day but we were able to stay dry in the back of the rickshaw. On the way home we drove over the Mula Mutha River twice (it winds around like a snake) which is filled to over capacity right now. People were stopped on the bridge and lined up to take pictures. Nana pulled over so we could get out and and join the gawkers. I took this 1-minute video so you can see how fast the water is moving.

I always have this remote thought whenever I take a video that I might unknowingly capture something special in the background. If you didn’t catch it the first time, watch again and pay close attention to the man in white standing near the bridge both at the beginning of the video when I began my 360 and at the end when I made it back full circle.

Meanwhile, as the rain continues the situation is getting worse. The river has swelled even more, causing serious concern there will be more flooding in some of the low lying areas. Today schools were closed, workers were told to go home early, and one of the bridges closed. The 2-week forecast calls for rain, thunderstorms or showers every day. I have more rain photos to share in the next post.

Here are some photos I took at the park which is right next to our flat. This little plant is the only one blooming right now.

Birdhouses.

That’s my flatmate, Jill, under the umbrella.

For some reason there’s an intersection in the park complete with stop lights, crosswalks and a stop sign.

Yuck.

Bee hive. Yikes, this is pretty much right below our flat.

Photos of RIMYI (Ramamani Iyengar Memorial Yoga Institute).

Leftover homemade Indian food our cook made.

Blogged on Amma’s iPad from rainy Pune with LOVE.

It appears my feature image from the other day didn’t populate into my blog post, so I am including it here. This is Nana and me having ginger chai in the rickshaw. Nana is a dear friend, who is not only a good driver, but he seems to know everything about Pune and its outskirts. He has taken us on many journeys – to Alandi, sightseeing to many temples, shopping to various parts of Pune, the doctor when I was sick, and to Ayurveda, to name only a few. He speaks very good English, keeps in touch while we’re here and watches out for us in every way. It is absolutely wonderful to make this connection with him again.

Some sites around Model Colony (this is the name of the suburb in Pune where I’m staying).

Front and back side of this amazing vegetable cart about a 5 minute walk from the flat.

Snacks hanging at the little store near the vegetable cart.

Friday I went to Ayurveda (via Nana). Here are my photos along the journey.

Here’s the outside of the Ayurjyoti office.

I returned via Uber so some of these photos were taken through dirty windows.

This is the Kadki War Cemetery.

Today is Sunday and a day off from asana classes at the Institute. I’ll be observing the Children’s Class this morning at 8, followed by Prashant’s Sutra Study class, then an excursion with Nana. I’ve had three good nights of sleep and I feel like I’m finally getting caught up. All is well in Pune.

Did I mention it’s raining?

Blogged on Amma’s iPad from Pune with LOVE!

Above – Having chai with Nana in the rickshaw.

These lovely people (Sudhir and his wife, Alka) are the owners of Dimpex, the establishment where I have my OBYoga t-shirts batiked. I brought 66 t-shirts with me – 52 short sleeve (4 crew neck/48 v-neck) and 14 long sleeve hoodies. They took up one entire carry-on sized suitcase and a third of my check-in bag. It’s very moist here because of the rain so it’ll take a long time for the t-shirts to dry in between colors, and I probably won’t get them back until just before I leave. I’m really excited to see how the long sleeve hoodies turn out. With the exception of only one small t-shirt which is going to be pink, all the rest are being done in purple, green or blue. Designs for this batch are Ganesha (as seen hanging in the background), 2 elephants, and the Om symbol in a lotus petal. I’m very excited!

Views from the rickshaw …

Nana took Jill to the phone store and I tagged along because, well, there’s never a dull moment on a rickshaw ride. These motorcycles and motor scooters were parked outside the phone store. I’m not sure what happens when the person who owns the motorcycle in the middle needs to get out. As it turns out, Jill didn’t get a SIM card here because it was going to take 10 DAYS for the card to activate.

From the rickshaw …

We passed the Hotel Sapna. I took this picture and texted it to my friend, Sapna.

The next phone store had a “Server Room.” I wasn’t sure if there’s a real server behind the door or if it’s called that because there’s a coffee maker in there.

Sidewalk art. I believe this is some kind of education center.

This is the scene at every intersection where there’s a street light.

At our drop off, outside our flat.

Later in the day we went for a walk.

Very small alter set up on the side of the sidewalk.

Through the gates of the Hare Krishna Temple just down the street from our flat, hence why the name of our street is Hare Krishna Mandir.

Prashant – Do you “do” yoga or do you “know” yoga? Yoga is not to be “done,” It is to be “known.”

Blogged on Amma’s iPad with LOVE from Pune.