Coorg

This Sunday was the full moon which for yogis means a moon day when we don't practice. Since Saturday is our normal day off we had two free days in a row. so Lori, Jen, Virginia and I used the opportunity to go to Coorg.

The ride there was crazy! The car was full with the the four of us and the driver who, according to Indian driving etiquette, went very fast. In India there are rarely working seatbelts or traffic lights. It is perfectly normal to use the stripe down the middle as a third lane, to pass another car even when going around a blind curve (you just honk the horn to let em know you're coming), and to swerve past anything from people, potholes, dogs, cows, and other obstructions. I couldn't look out the windshield without wincing every other minute so I distracted myself with music and the view to the side which was somewhat less terrifying.

Along the way we stopped at a Tibetan settlement called Bylakuppe. The government of Karnataka gifted the land to Tibetan refugees who fled the Chinese invasion in 1959. We visited a monastery that was bright and beautiful with decorative borders around all the doors and windows, and these incredible paintings of Buddhas and daemons. Beyond the threshold of a beaded curtain sat three huge golden Buddhas with watching eyes. I wanted to feel reverent but mostly I just felt like a tourist. Many Indian nationals were there as tourists too which was a noticeable change from being around Mysore. The best part was hearing the drums and chants during prayer time, seeing all the young monks in their maroon and gold.

Then back into the car for a couple hours more to a little inn on a coffee plantation in Coorg. Coorg is a small district in the southwest corner of the state of Karnataka. The people of Coorg are known as Kodavas and they have many unique traditions including ancestor worship and how they wear their saris.

Being in Coorg was a welcome change of scenery. The air felt clean and easy to breathe in my lungs and I could hear birdsong instead of horns honking and dogs barking. There was a waterfall just a five minute walk away, strange spiderwebs, poinsettias growing as part of the ground cover, and these amazing ant nests that they make by gluing leaves together with their spit. I got to see black pepper and cardamom plants for the first time and of course lots of coffee.

Just down the hill was an old palace that had been used as a hideaway in the jungle that could be easily protected. It was very cool to walk around in the king's and queen's rooms with the remnants of paintings on the walls, funny little staircases, and eerie light coming in through cutouts in the windows.

We ate delicious food at the place we stayed: spicy curries with chapati, delicious marinated eggplants, coconut chutney, dal and lemon rice, coffee grown on-site, and perfectly ripe papaya. The cooks didn't speak much english, nor did I speak their languages, but they put up with me in the kitchen one evening as I watched, smelled, listened, and tried to take pictures in the low light. I loved that they had a wood fired stove in addition to a propane stove. It was beautiful to watch their practiced hands at work.

On the way home we stopped at the Dubare elephant camp. It's on the bank of the Cauvery river which is sacred to the Kodavas and that was probably the best thing about it. I wish I could paint a happy picture of this place; undoubtedly it could've been a lot worse. Throngs of people, mostly Indian plus a few foreigners, gathered around to see elephants with chains on their legs getting fed or bathed. Other elephants walked in a large circle getting loaded and unloaded with riders who squealed and waved. None of it was horrendous, and at the same time it just didn't feel right. I wanted to see a herd of wild elephants. I wanted to cry.

Then back in the car again. The apartment felt so comforting to return to after the weekend away. Like home. It is amazing to me how quickly I could feel that way about a place, knowing simultaneously that I'll be letting go of it for something new soon. Went to bed early early to be ready for 6am led practice Monday morning!

P.S. Sorry for the lack of captions for the photos. You'll just have to some guesswork! I'm blaming it on the limitations of the mobile app.