Kate Taylor's Yoga Site

The Indian women are very fond of adornment. From their elegant Saris, to the forehead bindi, to their jewelry, the women usually look as if they are dressed up and ready to go to a party. Even the lady who does our laundry does it in a beautiful Sari (and seems to keep it dry throughout the whole process of banging my wet clothes on a stone).

One of the customs that I find quite beautiful is nose piercing.  I did a little research on this tradition and found out that not only is it for adornment, but that ayurvedic tradition considers piercing the left nostril to be supportive of the female reproductive organs.  Hmmm…maybe if I pierced my nose I would have a baby in tow next time I come to Mysore ??

I figured it was worth a try, and a good excuse for more jewelry.  I asked around about who might be able to help me on my quest to enhance my fertility. Tina (the source of all knowledge about things in Mysore) suggested the hospital just down the street. She also told me that I would need to buy the nose stud, and should go the jewelry store across from the Ganesh Temple.

Last night I bought myself two small gold studs – one plain one and a fancy one with white “diamonds” for special occasions. After breakfast, my friend June accompanied me down to the Aadithya Aadhikari Hospital – they were flying an orange Om flag, so I took this as a good sign.

I stepped into the waiting room and spoke to a lady at the reception desk. Within minutes I was given a prescription and told to walk across the courtyard and get it filled: one sterile needle and one insulin syringe. Total cost: 8 rupees (about 20 cents.I walked back over to the main waiting room and was quickly ushered into treatment room where a woman doctor greeted me. I showed her my purchase, we talked briefly and she asked me to lie down on the steel table.

Before I knew it she had injected me with the insulin and was telling me to keep my eyes closed. My left nostril must have gotten completely numb, because I could feel her fiddling with my nose, but did not feel any pain and could not tell exactly what she was doing.  Every now and then her assistant would swab me with some sort of antiseptic liquid and wipe my nose with some cotton. After about 5 minutes the whole procedure was done.  She gave me a prescription for some antibiotics, and I paid my 100 rupees on the way out.

Total cost for the procedure and both prescriptions: 154 rupees. Look on Jennifer's face when I ran into her later: priceless.

Tomorrow I am gong back up to the ashram in the B.R. Hills to meditate and talk to the swami. I have been having a great time running around Mysore with my new friends, but I am looking forward to the quiet up there.