How many cups of tea can you drink in one afternoon?

We went to a little village in the mountains of Orissa called Dantoling for the Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes. There were between 20,000 - 25,000 people there from all over Southern Orissa, many of them coming by foot. The people set up camp and stayed there for 3 days. There was a huge tent where everyone gathered for Mass and other services. It was a memorable experience.
But what I really want to highlight is my experience meeting my friend Ranjan's family. Meet Ranjan...
He works as a driver - here he is in action changing a tire. He has accompanied us on many of our trips and over time we have become friends. His home village is Dantoling so he was eager for Justin and I to meet his family and friends.
His mother cooked a delicious lunch for us - seriously one of the best meals I've had in India. Their house was simple with 3 rooms. We spoke the little Oriya (the local language) that we've learned to express our thanks. Later in the afternoon we went on a walk through his particular village which consists of one street lined with houses like this:
Ranjan informed us that in Dantoling there are several different villages organized by caste and religion. He lives in the low caste (Dalit) Christian village. We entered several different houses to meet his siblings and cousins. Everyone greeted us with a warm welcome complete with chai and biscuits or other snacks. By the end I did not want to see another cup of tea and I was thankful that I'm not at risk for diabetes because I think consuming that much sugar is so short a time could put you over the edge, but it would have been worse to refuse their generous offer. Yet again I was impressed by how the people were so full of life. As we walked through the street everyone wanted to stop and talk to us. Ranjan was beaming. He was so proud to introduce his new American friends to his family.
Ranjan's brother and his daughter.
Ranjan's niece and I became fast friends despite the language barrier. She is one happy little girl.

Happy Holi !

I'm a little behind, but here's a look at our Holi celebration on March 1st. Holi is the "Festival of Colors" that finds its origin in one of the famous Hindu myths about Ram and Sita. However, from my experience it seems that today the average Indian in the street doesn't know as much about why Holi is celebrated but just that it's "what you do" and it's a whole lot of fun. People run around the streets dousing each other with brightly colored powder and yelling "Happy Holi!" We couldn't join the party in the streets with all the children so we had our own celebration at home, complete with colored powder, water guns, masks, and the inevitable tears as the kids got the powder in their eyes. Overall, it was a huge success. It was great to have all the adults and kids running around, playing together, and making a big colorful mess.

"No, the internet is not an airplane"

During our afternoon tea time one of the kids asked me what I had been doing when she saw me on the computer...
"I was sending an email." Blank stares.
"An email is like a letter you send over the internet." (More blank stares.)
"Do you know what the internet is?"
"No."
"What do you think it is?"
The kids' responses : a television, a radio, an airplane, a microphone, a mobile phone, a switchboard, and finally Angela remembered a definition she had memorized in school that the internet is "many computers connected to one main computer." (However she has no idea what this means.)

The conversation was quite entertaining to say the least but also refreshing. Except for an understanding that the internet must have something to do with technology, they don't know what it is and they don't care. For them the internet does not exist and they are perfectly content playing outside all day. I've also been teaching Litu (19 years old) about how to use the internet which has been interesting. I love her description of the internet : "It's like you catch the whole world in your lap."

Ancient and Modern Marvels

On our trip to Delhi, Agra, and Gwalior we saw both the old and the new. We began with a trip to the Qut'b Minar, the tallest brick minaret in the world standing 72.5 meters tall. It was comissioned by the first Muslim ruler of India and is one of the earliest examples of Indo-Islamic architecture. It was started in 1193 but not completed until 1386. Hopefully the people in the picture give a little perspective. It is very impressive and is another one of those monuments where you stand there staring, wondering how they managed to build it all those years ago. Next, we headed to the Lotus Temple, a modern-day wonder composed of 27 free-standing marble "petals", completed in 1986. It is a Baha'i House of Worship and is the Mother Temple of India.

Another modern temple in Delhi is the Swaminarayan Akshardham (Hindu). It was really interesting. No photography is allowed inside the complex so I included this one from the internet. It is a very large complex with the focal point being the temple or "Mandir" pictured below. It's built of pink sandstone and white marble and features 20,000 sculpted figures. What's amazing is that it was built without steel and the figures were sculpted by hand with the aim of reviving the ancient architectural tradition. Also in the complex are several different halls where there are different audiovisual programs, complete with animatronics, that teach about Hinduism. There's even a boat ride that takes you through India's past that feels a bit like Disney World. It was quite an experience.

From Delhi we traveled south to Gwalior, a city full of history. We visited the Man Singh Palace that is enclosed within a large fort that sits on top of a cliff overlooking the city. Slightly reminiscent of the Acropolis. The palace was built in the 15th century by Raja Man Singh and was a home for him and 8 of his 9 wives. The other wife had her own private palace, one of the conditions she insisted upon if the raja wanted to marry her. The palace is a classic example of Hindu architecture. I thought it was neat that the original paint is still visible. Inside there are many underground levels that are like a maze. One room we saw that was originally the "swinging" room for the queens was later turned into an execution room when the Mughals captured the palace.

Within the same fort complex were several 9th century Hindu temples. The one below is my favorite. The intricate stone carvings are amazing.
Last but certainly not least is the infamous Taj Mahal in Agra. It surprisingly lived up to every expectation and I wish we could have stayed longer. The Mughal Emperor Shah Jehan had it built to be the final resting place for his wife and a monument to their love. The story goes that to ensure his wife's wish that no other building would ever be built like it he had the architect's hands chopped off. Later Shah Jehan's son took over the empire and imprisoned his father in the Red Fort, but he allowed his father to live in a room that overlooked the Taj so he could still see his beloved wife.

A full day in Berhampur

I apologize for being MIA from the blogosphere lately. The two weeks before Christmas I did a lot of traveling and lately we have been busy with all the Christmas festivities. I have so much to share from my travels. As I see new places and meet new people I continue to fall in love with this country. But one of the things I like most about traveling here is coming back home to Jeypore where I feel like a member of the family. Watching seven precious children become so delighted and excited to see you is a great feeling.

I want to share some photos from our trip to Berhampur, the second largest city in Orissa. We met some amazing people as we visited different missions in the city. The Missionaries of Charity, (the order of sisters founded by Mother Teresa), have a center where they take care of orphaned and abandoned children, the mentally challenged, and serve as a medical dispensary. We also visited a leprosy colony outside the city. While they live there, they are able to work in the gardens and grow their own produce. Another mission we saw was a home for deaf and mute children. They are clever, perceptive, and full of life. Finally, we visited a home for physically challenged girls. This was all in one day and it was a lot to take in. I continue to be humbled by seeing others' suffering and how they continue to live joyfully without complaint.

My first time seeing an elephant walking in the street among the traffic. Awesome.

The people of India

A few snapshots of the people of India with a little tribal dancing thrown in...

The small occurrences of daily life in India

I was inspired to write this post while eating yet another lunch of rice and vegetables. I unknowingly ate a green chili and half of my mouth still feels like it's on fire. It's a small thing that has become somewhat commonplace, yet is a distinctive part of my life in India. Some other common things that characterize life here . . . A small roach and a trail of ants running across the counter as I make a cake in the kitchen; making sure to set my alarm so I can take a bath with hot water before 8 when the power goes out for an hour; the afternoon siesta; playing outside with the kids and being called in for spicy chai and biscuits, decoding and correcting the chidren's "Yoda-like" inverted sentence structures -- (ie. "so many chocolates I have"); walking through the market and averting my eyes as a man relieves himself in the street; greeting curious, staring children in their own language (namaskar) and watching them smile with delight; women carrying loads of hay, rice, or vegetables on their heads; watching the gigantic bats (possibly Indian flying foxes) flying over the house as dusk falls; and of course tucking my mosquito net under the mattress before I crawl into bed.