Today: it poured with rain and I missed Mayapur.

I was at work today, entering in books on Amazon.com, when I suddenly felt so much separation from the deities in Mayapur. Being able to have their darshan every day for almost a month was one of the most special things about being my whole trip. To see the altar every morning was really to [...]

Changing Bodies on a Sunday Afternoon

Yesterday I performed with the youth dance group I’m a part of – Yuva Culture. We were taking part in the Annual ISTD Congress, held this year at the Laban Centre in South East London. ISTD is the Imperial Society for Teachers of Dance, one of the three main dance examination boards in the world. [...]

Smarami, Smarami

Today I found out something which filled me with indescribable joy. There is a phrase used in Bengali (and apparently also Hindi) to describe the time of the evening when the light is golden and slowly fading – Godhuli Bele. This translates roughly as ‘cow dust time’; that period in which the cows are coming [...]

Hello. I’m Jahnavi and I am a serial procrastinator.

Right now I’m grappling with the giant monster of coursework that I created by ignoring it (until two weeks before the deadline). I have about six separate projects/essays to complete, plus a 20 page screenplay, which I’m working on right now. Well, technically, I’m writing this blog right now but….come on….it’s all an exercise to [...]

Check Your Shoes and Pockets

For some reason I’ve been getting a lot of caterpillar association lately. Maybe I am rekindling some caterpillar related relationships from a past life, or maybe it’s just that time of year.
In Mayapur, I saw them everywhere. I thought it was pretty unusual until my friend Jayada Radhika, who lives there, told me that Mayapur [...]

Forget-me-not

It’s my habit, when walking
to pick you some flowers
so I do
clasping the stems in one hand
for the next half an hour,
while the sky darkens
but only when I put them at your feet
do I realise, I’ve picked
forget-me-nots
sky blue with yellow centres
and some a touch of pink
each one, I realise,
a small prayer
I know you bestow limitless mercy [...]

Dusty Feet

I have just come home from Vrindavan and Mayapur and I realise now why people wear those ‘I Lost My Heart in Vrindavan’ t-shirts. I always thought they were pretty corny, but I suddenly feel the same way; as if I am incomplete now that I’m back in England. As usual, I regret not trying [...]