One morning on our way to sit in silence with Shiva Shakti Amma, one of our favourite teachers in Tiru, Don took a detour to use the bathrooms at Ramana Ashram. On the way he encountered, and photographed, a peacock in full courting dance display. I went that way the next morning and sure enough there he was, at it again. There were several hens around and he was showing off to all of them. Hey! Look at me! Am I not the most handsome and studliest guy of them all! Look at how fabulous I am! He didn’t seem to mind which of the hens he attracted. Whichever of them came closest got the full treatment. The rear brown feathers flap back and forth (I’m guessing for balance), he turns slowly in a circle, and every thirty to sixty seconds or so the entire fully expanded sheaf of feathers vibrates for several seconds. Just wow! I’m so glad I got to see that.
One of the largest and most important temples to Shiva in all of India is in Tiruvannamalai. When Suzanne was here she and I went to have a look at it, and later I went again with Don. To be honest none of us were overly impressed. It’s all grey stone and a bit grubby, and none of us really know enough about the Hindu religion to be able to appreciate the religious aspects of it, however the six towers are certainly impressive and quite beautiful, and the elephant was wonderful. Yes! A real elephant in the temple! We immediately fell in love with it! And if you put money in the end of its trunk it blesses you by bopping you on the head. It is clever enough to take both coins and paper money which it delivers to its keeper, and naturally it can tell the difference between money and food. Of course we had it bless us: me twice so Don could take a picture.
How many people can you get on a motorbike?
ONE
TWO
Ramana Ashram opened their new library building and had a concert in the atrium to celebrate. There was a wonderful dancer (who apparently is German) doing traditional Indian dance, and some fabulous western-influenced sitar and drum music. If you closed your eyes you could just about imagine Jimi Hendrix was playing the sitar. A truly cross-cultural evening.
Monkeys are clever: clever enough to turn on the tap when they want a drink. Don caught them at it.
We stumbled upon the flower market! The entrance is through a tiny opening between two stores. I pointed at it and said to Don “I want to go down there” and there it was – lots of narrow alleys filled with the flower sellers, all of them delighted to have their picture taken amid lots of smiles and laughter. So much fun, and so colourful!
The entrance to the flower market:
And inside –
And so our sojourn in Tiruvannamalai came to an end. As I write this I am sitting out on the porch of our guesthouse room in Ubud, Bali looking out over a lush green rice field. We arrived a couple of days ago.
Our time in Tiru was amazing in so many ways and we are both changed because of it. Lots of letting go, lots of surrender to what is, lots of practicing presence, lots of meditation, and lots of openheartedness, interspersed with grumbling about the noise and the heat and the garbage and rumbling tummies. India is challenging in so many ways, and rewarding in so many. We never got tired of the beautiful bright saris the women wear, and the flowers in their hair. Never got tired of the openhearted smiling response to simply saying hello to people in the street. Never got tired of satsang with some wonderful spiritual teachers. We made friends with Ramesh, our favourite rickshaw driver. What a lovely man. We made friends with fellow Canadians Jackie and David, who we hope to see again in Vancouver. Had wonderful times with Ram and Bhakti, and with their friends Susan and Murray – all four of them old hands at living in India. And as I look back through all the photographs I took I’m reminded of what an amazing and fabulous experience it was. It was an extraordinary time, and affected us both deeply. I think it will take us a while to digest it all, and maybe even years to truly embody the affect it has had on us. Don said that if he had known beforehand all the things he was going to have to go through he wouldn’t have gone, but now, having had the experience he says he wouldn’t have missed it for anything. He especially appreciates the multitude of opportunities presented to practice open heartedness. As for me, I wouldn’t have missed it for anything either. More presence. More peace. More acceptance of what is. More joy.
And some final favourite photos:
All words and images by Alison Louise Armstrong unless otherwise noted.
© Alison Louise Armstrong and Adventures in Wonderland – a pilgrimage of the heart, 2010-2015.
Truly spectacular. Thank you once again for sharing. Sending you and Don so many blessings, tonight we will dedicate our practice to you on this journey. Peace and light. Dana
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Hi DanaThank you so much for dedicating that evening's practice to our journey! Very thoughtful of you and much appreciated. And so glad you're enjoying the blog. We'll be back in Van late May for at least 6 weeks – hope to see you at yoga!Blessings, Alison and Don
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We’re finally catching up on your blog now the cycling is over – love the photos, especially of 6 people on a motorbike – we loved India a few years ago – these photos make us want to start another bike tour to there soon!
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Thanks. You rode a bike in Indian traffic?!! Truly impressed.
6 on a bike – they were stationary at the time. I think they were distracted by me taking pictures because right after that photo they all tipped over! No-one hurt, but the youngest child was then lifted off.
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I so love being on your blogging journey…. I love the monkeys, the motorbikes, the flower market, the most peaceful lovely Elly…( that is what my kids call them)…. India looks magical..
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India is indeed magical – a truly unique place. Anything can, and does happen there. There’s a saying the Indians have – yea hai India darling. It means That’s India darling – to explain away the inexplicable.
Glad you’re enjoying our journey
xoxox
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Hello Alison and Don – thanks for all your writings on Tiru. It’s been wonderful and helpful reading for me, as my boyfriend and I will be spending 2 1/2 months there starting this January. He has spent quite a bit of time at the Ramana Maharshi ashram in the past, but I haven’t been to India before. I’m excited and nervous; reading your blog both reassured me of the good things and confirmed some of my fears of the bad. 😉
Alison, I sent you a message on Facebook, but it says it hasn’t been read; it may have gone into your “Other” folder since we’re not already Facebook friends. I’m wondering if you have any advice on finding a safe apartment or house to stay in while we’re there. There are lots of sites like olx.com with listings, but I have certainly heard stories from India of bait-and-switch listings or things that aren’t as advertised or landlords just taking the money outright and disappearing. Do you have any suggestions on anyone trustworthy we could ask or where we should look for a place to rent?
Thanks so much!
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Hi Kirsten, well I learned something new – the “other” messages section of FB! I’ve never looked in it before, didn’t even know it existed. I have some interesting (and quite old) messages waiting for me there!
I’m so sorry I can’t help you with finding accommodation. As I’m sure you’ve gathered from reading the posts, our accommodation was arranged by friends, and I don’t feel comfortable asking for their help.
Perhaps your boyfriend has contacts from when he was there in the past.
The couple we befriended there found their own accommodation without any problems. I’ll email them and see what they recommend and let you know.
Take grapefruit seed extract with you. A few drops in a basin of water to soak all your fruit and veg for 15 mins makes them safe to eat – even bananas before you peel them. Also take a couple of complete courses of azythromycin for when you get nausea and/or diarrhoea – it will fix it by the next day.
You’ll be fine – for all the ‘negatives’ of Tiru it’s a wonderful and powerful place, with much to see and do, both in every day life, and spiritually.
Namaste
Alison
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Oh yes, I typically only remember to check my Other folder every year or two, and it’s always surprising to see what’s ended up in the vortex…
I understand I’m a total random stranger to you, so you wouldn’t want to ask your friends 😉 I guess I was crossing my fingers that one of them was a landlord or actively seeking visitors, something like that!
When he was there before, my boyfriend stayed at the ashram one time, and found a place just from looking around another time. But it’s been a few years and his contacts seem to have left, and we’ll be going at the busy time of the year, so we want to make sure we find something well in advance rather than taking a chance.
Someone recommended the Tiru Community group on FB and we’ve been keeping an eye on that as well.
If you do happen to hear of anything, you should now be able to find me on Facebook via your Other folder! *grin*
And thanks for the food safety tips as well – I’ll take those to heart for sure 😉
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You’re welcome. And thanks for introducing me to the “other” folder. See Jacquie’s answer below – hope it helps.
Alison
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Hi Allison and Don! We liked the Hill View Residency. It was affordable, the restaurant was good and it is close to the German bakery and the Shanti internet cafe.
Do you have any recommendations of where to stay in Rishikesh?
Jacquie and David
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Thanks Jacquie. Hope you guys are well. We’ll be back in BC tomorrow after travelling around Turkey, Jordan and Egypt – all fabulous. I remember well the Shanti Internet Cafe, and the many hours we spent there. Maybe we’ll get back to Tiru one day. Be sure to let us know if you’re coming to Vancouver.
Alison
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Sorry we can’t help with Rishikesh – we’ve never been there. 😦
A.
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Hi Jacquie – thanks for the tip! I’ve seen Hill View mentioned a few times, but they don’t seem to have much of an online presence. Would you happen to know if they have reliable internet access? I still need to work at least some amount while I’m there, alas… planning to spend time in the ashram during that day and work in the evenings.
And Alison – welcome back to Vancouver – I forgot to mention that’s where we live as well, which also made your blog extra helpful because it meant you’d probably have some similar perspective 🙂
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Best place for internet access is Shanti Internet cafe (comfortable and quiet and you can hang out there with a drink, and maybe a little to eat) – people will direct you there. Don’t know about Hill View – hopefully Jacquie will answer that.
And thanks Kirsten. It’s good to be back in the land of fast internet, safe driving and clean vegetables and streets 🙂 And to see our friends of course!
Alison
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