Village School Friends

Home for the Holidays

Many people have been asking me about my trip and what I learned from my experiences in India. I feel like I will be digesting everything that happened for quite a while, and I am a little wary of summing anything up in a tidy package. That being said, one major theme woven through the trip centered around the very seasonally appropriate topic of generosity.

When you travel with a group of six (and later eleven), there are countless opportunities to see how very ungenerous you are: The group is hungry after a particularly meager lunch.  Are you going to hoard that box of cookies you bought earlier or share with the group? You are almost out of your favorite shampoo, but your roommate needs some. Hmm. You finally have a hotel with a limited amount of hot water in the shower and you REALLY don’t want to rush just so your roommate can have a hot shower too. You need time to go to that one shop with the cool scarves but the group wants to do something else. You don’t LIKE that restaurant that everyone else decided to go to while you where in the bathroom. On and on and on like that. Every moment can reveal your basic lack of generosity. Or at least mine.

This is all set against a backdrop where many people in the country can’t afford to feed their family–and here I am hoarding cookies. People are bathing in a sewage infested river and I am pissy because someone used all the hot water in the shower. It is striking when you really look at it.

Somewhere along the line, if you are lucky, something inside of you stops wanting to defend what is “yours” and you just give. And it feel so GOOD. That is the surprising thing. You never miss that shampoo or the cookies or the store you wanted to go to. And soon you need something and someone just gives it to you. And then everyone feels truly supported. It is simple yet profound.

So now I ask one last time for you to give to the village school. It is tax deductible and just a really nice thing to do. Just ten dollars is deeply appreciated. Thanks to all of you who have contributed already and happy holidays. I will leave you with some of my favorite photos from the trip.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Final Daze

I can’t believe tomorrow is my last day in Varanasi before starting the journey back home. We have been here for almost 2 weeks but time has flown by–partially due to our packed schedule and

partially due to the captivating proliferation of life that is Varanasi. It feels like you would need lifetimes to inspect a one mile radius of this city. Think tangled labyrinth of alleyways with temples tucked into every nook and cranny back to back with with shops hocking silk scarves and saris, flowers, ritual offerings, oils and incense and everything else under the sun. Now add cows, water buffalo, dogs, goats, birds, and humans on every conceivable mode of transport and you are starting to get the picture. And that is only one part.

 

Then you have the river Ganga that is the life blood of the city. Pilgrims purifying themselves in the sewage filled waters, sadus sitting in meditative postures, boats carrying people up and down the banks, kids flying kites, and again–cows, buffalo, and goats abound.  It is fabulous. And stinky. And totally overwhelming. I can see why so many people are entranced and /or repulsed by this city that is impossible to wrap the mind around.

 

 

Just two more days and then I head back to Delhi for the long flight home. Thanks for following my travels and remember my whole purpose of writing is to raise funds for the inspiring Omkareshwar school for village children. So many kids here are begging in the streets with no access to school.  Just 10 dollars can make a difference to a very very poor child.  Namaste!

Dandy in Dehradun

Ever since we arrived unannounced at the Raipur/Dehradun Anandamai Ma ashram, our trip has taken on a charmed quality. The caretaker, Pawan, spoke no English, but with the help of his son he invited us to stay in the satsang hall for the night. The room had no furniture  so Pawan’s extended family generously brought us 6 sleeping pads, pillows and blankets.

If that wasn’t enough, they had us over to their house for dinner. We crowded into their home–sitting on beds and couches and plastic chairs– and chatted with Auntie Anjoo, Mama Madu, and brothers/sisters/cousins Priya, Adi, Abhishek, Anarak, and many many more. I think the whole town squeezed their way into that room for at least a minute or two.

The adults had little to no English, so we communicated as best we could through the kids of the family and had a jolly time. The next morning they had us over for breakfast and chai, and then Abhishek, an endearingly enthusiastic and friendly young man, accompanied us on the bus to the main Ma ashram nearby in Dehradun. So sweet. That family gave us a memorable lesson in kindness and hospitality. We have seen the family a few times since and are already facebook friends with the kids.

In the Dehradun Kishinpur ashram we met the swami for all three Ma ashrams in the area. He gave us a warm welcome and arranged for us to stay at the guest cabins within walking distance of the main ashram. The swami speaks quite good English and has been very kind to us. This was a welcome change after getting the “foreigner” treatment at some other ashrams.

So now we are really doing the ashram thing: boards for beds with a thin cotton pad, vegetarian meals for six that look like an American plate for two, cold water bucket baths, and spotty electricity. Believe it or not, we are very comfortable in our new digs and we happily wake up before dawn and do mediation and mantra every morning on the cabin roofs. I feel like a bonafide yogi!

We have experienced so many blessings here and will be sad to leave on Friday. We will make a brief return to Kankhal before heading to Delhi to pick of 5 more people. We will then be a formidable band of 11. Look out Varanasi.

I am getting eager to get off the computer. And so I will let the photos speak for themselves. Enjoy!

 

 

 

 

On the Road Again

Uttarkashi. . . we came, we saw, we left. It was indeed a lovely town nestled in the mountains. We stayed in a charming guest house with a lively nature guide proprietor who spoke a quirky and chaotic English. But the place was pricey and populated by people more interested in mountain trekking than meditating. Our major obstacle was the food. It was a significant hike to town where the local fare ranged from nasty to inedibly spicy. Most of our crew spent at least one day near a toilet–myself included.

The highlight of our time in Uttarkashi followed a contentious drive in a questionably functional vehicle up into the hills. The driver let us out near the entrance to a path in the middle of nowhere. The steep stone pathway wound down through a small village of subsistence farmers. The kids at the top– where the farming was most treacherous–looked badly malnourished with distended bellies and torn clothing, yet they were laughing and playing infectiously. I imagine these are just like the children in Omkareshwar before the village school opened.The whole way down the hill, children yelled out excitedly “Hello! Hello! How are you?” We shook hands and waved and generally felt like honored guests.

We took a group vote and decided to head to Musoorie–a scenic hill station built by the British. The drive was a more than harrowing route of switchbacks on roads too narrow, but we made it safe and sound. At 6,000 feet, we have a view of snow capped Himalayas–but only before the fog comes rolling in around 10am. It is a major vacation destination for the middle to upper class Indians, and we were surprised to find ourselves in a town with a roller skating rink, video arcade, and a Dominos Pizza. Despite these similarities with Atlantic City, it is still India. I am writing to you from a 4 foot wide hat store with a computer in the back!

We arrived in Musoorie on Thursday and stayed in a crappy hotel that vaguely intended to resemble a German cottage. We made a serious upgrade on Friday when we moved into a 7 bedroom mansion restored to at least some of its colonial grandeur. With our giant living room, dining room, kitchen, bath tubs, gardens, and yes, a night watchman, we make can’t help but have afternoon tea and adopt the Queen’s English. We have been cooking 2 meals a day for ourselves which has GREATLY stabilized our digestive tracts. And groceries are so cheap–I spent two dollars purchasing the days food for six. The plan thus far is to stay until Tuesday and move on to Raipur. More soon!

A spot o’ tea!

Greetings from Laksmanjula!

We have been in India just over one week but we have moved around so much  it is already becoming a blur. Delhi, Haridwar/Kankal, and now Rishikesh/ Laksmanjula. So far India is all of the best things I had imagined and only some of the worst. It is a place of extremes. As I write there is Sadu in orange robes at the computer on my left yelling on skype to student in Europe about his visa rejection.

The biggest surprise for me has been the lovely people. Everywhere we have gone, we have been treated with great kindness. Lots of people seem interested in us and take any chance to give us directions, invite us into their homes, ask us questions, or just practice their English. One person came up to us with their only sentence of English: “I am fine, how are you?”

Delhi is a giant sprawl bursting with people, animals, colors, sounds, and stench. There is garbage everywhere with pigs, cows and dogs munching on scraps. There are so many people in Delhi, almost anything can serve as a bedroom: a vegetable cart, a mound of flour bags, a boiler room, a rooftop, a burned out building or just the street. We arrived in the train station along with a crowd coming home for the holiday (Diwali). The sea of people formed a tidal wave that swept us from the train up the stairs and into the street. Luckily I am a good head taller than the average Indian so I could breathe in the fray.

Kankal–just outside Haridwar was a complete u-turn from the bustle of Delhi. A peaceful haven of ashrams and temples, chanting and prayer filled the air well before sunrise and sang us to sleep at night. We stayed at the guest house of the Anandamayai Ma Ashram. Foreigners are not allowed to stay in the guest house proper due to strict rules of the caste system and purity (foreigners are basically untouchables). No matter–the guesthouse was a lovely oasis of white marble and sparkling toilets. Bathrooms pretty much range from terrible to worse, so sparkling was an exciting anomaly.

 

We are now in the Rishikesh area of Laksmanjula. This is by far the most touristy area we have been to, and the call of the shops is hard to resist. Especially when you compare the prices to what you would find at home. The highlight here was bathing in the holy Ganga river fully clothed. My shoes are still sopping wet.  It has been fun here but it will be nice to get out of tourist zone.

We leave for Uttarkashi tomorrow up in the mountains. It promises to be cool and quiet and we are going to stay there for a couple of weeks.

Thanks for keeping up with me folks and don’t forget to check out the Village School video on the main page and donate what you can to help the kids. They are so so sweet and deserve a chance at education!