Sorry for having been MIA for the past few weeks - life has been super hectic. To make up for it…here’s some peaceful Qawwali (Sufi devotional music) with a Bollywood twist.
It’s awesome so give it a chance
& enjoy!
LOTS more to come!
Thought a timeline might be fun & helpful:
September 1 - Arrive In Delhi (late due to Hurricane Irene)
September 4 - Move In with host family
September 17-18: Visit Amritsar (in the Punjab on the Border of Pakistan)
September 23-25: Visit Shimla (hill station in the Himalayas)
October 1 - Leave for Excursion
October 1-2: Khajuraho
October 3-4: Varanasi
October 5-6: Bodhgaya
October 7-8: Kolkata, then back to Delhi
October 17-21: Miniature Painting workshop in Jaipur, Rajistan, then back to Delhi
October 26: Diwali Holiday!
November 5: Independent Study Project (ISP) Begins
November 9-15: Shimla
November 15-17: Dharamsala
November 17-December 3: Dalhousie
December 3: Back to Delhi
December 6-8: Mussorie
December 9-11: Delhi & Program Ends!
December 11-15: Roma!
December 15: Hello America!
P.S. My digital camera broke so I have to wait to develop my disposables. Hence, this picture is stolen from a friend (and my pictures are pending). This past weekend I went to the border of India and Pakistan while in Amritsar in the Punjab! This is a picture of the Pakistani and Indian flags being lowered in unison while the gate separating the two countries is set open at the Changing of the Guards ceremony.
The picture is taken from the bleachers filled with Indians facing the Pakistani people on the other side. While the people roared and cheered for their respective countries the guards at the border had a contest in which they sized each other up though on friendly terms. It was an unbelievably unique experience and a beautiful sight (and one of the safe crossing points on the border—not to worry)!
Yesterday the students on my program were told that “We are going to the International Museum of Toilets today.” We all laughed but little did we know that we were going to Sulabh International, the largest nonprofit organization in India. Their mission is promote human rights, environmental sanitation, non-conventional sources of energy, waste management and social reform through education. Although we did learn the entire history of toilets starting from the Indus Valley Civilization (roughly 3,000 BCE) up to the high-tech toilets available today that was only about 20 minutes of the time we spent there.
Please read about their mission because they are concerned with so much more than the history of toilets—including the rehabilitation of scavengers who are considered to be the lowest of the untouchables, the implementation of affordable bio-friendly toilets and the production of energy and fertilizer through reuse of human excreta. Put simply, they are saving the world one poop at a time.
So one of my favorite parts of India so far is the color. It might sound corny but it’s true.
I will be taking a rickshaw to school (this picture is taken just outside of our program center in southern New Delhi) and there will be a typical Indian woman in a bright orange and yellow saree walking amongst the dirt, trees and cars.
I also find these women side saddling on the back of motorcycles in neighborhoods or on the highway (they have amazing balance)! It is in the places one would least expect to find this beauty that they find the brightest and most exciting colors!
….And more rickshaws-they’re everywhere
Just as in any big (or humungous) city there is public transportation! India has a new metro system (called “The Metro”), which is about four years new and extremely clean, quiet and air conditioned. Indians take a lot of pride in the system and work to maintain it. Using the metro is very simple and straightforward (and safe because everyone must go through security to enter-the same as at the airport). Every train has a car or two reserved for women only and the rest is cramped with men (its one of the quietest, spacious and relaxing places in the city!).
More exciting than the Metro are rickshaws (India’s equivalent to a NYC taxi). Riding in the two vehicles are very different experiences. As you can see, these three-wheeler, green and yellow “taxis” are not enclosed leaving the passenger subject to monsoon rains (which I’ve luckily managed to avoid thus far and they should be ending soon), gasoline fumes (there is an unimaginable amount of traffic), individuals coming up to your car to sell you magazines and plastic toys as well as stares from men and women alike who look at you because you are different-looking. It is extremely bumpy and frustrating at times to haggle with the rickshaw wala (driver) but it is all the more exciting to be thrown into the thick of all that is Delhi without a fiberglass window and AC between you and the outside world. A truly different experience than New York City!
This photo is just outside of Birla Mandir (Birla is the name of the man who build the mandir, or temple). It is a Hindu temple, which is massive in size, the amount of visitors and the amount of deities and religious practice it encompasses. Hindu gods, tales and virtues are all depicted on the walls and are complemented by the architecture and the highly ornamented representational figures of deities. People come to the temple (and must walk around it barefoot-yes in the middle of a city of 14 million people) to offer puja, or an offering to a god out of devotion and to have their prayers answered.
On a separate note: dress. No one here is wearing the typical shorts and t-shirt for humid 90 degree weather. In India, and in a very modernized city like Delhi, one can get away with wearing most anything but as a woman, and especially as a foreign woman, it is important to dress modestly and not to attract unwanted attention. It can be very bothersome and potentially dangerous. We can wear modest clothing of from home but Indian dress is actually quite comfortable and well-fitted for the environment by protecting your skin from the sun and dust.
Typical traditional Indian women’s attire: the traditional Indian outfit consists of a kurta (what looks like a long t-shirt and can be of a multitude of fabrics, designs and colors). What looks like a scarf is called a dupata, which represents a woman’s honor, and should always be worn as part of the tradition Indian dress with both tail ends placed over your shoulders to the back. Pants look like leggings and can either be called churidar (tight leggings/pajama) or salwar (the big puffy ones pictured to my right). One can also wear a long skirt that covers the ankles or a dress of the same length. Some days I wear jeans and a long-sleeved collared shirt and those days are generally when I drink more water from the hat of the heavy material.
Namaste, all! I have been in Delhi for about a week now and have left America behind to venture into the world of India. I definitely came here with many stereotypes and presumptions, a number of which I have found to be true. By the same token, I have also been surprised with many aspects of the culture in both how familiar and different it is from my own and my expectations. Since I have been here I have spent a total of about one hour on the computer so I will preface this journal by saying that finding the time to add to the blog is not always easy so it will come in waves. The picture above is myself in a rickshaw (the equivalent to a new york taxi but a supports a much different travel experience.) More to come…
