Saying goodbye to Pune - Land of Ganesa and Musaka!

As I pack my bags and ready for the 4 hour car ride to the airport, the time has come to say good-bye to India - at least for the next 6-8 months. Pune and the surrounding area is the part of India in which there are hundreds of thousands of Ganesa devotees and it is where Ganesa took birth. As a result, just about every street corner has a Ganesa temple or statute. And where there is Ganesa, you will always find Musaka - his mouse companion. Above is a statute of Musaka guarding the famous Ganesa temple in Pune. As people hurry home at night, they always time just a few minutes to stop and place their forehead on the back of Musaka, asking him to please deliver their prayers and wishes to beloved Ganesa.

Heartbeat

Last weekend a traditional Indian band from New Jersey performed in Pune. Over 3,000 people attended including our group.

Oh no, not krumis (parasites)!!!!!!!!!!!

Surprise, surprise - we all ended up with krumis (parasites)!! One day while at the farm house, we each took turns listening to each other's krumis through a stereoscope - talk about gross!!!!!

Two students relax over a chia break (picture to the right)

Ayurvedic Pune Class 2008

We finally managed to get a group picture of Dr. Lad (first row, second from left) and the students in his program. Ok, can anyone find me? First one to email with accurate identification - two free round trip tickets to the destination of your choice anywhere in the world :))

Ayurvedic Clinic in Pune

In the first Blog update sent 4 weeks ago, I shared many pictures of the Farmhouse where we go every Tuesday and Thursday. But on Monday and Wednesday's we attend Dr. Lad's free clinic here in Pune. To the left, students are signing in before going into the lecture room. Below is a very old, dirty and modest sign that hangs outside the Pune Clinic's door.

So this is what happens to my leftover food.....

To the left is a picture of Orna, a friend from England, and myself.

I must admit that I am a bit tried of eating Indian food and long for guacamole/chips/margaritas ...... Well, at least it is good to know that my leftover food is being enjoyed by the cows at the Farmhouse

Drinking sugarcane juice at a local market

To the right, we are taking a short break along the way to the Farmhouse to get a cup of sugarcane juice.

Below is a typical vegetable/fruit sidewalk stall in downtown Pune.

Sunday Brunch at the Taj in Pune

It didn't take us long after arriving in Pune to stake out a couple 5-star hotels for Sunday brunch! Needless to say, we have had to fore go such luxury since the Taj terrorists attacks occurred in Mumbia.