Future French: March 2007

Diving with the Dolphins.

Floating down the Ganges

April 2005

For Hindus, Varanasi is seen as the holiest city in India where millions of pilgrims come to the Ganges River to wash away their mortality. Lord Shiva is present in all parts of the city from the sacred ghats to the Hindu temples. Those who die in Varanasi are guaranteed moksha, or liberation from the cycle of death and rebirth. Therefore, funerals and cremations are an everyday occurrence.
I was able to experience this spirituality first hand while floating down the Ganges River on a boat ride. Every night, the Main Ghat holds a holy ceremony dedicated to the the Ganges with musical chants and dancing. The ghat gets extremely crowded with pilgrims and observers.
On my boat ride, we were also taken further down the River to the Assi ghat which is where all the cremations go down. On that particular night, 16 cremations could be seen by the burning fire pits along the ghats of the river. It was an extremely somber moment for all of us as we watched the flames shoot up into the nighttime sky. The smell of burning flesh wasn't too appealing either.

The following morning, we got to experience the Ganges River from a different perspective. Awaken very early, we rented a boat on the river to watch the sunrise and pilgrims bathing in the water. The atmosphere was completely different and refreshing than our previous experience the night before. However, that changed as soon as we saw a dead body floating downstream. As our guide later explained to us, the bodies which are not cremated, are usually placed in the River. These cases would include holy men, children under 12 and pregnant women.
Hinduism believes that the body is only a house for the soul and therefore becomes "dirty" once the person is deceased. That is why the body is cremated so that the soul may find another house to reincarnate itself. Yet, the bodies of holy men, and children are seen as pure, so they are not burned. Pregnant women on the other hand were left afloat because it was believed that the unborn child may continue to live and hopefully be returned to the household when it was born.
The ghats in Varanasi are a great location to sit down and absorb everything in. The locals are so surprised and curious to see foreigners, it is almost uncomfortable how they stare for so long. But, being in the presence of such holy and dedicated pilgrims is really amazing. A chat with a Brahmin is truly an experience to have if only for the red stroke they place on your forehead.

Quickie :)

Quick update that is!
I have been travelling extensively the last year...Africa,Andamans,Sections of Europe(still need to put pictures up).The Andamans have been my favourite vacation spot so far...love the place the food the people.All in all each experince is rich,enriching,all consuming.
Coming month I take off for a two month vacation with no pre determined destination.My money runs out very soon so I need to get back to start working again...love that too,no complaints there.I am having an exhibition coming September-sarees,suits,kurtas,skirts(formal and gypsy).
Very excited!
Love life.
:)

Paradise on Earth?

A month on the Andaman islands seemed to be quite a long time. But now, when I look back, it is simply incredible how quickly these weeks have passed by.I arrived in Port Blair, the little capital of the Andaman islands. It was obvious for me from the beginning on that the life on these little islands east of the mainland is very different. The omnipresent overcrowdedness of India does not apply here and the pace of life is way slower. It was not surprising to find out that they even have a "siesta". From 1 pm to 4 pm all the little shops on the islands are closed. I wrote my last e-mails from Port Blair and visited the so called "cellular jail" in town, where the independence fighters were imprisoned by the british rulers in the last century. The next day I took the ferry to Havelock island. It is the most touristic place on the islands because of its world-class "beach no. 7" and its amazing diving and snorkeling spots. You can imagine my exitement of seeing cristall-clear water, pristine beaches with white sand together with incredible nature-beauty for the first time in my life.

I changed to a smaller island called Neil and I fell in love with the island at the very first day I arrived. You can walk from one end to the other of the island in about 2 hours, there is only a tiny village and 3 resorts for guests. Every single day on Neil island I walked along the beach to a beautiful spot where I could witness the most spectacular sunsets. For 3 nights I even slept in a little lovely camp right at the beach. A british couple built it and lived about 2 weeks in it before I took it over for a little while. I spent a fullmoon-night alone there in my hammock at the beach. Surrounded by some candles I watched the high-tide of the sea coming closer and closer to my hammock during the night.

Andaman Islands-Heaven on Earth.

The andaman islands are pretty void of internet localities outside of the main city of Port Blair. This has been the most relaxing couple days I've had in a long long time. I've never seen water this clear and warm and blue! Just walking along the beach you see tons of hermit crabs, minows in the shallows, fiddle crabs, tons of birds, and most importantly......no people! It's great.

I went scuba diving yesterday.........my first ocean dive........and it was spectacular. We saw nearly every fish and coral species on the fish chart (clown fish, angel fish, grouper, napoleons, lionfish, sea urchins, parrot fish, and soo soo much more!). There were clams almost as big as me!!!!! D was awesome to boot. He'd point out all the lobster and small camo'd fish as well as play with the clown fish. He even wooshed some water by the big clam and got it to close up! I have decided that I need to do this more often.

This place is so much better than main land india. It's got everything you need..........nice people, great beaches, awesome diving, killer snorkeling, elephants, cows, and great indian food. The pace of life is so much more subdued and everyone has lazy days. Oh, I can't forget the food. It's great. We've had masala fried fish, coconut fish curry, curried prawns, some great eggplant and potato dishes

The colours of Rajasthan.

2006-I missed Holi this year, I was travelling in Africa.These pictures are from last year.My friend Shyla had come down from Los Angeles and we travelled to rural Rajasthan to get a real feel of Rajasthan.I am rajasthani,i was born in jaipur and have been brought up all over.

Rajasthan its colours, its people, the traditions and the magic is endearing and beautiful.Holi was something I wil never forget.

The final chapter.

Making Peace

At the heart of sound eating habits rests peace.Quite simply, when you are not at peace with yourself, or at peace with what you are putting in your body, then you can’t expect a peaceful relationship with food.Over the years I have found that to maintain a healthy diet, and specifically to eat more or all raw foods, we need to constantly be “working” on ourselves. The amount we have to grow and evolve as a person in order to be able to handle our emotions without going to the cookie jar can often be quite astounding. It’s only when we try to go raw that we realise just how much we’ve been relying on assorted foods and drink to keep our mood high, our attention elsewhere, or our feelings pushed-down and locked inside.This awareness hits us all at once point or another. And when it does it’s wake up time!The first awakening is to the fact that we are out of alignment, and we hadn’t realised it before. The second is that the foods we have been eating previously have been both the symptom and the cause.When we get to this stage it can be quite a shock. Like a rabbit caught in headlights we desperately look around for the safest place to flee. Could it be the fridge? Perhaps I should just go to bed and forget about it? Maybe I should throw myself into a new love affair or perhaps go shopping, credit card in hand? All these scenarios and more are what can come into play as we resist going the one place we need to go – inside.How long it takes us to do this varies from person to person. Some of us simply feel ready to step up in the game of life and get closer to the person we really are because it’s “our time”. Some of us only feel part ready and we can circumnavigate the whole issue for weeks, months, years, trying to find another way to get the same results (peace, comfort, happiness) through other less challenging means, and others of us continue to look outside of ourselves for what we seek, trying all manner of substitutes in the belief that what we are seeking is right around the corner, and we will get there, one day.Eventually, most of us get it. True peace can only be found internally. And this means getting to know ourselves – our true selves, and coming to love, respect and forgive where necessary. And it can take a lot of work!This journey can take some time for most of us, but it’s a journey well worth making. The internal journey – the one we most fear and yet the one we most need to make – is actually the most illuminating, the most fascinating and the most enjoyable and rewarding of any journey, but I admit that when I made my own first “journey to the depths” in my early 20’s, it wasn’t without a large dose of fear.But by taking it step-by-tiny-step everyone that is brave enough to make this journey inwards, to charter their own deepest heart and soul, comes to realise that, in spite of their greatest fears, in actual fact they are much more amazing and awesome than they ever thought possible, and that realisation is priceless beyond measure.By reaching this peace, this knowing that all is well in the world, that all is happening as it should and that there is a bigger much more intricate and breathtaking plan than we ever thought possible and all we need to do is listen closely to it and follow it, that’s when our eating habits can start to settle down. Knowing, really knowing, that every experience starts from within, means that we can begin to be the master of our own destiny rather than bit part busy going through the motions feeling powerless.When this has been experienced, then eating increasing amounts of raw food becomes effortless. Gone is the striving, the yearning, the reaching outside for something, some thing, to bring in to us what we feel we are lacking.Instead, rather than reaching out, we begin to give out. We begin to create our world and our life as it best suits the person we have now discovered we really are. And in line with the fact that energy needs to flow smoothly, evenly and easily to be able to give out and create in this way, then eating foods that we know will harm us, slow us down or damage us in some way is simply not an option.Yes, getting to this place of peace can indeed take time. But as all great sages, philosophers and students of life have taught through the ages, everything we are seeking is within. When we know this, really know this, when we have touched it, felt it, heard it, tasted it and seen it with our internal eyes, that’s when we can show up in the world in alignment, integrity and joy, and eating “right” is no longer something we try to do but something we can’t help but do.