Back to nature, indeed. I think I had a smile plastered to my face for the whole 3 days and 3 nights in Orchard Hut. This no-frills, heart-felt, home-stay resort embodied everything I wanted (and what I think everyone needs) for a retreat. I felt so FREE! I was a city girl released back into the wild! I’m sure at one point some of my travel buddies were sick of my incessant laughter and playful antics. I was in too much of a blissful state to really take any notice.
We were provided with all the creature comforts: 3 organic, scrumptious vegetarian meals a day (clean food and fresh vegis!!); chai o’clock between lunch and tea; spring water swimming pool; and good-for-the-soul activities to fill in our days. I started each day with a one-hour meditation session with Mr Prakash. OOOhhhhmmmmmm…..Shaaaanntiiii….. leaving me in the best of moods for the day (Porcelain: But you’re always in the best of moods!) I’d done some unguided meditation on my own and have had success with it, but it was so much more…powerful to be lead into meditation. Mr Prakash would first talk for 30 minutes about the birth of ‘Ohm’, the first word of the Universe, and explain its role in meditation. He described the chant as an internal massage; the sound sends vibrations through the body, loosening all the tension within caused by stresses of life. He also taught me a simple way to finish a session. Previously I’ve just blinked slowly out of it, stretch and carry on with the day. He instructed me to assume the Namaste position (hands in prayer), bow and murmur ‘Ohm Shanti’ (Shanti is Sanskrit for ‘peace’), sweep your hands over your face, behind the neck and back into Namaste. Done =)
Later on, I had a full-body massage (loosening up all the tension without), again with Mr Prakash who expertly kneaded every knot out of my muscles leaving me more supple than a bendy, newborn baby. He read my energies and said that my body is a great vehicle for enlightenment. My chakra channels are clear and I’m headed down the right path in life. Needless to say that left me in an even better mood! Then Mr Prakash took us for a tour of his orchard. He impressed us with his fitness! This 65-ish year old man, with a generous ponch and hair sprouting from his ear canals handled the steep slopes of his farm with the agility of a ninja! He challenged me to a race and whooped my ass. We met some of his prized cows and watched him groom them. His most prized animal was Golab (Hindi for Rose), the water buffalo who was heavily pregnant and had the most gentle demeanour. I too wanted to join in on the grooming and started sweeping off some dust off her back. But as I did so, the dust didn’t come off; it just spread. No matter how roughly I patted it, it wouldn’t come off. And then I noticed that the ‘dust’ could be easily manipulated…and the next thing ‘Deb’ was written on Golab’s back. ‘Hey guys! Come check this out!’ Clo looked on and her face dropped in horror. It was then I realized what I’d just done- I’d just defaced a Holy Animal of India.
Please don't do this if you visit India...
Luckily for me Mr Prakash had an awesome sense of humour and had become quite fond of me. He told me that he sees my name on the buffalo as a blessing, and once the calf is born and is a female, he’ll name her Deb! Talk about leaving your mark!
Our other activities also included henna tattoos, a cooking demonstration, palm reading, and lazing around the pool. The pool was my absolute favourite. Natural spring water flowed directly into the pool from the mountain reserves so we were bathing in the elixir of pure nature. Its invigorating temperature was perfect to jump into after our half-day trek in the upper village. I didn’t even wait to get to the pool’s edge. I kicked off my shoes, dropped my bag and jumped from the top of the stairs into the centre of the water. KASPLASH!! And then 2 more splashes followed (from a lower height) and I was joined by Karin and Jen, clothes and all! My laughter rang out through Orchard Hut and everyone gathered to see what the sudden noise was about. ‘Yeap, Deb’s back.’ So alive!
My most memorable moment, however, came on my last night. Throughout my stay, I’d been spending a lot of time chatting to Sahil, who has appeared in my entries quite a few times now. We had a lovely conversation on the open verandah about his passion for nature, my passion for humanitarian work, our beliefs about freedom…you know, the deep stuff. And then it turned to how I seem to be so happy all the time, with an endless supply of energy. I told him that lots of people think that I’m on drugs. He looked at me with genuine confusion and asked ‘Why would people say you’re on drugs??’ I was taken aback by his confusion. Isn’t it obvious? ‘Because they all think it’s impossible to be so constantly happy.’ He shook his head and simply said, ‘People on drugs are not happy.’ Aint that the bloody truth.
Ohm Shanti.
No comments:
Post a Comment