Chandigarh and Kasauli: March 27th Through April 6th

 Chandigarh:

After my short stint in Delhi, I took a train (and had several angels helping me at the Delhi station... quite amazing! Finding the right platform, coach, etc...no small matter at all!) ride that lasted a pleasant 4 hours or so north to Chandigarh. This mid-sized town is famous in the north: a French architect laid the whole city out in grids, created beautifully landscaped roundabouts for all major intersections, designed large parks everywhere, and insisted--God love him!--that the Indians NOT trash the place. Miracle of miracles, he largely succeeded! It is true that the roads are nice--well-maintained-- and there is less trash and rubble than most other Indian cities I have visited. The temperature was pleasant, the skies blue with whisps of white clouds, there were electric buses and electric tuk tuks! (Not exclusively, but perhaps 25 percent?) I was duly impressed, and figured if I lived in a city anywhere in India, this would have to be it! Additionally, a new friend (Alok--sweet Ananda guy from Kolkata) and I braved the crazily challenging city "Smart Bike" rental system, and after several failed attempts, managed to make our way to the Rose Garden park. The roses were at the end of their bloom season and mostly faded, but still quite lovely. Other highlights, as you will see below, included the Rock Garden, the environmentalist's park (my name for it!), and the fact that I could obtain my favorite sourdough bread (only just discovered in Delhi), tofu, LETTUCE (a rarity, and always a precious find!) and--most surprisingly of all (and quite pricey but worth every penny!!), FUJI apples! Delicious, crisp, and superb... manna from heaven! 

And so it was that I passed a very pleasant few days there in the city. The only drawback was my overpriced Airbnb, run by an intrusive and controlling landlady (who was also cheating the Indian gov't. out of their just due... I wouldn't have minded a bit if it weren't for the fact that NONE of her savings got passed on to her guests!) Otherwise, my time there was peaceful and sublime... (And of course I enjoyed my daily visits to the Ananda center and communing with my friends there.)  

At the Rose Garden: my absolute favorite, still in full bloom! 

Alok, my SmartBike compadre on this city  excursion

The sign next to this fabulous tree reads that it is an ancient mango tree-- a heritage tree--and as such, is protected. How lovely! 


Next excusion: a trip on my own to the Rock Garden. Not what I expected at all! I was thinking it would be another lovely park with natural rock formations, or at least landscaping with interesting rocks throughout the park. Instead, it was an amusement park for adults and kids alike, with lots of strange, man-made creations throughout. Once I adjusted my expectations, I relaxed into it and enjoyed the strangeness of it all! It was fairly creative and artistic, and I really appreciated the artists' use of recycled materials, so it was largely eco-friendly. 

Lots of strange figures were positioned throughout the park, made from tiles and other bits of recycled materials. 

These monkeys were my favorites! In my mind, the best monkey is one that is frozen and thus unable to get into any mischief!! 

There were a lot of simply unidentifiable strange creatures! Always en masse, as you see here, as if looking at repeating mirror images... 

Reindeer?!! Except... I don't think they exist in India...! 

Another fave: These women, in a bowling pin configuration, with dresses consisting entirely from recycled bits of bangles! (The bracelet that one sees worn by almost every Indian woman everywhere in India!) 

Giant male soccer players?!?

More crazy bangle creatures, surrounded by thousands of tiles making up the ground and walls. Fabulous! 

Strange tree creatures...actually could NOT tell what they were made from! 

Yes, you are not imagining things...popular American cartoons, such as Sponge Bob Squarepants, have infiltrated the youth of India as well... making their way into the tiled walls of this park. And, by the way, I didn't see ONE SINGLE other westerner the entire 2 hours I was there! Interesting... 

This next series are from the "doll museum" inside the park... colorful and absolutely precious! 

More beautifully tiled walls... 

... and more strange creatures, this one structured from small stones...wild! 

A group of teenagers posed for me in these stone archways...surely amused by MY amusement! 

Several of these artificial waterfalls were scattered around the park, and were the prime selfie and group photo attractions! 

Before departing Chandigarh, I had a nice morning walk on a nature trail skirting the town's lake. (I did NOT take photos of the lake; it was brownish and not at all attractive, unfortunately). The camels were at the trails entrance, but no clue why... still, they are SO photogenic, so how could I resist?!

Lots of signs like this were scattered along the trail...made me very happy to see!

The Himachel Pradesh Resort on the outskirts of Kasauli: 

After Chandigarh, 95 Ananda folk converged on a "hill station" resort in the Himalayan foothills of Kasauli, at about 6,000 feet. It was a 2 hour drive from Chandigarh in a small bus-like van... a bit cramped, but doable. I definitely felt the altitude... AND the significant drop in temperature was a bit of a shock as well! (in the 40's, as opposed to the 80's of Chandigarh during the daytime!) Good thing I had plenty of warm clothes and a ski cap. What I was NOT prepared for, however, was the deluge of rain that came down upon our resort (called "Winnie's). Thankfully, the hotel staff was able to loan me an umbrella, which I did my best to guard (but even so, it kept being taken by other, stealthy people longing to stay dry!)  Still, it was a great four days of meditating, chanting, and communing with dear Ananda folk from all over India, in a truly gorgeous setting. A very special time, indeed! 

A night of kirtan-- or devotional chanting--in the main hall of the resort. 

We were fed buffets of three spectacular meals per day... I exercised the utmost restraint, but since I had to try a little of almost everything, I still wound up overeating... oh well...good thing it was ony for 4 days! Still, my digestive tract suffered for it... and I am having to compensate by eating in a seriously minimalistic way now!

Gathering outside to enjoy the natural beauty and spectacular skies when there were breaks in the rain! 

We were blessed with the most spectacular vistas no matter where we were at the resort... 

Though chilly, it was nonetheless a great blessing to be able to dine outside... 

The chairs in the main hall where all the events (other than eating!) were held. The chairs are pretty but most definitely NOT ergonomic! My back got sore sitting on them, even with my lumbar support, and I had to skip out on some of the longer meditation sessions. 

View off our room's balcony when the rain began and we found ourselves literally in the clouds! So... white out, as you can see... the thunder and lightening that we often witnessed up here were spectacular, however! 

Oddly enough, my lovely roommate and I shared one bed..I only just met her at the retreat, but of course we had to become good friends quite quickly! At least we were able to procure separate comforters... but I found it most disconcerting that they put roommates together where there was only a single bed! When we asked for two singles or doubles, we were told there weren't any...so much for this 4 star hotel!!

Another outside dining area we enjoyed when the skies cleared... 

MOST disturbing and distressing: the largest purified water bottle the hotel could provide was a half-liter. Worse, most of the ones supplied at event were these ridulous, tiny things, good for about two gulps. Since the heat was on and the air dry, my roommate and I guzzled water, and the waste that resulted after only two days is what you see here. Positively appalling!!! In the review I wrote about the resort, I made a point of admonishing the hotel management for this atrocity, and suggested that they simply supply filters around their establishment. A no-brainer, if you ask me, right!??!!?