Swami Satyananda Sarasvati

Long travel. Thinking of my teaching, of the courses which I will give, thinking of my next steps, thinking of the wonderful people I met during this travel. I am wondering how these three months have changed me and what life will bring me. I am trusting life and its imagination. I learned to trust it while travelling. We follow the sun and the day doesn't seem to stop. I rewind my watch. Films on the little screen but my eyes aches and I prefer dreaming and listening to some music. Adrian is waiting for me. His smiling face brings me back to England. We have so much to tell. My voyage, his students and the college, his next year projects. Diner in a pub and local beer. I am really back. It feels good to find back these familiar landscapes and pubs. The calm Channel is waiting for me and so my "small boat" on Marine Parade in Brighton. It will take me few days to fully feel I am back in England

Three months, it's a lot of time and still nothing. I feel I would like to stay more, to learn the flute with Sunil, to swim in the Arabian sea when it is summer time, to know a little more Niyas and his family. But I also miss my life, my friends and my music. I feel the need to play and sing. I leave the sublime roof, the full moon, Line, John, Sabou and Rose. Last preparations for my return. I feel so tired. My bag is ready. Last night under the tropics. The taxi will come at 5am to pick me up and take me to Kochi internation airport. It all seems a bit surreal. How am I going to leave India, its slow rhythm, its perfumes, its crazyness, the women in sarees and their wonderful open smiles. I feel too sad but my preparations help me to forget how my heart stops and bounces. Rose, I do not want to leave Rose. I feel so close to her. I love her so much. She deserves so well her name Rose. She brings happiness to all with her smile and joy of life. She is like a long time friend. I feel so much at home with her and though I know we will be thousands of kilometers apart in few days. But everything seems possible and a new life of travelling is open to me. My new "after Bihar" mantras "I am open to love" and "money comes to me easily" will carry me to new horizons.

A sublime roof experience with diner, flute playing and Rose's yoga postures. Rose shows me some of the postures I find difficult and I realise how good her teaching is. Her explanations for taking the postures are precise. She is so kind and gentle while explaining. A real pleasure to learn with her. I am amazed of her flexibiliy and strength in spite of her back accident. The other guests are happy to try some of the postures. We look at the moon surrounded by a holy cercle. I play the flute. Short night but strong dreams. In my last dream. Rose teaches children and I am waiting for my turn to be taught. Getting up I tell Rose about my dream and how much I would like to study with her. She has a long experience of yoga and of yoga teaching (18 years) and an excellent training. Her self-taught beginning has impressed me too. We have the idea to teach each other flute and yoga through skype on internet. The idea enchants us. We decide to go together to Erculenum to buy flutes and carnatic music manual. Rickshaw and ferry. Women and men must go for different queues to get a ticket and on the ferry men and women are sitting separately. There are a lot of Muslims. Women are covered from feet to head. Erculenum is not interesting but we find music shops, buy some Indian cds before buying our flutes and music. Rose invites me to Australia. We drink the most expensive lassi of our voyage in a 3 star hotels. This trips ends and other trips appear on the horizon....

Trip to Allapey by bus. So nice to travel with Rose. She is such an excellent companion. So easy going and smiling. We discover more of each other. Our lives and loves. We share about yoga, our common interest and passion. Buses are full but somehow we always find a place. Although Indian can be rude, they can also be very accomodating. We arrive in Allapey under the rain. The first hotel that we visit, the Seashore resort, is miserable. The rooms have no windows and no decoration. They're too sad. Sunil's recommandation was not great. In spite of our tiredness, we decide to try the Sublime Roof recommanded by the two German students we met in Allapey. The rooms are simple, clean and welcoming with their flowers and paintings. A nice Hippy touch. We immediately love the place. We share a double room for the first night. Line, a Norwegian woman, is running this small hotel. She has a very interesting character. Her story is not ordinary. She came by bicycle from Norway to India. It took her 7 months, a lot of determination and some muscle aches. Although it is quite a feat, she is a very soft and gentle person. Like Dana at the Pink Aana, there is a before and after India and a complete change of life. Like Dana, Line left a husband and a job behind to begin a new and exciting life. Kerala hostel and Nepal trekking. Her trip to India was a soul searching experience. John, another hotel guest, is also trying to find himself. Funny enough, I found it is quite easy to lose myself in the chaos of India and the mercantile spirituality of some ashrams. No, I was not looking for my own identity while beginning this Indian adventure but thinking of it I realise that I lost some of my "me" while travelling. No possessions, no home for few months. Living with a simple bag and a bambu flute help to go to the essential in life. Leaving fears and blocages behind. Taking the time to see, live and meet people.

My last day in Allapey is so surprising. After our breakfast, I go back to my room to pack but feel like playing my flute and improvise.... Jos and Sebastian, two young men who are staff members, come and knock on my door. They want to hear more. They love my flute and are so nice to me. Jos is an athlete training soon for the next Olympic games, Jos and Sunil trained together in running. Sebastian has a very artistic look. He is a painter and a guitarist. His mum is Portuguese and his dad from Kerala. They both praise my flute and Sebastian tells me about his neighbour, a professional flute player and would like to introduce me. He calls him and off we go to meet him. Only at 3 km from our Lemon Palace. Sebastian sings for us a song he composed "Teacoffee" with such funny rap like lyrics imitating all the words you can hear in Indian trains. A future hit.

I take my flute and soon we arrive near the beach waiting for the flautist called Sunil. A noble man with a beard and a dark red shirt soon arrives. We all go to his house. All the neighbours and kids are there with us. Simple house. Sunil is looking for his flutes. 21 flutes which he made himself. He asks me to play something and I play a bollywood theme I heard while I was in Varanasi. He plays for me a special raga and I can understand how half tones and the magic sound of Indian flute is both produced with lips and fingers. I ask him so many questions about bansuri fingering. So different from the Western flute. So supple. His playing is beautiful and flowing. I enrage not to be able to stay longer and learn more with him. He invites me to come back and study with him for one month. He doesn't speak English but it is not a problem to learn. He knows the ABCDEFG notation and I learn my first raga and the bending notes. Sebastian is our interpreter. Sonul is playing with an orchestra in all Kerala. He is also a family man and has a small shop to support his family.

It is so fantastic to find a flautist on my last day and in such an unexpected way! An invitation to come back. I really like this idea of getting an initiation in ragas and to bring back this knowledge in my jazz playing. I like the idea to come back to India for music and to stay and live in a simple Kerala family. It would be the best way to know India in a deeper way. Furthermore Allapey is a quiet town near the beach and very close to Varkala and Pink Aana.... This last day in Allapey is leading me to my next Indian trip. Providence.

Rosy is also happy to be with me and to see people living in Allapey.