Eat Pray Shop

I had always dreamed that visiting India at some point in my life would be a pilgrimage and it turned out to be exactly that – my own version of “Eat, Pray, Love” and a pilgrimage of fun!

When my friend Sabrina asked me to travel with her and her husband to India to attend their friends wedding in Bangalore, I thought when opportunity knocks, open the door! An unplanned adventure while navigating matters of the heart sounded perfect! I was reeling with excitement and in less than 3 weeks I would be off to India. I didn't anticipate that two days before we were to leave she would tell me she couldn't make it. Therefore, I would be flying to a foreign land without Sabrina but with her husband, Yoav, a sweet and charming Israeli, and staying with her relatives in Mumbai without her.

The first part of this adventure started in Mumbai, formerly known as Bombay, but everyone living there goes back and forth with what the city should be called. It's very confusing! Quite honestly I did not know what to expect from this city or the whole trip in general for that matter. I knew it would be bustling and hot. Just imagine the worst heat wave New York recently had, add the traffic and congestion of Time Square at rush hour during the holidays, then add pimped out taxi's, cows, goats, stray dogs and cats- rickshaws everywhere and now multiply that by 20. Millions of people all living cheek-by-jowl in soaring skyscrapers and sprawling slums. Ladies and gentleman - welcome to Mumbai!! The people come from diverse ethnic backgrounds and speak in over a dozen tongues, all adding color, flavor and texture to this melting pot. The energy is high and the pace is fast but they do slow down for Tea Time. I loved every minute of it - quirks and all!

Mumbai is a one-stop shopping center for practically every kind of product and handicraft that India has to offer, from hand-woven cloth and leather, to antiques, silver and casual designer wear. With the exception of the government shops and some of the stuffier boutiques, no one will raise an icy eyebrow when you haggle. Together with Sabrina's cousin Ooshin who became my guide, host and long lost sister, we hit it off shopping until we dropped! Dodging the insane traffic and beating the heat with our personal driver, (I can get use to that kind of service and attention). I was happy to have Oosh for all the bargaining and haggling while shopping. She is Parsi, both sharp and feisty, and one does need this kind of attitude while shopping in India or they will take advantage of you. I got used to saying nay nay (no no) following her lead (with a hand gesture of course) when we weren't happy about the offer. I thought I got all the shopping out of my system until I arrived in Kerala, where I just couldn't resist the textiles and jewelry.

EAT:

Indians have more than a hundred ways of cooking meat - and nearly twice as many ways of preparing a single vegetable. In fact, the cuisine varies from state to state -a culinary cornucopia. In Mumbai, you can certainly explore the broad culinary categories. Although most five star hotels boast several types of Indian cuisine on the menu, smaller restaurants are well worth a visit and offer a more local ambiance. You can have rich north Indian fare accompanied by chappatis (the flat unleavened bread of India), spicy southern curries with rice or steaming idlis, gujarati thalis (MY FAVORITE) with their limitless range of vegetarian dishes, or even delicately flavored fresh water fish. When I thought it couldn't get any better it was time to eat again. It was non stop eating during this trip too. See below for some of the restaurants I visited and highly recommend if you are ever in Mumbai.

PRAY:

Isn't dancing liking praying? Well, I had 5 days of non-stop fun in Bangalore at the Hindu Wedding. Praying is getting in touch with your inner self...I just feel my soul, my instinct, my past...or maybe it's more of a meditation? Well I must say I especially feel in touch with my true self when I dance...it is such a powerful feeling!

LOVE:

My love affair with yoga has been going strong for about 16 years and during my trip to India I practiced a bit in Mumbai & Bangalore - stretching and easing my jet lag. In Kerala, the 3rd part of my Indian adventure, I resumed my practice daily. I was pleasantly surprised that the type of yoga practiced in Kerala was Sivananda style - which I had recently been introduced to while on my retreat to the Sivananda Ashram in April. Yoga is a daily practice for most Keralites, however it seemed to be more men than women practicing. Not only asanas (postures) are practiced but  meditation-saluting the sun from wherever they were. The women walk (fast-paced for exercise) and ride bicycles. Oh and by the way, no one in India says "Namaste" this is completely a western thing. Om, ॐ (Aum) on the other hand is visible everywhere in India, it is the most sacred syllable in Hinduism. The syllable is sometimes referred to as the "pranava mantra" (primordial mantra); not only because it is considered to be the primal sound, but also because most mantras begin with it. And every household, taxi, entrance has a tiny statue Lord Ganesha- the elephant headed god. In general terms, Ganesha is a much beloved and frequently invoked divinity, since he is the Lord of Good Fortune who provides prosperity and fortune and also the Destroyer of Obstacles of a material or spiritual order. It is for this reason that his grace is invoked before the undertaking of any task (e.g. traveling, taking an examination, conducting a business affair, a job interview, performing a ceremony,) Throughout India and the Hindu culture, Lord Ganesha is the first idol placed into any new home or abode.

Regardless of where you are in life, it is never too late to figure out what you love to do and to create a life around living your dreams. If you want to find your bliss, you are going to have to discover it yourself. The answer to who you are and what you love is not contained in any book, movie or sold in any store. Instead, the answer to what fires your imagination and makes your heart beat faster are found inside of you. In order to find it, you will have to go on a journey of self discovery. And you will have to keep at it until you find what you are looking for. Maybe it is in a foreign land or maybe it is right at home.

"Life is either a daring adventure or nothing." ~ Helen Keller

Love & Light,

Claudia

Restaurants in Mumbai:

Trishna7 - Rope Walk Lane, Kalaghoda, Fort, Mumbai, Maharashtra 4000023, India 022 22703214

Mahesh - Fort Branch: Mahesh Lunch Home, 8-B, Cawasji Patel Street, Mumbai - 400001.Telephone No : (022) 22870938, 22023965. Fax No : (022) 22043365Email : maheshlunchhome@gmail.com

Indian Summer - 80 Veer Nariman Road, Marine Lines, MumbaiPhone: (22) 22835650

Barbeque Nation - Rajdhani Vegetarian Thali ~ my personal favorite but all where amazing eats!!