Sunday, December 7, 2008

Karen's India update #1

Because I can't seem to keep this blog updated enough, I've decided to include my wife's update. She emails this out once in a while. Obviously, more often then I!

Here goes....... I hope you enjoy it.


GREETINGS FROM INDIA!

NAMASTE!

My first impression of India on my first trip in 1979 was of the smell. As soon as the plane's door opened, it hit-- hot, very humid with a strong odor of curry, incense and manure all mixed together. Many things have changed in India since then, but not that.
I hope to write of many things and experiences during our stay here. Some will be about modern India and some will be about this ancient, colorful and amazingly beautiful land as it still exists in most areas of India.

First, a little background for those that don't know much about my love affair with India. It really started as a spiritual love affair with Avatar Meher Baba. Meher Baba is sometimes known as the Silent Master because He kept silence for over 40 years. He said, "I have not come to Teach, but to Awaken." He didn't want His lovers to proselytize so I will just say He has Christ-like qualities and as soon as I fell in love with Him, I headed to India to visit His Tomb and to spend time with His Mandali (close ones). Meherabad is my very favorite place in the world.

It is in Maharashtra State and is about a 2 hr. plane ride from here, followed by a 2-3 hr. car ride. Hey, they have a real road now, not like the good old days. Coming from the states one would fly into Mumbai (Bombay) then drive over the Ghats to Pune(formerly Poona) then onto Ahmednagar, a small city. The Ghats are natural terraces that wind up to go over the mountains which lead to the Deccan Plateau. Most people speak Hindi or Marathi of which I know a few words like "Gurum Pawnee" (hot water) which I had to learn to ask for if I wanted a hot bath. There is always a drought here so that was every 3rd day. An Indian bath consisted of a bucket of hot water which was heated by fire which you mixed with cold from a tap (whoo hoo). You took the plastic cup provided and after mixing the two poured it over your head, soaped up and proceeded to the rinse. Lest you think we are roughing it like that, let me tell you we in in a 3 bedroom 3 bath apt. More on our digs later.

I always felt very comfortable and at home here and have made 4 trips to Meherabad over the last almost 30 years. That includes a trip with my children Walker & Francesca in 2004. My husband Joe was never interested in visiting India with me so imagine the irony when he was offered AND ACCEPTED a job here in India. He will actually end up spending more time here than the rest of the family.

South India is new to me. Every part of India has different food, language, dress, religion and temples . Most women wear sarees here altho you do see some salwar kameezes ( they are the long tunics with the pj-like pants worn underneath. The pants are often tight at the ankle. You rarely see a woman without a scarf. Now some women wear western clothes but not too many. You might see tunics over jeans but that makes no sense to me as it is HOT here and oh so humid that only thin, loose cotton seems reasonable. It is a wonderful sight to watch an Indian woman walk-- it's more like gliding, even if she has a stack of bricks or a pot of water perfectly balanced on her head.

By the way, women here do construction. You will often see whole families including children working on a building. And the scaffolding is bamboo--even many stories up! And window washers are either very brave or crazy!

Traffic here is terrible. There used to be millions of bicycles here. Now there are millions of motorcycles. Only the very poor seem to still ride bikes. I saw a very small child walking his bike across the railroad tracks and I wondered how he could possibly reach or even mount the bike (it had the boy's cross bar on it). He accomplished it by sticking his leg through the other side and riding it that way so his whole body except for his right leg was on one side of the bike. How he could balance I don't know.

There is no concept of lines. For instance, in boarding a bus the whole crowd tries to funnel in. Somehow it gets accomplished. The buses are PACKED and some tilt so badly to one side you'd swear it was about to tip over. Lanes are a mere suggestion. And one hand is for the horn. Our driver Raja is especially fond of the horn and pretty much just keeps it blowing. We are getting used to it.

All this constant sensory input is exhausting. By the afternoon we are done in. I knew that would be the case so we chose a place in a quiet, shady and fairly clean neighborhood called The Boat Club. People come from all around to walk or run here. The locals pay for trash pick up because that just doesn't exist here. Even here you will walk by a pile of trash burning in the street or on the sidewalk. Yes, we do have some sidewalks in The Boat Club but that is rare.

There are mountains of regulations in India but not for things like safety or pollution. When you want to buy something in a store you choose what you want then the clerk will write it up, someone will bring it up to the payment counter where another person will wrap it or put it in a bag while you pay yet another person and someone else will very efficiently stamp( often with great gusto and seriousness) your receipt --all 3 or 4 pages and THEN you go to the other wrapping counter to pick up your purchases after your receipt is checked by another soul. WHEW! I am convinced that this is to employ as many people as possible as their work force is so huge.

I enjoyed watching the man at the hardware store wrap my meager purchase of 5 nails (there was a choice of 2 different kinds). They were wrapped in newspaper and tied with twine but with such a flourish! Plastic bags are ruining the beauty of India with no ban in sight. Paper is very valuable here and trees scarce in many parts of India. So you get plastic or in upscale shops a cloth bag. The countryside is covered with blowing plastic bags. Very sad.

Most families live together with the son's wife joining the household when they marry so there are often 3-4 generations in the house. Everyone tries to help out in some way by adding a small amount to the family income or helping out by caring for the children. You often see children with a woman who is their grandmother or great grandmother walking them to or from school. I was told by a friend (local) here that the poor families have started sending their children to the public schools since the government has started feeding them lunch. Then they know their child had at least one meal that day.

I'm trying to connect with the Overseas Women's Club which seems to do a lot of charity work. But what I really want to do is hands on with the babies. I know someone who knows a woman who runs an orphanage so I'm hopeful... It seems each orphanage, home etc. focuses on one particular group: home for foundlings, home for disabled, home for mentally challenged women (they can keep their children with them) home for death w/ dignity for the destitute.

Below are just a few photos I promise many more in the future. These were actually taken by Francesca as my camera broke and don't know how long it will take to fix it.

1. Ideal Beach where a lot of Expats go.
2.Craftsman making our cane furniture
3.One of the many colorful turbans you'll see. My favorites are the hot pink ones!
4. Cow are one of Cesca's favorite subjects.
5. Pondy Bazaar: as soon as you get out of your car, peddlers use it to sell their wares. They are very accommodating and quickly remove them as soon as you are ready to go.
6. Taken thru a rainy window--I still love these sites. Seen mostly outside of the cities.

That's it for now, I don't want tis to be too long.
Love to all and Namaste!

P.S. Years ago Namaste was translated to me as " I bow down to the God within you." I love that and hope it does not lose it's meaning and become a cliche in the west where I have heard it misused and seen as a marketing tool. My friend was relating a story of how he withdrew from an escalating verbal altercation by using this word. Powerful.






Sunday, March 9, 2008

3/08/08 Saturday Traffic.....

On my way to Pondy Bizarre we entered this intersection where everyone was entering it at the same time....... It was the first time I have ever not been able to move. It took about 15 min. before the traffic released itself......... WOW!



I finally made it to the store to find some pots and pans..... Boy, did I have a selection.
Every kind, shape and size in the world was there..... I wanted to push this large stack over, but I thought I'd better not......

Enjoy these video's....... Sometimes you just need a little sound for it all to make sense........

3/06/08 Cleaning the side of our building

If you think you have a tough job, check these guys out........

I took these pictures right outside my window. They stopped cleaning to have their picture taken...... Don't they look like their having fun!

By the way, if I didn't tell you...... I'm on the 11th floor of a 13 story building! WOW!

3/2/08 New Facility "POOJA"

The day before our facility opened up we had some spiritual people come in and perform a "pooja". Basically, we had our facility blessed Indian style...... Man, was it different!






You have to hear it...... pictures don't do it justice.
Enjoy!

Saturday, March 8, 2008

2/28/08 - Traditional Indian Wedding

Where do I begin........ I will try to explain as much as I can, But if you ever get a chance to experience this, don't pass it up...... WOW! 
First of all, all the men meet in one place and all the women meet in another and they eat.... At some point, the band starts a procession, all the men lead the way, all wearing these hats (not sure of the name),  then the groom rides along on his horse, all the while, separating the women from the men..... The women follow behind the horse......


We finally end up at the wedding hall where the groom meets the mother and other ladies... They place dots on his forehead and they also try to pinch his nose.... This is suppose to mean something - as to whether he's going to be hen picked or in control of his house..... He actually keeps them from pinching his nose by covering it with a handkerchief.... 


Then at some point the bride comes out to meet him. After a few ceremonial things happen, they make their way inside..... Understand, while all this is going on, the family is inside on stage meeting and greeting the other family...... You see, these people don't know each other at all..... The bride and groom may have met maybe once or twice before this ceremony takes place..... This is what they call a planned wedding. If you look real close, the bride and groom don't look very happy... Actually they're quite scared.

After a little break, the bride and groom settle into this little area for the ceremony..... Not that many people witness this, as everyone is in another hall eating and talking.... You see, during this whole event there are all these different things going on.... In our world everyone is focused on the bride and groom..... Here, they're eating talking and barely paying attention..... During this part especially, I was even pulled away to go to some other function. So, I never saw the ending.... Who cares? Was the feeling I got..... But then for the next 3 days, they have different receptions and parties... Then everything is back to normal....... By the way, this wedding took place on a Thursday morning. It started around 11am...

This is some sights and sounds of when the groom meets the mother and the other ladies as he comes up to the hall......

Friday, March 7, 2008

2/25/08 Traveling The Countryside of Chennai

On this day, I went and bought some pots and pans in a section of town call Pondy Bizarre.....


Then, I went and picked out some fabric to have some curtains made........ For the whole Apt. it cost less than $250 (including the cost of the fabric). I think thats pretty cheap!


Later in the day, we rode out to the old facility for a meeting....... It's 45min. out of town.
 And along the way I just couldn't pass up some of the country side...... And this was nothing..... I'm not sure why water jugs were hanging along the road..... If I find out, I'll let you know. It was just weird.....

2/21/08 Found Apt.


Here's my apt (minus furniture)...... The apt. is in an area called the Boat Club...... It's also within walking distance to the Park Sheraton Hotel. Where you can get American food!

It has a little patio, 3 bedrooms, dining room, living room and of course a kitchen..... Notice all the green trees when you look out of each window........


It feels really Great!

Sunday, February 24, 2008

2/20/08 Railways Day

On this day, one of the many things I did was to go to the railway station..... This station is called Chennai Central..... You can either buy your tickets online or stand behind the screen..... As you can see, Deepak is showing me where to go........ This railway station for traveling within the country of India. Across the street there was another station for the local Chennai trains....... ALL ABOARD!


If you left your water at home, there were these troughs to fill up your water bottles...... If I were you, don't leave your water bottles at home!

If you want you can get someone to help you with your bags..... This is a scene is out of a movie. Notice the old guy in the background, the guys in the foreground are carrying his bags..... 



This huge building holds 2 huge waiting areas. This is where you wait for your train to arrive. Some people actually sit on the floors while they wait.


This guy is saying good by to his wife through the window and I'm pretending to go for  a ride.....

I also had the opportunity to board the engine to see all controls and how the engineers work the train..... It's not the kind of job you'd want. I'd rather be a pilot!


All the trains are electric. 

Before your travels, you can buy your Indian Sweets. They even make fast food Indian if your in a hurry.....


Here's the basic magazine stand and if you brought a bomb with you, they also have a bomb dept. to detect them....... WOW!

And of course, they have scales to check your weight and to give out predictions....... Sorry I can't tell you my prediction!

Play this movie to see how close you can come to missing you train!
Enjoy!