Rikshaw Ride and Gandhi Museum

Thursday, September 3rd

That afternoon, I picked up my saris from the Hauz Khas market. I'm going to miss the elderly tailors, all men, who sew on the street with the antique Singers run by a foot pedal.

Our goal that afternoon, was to head to the Gandhi museum, and we struggled reading a map to find its location. We flagged down a rikshaw in the market and piled in. Usually a rikshaw is comfortable enough for 2-3 passengers in the back. But we've seen groups of 4 travel with the drivers, so I sat next to the rikshaw driver himself.

Normally a ride on a rikshaw is somewhat dangerous.... as we dodge the motorbikes, cars, trucks, cows, pedestrians, etc. on the road. However, sitting in the front seat with half a buttock clinging for safety and driving over countless potholes, the back seat doesn't seem all that dangerous. We even managed to hit a fuel truck, and I began to miss my American seatbelts.

This was the ultimate rikshaw ride as we drove past a parade for Ganesh, the Remover of Obstacles. There were musicians playing, people covered in colored paint, children dancing, and it was all led by an elephant!

I was finally getting somewhat comfortable, although I told the girls "We're getting 2 rikshaws on the way back," when the driver pulled over and told me to get on the right side so that I would drive. Reluctantly, I made my way to the wheel, or rather, handlebars as he explained the gears, 1st, 2nd, up till 4th, the accelerator, and floor brake (which he was in charge of). The 2 Brits in the back knew my American self never drove a non-automatic vehicle, and all of us feared for our safety (except the laughing driver). I accelerated, grinding the gears the entire way, and said just about every curse word I knew during the drive. The driver enjoyed putting his arm around my shoulder, as I told him we should take over. I even had to drive through a round-a-bout, unaware of what vehicles would cut me off. Fortunately, we made it to the museum unscathed.

http://www.eternalgandhi.org/

Thursday, September 3, 2009

Day 20:

When we arrived at work today, we discovered that we were to have class with the women's sewing group, and the women's English class. Although Indu has rented our little classroom for the last 2 years, the landlord told her to be out by Monday, Sept. 7th. However, the room was taken over by workers on Thursday so we had to cram all together and try to teach, which was a challenge. Chantelle and I had a discussion about the restaurant trip, but then decided to move outside to have some more space. We played freeze tag to the students' favorite, "Jai Ho," and danced and sang to "Who Let the Dogs Out?" We also managed to gather a group of onlookers. We finished a bit early so that the children could return to their homes to have lunch, because there was no room to be fed. Indu is searching for a replacement classroom and told us her wish to have a building one day so that the students could be taught in a permanent location. She also dreams to have computers oneday, although right now that wish seems distant.

Henna Party

Monday night at Dilli Haat (the Bazaar) I came across women doing henna, and ended up booking them to come to our apartment (quite a wonderful idea so we wouldn't have to rikshaw it back and mess up our designs). Jyoti and Rekha arrived this evening, along with their parents who chaperoned! Although I would chaperone my kids as well if they said they were going to some strange American's flat.

For over 4 hours they applied henna to our hands and feet, as we ate a dinner of veg. tikka and garlic naan (my favorite). The Dharamsala crew was in town as well, so its been a fun night of talking about our travels, volunteering, etc. as we inhale the fumes from the Tiger balm (meant to make the henna a dark color).

Restaurant Trip

Day 19:

The morning began with gathering the students for the trip to the restaurant. They arrived today extra polished, ready for their outing. Pingoo made 2 trips to transport the 15 of us to the South Indian restaurant, and the boys were thrilled to pile into the Bolero and requested music as well.

The students were so respectful once we arrived and behaved wonderfully. They sat down and began naming the English words we reviewed for utensils and pointed out the airconditioning. Indu asked the crew what they would like to eat, and ordered dosa, daal, and palau (not sure the spelling). They really were excited to eat and we all had a great time at the table as we "cheers"-ed to a fantastic 3 weeks. The students were even more excited to use our cameras to take pictures of the restaurant.... they have turned into hams and love to be photographed.

Flat Stanley in India

Tuesday, September 1, 2009

Day 18:

Stanley has had a fantastic time in India. He toured Jaipur, Rajasthan, and rode on elephants (even though I forgot to take him out from my bag). A shop owner offered to purchase him for 100 rupees.... even though he's just laminated paper, I refused. Danced with traditional dancers at a carnival. Enjoyed Agra until he was confiscated by the Taj Mahal guards, because they thought he was a toy. Visited the Golden Temple, although I should have covered his paper head. And was a conversation piece for many of my encounters in this country... the pictures with him and people are quite amusing and I will have to post them. I'm sure many wondered what kind of crazy woman I am to be taking photos with a paper doll... but I've never seen so many people smile in bewilderment.

This week in the slums, I told the story of Stanley (essentially he was a boy who became flat when a bulletin board fell on him, and thus was able to have many adventures around town... such as flying as a kite and being mailed to California). We created our own Stanleys, but the students drew traditional clothes (kurtas and pyjamas) and named him Bharat (it means India). Flat Bharat toured the neighborhood with the kids and took photos in Papankalan. The students seem excited about their creation, and even "fed" him during lunch time. Wednesday, he is accompanying the students to a restaurant, which will be their first experience. The end of the week I'll be taking some of the Flat Bharats back to New York, for some pictures of the city and will then send them back to Papankalan. I was thinking about making a snapfish book with all the pictures I take.... I think the students and teachers would appreciate it.

Helping the Economy

Sunday, August 30, 2009

Day 16:

Today was my first lazy day in Delhi, as I'm trying to avoid getting burnt out. I woke up late and headed out with the girls to Select City Center, a western type mall in Delhi. If anyone is ever feeling homesick in India, this would be the place to retreat to. The 3 expansive floors were filled with shops... and again, I helped the economy here. I bought some Indian tops to wear back at my school, so the kids can possibly relate to me a bit more.

We had a great meal at an Italian restaurant. My grandma said I would be able to eat pizza here, and she was right! I realize that I did need a dose of back home, and am looking forward to returning to New York.

Day 17

Monday, August 31, 2009

Day 17:
I've picked up some idiosyncracies during these past 3 weeks:

1. One is that I know when not to make eye contact and look directly ahead when a child or person selling something approaches the car or me on the street. It may sound heartless, but its easier to not pay attention to the children... there are so many poor people and the children generally work the same street corner everyday. I do wonder where the money people give goes, because there is an affiliation with street gangs.

2. I don't look at men at all (I'm sure you love that Neil) and try to avoid eye contact with them on the street as well. In the slum where I work, I only say hi / namaste to the women.

3. Indians are warm and like to ask a lot of personal questions.... I'm picking up this habit as well, which is kind of fun. I've asked drivers how many children do they have, learned more about their religion, questioned why they are single, or asked about their wives. Also, if you don't like a question that is asked, you can throw another one back. Feng still wins this act of getting personal with the people of this country. On our trip to Agra we were awakened by her asking our driver if he believes in birth control! She still defends that it was appropriate for the conversation, but I doubt it.

4. I started doing the head nod, which looks like you're nodding "no," but actually means "yes" or "ok."