menu misspelling of the week

Signage courtesy of the policeman in ‘Allo Allo’.

Varkala’s got talent

Witness the ancient Keralan art form of Kathikali. It's part mime, part dance with really fancy make-up and costumes. Like a panto, only better, and cheaper. And not a z-list celebrity judge in sight.

Rane’s technicolour thali

Best meal in Varkala, possibly whole of India so far. Only 100 rupees, what a bargain.

soundbite of the week: ‘It’s just like cornwall but with palm trees’

So, after 5 nights at the ashram (32 hours of yoga) we hit the pretty beaches of Varkala for some much required R&R. Oh, and Andy decided to start a new venture.

(p.s Will, not sure about the hammocks)

concentration camp

Daily Schedule

5.30am Wake up Call

6.00am Satsang (chanting and meditation) in Siva Hall

7.30am Tea Break

8am Yoga Class (beginners Andy /intermediate Bella)

10am Vegetarian Meal

11.30am Karma Yoga (chores)

2pm Daily Lecture

3.30pm Yoga Class (beginners Andy /intermediate Bella)

6pm Vegetarian Meal

8pm Satsang (chanting and meditation) in Siva Hall

10.30pm Lights Out

5.30am Wake up Call

6.00am Satsang (chanting and meditation) in Siva Hall

7.30am Tea Break…..

wanted: one pair roomy yoga pants, not too ethnic please

On 31^st Jan we were bound for the Sivananda Ashram in Neyyar Dam for a week of sattvic (pure) living and sun salutations. Andy, who originally wasn't coming, changed his mind and so had to source some yoga-friendly attire. He got his yoga pants made to measure in a fetching blue fabric in 45 minutes flat.

first stop: Vedic Heritage Hotel, Kovalam

Most of you have already heard about Aravindam, the hotel manager at the wonderful Vedic Heritage Hotel in Kovalam.  It wasn’t until he started to fill out our registration form that he told us he’s actually 90% blind. He was warm hearted, round bellied and couldn’t do enough to help us, including getting up at 2am to power up the generator so we could have the ceiling fan on at night. As they say in India, guest(tripadvisor) is god… Most nights when we got back after dinner he’d be sitting extremely close to the tv watching some bonkers indian comedy show and giggling like a schoolboy, often springing to attention to regale us with his latest saga involving ‘all the peoples’ (aka guests) who had wanted to come and stay, but that he had had to cancel due to ‘crazy temple peoples’ making too much noise at the shrine up the road. Once we came home to find him napping on the marble floor (a practise we have since adopted ourselves to keep cool), later he confided to us ‘he’d had a little ‘viskey’ and decided to take a snooze.