It was our first morning in Chiang Rai. I could hear Suprabhatam being offered to Swamy, but was too tired to get up. I got up at 06:00 AM and it was only then I realized what all happened the previous night.
We were provided with two mattresses, a bed sheet, pillow and blanket for our bedding (multiply this with 200 for the total figure).
I got to the bathrooms. The bathrooms were well maintained, with continuous tap water and toiled soaps etc. I took a bath and got ready. The air was fresh and smelled Divine. The place was perfect for Yagna. The ashram campus was a place surrounded by mountains, whose tops were constantly in clouds, often imitating the Kailasa!
Swamy said ashram is a place where there in no Shrama - strenuous effort. This was an ashram in that sense. Our lodging was a two storey building, made of concrete. We all young chotu Ritwiks, who came later were lodged on the ground floor, and the senior Acharya Ritwiks, were lodged on the first floor, for obvious reasons of protocol and convinience.
The floors were carpeted, and there were about eight bathrooms on the ground floor, adjacent to our lodging. Few more were added in the next few days.
There was a huge cooking area, where I recollect, never the emanating of delicious vapours and fumes of delicacies stopped. It was more like the western canteen in Prasanthi Nilayam. There was a fully automatic washing machine, brand new one at our disposal, for use, ready.
A water purifying plant to purify the water that was directly being drawn from the nearby river. We were provided the luxury of Nadi Snanam, sacred river bath during the Yagna celebration.
In the corridor of the ground floor, there was a huge tables, always filled with exotic fruits - which we had never seen, along with bananas and pineapples – which were dripping delicious necter.
On to the right of the corridor, there was a long table, adjoining the wall, where there were cans for hot water. There were cartons of various beverage powders, biscuits and tissue papers.
There were two fancy tents erected, for serving and seating during the lunch sessions. There was a complete Thai cooking and serving section, and an equally elaborate arrangement for South Indian Madi Vanta – food preparation for ritual and Naivedyam. At the back was the area where volunteers would prepare vegetables for cooking on one half and wash the utensils on the other.
We had a sumptuous breakfast may be after almost two days of travelling by rail, air and road.. The last complete meal was probably in Hyderabad, not that were not fed properly, but we ate less as we were travelling.
The menu had three fruits, all new to us Indians, Upma, Chutney, and three more Thai dishes. Coffee and Tea was perennial I should say. Two huge hot water cans and condensed milk tins were provided. Coffee, tea and Milo packs were at our disposal 24h a day. For many south Indians specially from the madras belt, coffee is next to breath, which was well taken care of.
Invariably the breakfast menu was elaborate, and dishes were never repeated. In the Indian cuisine, it was spicy pongal, plain pongal, upma, semiya upma, and things like. Noodles, soups of various types, Thai, Chinese, Malay, exotic fruits, bananas, deep fried, crispies, softies, juices… comprised the Thai menu. The hospitality reminded me the huge party given by sage Vasistha to Vishwamitra in Ramayana where, in the scripture it is written, menu consisted of foods that could be eaten, drunk, licked, peeled, juiced (bhakshya, bhojya, lehya, choshyam). Dishes were delicious and what is more important is they were strictly Satwik in concurrence with the requirements of the food suitable for Ritwiks.
What is most important, was the Love with which they were prepared and served. I remember, there was one lady, whom I used to see at 01:00 AM in the kitchen boiling vegetables for next day, again at 05:00 AM for Suprabhatam! The fruits were just not 'placed in our plates' or 'given' to us, they were peeled for each one of us, just before 'offering' to us. The way they humbly asked what we needed was itself more satisfying and fulfilling, contending , as was the elaborate breakfast itself.
We were provided with two mattresses, a bed sheet, pillow and blanket for our bedding (multiply this with 200 for the total figure).
I got to the bathrooms. The bathrooms were well maintained, with continuous tap water and toiled soaps etc. I took a bath and got ready. The air was fresh and smelled Divine. The place was perfect for Yagna. The ashram campus was a place surrounded by mountains, whose tops were constantly in clouds, often imitating the Kailasa!
Swamy said ashram is a place where there in no Shrama - strenuous effort. This was an ashram in that sense. Our lodging was a two storey building, made of concrete. We all young chotu Ritwiks, who came later were lodged on the ground floor, and the senior Acharya Ritwiks, were lodged on the first floor, for obvious reasons of protocol and convinience.
The floors were carpeted, and there were about eight bathrooms on the ground floor, adjacent to our lodging. Few more were added in the next few days.
There was a huge cooking area, where I recollect, never the emanating of delicious vapours and fumes of delicacies stopped. It was more like the western canteen in Prasanthi Nilayam. There was a fully automatic washing machine, brand new one at our disposal, for use, ready.
A water purifying plant to purify the water that was directly being drawn from the nearby river. We were provided the luxury of Nadi Snanam, sacred river bath during the Yagna celebration.
In the corridor of the ground floor, there was a huge tables, always filled with exotic fruits - which we had never seen, along with bananas and pineapples – which were dripping delicious necter.
On to the right of the corridor, there was a long table, adjoining the wall, where there were cans for hot water. There were cartons of various beverage powders, biscuits and tissue papers.
There were two fancy tents erected, for serving and seating during the lunch sessions. There was a complete Thai cooking and serving section, and an equally elaborate arrangement for South Indian Madi Vanta – food preparation for ritual and Naivedyam. At the back was the area where volunteers would prepare vegetables for cooking on one half and wash the utensils on the other.
We had a sumptuous breakfast may be after almost two days of travelling by rail, air and road.. The last complete meal was probably in Hyderabad, not that were not fed properly, but we ate less as we were travelling.
The menu had three fruits, all new to us Indians, Upma, Chutney, and three more Thai dishes. Coffee and Tea was perennial I should say. Two huge hot water cans and condensed milk tins were provided. Coffee, tea and Milo packs were at our disposal 24h a day. For many south Indians specially from the madras belt, coffee is next to breath, which was well taken care of.
Invariably the breakfast menu was elaborate, and dishes were never repeated. In the Indian cuisine, it was spicy pongal, plain pongal, upma, semiya upma, and things like. Noodles, soups of various types, Thai, Chinese, Malay, exotic fruits, bananas, deep fried, crispies, softies, juices… comprised the Thai menu. The hospitality reminded me the huge party given by sage Vasistha to Vishwamitra in Ramayana where, in the scripture it is written, menu consisted of foods that could be eaten, drunk, licked, peeled, juiced (bhakshya, bhojya, lehya, choshyam). Dishes were delicious and what is more important is they were strictly Satwik in concurrence with the requirements of the food suitable for Ritwiks.
What is most important, was the Love with which they were prepared and served. I remember, there was one lady, whom I used to see at 01:00 AM in the kitchen boiling vegetables for next day, again at 05:00 AM for Suprabhatam! The fruits were just not 'placed in our plates' or 'given' to us, they were peeled for each one of us, just before 'offering' to us. The way they humbly asked what we needed was itself more satisfying and fulfilling, contending , as was the elaborate breakfast itself.
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