It’s unbelievable how poor India is. It’s unbelievable how rich it is.
Poor financially, rich culturally.
It makes one wonder what you want to be…
because India was simply incredible.
The last few days have been nothing short of amazing. We arrived the morning of the 25th. First my religion class met with a yoga teacher and her students. They did a demonstration and let me say that watching yoga on a television is nothing compared to seeing a grown man up close put his legs behind his head. It was crazy. Then we did a half hour of yoga and meditation. I truly need to start doing yoga again 1.)because I have lost my flexibility and 2.) it’s so relaxing. We meditated for a half hour and felt so calm and ready to start my day. Autumn, Shae, Mary Jo and I headed out to explore Chennai. We first get into a rickshaw and our drivers take us to all these different stores. We told them to take us to FabIndia (a clothing store) but they kept stopping in other stores to help their friends out. Most likely, if drivers bring some tourists who buy anything, they get some sort of commission off of it. Wanting to explore, we headed into a few to look around. In one store, there were silk rugs and the owner started to explain how they were made. So he turned around and said “In New York, these rugs would go for thousands of dollars in big stores, like ABC Carpet.” I laughed and told him that I worked there. He became all excited and started to show me the store, asking if the quality was good and better than ABC. Considering I only sell pillows and know nothing of carpets, I knew nothing of the quality (though, now I know that you can fit 1000 knots in one square inch.) However, to please him, I went along with it, acting impressed by the quality of his shop. He was beaming with pride that this American approved of his store.
Finally we made it to FabIndia and bought some dupattas. I can wear the pieces at home, just not in the traditional ways. There are so many beautiful fabrics and colors and styles to chose from! I couldn’t make decisions. We decided to head back and stop at the beach. The beach is huge, meaning that the road is so far from the ocean due to the Tsunami. The storm displaced all the water and destroyed hundreds of shops. It was nice to watch people. There were hundreds of men in their underwear splashing around in the water, and there were about 4 women in the water in their full saris. We got back into the rickshaw and our drivers demanded more than we bargained for. We eventually worked it out, though it was a little frightening. Back on the ship I ate, napped and packed for…
ERODE!! With SAS, we went to go live with a family for a few days. We rode a sleeper train for 7 hours to get there. The train was older, and the mattress’ and blankets were a little sketch – but it’s all part of the experience. Natalie (CA), Slava (MA) and Michael (PA) shared a room/cabin/nub and chatted for a few hours. Finally we were woken up by the yellow sun rising and we silently looked out the window, staring at the farms passing by. Chennai is cool, but it is a third world city – with homes falling down, outdoor markets and way too many motorcycles. Erode is a rural area with villages and farms – a completely different setting of India. We get off and load onto a bus and head to our house. We arrive and all these women greet us and show us into their house. They own a plantation and are of a higher caste. (Though the caste system is illegal now, it is still prominent in rural areas.) So their house was pretty big. We removed our shoes when we walked in. The house is so interesting: it’s all open, no roof, with runway type floors, with lower floors on the side to allow the grain to sit to dry in the sun. The house was built for plantation farmers to help them during harvest time. It was gorgeous. Most of the girls were in one big room on mattress’ on the floor. It was so quaint and cute! We went out to the main room and sat around and drank the SWEETEST TEA I HAVE EVER TASTED!!
Then Punri took us around the house, and we sat in the meditation room talking about Hinduism and the different gods. It’s so interesting, here’s a small portion: there are over 33 million gods (hence the title of this entry) but essentially, each god is just a part, or a personality of one god Brahma. There are two other gods, Vishnu and Shiva. Brahma is the god of Creativity, and his wife is the goddess of Knowledge (because you can’t have creativity without knowledge.) Vishnu is the god of Sustainibility and his wife is Balance (because you can’t have a sustainable life without balance.) Shiva is the god of Destruction and his wife is the goddess of Power (because you can’t have destruction without power.) Shiva’s son is Ganesha, the god of Wisdom. He has an elephant head and you must always pray to him first or you will have no luck. The bindi aka the dot on the forehead is a sign of wisdom, concentration and luck. It is placed over the pituitary gland, which Hindu’s believe is the most important gland in the body (development gland) and it focuses all your energy. Sometimes they spread white ash across your forehead. It is to remind the wearer that we will all be ash in the end. The red power on the part of a woman’s hair is a sign of marriage, as is wearing two toe rings. India has the second largest population in the world of doctors, scientists and engineers; which intrigues me. First of all, because the country is so poor, it’s amazing with so many intelligent people they are not out of their slump yet. Proving that intelligence isn’t everything. Intelligence and wisdom are two separate entities. Second of all, Hinduism is extremely scientific which is super cool. Punri told us that when an object is negative, positive ions are released and surround the object (and vice versa). Because everything in the universe is connected – when a person is negative, they release positive ions on their body. To rid one’s self of negativity, most Hindu homes have mango leaves across every door frame. Mango leaves are negative, and release positive ions. When you walk under the door when you are negative releasing positive, the two ions neutralize, riding you of your negative energy. HOW COOL IS THAT!?!?
Eventually we sat down and had breakfast. I have no clue what I was eating but it was nice not to have to ask “is there meat in this?” because everything is vegetarian!! Woo! It was delicious. You also have to eat with you hand. Just the right hand, because the left hand is for wiping yourself. Seriously. Rice was hard to eat with your hand because it fell all over the place. What you have to do is scoop it in your hand and use your thumb as a lever to push the rice into your mouth. I almost have it mastered. After lunch we toured the rest of the plantation, learning about all the plants grown. We drank out of a cocoanut with a natural straw. Some of us learned how to climb a cocoanut tree with these simple tools. After an hour of walking around we headed to the small factories where they take the plants and turn them into useful things. Like sugar cane is compressed and makes juice. Cocoanut shells are grinded into hair to make rope. We met the workers and played with their kids for a little while. They are so beautiful. As a side note – it is interesting to see how Punri and her family are lighter in color in comparison to their servants and workers.
Then we went to a elementary school. All six grades are in this one room building. There are a few teachers, some teach two classes. The kids are so fun to play with. Everyone brought crayons and paper and we were helping them with their english and taking pictures because they LOVE the camera! The little hams! Then we walked through a small typical village looking at the houses. They live so simply, it is appealing in a weird way. Eventually we headed back to the house for a typical Indian meal. We sat on the floor and eat our food off of banana leaves. Everyone went off to take a nap but a few of us stayed to talk to Punri more. She told us more Hindu stories and we talked about America and the war and poverty in India. A huge misconception of poverty is that it is their fault. Economics in a capitalist society cannot be controlled by all – only those in power. Very seldom can someone drag themselves out of poverty, but it is advertised and glamorized, giving people hope that the existing policies of capitalism allow this to happen. Wrong – it is not their fault, capitalism as it stands only promotes selfishness and arrogance. Capitalism is not a bad thing – but it is in its current state. People have every right to work hard to make more money if they want. But that is saying that people who have no money don’t work hard. The thing is – neither is the exact case. Those who have money don’t always work hard. That is just the fortune and woes of the world. Considering these woes, the playing field should be leveled in some way (offering free services for universal human needs and rights – healthcare, education, safety). Then, if those who have the desire for more can still strive for it. However, that dream is superficial, and the sooner we realize it, the better off we’ll be.
I digress… Punri and the people I was with all came to this conclusion together. I think it’s universal to all, but stifled by those who are powerful and greedy. ANYWAY – so then Punri showed us her family photo albums. So beautiful! Eventually everyone woke up from the nap and we all went to the market and walked around a shopped. I bought bangles, a bag, tea, and a straw mat for under $3. Afterwards we headed back to the farm for dinner and dialogue. Then we went outside to listen to some local musicians play the drums. It was so cool! Then we got to dance with them. Punri and her family didn’t dance and later we found out it was because they were untouchables. We aren’t part of the caste system so it was okay for us to dance with them, but the family is of a higher caste and couldn’t. Weird, right? After an hour of dancing we headed to bed. Elise and I stayed up talking about our lives and the world for a few hours then finally fell asleep to the sounds of India.
Up at 0600 to see the yellow sunrise. Sherri woke up and sleepily said “isn’t this where the Jungle Book was written?” Adorable. We had tea and regretfully said goodbye to the family. We had a full day ahead of us and wouldn’t have time to come back to pick up our stuff. We piled onto the buses and headed to a school. We had breakfast and a quick orientation. Some of the teachers from this school were taking us around Erode for the day. First we headed to a small Hindu temple where we rang some bells for luck. Then we headed to a huge temple in the city. We washed our feet in the river and were blessed by an elephant. He places his trunk on top of your head. However, he also gets snot all over you. Yum!! Then we headed to a carpet weaving factory where we learned how to use the loom and to be honest, we all sucked! Then we toured the shop and everyone bought sheets and mats and blankets.
Then we headed to a Disabled Children’s Orphanage. We were blessed when we walked in (they also put flowers in all the girls hair. Considering I have no hair, I was just going to skip that step. But the woman grabbed me and somehow managed to pin the flower in my hair. It’s growing!! It was a small victory.) We walked into a room and there were dozens of polio kids sitting on the floor clapping for us. They are so beautiful. After we sat down they preformed for us. They did these little dance performances and martial art moves. Those who couldn’t walk chanted prayers. Part of our trip cost went to giving money to the school and Gary (our trip leader) presented the check and one little girl crawled up to receive it. He sat on the ground and held her for a little while. I can’t tell you how beautiful of a moment it was – I wish you could understand.
Okay – and I’m tearing up again. So then they asked us to perform for them. We sang “Take Me Out to the Ball Game” and did the Hokey Pokey. Anna and Zander juggled. Kat remembered that I tap danced and pushed me to tap dance for them. So there I am: in sneakers on a concrete floor, tap dancing for kids with polio. I was told they were impressed – I could only hope. Then we got to play with the kids for a little while. I showed them pictures on my camera and they tried to teach me Tamil. It was such a short visit but so strong. Then we headed back to the original school and while we were waiting, I taught some of the Hindu women how to tap dance and they taught me their traditional Hindu dances. It was so cute!! These women are so cute and tiny! Then we watched a modern performance by some female students and then we got on stage and they taught us their dance. Then we had a basketball match: US vs India. India kicked our ass and they weren’t wearing any shoes! Matt took his shoes off to be like the locals but got 2nd degree burns!! Poor kid. For our last stop, we went to a herbal factory that takes traditional medicine and put it into modern pill form. The company houses 400 families and pays for their children’s education. We stopped by the school for a little while then headed to this empty room. We were told to lay down on the floor and meditate. It was magnificent: all of our beautiful souls in one room, connecting, feeling, understand and loving – one another, our lives, the world. I could not have asked for a better group to go with. We are all one big family now. We went back to the school and had dinner (I thought I was going to explode from eating so much!! They wouldn’t stop feeding us!!) then took the bus to the train station.
The train ride home was hilarious: finally the train arrived and when we got on – we realized it was the wrong car! Then we were missing two of our group members: the leader Gary and a student Tim. We were all freaking out – “OH MY GOD ARE THEY STUCK IN ERODE???” We knew we were in the wrong car because all the beds were full. We couldn’t walk to our car because there was no door to get there. So we all had to pile into the few beds left with all our bags of clothes and gifts and wait for the train to stop to switch. The train would slow down and we would stand up to get ready to run – because the train won’t hold for anyone – but then it would speed up again. So we didn’t know when it would stop! Finally it did and it was a mad rush of 30 Americans running from the front of the train to the back!! It was scary, exciting and hilarious all at the same time! When we got to our car we found Gary and Tim!! So everyone got on and was okay – but it was an adventure to do so!
We got back to the ship at 0600. We took a nap then got ready to go out and explore Chennai. We met up and headed out to T. Nagar, the outdoor market. We walked around a little while. Kat, being the sweetest person alive, bought fruit for this old man. Then we ran into some friends with their home-stay parents and they took us to the beauty parlor to get henna. It was so cool and so intricate (as you can see in the picture below.) Then Haley, Kat and I went into a restaurant for food. We had fantastic rice and vegetables. Then we walked around the market and ordered saris to be tailored. We walked around and bought food for some mothers and their children. After our saris were done – we wanted to see a Bollywood film but we missed the last showing, so we headed back to the ship.
The next day we tried to go to a orphanage but visiting hours were closed on Thursdays. I was so upset, so instead I went with friends to get henna, then went back to the ship. I ran into Sharon, Andrew, and the inter-port student from Malaysia, Noor. We somehow managed to find our way to the post office and mail our postcards. The stamps aren’t sticky so you have to stick your finger into this sketchy green, gooey, glue and rub it on the stamp. It was hilarious. Andrew and I headed to the movie theatre and made it just in time to see Namestey London. It was typical Bollywood – soooo cheesey! But it was great! We were laughing the entire time at the random scenes of dancing. It was about an Indian girl in London who’s father wanted her to have an arraged marriage to an Indian. But she was in love with this GORGEOUS but mean English man. The man she was supposed to marry, she wound up falling in love with. There was a little bit of English but the movie was predominately in Hindi, however the storyline was so cliché and simple that it wasn’t hard to follow. The Indian guy was HILARIOUS!! I am definiately buying the movie online when I get back to the states. We picked up some sweet dance moves. Afterwards, we tried to find Hooka but it was too early but we had to get back onto the ship. It was rush hour so it took a while, so Andrew and I entertained ourselves by singing “A Whole New World” on the magic rickshaw ride. What a way to end our stay in India.
Now I typed this up fast because I don’t have much time in this internet café in Malaysia. I apologize for spelling errors and the shortness of it all. I wish I could share with you what I truly felt and learned in India but due to the time restraint, I cannot. Also, I am learning everyday that the fallacy of language gets in the way of understanding. So I will simply leave you with a quote that Punri said:
“Life is not a problem to solve, but a mystery to live.”
Infinite xo Amanda Panda
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