Matheran

Every year, the middle school students and staff here at the American School of Bombay participate in a "Week Without Walls" experience. I had the opportunity to spend a few day with the ASB grade 6 students at a nearby hill station called Matheran. 

• Hill Station: "The term was used mostly in colonial Asia (particularly India), ...  for towns founded by European colonial rulers as refuges from the summer heat, up where temperatures are cooler." -
  "Hill Station." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 18 Oct. 2012. Web. 21 Oct. 2012. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hill_station>.

Matheran is located in the Western Ghats at about 2600 feet, which makes the evenings and mornings a little cooler and more pleasant, and is unique in that no automobiles are allowed, so the main forms of transit are walking and horse riding. The importance of the tourist trade with shops and restaurants and hotels make the place a sort of Indian "Mackinac Island". They are even known for their fudge !

We saw this view while doing a little pond study ;-)  By Gaurav Raval (Own work) [CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0) or GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html)], via Wikimedia Commons

With 55 sixth grade students and a bunch of adults enjoying a variety of hiking, adventure activities, good vegetarian food and teachable moments, a good time was had by all. Of course, there was also plenty of drama from boy/girl relationship issues, girl/girl relationship issues, boy/boy relationship issues and kid/monkey relationship issues.  While monkey troubles were a new one for me, it really is not much different than the kid/raccoon issues I used to have with Quest camp.  Anyway - i had a great time getting to know the kids and the other staff members - great team!  I am such a believer in the value of experiential education and we all had formative experiences. Working on problems and activities with other kids and then reflecting on what we've learned. Doesn't get any better.

By Dr. Raju Kasambe (Own work) [CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

 

Jodhpur

We had a long weekend as Gandhi's birthday fell on Tuesday, so we had both Monday and Tuesday off. We took that opportunity for our first escape from "the Maximum City" of Mumbai and flew to Jodhpur in Rajasthan.
Nancy had been fighting a bad cough for a week and we were looking forward to seeing a different part of India as well as taking a break from big city life.  One of our colleagues had suggested a quaint hotel to us as a great place to stay and we were excited about a new adventure.
The flight went well, and we chatted with the three other friends from ASB who were also going to Jodhpur for the long weekend, and agreed we would try to meet up for dinner one night, as our hotel was said to have a nice rooftop restaurant with a good view of the fort ( the fort is great - more about that later).

Near the hotel - note the sign ;-)

We were met at the airport by the driver from our hotel, and we bundled ourselves into the car along with a South African couple who spoke glowingly of the hotel, having stayed there several times in the last year.
We arrived at the hotel and felt like we were thrust into the movie "The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel". (If you haven't seen it yet, I would strongly recommend it!). The hotel is located in an old "Haveli" - or private mansion, often owned by a nobleman for stays in town to visit court.
After a day of waking around the narrow alleys of the old city, watching carefully where we stepped, and doing a little shopping, we went back to the hotel and enjoyed a nice dinner at the rooftop restaurant in the hotel. 

View from rooftop restaurant.

Yes, the view was great, but the prospect of a good night's rest for Nancy was threatened not only by her weariness and the hard Indian bed, but by the realization that it was the last night of the Ganesha festival and the drums would be going by our window. The combination of all those factors was the last straw, and Nancy called the cavalry in for assistance.  They soon arrived in the form of a couple of our ASB friends who took me over to see there nice 5 star hotel just around the corner. After one night in the original hotel, we ended up moving to the new one, where we were much better taken care of, relaxing in a quiet garden with green grass, near a pool and with a luxurious bed that was much more restful. Good move.

Mehrangarh Fort from the back - see the link for more

Mehrangarh Fort is great.  We spent a morning up there, listening to an informative and entertaining audio tour that guided us through the museum while giving us historical and personal background.  We were struck not only by the beauty and size of the place, but also how similar were the feudal societies around the world. The rulers of this land depended on support from their nobles and retainers and in the final analysis on the hard working peasants of the land in the same way that was true all over Europe and one could easily imagine this fort, decorated slightly differently, located in Germany or France or Ireland.  Life was good if you were one of the privileged few (noble, upper class male), but hard for most folks. 

Inside the fort, one of the palace areas.

I was also able to wander some more through the back streets of the city, known as both the sun city and the blue city, while Nancy spent some time resting and trying to recover from her sickness.

I've attempted to include some pictures in a slide show below ...

Leap of Faith - Ganesh Chaturthi Observation #3

Artist prepares for the festival.

For two weeks, Tim and I roamed the streets behind our school observing the Ganesh statues in progress of being painted, gilded, and readied for the big day—the day Ganesh is brought home. One street, in particular, had aisles of Ganeshes (all sizes, colors, and styles) being prepared for the big day. Tonight, as we revisit our favorite haunts, the Ganeshes are gone.  The aisles are bare. Today, while I was at school, the Ganeshes traveled to communities in large trucks where members of the community pitched in together to welcome home a large Ganesh, or traveled to homes where the welcome is much more intimate.

Tim, Maggie (our lovely new English friend) and I walk down the street between our school and our apartments. We walk towards Maggie’s apartment, following the scraps of red paper from the firecrackers and the bright raspberry colored powder on the road.  Across the street from Maggie’s apartment is a complex of apartments. We can see a tent like structure.  We enter the gate and walk behind the fence. We ask if we can enter the makeshift temple. The men are welcoming. We slip off our shoes and enter. Inside is a large Ganesh.  Around him are offering of fruit—coconut, apples, and bananas.  In the front of the large Ganesh is another Ganesh, much smaller, but decked with a necklace of marigolds. In the front of the stage is an unpeeled banana with many sticks of incense stuck in the banana. After we view the Ganesh, we cause a rush of photography lusting kids once Maggie starts taking pictures. Kids call out “Here I am!” and “ ‘Ello auntie” 

Children love to have their photos taken.

We continue down the road, turn into another neighborhood.

A quieter neighborhood.

  

We hear loud, but happy, music blaring from speakers.  We are drawn down the side street.  The Ganesh worship is lit up with orange lights. Small children sit on red plastic chairs.We are drawn to this make shift alter because of its simplicity. We take off our shoes and enter.  We see a Ganesh that has offering of fruit, coconut.  An unpeeled banana is lying on its side skewered with incense sticks. The sticks send fragrant smoke up to the heavens. We stand admiring the Ganesh when a man, standing quietly at the side, approaches us. His kindness draws us toward the alter. He has a small brass dish that contains a bright orange powder.  He says some words that I am sure are a prayer.  He touches the powder with his little finger and places a dot on our foreheads. Another person begins to wrap Tim’s wrist with red, green, and white thread as the man murmurs a prayer.  I am sure that it is a blessing. The string is cut and I experience the same ritual.
The man then reaches over to Geneshe’s alter, takes two sweets in his hand.  He offers one to Tim and one to me. Instinctively, I hold out both of my hands. My hands are together, palms up, ready to receive the gift. The man places the sweet candy in my hands. A gift. A request to Ganesh that he brings sweetness to my life. Tim eats the candy. I am jolted back to my western mind.  Is this candy safe to eat?  Will I get sick? What germs might this candy contain? I slip the wish for happiness in my pocket. Later, walking home, my fingers find this little wish for happiness in my pocket.  Will I take a leap of faith?  Will I eat the candy handed to me? I toss the candy on the road towards the curb. I am not ready to take that leap of faith.  I am drawn to new beginnings, I am drawn to kindness and blessings, I was not ready for that leap of faith.

Ganesh Chaturthi Observations #2

As part of the Ganesh Chaturthi celebrations here in Mumbai, in addition to the family and group Ganapati figures that people bring to their houses and offices for a few days before the immersion ceremonies, there are competitions to see which group can create the best Ganapati Mandel decoration.  We had the opportunity to go down to an area with the city of Mumbai, where there were a number of them set up for people to walk around and view. Most were very elaborate and complicated works, sponsored by some group or company competing for prizes.  Here's some Pics:

A Large Ganesha with folks lined up to walk by.

Up close - pretty impressive size.

This one was made completely from dice and other game pieces.

Lots of variety - there was even a "Bollywood" one with "six-pack" abs from his workout.

Ganesh Chaturthi Observations #1

Ganesh Chaturthi has begun: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ganesh_Chaturthi

Finished Ganesha

The 10-day festival is a celebration of the birthday of Lord Ganesha, (also known as Ganapati) the elephant headed God who, among other things,  is the god of new beginnings and wisdom.  We first heard about the upcoming festival at our new staff orientation meetings before school started when his help was invoked on the start of this new venture. Our observation of the festival began a week or two ago as temporary shelters began to appear around the city to house the elaborate sculptures of Ganesha that are created and painted in bold colors (or colours if you prefer).  We went for a walk to see what if we could see some the work in progress.

Older Brother - proud of his work

Younger brother - blowing silver glitter on wet paint

Three very nice young men were proud to show off their work and to practice their English on us.  We were struck not only by the color and careful technique, but also by the great variety of poses and attendant objects and animals, each with it's own story.

Adding finishing touches

Ganapati - each one different

to be continued ...

in the car

(video from a different trip)

"Is this Andheri?"
"No, sir, this  is called Jogeshweri, sir. We are on the Western Express Highway."
"Aha"
"Sir" picks up the map laying on the floor of the car between him and the driver and looks at it until he sees where Jogeshweri is located and comprehends where they are.  He puts the map back down and resumes watching the surroundings as they travel along.

Today there seems to be mostly a comfortable silence within the car, briefly interrupted by short exchanges between the two of them, or even less often a comment from "madam" in the back seat. Sir usually sits in the front, next to the driver. It began because he wanted to get a sense of the topography and where in this mega-city they are. The map on the floor is part of that. He has begun to learn some of the main roads that they traverse fairly often, but they've only been on this part of the Western Express Highway once before when they went to the national park, so he's looking at the map again. Madam has mentioned that she likes it when he sits in the front, and he thinks Rakesh, the driver, does as well, though they have never really talked about it. Many days they chat amiably about the weather, the traffic, or the passing sights. Rakesh often identifies interesting points as they go, and sir or madam ask questions about what they see, but today all three seem content to ride quietly.

Of course, it is not really quiet in the car.  The horns of the trucks, motorcycles, auto-rickshaws and other cars around them mix with the growl of the diesel engine as it slows and speeds up to avoid collisions with other vehicles, pedestrians, occasional animals, potholes, and the annoying speed arrester bumps that seem to have no logic to their location.

Sir hasn't quite figured out the logic of the red lights either.  Sometimes the driver and the other vehicles around stop when they see a red light, but often they sail on through. He thinks it may have something to do with whether there is much traffic on the cross street or not, but sometimes that doesn't seem to matter much either.  Rakesh is adept at weaving his way through the streets, passing slower creatures, especially the auto-rickshaws, on either side then easing in front of them when the roads is narrowed again by a pothole, garbage pile, or illegal shack protruding into the roadway. Madam is amazed at they way he slips the fairly large SUV into narrow spaces with just inches to spare on all sides.

They continue on, each lost in their own thoughts.

After they turn off the main road, Rakesh stops by the side of the road for a short consultation with a rickshaw walla to ensure that they are in the right area, and they find the house of their friend. Madam and sir descend from their chariot.

"Thank you, Rakesh. We'll call you in a couple of hours"

"Yes, sir. Of course sir"


We are very lucky to have Rakesh as our driver. I wrote this to try and capture what it is like to travel around town with him. He calls us "sir" and "madam".

The rains.

(A story)
We came home after a good day of work at school. I stopped by the elementary building and helped Nancy with a computer issue and so we got home about 5:15. She was hungry so she went ahead and got out the pesto and pasta that the housekeeper had prepared for us per our directions. It was good.
I sat down at the couch and checked my email and Facebook, then turned on the TV to see if I could catch the news before I too ate my supper.

No Luck.

The TV comes on just fine, but on the screen there is a message "Technical Problem - your set top box is not receiving signal" , followed by a set of four instructions telling me to turn off and back on, etc.  I had had this problem another day and found that the housekeeper had switched off the box when she cleaned, so I went about checking , turning things on and off, changing channels, etc.

No luck.

So I gave it up and went and enjoyed supper. Sat back down to do some work and looked at the screen again to see if it had somehow fixed itself (these things do sometimes), when I re- read the final line of the technical problem instructions:
4. In heavy rain, please wait till the rain subsides to regain signal.
(end of story)

By Rakesh Krishna Kumar from Mumbai, India (Under heavy assault) [CC-BY-SA-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

Yes, the rains came today.

After a fairly dry monsoon season so far with mostly just scattered showers since the middle of July, today felt like Monsoon.  The rain started this morning and has been coming down steadily all day. Punctuated by sessions of heavier, "bucket dumping" , but not interrupted with thunder or lightening or high winds, the water just keeps coming down.  Mostly straight down, so its easy to stand under a bit of shelter and look out and listen. What a great sight and sound experience.  I have to tear myself away from the window now to write this.
It is glorious.

I love the rain. For more than 30 years my colleagues in Michigan would think I was joking when, before my annual camping trip with a large group of grade 8 students , I would say, "I hope we get some rain." I wasn't joking.
There is something magical and life-giving about the rain, especially in an agricultural land that goes three quarters of the year without much rain and depends on the regular monsoon rains for 80% of its rainfall.
There was a little flooding on the way home from school on the main road.  Traffic of course moves slower because as the roads flood from the sides, the roads get narrower and narrower and people begin to walk down the middle of road more than usual to avoid the flooding. Our side road had just small rivulets on each side a few hours ago, but the last time I checked out the window, I saw that the water streached from side to side. 

All the old-timers at ASB trot out the story of the monsoon of 2005 (I think?) when the flood was so strong that some folks were stuck in the school for three days. I think I would have liked to have been here.