Yesterday I went shopping for shoes. I know, that’s a mundane thing to write about. However, if you read any of B.K.S. Iyengar´s work he'll tell you your brain is in your feet (so maybe our shoes have something important to tell us).

I went shopping to replace the old, haggard ones I was wearing. Boy, putting on a new pair sure felt swell. I decided to wear the new shoes out and get rid of the old ones. I pointed to my old shoes and said to the shop-keeper, "These garbage."

"Put out?" he asked.

"Yes," I replied. "Bye-bye."

He then took the shoes from me, put them in a plastic bag, went to the front of the door and threw them out onto the street. They landed near the gutter and next to a sleeping dog.

Well, that's one way of handling the matter.

It reminded me of the time I was having troubling getting onto the Internet in Mysore. This was over 10 years ago and long before the explosin of Internet cafes and wi-fi. The attendant at the shop picked up the computer and started banging it on the desk. He turned to me and said, "Now you try, mad'am."

"Err, the computer or hotmail?"

___________________

The cost of living is something can really make you smile. Here’s an itemized list of how much things cost in Mysore:

Groceries: 10 rupees for 2 cucumbers (the little kid wanted 10 rupees for 1!)
Customized items: 50 rupees to have a shirt stitched and 40 rupees to replace a zipper.
(India has the worst zippers. I once wore a new shirt made for me at a concert in India and the zipper spilt open! Luckily, the zipper was at the back and not the front. )
Dinner: 20 rupees for 1 rice, 1 curd and 2 chappitis.
Sweets: 1 rupee for candy or gum.
Snacks: 18 rupees for 100 grams of cookies or chips.
Spiritual: 5 rupees for a pack of incense.
Fashion: 10 rupees for a bracelet.
Health Food: 100 rupees for 5 large apples.
Study: 15 rupees for a writing book.

CONVERSION CHART
43.3 rupees is 1 Canadian Dollar.