I’ve never seen (in person) a cow being milked. Late in the day yesterday while riding in the country in the back of Nana’s rickshaw, we saw two men preparing to milk their cows … right there in the pasture! How exciting was that? Of course Nana pulled over because he knows how excited I get, and I jumped out of the rickshaw, navigated my way across the street (a feat in itself) and walked to the pasture. Using hand gestures because neither spoke English, I asked if I could video them.

The following video is the coolest thing ever! Enjoy! If you’re reading this on email, it might not show that this next image is a video. Click on it. You won’t want to miss it.

What the video doesn’t show is a group of people (presumably family) sitting nearby under a tarp laughing hysterically at me. What can I say? I’ll do anything for a good photo or video.

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Here is the remainder of the Fort photos. Well, almost. I’m holding back two photos and a video for my next post.

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I had this big idea of having Jill take a photo of me doing Vrksasana (tree pose). Where else but next to a tree. It was all fine until I realized I was standing in muck – good thing I didn’t have my sights set on a headstand! I didn’t want to take my shoe off and get my foot all dirty so not only was I standing in muck (on one leg), but I was wearing a rubber slip-on shoe that was “mucking around” under me. It’s not pretty, but I pulled it off.

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As soon as we walked outside the Fort it started pouring.

These banyon trees are everywhere here. I though this one just outside the Fort was especially beautiful.

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The people of Pune are exceptionally nice. In some of the more remote areas where they don’t see many westerners we literally get swarmed by people wanting to take selfies with us. They may not speak English, but they all know “selfie.”

Tomorrow is BKS Iyengar’s (Guruji) fifth year Shraddanjali (death anniversary). I’ll be attending Prashant’s (Guruji’s son) 7am class, Abhay’s 10am class, and a remembrance talk by Prashant at 5pm.

The weather today was perfect – no rain (yet). I had 7am class with Prashant, a good practice afterwards, Ayurveda and an Indian lunch cooked by Anita. Tonight a little chanting and hopefully to bed at a reasonable hour.

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Blogged on Amma’s MacBook while listening to the call of the birds in the park from Pune with LOVE!

We had a wonderful class yesterday with Sunita – abdominals! Sunita’s classes have been the highlight for me this trip of all classes at the Institute.

RIMYI has changed the classes from when I was here before. Instead of having two women’s classes a week, there is now only one women’s class on Saturdays and the Wednesday 9:30am class is now a “General Class.” I’m not sure the definition of a “General Class” but I’m pretty sure the two “General Classes” I’ve taken were more of an Intermediate 2 class geared for students about 20 years younger than me.

The Friday night Pranayama class that used to be led by Geetaji is now led by Prashant.

I’ll start with another video of the Spice Man and the parking police. While we were in his store the police were driving down the street with their loud speaker speaking in Mirathi. We had no idea what they were saying so I asked the Spice Man to explain what was going on and he was more than happy to oblige.

Here are some more photos of the people at the Fort.

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By now you may have realized that the people of Pune have no problem posing for photos for and with foreigners they’ll never see again. Not only did they pose for my photos, but I was also expected to pose for them.

Here are more photos of the Fort.

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I’m heading out this morning to observe the children’s class, followed by Sunday morning Sutras study with Prashant. Then another Sunday with Nana.

I still have more photos and videos to share of our outing last Sunday so, wifi permitting, I’ll get those out in a post soon.

Blogged on Amma’s MacBook from Pune with LOVE!

Sunday afternoons are reserved for Nana who takes us wherever we want to go, and when we don’t know where we want to go he takes us wherever he wants.

First stop – chai! The following photos are of the chai and street food cart.

We went to the Honey Parlour but it was closed. Bummer. We’ll have to go another day.

Inside the clothing and material store next door to the Honey Parlour.

The next two are the alter and a painting hanging at the clothing store.

This is what Nana does while he’s waiting for us.

Views from the rickshaw…

Here are more views of the river after the water level went down a bit, and you can see a couple cars that suffered damage.

Selfie with and without masks.

Here’s a short YouTube glimpse of what it’s like riding with Nana through Pune.

We had a very tough class this morning with Raya. I should sleep well tonight!

Tomorrow is a national holiday, Independence Day, so we have the day off from classes at the Institute. It’ll be a good day for a nice practice and some rest and relaxation. Hopefully we’ll have some WiFi so I can easily do a blog post on my iPad.

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Blogged on Amma’s iPhone (because WiFi is too slow) with LOVE!

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.

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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.

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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 …

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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.

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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 …

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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Photos of RIMYI (Ramamani Iyengar Memorial Yoga Institute).

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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.

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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.

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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?

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Blogged on Amma’s iPad from Pune with LOVE!