Villages and...Redheads

Last week my workshop group (6 other girls) and I whirled around my tiny kitchen to make a delicious taco and tortilla dinner for my host family before we left for the train station, which is near my house. I actually slept pretty well in my bunk on the train! We arrived in Udaipur, the City of Lakes, the next morning. We freshened up and headed out in jeeps to Oghna, a small village about two hours away. We stayed with an incredible NGO that has organized and led so many initiatives- We visited a farm that is making organic compost, a lemon tree orchard, a women's Self-Help Group, a rehabilitation village for tribal people who were pushed from the forest, a female member of the local Panchayati Raj (local government), a health clinic, watershed development projects, gardens, and a kids' leadership club. I have really appreciated that SIT has given us amazing opportunities to experience development firsthand. It seems like we drive or walk through the middle of nowhere and find a whole community waiting for us under a tree, where we talk! Most days this week we had our lunch under a tree somewhere: in a mango grove, in a field, in a dry riverbed, by a lake.

I loved the fresh air and the chance to be out in nature again. The city can be overwhelming. But everyone in Oghna was so welcoming- the town is really small so we would stroll through and talk to people. The town made me think of the town in "100 Years of Solitude"...except...in India. Sometimes we would go for walks at dusk out through the countryside and we would meet people and talk with them cheerfully. There were little kids at the NGO's center that we would play with. The seven of us had so much fun- we laughed and laughed so much that my abs are still sore. When we got back to Udaipur, we bought some henna, which is red dye that you can make designs on your hands with. But you can also dye your hair with it...and it's supposed to be a great conditioner. So we bought and mixed up some henna and had one friend paste it all over our hair. We let it dry for about 2 hours...then began to wash it out...and much to our dismay, we all had bright. red. hair!!! We washed it several more times...and we still have red hair. Haha. It actually looks good on everyone, I think. For me it's more of a burgundy color. It will last about 3 weeks. But we laughed about how we don't need even more people looking at us when we walk down the street...and how we all look like Ariel from the Little Mermaid.
Also in Udaipur we explored the hilly, bustling Old City, a peaceful park, and the water's edge around the lakes. From a hill we watched the sunset slide over the lakes and behind a distant mountain... it was breathtaking.

Now we're back in Jaipur, trying not to stress out about all the upcoming assignments that are due. AND, tomorrow morning my mom will arrive in Jaipur!! It's strange to think about two worlds merging. I am very very excited to share my life here with her. :) She will stay until Wednesday, then head to Kerala, a beautiful state in South India, to be a Resident Advisor for graduate students at a college for two months. After I am done with my Independent Study Project in the Himalayas (YES!!!), I will be heading to Kerala to hang out until December 28th.

Diwali: The Festival of Lights

This week in Jaipur flew by with preparations for Diwali. As mentioned below, Diwali celebrates the victory of good over evil. According to the Ramayana, the fascinating Hindu epic, we celebrate the day when Rama and Sita return from their 14 year exile in the jungle after killing Ravana, the evil 10-headed demon. The festival consists of 5 days with different traditions, but Saturday is when most of the festivities take place. We lit diyas (candle wicks in oil and clay pots) and put them outside and around the house. MJ and PJ did "puja"- prayers to Ganesh, the god of wisdom, and Laxmi, the goddess of wealth. Fireworks continuously rumbled and lit up the sky as pretty much every neighborhood put on a spectacular show. My extended host family gathered together and from the balcony and rooftop we watched the shows. Some of the fireworks might qualify as bombs or nuclear warheads- my ears are still recovering. My host sister also let me borrow a maroon and gold sari, which was beautiful and exciting. We also have a lot of sweets, nuts, and dried fruit ready to welcome visitors to our home. Indian sweets are so delicious.

On Wednesday we will depart in different groups for a one-week workshop/internship. My group is going to Oghna, a rural village outside of Udaipur in Rajasthan. All my group knows is that we will be doing some farming. Yesss. Also, riding the train for the first time will be an adventure!

But this week I just wanted to share a reflection: A lot of my time here in India has pushed me to strive for deeper self-awareness. Not just to try and understand who I am and where I want to go, but how I can then understand other people. Whether it is the Greek aphorism "Know Thyself," or Mufasa in the Lion King rumbling from the clouds, "Remember...who you are," it seems like a pretty important journey. As a student I am just trying to open myself to as much diversity as possible, because only when I see how others live and what they value can I begin to use my life and work to understand and serve them. When I was reading Gandhi Ji's "The Story of My Life," I was struck by the following scene: Gandhi's wife is refusing to clean the chamber pot of an "untouchable," and they get into a big fight. Gandhi writes, "I forgot myself, and the spring of compassion dried up in me." Gasp. I hadn't thought about what happens when we forget ourselves!! Now my endeavor for self-knowledge has even more weight: I hope I never forget who I am. Or let situations push me from who I am, or make me act as another, because ultimately that is just not real. I have been thinking about how to respond to someone who is acting abrasively, and maybe this would be a good response: This isn't who you are- you're better than this. Reminding them of their humanity, their sense of self, is a way to build up instead of bring down. Gandhi's concept of Satyagraha, the term he coined for non-violent resistance, can be applied to all sorts of everyday situations. He writes, "Truth (satya) implies love, and firmness (agraha) brings about and therefore serves as a synonym for force." Firmness in love. It is a process of self-purification. His strategy also challenges us to "invite suffering on oneself for the sake of converting the opponent." This could lead to a whole other discussion, so back to Diwali: we light candles to signify the victory of good over evil within ourselves.

I invite any thoughts you have!!

Tigers and Pilgrimages

This week we visited Ranthambore National Park, the only park in Rajasthan with tigers. We rumbled around on muddy paths in a safari bus but unfortunately did not see any tigers. But the park was gorgeous and it felt great to pass through meadows, forests, and by a peaceful lakeside. We talked with Tiger Watch, an organization that works with the Moghiya community (a group that lives outside the park) to stop poaching, enable young boys to go to a good school, and provide employment opportunities for the women. Another NGO works with artificial insemination of cows that produce more milk and bio-gas systems that run on cow dung to decrease the pressures of overgrazing and fuel needs. When we returned, three of us led a synthesis session in which we debated the economic and social sustainability of ecotourism, how development struggles to address deeply embedded social and cultural norms, and how animal and human rights interact and if one can take precedence over the other or serve as a vehicle to uphold the other. We had a lot to think about.

Yesterday a group of us traveled on our own to see two sacred pilgrimage sites: one Hindu and Muslim. It was so interesting and I still haven't been able to fully process all of it. We spent most of the day in Pushkar, a town about three hours away from Jaipur that is also famous for its upcoming Camel Fair. Pushkar's beautiful lake was almost all dried up and muddy as a result of the drought, but some of the sacred bathing ghats still had water, including "Gandhi's ghat," where some of his ashes were sprinkled. Sky blue architecture surrounds the lake, which has wide steps leading down to it. We saw the famous Brahma temple, which was painted blue and orange and had all sorts of niches with shrines for different gods. Also in Pushkar I had a delicious lassi, the sweet yogurt drink that I order just about every time we eat out. It was a Makhania Lassi, with rose water, saffron, cardamon, and sprinkled on top: cashews, pomegranate, pistachio bits, and shaved coconut. Yum. We stopped in Ajmer on the way back to see the famous pilgrimage dargah for Muslims, which houses the tomb of a Sufi saint. Walking with the flowing crowd up to the dargah, we realized that all the men had caps and all the women had scarves and we needed something to cover our heads. We bought some white handkerchiefs and tied them up, laughing at each other because we looked like milkmaids. We took off our shoes and walked in. As we stood out so much, everyone stared at us. I felt so uncomfortable because perhaps we had intruded upon their sacred space. The mosque was green and white, and in the first courtyard there were two huge iron cauldrons with fires burning underneath them. Apparently donations can be made to fill them with porridge to feed the poor. Inside the next gate was the tomb itself, and hundreds of people were sitting, praying, and making offerings. Both experiences made me realize how little I know about their religions, and how much I want to learn.

As in this Internet cafe there are little kids watching cartoons in which the monsters seems to be fighting and making all sorts of terrible and truly laughable groans, I must leave. Pictures will come soon.

Oh! And my mom is coming to India at the end of October!! I am excited for her to meet my host family and see Jaipur before she heads south to stay longer.

Moonlight's Kheer

Here is one story that highlights why I love India:
Last night there was a full moon, and apparently it is quite auspicious to put kheer (the delicious rice pudding) outside so that it can soak up the moon's rays and flavor. So Papa Ji, Mami Ji and I went up on our roof with a blanket and just watched the sky, let the wind blow over us, and talked about family while we let the kheer sit out in the moonlight. Things just seemed simple, beautiful, and clear.
I have been thinking more about our excursion to the desert, and how the landscape seemed to act like a mirror. Maybe we just had so much time on the road to think, but I felt a lot of clarity in my thoughts and reflections. Listening to my iPod, certain songs carried me back to certain points in my life. I softly explored each one like a shell of a memory that used to fit so snugly...but now it doesn't quite fit anymore. I don't belong because I have grown so much since then.
Anywho, on Monday we celebrated Dussehra (the holiday on which an effigy of Ravan, the evil 10-headed demon, is burned). This particular effigy was packed with fireworks and thus caused huge explosions. Another evening this week, we had returned from visiting a school in a rural village, and some of our SIT staff had decorated our center for one of the girl's 21st birthday. We had a dance party on the balcony with lots of lights strung up, loudspeakers and a laptop for music, and lots of food. But at this rural school, I was talking with one young girl who said she wanted to become the President of India! I was thrilled and I won't forget her. They also danced for us and insisted that we dance and sing in return...we need to work on our routine... Otherwise I have been spending time with the other girls, hanging out and laughing a lot, and speaking more and more Hindi with Papa Ji and Mami Ji.
This week we turned in our rough ISP (Independent Study Project- November to December) Proposals-- it looks like I will probably be in the northern state of Uttaranchal studying solar power in the Himalayas! I'm so excited for the chance to be in the mountains...living with an organization that trains youth to install these solar panels, among other activities in the surrounding villages.
Tomorrow we head to Ranthambore National Park, which is famous for its TIGER preserve. I admire large cats, so I am excited. Unfortunately, as the demand for tiger skins, bones, and other parts is pretty high on the black market, poaching over the years has devastated the tiger population in India. At Ranthambore there may only be 15 cats left!! Also, speaking of other cats, several people here have confused "lion" with "loin," which makes it hard for me to keep a straight face.