Above – Rakhis I bought to bring home for my grandkids. Rakhi (Raksha Bandhan) is an Indian celebration of any brother-sister type relationship between men and women who may or may not be biologically related. On Rakhi, a sister symbolizes her love by tying a rakhi (sacred thread) on her brother’s wrist with a prayer for his prosperity and happiness. The brother gives her a token gift and a promise to protect her.

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Below – a walk through the park on the way to RIMYI to practice.

A look down the driveway at RIMYI.

There weren’t many people in the practice room which made for a nice quiet practice. I was told the July group was small so maybe the August group will also be a small one.

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Typical sight on the return to the hotel.

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You’re not supposed to spit in the bank.

Banking in Pune is difficult, beginning before walking in the door. We were required to sign a book listing our name, country of origin, address in Pune, time of day. I visited 4 banks in an attempt at trying to get rupees to pay for the month at RIMYI. I finally had to make multiple transactions at two different ATMs (which is what I was trying to avoid) in order to get this done.

I would have liked to take some photos in the bank to give you an idea of the confusion going on in there but taking photos in the bank was prohibited and I didn’t want to see what would happen if I broke that law. My friends told me that when I left to go to another bank next door (many banks here) someone climbed up a ladder to work on the air conditioning register in the ceiling. When the worker took the register cover off, a very large amount of water poured out all over the place. Apparently no one even flinched and business continued as usual. I’m really sorry I missed that.

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There are hazards everywhere and it’s crucial to watch your step here. In the picture below, imagine those bolts are about 1.5″ in diameter and 6-7″ long.

Heaps of rocks are everywhere.

Good electrical craftsmanship too.

This man is roasting peanuts. I’ll have to try these sometime.

These are deep (or shallow) fried small peppers of some sort.

It started pouring rain so we passed some time with this man while we took shelter. He informed us “Rain is coming down!” That’s Jill on the left.

Cricket.

There are dieties in small temples in every neighborhood.

More typical sights.

Shopping for Rakhis …

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The wifi went out last night in the middle of blogging so I lost some of what I was posting and had to recreate some this morning. Now attempting to upload a 44 second video onto YouTube which is taking a lifetime. So far 15 minutes and only 34% uploaded. It’s a good thing I woke up at 4am.

Here it is. Internet is very very slow. This took over 30 minutes to upload so enjoy it!

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Today – 7am class with Prashant followed by practice. We’re also moving from the hotel to the Anugraha flat so I’ll need to shop for food. I will also get in touch with my favorite rickshaw driver, Nana, to hopefully book outings with him on Sundays for the month.

Blogged on Amma’s iPhone & MacBook from iNdia with LOVE!