This place is a microcosm of my India experience. People everywhere. There are people everywhere in the streets
of Mumbai. There are people
everywhere at the yoga shala. Crammed
on the steps, in the foyer, the bathrooms and changing rooms. The crowd presses against the doors
anticipating Sunday lead primary series.
The art of pushing in line, well I might call it pressing rather than
pushing to imply a more subtle action, is very important here. I learned about pressing in Tirupati most
recently, though I’ve pressed and been pressed in many lines in many situations
over the years of travel here. The
key is not to be an asshole, but not a push-over either. Truth is, if I don’t press, someone else
will. Everyone will end up in
there doing practice and I’ll be on the steps wondering how I got to be in the
back. It happens before you know
it.
The polite, orderly nature of the Western queue just doesn’t
pan out here. There is a
self-governing movement of the crowd, which must be present for anything to
happen in India. You see it in the
flow of road traffic, at the ticket window at the train station, and now at the
yoga shala. Getting pushed in line
at the yoga class? It’s an India
thing. No problem.
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