Summertime in the City of Light

We have been enjoying the summertime season (it seems like it is never ending) which stretches from March - November. The summer in the plains of North India is HOT! It is estimated that it will be 120 degrees Fahrenheit tomorrow with high humidity. Yep. Look at the wind blowing hot air near the riverside. Massive. The conversations at shops and home are relegated to a very Minnesotanesque weather discussion in reverse.

'Hai baprey, itina garam hi hai' (O Lord, It's so totally hot)

'Ji han, ummas bahout hai' (yes sir, the humidity is huge)

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Our son is rapidly growing and doing strange and mysterious things. He seems to disappear an reappear at will. Today we found him sitting in the windowsill.

An interesting bit of news this last month has been the 'ashram facility' that we are developing. We began to have two new events each month. One is a 'ashram training' once a month for Yeshubhaktas (devotees of Jesus) who are leading a home satsang and the second is an 'ashram satsang' once a month for Hindu seekers of bhakti (devotion). These are typically well educated and intellectuals of the city. Seven people showed up for the first event.

We have also been diligently scraping paint at the ashram... and scraping... and scraping...

and scraping...

and scraping...

and scraping...

and scraping (see previous posts for picts).

Needless to say it will be a long project I feel. It is cathartic though and I have been able to spend once a week for 3 -4 hours a day myself doing it. Each Thursday I am there for a morning of scraping and an afternoon with Swamiji or writing on the computer. I have also just finished a big carpentry project in our flat. You remember the post about the furniture and doors that I have been cleaning.

We will be heading out of the city for a few weeks in July to escape the heat, attend our yearly retreat 'Sadhak Darshan' (seekers vision), to have a renewal of our wedding vows in a Hindu temple style which includes circling the sacred fire seven times (for the seven years we have been married as we completed 6 years June 2nd) and eventually we will land up in a little Himalayan town for my writing project.

Until then we remain,

Jai, Aarti and Arjun