Sivananda Camp

I was up late last night studying for a test today; but the test was cancelled and will be on Monday instead. Sigh. Time to blog. hehehhe.

This post is a trip down memory lane. My parents visited my in-laws last week and one of the topics was about my childhood. My dad told them stories of a camp that I had attended when I was a little over 5 years old. I simply loved the place. Here is my recollection of the same.

This was the first time I was going to a Summer Camp. It was a month-long program held in Neyyar Dam, near Trivandrum, Kerala. It was organized by Sivananda Yoga Kendra ( HO Canada). My cousins V and K ( a year older than me) were also sent to the camp. I should speak to them and see what they remember about this trip.

Anyway, like most memories, I only remember certain details. The place was beautiful. It was beside a lake. There were cottages for different groups. There was a main prayer hall where yoga was taught. There was a fixed schedule daily. I think the day began early with prayers, yoga, breakfast, some classes, lunch, resting time, bath in the lake, reading time, etc. I started reading comics from here. I got pretty good at yoga asanas but sadly did not pursue it and forgot them soon. My first exposure to spirituality and related topics was also here.

The food...hmm...I don't really remember much about it. All I remember are the fat dosas. I have never seen such thick dosas in my life. Yuck. We were allowed to buy one item from the market every week. I don't recall having money to buy anything except chocolates. I remember asking V and K to buy me biscuits. The girls and boys did not interact much and so I did not really get a chance to speak a lot to them during the stay. I remember V hiding biscuit packets and smuggling them to me. As I was the kid sister, I think they took it as a responsibility to take care of me.

The girls slept in a big cottage. We all had one steel cot each with mattress. We could see the lake from the window. There was greenery everywhere. We could not use footwear. We had to walk on pebbles and it hurt a lot. But I got used to it after a while. The restroom was nothing but a hole dug in the ground with a hut around it !! Eeeks. Every evening, we would go down to the lake and swim. I din't know swimming, so I think, I just stayed close to the banks. It was fun to just be in the water.

We had classes everyday. We were taught by Canadian monks and Indian monks as well. I was one of the youngest in the camp and got pampered by the teachers. There was a dog who used to keep running around and I used to play with him. I think I even tried to feed him the dosas (hehehehe). There was an old lady who used to just sit and look at the children. She looked weird and used to keep muttering. I was terrified with her ears. She had one of those big ear lobes. Thinking back, its so funny.

We used to have a lot of fun and games. I remember playing treausre hunt. We also had camp-fires on the river bank. All the kids used to gather around the fire and sing. We had firecrackers one night. Also remember going on a hike to rubber plantations. I also took part in some dance on the last day. I had to dance with some doll for a malayalam song. The camp ended quickly and it was time to go back home.

I asked my parents to send me again next summer. But somehow that never happened.

I did a google search today and found the website for the Org. It turns out to be a real big organization. They have ashrams all over the world ! I felt so happy looking at it. Maybe I can finally visit Sivananda Camp again ( Maybe the one in the Himalayas this time - which is in a cave). Click the link for more info.