Course 1: Speaking Sanskrit

So I just got back from the Sanskrit course that I was taking.

I'm still the same person [don't worry], but wow what all has changed!

Now, I can speak in Sanskrit! I think in Sanskrit. How did they do it? Don't even ask. Every day from 5:00 AM until 10:00 PM we were doing something or other. The curriculum was so jam packed, we were doing 2 years worth of work in 2 weeks! For almost 15 hours a day, we were sitting on the floor (marble floor, our butts were frozen!) and in class. It was amazing. The people there were so friendly, so nice, so... genuine. And I'll explain why later.

Our teachers were really really amazing. One was named Surendra Mahodaya (we say "mahodaya" after each name, to indicate respect. It's like saying "Mr." or "Sir"), he was 18 years old but a Sanskrit scholar already. Our other teacher was Giridhar Mahodaya, he was a post-graduate student there, a most excellent person and [now] friend. The main teacher was named Satish Mahodaya, he is also a Sanskrit scholar. He's been with Sanskrit Bharati (the organization through which these courses are put out) for 4 years now, and wow what an amazing teacher he was!! He became a good friend of mine by the end of the course. Another teacher was Satyavan Mahodaya, he was really amazing too but I think he was more meant for an advanced class. But he did the job really well too.

I still can't believe it's Sanskrit that I can speak now. It's like, the oldest language in the world, spoken by only a very few people (and I'm one of them!)... It's really strange. Because now I understand all our scriptures and stuff. I'm amazed still, really. There is so much more to learn though. It's like, my quest has just begun. Sanskrit is such a vast and perfect language, that it could take a lifetime to learn it. But my goal is... well, I'm still working on that. But so far what I've gained is unimaginable. The Sanskrit language has been demystified, now we're speaking it. It's not that we're learning ABOUT Sanskrit anymore, we're learning Sanskrit itself. It's quite amazing.

The people that were taking the course as well were all amazing. Not one person there spoke English. They had such interesting questions about America! For example, one guy asked me what kind of food they ate in America. I was like, "Uh.. Bread, ..." and he stopped me right there. He said, "What's bread?" (all of this was in Sanskrit, of course). I was like oh man how do I explain this? Haha it was quite an interesting stay there. And what's more, almost all of the people there had a little "choti" (a little lock of hair in the back of the head that's like a pony tail, separate from the rest of the hair... kind of like how Anakin Skywalker had that little lock of hair separate from the rest of his hair). It was so interesting, because I didn't know people actually did that still. They were all either studying to be Sanskrit Shastris (a kind of scholar) or else they were already Sanskrit Shastris but just learning to speak. Cool, huh? I was rather in awe of these people, and it seemed as though they were in awe of me and mom too. What an experience!

My Hindi has also improved... Quest 4 is also being taken care of as I go along.

Now a common question is... How will I use Sanskrit? What's the point? Well the thing is, the medium of instruction for all my future courses is in Sanskrit only. A little history lesson... Once apon a time, several thousand years ago, courses used to be taught in "Gurukulams" where every student would live together with the teacher and learn from him. The teacher would often be an accomplished sage/scientist. The source material would be in Sanskrit, and the medium of instruction would be in Sanskrit. Over the years however, things changed a little bit. Things then used to be taught from a Sanskrit source, but in a different language. Whether it was Hindi, or whatever. Now, things are even more different. Things are taught from a non-Sanskrit source in a non-Sanskrit language... so a lot of information is lost.

I guess one can say that I'm jumping several thousand years into the past, learning from a Sanskrit source (directly from the Vedas) with Sanskrit as the medium of instruction. I'm quite excited! Tomorrow I go to Bangalore, where I will get internet access (for sure this time). There I will update more, I promise, but for now I must sleep or something, I'm so exhausted! We've been on the move or completely booked since we got to India. It's quite amazing, but rest is also needed.

Yadi etaam panktim pathitum shaknoti, tarhi bhavaan/bhavati Samskritam jaanaati. :)

Filling in the Blanks

Everyone, I finally caught up on my posts... so now everything is filled in from when I left until now! I encourage you to go back to where it jumped from Quest 3 all the way to Adventure 4, and read what I have filled in! I would like to think that it is interesting. Enjoy! And sorry again for the delay...

Also, for the next two weeks I will not have internet or phone access because I am attending a Sanskrit course that is residential and lasts two weeks. You are supposed to come out of it speaking Sanskrit fluently! It is a course entirely based on speaking... you don't get to do anything but speak Sanskrit. There isn't even any writing involved! But I am excited. So I will write about it after it is done... and hopefully I can speak Sanskrit!

My coursework finally begins...

Adventure 4: "Mission: Kashmir" (Continued)

[Edit - I had to take out some info... I hope you all understand...]

Yesterday I went to the border between India and Pakistan. I was only 30 yards away from Pakistan! I would never have gotten to see Kaman Post (which is what the post is called) if we were not staying with Brigadier Chief Engineer Ashok Bhutani.

We reached and stopped in Mohura, the location of the Indian army's last base before Kaman Post, around 11:00 AM. There, someone showed me bunkers of the Indian army (guns and all!) and other defensive structures and mechanisms. I've never been so close to a war zone (well, I was actually IN the war zone) in my life!! Nor did I ever anticipate being this close to one ever again. But the whole time my sense of pride in the Indian army grew and grew. I was so impressed with their crisp movements and bold enthusiasm that it made me want to join the army! Of course, I would have to join the United States army, and I would obviously be proud of that too, (America's army is awesome) but currently I'm in India and I don't think I will ever be that close to another war zone, whether it be an American war or not, so I was presently enjoying the sharpness of our Indian soldiers.

This gentleman became our navigator and tour guide, so as we navigated around the mountainous terrain towards Kaman Post, he explained what landmarks and historical sites were where. I took lots of pictures, and again, I apologize for not putting them up. But I will, as soon as I get access to my own laptop.

Now here's a little lesson on the Kashmir situation. In 2005 there was a massive earthquake (registering a debatable 7.6 or 7.7 on the richter scale) in this area where lots of Kashmiri households in the mountains were destroyed. The government provided them with relief and funds. This included rebuilding all of their houses (and improving them too), adding aluminum or tin roofing to hold the snow up when it falls, providing them with household items like blankets and food, and even giving them cash! The government essentially really helped the Kashmiri population that was affected by the earthquake. However, the Kashmiri people of this area started taking advantage of this help. They started to ask for more and more stuff, more money, and started complaining to the media that the government was not helping them out. In order to keep them quiet, the government had to continue to support them. They started to eat the government's money, and became lazy. Their taking advantage of the government reached such a state that some started destroying their own homes to receive aid. They threaten the government by saying that they will start helping Pakistan if they do not get more money/supplies (and the part of Kashmir that is in Pakistan threatens the Pakistani government the same way). They are living luxurious lives now and not doing anything! They do not work. Now, the army is doing some work in the area. However they need to recruit workers from long distances away because the locals do not want to work. They are living more luxurious lives than the army! And when the army appeals for funds from the government they get such lame responses like "our hands are tied" and whatnot. Why doesn't the government help the army but they keep spending on the Kashmiris of the area? Because the politicians in charge want the votes of Kashmir! So they fail to help the army, but provide a life of luxury for the local people. How sad.

So our navigator showed us all the major landmarks and historic sites along the way, and what a breathtaking view it was! We were surrounded by the Himalayan mountains and below us was the Jhelum River. We were on a path that was actually taking us into a protrusion of India into Pakistan. So as we got closer and closer to Kaman Post, on all three sides of us (not behind obviously) we were eventually surrounded by Pakistani lands! When we reached Kaman Post, we were greeted by a troop of soldiers. How unbelievably crisp and professional they were! I was so impressed. They gave us a tour of Kaman Post (I took pictures that I probably was not supposed to... so some of them I may not be allowed to upload, but most I will try). The Jhelum River right at this post is part of the actual Line of Control (LOC) between India and Pakistan. We were 30 yards away from Pakistan! The guards were so vigilant, it was amazing. They said that if they ever let their guards down then Pakistanis would enter the area right away. They were always being watched from the other side. I was a little nervous at this point. I was shown the Pakistani bunkers on the other side, and I saw guns coming out of them. This made me really nervous. But apparently there was a ceasefire between the armies at this point, so I was assured that it would be alright. I zoomed in with my camera where a soldier pointed out to me that there would be Pakistani soldiers looking at me, and there they were, looking directly back at me. The soldiers told me that the Pakistani soldiers had already taken photos of me and my mom for their records. How exciting (and terrifying)! We were then taken up to a viewpoint and we saw even more clearly Pakistan's terrain. There were guards there looking at us, just like we were looking at them! Creepy. But this is what happens 24/7 over there!

Now, the LOC is so huge! This is why there are cases of Pakistanis sneaking across the border and wreaking havoc on this side of the border. What they used to do, before the ceasefire, was fire on the troops at Kaman Post, and while the Indian troops were retaliating, they would run across the border. Imagine the state of these soldiers, risking their lives for protecting the country, in a land where the people do not even hold true loyalty to their own country! Many Kashmiris want Kashmir to be independent, saying that they don't need India or Pakistan to survive. And Kashmir is milking both countries for resources and money, threatening to join the other side if they are not satisfied. But our soldiers are standing there protecting the country anyway, whether or not they are received well, because they are so passionate about their country! Seeing the soldiers at Kaman Post filled me with new zeal for India. After our tour and history lesson we returned to Mohura, where we ate lunch (at around 4:00 PM). Then the gentleman showing us around and I went to see the Datta Temple, which is completely in ruins because the local population is almost entirely Muslim, and they do not want the temple there, so it is not taken care of at all. In fact, almost all of the temples that I have seen here in and near Srinagar are in ruins or else they are targets of terrorist attacks. The Muslim conquerors of the past tore down all the temples in the area and built Masjids (Mosques) on top of their ruins. The few temples that remain (the driver tells me as we pass them that they are temples, or else I would not even recognize them) are pretty much ruins, and from what I have read, most of these remaining few are in fact survivors of attempts to bring them down, not too long ago.

So the temple that this gentleman and I saw is related to the ancient story of the Mahabharata (for those of you who don't know, please look it up, I cannot explain it all here). It is said that Bhima, the largest and strongest of the five Pandavas, used to drink from a large stone pot that still exists on the temple grounds today. What an amazing monument! Were this temple anywhere else it would be a major religious pilgrimage site! However, it is in an unreachable location. Even this gentleman, who lives right across the street from it (in his army camp), had never been there before until we both went!

Then we returned to Ashok Uncle and Anita Aunty's house at around 7:15 PM. We had been invited to eat dinner at another officer's house, so we changed and freshened up, then left for their house. After that party, we came back, and I went immediately to sleep. What a tiring day!

Today our plan was to go the opposite direction as yesterday, and see the origin of the same Jhelum river we saw yesterday. This origin point is called Verinag. We drove eastward, following the Jhelum, in snow piled high. The Safari (the name of the vehicle) we were traveling in kept fishtailing in the snow. But it was exciting! We first went to go see a Beacon (Beacon is the name of the project that Ashok Uncle is heading) site, that is a tunnel through the Pir Panjal mountain for traffic going across the mountain. This is the road that connects Jammu and Kashmir to the rest of India, so it is really really important!! This is an avalanche prone area, so it was nerve wracking to drive through it. But it was exciting anyway! I took lots of pictures again, so I'll put those up soon. We went into the control room of the tunnel project, which was a "restricted access" zone, but of course, being with the Chief Engineer's wife we were granted access everywhere. There is one picture of the door where it says "Restricted Access: No Entry Without Permission" or something like that.

When we went inside the control room, there was an officer who was there to explain the workings of the control room. He explained every little detail of the board and how it works (it's just like how you see in the movies!). I almost cried, because these people are working so hard with such little resources! He explained to us every detail of that control board with such enthusiasm, as if he were about to turn it all on and show us how it works! The enthusiasm that all these members of the army have, is just unbelievable. It is so touching to see how much they care about their country... I mean, they continue to work day in and day out in such a dangerous area to do what they can for their country with what they have been given. The government helps the army none at all, and still they stand their ground protecting their land from invasions. I cannot say that I have been more emotionally charged in my life.

After we saw the tunnel project, we went to Verinag. It is the place where the Jhelum River originates. You'll simply have to see the pictures when I put them up to understand the impossible beauty that I saw there. I now understand the saying that "Kashmir is heaven on earth." What a breathtaking site. The Jhelum River originates at a spring, that spouts 450 gallons of water a second. The original architect who built this spot was from Mysore, in southern India. He put a huge metal plate on the spring with little holes in it to control the unimaginable force that used to be the spring. This controlled force is now a reservoir (which is such a beautiful spot, I tell you) that then feeds the river. Stemming from the reservoir is a little waterway that resembles exactly the waterway in front of the Taj Mahal. It was constructed for Shah Jahan, the king who created the Taj Mahal too. He built this spot as a haven for himself, and he wished to be buried here when he died. But that wish was left incomplete. I leave it up to the reader to do a little more research on the history of Shah Jahan and Verinag, for I myself don't know everything. The site itself is absolutely beautiful though, surrounded by pine trees that rise up majestically on the mountainside behind it, and in this season they are covered in snow so it looks totally breathtaking. (Of course, I took lots of pictures.) I plan on coming back to Kashmir in the summer. Anita Aunty tells me that it looks like a totally different place in the summertime. I'm excited! However, I don't know if I will actually be able to come back or not.

When we returned from Verinag, instead of going home, we went shopping for some souvenirs from Kashmir. The market was so full of life, I was surprised where all these people came from. Since today is Friday, there was Friday Namaaz at all the Masjids, and it was such a nice day, so everyone was out and about. It was nice to see so many people again that were not soldiers. I did not actually buy anything for myself, though my mom did get a good amount of things (maybe something for me), but tomorrow maybe I will get some little trinket or something. We'll see. Maybe an item of clothing? Who knows! We later returned home to eat dinner and now I am writing this blog entry. Anita Aunty just handed me the recipe for Kahva, I'm so pumped to make it!

Tomorrow my mom and I are flying back to Delhi. I will have laptop (and hopefully internet) access there, so I will try to upload all my pictures and also the rest of my blog entries that are pending, from the flight to India all the way to when we reached Kashmir!

Adventure 4: "Mission: Kashmir"

I'm in Kashmir!

A little technical detail... I realize that it says "Adventure 4" in the title of this post but there are no adventures listed before this! That is because everything I have written previously is still on my laptop in Noida where my uncle lives, but I am not there right now! I am in Kashmir! So here's what I'm doing. Since I have regular internet acces here, I will simply update you on what is going on right now on the blog, and upload what I wrote on my laptop later. It appears that when I go back to Noida I will have regular internet access from my laptop itself.

OK back to my point! I'm in Kashmir and it is rather amazing! I arrived here on January 8th at around 3:00 PM. My mom and I were picked up personally by the wife of the Chief Engineer of the Indian army in Kashmir. They are family friends, so it worked out to our advantage! We are staying with them until the 12th. We drive everywhere in an armored (bulletproof) car. We are truly getting royal treatment because they have so many people working for them! Brigadier Ashok Bhutani is a big shot here, the top gun, if you will. So as soon as we entered their house (which is a government-owned property) we were greeted by several servants who took our stuff and showed us to our room. We freshened up a little bit and came to the living room where Anita Aunty (Ashok Uncle's wife) greeted us with some kahva. Kahva, for those of you who don't know, is a traditional Kashmiri drink. I typically don't drink things that resemble chai or coffee, but I tried Kahva because it was offered so nicely to me, and it looked good! I mixed in some Kashmiri honey and tasted it. It was unbelievable! I told Anita Aunty that I wanted to take some of every ingredient back with me so that I can make it at home on my own! It was so good! Anyways we then had some food (served absolutely royally), and soon thereafter left the house (in the armored car) to visit the local Shankaracharya Temple. When we got there, the gate was closed, but we honked the horn and a local guard came out. Anita Aunty told him to open the gate, and he said that the temple had already closed down. "It normally closes at 5:30," he said, "but you can come back any time tomorrow morning and we'll be here." Now, keep in mind that we were traveling in the Chief Engineer's vehicle, which everyone knows is his vehicle. Anita Aunty wields some authority! She told the guard to open the gate anyways and let us in. He told us that the temple up the hill would be closed anyways in a couple of minutes, so there would be no point going in. And anyway, he couldn't open it. She told him to go talk to the authority up at the temple. He went up and came back down to our little convoy, and told her that he would open the gate if she really wanted to go inside. She said she did, and he opened the gate. We drove all the way up the hill on the winding pathway in the intense fog (by 6:00 PM here in the winter time there is no light, and a dense fog settles over the city), only to find that the actual gate was locked from the inside! We took some pictures at the gate anyway, which I will upload later (when I get access to my laptop again).

When we returned we were greeted at the gate again by Ramesh Bhaiya (their main servant), who again took all our stuff to our room and made us comfortable. I feel so at home here, everything is just run so well! I love it. I am currently working on Ashok Uncle's laptop.

OK one more thing - though Ashok Uncle is a Brigadier, he is extremely fun. He has a great sense of humor and when you talk to him you would never guess that he's in the army until you ask him about it. After we got settled in, we went upstairs to find Ashok Uncle watching some movie on TV which he called a "useless movie." Ramesh Bhaiya served us all some more kahva, which was amazing again. I think this might be my new favorite drink, besides water and milk, of course. (Milk is slowly slipping from the ranks though! I don't know why...)

After talking for a while, we were escorted to our room by Anita Aunty and Ashok Uncle, who showed us that our bed had heated sheets! (Can you believe that?) However, here in Kashmir where it is so cold in the winter and there is no central heating, they need stuff like heated sheets and a special thing called a bukhari, which is a heating unit that they have in each room that is operated by turning on some gas inside it, lighting a match, and throwing it inside. It is a kerosene-fueled device.

A little note about Ashok Uncle and Anita Aunty, they are by far the most amazing couple I have ever met. They have been married 25 years, but are so deeply in love that it penetrates anyone surrounding them too. I feel so good when I am around them. They give off such positive vibes! I told them about my observation and Ashok Uncle very wisely said, "as long as there is respect in the relationship, nothing can go wrong." I silently agreed. As long as there is respect between two individuals, there will never be a tendency to emphasize negativity. Thus, even when they fight (for they will fight, they're only human), it will not last long, and/or it will end positively. You really only read about this couple in books and fairy tales! I am thoroughly impressed.

Another thing - I can feel my hindi improving tremendously. My policy is this - even if I'm not speaking correctly, at least I'm speaking. The worst that can happen is either someone laughs at me or corrects me, and either way I'm fine. I hope that at the end of six months here I will be speaking like a local!

Both my mom and I have been waking up naturally without an alarm at around 6. When we woke up this morning (Jauary 9th) we were joined by Anita Aunty who came down to our room at around 7 to have tea with us. (I drank kahva). Soon thereafter we were joined by Ashok Uncle. Both of them were in their pajamas too, it was so cool! I feel so at home here. We decided we would leave at 9 AM for Gulmarg, a very famous tourist spot known for its ski resorts. We ended up leaving at 10:00 though! A whole hour late. And unfortunately this hour was crucial, for on the road we got stuck behind a HUGE convoy of army trucks! We passed them up carefully though, and ended up reaching Gulmarg at around 11:40 AM. The altitude was some 10,000 feet high, and the snow was piled up at least 3 feet high! Our vehicle got stuck RIGHT at the check point before the resorts started, and we wasted at least an hour stuck in the snow! Finally Anita Aunty, my mom, and I got out of the car and walked the rest of the 200 meters to the check point. I took lots of pictures, which I will upload as soon as I get laptop access.

This area was absolutely beautiful. I mean, I have never seen so much snow in my life (even coming from Chicago)! In the summer time, this same resort is a golf club. It is famous for its national and international golf tournaments. Gulmarg is a really beautiful place. I went skiing a little bit, it was a lot of fun! Then we ate some authentic Kashmiri food and started for home! By this time it was already around 4:00 PM. I was so tired already though, but on our way back I took lots of pictures as well! Later, Ashok Uncle, Anita Aunty, mom, and I went to a steam room/sauna that was inaugurated by Anita Aunty only two days ago! It was an amazing experience, as I have never done that before! We came back and had dinner, and soon it will be time for me to sleep.

I am amazed by the locals here. Kashmiris are such beautiful people! Their complexion is fair and their eyes are light... They are apparently known for their beauty. They have classic Aryan features (if you don't know what Aryan features are, look it up on Google or something, I'm not sure I can quite explain in words. And I don't mean the Nordic Aryans, I mean Indo-Aryans). And they have intense expressions. Kashmiri people have gone through a lot in the past 30 years or so, due to wars and other hardships. Many of them simply fled the state, to settle in other parts of India and often other parts of the world. Those that have remained throughout were oppressed for a very long time and are still suffering from their past conditions. Since entry to Kashmir is extremely restricted, tourism has died down almost completely, and the locals used to get their revenue from tourism mostly, so it has been very devastating for them.

The Indian army holds reign over the area so that no infiltration can occur from the Pakistan side of the border. Pakistanis and Indians look alike, since Pakistan and India were both simply India not too long ago, so it is impossible to distinguish one from the other. Sadly, those that have infiltrated in the past have caused a lot of damage to the local people. For those of you who don't know, this war has been going on for many years, due to Pakistan's interest in Kashmir's "liberation." This interest is sparked by the fact that part of Kashmir lies in the region that is currently Pakistan. (To my Pakistani friends, this has nothing to do with you, I am simply speaking from the point of view of my own questioning and observation. An average Pakistani is just like an average Indian, and is not directly involved in the terrorist activity that happens in Kashmir. I am talking here only about the very specific few who are involved.) The driver keeps on showing me places that were bombed or blasted or gunned down or whatever, so it is not an unnecessary protective measure that the Indian army has taken. The Indian soldiers all stand outside, rain, shine, sleet, snow, hail, or whatever, protecting the land from infiltrators. I am amazed at their courage. These are people from ages 18 to 35, sacrificing everything for their country.

Tomorrow I am going to the actual Kaman Post at the border between India and Pakistan, so I will see first hand what goes on there. It will be a dangerous mission, but I think it will be worth it if I come out of it unscathed. Staying with the Chief Engineer of the Indian army in Kashmir has its own charm, I guess!

P.S. Please don't forget to comment!!

One more thing...

I forgot! Even if I don't update you on my travels right as they happen (for now, though I will start doing that in a few days), you can at least check the "This is where I am" section of my blog! That is how you can track me... Because I will update that as I go where I go whether or not I get to update about my travels in detail. Enjoy!

-Varun

Apologies

Hey everyone, I'm sorry for not posting everything right as it happens, my internet access is very very limited. I am presently in Gurgaon, in Uttar Pradesh, and tomorrow I am leaving for Kashmir. I don't know what the situation will be with internet there, so I can't promise anything right now. But what I CAN promise is that when I get back from Kashmir you will all get to read every update I have written so far! I have written a lot I assure you; but I have not brought my laptop with me for the past 2 days (which is where every other update is) so I cannot put those up yet... but when I get my laptop back I will put it all up. I promise, and I'm so sorry! Thank you for your comments!! I miss you all right now a great deal, despite the ridiculous amount of fun I have been having. Please keep checking, but right now I'll tell you to check after 4 days! Thanks again!! Much love to all!

Adventure 3: Our Family’s Village (What?) Called Pali

As it so turns out, near the city of Bulandshahr there is a village. Now get this – it’s my mom’s mom’s mom’s mom’s (yes, that’s 4 “mom”s) village. My mom’s mom’s mom’s brother still lives there, and he’s still alive and well! When we left in the morning from my uncle’s house in Noida, it was me, my mom, my mom’s sister and her son, and my grandma (mom’s side). We drove to Bulandshahr (a two-hour or more drive) and stopped at my mom’s cousin’s house. There, I met my uncle Rahul Sharma (my Grandma’s maiden name was Sharma) and his wife and daughter (his son is currently studying somewhere abroad). Also there was my grandma’s brother and his wife. He is such an interesting person. Since it was because of my interest that we were making this trip, he took a special interest in me. He kept showing me family heirlooms and the like, but I remained fascinated the whole time. This was a rare opportunity! He showed me a picture of his dad (who is also my grandma’s dad), who is my great grandfather. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing! I am his direct descendant. So his wife’s village is where we were going. And the coolest thing is that her brother is still alive and apparently doing well! But that’s how villages go, I guess. Everyone is in shape from working in the fields. Of course, the members of my family, since they are the leaders of the village, don’t work in the fields anymore… They are more of the overseers of everything.

Pali is a village on the outskirts of Bulandshahr, in Bulandshahr District in the state of Uttar Pradesh, inhabited by the nicest people I have ever met. We left Noida at around 9:00 AM and reached Bulandshahr at approximately 11:00 AM. We ate snacks, and then picked up my grandma’s brother and my cousin (my mom’s cousin’s daughter) Anu. Then when we left Bulandshahr it was about noon. We arrived in Pali at around 1:00 PM and were greeted by a mass of people, who apparently are all my blood relatives! I was thrilled to meet all of them, still in disbelief that it was all my family. I would explain my relation to all of them, but I can’t even remember what they are! But to make a long story short, they are all descendents of my mom’s mom’s mom and her brother. Which makes us all kin. There were SIX GENERATIONS of family members there. Can you believe that? Just imagine.

I drank more chai over this trip than I ever have in my life combined! Anyways, first we were escorted to the original house of my mom’s mom’s mom’s mom. Throughout the visit, I was in disbelief about my relation to this village. I mean, I am a direct descendent of the original inhabitants of the village! OK enough babbling. (I’m only saying all this because I’ve never been to a real village before, so everything was completely new to me… I hope you understand). Let me make a quick note about the house itself. The house was made of clay and brick, with lighting only made possible by the sun. It was one story, the floor of which was swept with cow dung, straight from the cattle of the farm! The dung is called “gober” (pronounced GO-brr), and is used as fuel for everything. You will see them harvesting it in the shape of 1ft-diameter discs (or maybe bigger) for later use. What an interesting system! These people are so close to nature. I knew I would like it here…

After eating lunch at my great great grandma’s house, we went to tour the fields. My grandma’s brother, his mom’s brother, and I went for a walk together in the fields where they showed me the crops they were growing and the different activities that were going on. Pali has its own school, which competes with schools of other villages in sports. I was amazed at the amount of land that our family has in the village! It was a great experience touring their fields. We saw trees of all sorts, animals I’ve never even heard of before, and I even got to harvest potatoes! (I’ll put pictures up). We reached a field of sugarcanes, where my cousins taught me how to eat it. At first it was difficult, but I got the hang of it quickly (you literally have to peel the hard outer layer off with your teeth) and after that I ate so much sugarcane it’s not even funny! It tasted so good that I never wanted to stop. My cousins told me that that’s what they do to pass time. I mean, your stomach fills up, it tastes really good, your teeth become stronger, and the time passes by! What a good time! Anyways, I can’t think of any more to write about this particular trip… the rest of it was just fun fun fun (after the sun went down we went to sleep… around 8:00 PM! But we were so tired that it only made sense to sleep. When we woke up it was time to go).

We then dropped back off my grandma’s brother and my cousin and headed back home. Our next trip is to Kashmir!

Quest 6: Bank Account and Wireless Internet

We have been on the move ever since we got here! Since my cousin and his family had already been here for a week, we did not get a chance to rest when we got here. They were all about going here and there and everywhere! [A little note about Indian culture – when there is someone older than you, you give him or her due respect. Out of respect for my dad’s older brother’s family, we did not ask to do anything for ourselves, and thus we went along with their plans for the past few days.] Today was their last day here, and they did not have any special plans except for packing, so while they were doing that my mom and I dashed out to take care of a few important errands.

We asked Kunwar Bhaiya to drive us to the bank so we could set up an Indian bank account for me. [As another note about the culture, one should keep in mind that banking is still done with paper and pencil here, which makes everything go very slowly. What that means is if I need to set up a bank account, all my numbers and pins and whatnot will be written down by the agent that we go through on paper.] This took way longer than expected, and they asked for way more stuff than we were prepared to give, like passport-sized photos and other random items. So when we left the bank only half of our work was completed. But they said they would get the process started, we just needed to provide them with passport-sized photos and proof of residence and we would be fine. I left there with a new debit card and an incomplete quest. (But I put it on hold – I will not give up!)

Our next mission was to go to the Reliance store to get me wireless internet. Reliance is a company that is very popular in India and abroad for international calling. It’s a good service that is used everywhere except America. However, Indians in America often use Reliance to call India. When we got to the store, they told us that they had what we were looking for. We had so much paperwork to go through, it’s not even funny. They asked us for proof of residence, a passport-sized photo (even for a data card?!) and some other qualifications. Stuff really does move slowly here… but I expected that. And after all, I’m having so much fun! But check this out – when we went back to the counter after filling up all the forms and stuff, we were about to buy the product, when we asked them to see it before we took it. I looked at it and lo and behold, it did not work with Mac! How devastating! So the search is now on for a wireless internet device that works with Mac. Here in India, Mac is not very popular at all, except with the advertising industry. But since some people do have it, they have to have products for Mac too… But until we find such a device, Quest 6 is totally incomplete!

Quest 5: The Local Temple of the Goddess

As many of you know, I have a somewhat special affinity for Goddess Durga. There is a temple that is about a 5-minute walk’s distance from my uncle’s house, dedicated to Devi, or the Goddess. It is called the Mataji Mandir. (There are countless names dedicated to the Goddess – I will use them interchangeably – but don’t worry, I will make sure you always know who I am referring to). The word mandir means temple, and mataji refers to the “Mother” or Goddess. Durga is often referred to as the Eternal Mother because of Her power to give life and Her nurturing capacity. You may notice how Mother Durga is a constant underlying theme in many of my quests and travels, and also my life.

I had observed that there was a temple dedicated to the Goddess right when I arrived, but did not get a chance to go there because of all the restrictions related to leaving the house. I asked Kalicharan Bhaiya (another servant in the house) where the Mataji Mandir was, and he gave me directions – two routes, no less – and I told my mom I was leaving. I walked over to the mandir and stood in front of it, taking in what I could of the area. Again, everything was written in Hindi, so I took some time and read all of what I could see from outside.

It is a beautiful temple, half outdoors and half indoors, with 7 little shrines dedicated to several different gods and goddesses, and the main deity in the center of the temple is that of Mother Durga, visible from the street. I was very happy to see for the first time a local temple in India on my own! I went inside (when I say inside, I don’t mean indoors, I mean inside the temple gates) and offered my prayers at each shrine, reading all the inscriptions and watching the local people as they performed their own personal rituals dedicated to each deity. I stood and prayed to the Mother, and went up to the priest sitting at the foot of Her shrine. He touched my forehead with vermilion colored paste, making a dot on my forehead, called a tika. I then extended my right hand, cupped, and backed by my left, to receive the water blessed by the prayers offered to the Lord. He poured the water into my hand and I drank it, and then re-extended my hand to receive prasad.

Apparently Kalicharan Bhaiya considered it his duty to escort me to the temple, because when I exited, he was standing right there. He told me that he had found my shoes outside so he knew I was in the temple, and was watching over them while I was inside because there are lots of shoe-thieves around that area. I asked him why he had come in the first place, and he said that he wanted to make sure that I had found my way all right and everything. I told him I was fine and that I could take care of myself, but he insisted that I should not go further than the mandir just yet. So I just agreed and went back home with him…

But mission accomplished!