So, the travel was tiring, but relatively trouble-free. A failure of the power supply on the coach was an initial concern (after all, I didn't even get to Heathrow airport yet!) but, hey, a new coach arrived in 10 minutes. Phew! It was 24 hours from start to finish, but the entertainment system on BA 747's made the 9.5 hour daytime flight quite tolerable. Three movies, one of which was excellent and another two that supported the power-naps made it that way.
It's my first time in India. I don't count an earlier visit to Dhaka, which did soften the blow because the poverty there outstrips that of this part of India.
We took a taxi from Bangalore to Mysore. Hamish had pointed out that there was no view from the Shatabdi Express and it also involved another unwelcome dose of waiting. So we got the view from the taxi, which included a slow & beautiful sunrise, many kamikazi trained pedestrians including those who urinate openly on the roadside, I guess, for that all-over suntan.
I think you get chai (tea) on the train though....
After a stroll around Gokulam, which is so much tinier than I had imagined, we had to sign-on at 15.30, which was well co-ordinated by Nancy, who assisted Sharath with the enrollments. Sharath told us that this weeks programme consists of 6 consecutive primary series talk-throughs and we were asked to arrive for practice at 6.00 a.m. Those who were practicing at the Shala in December were to arrive at 4.45, and we were the second set.
The Shala is just beautiful and full of energy and spirit. This is all starting to feel very real...........
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