My Niece Sophie's Adventures In India

My rather adventurous niece, Sophie Herbert, is a recent graduate of The Cooper Union in New York City, a most wonderful college focusing on art, architecture, and engineering, where she earned high honors in photography and fine arts.  Upon graduating, Sophie returned to India, a country she has been to a few times and loves to explore.  She recently sent this email describing her latest travels and I would love to share her adventures and photos with you.  I’m really amazed at how her yoga practice has progressed.  Check out her Web sites!

www.SophieSundar.com

 www.SophieHerbert.com

GREETINGS FROM SOUTH INDIA!

Beautiful…I'm sitting in a coconut grove in the rural village of Keelakkadu, located in the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu.  The trees belong to my boyfriend Sundar's family.  I am so grateful for their hospitality and kindness.  We arrived two days ago, after a short trip to Chennai and the nearby beach town of Mamallapuram.

Keelakkadu is a beautiful, green, and peaceful place.  It's a tight-knit community where there seems to be no such thing as a closed door.   English is not as widely spoken as elsewhere in India, but despite the language barrier, I feel very much at home.  Their mother tongue, Tamil, is a soothing sounding language that predates Sanskrit!

I have been offered so many delicious meals and wonderful tiny cups of South Indian filter coffee. (The tradition is to serve it with a very generous amount of sugar… Some people can't believe I like to drink it unsweetened.)  Traditional South Indian fare includes dosas (pancakes made from a rice and lentil flour batter), idly (steamed pods made from the same batter), coconut and coriander chutneys, various vegetarian and non-vegetarian curries and kormas, porottha (my favorite pan bread – it's doughy, flakey, and a little crispy), and rice.  Meals are served on freshly cut banana leaves or aluminum plates.  Sundar's mother is a particularly fantastic cook.

To say the least, I am very happy to be here!  There is no shortage of cows, goats, or chickens roaming around.  On Wednesday, we’re going boating through a large lagoon by the Bay of Bengal.  In a few days we'll continue our travels through more of Tamil Nadu and then onto Mysore (The Ashtanga yoga capital – I love this place).  I will then spend January and February volunteering at a yoga ashram near Mumbai where I did a teacher training.

The past few weeks have included an unprecedented amount of travel for me.  I had been teaching yoga in Kazakhstan with Sundar for a few months when I heard about my grandmother's stroke.  I managed to find an affordable way back to New York (Kazakhstan is a difficult country to get out of).  It required 41 hours of travel, but that is irrelevant.  I am so thankful to have spent those final days with my grandmother, whom I lived with since I was born, along with the rest of my immediate family. 

My travels back in India have included two 14-hour bus rides to and from Dharamsala, a town nestled in the foothills of the Himalayas and the home to His Holiness, The Dalai Lama.  It's also where I met Sundar while teaching English to Tibetan refugees for a few months in 2005. There has also been a 37-hour train journey from Delhi to Chennai, and some other long bus rides in Tamil Nadu.  On each trip there is always so much to see, great books to read, and interesting people to meet.

There is so much more I'd like to write, but Sundar is going to take me to the beach on his friend's motorcycle.

Sundar and I at Prana Yoga in Astana, Kazakhstan

A prawn plantation about 4 km from Sundar's home. They will fill it with water next month.

Near-by rice patties

A roasted corn vendor on the beach in Chennai.

A Photo of me

The lagoon that we have since visited. It is the largest mangrove in India!

A photo of Sundar's uncle at his tree nursery. He cares for over 4,000 rare and common trees (there are about 40 different varieties)! Everything is organically grown.

Offerings at a Hindu Temple after an anual festival that over 300,000 people attended.

Comments

[Jane M]

Nice blog today. I was in India many MANY moons ago.

[Trish]

Well, Martha, how is it that Sophie is so adventurous? Does it have anything to do with all the trips you used to take her on such as to the Galápagos Island, etc? I feel like I've watched her grow up so maybe it's okay to say I'm really proud of her. On a lighter note I have to also say, she's come a long way since the "hoe" incident. That still makes me chuckle. Laura, you must really miss her being so far away from home so technology is a really good thing. I look forward to seeing her websites. Trish

[Jeanne Wisniewski]

Dear Martha,

Congratulations on your 25th anniversary on Entertaining. My friend introduced me to you through this book and I have been a fan ever since. What wonders and accomplishments through all the years. Good for you. It takes a unique person like you to accomplish so many things and teach them so well.

My deepest sympathies on the loss of your mother.

Regards,

Jeanne Wisniewski

[Pam From CA]

Sophie has grown up now and is talented and spunky. She travels alone through many far off places, the young have guts that's for sure. I remember watching her roll dough with her aunt and grandma and they all just laughed and laughed as Sophie struggled to learn the task in front of her. Sophie's photos are beautiful and she will go far she has spirit and a love for living and for learning traditions and cultures of other lands. Maybe she will work for MSL and bring us photos from homes across the world one day.

[Jan Erickson]

Hi Laura, How nice of you to share this blog about your beautiful daughter with all of us. I remember her as a child appearing on many of Martha's TV shows and it has been fun watching her as she has matured into a beautiful young woman. Thanks again. Jan

[Margie]

Laura, Sophie, and Martha

Excellent blog. It is always rewarding to see young adventurous, motivated, skilled and humble people pursing a dream. Sophie is an inspiration to anyone who wishes to find their own life and reason for being.
Thanks for posting the pictures and thoughts.

[Catherine Kurczynski]

Laura--I can't get over how much pictures of Sophie look like pictures of Big Martha when she was a young woman. You must be so proud of your daughter.

Traveling in India is such an adventure. At the end of 1999, I went to India for a nephew's wedding. We spent a month traveling by plane, train, bus and car to see as much as we could. Our hosts in India were very hospitable. Of course, I loved seeing the Taj Mahal--we traveled by train from New Delhi to Agra. My favorite part of the journey was visiting Jaisalmer in the Tar Desert in the Rajasthan Province where I had my first and last camel ride.

I'd love to hear more about Sophie's travels--keep us posted.

[Jenny]

Dear Sophie, Laura and Martha,

What a treat to see Sophie grow from an adorable little girl on the original Martha Stewart show in the early 90's, to a beautiful woman. She feels like my own niece since we all watched her grow up. What a talented well rounded indivudual she is. Thanks for sharing, Sophie, and we hope to see MANY more photos of your travels!
Jenny

[Mala]

Dear Martha,

I am so glad to see all these lovely photos and details of Sophie's Indian adventure! As an Indian, am happy and proud of the fact that you have put up these beautiful posts. Am going to check out Sophie's websites right away!

[Ramesh Kumar]

Hai,
I am Ramesh Kumar from India.

I am a Business Administration Graduate, living in Sivakasi ( Near the famous temple city Madurai) , Tamil Nadu .It's the deep hindu South of India.I am interested in vast travelling and I know Tamil ( My Mother Toungue), English, Hindi, Bengali and a little bit Malayalam ( The language used in Kerala (' God's Own Country)).

We are running a NPO offering volunteering oppurtunities to the Gap year students and professionals in the following fields:

1. Teaching (In Rural Schools)
2. Care and Community (In Orphanages)
3. Medicine (In Local Hospitals assisting Doctors)
4. Veterinary Medicine
5. Conservation (In a Model Farm and with local community)
6. Journalism (Publishing a Magazine and working with local newspapers)
7. Sports (Teaching Cricket , Food Ball etc...)
8. Yoga
9. Ayrvedic Medicine ( In Kerala)

We are arranging placements for the volunteers on the above fields and also we are arranging for Host Family accomodation for the volunteers.

Also we are conducting week ends (Twice in a month alternative weeks) for the volunteers who are in the placements to the most attractive tourist places in Tamil Nadu and Kerala.

We can offer placements like Women Empowerment and HIV Prevention also.

And you may know India is one of the most interesting place to visit for the volunteers.Lots of unexplored adventures are waiting for the volunteers.

Waiting for your visit to India.

And I am very much happy to answer your further questions.

Individual Care is our speciality

Thanking You,

Yours Truly,

N.Ramesh Kumar,

2-1/442, Munish Nagar,
Vilampatti Road,Near Sabai Matchworks,
Anaiyur (Po),Sivakasi (West) - 626 124
Tamil Nadu, India.

invitingtoindia@yahoo.co.in

Mobile : 00 91 99943 18866
Telephone : 00 91 4562 220619