India – A Dream Come True

Destiny
for 7 døgn siden
9 min lesing

Those of you who have read my previous blog posts know that I have been planning this journey for a long time and that there have been a few bumps along the way. For those of you who haven't read my earlier posts, I recommend reading "Rishikesh – The Cradle of Yoga" and "Triguna Yoga, Rishikesh" before continuing.

On Thursday, April 30th, I arrived at Oslo Airport a little before 9:00 AM. After checking in, I met up with a friend of mine, photographer Tom S. We sat on a bench and chatted until it was time for him to board his flight. It was really nice to see Tom again, and hopefully I'll be ready for a photoshoot when I return from India.

Then I was finally sitting on the plane from Oslo Airport to India. 🙏🏼 After everything that had happened beforehand, I could hardly believe it was actually happening. 😅

The flight from Oslo to Helsinki went smoothly, but I have to say that Finnair is pretty stingy when it comes to legroom on those small planes!

In Helsinki, I had plenty of time and didn't have to

rush from one gate to another.

The airport was modern, well organized,

and peaceful.

I had time to browse a few shops,

charge my phone,

and grab something to eat

before heading to my gate.

I enjoyed a focaccia with chicken, parmesan, and green pesto.

The flight from Helsinki to Delhi was much more comfortable. I had an aisle seat, and the seat next to me remained empty. Across the empty seat sat a lovely Indian couple. The woman introduced herself as Professor Jyoti Rana and told me that she works at Banaras Hindu University in Varanasi.

She shared that they had several friends from Norway whom they had met through the university, where Norwegian students had visited as part of exchange programs and study trips. We exchanged WhatsApp numbers, and perhaps our paths will cross again someday.

The flight went smoothly and before I knew it, I was in India! 🤩

The airport in Delhi was also quite straightforward, although I didn't realize that I needed to complete an e-arrival card. Fortunately, I was able to sort it out quickly at the counter, so everything worked out fine.

I landed early in the morning, and the airport was calm and surprisingly quiet. There were actually fewer people than I had expected.

My taxi driver was waiting exactly where we had agreed, so everything went smoothly.

It wasn't Deepak who came to pick me up, but a driver named Sunil. I had been informed about this in advance, so that was perfectly fine. Deepak had sent me the driver's name, photo, as well as the taxi details and license plate number.

The heat hit me the moment I stepped outside the terminal.

We left the airport sometime between 6:30 and 7:00 AM and arrived at Triguna in Rishikesh around 3:00 PM. It turned out to be a long drive due to heavy traffic and road construction.

Unlike Norway, there weren't large modern machines everywhere doing the work. Many of the tractors, trucks, and construction vehicles looked as though they should have been retired years ago. I was amazed that they were still running! 😄

I did spot one CAT excavator though—and of course I had to take a picture of it.

Multi-story buildings and hotels under construction were supported by bamboo scaffolding. I found it incredible that it could hold everything together. Back home we're used to steel and aluminum scaffolding, but in India I saw construction sites where bamboo was still the primary building material. It was fascinating to see how much work was still done by hand.

There wasn't much greenery along the main roads, but occasionally we passed what looked like important properties—schools, for example—and those areas often had gardens and green spaces.

The contrasts between the buildings we passed were striking. There were magnificent temples, simple huts built from bamboo, mud, straw, and reeds, and even smaller structures made from corrugated metal, wood, and tarpaulins.

Another major contrast compared to home was the cows roaming freely everywhere.

Not just cows, but bulls as well!

When I finally arrived, I received a warm welcome from Hari Ji, the head of Triguna, and Mannu showed me to my room.

The room was spacious, with three beds, three dressers, a shelf beside the bed, and a few hooks on the wall.

In an adjoining room, there was a large bathroom with a sink, mirror, shower, and toilet. The accommodations were simple, but the room was clean and functional. I had a comfortable bed, access to a bathroom, and everything I needed for the next few weeks.

One thing that immediately caught my attention in the bathroom was a small bucket and a sign hanging above the toilet that read:

"PLEASE DO NOT THROW TISSUE PAPER INSIDE THE TOILET SEAT. (PUT IT IN THE PROVIDED DUSTBIN OUTSIDE)."

Apparently, toilet paper was not supposed to be flushed, but placed in the bucket beside the toilet instead. I was later told that this was because the pipes could easily become clogged.

Another thing I noticed was the small spray hose hanging next to the toilet. 😄

I quickly realized that it was meant to be used for cleaning yourself after using the bathroom, but I have to admit that this was completely new to me. I had never used one before.

At that moment, I was quite grateful that I had arrived at Triguna before everyone else. 😅 At least I had some time to figure out how the spray hose worked in private!

Shortly after arriving, lunch was served.

I had prepared myself for spicy Indian food, but I was still surprised by just how spicy it actually was. 😅 That being said, it was delicious.

After lunch,

I took a shower and tried to get some sleep,

but with swollen ankles and restless legs,

falling asleep was impossible.

Around 8:00 PM, someone knocked on my door. It was Mannu, who had welcomed me earlier. He politely invited me to come to the dining area for dinner.

I got dressed and headed over.

This time the food wasn't nearly as spicy. One of the dishes tasted like oatmeal, although it had a hint of coconut flavor. Perhaps they use coconut milk?

Just as I finally felt ready to sleep,

I heard a strange smacking sound.

I looked up.

Sitting on the wall directly above my head was a gecko.

After a little back and forth—and a chat with ChatGPT—I decided he could stay. 😅😂😂

It was obvious that I was retaining a lot of water after the journey, because I made several trips to the bathroom before finally falling asleep.

After a long journey, I had finally arrived in India.

And the next day, my yoga adventure would begin. 💫

Destiny 💫

India –

drømmen som ble virkelighet 💫

De av dere som har lest tidligere blogginnlegg vet at jeg har planlagt denne reisen lenge og at det har vært noen skjær i sjøen på veien. For de av dere som ikke har lest tidligere innlegg, anbefaler jeg dere å lese “Rishikesh -yogaens vugge” og “Triguna Yoga, Rishikesh” før dere leser videre.

Torsdag 30.april ankom jeg Gardermoen litt før 9. Etter å ha sjekket inn møtte jeg en venn av meg, fotograf Tom S. Vi satte oss på en benk og skravla frem til han måtte gå ombord i sitt fly. Det var skikkelig trivelig å møte Tom igjen – og forhåpentligvis er jeg klar for et foto-shoot når jeg kommer hjem fra India 🤩

Så satt jeg endelig på flyet fra Oslo, Gardermoen til India 🙏🏼 Etter alt som har skjedd tidligere kunne jeg nesten ikke tro at det var sant 😅 Flyturen fra Gardermoen til Helsinki gikk greit, men jeg må få si at Finnair er gjerrige på benplassen på disse småflyene sine!

I Helsinki hadde jeg god tid og slapp stresset med å løpe til neste gate. En flott, moderne, oversiktlig & rolig flyplass. Jeg rakk å kikke litt i butikker, lade mobilen og spise mat før jeg måtte gå til gaten

for å nå flyet videre til India. Jeg spiste en focaccia m/kylling,

parmesan & grønn pesto.

På flyet fra Helsinki til Delhi var det heldigvis litt bedre benplass, jeg fikk sitte ytterst på raden og i tillegg var sete ved siden av meg ledig. Bortenfor det ledige setet satt et hyggelig indisk par. Hun het professor Jyoti Rana og fortalte at hun jobber ved Banaras Hindu University i Varanasi. Hun kunne fortelle meg at de hadde flere bekjente fra Norge, som de hadde møtt via universitetet i India, hvor de norske studentene hadde vært på besøk/ studietur. Vi utvekslet telefonnummer på WhatsApp og kanskje våre veier krysses igjen senere i livet 💫

Flyturen gikk greit og vipps -så var jeg i India! 🤩

Flyplassen i Delhi var også ok, men jeg visste ikke at jeg måtte fylle ut et “e-arrivalcard India”, men det fikset jeg kjapt ved skranken – så det gikk bra. Jeg landet tidlig på morgenen og flyplassen var rolig og oversiktlig, det var mindre folk enn det jeg hadde forventet.

Taxi sjåføren ventet på avtalt plass – så det gikk smooth. Det var ikke Deepak som kom, men en ved navn Sunil. Det var varslet på forhånd – så det gikk helt fint. Deepak sendte både navn & bilde av sjåføren + taxi & skiltnummeret.

Varmen slo mot meg i det jeg gikk ut av flyplassen/ terminalen!

Vi reiste fra flyplassen et sted mellom 6:30–7:00, og var fremme i Rishikesh, Triguna ca. 15:00. Det ble en lang taxitur, pga mye trafikk overalt og veiarbeid.

I motsetning til her i Norge hadde de ikke store fine nye maskiner til å gjøre alt. Alt av maskiner, traktorer og lastebiler så ut som om de skulle vært på vrakhaugen -helt utrolig at de fortsatt gikk! Jeg så forresten 1 CAT maskin 😄 den måtte jeg ta bilde av.

Hus og hoteller i flere etasjer ble støttet opp av bambus stenger under oppføring. Jeg syntes det var helt utrolig at det holdt. Her hjemme er vi vant til moderne stillaser av stål og aluminium, men i India så jeg byggeplasser hvor bambus fortsatt var det viktigste byggematerialet. Det var fascinerende å se hvor mye som fortsatt ble gjort for hånd.

Det var lite natur langs hovedveiene, men innimellom passerte jeg noe som så ut som store viktige eiendommer, det kunne f.eks. være en skole og der var det grøntområder.

Det var store kontraster blant de ulike bygningene jeg passerte på veien. Alt fra store flotte templer til små hytter bygd av bambus, leire/jord, strå/siv og enda mindre bygninger som var bygd av bølgeblikk, treverk og presenninger.

En annen stor kontrast i forhold til hjemme

var kuene som gikk løst overalt.

Ikke bare kuer, men også okser!

Vel fremme ble jeg tatt godt imot av Hari Ji (lederen av Triguna) og Mannu som viste meg veien til rommet. Det var et stort rom med 3 senger, 3 kommoder, en hylle ved sengen og et par knaggrekker på veggen. I et tilstøtende rom fant jeg et romslig bad med servant, et speil på veggen, dusj og do. Standarden var enkel, men rommet var rent og funksjonelt. Jeg hadde et bad, en god seng og alt jeg trengte for de neste ukene.

Det som fanget oppmerksomheten min på badet var en liten bøtte og en plakat som hang på veggen over do, hvor det stod: “PLEASE DO NOT THROW TISSUE PAPER INSIDE THE TOILET SEAT. (PUT IT IN THE PROVIDE DUSTBIN OUTSIDE)”. Her kunne man altså ikke kaste toalettpapiret i do, men i den bøtten som stod ved siden av. Jeg ble senere fortalt at det er på grunn av at rørene kan tette seg.

En annen ting jeg la merke til var den slangen med spyle hode som hang ved siden av doen 😄 Jeg skjønte jo at den skulle brukes til å spyle rumpa med etter dobesøk, men jeg må innrømme at for meg var dette nytt -for jeg har aldri brukt det før. På det tidspunktet var jeg glad for at jeg ankom Triguna før de andre 😅 så jeg fikk testet ut denne spyle slangen!

Kort tid etter at jeg ankom Triguna, ble jeg servert lunsj. Jeg var forberedt på at maten i India var “spicy”, men ble likevel overrasket over hvor sterk den var 😅 men det smakte godt.

Jeg tok en dusj & gjorde meg klar til å sove, men med hovne ankler

& uro i beina var det umulig å sovne.

Ca 20:00 banket det på døra, det var Mannu som tok imot meg da jeg kom. Han ba meg om å vennligst komme til “eating area for dinner”.

Jeg kledde på meg og gikk for å spise middag. Denne gangen var ikke maten like sterk. En av rettene var havregrøt tror jeg, den smakte litt kokos syntes jeg,

kanskje de bruker kokosmelk i den?