Britt-Arnhild's House in the Woods

When love has to travel a long way

 

@brittarnhild

Hossy, the husband of my Indian mother, is not doing well. When I was in India on November, I met a man remarkable strong for his age. Hossy turned 90 last autumn, and during the two times I have been to Bangalore, I have met a man with a life full of tales to share. Especially the first time, back in 2008. Like when he spent time as a boy as a pupil of Mahatma Gandhi. This marked Hossy´s like in many way, gave it its direction.

Trondheim and Bangalore. Two cities far, far away from each other.
But today love and prayers are flowing strong between them. 

Dear Hossy.
Dear Carolyn.
Can you feel me, can you see me, sitting there at the end of your table. Walking in your garden. Making tea in your kitchen. Looking through your bookshelves.
An outsider. Still part of your family. Part of your family because you let me be!

 

With tears slowly flowing down me cheeks, tears of love and gratitude, I have been looking though my photos from India. My travel diaries. My blog posts. You have given me so many wonderful memories. Memories which I will continue to bring with me.

 

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This post will be filed under the category "India", but I also file it under "family".
Which feels good. 

Like Alice in Wonderland

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The white rabbit turned up from nowhere, and invited me in.
Without a map, without an idea of what to expect,
I closed my eyes,
and jumped.

When I landed I was surrounded by animals of all shapes.

Birds of all colours.

A playful world,

where trees shot their arms out to wish me welcome,

fathers proudly showed me their children

and monkeys embraced eternal love.

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The rabbit had a lot to show me;

flowers, trees, birds, animals,
and new friends.

I followed as best I could,
eyes open,

and slowly, slowly I learned to know my own way.

At some point the white rabbit waved goodbye, he had a job to do.....

.....and I continued on my own.

I knew my way now,

and though I never found the Bonsai Park,
nor the Orchid Exhibition

there was so much else to see and to do.

My last day in India included a visit to Lalbagh Botanical Gardens in Bangalore.
Click on the link to learn more about this fantastic park.

A little of this, a little of that

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Sheri and I.
What do you think of my new Indian outfit?
I feel it is a bit too long, so I plan to cut it, but exept from that, I love it.

 

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Let´s dance :-)
Photo´s from the dancing school where I was invited in. 

 

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An email from Sheri about one of the plants in my Plains of Mysore post:

Hi Britt!

Thought you might like to know the correct name for ths plant - you put a photo in your blog. I think your reader identified it incorrectly. It is a Jatropha multifida or coral bush. 

Sheri 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Jatropha4.jpg

 

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Carolyn with one of her five dogs

 A flowering tree in Carolyn and Hossy´s garden.

Patience!

A tree is a tree is a tree........

 

Every Sunday morning the fish monger comes, on his bike, to seel fish for the day´s lunch.

 

Sweet Indian memories.

Welcome to our dancing school

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Music and laughter floated out the open door.
I wanted a look, and stumbled in a heap of flipflaps.
A young girl spotted me, came out and invited me inside where a group of about 20 children were dancing.
"Welcome to our dancing school" she smiled, "Do you want to join? It is good for your weight you know. Here is our card" 

 

Photo: outside Mysore Sparkling Stars Dance Institute

The plains of Mysore

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In a book I am reading back home, Flora´s Empire, about British garden influence in India, a French historian is quoted:
"The plains of Mysore.......the most beautiful habitation that nature has to offer to mankind upon earth"

 

I am not completely sure that I agree about that, but I do love the afternoon walks Sheri and I have been taking. Every afternoon at 5.30 sharp, we go for a walk in the neighbourhood.

Sheri is an observer, she loves nature and she is filled with knowledge.

While we walk she points out flowers and trees to me. She shares their names and their medical use if they have any. And often she has a tale to tell from her childhood. Sheri now lives in Rome, but she grew up in India, here in Mysore.

One afternoon we spotted some tiny, bright red seeds on the ground. Sheri looked up the see where they came from, and yes, there was a Coral Seed Tree.

Since we found the tree we have gathered seeds for me to take home, and now I have a small bag full. I have bought a beautiful enameled little bowl at an art center downtown Mysore. I will fill it with the red seeds and keep it on my desk.

  

Another day a man was cutting grass along the road, by hand. He probably has a cow at home, and now, after work, he needed grass for her.
I have so much to learn from the way the take care of and use the resources available here in India.

Do you remember one of my Indian posts from four years ago, when Vinay, the driver, spoke with the snakes in Mysore Zoo? (you find the post here).
A cobra was passing over the road where we have our afternoon walks the other day, luckily we were in the car then.
Vinay has been bitten by a cobra since last time I was here. He has now lost one finger, and has deep scars up both his arms.

 

When you read this, I will be on a plane somewhere. On my way back to Norway, winter and a sleeping nature.
Terje has primised me no icy road for at least the first couple of weeks, so I might continue with my afternoon walks. But it will be dark. It will be different.

But beauty can be found everywhere.

As long as you know how to look for it.

 

Paper Love

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Sheri needed new business cards, and together we went, downtown, to a tiny little shop.The size of my kitchen, filled to the brim with paper, six men working there, customers coming and going in a steady flow.

 

Sheri had a hard time deciding which card to use......

.....while I had an even harder time restraining myself from clibing the chairs and tables, grabbing all the wonderful paper I could get and fill my rather huge suitcase.

May be even buying a second suitcase.

Sheri still hadn´t decided,
not even with the help of half the staff.

I realized I squeezed the tip of my thumb against my other finger tips. Like I was caressing paper.

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My week in Mysore is soon coming to an end.

India, I´ll miss you!

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I bought a bag full, and am already making plans for what to do with it.

 

Can you take me to the market.........

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Four years ago, when I visited Devaraja fruits- and vegetable Market in Mysore, a young man was opening up a lotus in front of my eyes (take a look here). This made such an impression on me, I have wanted to go back ever since.

 

Yesterday my dream came true, once again.

If you love fragrance, colours, tastes, flowers, spices, LIFE......

Devaraja Market is a heaven.

The market opened around 120 years ago.
Walking around I tried to imagine how everything was then.

The vegatables being the same,
the people the same, though oh so different, so different.

My local supermarket back home will feel like a bleak, colourless place after this.

The marked intoxicated me.
I should have bought pepper, I should have bought a special necklace made by seeds, I should have asked questions, I should have taken more photos.

I should have........

I should have, I should have, I should have........

No, I should have not.
I did exactly the right thing.
I walked through the market with all my senses open.

And I enjoyed every second of it.

 

Here is a link to more info about Devaraja Market.

Enjoy! 

Lalitha Mahal, the great, old style, or Best Exotic Marigold Hotel?

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Who wouldn´t dream about the "good old days", when everything had style, when visiting a place like this. Lalitha Mahal Palace and Hotel, just outside Mysore. If Terje had come with me, I would have booked a room here for one night. But alone? No way!

Alone as I was, I could still enjoy the gardens, and the arcitechture. Oh, great Palladin, your influence traveled the world, even to India.

And without a room and without a husband,
I had a great time photographing.

And if Best Exotic Marigold Hotel movend to Lalitha Mahal, may be I would consider moving to India :-)

Have you seen the movie?

Holy Cow! Some photos for my father in law.

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When I was newly wed, we were spending the summer with my parents in law south in Norway. They took us around, wanting to show me everything, something I loved.
One day we had been driving up in the hills, and on our way down the road was blocked by cattles.

Terje and father in law opened the doors to go out to chase them, but I stopped Terje "No, please, don´t go out. What if the cows are dangerous!"
So father in law went out alone and peacefully chased the cows.

I have been teased for this ever since.........my fear of cows, and my not letting Terje go out but with no worries for my dear father in law.

 

When father in law heard that I was going to India, the first thing he said to Terje was:
"But isn´t that where the cows are walking in the streets?"

Well, yes, it is.
The cows are everywhere,
and I have no father in law to save me.......

Lucily, I have survived.....

.....so far!

Diwali, the festival of lights

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Diwali, the festival of light, is a main festival for the hindus. It lasts for five days, though yesterday was the main day, with friends coming to Carolyn and Hossy´s house all through the morning, with gifts of flowers and sweet, homemade cakes.

I met a few of the friends, but decided to "stay away", and went out with Vinay, the driver.

With nothing special planned, I let my camera find its own way.

And it is doing quite a good job.

Up on Chamundi Hills, where you find this huge flower decorated bull,
i found something much more interesting.....

  

.....a young man carving figures out of soap stone.

I bought the cutest elephant.

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Here and there Vinay pointed out to me, look there, can you see over there.
My eyes, my camera, my mind and my heart had a happy time.

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Thank you for your comments and email.
You are all teaching me so much.

Like this wonderful, sweet email I got from a dear Italian friend yesterday:
I enjoy making porridge at dawn and drink my cup of coffee in a quiet house. I also like to drive up to the village....among glorious autumn woods and, until some time ago, squirrels and cows :-)) but it snowed a week ago, even if just for one day, and I think the squirrels have gone into hibernation :-)  I sometimes stop the car and simply watch the sun rising and listen to the nature around me. I'm grateful for this experience, not a "holiday thing" but an everyday experience

Or MyTippy´s comment on yesterday´s post:
Britt-Arnhild, I have no idea if happiness can be measured. I do know that many years ago when I was still living at home, I decided that a person could either be happy or sad throughout their life. I think that up to that time in my life, I thought that my cup of life was full of being a sad mad person. And I decided that I didn't want to be a sad, mad, angry person. So I decided to start each day by finding something to by happy about. And for me it has worked. I would say that I have been a happy person ever since that point in my life. It hasn't always been easy but with God's help I have been mostly happy. 

Wherever you are today, whatever you are doing - have a blessed day.