Last Days of Auroville....

Over recent days I've suffered emotional ups and downs. I had breakfast twice with Janet, a lady we met at one of 'The Journey' seminars in Hyderabaad last year. Another lady in her seventies. There seems to be a pattern emerging! We talked about Auroville, as she was one of the first pioneers here in the 60's.... When Auroville was getting started. When there was nothing but bare sandy land and little else. The tiny local villages had nothing, and many of the inhabitants of these settlements had never even made it the 6km to Pondicherry. They were living hand to mouth, simply surviving. The villages are now part of the Auroville community. Auroville has created jobs and has assisted many of the village women develop skills to allow them to earn a living. There is much creativity out here in Auroville. It's one of the things Amanda loved about it. That and a rather large 'healing' fraternity. There are lots of alternative therapies on offer out here in Auroville. They are generally run by French or German expats who have adopted Auroville as their home. Upped sticks in search of a better way of life. There's a lot of politics here in Auroville and it doesn't run to it's ideal as I've mentioned in previous posts, but it is nonetheless a wonderful place, full of good energy. People cycle or motorcycle about to cover the rural sprawl that is Auroville. Women feel safe enough to stop and ask hairy looking strangers crouching in the dark by their motorcycle's, 'Is everything OK?'. Can any of you ladies imagine stopping on your bicycle in the darkness on a single track lane in the arse of nowhere, where a rather suspicious looking hairy man crouched on the ground fiddles with his clothes (it was getting cool and I decided to put another top on – not a fresh murdering or raping shirt, which this lovely young lady clearly recognised), of course not, in fact a lot of men would about turn and pedal the other way if the chap wasn't blocking their route home. That's the sort of place Auroville is.

I met with Nick, the British 'marketeer' who is helping Balu develop sales strategies for the Bamboo Centre, where I buy the soaps. May be I'll start importing their bamboo scarves..... Not as
uncomfortable as they sound! Incredibly soft in fact. He'd been keeping up with Amanda's progress from our first contact back in April 2013.... We chatted about life over a long coffee.... He's a truly lovely bloke that having succeeded in business in the UK and Australia, having had the big car the big house etc, now he just wants to give something back.... He wants to make a l money whilst benefiting others.

As we were chatting I spotted Imeer (I have no idea how to spell her name) she is a lovely Dutch lady in a long term relationship with a local Tamil guy. They are considering moving from Europe back to Auroville.... But there is much to be considered. I'll stick with my spelling, Imeer has a lovely energy about her, she is another lady who has suffered tragedy in her life, she has been on her own journey. She was very empathetic as we spoke, I even cracked, wobbled and cried for a few seconds.... I felt comfortable with her. She is a lovely soul. I hope everything works out for her. People are very free with their advice with regards to my circumstances, and most of it points in the same direction....They recognise that I too have a good heart and soul, and only want what's best for everyone in my life, or anyone who comes in to my life. It's nice to have this reflected back in the people I meet as I travel.

A few days ago a lady called Natalia originally from Spain but living in France for 25 years moved in to the room near Ambre's home. She is spending time in India, searching for peace in her heart and mind. She suffers terrible insomnia and wanted to find treatment through Ayurvedic methods. She spent 1 month in an Ayurvedic hospital and is now staying out here in Nilitangham.

She seems very kind hearted.

I was cooking a big dish of steamed veg with soy, ginger and garlic. I was loading my dish up as she came in to the little kitchen. She speaks great broken English, and I speak one or two words of French.... We can communicate with a bit of effort. She had no food, and was literally munching on a few nuts.... I offered her half mine food... She wouldn't take it, saying 'Big man needs food'. I grabbed a bowl and filled it for her.... It was smaller than mine, hence the reason I filled it! She was very pleased. It was nice to share with someone. I cooked for her again last night.... She told me off, as she wanted to help, but as Amanda would tell you, I do better in the kitchen on my own!

I got chatting again with Alexander this morning, a lovely French guy, similar age to me. We'd chatted a few times before this morning. Great guy, we really hit it off. He actually met his new girlfriend out here in Auroville two weeks ago. She was travelling India, then came to Auroville, the rest is history, as they say.... Who ever they are. When we first met and exchanged brief stories Alex later informed me he was a 'shrink'. His classification not mine. He laughed. I think he laughed at the serendipitous way we had come together. Grieving husband, searching for answers.... shrink with potential methods and understanding. We chatted as friends this morning for an hour, I had been on my way to the shower, he was chilling in his hammock and we just got talking. He's very passionate about what he does and his techniques differ from your standard psychologists, he's an interesting guy. He enjoys the aspect of getting to the source of emotional issues. He did point out that it sounded like I'd always lived to please others, and when I tried to point out that was not the case, he would highlight things I'd mentioned a few minutes before suggesting it was so. I still don't class myself as a general 'people pleaser'. It was an interesting chat to say the least.

Yesterday morning I woke feeling fresh. I was intending to do a big stretch, but in my little Big Sky Soul mesh tent a big stretch is out of the question.... I'm massive when I 'big stretch!'

So I did a nice tensed leg stretch then pulled my shoulders and neck in to a compression rather than an outward stretch, kind of tucking everything in and tensing hard, like a stretch but in the opposite direction.... Crunch.... My neck.... Oh sh*t not again. A couple of months ago I injured my neck in a shoulder stand. I wasn't focused, in fact I was fidgeting about when I heard the same crunch. When I came down from the shoulder stand the pain was excrutiating, and I had an awful feeling this was going to be a repeat. A terrible stabbing pain between the left shoulder blade and spine hit me as soon as I relaxed. I could barely move my head left, right up or down.... The Indian head wobble would be out for sure, but that was the least of my worries. How the hell would I carry stuff and ride my motorcycle with such pain. I asked if I could stay at Nilitangham a few more days to see if it would settle.

I tweaked my neck last year when we were here together. I'd said to Amanda that I'd happily take her pain if it would give her some relief, 10 minutes later I cricked my neck, and she was no better off. No where near as bad as this, but painful nonetheless. I was told to go see Goupi last time, so that's what I did this time.

Goupi:

As I waited in Goupi's little treatment area, a raised sort of stage with cushions and an old saggy mattress, covered with a huge mosquito net I wondered what Goupi was going to do to help me. Last time I ended up with an all body oily massage and little else.

As I waited I could hear him slowly approaching. He leant on his three pronged walking stick to take the weight from his bad hip. He wore a type of indian wrap (no not a chiapati) around his waist, just a short one, enough to cover his 70 odd year old bits and pieces, and other than that he was naked as far as I could tell. I quickly briefed him on what had happened. He told me to take my vest off. I did. He then told me to remove my shorts. 'I have nothing on underneath' I warned. 'It's fine, no one will be coming around here, it's the body I'm interested in.' he said in his strong French accent. I slipped out of my shorts, and gently lay on my front, whimpering and growling due to the intense pain in my neck and shoulder. He oiled the backs of my legs and arse liberally, then my back and shoulders. Goupi crawled across me like Gollum clambers over rocks in Lord of the Rings. He's a cross between Yoda and Gollum I think. He obviously has great knowledge of the physical body, but moves like Gollum with a knackered hip and thinks like Yoda. He's a lovely guy too.... I don't think I can say the same for Gollum.

Goupi concentrated on my legs and arse for longer than I wanted, I was suffering in the neck and that's where I'd have liked his focus. Each time his thumb got to the top of my arse cleft, bottom of the tail bone I worried the excess oil could see Goupi up to his thumb knuckle in my backside. Thankfully it didn't happen, or if it did there was so much oil and his thumbs are so small I never noticed. A big thumbs up to Goupi.

I was in there for an hour an a half as he oiled and rubbed me sunny side up and sunny side down. Considering my lack of clothing I felt remarkably comfortable with this helpful old timer..... Strange. He gave me some exercises to do, but in all honesty, it was exactly the same as last year..... except this year I was naked. Goupi is a kind hearted helpful man. He asks for no money at all, though most people including myself leave him a good donation for his time and effort..... If nothing else I had a great massage with a lot of 'humming, singing and oooh la la's' thrown in. It's strange to hear so many appreciative sounds when you're lying on your back naked with Auroville's answer to Yoda and Gollum rolled in to one.

Yesterday I collected many beautiful coloured flower petals. I put them in a bowl with some of Amanda's ashes. I set them down on the sand paths of Nilitangham where day to day we cleared away the encroaching foliage. I let the breeze carry and scatter them along the path just outside the larger hobbit house we stayed in last year. Amanda would have loved the colours and the orchestra of bird song that accompanied this little scattering.

Today I had a huge vegan buffet lunch at a little place called Aurolec, they do it every Sunday, it was amazing. All you can eat for £1.80..... and I ate, anticipating an evening of fasting.... But as I watched the peacocks come home to roost, Natalia was already in the kitchen knocking us both a together a large tagiatelle dish. How very kind.

I'm back in the hobbit house hardly fit to move!

Tomorrow or Wednesday I head over to Tiruvannamalai....