kal ho na ho

well bindi was all puffed out yesterday upon receiving news that the hotel manager had called me into his office and asked me, "do you like traditional kerala vegetarian meal?" and invited to have a car pick me up and take me to his home in trivandrum where his wife is doing the food, you know, the palm leaf on the floor, thali with mountain of rice, mix together with hand, pop into mouth, meal. i can bring friends. as much as i want to do this, i'm so pissed at my expensive hotel cause for the 3rd time i have no water and have had to take a shower in the pool, which is a drag. other problems which i don' t want to get into cause i don't like being negative, but i've written a long letter to the owner who is in dubai right now telling him all the problems i'm having. can't even get clean towels and this is an expensive place. they want me to promote the hotel, but i'm real mad right now.

my new years eve was spent with arnold and scott at lonely planet, eating vegetarian buffet, than watching, "rumble in the bronx" (i adore jackie chan no matter what garbage he has put out lately) and was in bed by 11. not much to celebrate here. kind of somber. i feel guilty whooping it up with 6 digits of death around me, and as many in camps-there are over 20 in trivandrum alone, and water bourn disease coming to wipe out more of the population.

listen to your teacher. lino told us no massage with intensive astanga, eat only vegetarian and only at lonely planet, and drink only pure water. he has generously installed a water purifier in the shala for us, which is an amazing thing to do. i used to poo-poo at his suggestions, but i have been completely poison free since i've listened to him. trust your teacher, but never follow blindly.

also a person who i admire from afar who works at a frequented restaurant e-mailed me to compliment me on my writing style. bindi is puffed out about that. shucks. thanks, kimmie, for that. you have a massive heart.

i was invited to my friend sharaf's party last night, but i did not think i could deal with another night of young drunken indian boys. low key for bindi these days. she wants to stay injury and poison free.

yoga is good. peaking now, lots of people of all levels in there. lino is on fire. i highly reccommend this intensive. you can do 1 week or 2 months. of course 2 months is best way to get the most out of it. but i know most people can't do that.

happy new year to all
hug your family and friends extra hard cause "kal ho na ho", tomorrow may not be.

bindifry

donations/animal lovers

tomorrow's new years eve and there are many articles suggesting using the money you would spend on "festivities" to tsunami flood victims. you can do this online at:

donathttp://pay.hindu.com/thrfpay/thrfpay.

www.thehindu.com
is also a great source of detailed info about tsunami,(way better than what cnn and bbc and network tv will tell you) and if the donation link above does not work, the hindu online will guide you there. i admit there is little to celebrate around here and would feel terribly guilty doing so. there is no way to explain how this tragedy has affected south india. anyhow, if you can, please send as much as you can. a hundred bucks goes a way long way here, especially since most families make 300 per year.
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so here's something interesting in sri lanka for animal lovers especially:
SAVED BY THEIR 6TH SENSE
as sri lanka's human death toll surged, wildlife officials expressed surprise today that they found no evidence of large scale deaths among animals from the tsunami. "this is very interesting. i am finding bodies of humans, but i have yet to se a dead animal," said a spokesman.
the huge waves washed floodwaters inland and yala, sri lanka's largest wildlife reserve, but the animals apparently were not harmed and have sought out high ground, he said. "maybe what we think is true, that animals have a sixth sense." the park is home to 200 elephants, leopards, wild boar and other rare animals.
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our power has been out at least 5 hours during the hottest time in the afternoon. i apologize if it takes me a little while to reply to the generous e-mails sent to me. i appreciate all the concern pouring in. our beach opened today first time, than it closed. i am fortunate to have a pool, however, usually don't think of going near it between 9:30am and night time. this south indian sun is a killer. i know all of you are probably popsicles right now and i'm not bragging, but intense heat without power can also be difficult. air, all india radio, came back on air yesterday and i'm smart enough to know about indian batteries. plus you can take your radio anywhere outside and entertain the men hard at work in their lungis as well as yourself.

happy new year
bindifry

toll-a-risin

so today we're at 77,000 dead from tsunami. my plans of travel beyone the confines of kovalam have dimished for this trip. it's ok, cause i'll be back again, and susanna finocci and petri raisanen teach the entire month of february. i have my full practice back, but i feel like i need a walker when it's all over. all is coming. swimming is definitely a plus, something about moving the limbs around in cool water helps keep the pain away. i am well on my way to overcoming 4 injuries.

ASTANGA YOGA IS VERY CHALLENGING
*it's worth the long haul
*it's worth doing with correct method
*there will always be lessons to learn

i am guilty of watching "encino man" and liking it. is this good or bad?

bindifry

tit bits and tsunami

TSUNAMI DEATH TOLL TODAY SO FAR
58,000 and rising
over 10,000 in south india. here's an approximate breakdown for those who know this area or are interested:
kanniyakumari-1200+
kerala-200+
nagapattinam-1700+
sri lanka-12,500+
andaman and nicobar islands-6000+
tamil nadu-3200+
pondicherry-60+
keralarose-190+
alappuzha-35+
kollam-40+
andra pradesh-115+
bangalore-40+
of course all the animals that have perished, who knows how many fish, birds, cows, cats, dogs,chickens, roosters, oxen......
heavy rains here have made things worse and the death toll expected to double from disease carried by the waters. australia is giving 5 crore (a crore is a million rupies). there are mass funerals and mass graves on the front pages of the papers, lots of little kids. kovalam beach and surrounding beaches have been closed 4 days, many beachfront hotels evacuated, tons of cancellations. i am living on a tall hill, my hotel is booked solid cause it's safe. they're expecting more quakes and the weather has been strange. there are more than 1000 people in trivandrum in relief camps, and my friend sharaf's village was destroyed, including damage to the mosque that is way up next to the lighthouse.
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plastic is a huge problem here cause it's not bio degradable and there isn't a recycling program. now india is cell phone obsessed and other electronic gadgets, what's the name of this new waste product that's even worse than plastic? E-WASTE

india offers visas to pakistan students!
india and pakistan today agreed to continue the process on a sustained and serious basis, narrow down differences, and work towards resolution of all issues.
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i confess to have been watching "rosebowl-the feel good channel" on the tele. i can indulge in hindi videos, beegees, john denver,the carpenters,abba,metalica,bob marley, bad clapton,ricky matin, worst of aerosmith (really were they ever good beyone "toys in the attic"?
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BRAIN BITES
1.who was time magazine's first female man of the year?
2.lindsay owen-jones is the ceo of which global brand?
3.which entertainment celebrity set up "data"(debt, aids, trade in africa) to create global awareness about the plight in various countries in the "dark continent"?
4.name the only indian film to win the palme d'or and in which year did it do so?
5.what happened for the first time in 456 years when john paul II became the pope?
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PERFECT;KNOW YOUR ENGLISH
"love me, love my dog"-when you say this, you mean that you want a person to accept you for who you are.
"chinless wonder"-mostly british, used to refer to someone who is weak.
"he has deep pockets"-a rich person, like a politician. they become politicians to make the pockets deeper!
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bindi apologizes for any misspelled words or poor grammar. in india, the power is unpredictable and i often don't have time to proofread. sorry journalists and big brains out there.

bindifry

turkeys are getting fat/for yogis only

friends, tailors, have 3 big turkeys that have been getting fed nonstop for the last week. they are getting bigger and bigger. little do they know they will be part of the new years celebration-tandoored on new years. eat up, turkeys, enjoy those meals.

well, the tsunami death toll is fast climbing to 24,000 and twice as many are expected to die from flood related diseases. it's creepy to be so close to this gigantic disaster (although i'm sure the US isn't paying too much attention, after all, it's only asia). our beaches are closed 3 days so far and kovalam feels like a graveyard. more disasters, fault shifts and volcanic eruptions are predictided to follow soon. how will the US fight this NATURAL terrorism?? i did, however, get a great deal on silver and copper because of the desperation of the shopkeepers (hi jim and debi), not that i'm proud of that or anything. it's just a fact.
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FOR YOGIS ONLY
*i was blatently hit in the head by a water bottle during pasasana yesterday by a girl who keeps stealing my mat space. no apology. cat fight or accident? she speaks no english so i'll just ignore her.
*if you know more about other people's yoga than your own, you are probably not doing yoga-many people performing gymnastics
*quote "you mind your mulhabanda and i'll mind mine"-sri k. pattabhi jois upon being asked if he taught muslims
*yoga is always one step forward and 2 steps back. just whenyou feel strong, next day you can be weak as an infant. such is the ebb and flow of life.
*yoga is the perfect mirror of life
*if you talk about your yogic "accomplishments", you will probably collapse and hurt yourself.
*if you buy into others competetion games, you WILL get hurt
*yoga is the cessation of the fluxuations of the mind-yoga sutras book 1
*"judge not lest you be judged"-bob marley and jesus christ

bindifry

asian quake

just a note to let you all know that the huge asian quake you will soon be hearing about did not affect us here, even though many have died in kerala, this area. could be a million dead-sumatra epicenter-sri lanka badly affected, chennai and other parts of tamil nadu, and thailand.

biggest in over 40 years-8.9, still counting bodies washing up on the shores, especially fishermen.

live each day like it's your last cause it might just be.

bindi
who is no longer feeling sorry for herself

happy holidays

so what do i do on xmas eve? try to see this new malayalum movie that opened, we get there and it's not open yet. india. so we go see my next choice, a different malayalum movie called "black" starring the biggest kerala film star mammooty. the theatre was filled with indian families, lots of kids, which is really funny, cause the non hindi movies don't have the same censorship laws, so the violence can be shocking (eyes getting gorged out, children shot, babies thrown down wells, etc.) yet they can't show lips locking. go figure.

xmas eve was pretty lovely. my moods here seem to vary between elation and bliss to anger and utter depression. perhaps india is cleansing me. the holidays mean nothing to me since my entire family had died within the last 5 years, don't have a family anymore. i also hate the marketing xmas overload in the states. here, they just go out in their fishing boats and sing praises to the sea goddess for their livlihood. it's nice, actually. and thanksgiving does not exist here, it's only a gorge fest and football day anyhow in the states, and new years is full of amateur drunks, so i don't ever go out anyhow. i am quite blessed to spend the holidays two years in a row here. if it was up to me, and i had the cash, i would be here nov-feb each year for the rest of my life.

evening at beatles restaurant for bbq and dancing, although they couldn't get the bbq pit going, so it was mushrooms and potatos for me. than a dj and plenty of dancing, even though there were only 2 girls and 20 indian men, they behaved themselves. i got a lot of respect cause they picked my brain about indian cinema, asking the question, "who is your favorite actor?" "kamal hassaan!" instant bonding and a discount on the bill.

spent xmas alone in my room for the most part. supposed to go with sharaf on a motorcycle to varkala and elephant sanctuary, but it fell through. maybe next week.

hope you're all having a wonderful holiday-
xxx
bindifry

take a big bite out of life

so time had come for another filum and i've been quite anxious to see the tamil remake of the hindi "munna bhai" starring sanjay dutt (whose role was supposed to be for SRK, but he was having back surgery), with my very favorite actor in the world-kamal hassaan (many spellings of this name for those who want to check him out). he's better than brando in acting, better dancer than astair, sings, choreographs, writes, produces and directs. he has done films in 7 languages, over 150 and he's only 50. the name of the movie was "vasoolraja mbbs." it took an hour to get to this theatre which is on the outskirts of trivandrum and when we got there, the movie was not playing. had not been there for a month! they never bothered to change the ad in the paper. this happened last year and it was an english movie i refused to see. this time i stayed, it was a 3 year old malayaylum movie called, "praja" starring the very famous and great fighter MOHILAL. not much of a love story, only fighting and revenge, some of it filmed where i stayed at in mumbai. it was fun anyhow.
anyhow, there are 21 theatres here and it's kind of hit or miss, mostly hit cause i love most of em. i ask everyone i know who lives here what they like, etc. and see most of the hindi ones, even though sharaf does not like those.
before the movie started, i took some pictures from the outside of the film projection booth, and it caused a commotion. sharaf told them we were filum students and that we could take pictures inside of the booth of the cameras, except only a man could go in there. lucky for me arnold was with me, so i got some primo pics of the indian projection booth from the inside, i'm sure some of you (hi jeff mintz) would love to see these photos. that was the biggest thrill. than to the "man" bar where you sit in private booths like an office with a buzzer and a man who brings little bags of cashews with 5 inside.
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yogawise, things are raising in intensity and i'm very close to my original practice again, strength coming, but afternoon naps needed and tons of water and coconuts to sustain the energy. i am so surprised this has happened so fast, seeing i have 3 serious injuries. these people working with lino are amazing, and tina is coming this weekend. can't wait. so much hard work, stamina, and patience, and the ability to push yourself to limits unknown before. fridays are still lead primary, which i love, tonight is pranayama. i am learning much about the basic pranayamas and they are really amazing and calming when done right and not pushing. of course i still miss gwendoline, i think of her everytime i do krounchasana (her famous pose that was on her business card and her picture which hangs in the shala), and get teary eyed during the meditation portion, but i don't think gwen would want us all to keep slobbering over her and just get on with life and help people just like she spent her whole life doing. if any of you have seen "harold and maude" think of the character of maude and if you haven't had the blessing of meeting gwen, that was her. took a big bite out of life.
many blessings to all during the holidays-
bindifry

swimfan/for yogis only/dristi dristi dristi

i moved out of my hotel couple days ago for a handful of personal reasons. mostly i desired a need to get away from the bustle close to the beach, more solitude, and mostly A POOL. i really do not like swimming in oceans and the arabian sea is no exception with it's dangerous choppy waves, unpredictable sand ground, the daily sight of dozens of deficating dogs right at the shoreline, and an outbreak of lice last year.
anyhow, i moved to what seems like a mile up lighthouse road where all the hoity toity places are, usually quite expensive, but since i'm in a place that's currently under construction, i'm getting a deal of sorts. the pool is immaculately clean and giant and gorgeous and empty (cept for me), which means i can swim after yoga and before bedtime. nothing like floating on your back in india in a pool staring into the moon and stars.
the place is not without warts. i had to have electricity installed yesterday, plumbing installed today, i need a new fan that won't keep me awake at night. but the view is spectacular, near a sri devi temple, which is SO loud, but lovely anyhow. i miss those temple speakers when i am back home.
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FOR YOGIS ONLY
spending 2 months with lino and gwendoline changed my practice dramatically, which is why i come back. however, it's definitely NOT for the lazy or prop lovers or those who like to do "research poses" like pigeon in the middle of practice, or splits after prasarita d. he is hardcore in terms of how the vinyasa is taught, each breath, each lift, each gazing poing, bandhas, and breath, doing the pose and understanding it more internally rather than externally, which is SO common.
i just keep learning and learning, last year more about bandhas, this year, dristi is my focus. if you don't even know what that means and you practice astanga, you better find out, cause it's more important than the posture. something else i've learned from maria paolo (who works very closely with tina-VERY strict) was one day she saw i was doing all my lotus poses with left leg first. she said, "NO! you do right first always in half instead of full with left." i told her i was injured, and this was the very beginning of my healing. within 3 days i was doing a comfy right first full lotus by NOT avoiding, confronting instead. no tricks, etc. it was quite magical, actually, and i'm almost back to my normal long ass practice. this after 8 months of shortened modified and avoided practices. i have to admit i was kind of hoping to complete intermediate cause i'm so close (lino makes you do all primary and second till you finish second) and it is exhausting and takes a long time. but, "whatever will be will be." i am no longer attached to my practice. having multiple injuries can be very good for you, in strange and wonderful ways.
the pranayama that lino is generously sharing with us twice a week is wonderful. i do 3-5 rounds of the first one only before starting my practice and it really kicks in the bandhas and breath. i wait till i fully understand the second part before adding it. (which involves kumbhaka with alternate nostril breathing without even sides). another reason for getting to yoga 45 minutes early is to get a mat space that is yours, or close to yours. i don't know what it is this year, but people are in there 90 minutes before their scheduled time. last year we all had our spots and it was easier for the different teachers and adjusters to get to know your practice. not this year. a girl in first row stole my spot in second row, so i whine a little to lino, who is fed up with that mess, so he just says,"so take her spot in front." this actually was where i was last year and it's good cause you face a wall and don't have to notice anyone else-pratyahara is something else i am trying real hard with-dristi dristi dristi.
bindifry

the planet is indeed lonely

so the lonely planet is a great place to eat, safe, yummy, and one of the only places to get a real indian brekkie on kovalam beach. however, it's also full of very very very very very picky people from all over the world. on the wall, there is a sign that reads:
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A CUSTOMER IS THE MOST IMPORTANT PERSON ON OUR PREMISES
HE IS NOT DEPENDENT ON US, WE ARE DEPENDENT TO HIM
HE IS NOT AN INTERRUPTION IN OUR WORK, HE IS THE PURPOSE OF IT
HE IS NOT AN OUTSIDER ON OUR BUSINESS, HE IS A PART OF IT
WE ARE NOT DOING HIM A FAVOR BY SERVING HIM
HE IS DOING US A FAVOR BY GIVING US AN OPPORTUNITY TO DO SO
SIVA
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a couple other ditties on the wall:
"one who looks for pleasure alone is done for"
"one must do some good to others at least once in a blue moon when you are above ground"
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SIVA STRIKES AGAIN IN THE NEW MILLENNIUM
HERBAL FOOD FOR PERFECT HEALTH
-brown rice soup with pickle and papad
-green beans with steam rice
-succini steam rice
-tender coconut with rice and coconut water
-rice with bitter gourd and chutney
-pumpkin and beans and steam rice
-mix dried fruits and basmati rice
-mix hrbal fod
-dal kanji and pickle papad
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a brazillian man trying to sell opium at internet cafe tells owners "you need to learn more english if you want to get ahead in life"
-excuse me, but i wonder if this brazillian speaks english, tamil, malayalum, hindi, a little japanese, italian, french and german?
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FARM QUERIES (compliments of "the hindu")
"black elderberry"
what is the tamil name for the black elderberry?
-sambucus nigraisa plant of african origin is a known anti-oxidant. it is grown as an ornamental plant and not cultivated commercially
NOW, TO VISIT GRAVES ONLINE
sitting in her apartment, batool jaffer, a 70 yr old widow puts her wrinkled hand on a computer mouse, clicks on a website, then raises her hands in a muslim gesture of prayer for her husband's departed soul. on the screen is a photo of the grave at the wadi-e-hussain cemetery in karachi where her husband was interred last year-which she can visit online anytime thanks to a simple but novel internet service used by hundreds of shia muslims.
pretty cool stuff, huh?

bindi

perfect-and much much more

this is from a weekly column from "the hindu" called "perfect-know your english", one of my favorite columns.
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what is the difference between "childish" and "childlike?"

"some cricket players when they wiin a match take their shirt off and start twirlling it in the air. when a decision goes against them, they kick the ground repeatedly muttering to themselves, or run to the umpire and get into a heated argument with him. these kind of reactions we expect from small children, not from grown men. when you refer to an adult's behaviour as being "childish", what you mean is that he is behaving immaturely; he is behaving like a small child. the word has a negative connotation."
"the childish behaviour of the teacher had everyone in spllits."
unlike the word "childish", the world "childlike" has a positive connotation. it means having some of the attractive qualities that one normally associates with a child-innocence, simplicity, and sincerity.
*revathi took part in the activity with childlike enthusiasm.*
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9TH INTERNATIONAL KERALA FILM FESTIVAL
*fewer kurtas and faded jeans this year
*popularity of hollywood and bollywood films short lived
*indian films too long, too many (1000/yr), time has come to decided whether indians need so many films
*tsai ming liang, taiwanese director, prefers realism, but he has been critisized his films were nothing but an account of life and were dull
*only good and serious films will survive
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yesterday mr. bill was mistaken for arnold schwartzeneger, so he is no longer mr. bill, but gov. arnold. i am begging him to tell the indians who said that "i'll be back, girlie men."
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"every day is not sunday" direct kasmiri rug salesman quote yesterday upon bargaining for silk rugs for arnold
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big swedish lady laying on back completely topless yesterday(giant boobs). each man had someone watching his store as they took turns taking a look, her completely oblivious. we knew something big was going on cause of all the commotion here in boring kovalam.
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strange event at my hotel couple nights ago. a dozen post graduation students move into 3 rooms clad in backpacks. apparently the english do a pilgrimage each year after graduation to india. after all, they once ruled it. these kids were real young-18-21 probably. at 1:30 am i hear a blood curdlilng scream, this girl is part of this brit pack and does not stop screaming. i thought
a. raped? (it's pretty darn safe here)
b. tiger attack? (there's been many leopards wandering into people's businesses and property)
c. giant bear attack? (cept there aren't any bears in kerala)
she would not stop screaming, and i have to wake at 6 to do yoga, and i've been extremely sick and it's been brutal to sleep all night. so i step out and slam my door, to see if that works. no. than i stick my head out the window and scream "shut up!!!." after about an hour, it finally stops, the dozen of them all congregating, crying, screaming.

next day i see they've all gone away and the manager of my hotel is hanging out. he said, "very sorry about last night, madam." i said it was ok, but if it happened another night, i would have to tackle those brits." apparently what had happened was a butterfly got into the girls room. yes, i said a butterfly. they're migrating right now cause of the season change, and india has some of the most beautiful ones i've ever seen. the manager told me butterflys only come to girls, not men. "they are incarnations of our dead ancestors," he tells me. i've always believed if one lands on you, it's good luck.
perhaps these kids should have waited a few more years before taking the plunge into the strange world of india.

bindifry
who feels better and hopes to stay that way for awhile

for yogis only (or interested parties)

i know i pledged off the blogging, but some interesting topics have arised worth discussing.
1.don't give up hope
2.take what previously injured people tell you with a grain of salt
3.strength returns
4.anything is possible (including squeezing india into your life if you focus your energy in that direction)

i currently have 3 injuries. one in rotator cuff and peraformis (caused by over adjustment-cuff for 1.5 yrs, hip for 9 months) and a jammed ring finger and sprained right hand from scooter accident, which is healing well. actually, everything is healing using the method of slowly slowly-guruji, sharath, and lino's favorite saying. i also took the advice of my good friend cheekoo who knows many things about life who told me, "lisa, you're not gonna want to hear this, but maybe you should stop yoga completely for awhile." i decided to heed her advice because i was traveling all over india my first month, so that was easy to do. all i had to deal with was a tighter body, a little crankiness, complete detachment from my practice, and constipation. however, 2 weeks into the yoga, along with having the common intestinal/cramping/vomitfest twice in two weeks already. idly is my friend and i will now only eat at lonely planet in the morning. there are 2 amazing adjusters in addition to lino who i have met for the first time, a lad from copenhagen named jenz, whose touch and adjustments are very beautiful and safe, and maria paolo from rome, who is an almost carbon copy of tina-lino's wife. superb. when tina gets here it will rock so much cause she's the shit.
lino has decided to teach the first pranayamas each tues and thurs for 45 minutes at 5:15 in the evening, which is going really well and is just enough for me, cause too much messes with my head. and it makes me feel very calm before eating and bedtime. he has also chose to make fridays lead primary day, which i'm quite happy about (many are too attached and won't attend) because it really re-enforces the exact breath count, which most people i know in chicago (and many in the room here from all over the world)do not know cause no one is teaching it with perfect counting of the vinyasa. this is a problem. the system of astanga yoga is completely based in the vinyasa system and how you move is of utmost importance. guruji and sharath teach 2 classes each friday of primary and on sundays, one primary and one intermediate. i think it is a fantastic idea, it also detaches you from having to do just mysore. i feel it is very very important.

so if you are injured or sick or lazy, just do what you can do, lie down. lino always says, "yoga is forever. tomorrow you can do more yoga." "don't be in a hurry."

patience is a challenge to cultivate, but it is a huge component of yoga. today is a good day.

bindifry

blogged out

hi all-
just a note to let you know i have been sick a couple times and there's not much happenning lately worth blogging, so i may take a break for a week or so unless something interesting happens.
please feel free to e-mail me individually.
bindifry

sanjay dutt is my hero

ok-so i broke down and went to trivandrum cause i've been waiting for weeks for "musafir" starring anil kapoor (who is virtually unrecognizable since he shaved his moustache and has light straight short hair now) and my pal sanjay dutt to come out. he produced it along with the india mtv people. very fresh, very fun, lots of action and definitely worth seeing.

http://www.rediff.com/movies/2004/dec/10musafir.htm

sanjay is the first bollywood actor i have ever seen in person. him and maduri dixit were at the chicago indian independence day parade on devon earlier this year. all the shows were sold out and seats were assigned-first time here in kerala, but done all the time in bombay.

bindifry

the hindu

1)god lives in india
2)spray and wash stain stick is my friend
3)it's easy to get your own subscription to "the hindu"

LEOPARD STRAYS INTO BUSINESSMAN'S HOME
the action packed drama unfolded when the maid spotted the the beast lounging in the bushes, shell shocked to witness the wild cat entering through the bathroom

YOUTH HACKED TO DEATH
the right arm of the victim was hacked off and taken away by the assailants and thrown on the railway track (this is where your poo and pee also go)

EVEN EMPLOYED LIVE IN POVERTY
2.8 billion employed globally in 2003, more than ever before, half living on less than $2 US a day, 550 million on $1 US a day

MARRIAGE AGE
the age of marriage under the hindu marriage divorce bill is likely to be retained at 18 yrs for boys and 15 for girls, instead of 21 and 16 respectively

PM LOOKING FORWARD TO BUSH VISIT
new delhi, 2005, dr. singh welcomed the peaceful conduct of elections in afghanistan and expressed the hope that polls would be conducted in iraq (yeah right)

KEY WITNESS TO CARNAGE SET ON FIRE
bibi beno, who survived the naroda patiya communal carnage losing 8 family members, including her husband, was set on fire for being one of the witnesses to the massacre. she is fighting for her life.

bindifry

prana(life force)preserve it* take it VERY seriously*

so another journey to filumland yesterday, not such a great ending. went to see the same tamil film sharaf saw the previous night starring the famous AJITH, who i loved last year in the movie RED. (i know yesterday was supposed to be malayalum day, but i'm easy). i think this has happened only once before, but i left halfway into it. the reason? the whole first half was comedy, and if you watch a movie for 90 minutes (at least half an indian movie) and you do not understand what the hell is going on and everyone is laughing cept you, it gets irritating. here's the story for you filum freaks:

http://www.indiaglitz.com/channels/tamil/review/7007.html

i did realize, though, that i'd seen 3 movies in 6 days and maybe i should slow down, so no filums, if this is even possible for me, till i rest under an umbrella with a book for a few days. i have been running all over this country since day 1 and it might be a good idea. i have a laminated india mat on my wall carefully planning my next state invasion. STOP IT!!!

anyhoo, thoughts drifted towards gwendoline once again, i think i'm still in mourning, and went to the market in trivandrum and bought her a nice bouquet of marigolds-the kind the indians hang over the pictures of their lost loved ones, went to talk to her a little, showered, and made it just in time for lino's pranayama workshop. i like his and dena's because they are basic ones with little kumbhaka (retention)and it dosen't go on too long for me. if you've ever taken manju's pranayama before, it's about as intense as it gets. i've fled the workshop during that part more than once. lino did have many revealing things to say about pranayama. first, it IS meant to be done after practicing, only you wait an hour till your body fully calms down from the aggressive astanga. however, he did say that it's also ok to do some pranayama, simple pranayama with bandhas for 4 minutes to 30 (depending on your ability for it because pranayama is WAY more dangerous and intense than asana). this was news to me, cause i thought there was only one way.
the other thing was i have been nursing a bad injury in my right peraformis for 8 months and could only do the lotus with left first. well, they forced me to do half lotus with right first in uth pluthi instead of full with left. soon i am doing full lotus right first. see how things work sometimes?
tomorrow we begin our mysore practice. instead of lino asking everyone when they want to come, he simply assigned our positions. i am in group 2, which will start at 6:15 this year, first group 6. mantra at 6:15 and i'm totally thrilled to be coming in early enough for that part. last year first group, which i was in, started at 4:30.

the other item i bought was a simple screw top plastic container. why? cashew season. they sell em raw, salted and roasted, and masala, 3US dollars for 2 lbs. oh my goodness. if you've ever tried the fresh macadamia's in hawaii, you know cause of the fat content that they must be eaten fresh to fully enjoy them. same with cashews. fattenning, but good fat and very healthy snack to have around. i triple bagged my first batch and there were millions of ants in my room the next morning. luckily i had that "hit" chalk that kills roaches in one second, so i got rid of those bastards no problem. and i won't make that mistake again.

lino will teach the second pranayama tomorrow, and has been holding question and answer periods, which is good cause the room is very diverse in terms of levels. i like that, cause last year the room was totally filled with "advanced" snots, grunters, and show dogs. maybe they are on their way from mysore?

so from now on, i do my own thorough investigation of the movies online before venturing out to pollution land. love the cities, but gotta stay put sometimes. keep the prana, maybe?

lino also talked about not eating fish or meat at all, not drinking anything but coconuts and purified water, no sun 10-4, no spices, no eggs, no milk. sorry, but i can't agree with all of that. i know many people who never get sick here and eat all of those things. he even brings his own pasta from home. it's the refridgeration problem, and he does actually have a point. but nothing at all? i haven't advanced to that level yet or ever.

i love lino, the way he teaches, his assistants are also great. but it is not the same at all without gwendoline. i miss her SO much.

bindifry

!!!!!!SIMBU ROCKS!!!!!!

so i saw my tamil movie yesterday-manmadhan. the plot was so complex, there's no point in me telling it, but it is very good, fresh, and it basically rocked my bum. here's the link to the review if you are interested:
http://www.indiaglitz.com/channels/tamil/review/7092.html

the reason it was SO good and totally action, music packed (i think at least 15 songs, which is about triple the average) was because of this hot new actor everyone here in the south loves, this huge tamil star named SIMBU. if you want to read what people are saying about him, and it's GREAT fun, go to:
http://forumhub.com/tfilms/6298.18939.04.37.44.html

after the movie, we went to a man"bar"(no such thing as woman bar or woman parlor, only man parlor) which is basically a secret place with little private rooms with a fan and buzzer for the waiter. it's SO shameful to drink here, they really try hard to hide it. anyhow, of course as the men pass by our "stall", they see the bottem of my skirt and each one HAS to peek in, and i'm rather covered up now that i know the proper indian way a woman should dress in the city. i love the part when the waiter comes with a napkin covered plate with a tiny plastic bag containing 5 roasted cashews, carefully tears open the bag, and plates them. this is for 3 people to eat, so we each take 3 bites per nut, like the buddhists in the caves who live on little food.

i wanted to see "hero" today with sharaf, but it left the theatres. i had seen it (an unbelievable jet li movie) on dvd, but not the big screen. too bad. tomorrow's malayalum movie day, about 10 to choose from. yes, i'm a freak, but between 1:30-5 (which is when i go see the movies) is the most dangerous part of the day, the sun is unbearable unless you are a south indian who wants to keep their skin nice and black.

bill, who is mr. bill here, for the first time got violently ill-you know, the same kind we all get (mine averaging once a month). he desperatly needed parcel coconuts (parcel here means "to go" and they cut enough so all ya gotta do is puncture when you get home). first of all, i have boycotted babu, the thief who sells outside of the shala cause he still owes me 500rps from last year, so i go to the couple on the beach. "coconuts not coming for an hour" so i call my friend sharaf, he picks me up and we head towards trivandrum. i learned that babu has been hoarding all the coconuts around this area and charging 15rps!!!(going rate here is 10) anhyoo, we stop for the special yellow coconuts from sri lanka, cause they are highly medicinal, more enzymes and electrolytes. but listen to this one. the coconut wallah has about 20 sri lankan coconuts, but "knife not coming till after 9." how do you run a coconut stand without a device to open them? SO we move further towards trivandrum, which is a half hour ride, find a nice big strong lady and buy our coconuts, get the fair price, of course sharaf has to buy one cigarette. it's weird here, cause many of the chain smokers (millions of chain smokers here and they start REAL young) only buy one at a time. he said he buy his pack of gold flakes after he eats. i often encourage his habit by bringing him several packs, he appreciates this a lot. he does SO much for me.

bring mr bill his medicine, which i encourage him to NOT throw up, just breathe deep. gotta keep it down, drink gallons of water, etc.(i have plenty of experience with the food/water poisoning getting sick 5 times last year, once in hospital 3 days)and once this time.
i left for my leisurly brekkie overlooking the arabian sea, watching fishermen net fishing, when i suddenly realize why i did not need to go to a bollywood movie today. i watched one on the beach. this white girl in a string bikini with 3 pubecent indian boys carrying her towel and 4 bottles of water, find her a place to lay down her towel and just stand around her. what is always amusing about these clueless people (the girl-either she's an exhibitionist or an idiot)-is they walk around over 100 fishermen TRYING to work! this girl suddenly had at least 25 men and boys surrounding her from every corner of the beach, and the poor fishermen losing their minds. this goes on like a movie for an hour before she has her lackys pick up her things (it was like she was modeling cause she never sat down and kept turning her body around, sticking out her butt, bending for boob views), and proceed to another part of the beach to either show off some more, or be left alone, cause she finally covered up a little. this kept me amused pretty much throughout my lonely brekkie. i've lost justin cause he's moved to another motel, and i have no idea what it is and where, bill is sick like dog, but it's ok cause i got a stack of great books to read and lots of internet research.

a big warm hug to all of you-
bindifry

morning at the peacock

hiya blog readers, whoever's still with me. today was first day of the yoga with lino. almost all italians from lino's studio in rome and 2 fellow chicagoans, justin and bill. of course lino had to talk a little about who was missing this year, i assumeed everyone knew, but someone did not know. i would have hated to hear that news in that way. it's very hard for lino to even talk about it, anybody who knew her (gwendoline hunt), for that matter. lino has worked with her many years, in kovalam with her for 10 years (they took over from john scott who started the kovalam retreat, and gwen was one of his faithful students). i missed her so much. her picture in her famous pose, the one i always kept on my alter, of her in krounchasana was pasted on the wall in front of me below guruji's. i'm sure this will be an incredible experience anyhow cause i love lino so much, and his wife tina will be here for a couple weeks, but it's definitely not the same.
lino had a wonderful story for me yesterday about when him and gwen went to dhamma giri in igatpuri (where i am going to go for vipassana) and it gave me great insight into what to expect. coincidentally, this book i'm reading spent many chapters documenting her experience. all i can say is hardcore. not for everybody, but i'm gonna do it anyhow. however, lino told me sri lanka is quieter, less people, and i've always wanted to visit sri lanka. he says you sit on top of a mountain with 8 people, and at igatpuri, the main center, 250 in a room at once! and the rooms you stay in are all concrete just like a prison cell. however, i calculated the percentate 10 days is in one year, and it comes to about 3% of a year, so if ya think about it like that, i'll survive.

today back to trivandrum for another filum-today is tamil day-movie called manmadhan. next time movie will be malayalum, than telegu, back to hindi-in that circle cause i like em all. but my favorites have always been the tamil ones.

my hand is badly sprained and yoga is hard, but better than no yoga. i also got my monthly loose motions/puke fest last 2 days. no details beyond that, but this year, no fish here me thinks.

more soon-
bindifry

babie's very first indian rain

this is my 5th month total in india and it's pouring rain outside for the first time in my life. it's so cool.
this territory-kerala-is very familiar since i spent 2 months here last year. your senses get reaquainted, one person at a time is remembering me, tattoo girl, bindi, i am trying to remember theirs as well. i have vowed to never set foot inside the german bakery again because it's outgrown it's numbers and it's charm. and there are so many restaurants that serve food as good or better for less than half the price, less than half the wait. and who wants to hear a bunch of westerners bitch about the service and how small they want their food cut, and there's ants in the jaggery, and this isn't hot enough.....anyhow, i hit 3 places for good coffee and juices and some kick ass banana upuma with baby roasted indian peanuts (i love those-and the purple curry leaves).

my favorite restaurant called "beatles" cause the guys who own it love the beatles band, added a bamboo second level for sunset watching. nothing could have made me prouder. now i don't have to sit in that overpriced horrible "fusion" restaurant-the other one owned by german bakery owner. i actually got my first food poisoning there and it's the most expensive one on the row. it was on bindi fry, hence my nick name.

i wasted no time and decided to go see "hulchul", a hindi movie starring hunk akshay khanna, the ever wonderful amrish poori (sorry for poor hindi spelling), and, of course, kareena kapoor, who is starting to grow on me. she plays good lawyers.
what's funny is i was about to just catch a bus down to "new theatre" when i was locking up my hotel, turned around to see my rickshaw pal sharaf standing on a little hill, arms crossed. there was no way in hell he could have known i was going to see a movie, and at 10am! promptly walked me to his same rickshaw wth the 2 posters (crying baby in army fatigues with quote "don't worry, be happy) and the other one of "red rum" some famous racing horse. it was great to see him. that's india. it works in very mysterious ways.
hulchul was fun, hulchul means "secret wedding."
off to watch the non-sunset-watch my very first indian downpour.
bindifry

why don't you come with me, little boy, for a magic rocket ride...to kerala

so i officially signed up for my very first vipassana course last couple weeks of feb, so it looks like i'll probably be here till end of first week of march. that way i can go to elora and ajanta first 2 weeks of february and maybe hit film city since i gotta get back to mumbai anyhow. oh, vipassana is a 10 day buddhist meditation course without talking, 10 hours of meditation per day, no yoga, reading, or occupying your mind in any way. i've been wanting to do this since a good friend of mind taught me how to meditate with the wall stare and i like it very much, i've also done the mauna (i think they call it-not talking) for 3 days before and the benefits were outstanding. the place is called dhamma giri, and it's in igatpuri, a couple hour rickshaw ride outside of mumbai. the monestary was built for that purpose only. i won't be able to blog during those 10 days, i will when it's over.

so i got a 2 hour ride to margoan, where i had to catch my train to trivandrum. my map made it seem like it would take 36 hours, and that's what i expected, but i was on a rocketship-an express. 18 hours to train over half of the country of india!! a knock on my door at 4am for breakfast, by 5am i was here in kovalam. my room on the train was steller, totally private with the glass sliding door and the curtain, full on a/c with cozy fluffy wool blanket, perfect view of the western ghats. 2 lovely fresh red roses and 4 meals!!! 3 thali's and a pile of pakora to feed 7 indians and a mayo sandwich-hmm-had to pass on that one. i asked for ice cream and they brought me strawberry jello. i made them stop feeding me and they didn't get it-mango juice, please please please, only mango juice!!! no more thali! no more kerala rice!

no room at my old standby the sky palace, but i can move in there dec 5th for 20 days, i'm across the street at hotel palm garden till then.
so if there is any kind of emergency, krishna forbid, till the 5th of dec. i can be reached at
hotel palm garden
lighthouse beach kovalam
tel:04712481951

after the 5th,:
hotel sky palace
lighthouse beach kovalam
tel:0091471-2487906

bindifry