Today I’m arriving in Cochin (sometimes referred to as Kochi.) Originally built by the Portuguese, it has a natural harbour with lagoons and canals and fishing hamlets. One of the three biggest ports on the West Coast, it is also an industrially developed area. The coir industry is of special importance. An excursion by boat through the backwaters is enchanting and we’ll be taking that up in just a few days.
Cochin sightseeing include visit Jew Town, Chinese Fishing nets, St.Francis Church, Fort Kochi, The Dutch cemetery, Santa Cruz Basilica, Matanchery Palace (The Dutch Palace), etc.
I’ll also be attending a Kathakalidance performance show. Stories from epics are presented in this dance-drama. It is a male bastion with female characters also being performed by men. Costumes are colorful and regal with faces painted like masks using natural colors and make-up. A predominant feature of this dance is the intricate facial mime work and eye movements.
Kathakali (Malayalam: കഥകളി, Sanskrit: कथाकेळिः) is a highly stylized classical Indiandance–drama noted for the attractive make-up of characters, elaborate costumes, detailed gestures and well-defined body movements presented in tune with the anchor playback music and complementary percussion. It originated in the country’s present day state of Kerala during the 17th century and has developed over the years with improved looks, refined gestures and added themes besides more ornate singing and precise drumming.
And so, India, our time has finally arrived. I’ve been waiting to meet you for so long. We have planned and plotted as much as we can and as much as I think is necessary. Now we are going to be tangled in each other’s lives for many years to come. I’m ready.
Bring every lesson you have to teach me and every experience you wish for me to have. I will take all of it and understand that this is how it was meant to unfold. You will take care of it all and I will be along for the ride. Let the adventure begin.
(As I don’t know how much time or capacity there will be for checking in online, I may not have any way to update this blog, nor any of my other online hang-outs, for the duration of my trip. Given my very pitta nature, I have written ahead and each day you’ll see where I am and some of my likely activities along with a bit of history about each area I’m visiting. I hope you enjoy it.
As part of my research project for my advanced teacher training at ISHTA, I’m compiling an interactive e-book of my trip and how it affects my yoga practice, my teaching, and my everyday living. That book will be available by the end of the summer, housing all of the pictures, video, and stories that I’ll experience in Incredible India.
I’ll return on May 21st and will be sharing all of the goodness I’ve found across the globe. Until then, be well. Om shanti.)
In less than a month, I’ll be taking flight to finally visit Incredible India, a destination that has been at the top of my dream travel list for many years. While there I will be completely immersed in the culture, sights, scents, and sounds around me. I imagine that there will be little time for internet access while I’m on the trip so in an uncharacteristic move my social media channels will take a well-needed rest during that time. I’m hoping that here and there I may be able to hop online in the business center of the hotels to at least give a snippet of an update but it will be vastly reduced from my usual chatting.
Below is a glimpse of my itinerary for the adventure ahead courtesy of the amazing tour concierge at Sunshine Travel and what I’ll be riffing on once I return to the States:
India – A living Heritage
“For the avid traveler, India provides an authentic adventure – stimulating, absorbing, daunting, sometimes moving and shocking. Here is one of the world’s great dramas; an ancient, vast, and crowded land committed to the most formidably challenging exercise in mass democracy. It is a spectacle in which hope, pride, paradox and uncertainty mingle and struggle. It is conducted on the whole, and to India’s credit in the open. The lasting memories of the land are hospitality, kindness, good humor and generosity. Here is a society of over a 1000 million people, growing by a million a month, divided and united by language, caste, religion and regional loyalties. It has often been described as a functioning anarchy; and it is in many ways an amiable one, of marvelous fluidity and tolerance. Indeed, the true Indian motif is not the Taj Mahal, the elephant or the patient peasant behind the ox drawn plough. It is the crowd, the ocean of faces in the land of multitudes, endlessly stirring, pushing and moving. It is in this human circulation that one sees India’s color, variety, busyness, and senses also its power, vitality and grandeur. Bon voyage! ~ Sunshine Tours”
May 10th – 11th
In-flight via Dubai (which will be spectacular in and of itself!)
May 12th
Arrive Cochin. Traditional garlanding welcome upon arrival.
Breakfast at hotel. Morning free to get over jetlag. At approx.1330 hrs, guide & driver will meet you at hotel and depart for sightseeing tour of Cochin city. Evening witness Kathkali Dance Performance show at theater.
Cochin, originally built by the Portuguese, has a natural harbour with lagoons and canals and fishing hamlets. One of the three biggest ports on the West Coast, it is also an industrially developed area. The coir industry is of special importance. An excursion by boat through the backwaters is enchanting.
Cochin sightseeing include visit Jew Town, Chinese Fishing nets, St.Francis Church (Closed on Sundays-0830-1330 hrs), Fort Kochi, The Dutch cemetery, Santa Cruz Basilica, Matanchery Palace (The Dutch Palace) etc.
Kathakali dance performance show. Stories from epics are presented in this dance-drama. It is a male bastion with female characters also being performed by men. Costumes are colorful and regal with faces painted like masks using natural colors and make-up. A predominant feature of this dance is the intricate facial mime work and eye movements.
May 13th
Breakfast at hotel. Morning visit Jewish Synagogue (closed on Fridays & Saturdays). After the visit, drive to Munnar and upon arrival, check in at hotel.
Munnar, Known as Kashmir of South India, Munnar is situated in Kerala. Snuggled in the lap of such an alluring terrain, Munnar is one of the most beautiful hill stations in Kerala. Munnar – an idyllic destination is located at an altitude of 6000 feet above sea level. Munnar derives its name from the Tamil word ‘munnu’ meaning “three” and ‘aar’ means “River”- spelled as Munnar on combining. After check in, depart for sightseeing of city. The town by itself has little other than the tea plantations and a colonial era CSI Christ Church, built in 1910 AD with some fine stained glass windows. Munnar is the final adventure travel destination. You can trek up the hills and mountain ranges nearby; also visit Tata Tea Museu, Anamudi: highest peak of South India is close to Munnar.
May 14th
After breakfast depart to Alleppey and board Backwater Houseboat. Lunch on board. Cruise through Vembanad Lake enroute visit Church, Temple, paddy fields, narrow lanes etc.
Dinner & overnight on board.
May 15th
After breakfast on board, disembark at Alleppey. Meeting & transfer to Cochin Airport to board flight for Delhi. Meeting & assistance upon arrival and transfer to Hotel Royal Plaza. Rest of the day free for independent activities.
Delhi, the capital of India has a fascinating history and a stimulating present. Delhi has been the seat of a power of a number of dynasties – the Rajputs, the Muslims invaders from the North, the Afghan dynasties followed by Tughlaqs, Sayyads, the Ladies and the Mughals, who continued the Imperial line, until British days.
The old city, built by Shah Jehan in the 17th century, stands today as an epitome of the whole history of Indo-Islamic architecture. New Delhi, designed and constructed by Sir Edwin Lutyens and Sir Herbert Baker is a mixture of east and west. The public buildings in red sandstone are in the Mughal style.
New Delhi, has a circular Parliament House and an imposing Central Secretariat in two blocks, which stand at the approaches to Rashtrapati Bhavan, the residence of the President of India. Delhi is today the political, economic and cultural capital of the world’s largest democracy and has also become one of the greatest tourist centers of the world.
May 16th
Breakfast at hotel. Full day free for independent activities. Likely taking in the main sights of Delhi.
May 17th
Early morning at approx.0515 hrs, pick up from hotel and transfer to New Delhi Railway station to board train for Agra. (Breakfast is served in the train by railway authority as complimentary, however, you can also carry packed breakfast from hotel). Meeting & depart for sightseeing tour of Taj Mahal, Agra Fort. Afternoon excursion to Fatehpur Sikri. Evening return back to Agra Cantt Railway Station to board train for Delhi (Dinner is served in the train by railway authorities as complimentary). Meeting & transfer to hotel.
Taj Mahal – the world’s greatest love tribute: the Taj Mahal built by Emperor Shah Jehan for his beloved queen Mumtaz Mahal in 1565 on the bank of the Yamuna River. The exterior is decorated with arabesques and texts of the Koran inlaid with precious stones. The Tomb itself, while pure white marble, consists of an octagonal building with a terrace square, surmounted by a dome 26 meters high, Agra Fort Or Red Fort, the most beautiful 17th century Mughal architecture. In 1565, Akbar began to build the Red Fort with its high red sandstone walls: inside, south, is the Jahangiri Mahal or Palace of Jahangir, built by Akbar to the north, the Pearl Mosque, built by Shah Jahan. The “Khas Mahal” which forms three pavilions, one discovers a beautiful view of the Yamuna and the Taj Mahal
Fatehpur Sikri – the ancient capital built by Mughal Emperor Akbar and whose palace is a fine example of Mughal architecture of the sixteenth century.
These magnificent red sandstone ruins of the middle of the plain are the remains of one of the capitals Akbar. He founded in 1569 by expressing his gratitude for the birth of his son, Selim. The building principal is the great mosque, probably the best in India. The Palace of Jodha Bai, the wife Akbar’s Rajput, includes a courtyard surrounded by a gallery surmounted by buildings and covered with a glazed blue roof. Akbar’s private apartments and exquisite palace Sultan Turkey found in another court, then the Panch Mahal, or palace has five floors, which includes room hearings. Visit the palace and called Bulund Darwaza the largest gateway in the world.
May 18thand May 19th
Breakfast at hotel. Full day free for independent activities. Again, likely taking in more of the main sights of Delhi.
May 20th Returning home at an ungodly early hour that will get us back to the U.S. on the afternoon of the 20th, again via Dubai. These time differences are going to be a little rough, but worth it!
Somewhere in there, I’ll be visiting with friends who live in Delhi who have been the driving encouragement behind me finally taking the plunge and making plans to get to Incredible India. I’m hoping for a yoga class or too and some Ayurvedic treatments. Maybe an elephant ride thrown in for good measure, too!
Whatever India holds for me, I promise I’ll be sharing it all here upon my return. I’m also thinking about crafting a way to bundle up my experiences in a more cohesive way, complete with photos and perhaps some video, too. Maybe it’s time for a second e-book…
“The person susceptible to “wanderlust” is not so much addicted to movement as committed to transformation.”~ Pico Iyer
After going to the New York Times Travel Show this past weekend with my travel-loving pal, Jeff, those familiar pangs of wanderlust started acting up. We made our way to the Africa section of the show first and I immediately started to dream of those far-flung places that are still wild and free and untouched by our relentless pursuit of everything bigger, better, and faster. I’m certain that at some point in my life, Africa will be called home for a while. Somehow I think that time is coming sooner rather than later, and that made me wonder if I’m running away from something or toward something. Am I still Peter Pan?
And though the answer to that last question is a decisive, “Yes,” Pico Iyer’s quote made me feel better. I’m not longing for travel because I can’t sit still or I’m afraid of what will arise if I sit still or I have commitment issues. Travel for me means breaking out of our old habits and patterns, it means learning of the highest order, and it means coming to terms with the idea that all of us, all living things regardless of form, are really united into one beautiful, intricate dance called life. It literally forces us to transform, to change shape, inside and out.
The inescapable truth is that though we crave our independence we are all inextricably linked; we are all in this together. In our every day lives we can set this idea aside, narrow our focus, and be concerned with the life that has us at its center. When we travel, we have to let go and see not our reality, but the world’s.
“We‘re all just walking each other home.” ~ Ram Dass
I read this quote from Ram Dass and it stopped me in my tracks. It reminded me that we are here to be of service to one another. All we’re ever really trying to do is make life a little bit easier, a little happier for someone else. And we do this in all sorts of ways – through friendships and romantic relationships, community service, teaching, new products and services, and art that inspires and intrigues. And it’s all part of the same journey – one destination, a fulfilling life, and many paths to get there.
We’re all on our way home. We may be on different timelines, with different stops along the way, but we’re all part of one another’s adventures. It’s an honor to bring other people into our lives and have them take us into theirs. The only questions we really have to answer at the end of every day is this: did I make this day worthwhile, for me and for others? Did I help someone travel a bit lighter, get a bit further, and smile wider than they would have without me?
That’s what I’m doing here – for my students, my friends, and all of the people I have the extraordinary privilege to interact with every day. It’s a gift to be with them, and I treat every moment with that same belief. We’re just encouraging one another as we make our way forward.
Today I’m very excited to share a guest post from Nikita Raja. We “met”via this blog over two years ago and since then have kept up a regular correspondence. She’s one of the members of this blog’s community who is constantly encouraging me to continue to share my experience as a way of helping others.
Nikita recently sent me a collection of her photos from her first trip to Tanzania as an adult. She was born in Tanzania and much of her family history is wrapped up in that country. I asked her to share this experience in a guest post as a reminder to all of that new beginnings can be discovered everywhere, even in places from our past.
This past summer, my sister and I were lucky enough to travel back to Dar-es-Salaam (Dar), Tanzania. Known as my birthplace, and the place I can tie my family’s roots back to – Tanzania is home! Home, because this is where so many of family’s cherished memories and stories have emerged from.
It had been twelve years since I last visited, and my trip ended up being nothing short of an adventure into the wild and a journey back to my roots. Although I was about ten years old when I last visited Dar, it seemed completely unrecognizable to me! But it was refreshing to return to a place that felt both different and familiar and still be able to call it “home”.
While I spent a lot of time bonding with family I hadn’t seen in years and indulging in eating different East African specialities like “Mogo” (Grilled Cassava) and “Kitale” (Coconut filled with potatoes and chillies), I actually got to explore parts of Tanzania that I had never seen before – a two-day safari to the Serengeti National Park, driving through endless running African savannahs and capturing photos of animals in their natural habitat. Simply breathtaking! I also managed to get away for a weekend trip, to the beautiful island of Zanzibar. Known for its paradise style beaches and resorts, spice tours, and rich history.
Through travel, we often gain new layer of wisdom. Wisdom from the experiences we had, the people we met, the food we ate, the stories we heard and the learning we gained made for such an enriching experience. Although life in Tanzania may be worlds apart from life here in North America, it’s through experiences like these that one begins to appreciate travel and cultural realties.
Travel allows us to indulge, learn, and adapt. It was the perfect trip to celebrate my graduation from university and my start into the working world.
Nikita’s photos from Tanzania:
Night time food bazaar known as “Forodhani”, with diverse crowds of touristsZanzibar’s Stone Town - a World Heritage Site.Zanzibar’s Stone Town - a World Heritage Site.Prison Island, popular beach site in ZanzibarThe Serengeti National ParkThe Serengeti National Park"Kitale” (Coconut filled with potatoes and chillies)
”]This week I had to make the tough decision to let go of the idea of submitting to speak for a second time at SXSW. I had an incredible experience in March speaking about the topic of yoga and creative focusand teaching yoga to SXSW conference participants. The people at SXSW are inspiring and generous. I packed so much learning into those 5 days; it made me feel alive. When I got home, I immediately began thinking about speaking topics for SXSW 2012.
And this in the past few weeks an odd and wonderful possibility came into focus for me. For many years, I have wanted to travel to India, the original seat of yoga. This desire has become increasingly stronger over the past couple of years as I’ve committed more fully to my yoga path – as a student and as a teacher. India is a tough place, and particularly difficult for independent travelers. I have tried to plan a trip before and once I got the tome of a guidebook in the mail, it became immediately apparent that this trip would have to be much more carefully planned and measured than my other globe-trotting adventures. India seemed to be new terrain in every way, though as the birthplace of yoga, a practice I am very deeply committed to, it holds an odd familiarity for me, too. .
My friend, Akash, had a birthday a few weeks ago. I wrote him a simple message on Facebook and got the kindest reply back. He wanted to know when I was finally going to get to India (where he and his wife live now) and said he was prepared to roll out the red carpet. There was something in his simple message and beyond-kind offer that set my imagination on fire. Here was the opportunity I was hoping to find; here was a way to India.
Now of course this trip will cost money and time, and the best time to travel in India is during our winter months. Given the timing of SXSW in March, I needed to make a tough choice – commit to applying to SXSW and letting the chips fall where they may or forgoing the trip to Austin in 2012 in favor of an incredible experience in India. There is something about this magical time in my life that makes India feel like the right fit. I feel like I am about to break open and free, about to start zooming along my path, and a trip to India to experience yoga in place of origin seems to be in order.
So bring on the swirls of color, the jasmine and saffron, the bustle, the crowds. Austin, I’ll miss you, though India is pulling so strongly at my heartstrings that I just can’t put it off any longer. I am ready to take it all in, to grow and learn in its presence and with its guidance. Now I just hope India is ready for me, too.
The social summer is just about to begin this weekend, and already I was planning my Fall.
An apartment lost
I have been considering a move to a new apartment after my lease expires in September. I found one with my current management company and put in an application a few weeks ago. A completely gut-renovated 1 bedroom with a private garden. It was going to be spectacular. I’m sure it still will be, but it’s not going to be mine. For financial reasons, it’s better for the management company to accept another application from one of my neighbors who’s been in her rent-controlled 2 bedroom / 2 bath / formal dining room apartment for 27 years. New York real estate, and the current rental market in particular, is a business focused on cold, hard cash.
And relief found
I thought I’d be disappointed with the loss of the opportunity, and all I felt upon hanging up the phone with my real estate agent was an enormous sigh of relief. I felt free of a lot of burdens, some I didn’t even realize I was carrying. It was no coincidence that when I hung up with the agent, I found myself in front of my small Ganesha statue that’s part of my meditation space. (He is known in Hindu scriptures to be the remover of obstacles, and he and I have a long-time understanding that when I don’t get what I want it’s always for my own good.) I had put a number of other options for my Fall on hold because I assumed I’d be busy with packing and moving. Now that I’ll be staying in my cozy studio, all these questions that have been floating around in my mind were completely settled in one fell swoop:
1.) 300 hour yoga teacher training at ISHTA. I attended their info session a few weeks ago and was very impressed with what they had to offer for teachers interested in using yoga for therapeutic purposes, my intended pursuit with Compass Yoga. Now that I won’t be moving, I will be able to make the time to attend their September 2011 – March 2012 program, and my plans for Compass will be right on track.
2.) Volunteer vacations. It’s been about a year and a half since I went to Costa Rica with Cross-Cultural Solutions in 2009, and I’ve wanted to take another volunteer vacation since the moment I got back. I taught yoga in Costa Rica and spent time working with the elders and children in and around Cartago. I’m making plans to travel to Haiti in September to work with my friends who run the nonprofit Healing Haiti. There’s also a possibility with Cross-Cultural Solutions of being one of the first batch of Americans who can legally travel to Cuba again as part of their volunteer program there. More details to come.
3.) No packing means a chance to redecorate. Yesterday I was flipping through a few interior design sites and one of them talked about how important it is for your space to give you a specific feeling every time you return home. That feeling should be the basis of your decorating rather than focusing on specific colors or arrangements purely for aesthetic reasons. Similar to the realization of the power of the question, “Why?” when building dreams, I had the same kind of feeling here. I’ve never thought about the design of my space as having a specific feeling, but rather a specific look. This new perspective gives me all types of design ideas that I’m excited to put into action in my space.
4.) Enjoy summer. I would have spent a good portion of the summer packing, planning,and reconfiguring my life for my new digs. Studies say moving is the most stressful event in our lives next to the death of a loved one. Crazy, but anyone who’s moved, especially in New York City, knows how tough it can be. Now I have the opportunity to just enjoy the summer knowing that Fall will come in due time without the stress of planning a move.
Aside from all of these logistical reasons for being happy about this news, there was a bigger life lesson for me, too. In the past I have been an obsessive planner. My coach, Brian, and I have worked on this area a lot over the past year. I’ve always been someone so worried that plans A, B, and C wouldn’t work out that I had to have back-up plans D, E, and F ready to go at a moment’s notice. This kind of behavior is an enormous waste of time, and sadly it’s served me so well in the past that it became an annoying habit. In the past year I’ve been able to let go of a lot of that.
We can’t possibly plan for every chance event, and to try to do that is a thankless task. I improvise more often now, and more importantly, I trust myself, the universe, and the idea that somehow our lives work out in the best way possible so long as we commit to show up and do our best every day. It’s all I can do, and that’s enough. Lesson confirmed.
“The only way to pass any test is to take the test. It is inevitable.” ~ Elder Regal Black Swan, leader of “the Real People”
My friend, Pam, was a private yoga client of mine. For her Christmas present she wanted more yoga in her life and her lovely mom graciously made that possible. Pam and I have known each other since we were in elementary school and reconnecting with her through yoga was a wonderful treat!
After our last session, Pam sent me the book Mutant Message Down Under, the story of an American woman who travels barefoot on 1,400 mile walk-about through the Australian Outback accompanied by “the Real People”. They are an aboriginal tribe who live off the land for all of their vital needs. Whether the story is true or mythical is one of the most fascinating parts of the book. Marlo Morgan describes the story as truth, though fully acknowledges that the Australian government does not believe the events ever happened because they have no record of “the Real People” and Marlo Morgan refuses to introduce the two parties in an effort to protect “the Real People” and their way of life. The result is an incredibly wise tale so mythical that we also wonder if it is really possible.
To begin the adventure, “the Real People” explain that they have decided to remove themselves and their 50,000-year history from this planet. They believe they have done what they can do to help this world along, and that the time has come for them to leave. They will not create any more offspring so that when the last of their tribe passes away, they will all be gone. They have invited Marlo Morgan to Australia so that she will share their story and their belief system with a wider audience.
Their lessons are so simple and yet so powerful. They show Marlo how there is no separation between their souls – they regularly speak via telepathy. They show her the balance they obtain on a daily basis between courage and compassion, challenge and empathy. They are not beings living on the Earth, but rather a part of a cohesive whole. The wisdom within their own minds and hearts is an extension of the wisdom offered to all of us every day by our natural world. There is no need for them to ask for guidance on anything because guidance is always with them, within them. They teach us that it’s within us, too.
The part of the book that resonates with me most is the quest and fulfillment of purpose. Not what job you’re meant to have, or place you’re meant to live, but real purpose. When you crossover from this existence in this body to the next plane, what handful of words will be used to describe who you are. This is the only work of “the Real People” – to find and live their purpose, to know, understand, and experience their one true gift. To solidify this purpose, they give themselves a new name once their purpose is discovered. Marlo Morgan, in honor of “the Real People”, gives herself the name Traveling Tongue.
It’s a notion worthy of everyone’s contemplation. When we peel away our titles, our belongings, and our accomplishments, who are we? What name would we give ourselves? What is the singular purpose that threads through our existence this time around?
“I’ve come to believe that there exists in the universe something I call ‘The Physics of The Quest’ — a force of nature governed by laws as real as the laws of gravity or momentum. And the rule of Quest Physics maybe goes like this: ‘If you are brave enough to leave behind everything familiar and comforting (which can be anything from your house to your bitter old resentments) and set out on a truth-seeking journey (either externally or internally), and if you are truly willing to regard everything that happens to you on that journey as a clue, and if you accept everyone you meet along the way as a teacher, and if you are prepared – most of all – to face (and forgive) some very difficult realities about yourself… then truth will not be withheld from you.’ ” ~ Elizabeth Gilbert, Eat Pray Love
I love the book Eat Pray Love. I read it shortly after a very painful break up while I was in business school. I was heart-broken, more heart-broken than I’d ever been, and seeking out others who had made the best of their own sad love story gone wrong. I found my way to Elizabeth Gilbert and her words started me down the road to healing. I loved the book so much that resisted seeing the movie. I didn’t want to see a book I loved so much played out in a way that didn’t match what was in my mind’s eye. On a rainy afternoon with streaming Netflix at my disposal, I finally saw it and my only disappointment was that I waited so long to see. It’s a beautiful, uplifting film.
I had forgotten Elizabeth Gilbert’s words on the Physics of the Quest though when I look back over the 5 years since I first read her book, I realize that those words are the ones that have described this journey of mine so well. That break-up, as painful as it was, served as the catalyst toward creating a life of my own design. Now I see that ending as a beginning to a wonderful quest: I moved to New York, I began to write seriously every day, this blog came to life, I developed my yoga teaching practice in a deeper way, I met so many new, wonderful characters who have become close friends and confidants. I travel and explored. I ramped up my career as a product developer. I adopted Phineas, my pup. Yes, there were loads of disappointments and wrong turns. And yes, they were all worth it to find my way to this life that I’m living at this very moment. A life I love.
So here is my truth that has been revealed along this part of my Quest – everything starts from nothing. Every creative project, every trip, every relationship, every living, breathing being. They all begin in the exact same way. No one is born an expert. No genius idea starts as a genius idea. Tend to your creativity. Free your imagination. Start with only an intention and see what you can build, laying aside all past successes and failures. Each new day starts as a blank slate; you choose the layers of color that fill it in and which spaces to leave blank. Decide how you want it to build, the same way a painter brushes paint on a canvas, the same way a sculptor carves and cuts and shapes. We all start at the beginning. The key is to keep going.
Christa Avampato 