Shopping in the Dark

There was so much work going on at the Ashram yesterday evening (and there were so many fumes) that we left and sat for a little while at the nearby Shiva temple that was built around an ancient wishing tree. Then we headed across the street to a large Krishna-Radha temple complex. The main temple has a wonderful vibration.  The views from the complex are breathtaking (you can see for yourself on Facebook); at one point we even saw a peacock perched atop one of the minarets.

Jai Guru!

• * * 

There was a simple joy to shopping in Mysore, whether you were looking for a pen, a coil-type (small plug-in water heater), a salwaar kameez, a rug made by inmates at the local prison, or a copy of the Bhagavad-Gita.  You always met new people, or made new friends — each and every time, you connected as humans as part of the transaction. It did the heart good.

Maybe it’s the heat - or the fact that we’re in “the north” but shopping in Jaipur has been a largely sterile, aggressive, and joyless experience.  Getting fruit requires a ride in a rickshaw and having the driver do the negotiations;  buying a dress requires trips to several shops where you are shown many beautiful things (except what you are looking for) and leaving emptyhanded, and so on. Perhaps it has something to do with the fact that we’re in a tourist area, I don’t know....Seemingly simple things just seem harder here (don’t get me started on the WiFi or the local SIM card that was supposed to arrive on Saturday).

So on the way home yesterday we walked down a road I’ve been curious about — and found a lively little mini-village of shops and vendors selling fruit and vegetables. The normalcy of it reminded me of Mysore. We chose a vendor and I started filling up a bag with big, fat green beans and the local carrots, which have a rough skin and are reddish in color (it is difficult NOT to eat in season here).  We also got some grapes to leave at Gurdev’s feet.  In both cases, the prices were fair.  We were thrilled to find a place we could go on foot, and get the basic things we need for a fair price - and have an experience that was not unpleasant. 

We got home, excited to cook our carrots and green beans for supper.

But then I saw what we’d bought up close, under the light,  and realized our mistake.

Instead of green beans, we’d bought pea pods and hot peppers — which look kind of like green beans in the dark.

Jai Guru!

• * *

Shanti Mantra - Asato Ma Sadgamaya

Om Asato Ma Sadgamaya 

Tamaso Ma Jyotirgamaya 

Mrtyorma Amrtam Gamaya

Om Shanti Shanti Shanti

 

Lead me from the unreal to the real.

Lead me from darkness to light. 

Lead me from death to immortality. 

Om Peace Peace Peace.