I'm not in Kansas anymore...

And so it was that I, completely unsure of what to expect, dropped my pack in the red earth outside of Sadhana Forest and walked into the main bamboo hut, curiously awaiting my new life in a sustainable community. Aerial view of Sadhana c/o Rashi Kalra Lawani  View of the pizza oven, dosa kitchen & washing area Free hugs happen every day at Morning Circle Sadhana Forest is an ecological project started by an Israeli family who moved to Tamil Nadu in 2003 with a vision to reforest the 70 acres of red, arid soil upon which once stood a great coastal forest. Now, despite having suffered damage from the recent cyclone, Sadhana is a 60-70 strong community situated on the outskirts of Auroville, made up of passing volunteers who sign up for a 4 week minimum stay and a handful of long term volunteers who live there for up to 3 years at a time. People live communally - cooking, cleaning, working, eating and sleeping together in bamboo huts around the 'main hut' an...

Back in the distant past of December 2010, I was at home in my parents’ house in Liverpool. It was a typical family Christmas where tensions were running high, resulting in squabbles. The wider picture of my life wasn’t too bright either – my mother had recently had a major health scare, I had failed my driving test, split up from a very intense relationship and I had started to use alcohol as a way of escaping my woes. I loved London life but it was exhausting. I was single and unfulfilled in my job. I came down with a nasty flu bug and spent most of the holiday season lying in bed feeling sorry for myself and meditating on what my life had become. During this time I was reading a book about India which was rekindling a long held desire to come to this place. At one point I remember reading the word surrender - this word literally jumped out of the page .  I threw my head back onto the pillow and dropped my book to the floor. That was it. I would pack up my life and go to India...

Mumbai can be summed up in one word: trying. I say with certainty that this was without doubt the most challenging stretch of our travels to date. Previously, we had been basking in the serenity and peace of Pushkar, blissed out and in love with the nonpareils we had collected during our Rajasthan jaunt. Our arrival in ‘The Bay’ brought us  back to earth with a bump – and with it came bad news, ill health, corruption and claustrophobia. Ah beautiful India, how you give and take in equal measure…  The dancing posture in front of the Trimurti But perhaps we asked for it. Our devotion to Lord Shiva was ongoing and again we found ourselves worshipping at his altar in the stunning caves of Elephanta, a 10km boat ride out of the Mumbai harbour. We had reunited with the Argentinean couple Fa and so and spent some wonderful time with them marvelling at the natural caves and the Shiva temples within.  I have talked in previous blogs how it that was in Hampi when I realis...