today is our last day in ahmedabad. students participated in a hertiage walk of the city this morning and we will be going to darpana, the center for non-violence, this afternoon, where they have mentioned they have prepared some special performance for us!

yesterday was quite long but incredibly interesting.  we visited the center for environmental education where we were given a series of presentations on what the organization is doing to educate communities about environmental impacts and also raise awareness about ecological handprints (positive things individuals and communities can do to reduce consumption of the world’s resources and preserve the environment) and footprints (quantitative measurements of how many resources we use on local and global scales.)  we took a short walk around their campus and the group was treated to some sightings of magestic peacocks roaming the grounds as well as families of langurs hanging from the trees and frolicking in the foliage.

from there, we ate at mirch masala, a great punjabi restaurant which is themed after indian dhabas, or roadside restaurants/stands. the decor was fun to see and the food was great!

our meeting in the afternoon took place at drishti, a locally operated human rights video production organization that has been working to empower local communities to make their own culturally and locally relevant video segments. we watched one relating to slum improvements on sanitation and also met with the founder/director, stakin k., who along with dr. sara ahmed,  gave the group some background on the 2002 riots in gujurat and ahmedabad specifically. we saw the startling and disturbing video footage he took in the days following the riots, documenting the violence towards the muslim communities here in the city.  it was quite difficult to see some of the images but also quite important for the students to become aware of ahmedabad’s relatively recent racial/ethnic tensions and the work being done to detail these crimes.

we leave tonight on the train for dahanu, approximately 3 hours north of mumbai, for our last days together. having been together for almost three weeks now, we have much to reflect on! everyone is looking forward to seeing the arabian sea and trying chickoo, the local fruit.  it’s not over y-e-t!

as esha stated below, we arrived on the overnight train from udaipur (southern rajasthan) at 4:20am and were quickly whisked to our hotel, while at the same time apprised of the fact that a city wide bandh, or strike, would be happening today as a result of the mysterious deaths of two boys at an ashram across town.
after having a few hours of sleep, we ate breakfast and assessed the situation, calling our local guide and deciding to visit the sabermati ashram, gandhi’s first of two ashrams in india.
it was here he started the famous salt march to dandi.
the ashram and museum offered a wonderful glimpse into his simplistic lifestyle and values and we were treated to a hands-on lesson in spinning cotton used for khadi, simple cotton clothes. there was a wonderful library and bookstore where many of us purchased books relating to gandhi. it was a great place!

from there, we ventured back to our bus and could see the closed shops and restaurants, all observing the bandh. we managed to find a restaurant that was still open and willing to feed us and have since returned to the hotel for the evening where we plan to watch a hindi movie entitled munna bhai, a bollywood production with gandhi references.

tomorrow everything should return to normal out on the streets and we are scheduled to visit sewa, a local women’s collective. rest assured that we are safe and sound in our hotel tonight, bandh or no bandh. (actually, it was quite an experience for the kids to learn about what motivated this community to strike and how pervasive the support for the strike was in the different neighborhoods we drove through this afternoon—-from this teacher, another valuable learning experience!)

c is for chalo, which in hindi means, “let’s go!”
we’ll be off and running starting tomorrow morning and we’ll be posting more….
we have many unique opportunities in the comings days here in ahmedabad so keep checking in for updates!

So, we are currently in Ahemdabad, and we just had to take an overnight train. It was pretty fun, except for getting up at 4 AM to get off the train!!!!!! We are going to a Gandhi Ashram right now so i have to go.

bye!

We just got back from our four day stay in the Madla village, near Udaipur.  It became evident almost as soon as we arrived that our stay in the village would be a life changing experience.  We were greeted by many of the villagers, who we would later come to recognize as a second family of sorts.  Upon our arrival (and before it), every possible measure was taken to ensure our comfort.  A western toilet was built for us, complete with a sink nearby with running water.  We were also afforded the luxury of running water in two shower rooms, where we took bucket baths.  We slept in a communal room, and a truck delivered sleeping pads, sheets and pillows so that we could be more comfortable.  The villagers were constantly interested in making sure we were well-fed and happy. 

I have only been here four days and i am aleady completley overwhelmed by India, but at the same time i can’t wait to see more. It is such an amazing country and the people are so friendly and determined to build a better India despite all the huge problems they encounter in their day to day lives. I could go on and on about these problems such as the coprruption of the government, lack of proper infrastructure, conflict with various other countries and lack of adequate education and healthcare, but i won’t yet, because i have so much to say about what we’ve done here.

Today was brilliant, we got on the train to Jaipur at four in the morning, having been at an Indian wedding he night before , so everyone was completley knackered (no one here understands me when i say that, it’s so funny!). Our alarm didn’t go off for some reason, so we had five minutes to get out of the hotel which ws interesting! But we managed, and before i knew it i was sitting on an indian train having lugged my bags for what seemed like miles. I sat down and stared out of the window, i wanted to sleep, but there is just so much to see. just outside the city there are so many slums, it is so sad to see children on the sides of the railway picking up litter and everything that could possibly be edible. Thats the thing with India, its amazing, such a beautiful country, but the poverty can get to much at times, and the fact that we are so helpless to make any difference is hard to come to terms with.

We then checked into the hotel and ate traditional Indian meal, tali. Then we learned about India in great detail from an amazing woman who was so intelligent and really progressive and modern in her thinking, she had such brilinat ideas on the future of India. I learnt so much and she could answer all our questions. It seems that there is a growing educated class in india, which does bring hope for the future, but so many are lured into call centres and similar monotonous jobs. Apparently the middle class in India is now huge, but our definitions of middle class seem to be somewhat different!

Well i have to go because im off to the temple of Hanuman, but will write as soon as i can. I am so excited for the rest of the trip!!

After sleeping for maybe 5 hours we were all very excited to get out of the hotel (and tired). Little did we know that orientation and other preparations awaited us before we could get out and learn about Gandhi and his life. We weren’t too anxious about getting out as the food in the hotel made up for the wait!
As soon as we stepped out onto the street two things happened: we began sweating and we realized that we were in a totally different world. Walking out of our hotel we were assaulted by the smells, noises, colors, and traffic. Our tour guide explicitly told us not to give to the beggars, which was a difficult experience for all of us.
We drove around New Delhi and immediately noticed the division of the city, which separated the wealthy from the poor. Soon we arrived at the Birla House, the site where Gandhi lived the last 144 days of his life. We recaptured everything that happened by following Gandhi’s footprints as he left his living quarters and walked to where he was assassinated. The Birla House is well preserved and truly beautiful, educating us about Gandhi’s philosophy and the Indian struggle for independence of 1857, also known among British scholars as the Sepoy Mutiny.
Next we went to Rajghat, an exquisite memorial garden celebrating Gandhi and his work for a united India. The green trees and grass depicted the beauty of life.  All in all,  seeing Gandhi’s memorials allowed us to better understand the passion and reverence with which people regard him. 

Next we went sari shopping which we enjoyed greatly. We might have gotten a little too excited and bought a few too many.

By this time we were exhausted and ready to go to sleep. At the same time we were starving so we went to a south indian restaurant.

Now, we are at the hotel and ready to shower and CRASH. Tomorrow is a really busy day and we definatley need our rest.
Love,
Tracey and Ali

we arrived in delhi last night, went through customs and easily retrieved all our bags. we were lucky enough to meet grace, who arrived from london, right in the baggage claim area. we all feel complete now!

after being presented beautiful marogld garlands and boarding our bus, we headed to our hotel for a much needed few hours of rest and being horizontal! it’s now almost 8am, the horns are honking outside our hotel on the street,  rikshaws are whizzing by and our first full day in india is about to begin!  there is much excitement as we will be seeing some of the important sites related to gandhi’s life this afternoon.

we’ll be in touch soon.

(how this posting ended up on the arts & religion blogpage, i am not sure….)one last request from your trip leaders before our monday departure: we’ve devised what we hope will be a fun, creative project for the length of our india trip but it requires some participation on your end. we’d like you to bring some small, meaningful objects (maybe that at this point could fit in a small zip loc baggie?) it could be some small photos of your family, a rock from your garden that reminds you of home, a small icon or keychain that reminds you of the best friend you won’t see for the next few weeks, etc. anything that is sacred and meaninfgul to you—— and s-m-a-l-l! we’ll explain what we’re going to do with all of these things when we start out in delhi but we want you to come with some things from home and you’ll have the opportunity to add more things as we go through the trip. i am bringing some small photos and other trinkets, just to give you a idea. the more personalized it is, the better your project will be!  

2 trips departed- we’re next!  i’m more and more excited as i read the other sage postings from the community service and arts and religions trips.  i hope you are getting your bags packed, your last minute items taken care of and spending time with friends and family. you are going to have some wonderful stories to tell and photos to share in a few weeks when you return home.  but in between now and then, there’s so much of india to learn about and explore!  see you soon,-joy

t minus 7 days and counting! as we get ready to depart for india, elliott and i would like to say how excited we are to meet all of you and share in the adventures that await. see you in newark next monday! -joy