assorted things birthday style

the shangri la-quite sunday brunch is quite impressive. from left to right: moi, doug, skye, matt, thinh, stacy, melinda and kate.

check out this rose piece in the lobby!

eamon came into town on monday night....
to celebrate the 28th year....i got roses, a grill....
and candle light dinner with champagne (flash is way too bright)

it was great. only 364 days til the next one!

yesterday.

yesterday i participated in delhi's first ever yogathon. this event kicked off our school's week of peace and compassion. the founder, meena, envisioned getting people together to send positive energy, peace, and compassion around the world. much like any other "thon" that i've done (oh wait, this is the first) we got t-shirts and lined up our yoga mats in the hall of peace in the middle school. we did some mindful meditation and my acapella group sang a lovely song about peace. the goal was 10 collective suryanamaskars (sun salutations) and many people aimed to do 108.

The Vedic system believes that 108 represent the universe or supreme. Lord Krishna had 108 gopis, there are 108 beads in Hindu rosary, there are 108 Upanishads, there are 108 holy places associated with Lord Vishnu (Divyadesams) and Sati’s body split into 108 pieces on hearing Daksha insulting her husband Lord Shiva. The list grows as we dig into scriptures. Then are some complex explanations to this too.

Knowing I had a big day, and that i'm no cardiovascular machine I aimed for 13, and ended up doing 14 (on each side) for a total of 28 for my age. a mela followed the yogathon....i'm very excited for mela season to begin.

i feel a little uncomfortable sharing spiriturality in the same room with 50+ people, mostly because i'm not sure i could really pinpoint my spirituality. but something happened in that room that followed with me. i had more patience for people yesterday, i smiled more, and i felt more content with myself. now that is truly something.


the positivity continued into the evening for a fabulous celebration of the upcoming 28th birthday. all of my favorite people came out to dance, drink and be merry. it was a marvelously cool evening, which lended itself well to an inside/outside party. it was such a great party and all of my india family was there. i'm really blessed to have come to such a great place with great people.

The "8" was already eaten (thanks for the cakes, maureen)

the whites, melissa and scott

the outside party

the kitchen party, funny how that always happens

what would i do without these two? thinh and laura tore up the dance floor!
end of the night, clearly. doesn't everyone end their parties with a little mariah sing along?


so to really end the weekend well, we went for a champagne brunch at the shangri-la. its my friend doug's birthday on tuesday...so we ate, drank and we merry.

What a weekend!

what a wild ride

it's been a crazy week. life went on as normal at school. thankfully none of the 1500 members of our school were hurt in the bomb blasts, nor were the attacks directed at foreigners. what most people don't understand about this terrorism is that, while the outside world surely influences the tensions, it really roots between two religious groups, muslim and hindu. but this religious war has claimed so many lives here in india in just the last 3 months that the danger is very present. sad. scary. but not in the respect that we walk around in fear, or even second guess trips to the market. the way i see it, if we do, they win. people have different takes on why the attacks take place...my indian colleagues have mentioned that whenever elections are coming these attacks happen.
nonetheless the terror has come "closer to home." the islamabad attacks, while in pakistan, really hit home in the respect that it is not unlikely for us to dine at a 5 star hotel, or at least get cocktails. so the thought that life is so fragile in that respect is scary.
i'm rambling.
i have a more uplifting post to come.

safe and sound

not like this would be the first place you'd check, but i am safe and sound.
bombs ripped through delhi today. i had been shopping in GK-1 this afternoon and left around 2:30. the bombs occured around 6. the mood around town is not scary, and life in our circles goes on as normal, so far.
much love

xoxo
b

photo pages

i've done some serious photo updating...including pics of my new flat.
click here, or look on the right side to "glimpse of india and beyond"
check out: bali, england, B124 Vasant Vihar


xoxo