So I've been in Delhi for exactly 2 weeks now. I should have been back at the ashram by now but I've come down with a terrible cold that has me confined to my bed. Well not exactly 'my bed.' It would be the family friends' bed whose mansion I'm staying in.
It's been very educational going from peaceful, insightful, harmonious ashram atmosphere to loud, chaotic, over stimulating Delhi. On the very comfortable four and half hour train journey from Haridwar to New Delhi I promised myself I would work hard to maintain my peaceful state and take time to meditate daily. I was doing great for the first week and then boom I get sick. Actually I shouldn't have been that surprised, I always seem to fall sick when I visit Delhi.
So even though I wasn't meditating for two hours daily I was managing to fit in one hour in the mornings and was also working out. I was back to running and lifting weights. I felt great.
The weekend came 5 days later and so I decided to visit my Pinky Masi (Masi is the term we use for your mother's sister - every other older Indian lady is an auntie) since my cousin, Mukul, works long hours during the week and I would have missed him otherwise. I thought I was in a for a daring adventure when I decided to take the Delhi Metro to the outskirts of Ghaziabad - a city 19km from Delhi- but nope, the metro was clean, efficient and smooth. I was impressed. It wasn't up to London's Overground train standards but close. I had a nice afternoon and evening with Masi, Mukul, Honey (his wife) and Arna (his daughter). I decided to stay till late afternoon the next day since it was really nice spending one-on-one time with my aunt. My uncle (maserji) passed away earlier this year.
I got sick after I ate stale almonds in Delhi- or at least I think that's what caused it. The next 24 hours were not fun, to say the least. Once I was back to feeling semi-normal, I went to Nehru place which is literally a computer nerds' heaven. It's a massive square jam-packed with tech stores, repair shops, and anything you can possibly think of related to computers. I had to drop off my dear laptop to the Acer shop. My one last attempt to savage the device which has practically become family these past 11 months of travelling. Two days later I found out it indeed had passed over to the other side - I know Acer is at peace in computer heaven.
Anyway I was still feeling a little queasy and I think a combination of that and the heat got to me and I fell ill - again! But this time I had a slight fever and a sore throat which then turned into the worst cold I've ever had. I was bed ridden for about 4 days straight. I'm still all stuffed up but I'm eager to head back to the ashram.
So before heading back I've decided to purchase a new laptop considering I plan on doing more writing and pen to paper still feels very primitive. I'm hoping to get in the routine of setting aside two hours a day to write. I know I can keep this up while at the ashram and I wanna take advantage of the tranquil atmosphere for the next couple of months. I really don't know how long I'm going to stay there, I just know I'm not quiet ready to face the world yet. I'm no longer habitually dabbling in negative self talk but I'm not exactly giving myself positive feedback either and I really need this positive self-talk especially since I'll be taking on new projects and looking into new endeavours like theatre in India. How fun would that be!
I met up with an old Woodstock friend, Jenny Kishan which was really nice. We chatted for a couple of hours as we filled each other in on the new direction our lives seem to be going. We're hoping to meet up again in Rishikesh in November.
That same evening I went on my first sight seeing venture in Delhi. I went to go see Hazrat Nizam-ud-din and the Qawwali (Urdu and Hindi religious hymns sung by men). It was a cool experience but it was odd that they don't allow ladies into where the tomb is placed, especially considering Delhi is such a cosmopolitan city. When we asked why we weren't allowed in we were told it's because Nizamuddin never married. And so...??
I just gotta buy myself a new laptop and I'm all set to head back home...I mean the ashram. Home is where the heart is and right now that's where my heart is.
I got sick after I ate stale almonds in Delhi- or at least I think that's what caused it. The next 24 hours were not fun, to say the least. Once I was back to feeling semi-normal, I went to Nehru place which is literally a computer nerds' heaven. It's a massive square jam-packed with tech stores, repair shops, and anything you can possibly think of related to computers. I had to drop off my dear laptop to the Acer shop. My one last attempt to savage the device which has practically become family these past 11 months of travelling. Two days later I found out it indeed had passed over to the other side - I know Acer is at peace in computer heaven.
Anyway I was still feeling a little queasy and I think a combination of that and the heat got to me and I fell ill - again! But this time I had a slight fever and a sore throat which then turned into the worst cold I've ever had. I was bed ridden for about 4 days straight. I'm still all stuffed up but I'm eager to head back to the ashram.
So before heading back I've decided to purchase a new laptop considering I plan on doing more writing and pen to paper still feels very primitive. I'm hoping to get in the routine of setting aside two hours a day to write. I know I can keep this up while at the ashram and I wanna take advantage of the tranquil atmosphere for the next couple of months. I really don't know how long I'm going to stay there, I just know I'm not quiet ready to face the world yet. I'm no longer habitually dabbling in negative self talk but I'm not exactly giving myself positive feedback either and I really need this positive self-talk especially since I'll be taking on new projects and looking into new endeavours like theatre in India. How fun would that be!
I met up with an old Woodstock friend, Jenny Kishan which was really nice. We chatted for a couple of hours as we filled each other in on the new direction our lives seem to be going. We're hoping to meet up again in Rishikesh in November.
That same evening I went on my first sight seeing venture in Delhi. I went to go see Hazrat Nizam-ud-din and the Qawwali (Urdu and Hindi religious hymns sung by men). It was a cool experience but it was odd that they don't allow ladies into where the tomb is placed, especially considering Delhi is such a cosmopolitan city. When we asked why we weren't allowed in we were told it's because Nizamuddin never married. And so...??
I just gotta buy myself a new laptop and I'm all set to head back home...I mean the ashram. Home is where the heart is and right now that's where my heart is.
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| Big worship Hall - again we weren't allowed in all the way |
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| Sweetidid and I outside the tomb - 'No ladies allowed inside' says the sign behind to my right |
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| Qawwali singers - I felt like I was a part of a Bollywood film since this exact place was the location of a recent Bollywood film |
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