Going with the flow in Rishikesh
Trip Start
Aug 20, 2008
1
10
15
Trip End
Apr 14, 2009
Rishikesh,
Uttarakhand,
India
Monday, December 1, 2008
A quick enquiry at my hotel and I was fixed up with my very own yoga class for the next three mornings. I wasnīt expecting any miracles, especialy as I had given it a go several years ago and found my body particularly resistant towards any attempt to flex it into shape. Honestly it was like trying to bend concrete! But a new mindset and a body primed after six weeks of lentils and er...very little else seemed to offer some optimism.
So the following morning I met up with my yoga teacher, all geared up to be put through my paces. A small and addictively cheery woman with a warm round face greeted me and straight away I thought "hmmm maybe this isnīt going to be so bad!". She had one of those demeanours that could convice you the Holocuast was justified.
After arranging myself awkwardly on the yoga mat, we gave each other the traditional īNamasteīgreeting and then it was down to business. Much to my relief, instead of trying to arrange me into the shape of a coat hanger straight away we began the session with a very odd (but Iīm assured common) ritual. I was asked to breath quickly through each nostril and then determine which one had a better flow of air. Apparently this is done to help rebalance the harmony of the body between day/left side and night/right side.....I was told we breath more strongly through our left nostil during the day and vice versa at night. Okaaay, a little scepticism creeping in but too late to back out now. I was then asked to depress my left nostril and breath deeply and rapidly through my right one. Two minutes of souding like a telehone pervert and my harmony was restored. But that wasnīt the end of it. Next came the chanting. You really know youīve left behind the day to day rountine when you are lying flat on your back with an Indian Yoga teacher humming ah-oo-umm for ten minutes! The exercise is supposed to help you relax and clear your mind.....its a similar technique used in meditation and I have to say I was beginning to feel the zen.
After that the gloves were off and I was forced into all manner of questionable stretches, which all seemed to involve imitating animals i.e snake, camel and so on. Seeing as Iīm blessed with the posture of a pensioner none of these were easy - a few thunderous snaps that could be heard were either several of my lower vertebrae snapping out of position or maybe it was just my chackra finally getting into line! Nonetheless a good hour later and I certainly felt about an inch taller though Iīm still a little bit dubious about her claim that regular use of the breathing technique and stretches will ensure I never will get ill again. If only it were so easy! Still I might just be a convert - it certainly did wonders for my posture and its undboutedly a great way to help you tone and relax....though anyone who thinks that its a doddle just because itīs mostly girls who sign up for yoga - think again! Itīs definitely the Guantannamo Bay route to fitness.
So having raised zenned myself out and limbered up my muscles - I thought what a better way to liven things up than go on a white water rafting trip down the Ganges! In the past decade Rishikesh has turned itself into quite the adrenalin destination and itīs becoming a firm favourite especially with hikers. Barrelling down one of the worldīs great rivers was always going to be an exhilirating experience though I was ever so slightly worried considering my last encounter with this particular stretch of water had the cremated remains of bodies and pharmaceutical waste floating in it. But such sissy notions were put to one side..... A group of eight of us were brought upstream by van and them deposited at a clearing about eleven kilometers up from the town. They donīt do baby slopes in India! Or insurance. Or instruction for that matter. Itīs literally a case of in you all go, hereīs a paddle, watch out for the rocks! Ok we did have an escort in a canoe and someone to help us navigate on board but for 5 Euro you really canīt expect safety to be paramount now can you?
http://picasaweb.google.com/subircozy/RishikeshRafting?authkey=kgybID0LJeE
So off we went, my knuckles white with anticipation....the first rapids were easily overcame but after that they got bigger and more challenging. Whatever bit of stress that the yoga hadnīt pulled out of me was now definitely exorcised as we roared our way downstream, bobbing and weaving over the waves. What was particularly nice about the trip was that I was the only non-Indian. Despite itīs size, when youīre travelling around India its almost next to impossible to have any decent interaction with locals. Usually they are chasing you down the street in a Tuk Tuk or trying to fleece you in some way, which isnīt always the most stable basis for a passing friendship. They were a wonderful group of people, mostly from Mumbai, though I did think it very sad that it was only now on one of my last few days that I was out chatting and having fun with actual natives! Between rapids as we took a breather one of my fellow rafters decided it was the perfect time for a sing song - however as my Hindi was still a bit rusty I complained that I couldnīt join in. And that my friends is how it came to pass that I was forced into serenading a group of Indian rafters along the Ganges with two verses of īTrasna na dTonntaī. But that wasnīt all. Seeing as this is India - land of the deathwish - after we had prcoceeded more than halfway downriver our navigator told us it was time for everyone to jump overboard and bodysurf! At first I thought I was hearing things but no!....before I could shout for help I was pulled overboard and was left clinging onto the side of the dingy. Not content with this death staring match one of the guys unhooked my hand and off we went.....floating like twigs down the Ganges with nothing but a life jacket and a desire to continue living sustaining me. Once the shock subsided though I really began to enjoy it.....though when the dingy became a speck on the distant horizon we wisely decided it might be time to swim back. But foolishly this was only the beginning. As we pulled in further downstream, we realised that this is the spot where rafters can really give their heart a fright as we saw another group mounting a 30 foot tall rock and then jumping into the water below.
Now Iīm not sure whether it was the adrenalin still in my system after the bodysurfing, but I actually went along with this madness! But however high up it looked from below, once we climbed up to the rock and I looked down the fear of god, vishnu and all the deities ever worshipped took a firm hold of me. It didnīt help that a Spanish girl had already been up there trembling with terror for 15 minutes and was praying loudly......not something to inspire confidence. I peered over, dithered, stared at the sky, listened to the pounding of my heart in my chest while a sucession of people walked up and jumped. Thankfully there were a few others questioning the wisdom of this as well........but having come so far I eventually went for it and spliced the water at over 200 km an hour. God it was a good feeling! But then again doing anything as completely stupid and wreckless as this, is bound to give you a rush. I remember saying to myself "after this you need never be afraid of anything ever again....". Well apart from drowning that is! It was an incredibly fun afternoon and despite the umpteen hours spend drinking in the diverse culture of India, I know that this will be one of my strongest memories from there.
And so it was time to say farwell to India. As I stood in the train station in the nearby town of Hardiwar on my way back to Delhi for my flight and watched a pig run along the railway tracks (along with the rats of course!) I started to reflect on my five weeks in this bewildering but vibrant country. Itīs a country that constantly defies your expectations and never fails to challenge you. Itīs also full of the most extreme contrasts...... A teaming nation of one billion people that could only manage one gold medal in the Olympics. A country that last Autumn launched its first ever space probe but yet canīt provide clean water or sanitation to most of its citizens. A place of intense spirituality but one that also can be brutally uncaring and callous in itīs attitude to those less fortunate. And on the list goes. Itīs a place that once you think youīve figured it out, something will come along to complete undermine that view.
But for all itīs many contradictions and complexities, the one thing I can positively say about India is that it still IS India. It may sound overly simplistic but there is nowhere else on earth that still retains itīs own unique character and spirit to quite the same degree. It is like no other place on earth. It will challenge you, irritate you, even overwhelm you at times but it will also stun you with its beauty and culture and for that reason I am very glad I had a chance to experience it.
