The Backwaters

The Backwaters is a huge network of rivers, canals and little islands a few kilometers from the coast. A boat trip on these waters is one of the Keralan touristic highlights and we were lucky enough to go there with a lovely local guy, Jayan. He owns our favorite homestay in Varkalla, the Shiva Garden where we were spending most of the time drinking chai, eating masala dosa and making friends with the personnel. So Jayan took us in his car to the place where he grew up, put us in a tiny fishing boat, gave each of us a branch of palm tree in the hands as a paddle and there we were paddling on the inland waters in the afternoon sun. All you can see here are the palm trees on the islands again, in between some local children playing (how different is the way they grow up!), some other boats crossing, birds, cows, water, water and silence. You cannot see the life behind the palm trees, you get only a glimpse of a burning fire or listen to the everlasting Indian chants breaking the silence of the waters. These chants which are literally rising to the sky are always present around this little traditional villages.
Than we stop at a temple island and in charge of 50 rupees admission we walk around the place were Shiva, Parvati and their son, Ganesh are worshiped. Cashew trees, banjan trees, bodhi trees and even more silence. The very strong energy of the island touches us immediately. The statues of the snake-god Naga are covered with the deep yellow turmeric and you do believe that your prayers on this place will come true. The presence of the gods is very sensible. After sunset the brahmin is performing his evening puja with the dancing candles around the god-statues and we paddle back to our car in the cooler breeze of the evening. Our boat is like floating now above the waters.

Thai Yoga Massage

... this is how this wonderful technique is called what I just learned in Varkalla. In a 11-day course we were massaging each other eight hours a day, learning how to give a full body massage from the feet till the face. Thai massage is often called passive yoga (but this is definitely NOT the thai massage given the red light district in Amsterdam), as it aims the balancing of the male and female, the sun- and moonlike energies in our body, just like yoga. With pressure and streches it works on the energybody, and has a deep therapeutic effect if done properly. I find it very beautiful to receive, and even more beautiful to give. Though these 11 days were extremely intensive, as we were giving and receiving for long long hours. This means that we were constantly into each others energies, pushing and pressing and streching with our learning hands, developing patience towards the one who was giving to us, and loving compassion towards those who was receiving... Giving massage is an intense physical and energetic and spiritual job! This all happened at the roof of a homestay, between the coconut trees and the birds, five minutes from the ocean - the picture is trying to give back something of the location, but I didn`t take photo`s closer as electronic equipment wasn`t welcome on the roof. After the course I had to stay 3 more days on this paradise (which is inspite of all the tourists still a paradise) to let all this massagework go and be with the place, the friends and the locals. More about thai massage at http://www.thaiyogamassage.infothai.com/

Kerala beach - Varkalla

After having met my friends in the ashram, we departed all together southwards to the location of our massage course: Varkalla. This is considered as one of the most beautiful beaches of India, probably that`s why it is packed with Western tourists. It reminds me to the Hungarian Balaton-lake with a lot of shops, restaurants and bored half-naked tourists who just walk around from one shop to the other during the long days. It is quite a big contrast to see the Indian women going to a water spring at the beach to do their laundry and wash themselves in their big saris (taking shower in clothes, strictly on separate days from the men) and the Western people in their bikini`s walking around in town.
The Tibetan market I found something different, where traders from the North are selling their clothes from November till April, than return to Dharamsala. These calm, warm-hearted people are a peaceful island in this hectic coastline. In all the shops you see the picture of the Dalai Lama, and in the back of it you find the residence of the Tibetans: a 10m2 little space with their kitchen, beds and living room in one. Often they stay here with 3-4 people.

Life in Varkalla is very slow, quiet, we don`t do much in a day. It is also too hot to make big efforts. We wake up early, start with yoga at the roof of our homestay , than we slowly walk to the ocean and swim in the warm, salty water. After breakfast we start massaging and keep on doing it till the end of the day. I might write more about this course later. Than we sleep early, and the day after it just starts again. Food is basic but very good. We eat every day at Rani`s place, a beautiful, smiling, shiny Indian woman who cooks for us in front of her house, on fire and banana leaves. It is already a happiness to receive our meal from this ever-laughing woman. We eat all day thali, and thali and thali, typical Indian food of rice and different vegetables, dhal and chutneys served on banana leaves. A very important thing in thali is that you eat it with your hands, and that they keep on refilling your banana-plate till you don`t stop them... The whole thing feels like being stuffed by our parents at Christmastime, because Rani and all her family is busy making us happy while we stay with them.
And basically this is all what is happening in Varkalla: thali, massage, swimming and yoga. Today we had a full solar eclipse, to bring some extra excitement in our life.

South-India - Amritapuri

Dear All,
so here I start with writing down my travel experiences - and with making an experiment to do it in English so that most of you are able to read and follow it. I`m very happy that I have chosen a quiet and peaceful place for acclimatisation in India, avoiding the famous hectic of the big cities and coming to the ashram of Amma at the ocean in Kerala. This place is an amazing and huge international spiritual factory in the middle of a very traditional rural area of South-India. Thousands of people come here daily to participate in the life of the ashram and possibly to get a hug from their saint, Amma.
Amma is considered by her devotees as an enlightened being who came back to this life in order to help men. They compare her with Christ because she is a manifestation of love. After long years of ascetism and selfdisciplined spiritual practice she evolved with the deities according to the story, and since that time she is devoting her life for helping others. She considers herself as the mother of all beings on earth, and to demonstrate this, she is daily embracing hundreds of humans who come to see her. It is quite special to see all this people standing in long-long lines waiting for their turn to get a 10seconds-hug from their universal mother, but even more special to see this little woman embracing all this people for 10hours... Welcome to the strange world of India.
But still, even if it was hard for me to handle with this view which seemed to me a personal cult of a little woman, or blind adoration of some spiritual seekers, at the end I realized that what I saw might be something the Indians call bhakti-yoga... A path of strong devotion and love . (Though this love might be limited to the big mother, as I saw that the `devotees` could be quite negative towards each other.) And by the participation of these people in the everyday life of the ashram is it possible for Amma to do all her humanitarian activities - to build and run universities, hospitals, to give help after natural catastrophes like the Tsunami and to feed many many daily.
After the strict Vipassana-retreats I found the life in this place very free, almost caotic - if you want, you can wake up early and sing your mantras in the temple, if you want you can do your daily work, you can practice yoga or meditate, watch ecological movies in the afternoon or sit at the beach. And of course, go for a hug as many times as possible...