Pushkar and Ajmer – 1/3/15

After leaving the delightful city of Jodhpur, we took a train to the Hindu pilgrimage city of Pushkar. The story goes that Lord Brahma was soaring through the heavens on his flying lotus flower when a petal fell off and drifted down to earth. When the petal touched the ground, it turned into a holy lake. The city of Pushkar is located on this lake, complete with its own mini Ghats (the steps that lead into the Ganges River – or in this case Pushkar Lake). Because Brahma’s lotus petal fell here, there is a Brahma temple in the city. Now, this might not seem like a big deal considering that Brahma is one of the three “main” Hindu gods and the creator of the universe, but there are actually very few Brahma temples in India (in fact, I heard that the temple in Pushkar is the only Brahma temple in the world, but I would need to do some fact checking before I could say anything for sure). 

I had assumed that Pushkar would have a Banarasi feel since it is also a sacred Hindu center, but I was so wrong. Pushkar reminded me most of the touristy “artisanal” market in Antigua, Guatemala. The narrow alleyways were lined with colorful shops that each sold the exact same thing: patterned pants, Rajasthani bangles, camel leather purses, wooden figurines, woven mats, Rajput daggers, etc. The difference between here and Antigua, however, is that in Antigua there aren’t camels in the streets that you can ride (for a couple hundred rupees, of course). Interestingly, there was a Shiva linga (a monument to Shiva) in the Brahma temple. Pushkar did feel sort of like Banaras in the sense that there were still tons of hippie westerners wandering around in their dreads and graphic tees.

The next morning Alex, the Bens, and Christy hiked a nearby mountain at sunrise to see a temple (everyone else opted to sleep in). After they got back we headed back to Ajmer (Pushkar doesn’t have a train station, so we technically arrived in Ajmer before taking a taxi to Pushkar the day before). Before coming to Ajmer, we had heard that really the only thing that was dekne layek (worth seeing) was a Sufi shrine there (Sufi being one of the two major sects of Islam). Little did we know that Jan 3 happens to be the Prophet Mohamed’s birthday and there was an absolutely enormous festival going on in the city. Part of the holiday is giving alms, but taken to a new level. People on the street were handing us everything from fruit, to crackers, and even samosas! Although it was a nice gesture, we were advised not to eat the food we were given because, as the old saying goes, “do you know where that’s been???”. Ben T was feeling courageous and did eat a samosa, but he sure paid the price later that day. In addition to food distribution, there were also tons of marching bands out and a whole parade of music and dance. We got to talk to some men from Afghanistan and it was cool to hear them talk about their country. They spent most of the time telling us that most people in Afghanistan are not bad and that we should visit and see for ourselves how nice of a country it can be (idk if I’m quite ready to take them up on that offer, however). In any event, being in a predominantly Muslim part of Ajmer for Id-Milad-un-Nabi was an unforgettable experience and so much fun, but it was a little unfortunate that we didn’t get to see the Sufi shrine.

Miniature Painting – 1/2/15

                Just to be clear, miniature paintings aren’t called miniature because they are small in size (in fact, they can be quite huge). What delineates a miniature painting is that it has miniature details. Every soldier in an army of 100 will have a uniquely drawn face complete with eyebrows and a moustache and each chain in their armor will be drawn. The day after coming back from our camel safari most of the group went to an art studio that gave free art lessons in miniature painting. Each of us got to do our own small painting of an animal (namely elephants but also a camel and a peacock). I use the term “art lesson” loosely here since the owner of the place didn’t really give us a lesson so much as just tell us to copy some art that he was selling. My elephant turned out okay, but mostly I just possessed neither the patience nor the fine motor skills required to create such delicate work. Jenny, Chase, and Rachel on the other hand all had amazing works that looked as good as or better than the ones they were copying. Stephen, Caleb, and I all made reputable works, but not masterpieces.

The experience was really fun, but we could all tell there was something somewhat fishy about the owner and his art shop. We probably spent close to 6 hours in there crafting our paintings (or at least the people who did a really good job) and during the course of the time we heard several different renditions of the description of the art school/studio that was being “run” there. First, we heard that the studio was an art school for local Indians to learn about the rich culture of Jodhpur and get in touch with their heritage. To the next woman who came in, the studio was an art school that taught rural women about miniature painting to empower them and teach them a trade to make money. When the third person strolled in and the story changed yet again, we all had our doubts as to the authenticity of this “art school” and to all the paintings being sold in the store.

Later on we heard from several different shop keepers that the studio was a total scam and that the art being sold there wasn’t even made by the owner nor by any of his fabled students. The point being that here in India I’ve been lied to, stolen from, and cheated more than in any other country that I’ve visited (granted I’ve mostly visited places in the “developed” world). I had to start locking the door to my room in my house with a padlock when I left during the day because the maid was stealing and eating the power bars that my mom sent from the US. Alex had his shoes stolen from him from outside the program house door where we all (used to) put our shoes (he also had to start locking his room because the maids were taking and eating the chocolate in it). Students at school blatantly cheat in front of me and deny it to my face when I call them out. The giant snickers bar that my mom sent the group for Christmas mysteriously went missing from inside the program house while we were on our trip to Rajasthan. The list goes on and on.

Recently Nita Ma’am (the director of Nirman and professor at Claremont Mckenna) gave a lecture to our group about the Indian education system and the reasons behind why she thinks it is a failing system. One of the reasons she stated was that schools don’t teach their students how to be good citizens. In the US, people normally learn good citizenship (not stealing, cheating, lying, picking up trash, etc.) from a mix of their families and at school. Since many kids here don’t have the parent teaching them not to do these things, the responsibility falls to the school and here very few schools actually do it (South Point school does try to teach good citizenship for which I am very grateful). My hope is that as India develops it will also start becoming a place with less dishonesty.

Hello 2015! – 1/1/15

            Our group decided to bring in the New Year on a camel safari out in the Indian desert. Camels are super talk and riding them was fun, but not particularly comfortable for an extended period of time. Originally we were going to sleep out under the stars, but then it was freezing outside and the moon was so bright that we couldn’t actually see that many stars so we ended up sleeping in a mud hut with a thatched roof. The company we did the safari with was really nice and the food we ate was delicious. Also at the rural compound with us (but not with us on the camels) was a group of three really sweet Japanese women on vacation. At night we played sardines (sort of like reverse hide-and-seek) and sat around a fire listening to the uncle tell us stories from when he was in the Indian Army. Only a few people stayed up until midnight since we were all really tired, but the very first food all of us ate for 2015 was Oreos, so I think I can say with confidence that 2015 is gonna be great!

Polo with the King – 12/30/14

            Our first stop on our trip to Rajasthan is Jodhpur, also known as the Blue City. The Brahmin houses used to be identified by their blue color, but now anyone can paint their houses blue. At the top of the city is a giant fort that has never been conquered (if you see pictures of it you’ll understand why) and off in the distance is a huge palace where the king of Jodhpur still lives. Ben P and I befriended an art professor at BHU who used to be the museum director at the fort and is also a personal friend of the king. With this connection we were able to get a free tour of the fort, a tour of the conservation lab there, and be invited to the finals of the Royal Salute Maharaja’s Golden Jubilee Cup polo tournament. After the match, we got to see the King’s collection of vintage cars and even meet the king himself! Although we didn’t talk for long, he invited us to also come and see the water conservation lab that he funds here in Jodhpur. The whole day was a pretty surreal experience and now I understand how the game of polo works! Interesting fact: the riding pants worn in polo are named after the city of Jodhpur.

Hanukkah and Christmas in India – 12/25/14

                Ben P and I decided that we would make a surprise Hanukkah celebration for the group on the first night of Hanukkah which included latkes, applesauce, dreidle, and chocolate gelt. One day after school, we bought potatoes, onion, and apples and then went to the program house to start on the batter for the latkes and cut up the apples for the sauce. I had never made latkes before and we didn’t have exact measurements to use for a recipe, so I just went with my instincts with some commentary from Ben, the relative latke expert (turns out my instincts wanted to make the batter thicker than it’s supposed to be). After Hindi class we invited everyone to come to the program house and I cooked the applesauce and lakes while Ben explained how to play dreidle. Then, we lit the menorah while Ben said a prayer in Hebrew and afterwards feasted on all the food we had made (plus the chocolate coins). Although we were never at the program house in the evening to light the menorah after that, every morning we would ceremoniously put another candle in and on the last night of Hanukkah we made jelly doughnuts!

            As for Christmas celebrations, they were fairly low key. On Christmas Eve we made fudge, rice crispy treats, key lime pie, and no-bake peanut butter chocolate cookies for desserts and had pizza for lunch and Japanese food for dinner (both were take-out – cooking in India is a struggle for people used to all the cooking amenities in the US). We went out caroling to our host families’ houses, the dhobi, the pakorawala, our Hindi teacher’s house, and to Dolly-ji’s house. We got back close to 11 pm from that and then all got snuggled up in our sleeping bags to watch A Christmas Story.

            The following morning, Christmas Day, we made gingerbread pancakes and an egg scramble for breakfast, after which we exchanged our secret Santa gifts. All of the gifts were well-thought out and wonderful, but Stephen definitely takes the cake for most involved secret Santa because he made Jenny a huge scavenger hunt in which everyone in the group participated in some form or another. I won’t describe the whole extent of it here, but basically it included riddles, anagrams, and puzzles that were actually pretty difficult to figure out. The rest of the day we mostly lounged about, made more fudge, watched It’s a Wonderful Life, and talked with friends and family in the US thanks to skype. We ended the day, however, with a Christmas party for our Banarasi friends and family with paneer, chola, and puri and then assorted sweets that were leftover from the day before. Overall, it was a very enjoyable time even if very different from how our families at home celebrate Christmas.

Life is 2 Good – 12/21/14

                A little while ago, Connor Johnson (a BYPer in Brazil) posted a picture of a coconut on the beach with the caption “Life is good” on Facebook. In retaliation, Chase and Stephen ran outside our program house to the piles of trash at the corner and took pictures to post as passive-aggressive comments on the picture. This sort of stemmed a light-hearted rant session on the generally disgusting state of Banaras with fecal matter every half foot and piles of trash that are sometimes burned to create plumes of noxious smoke in the streets. Hearing our complaints, Caleb decided that a beach day was long overdue.

The bank of the Ganges River opposite of the city is basically this giant, sandy flood plane for the monsoon season. We took a boat across the river (the dhobi’s dog, Jenny, following us all the way from the dhobi and onto the boat with us) with tons of sports and picnicking equipment, ready to spend a day out in the sun and sand. Girls from the hostel at Little Stars School came, along with Deep (my host brother), Shiv and Anandi (Dolly-ji’s kids), and several other kids who were host siblings/friends of other group members. We played Frisbee, wiffle ball, soccer, kabaddi, cricket, and football and ate peanut butter and jelly sandwiches with bananas and oranges. To top off the day, we got coconuts and carved holes into them to have fresh coconut water and then broke them open to have fresh coconut meat. The icing on the cake was posting a picture online of two coconuts in the sand with the caption “Life is 2 good” for all to see.

Open House – 12/19/14

                Starting a month ago, everyone at the South Point School started focusing on Open House. When Ben and I asked if other schools also have Open House, the other teachers would always reply that Open House is a strictly Nirman thing here in India, but that schools in the US also have it (probably a residual of Nita Ma’am having very Western ideals for schooling). The thing is, Open House at South Point is so different from any Open House that I’ve experienced in the US.

                The first week of December was the monthly exam week (also when a minimum of 2 projects were due for each class) and the two weeks following that were basically academic-free for the students (of course, all in the name of Open House decorating). The week immediately after exam week I could sometimes get my students focused enough to do something academically productive, but the week of Open House was pretty much just time for students and teachers to make decorations and projects for the looming Open House. One day I walked into the third grade classroom ready to teach a lesson on homophones, only to find that the board had been replaced with a replica of a waterfall made out of all of the desks and chairs in the classroom and a blue sari. I really didn’t know what to do with the kids considering they had no desks or chairs to sit in and ¾ of their classroom was dominated by this display, so we went to the library and read story books. This was on Monday and meant that I still had to figure out what to do with my third graders without any classroom for 3 more days (we ended up doing a lot of charades and drawing). The whole ordeal was organized chaos and I was so confused as to what my responsibilities as a teacher were supposed to be.

                Originally, Ben and I were in charge of a game stall for the event and we spent a fair amount of our planning times thinking of games, making posters, and figuring out prizes, only to be told 4 days before Open House that there wasn’t actually going to be a game stall (such is the nature of the school). Sometimes Ben and I would walk into class to find that that grade’s “class teacher” was standing in and that we had a free period. Equally likely, however, was that we would have to randomly sub a class for a class teacher who wasn’t going to show up to another grade’s class. The result was a really random schedule that sometimes left me wondering what to do with myself and sometimes rushing around like a chicken with its head cut off.

                The actual event of Open House was really fun. Since Ben and I didn’t have as many responsibilities as the official class teachers (class teachers are kind of like homeroom teachers), we got to walk around and see all of the work that the students had done, as well as eat and play at the food stalls and game stalls that the kids had made. In fact, open house was more like an annual carnival than an open house, except that everything going on at the carnival was at least partially created by the kids. I got to meet parents of some of my students which was really fun, and I even found out that one of my fifth graders is from Spain and speaks fluent Spanish! The whole school was decked out in decorations and all of the students were so excited to show off their work and take pictures with me.

                The Monday following Open House, I was kind of expecting another academic-free day for the students since the entire school was still unusable from all of the Open House exhibits. In addition to that, school would be out that Wednesday anyway and there’s not a whole lot that you can do in two random days before a long break. The first half of the day I didn’t even get a chance to go to any of my classes since the whole school first took a tour of the different classrooms to see the different displays and then went to clean everything up. Right before lunch, a notice went out to the teachers that we had to give holiday homework to all of the students, which I started doing from 4^th period on, and that class teachers had to make plans for Christmas parties in their classes for the next day. I wasn’t too concerned about the periods that I had missed giving holiday homework to because I would have a chance to give the classes I homework the following day. At least that’s what I thought before I got a notice three-quarters of the way through the second to last period of the day that said the following day would actually be a holiday for the students (teachers would still come in to submit final grades).  This random holiday-granting has happened on multiple occasions and I just do not understand how a school can run like that, especially since it would seem that later in the year there aren’t days that make up for the other days off (and that teachers still always have to come in because otherwise they wouldn’t be working enough hours to make their salary).