Sitting on my bed in my room for the week, shades of red and orange, a big, ornate, wooden door ~ windows open and a light breeze and the musical rhythm of a near by festival blowing through the sheer curtains and I’ve found myself in a yoga/meditation/home stay where I’m the only guest/student. The Yoga Garden, Pushkar. Rajastan. India.
The wife, Deepa, has already taken me under her wing as I showed an interest in her cooking and so I spent the evening chopping tomatoes and onions and watching her prepare khichari which is a lentil rice tomato and onion (not soup) but runny mix. Eaten with fresh paneer chappati which is a roti filled with a light Indian cheese. Cooked in ghee, purified butter. Soul food 101.
Lunch was a dream. Palak paneer, which is spinach purée and cubed Indian cheese. Just the right amount of spice. As Yogesh, the yoga instructor and husband said, this is how real Indians eat daily. Lighter food, not so flaming hot, rich and heavy like the meals offered on menus around the towns restaurants and hotels.
This is full cultural immersion and I can’t believe it’s just me here. I hope no one else joins the course, as much as I initially wanted other people around I just really love that I’ve found myself where I have. This is what I’ve manifested in my life, as out of control as life gets, as many disappointments and sadnesses I bear – there are moments like these that you find yourself exactly where you wanted to be. Where you hadn’t even realized. Life says, “Okay. You’ve earned it.”