In Search of the Monsoon

July 11, 2004
Mysore

When last I emailed y'all I'd just arrived in Chennai and had begun the portion of my travels in south India. This journal entry covers the last few weeks since then.

Chennai

I spent the last ten days of June in Chennai (Madras), my first stop in the south after almost two months in northern India. I'd been waiting as long as I could for this portion of my journey because it's quite hot down here now, and I'd been advised that after June 15th the summer heat was at least "less severe."

Street scene in downtown Chennai

I flew from Delhi to Chennai to save some time; I'd already postponed my first appointment at the Krishnamacharya Yoga Mandiram in order to attend the Dalai Lama's teachings and it would've taken two days by train ride. I left on Monday, June 21st, having gotten in to Delhi from Manali on a 16-hour bus ride early Sunday the day before. Flying India's Jet Airways was very easy and pretty much the same sort of experience one would have in American airports.

Temple on a local street in Chennai

My flight got into Chennai around 8pm Monday night and the first thing I noticed was the heat. It was still over 90¡F and quite humid at that point in the evening and I thought that if it had cooled off at all by this time in the summer down south it wasn't by very much.

Yoga Study

I don't think I'd be here in India now if yoga had not become such a powerful and healing part of my life recently. During this trip I've aimed to strike a balance as much as possible with my time between learning more about yoga, exploring and enhancing my appreciation for the spiritual dimension of life, and seeing and absorbing India's people, places, and cultures.

The Krishnamacharya Yoga Mandiram

I came to Chennai for the express purpose of furthering my yoga practice and better prepare myself to teach yoga. I studied at The Krishnamacharya Yoga Mandiram, founded by T.K.V. Desikachar, and also with Srivatsa Ramaswami and A.G. Mohan, two teachers who studied with Krishnamacharya for many years themselves.

Shrine for Krishnamacharya, the greatest yoga teacher of the 20th century, at the Krishnamacharya Yoga Mandiram in Chennai.

Being at the Krishnamacharya Yoga Mandiram felt a bit like studying at the holy grail of yoga; T. Krishnamacharya was the man revered as the grandfather of modern yoga, who made it his lifetime work to teach yoga, Sanskrit and preserve Vedic culture. He lived to be over 100 years old, and among his students are the innovators of three of the main forms of classical yoga today: ashtanga yoga (Pattabhi Jois), Iyengar Yoga (B.K.S. Iyengar), and viniyoga (T.K.V. Desikachar).

Mythical statue of Patanjali in the courtyard of the Krishnamacharya Yoga Mandiram; the 2000 year old Yoga Sutras of Patanjali are revered as the classical text of Yoga.

The style of yoga I've been practicing and come to really enjoy is called vinyasa yoga. To quote Shiva Rea, one of a new generation of master yoga teachers, who I think describes it very well, ÒVinyasa yoga is a popular, evolving form of traditional hatha yoga that focuses on integrating breath and movement, awareness and alignment... [Vinyasa] originates within the yogic teachings of Sri T. Krishnamacharya" and draws on many of the principles of yoga taught by Mr. Jois, Mr. Iyengar, and Mr. Desikachar. So for me, this was a unique opportunity to study the roots of the yoga I practice today.

At the Krishnamacharya Yoga Mandiram the emphasis is on tailoring yoga to the individual's needs (as opposed to group classes); the asana practice taught varies from person to person but generally is gentle to avoid strain, based on the principle of ahimsa (non-harming); and working with the breath is considered more than 80% of the overall importance. In addition much of the teaching at the Mandiram is done within the context of the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, the Vedic text which is the source from which the classical practice of yoga originated. It's an "old-school", complete approach to yoga, which includes instruction in pranayama, the yogic science of breathing and its relationship to the mind. The KYM also runs a separate affiliated school, Vedavani which teaches Vedic chanting, an ancient meditative practice that integrates body, voice, mind and emotion in the precise chanting of Sanskrit Vedic mantras and texts (I took several Vedic chanting classes while I was in Chennai, which was only the barest of introductions). And although Mr. Desikachar does not teach regularly any more, a highlight of my time at KYM was attending one of his weekly Saturday morning lectures (the subject was the integration of vairagya, or non-attachment--a guiding principle of the yogic lifestyle--into one's daily life).

The classes I took with Srivatsa Ramaswami (focusing on pranayama and chanting) also reflected his reverence for the teachings of Krishnamacharya. As well A.G. Mohan spoke of Krishnamacharya with the utmost respect as his guru (although I did not take a formal class with Mr. Mohan, at my request he was kind enough to meet with me and share his thoughts on India, modern yoga, and spirituality).

Life in Chennai

In this fourth-largest city of India in Tamil Nadu, I was the only westerner around most of the time (in the north there had been a lot of other foreign travelers, which could be comforting even as it was a buffer between the most direct encounter with India). Chennai seemed different to me from the urban experience of Delhi in that the residents seemed a bit more relaxed and friendlier. There weren't the aggressive touts trying to scam you at every turn, and the auto rickshaw drivers, though they still tried to overcharge for rides, didn't seem quite as mercenary in their attitude.

Street scene in Chennai

Street scene in Chennai on the walk back to the guesthouse I stayed at from the Krishnamacharya Yoga Mandiram

Ox used for drawing an oxcart taking a break on the street

I usually took my meals in local Tamil restaurants in Chennai and found that I was occasionally eyed curiously but left alone by the other local diners and treated with friendly politeness by the various restaurant staff. Many times someone would eventually inquire, "your country sir?" and smile when I said "USA" (sometimes I would say "New York City" in answer to this question but it seemed that more often in the south this was an unrecognized answer and so "USA" seemed better to satisfy--I was also relieved that very few Indians brought up George Bush and American politics in their conversations with me). In south India I also encountered the endearing head wobble gesture, an easy rocking of the head from ear to shoulder one way and then the other several times, which is commonly used for a variety of communications including "yes", "no", and "please go on"--I usually had to press for clarification when I got that from someone but it was visually quite interesting.

This man worked as a caretaker on the grounds of the Theosophical Society and agreed to let me take his picture for a few rupees.

For the most part my days were structured around my yoga schedule, coming and going to my lessons through the rising heat of the day; I spent more time taking refuge from the heat in air-conditioned internet cafes than other places I've been. I did take time out on my only Sunday in town and visited nearby Mammalapuram, a beautiful shore town some 50km south of Chennai along the ocean, where I had a nice day getting out of the city and viewing several old Hindu temples and amazing stone carvings (entire temples carved from a single piece of rock) left over from an ancient Indian kingdom.

I also enjoyed the company of several western students at the KYM, Rachel from New Zealand, and Fabiola, from Brazil, Ante, from Toronto and Chase, who grew up in Seattle but has spent the last eight years living in China--Ante and Chase have been studying at the Mandiram for two years and almost a year respectively. Ante is so accomplished in his studies that he has been accorded the respect of being included on the teaching staff; he was one of the two teachers who worked with me at KYM. Already a yoga teacher before coming to Chennai, he'll have a lot to offer his yoga students when he returns to Canada this year.

Visit to Mammmalapuram