I resisted taking a nap all day yesterday. I want to get over this jetlag as soon as possible. My adrenaline carried me through most of the day but at around 4:30PM I had to close my eyes.
At 5:30PM, I rushed to Gokul Chats to meet up with Abby from LA, Nick of Wales and Rolf. We were all going to meet there before heading to Guruji’s party. I desperately needed something to get me through the night so I got myself a large masala chai…the best masala chai in Gokulam. The party was held at the H. Kempegowda Memorial Hall a few miles from the shala on the other side of KRS Road. After we finished our drinks, we scootered our way to the party.
We got there a little past 6 and the hall was still 1/3 full. All the women were decked out in their saris…what a sight to see. I saw Rachel from LA shala for the first time. She had been in Mysore since the shala opened in June. It was fun to see people who I met last year. By 7PM the huge hall was filled to the brim. I estimate there to be at least 400 people…maybe more. What was impressive about the party was not how many people were there but who was there. I’ve always thought of myself as no longer being a “newbie� but in this crowd I was a “super newbie�. I think if you’ve been coming to Mysore for 5 years or less, you would still be considered a “newbie�. There were a shitload of very very very senior students who have been practicing with Guruji for over 20 years. Name anybody you would want to practice with outside of Mysore…they were there. The coolest thing was that regardless of seniority, we were all students…Guruji was the only teacher in that room. I had a blast talking to a lot of these super senior students. You learn so much by being around them.
Guruji looked good and was very happy to see his students…you could see it in his face. I was told that there were a lot of students who haven’t been back in Mysore for over 10 years. That made Guruji really happy. You can tell that that the senior students have a special place in his heart because when he makes eye contact with them, he just glows…maybe one day he’ll have a small space for me. A lot of the senior students are here for only a few days or few weeks just to celebrate his 90th birthday. I did not try to speak to Guruji last night…too many people, but when I went close to the stage to take his picture, he recognized me and gave me a smile…priceless.
The night started out with some Sanskrit chanting from students of a Sanskrit College. Then an Indian musical performer sang all night. Dinner was served at around 9PM. We were all starving by then. Later that evening, I finally got the chance to talk to N&K. K introduced me to one of her New York friends and I told her that I have abandonment issues. K told her that my life has gone downhill since practicing with them…unemployed, carreerless, homeless, aimless and all that good stuff.
I headed home around 10:30 and probably got to bed around 11:30. I resisted sleeping earlier to get over the jetlag…it didn’t work. It’s 3:30AM right now…I’m wide-awake.
This has been my first 24 hours of my 5-month stay here in Mysore. If this is any indication on what lies ahead…I’m in trouble.
There is no other place I would rather be at this very moment…