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.
