A Study in Contrasts

From our previous post, you will see that the first “leg” of Adventures-with-Chris included Agra (Taj Mahal), Mathura, and Vrindavan. This post captures PART TWO OF ADVENTURES-WITH-CHRIS: Visits to the girls’ homelands.

Devki is from the western and somewhat remote town of Junegadh in the state of Gujarat. Malvika is from the more central and modernized town of Pune (also called Poona) in the state of Maharashtra. Both cities are wonderful, and provide quite a study of contrasts!

For the past week, our itinerary was:  Delhi, Pune, Mumbai, Rajkot, Junagadh, Ahmedabad, back to Delhi.  Three in-country flights, two days with hired drivers, 1 train ride.  What a week it’s been!

We saw architectural marvels — including mosques, temples, mausoleums, fascinating 400-year-old step-wells, 2000-year-old Buddhist cave temples, and a fort built in 319 BC! We visited several museums, a famous bakery, vibrant street-markets, and more. We even attended a Good Friday church service with a re-enactment of the 12 Stations of the Cross.

The pictures, as usual, tell most of the story.  I will not go into detail about the trips to the orphanages – those are the girls’ own private journeys — physically, spiritually, and emotionally. But I will say that there are still several people at the hotel in Ahmedabad who remember us from 16 years ago when Devki was first placed into our arms! We brought a picture of one of the chefs holding her as a baby, and he remembered her well.

I will also add that we were given the special opportunity to see the babies and young children at both orphanages, which was both sweet and painful.   The orphanages are doing what they can to take good care of the children, but conditions are sparse and the children with special needs are unlikely to have a fulfilling future as they grow. At one orphanage, we saw an autistic boy of about 8 years confined to a small crib with no stimulation. Another charming boy, age 2, had crossed eyes and legs that bent around each other – both manageable conditions in a place with the right resources. We all said we would adopt any of these children in a heartbeat if we could.  It was difficult to leave them, not knowing what their futures would bring.

The pictures also tell the story of contrasts between Pune – a “young” upbeat college town that reminded us of Boston – and Junagadh – remote and ancient.  Interestingly, Mahatma Gandhi links both places together: He grew up in Gujarat and was later imprisoned in a “palace” in Pune.  We have learned a great deal about Gandhi’s life and work.

In every single place we have been, the people have been extraordinarily kind and genuine. We have had people approach us to have their picture taken with us or to practice their English; we have had drivers, including rickshaw drivers, who went out of their way to be generous with their time; we have had moments of incredible beauty, peace, and connection. I can’t begin to capture the SPIRIT and GENTLE SOUL of India and its people – an awareness and compassion that permeates every place we have been.

Below are a handful of scenes from various spots.  TRUST ME — I have pared and pared and pared down from hundreds of photos to try to keep these sets “short and sweet”!  But you can’t imagine how difficult a task that is!  I encourage you to take a look.  If you simply can’t take another image of intricate carvings and other aspects of temples and mosques — very old, somewhat old, and new… at least check out the first set of “street scenes” to catch a glimpse of daily life being lived by everyday folks.  🙂

Set 1:  Various street scenes from various places: (Note the photo of the cow-patties for sale.  Also, in another photo, the man selling veggies is located in front of heaps of garbage where stray puppies scrounge for food.)

Pigeon food and drink station — lots of these are set up around most cities.

Woman with donkey

Cow strolling down the busy street — a common sight everywhere!

Anita and Devki in one rickshaw…

…Malvika and Chris in another!

Sheep on the street

veggies in front of garbage — do you see the puppies?

cow patties and other items for sale

garlic!

painting pottery

hot peppers

Set 2: Buddhist Cave, 8th Century, Pune:

 

Set 3: Aga Khan Palace where Gandhi was confined for 2 years, Pune:

Set 4: Dinkar Kelkar Museum, filled with eclectic objects (18^th & 19^th c.), Pune:

 

Set 5:  Rajkot — temple, coconut milk on the street, Good Friday service:

 

Set 6: Tombs, Gates, Forts, Wells, Temples — Junagadh:

Station Gate

Bahauddin Tomb

Another tomb

Uparkot Fort, 319 BC

Uparkot Fort, 319 BC

Uparkot Fort, 319 BC

Step Well

Step Well

Temple in gold

Temple in gold

 

Set 7:  Ahmedabad:

Set 8:  Cama Hotel where we first met Devki as a 16-month-old baby!  And where the Easter Bunny apparently found us, all the way around the world.

Set 9:  Step well in Ahmedabad… And a last picture of a child in front of her home, sitting on a charpoy (which we see everywhere):

HOLI MOLY!!

HOLI FOUND US!

But I must back up before explaining why I will have teal-green hair for a long time to come…  (And if you want an actual visual of this, you’ll need to read the whole post to the very end!)

Chris arrived very late Friday night, so Saturday was a low-key day.  We walked down to our respective campuses and showed him our local market.  Then, just to initiate him into “life in India,” we took the metro in the evening to Lajpat Nagar market.  Culture shock for Chris, great time for all of us!

On Sunday, we hired a car and driver and left very early in the morning (6:00 AM) to drive several hours to the TAJ MAHAL!  That’s been on our “bucket list” for many years, and we knew that someday we would make it.  I’ve always heard that, no matter what it looks like in books, no matter how “tourist-y” it is, nothing compares to seeing it in real life.  Pictures can’t do justice to the real thing, and we discovered how true that fact is.

The Taj Mahal is breathtaking from the very first distant glimpse.  We all stood there gaping, choking up, and with tears in our eyes.  Built in the 1600s of white marble with inlaid pieces of semi-precious stones, it is one of the most remarkable pieces of Mughal architecture in the world.  Built by Shah Jahan as a mausoleum for his beloved 3rd wife who died giving birth to their 14th child, it sits on a platform that makes it appear to float in air.  We can say more about this history of this place, but we will let pictures attempt to do justice to our visit…

From there, we drove from Agra to Mathura, and we visited the Jai Guru Dev temple, a Hindu temple that is also quite beautiful.

In the evening, we had a surreal and unique experience:  We took bicycle rickshaws down crowded twisting pathways to a temple near the river Yamuna, the second sacred river of India after the Ganges.  We went to a temple and then to the Vishram Ghat for “aarti” — a religious ritual where people light candles and often take small boats out into the river.  The ghats are steps that lead to the river where people do various rituals and ceremonies.  We had bought a plate of various items (flowers, powder, rice, and a candle) and we paid a man who led us through the aarti.  First, the man took water from the river and poured some into our hands and splashed some on us.  (We tried not to think about how disgusting the water probably is… It’s holy, remember.)  Other rituals included prayers that we recited after him; tossing flowers into the river; getting a dot of powder on our foreheads, and lighting the candle to set into the river.

Today, we drove on to Vrindavan where we visited four more temples.  I should mention here that this particular region — Mathura and Vrindavan — is considered to be the birthplace and childhood home of Lord Krishna, and the cities are holy sites of pilgrimage.  The time of Holi (celebration of colors) is particularly celebrated here, so we were in the center of the Holi excitement!

The second temple we visited today was Banke Bihari, where Holi was in full swing, to say the least.  We got into the temple and were all immediately dusted with multi-colored powders and sprayed with water.  Strangers approached us and rubbed powders in our hair and on our faces.  We looked like walking rainbows.  Here are some photos of us:

And here’s a bunch of photos from the other temples we visited today.  Can’t begin to explain all of them, but at least one was set up through the Hare Krishnas, a group of Hindus who follow Krishna and who are very upbeat with their music and beliefs.  It was a joyful day today!

To close this blog, I will end with a photo that shows the state of my HAIR even after two very thorough washes.  Guess I’ll look like an oompa-loompa for a while!  Totally worth it.  Totally.  Hare Krishna and Happy Holi, everyone!

Reading and Gift-Giving at Deepalaya

This is a short post about our most recent trip last Friday to Deepalaya, the school (Learning Center) that provides educational opportunities for an adjacent slum community.  I (Anita) have been 3 times and Devki and Malvika have come twice.  We hope to go back in April at least one or two more times to read to the young children.

This most recent time, our rickshaw driver got turned around and we ended up riding through part of the slum itself.  We saw a slice of life first-hand that was very difficult to witness.  The poverty and close proximity of people and living quarters are hard to imagine through American eyes, and we were able to more personally and directly see the impact that Deepalaya can have on the children’s education and well-being.

We read to the kids and then had the “class 1” students come to the library.  I had brought the book Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?  with some activities I had made out of photocopies (glued to cardboard).  I had little finger puppets I made out of an egg carton, and some little “cards” with pictures on them.  I handed them out and asked the kids to hold them up as I read the book aloud.  There is a video below of me reading and the children participating.  They were adorable!

Then, we gave the class knitted dolls that my aunt Anita Lovejoy had made.  I had brought about 20 of these dolls to India and was waiting for a good opportunity to give them to children — and this was it!  Interestingly, while we have seen children PLAY — often with nothing but their own ingenuity and imaginations — it was immediately clear that the kids did not know what to do with these dolls.  Their first reaction was to bop each other over the head with them!  So I called them together and showed them how to do activities with the dolls.  You will see the videos below.

It is important to remember that these kids have been introduced to some English, but they are not English speakers.  So the language barrier meant that it was even more important to dramatize everything, both for the books and the dolls.  (It’s a great context to learn new Hindi words, so the learning is mutual!)

Enjoy!  (And don’t laugh too much at me when you see the videos!)

Photos:

Two short videos of me helping them play with the dolls:

And one of me reading to them:

A Day of History with Friends

I can’t begin to keep up with the day to day sorts of events, sights, and moments we are experiencing.  And I also know that a basic “cataloguing” of historical sights is beginning to sound (and look) repetitive.  But there is SO MUCH history here, especially in Delhi!  It’s hard to wrap our heads around it all, and it never gets boring for us!

We also want to capture the “ordinary” moments, and we have pictures and videos we want to share that we have not yet had time to.  For example, the gardens blooming on our campuses; our additional reading time with the children at Deepalaya (see a previous entry about the school); my (Anita’s) speaking events; the girls’ video they made about their schooling; and even just day to day life, replete with moments that are moving, interesting, funny, spiritual, or just the way life is.  We will try to get more of our “life details” here soon. (It also takes FOREVER to load pictures and videos with our somewhat-spotty internet service!)

As for this entry… I won’t bog it down with all the historical details, but I did want to share a few photos and mention the day we had yesterday with friends.

One of the most well-known places to visit is the Red Fort, part of Old Delhi, and connected with Chandni Chowk — the market and street I mentioned in a previous post.  The Red Fort was constructed in 1648 by the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan (who also built the Taj Mahal).  It was originally part of an entire walled city, with canals of water running through pavilions, expansive gardens, and — as we have found in so many places — architecture built of red sandstone, marble and limestone.  Much of it was destroyed by the British who built military barracks and plundered many of the valuables.   However, what remains is splendid.

My colleague Smriti and her charming 11-year-old son Utkash met up with us, and Smriti also asked a “4th year” LSR student,Bhumika, to join us as our “tour guide.”  Utkash gets along great with my girls, and he happened to have a pink water balloon with him that he filled with water and carried around for quite some time — attempting without success to throw it at Malvika. (In this photo, he and his mother have put on scarves at the temple we were visiting — see info below.  Yes, he carried that balloon through the temple!)

Here are a few shots of the Red Fort… (Click on set to scroll through.)

Old Delhi is an insanely chaotic and overwhelming place, and it’s hard to capture in images and videos.  You need to experience the madness of it in person to appreciate how surreal it is.  It’s a mishmash of wall-to-wall people, sounds, market shops, smells, vehicles — all mixed in with temples, forts, and other buildings, some as old as the 16th century.

I love this first picture I captured spontaneously of a woman and a boy selling spices of the road side.

And this guy is a cobbler, making and repairing shoes, even as he wears none himself.  Again, just out on the street…

There was a big Sikh event happening while we were there.  There is ALWAYS “a big event” happening wherever we go!  So this was par for the course.  There were sword fighting demonstrations, a parade with horses, and loud confetti-guns being shot off (scared the living daylights out of me at one point when I’d parted the crowds to get close, only to have the gun go off in my ear!  Thought for sure I was being shot as the “white lady who pushed her way to the front.”)

Scenes at dusk (later in the day)…

   

… annnnddd… a guy in a rickshaw carrying several fish in a whiskey bottle.  Of course.  Because, India.

Anyway, after the Red Fort, we ate a small lunch…  The girls and I love the “kathi rolls” in the last picture.  Don’t ask me what the other items are.  All I know is that they are delicious.  And yes, that’s a hot green chili pepper in the first picture.)

     

…and then went on to a famous Gurudwara, a Sikh temple, built in honor of a guru who was beheaded at that very spot in 1675 for refusing to convert to Islam.  Sikhs believe in one God and preach social justice for all.  It is a very interesting faith, and the temple was amazing.  We first took off our shoes and walked through water to wash our feet.  We then covered our heads (male and female) and purchased a small “offering.”  With this dish of a sweet food, one of the Sikhs took a portion of it and the rest was given back to us.  The portion taken was added to a large bowl that was then transferred to the exit, thus allowing the offering to be given back communally to everyone who passes through.  We each got a serving in our hands on our way out.  This temple has free meals every day for anyone who wants or needs it, and also free water in cups set up outside all day long.

At that point, the student Bhumika left us to get back to her studies, and the rest of us walked around a bit more and then took a rickshaw (yes, 5 of us piled into one!) to Purana Qila, an “old fort” in a different section of Delhi, where we watched a light and sound show in English.  It was very buggy (mosquitoes), but they provided little incense-type sticks to hold onto to ward off the bugs.

And that’s that for yesterday’s adventure!  Signing off and heading to bed now.

Jaipur!

This past Sunday to Thursday, the girls and I took a trip to Jaipur in the state of Rajasthan, a desert region of India.  We were there primarily for a Fulbright conference, at a fancy hotel where we felt like we had momentarily stepped out of the “day to day India.”  We ate like queens, attended nightly performances and events, and went to numerous conference sessions on life in India and other south and central Asian countries.  We flew to Jaipur on Sunday and took the train back to Delhi Thursday.  On Wednesday, we decided to take the full day to explore the city of Jaipur, also known as the Pink City because the buildings of the “old city” are all painted pink (a color of welcome during the time the city was built).

Before I show the photos of the remarkable sights and experiences of Jaipur (including riding an elephant!), I also want to add here that, on Friday, the girls and I returned to Deepalaya school (see previous entry) where we read to children.  Here are a few photos of that time:

Devki reading to upper kindergarten

Malvika reading to upper kindergarten

children interacting with the donated smart board

Now for our virtual tour of Jaipur!  First a bit of history to complement the photos…

Hawa Mahal:  Built of pink sandstone, also known as Palace of the Winds.  Built in 1799 according to Mughal-style architecture.  It was intended as a “wall” where women, who were under strict laws of Purdah (seclusion from public view), could view the outside world through the various windows.  You can see that it is basically a wall of windows overlooking the street, and it is a stunning piece of architecture.

   

We drove on to the most breathtaking site in Rajasthan — Amer Fort (also known as Amber Fort).  The girls took one elephant and I took another (with another Fulbrighter), up the steep path to the fort itself which overlooks a lake and nearby mountains.

Amer Fort was built in 1592!  It incorporates both Hindu and Muslim aspects of architecture, and it is a vast and astounding place, with various courtyards and halls; inlaid, carved, mosaic, and painted walls and ceilings; an entire hall of mosaic mirror-work; and more.  The pictures only begin to capture it, but I hope you will take time to click on the set of photos and explore the intricate details and handiwork from so many years ago.

After that, the girls and I went into the “old city” of Jaipur where we saw Jantar Mantar and City Palace.

Jantar Mantar:  Built in 1728, an astronomical and astrological construction of bizarre-looking structures that calculate time, space, and star locations.  This site includes the largest “sundial” in the world!  This is one of 5 Jantar Mantars in India, all built by the same ruler around the same time, but this one is the largest and best preserved.

Malvika as a Virgo

Devki as a Scorpio

Anita as a Gemini

Largest sundial in the world

City Palace:  Built in 1727, using various styles and influences of architecture.  Built of sandstone and marble, with elaborate structures, courtyards, and halls.

On our drive out and back to Amer, we also were able to see Jal Mahal (Lake Palace).

And here are few other scenes from Jaipur’s streets including cows and camels!