Still in Rishikesh

Learning the Tabla is going well, although a bit of a hiccup a few days ago when Kamal, my teacher, asked his older brother, the 20-year sitar player to take my lesson and check my progress - very intimidating, almost abandoned it all, but thought of Guruji and just went and practised more.
This is my teacher Kamal in the one-room music school; the room is the width of the house and is at the top of a narrow stairway which then looks down onto the Ganges. The window also looks over the Ganges of course; the sun shines into the room in just the right way -
I would like to live in this room.


Yoga was cancelled last night so I went to the internet cafe to celebrate my night of freedom! Sad,sad..but I met an American woman who told me about morning lectures in Vedanta that are being held over Christmas/New Year, in the area known as Ramjullah, at the Sivananda ashram. Kamal (music teacher - lesson follows straight after) tells me this is The Divine Life Society. The lectures started this morning and 2 Swamis spoke on introductory-type topics. It was very timely for me so I will go again tomorrow - there is a Mataji who will be giving both lectures!