Well I just wanted to wish everyone Happy Thanksgiving before I leave on my Gujarat and North India Tour!
I am thankful for so much, but thanks for all of the support from back home while I am embarking on my grand Indian adventure!
Sunday, November 18, 2007
SEWA Rural
The day after I got back from my Rajasthan trip I watched two movies in the movie theater Saawariya and Om Shanti Om, and then went to a birthday party. The next day my host father arranged for my host siblings, my host brother’s friend, Morie, and I to all go to Jhagardia (a nearby town) to visit a basically nonprofit hospital for the nearby villagers and tribals. This amazing program is called SEWA (pronounced seva) Rural and it works to help educate and aid the villagers and tribals in the surrounding villagers. That day we just visited the hospital which has a large optimology department, and basically a full hospital.
Besides the hospital the SEWA Rural trains villagers and tribals skills like welding, electronics, mechanics, and agriculture skills for one year to help provide skills for jobs. They live in the hostels at the training facility, and then for the women they have sewing machine training and a place where the women make snacks and an everyday chip-like food called Papad to sell around Gujarat. They also have internships, some medical training for local students and a ton more. Besides classes and trainging, they also educate the villagers and tribal women about maternal things, women empowerment, proper care of themselves while they are pregnant, training for the midwives in the villaege, and help in child planning.
After visiting the hospital we went into the field to visit a village, and see the type of stuff they were working on there. In the village we went with the nurse who looks after 14 villages to check up on a woman who had a 25 day old baby, and then a woman who was 8 months pregnant. We also were able to meet the village midwife and see her birthing kit which was provided by the hospital. The village itself was really quite a nice and modern one with water pumps, some huts even had electricity. For the main part the houses were made out of sticks and covered in dried cow dung, and with all of the animals, flowers, ground wood stoves, you really felt like you were in a village. About 99.7% of the villagers were tribals and most either worked agriculture or in the nearby coal query. At the time we were there the quary wasn’t working because it was draining too much of the river’s water, but I was happy to hear that for the 6 months the mine wasn’t working the government was compensating its workers.
After our village visit we went to a nearby town to meet blind people who were able to find jobs and make a living for themselves. One man wove the bottoms of chairs, one ground flour and could read money, and one little girl was going to school and could read brail. The whole SEWA Rural was a really impressive program, and included a bunch of really wonderful people. I met one nice couple from San Francisco (one a optimologist and one a eurologist) who would be there for 6 months volunteering their time, and another girl from Chicago who would also be there for six months. Hopefully in the next few months I am in India I will have the opportuninty to visit Jhagardia again.
Besides the hospital the SEWA Rural trains villagers and tribals skills like welding, electronics, mechanics, and agriculture skills for one year to help provide skills for jobs. They live in the hostels at the training facility, and then for the women they have sewing machine training and a place where the women make snacks and an everyday chip-like food called Papad to sell around Gujarat. They also have internships, some medical training for local students and a ton more. Besides classes and trainging, they also educate the villagers and tribal women about maternal things, women empowerment, proper care of themselves while they are pregnant, training for the midwives in the villaege, and help in child planning.
After visiting the hospital we went into the field to visit a village, and see the type of stuff they were working on there. In the village we went with the nurse who looks after 14 villages to check up on a woman who had a 25 day old baby, and then a woman who was 8 months pregnant. We also were able to meet the village midwife and see her birthing kit which was provided by the hospital. The village itself was really quite a nice and modern one with water pumps, some huts even had electricity. For the main part the houses were made out of sticks and covered in dried cow dung, and with all of the animals, flowers, ground wood stoves, you really felt like you were in a village. About 99.7% of the villagers were tribals and most either worked agriculture or in the nearby coal query. At the time we were there the quary wasn’t working because it was draining too much of the river’s water, but I was happy to hear that for the 6 months the mine wasn’t working the government was compensating its workers.
After our village visit we went to a nearby town to meet blind people who were able to find jobs and make a living for themselves. One man wove the bottoms of chairs, one ground flour and could read money, and one little girl was going to school and could read brail. The whole SEWA Rural was a really impressive program, and included a bunch of really wonderful people. I met one nice couple from San Francisco (one a optimologist and one a eurologist) who would be there for 6 months volunteering their time, and another girl from Chicago who would also be there for six months. Hopefully in the next few months I am in India I will have the opportuninty to visit Jhagardia again.
Rajasthan trip!
Just recently I returned back from a week long Diwali vacation with my family to Jodhpur and Jaisalmer. First to get there we drove about 15 hours on Indias roads (which always includes some dodging of cars, cows, people, and for about half the way potholes). Along the way one exciting thing was when the back of the van I was riding in blew open littering the road with everyones luggage. In hindsight it was comical to watch the oncoming trucks and cars dodging the bags, food packs, and water bottles scattered over the road, but at the time it was a little scary.
Once we reached Jodhpur, and asked 6 different for people for directions we reached our gorgeous hotel on a wildlife filled lake in the middle of the desert. One thing that was really cool about the resort was that on one side of the lake it was quite deluxe with a lovely lawn, garden, nice hotel and restaurant, and then on the other side you could see a small hovel with it’s fire burning silently every morning and night, cows, goats, waterbirds, and a temple that played worship music almost all hours of the day.
Moving out of Jodhpur to officially start our trip in Jaisalmer we stopped at a couple temples. One was a lovely Jain temple with ornately scultped temples, another was a hindu temple with hundreds of stairs leading up looking over the town with its pastel houses of purple, blue, orange, and green. In the inside of the temple the intire inside was covered in colored glass, colored/decorated tiles, and mirrors (really beautiful). Another temple was connected with one of the largest libraries in Asia, and we went at night near Diwali so candles were being lit on all the steps leading to the temple, and all of the houses surrounding.
When we reached Jaisalmer we visited the tourist sights, and being white I really felt like a tourist. It was funny because each time my host mother saw another white person (which was a lot) she would say “Katie look your friends!” The really funny part was that whenever I would say good morning or hello to a westerner they would totally ignore me, but if any of my host family said hello you would have thought they were long lost brothers. In Jaisalmer we went to see the largest inhabited fort in India which was interesting but because I wasn’t India everything like going into the temples with my host family, and everything was difficult. Being a white in India kind of often makes you a target. We also saw a lake that had tons of temples in the middle of the lake, some havelis, which are like Indian Mansions with the walls totally sculpted, and more Havelis.
After a day of sightseeing in Jaisalmer my whole family set out for a desert safari. On the way to the desert safari was that the van we were driving got a flat tire, but personally I enjoyed our time on the side of the road because it gave me time to observe my surroundings, watch a couple working in the dried fields, see their stone hut covered with sticks at the top, and check out further areas with my binoculars.
Once we reached the desert safari my host sister and I rode on one camel together and my host father and brother on the other. Riding on a camel was a lot like riding on a horse, but at the beginning to get up the camel starts with first lifting its hind end and then its front. Honestly it felt like I was on a teeter totter. Through the desert with sand dunes covered with other Indian tourists, traditional dancers, and intrumentalists. I really felt like I was in a tourist area, but thank goodness this time most of them were indians. I was interested to hear that about 70% of the desert inhabitants join the armed forces and all the rest are in the tourist buisness.
Letting us off, and promising to pick us up after sunset, our camel guides left us to enjoy our surrounding sand, sun, music, and fellow tourists. After a beautiful sand dune sunset my family and I were waiting for the camel guides to pick us up. Well of course they didn’t come so my host family and I walked back to our camp. Even though it wasn’t very far I think my host sister and I were the only ones who really enjoyed the hike.
That night we stayed in luxury tents complete with beds, carpet, toilet, lights, ect, and enjoyed the traditional dance and music. At one point all the audience was allowed to come up and join in the dance, and of course I joined in and had a blast. Of course I was the only westerner in our camp so people kept asking to have their picture dancing with me. Afterwards the music band sang a song about me in english, but even though it was in english I only understood about two phrases that they actually sang. The whole evening was a blast, and I ended the desert safari by waking everyone up in the morning to watch the sunrise with me in the morning. I should also add that in the desert the temp reached a low of 14 degrees celcius!! Yeah for cold!
The next day we went back to Jaisalmer to visit a Haveli and go to temple to celebrate the Hidu New Year. At the temple the holy men had brought out the statue and shrine of the god Vishnu into the middle of the partially open air temple. One thing that was special about this Vishnu was that he had a huge diamond in the middle of his chin. The shrine was ornately decorated with silver designs of elephants, flowers, and peacocks on a black background. In front of the Vishnu was a huge pile of cow poop covered in saffron powder and rose petals holding a black rock on a handkerchief. Over the black rock the holy men were pouring milk and then rinsing it with water. To top it all off someone drug in a terrified baby calf to walk in front of the god a couple of times, put a red saffron dot on its forehead, and wrap it in a saffron scarf. When the baby calf went to the bathroom some of the nearby women stuck their hands out to catch the urine and put it on their foreheads.
For the rest of the day we drove back to Jodhpur, saw another Jain temple popular for pilgrimages, ate in its dining hall, and then reached the same resort we stayed at the first night. At Jodhpur we saw the fort, some temples, and palace, did a little shopping and came back. The drive back to Bharuch included some more stops at a couple more temples one kind of tourist destination, and the other a very religious destination that is one of the most heavily visited temples in atleast Gujarat in the city of Umba, worshiping the goddess Umba (durga, pavarti, ect for other names) several thousand people were there, and it was another shove fest to even inch your way any closer. Finally around 2:00 in the morning we reached home after a wonderful trip.
Once we reached Jodhpur, and asked 6 different for people for directions we reached our gorgeous hotel on a wildlife filled lake in the middle of the desert. One thing that was really cool about the resort was that on one side of the lake it was quite deluxe with a lovely lawn, garden, nice hotel and restaurant, and then on the other side you could see a small hovel with it’s fire burning silently every morning and night, cows, goats, waterbirds, and a temple that played worship music almost all hours of the day.
Moving out of Jodhpur to officially start our trip in Jaisalmer we stopped at a couple temples. One was a lovely Jain temple with ornately scultped temples, another was a hindu temple with hundreds of stairs leading up looking over the town with its pastel houses of purple, blue, orange, and green. In the inside of the temple the intire inside was covered in colored glass, colored/decorated tiles, and mirrors (really beautiful). Another temple was connected with one of the largest libraries in Asia, and we went at night near Diwali so candles were being lit on all the steps leading to the temple, and all of the houses surrounding.
When we reached Jaisalmer we visited the tourist sights, and being white I really felt like a tourist. It was funny because each time my host mother saw another white person (which was a lot) she would say “Katie look your friends!” The really funny part was that whenever I would say good morning or hello to a westerner they would totally ignore me, but if any of my host family said hello you would have thought they were long lost brothers. In Jaisalmer we went to see the largest inhabited fort in India which was interesting but because I wasn’t India everything like going into the temples with my host family, and everything was difficult. Being a white in India kind of often makes you a target. We also saw a lake that had tons of temples in the middle of the lake, some havelis, which are like Indian Mansions with the walls totally sculpted, and more Havelis.
After a day of sightseeing in Jaisalmer my whole family set out for a desert safari. On the way to the desert safari was that the van we were driving got a flat tire, but personally I enjoyed our time on the side of the road because it gave me time to observe my surroundings, watch a couple working in the dried fields, see their stone hut covered with sticks at the top, and check out further areas with my binoculars.
Once we reached the desert safari my host sister and I rode on one camel together and my host father and brother on the other. Riding on a camel was a lot like riding on a horse, but at the beginning to get up the camel starts with first lifting its hind end and then its front. Honestly it felt like I was on a teeter totter. Through the desert with sand dunes covered with other Indian tourists, traditional dancers, and intrumentalists. I really felt like I was in a tourist area, but thank goodness this time most of them were indians. I was interested to hear that about 70% of the desert inhabitants join the armed forces and all the rest are in the tourist buisness.
Letting us off, and promising to pick us up after sunset, our camel guides left us to enjoy our surrounding sand, sun, music, and fellow tourists. After a beautiful sand dune sunset my family and I were waiting for the camel guides to pick us up. Well of course they didn’t come so my host family and I walked back to our camp. Even though it wasn’t very far I think my host sister and I were the only ones who really enjoyed the hike.
That night we stayed in luxury tents complete with beds, carpet, toilet, lights, ect, and enjoyed the traditional dance and music. At one point all the audience was allowed to come up and join in the dance, and of course I joined in and had a blast. Of course I was the only westerner in our camp so people kept asking to have their picture dancing with me. Afterwards the music band sang a song about me in english, but even though it was in english I only understood about two phrases that they actually sang. The whole evening was a blast, and I ended the desert safari by waking everyone up in the morning to watch the sunrise with me in the morning. I should also add that in the desert the temp reached a low of 14 degrees celcius!! Yeah for cold!
The next day we went back to Jaisalmer to visit a Haveli and go to temple to celebrate the Hidu New Year. At the temple the holy men had brought out the statue and shrine of the god Vishnu into the middle of the partially open air temple. One thing that was special about this Vishnu was that he had a huge diamond in the middle of his chin. The shrine was ornately decorated with silver designs of elephants, flowers, and peacocks on a black background. In front of the Vishnu was a huge pile of cow poop covered in saffron powder and rose petals holding a black rock on a handkerchief. Over the black rock the holy men were pouring milk and then rinsing it with water. To top it all off someone drug in a terrified baby calf to walk in front of the god a couple of times, put a red saffron dot on its forehead, and wrap it in a saffron scarf. When the baby calf went to the bathroom some of the nearby women stuck their hands out to catch the urine and put it on their foreheads.
For the rest of the day we drove back to Jodhpur, saw another Jain temple popular for pilgrimages, ate in its dining hall, and then reached the same resort we stayed at the first night. At Jodhpur we saw the fort, some temples, and palace, did a little shopping and came back. The drive back to Bharuch included some more stops at a couple more temples one kind of tourist destination, and the other a very religious destination that is one of the most heavily visited temples in atleast Gujarat in the city of Umba, worshiping the goddess Umba (durga, pavarti, ect for other names) several thousand people were there, and it was another shove fest to even inch your way any closer. Finally around 2:00 in the morning we reached home after a wonderful trip.
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
Gurdwara
Oh my goodness! I have soo much catching up to do! Before I left for my trip to Jaisalmer and Jodhpur I went to Gurdwara (the Sikh temple) with my friend Mayara (from Brasil), Morie (from Japan), and Mayara’s host family (who is Sikh). When attending for worship everyone needs to cover their heads as a sign of respect. Both Sikhs and non-Sikhs are allowed to come and worship, and there was a mix of turbaned, and non-turbaned men present. Really the non-Sikhs are just not as strict, but still believe the basics of the same things.
Walking in we went before the holy book, Guru Granth Sahib and kneeled before, gave a monetary donation and then sat in gender specific areas. While reading was going on out of the holy book, which is on a kind of special platform and canopy of silver, a featherduster looking silver inlaid brush was waved over the holy book to keep the evil spirits away. The holy book in a way is kind of like their god, and they have a special room in their temple where they keep the book, and every night they put it to bed (like with a sheet, bed, and everything).
The hymns and reading is done by those Sikhs who are baptized and follow the 5 K’s which are visual identification of a Sikh: Kesh (uncut hair), Kanga (wooden comb), Kaacha (specially-designed underwear), Kara (an iron braclet/bangle), and a Kirpan (a sword strapped over their shoulder and around their waist), and they had special colored turbans. It was interesting to see the all the special identifications (minus the underwear of course), and then see the swords. Once the readings are completed Prasad (a holy food) of a kind of buttery, goopy, flour pudding is given to everyone (not my favorite).
After worshipping Langar a meal where food is free for all is served. The food is made from donations, and the kitchen is open most of the day and night. To eat you go into a large dining hall with strips of carpet/cloth laid down for people to sit on. People come around to serve you food of curry and chapattis (tortilla like bread). The chapattis are kind of holy, and to receive on you have to hold up both your hands in acceptance instead of holding out your hands. After you are done eating then everyone goes and washes their own dishes so that they are ready for anyone else who might want to eat.
Overall it was very interesting experience, and now when I see a Sikh on the street I have more appreciation for what they believe in (honesty, equality, fidelity, meditating on God, and never bowing to tyranny). Oh yeah they don’t cut their hair because they think that it is a gift from god, and you should cherish that gift.
Walking in we went before the holy book, Guru Granth Sahib and kneeled before, gave a monetary donation and then sat in gender specific areas. While reading was going on out of the holy book, which is on a kind of special platform and canopy of silver, a featherduster looking silver inlaid brush was waved over the holy book to keep the evil spirits away. The holy book in a way is kind of like their god, and they have a special room in their temple where they keep the book, and every night they put it to bed (like with a sheet, bed, and everything).
The hymns and reading is done by those Sikhs who are baptized and follow the 5 K’s which are visual identification of a Sikh: Kesh (uncut hair), Kanga (wooden comb), Kaacha (specially-designed underwear), Kara (an iron braclet/bangle), and a Kirpan (a sword strapped over their shoulder and around their waist), and they had special colored turbans. It was interesting to see the all the special identifications (minus the underwear of course), and then see the swords. Once the readings are completed Prasad (a holy food) of a kind of buttery, goopy, flour pudding is given to everyone (not my favorite).
After worshipping Langar a meal where food is free for all is served. The food is made from donations, and the kitchen is open most of the day and night. To eat you go into a large dining hall with strips of carpet/cloth laid down for people to sit on. People come around to serve you food of curry and chapattis (tortilla like bread). The chapattis are kind of holy, and to receive on you have to hold up both your hands in acceptance instead of holding out your hands. After you are done eating then everyone goes and washes their own dishes so that they are ready for anyone else who might want to eat.
Overall it was very interesting experience, and now when I see a Sikh on the street I have more appreciation for what they believe in (honesty, equality, fidelity, meditating on God, and never bowing to tyranny). Oh yeah they don’t cut their hair because they think that it is a gift from god, and you should cherish that gift.
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