Farewell - Part 1 of 3

The end draws near and it is time to start the difficult task of separation. For all the challenges that the experience has brought to me and my family, we are all in awe of the shear beauty that India has shown to us on so many levels.

On so many of those occasions it has been in the company of Dr. Sharma's two daughters - Virajita, or Veru (or VEE-you as Evan calls her), is the elder and Vipanchika (or Veer - CHEEKA as Evan prefers) is the younger. Both girls have been instrumental in helping us to assimimlate into our lives in India.

Every morning and afternoon I accompany the girls to and from school in an auto rickshaw for about a 10-15 minute ride. On most days I receive Hindi (and on rare occasions, Telagu) lessons from Veru, my language guru. Those have been some of my brightest moments here - watching the busy life of average Indians whiz by from the leftmost seat of the rickshaw, veering around cows and crater-sized potholes and huddling under the canvas doorflaps during the heavy monsoon rains. There are many moments, in the crisp, sunny, and warm Indian mornings where I tell the girls how beautiful the weather is today - "aaj ka mosam bahout acha hai" - only to see their quizzical, sometimes blank replies (maybe it was my accent). If only they had suffered through one New England winter of darkness and cold they would understand. The commute was never boring - I seemed to learn something everyday about Indian society, either from the just watching or directly from the girls. Veru would often explain something without prompting if she spotted me staring - she is a natural teacher.

My language lessons on the commute were often interupted by a few belly laughs from the kids. I think my mispronunciations have been a source of amusement for hundreds, if not thousands.

The presense and friendship of these girls and their amazing mother, Sudha, will be sorely missed. And I can feel it coming.

SEE THE FAREWELL PART 1 SLIDESHOW BY CLICKING HERE

The Streets of India

Let's be frank - from the perspective of an American, the streets of India are amazingly chaotic. For starters, everyone drives on the opposite side of the road and the road is shared by quite a mix of vehicles, people, and animals. The roads themselves are often in rough shape, with debris, potholes, and what seems like the overuse of speed "breakers" or bumps if you're from the US.

But somehow it all works and people are able to get where they need to go amidst all the chaos.

My mentor teacher, Mr. GS Reddy took me to school one day on the back of his motorcycle (I usually took an auto rickshaw). I used the opportunity to video record the adventure...

Erin's Dance

Fellow Fulbright Teacher Erin McGraw was able to take Indian dance lessons for the duration of her exchange. Since I have seen a handul of Indian dance performances I can say with some authority, albeit extremely limited, that her performance was outstanding. It seemed authentic and everyone in attendance was delighted to have the rare opportunity to see a foreigner demonstrate some mastery of something uniquely Indian.

Although I love the traditional dance costume, I couldn't get over the thick, black hair extension which had been woven into Erin's golden-blonde braid. In some ways the braid represented the contrasts of our home cultures - Erin could weave herself into Indian culture but she would always stand out as a foreigner. I am of course commending Erin - in fact we have become quite close friends. She is the epitome of the "intrepid traveller" - and I admire her on many levels. In this case she demonstrated the confidence to perform and integrate into her host culture as best as she could - one of the hallmarks of the cultural exchange mission.

CLICK HERE TO SEE ERIN'S DANCE SLIDESHOW

Nayanika and the Veena

Nayanika is not a student in one of my classes, but she has been a very important part of the exchange for me at KVT. She is one of the brightest students in the 12th grade (the best student in each class is called a "topper") and has routinely engaged me in various aspects of the cultural exchange.

Nayanika agreed to record herself playing the veena - a distinctly Indian stringed instrument - so that everyone back in the US could see what it looked and sounded like.

The Morning Assembly

The morning assembly at all central government schools in India is quite different than how most American schools start their day.

For starters everything is done outside. I made it a point to greet at least one teacher or student each day with "Aaj ka mosum bahout acha hai!" - which is Hindi for "The weather is very good today!" Indians don't know how good they have it.

The assembly begins at 8:30 AM with each class getting into neat rows while standing in front of a large stage. They start with a prayer which includes some mantras spoken in Sanskrit - the mother of all 28 Indian languages. Soon they switch into Hindi, the national language, and pray for open-mindedness and the willingness to learn. The prayer is followed by a pledge, which is spoken either in Hindi, Sanskrit, or English, depending on the day.

I took a video of the morning prayer which I then had translated by T. Virajita, the elder daughter of Dr. TAV Sharma, my exchange partner. She is 13 years old and a student at Kendriya Vidyalaya Tirumalagiri - my host school.

Warangal & Palampet

My parents arrived in India after touring the some areas in the north. I picked them up at Rajiv Ghandi (Begumpet) Airport in Hyderabad on Saturday the 15th of December. We didn't waste any time, given that this would be last weekend while teaching at KVT, and decided to hire a Toyota Qualis (SUV) and driver and head out to explore some temples north and east of Hyderabad in the areas. Erin, our friend and US Fulbrighter from another KV school in Hyderabad, joined us for the trip.

We have used the driver a few times in the past - he usually goes by the name Shiva. However during this auspicious time of the Hindu calendar, Shiva had transformed himself into a living god through a collection of cleansing practices and puja (prayer). For example he must rise early in the morning and take a simple bath, pray, and then take a completely vegetarian breakfast while sitting on the ground (tables and utensils are forbidden) - all before the sun rises. He must remain somewhat separated from his family and must never touch women - even his wife for the 41 day period. He, along with other mostly male volunteers, dress exclusively in black robes and decorate their foreheads in thick swaths of white, orange or red paints. For this honor they are only referred to as "Swamy" - one of the temporary incarnations of Hindu gods.

Swamy picked us up early so that we could reach Warangal and the 1000-pillar temple by late morning. Warangal was once the center of Telagu culture and the capitol of the Kakatiya Kingdom which reached the height of its power between the 12th and 14th centuries. The temples that they built are considered masterpieces of exquisite architecture and some of the statues that adorn the pillars at Ramappa could be considered tantric in nature.

SEE THE WARANGAL AND PALAMPET SLIDESHOW BY CLICKING HERE!

The South Indian Food Guide

Welcome to the definitive source for south Indian cuisine!

Anyone who knows Jessie and I understands that we're huge fans of Indian cooking (I suppose food in general for the matter). I remember the fateful day when we began looking at the Fulbright exchange as a real possibility, and perusing the list of countries that US Teachers can go to. I won't hide the fact that we gave serious consideration to India not because of its insane diversity, warm and inviting people, magnificent cultural heritage, or astounding monuments - rather, we decided to come to India because our bellies would be perpetually filled with spicy deliciousness. India's trump card is its food - and we've rarely been let down since we arrived in August.

Did I say spicy? Chillies are like salt to south Indians - they put them in everything. And of the 28 Indian states, we have come to spicy kingdom. Menus in neighboring states have asterisks next to the words "Andhra style" - implying that the food is heavily spiced as is the custom in our home state of Andhra Pradesh.

Fellow US Teacher Paul Amstutz (he is the crazy math teacher from Yosemite, California who is currently in Bangalore with his family) once generalized Indian food as "loads of insanely spicy goo served over rice" and we have been laughing about it since. Paul's statement isn't entirely off basis, but what Indian cuisine lacks in presentation (from a western perspective) it more than compensates for in taste. The food in India, and I must admit to an inherent subjectiveness here, is undoubtedly superior to American cooking. To speak frankly, we've got nothing on these Indians. They make our food look silly. Really.

Our hosts Sudha, Virajita, and Vipanchika, as well as about every other Indian we have dined with aren't shy about telling us the truth. Fellow teachers at KVT chuckle at my peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and boxed oatmeal as they whip out delicate chapathis (flaky wheat breads that look sort of like pitas), myriad of curries adorned with just about every vegetable imaginable, or my personal favorite - masala. Ah - there is nothing on planet Earth quite like a proper masala.

Eating south Indian style involves rice - and lots of it. Typically we sit and eat with only our right hands (to offer your left hand in any matter is considered rude, to EAT with you left would be considered kind of gross) - no utensils. Eating rice with your hands does take some time to get used to, but Sudha has guided us well on these matters. To do it well involved preparing the rice by sort of kneading it with your fingertips before mixing in your dal, rasam, curry - whatever it is. This way the rice absorbs some of the flavor and becomes more easily formed into little balls that you can lift into your mouth.

Some regional dished include the incredible Hyderabadi biryani (a spicy basmati, or long grain, rice served in a small brass pot over chicken, mutton, or vegetables), haleem (a Muslim dish popular during Ramadan - wheat is mixed with mutton (with bone!) and pounded into a paste and then cooked throughout the day and served with raw vegetables), and a special bringal (eggplant) curry.

But south Indian meals don't stop at the main course - can you imagine incredible desserts without a gram of chocolate? Indians often serve sweets with the main course (OK, that part I never really got used to). They are often made with ghee (butter fats) and filled or glazed in sugar syrup (sugar cane grows in abundance in almost all regions of the subcontinent). The laddu (pronounced ladd-DOO) comes in hundreds of forms and is a favorite of Lord Ganesha (he is always pictured with one in one of his four hands) - my personal favorite is the dry fruit laddu which is customarily given for the birth of a child. Not far behind is the juicy kaja and kovapuri, as well as halwah (with cashews, almonds, carrots, you name it!).

Here is a video of a south Indian "buffet" served at our school on the occasion of a three-day regional track and field meet.

For those Americans who haven't tried Indian food - you have no idea what you're missing.

Sarof and Shalem

A few months back I started what I had hoped to be on ongoing photo project with some students from KVT – the first of which was Saanya, a twelfth grade student. Sarof is also a twelfth grade student here and has participated in the series, but I have been slow in getting his photos up onto the blog.

Sarof is a quiet and sincere boy, and decided to focus some of his photography on the plight of the impoverished in India. This is surely a facet of this experience which can not be ignored and I commend Sarof for wanting to look it so squarely in the face. Actually, quite a few Indians have brought up the subject of poverty with me – I think perhaps that they expect me to be surprised or openly moved by the sight of abject poverty. It’s not that I am unmoved, but I think they are surprised to hear that there are homeless people and conditions of impoverishment in the US as well.

India has the world’s largest population of poor people, with nearly half of the 1.2 billion people subsisting on under $2. per day. The United Nations’ Human Development Report lists India at or near the top of all the world’s countries in child undernourishment and infant mortality rates. Yet this is the same India with the world’s richest person (move over Bill Gates), an insane level of economic growth (about 10 to 12% per year compared to about 2% in the US), and a burgeoning middle class. Disparity is an understatement.

A trip in a rickshaw is not complete without being approached at stoplights or in traffic by beggars, many of which are simply difficult to look at. Some are missing limbs, holding infants, wearing ragged clothes, or even in makeshift wheelchairs. I have seen pregnant women, elderly, children, and the sick on street corners. It can be really difficult sometimes.

Shalem (pronounced sha-LEEM) is a 10th grade boy at KVT who lives down the street from us often drops by to talk or play with the boys. His family has invited us over for dinner and we have spent a few nice evenings with them.

All of the photos in this set were taken by the two of them.

CLICK HERE TO SEE SAROF AND SHALEEM's SLIDESHOW

Lumbini Park

Lumbini Park is one of the hotspots in Hyderabad - it's kind of an interesting hybrid between an amusement park and a manicured garden. The main attraction is the boat ride out to the Buddha (pronounced "bood - THA", not "BOOD-ah" - which means "old man" in Hindi as my students tell me after a little snickering) which is one of the largest Buddha statues in the world. It was dedicated by the Dalai Lama himself, who currently resides in exile from Tibet in Dharamsala which is in the north Indian state of Himachal Pradesh, somewhere in the mid 1990's. The 17.5 meter high Buddha statue is fashioned from just a single piece of stone and was completed in 1990. Unfortunately, it was so heavy (350 tons) that it sank the barge it was being transported on (hmm... this is a good buoyancy problem). It was salvaged from the bottom of the Hussain Sagar (this is the name of the large lake in which it currently calls home) and placed on a small island in 1992 and is a Hyderabad landmark.

Hyderabad is an interesting crossroads of Indian religions - it has been historically ruled by Muslim Kings, earlier during the reign of the Qutb Shahs (17th century from the Golconda Fort area) to the Nizam family more recently before independance. Even during the British Raj, the Nizam's Hyderabad was considered a princely state by the British, and was given the authority to carry out day-to-day governance of the region. Despite Muslim rule a majority of Hyderabad is Hindu and there are also Christians, Jains, and Buddhists.

The Dalai Lama is the most significant monk of Tibetan Buddhism - a religion which has had significant impact in the southern and eastern regions of Asia. It has waned in popularity over the centuries but has seen a resurgance in the past few decades (especially beyond the borders of India). In the 1959 Chinese invasion, the Dalai Lama fled Tibet for the neighboring mountain regions of northern India and was granted asylum by the first president of India, Jawarhalal Nehru.

Buddhism and the forms of ascetic life that it teaches, began in India in 556 BC with the birth of Siddhartha Guatama to the Kshatriya caste (noblemen and warriors). You can read more about the Buddha from Wikipedia by clicking here (I can feel the Humanities faculty at CHS cringing right now).

KVT Fancy Dress

KVT recenlty hosted its "fancy dress competition" with many of the students taking on the personas of famous people. Mahatma Ghandi and the Statue of Liberty were in attendance, to name a few.

In true Indian style (this is part of a larger discussion that I plan on addressing a bit later on on December, but in general Indian students and by default their teachers and parents are insanely focused on their "marks" or grades. This competitive academic culture (for example, students are often listed in order of class rank) sometimes reaches levels that seem too extreme from a western perspective) students were graded and ranked on what would otherwise seem like a light-hearted event.

It was a fun way to start off the morning!

SEE THE KVT FANCY DRESS SLIDESHOW BY CLICKING HERE

KVT Sports Day

Kendriya Vidyalaya Tirumalagiri held its annual sports day a few months ago, but I just couldn't find the time to blog it... so here it is!

Sports play a less significant role in Indian schools then they do in the US. In the US sports teams usually practice daily after school and have regular interschool competitions regularly both during the week and on weekends. In India most practice is done before the school day (but it seems with less regularity) and competition is largely intraschool and on Sundays. Interschool events are infrequent compared to US athletic programs.

Once a year the regional (state) KV organization sets up a large competition which brings athletes from all over Andhra Pradesh to compete with each other. Specific schools host certain events, depending on the availability of playing fields. KVT has a nice track facility, so it was charged with hosting this event for all the KVs in Andhra Pradesh.

Athletes, coaches, and chaperones slept in classrooms while the school closed down for three days in order to host the event. I made friends with a group from Tirupati which is in the very south of Andhra and home to India's most visited religious site - the Hindu Temple at Tirupati. The group sent a video greeting to the US below:

In the following weeks we had a school-wide celebration to recognize the athletes and all the award winners.

Nag Mandir - Snake Temple

Hindus enjoy the company of thousands of gods and goddesses - some have told me that the numbers are in the millions. Powerful animals are often considered to be forms of gods, and of course the cobra snake is no exception to this rule.

The Nag Mandir, or literally Snake Temple, is one that is dedicated to the snake goddess. We visited the Nag Mandir on the recommendation of Navya, one of my students in standard eleven.

We went in a rickshaw (its only a few kilometers away from where we are staying in Secunderabad) along with Virajita and Vipanchika.

Unfortunately photography is not allowed inside the temple itself, so we were limited to some photos from the surrounding grounds.

Mumbai: Gateway to India

Mumbai is India's economic heart and most influential city. It is also where the second largest movie-making industry in the world is located, which sort of makes it both the New York and Los Angeles of India.

One of the things which I have really struggled to fully understand during my stay here is the depth and layers of history and tradition in this country. But India is changing quickly. Almost every Indian I have met either knows someone in the US or has been there, and although I can't say the same about most Americans, I can say that anyone who has called for computer technical support or works in technology fields knows Indians are a huge part of the global economy. Visiting India has shown me that the notions of a traditional and largely conservative Indian culture is hardly in a state of harmony with the burgeoning economic growth and western cultural influence. Nowhere are the signs of these mutually exclusive characteristics more evident than in Mumbai - India's most progressive city.

You're just as likely to see jeans here as you are a saree or a salwar kameez. People carry ipods, work on laptops at cafes, and swig fancy coffees. But they also use bullock carts, wear dohtis (this is the handloom garment worn by Ghandi) and wash clothes at the ghats. It is India in transition - for better or worse. I've tried photographing this cultural juxtaposition in a few frames on the slideshow - garment washers in the shadows of skyscapers, rice boats dwarfed by supertankers, etc.

After visiting the Shri Mahalakshmi Temple we spent our second day on the water. Mumbai is India's main port - connecting it economically with the rest of the world. We left the harbor at the famous Gateway to India - one of the monuments left by the British during the 200 years of rule on the subcontinent. Lonely Planet calls it a "bold basalt arch of colonial triumph, derived from the Islamic styles of 16th century Gujarat". Interestingly the British left through the same arch of "colonial triumph" just 24 years after it was finished as they relinquished control of India to Mahatmas Ghandi and company.

We took a boat from the Gateway of India to Elephanta Island, the site of Hindu cave temples - about one hour's journey through Mumbai's busy shipping lanes in the Arabian Sea.

That night we hung out on Chowpatty Beach - the main cresent-shaped beach that serves as the epicenter for Mumbai's bazaar (I guess in both senses of the word) like atmosphere. You can purchase just about anything on Chowpatty, which makes it sort of like Las Vegas.

The next day we ventured to the Dhobi Ghats - home to thousands of men who rent open air stalls to launder clothes - it was quite a site with the modern buildings in the background. We also visited the Victoria Terminus Rail Station, now called Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus, which like many of the buildings in the main "Oval Maidan" area were built in an elegant Victorian style by the British. At times it was difficult to tell whether we were in London or Mumbai.

CLICK HERE TO SEE THE MUMBAI SLIDESHOW!

Shri Mahalakshmi Temple

Laxmi (pronounced "LACK-shmee") or Lakshmi, is the wife goddess of Vishnu (who has many incarnations, including various forms of mammals, and eventually the flute-playing Krishna and honorable Ram) and is considered the goddess of wealth. Indians are naturally drawn to her and often make puja (prayers and offerings) to Laxmi. Their are a few festivals on the Hindu calendar that recognize her.


On arriving to Mumbai (formerly called Bombay by the British) we decided to make our way toward the Shri Mahalakshmi Temple - the most famous in town. Mumbai is a city of 16 million people (or 160 lakhs, written as 1,60,00,000 if you are using the Arabian numerical system which is what is used in India). Just to put things into perspective, New York, the largest city in the US is about 10 million people and New Hampshire, our home state, is only about 1.2 million. However the United Nations ranks NYC as the third largest in the world, just ahead of Mumbai if the surrounding urban areas are included.

It took us nearly two hours just to move a short distance in insanely heavy traffic. Upon arriving we walked the gauntlet of stalls selling offerings such as tapestries and garlands to decorate the idols within the temple, coconuts and laddus (Indian sweets) for offerings, as well as some other basic amenities for the huge crowds. We bought a plate of mixed offerings - some fresh cut flowers, coconuts, and laddus to offer the goddess Lakshmi. Photography is not permitted within the temple, so I was only able to take a few snaps on the road there. Things got very crowded as we got closer (pilgrims were divided in lines by gender, so Jessie, Erin and I got split up) so I had to pick Evan up and push my way forward in order to pass my offering plate to one of the Brahman (priests) who assembled the offerings in neat piles. He then gave me a half coconut in return, which I was eventually instructed to share with my neighbors.

It was nice way to start three days in the biggest city I have ever been to.

The Art of Mehndi

Mehndi (pronounced "meh-HIN-dee") is the application of a henna-based paste to the skin in order to create temporary designs on usually the hands, arms, or the feet. It is quite beautiful, and yet unusual for westerners, to see it.

I mostly notice mehndi designs on women who have recently attended a wedding (the bride always has mehndi). Jessie had some Mehndi applied at a wedding we attended in August which lasted for weeks. Sometimes these henna designs are also put on the hands and feet of men, but I rarely see it.

To get a mehndi "tattoo", if you will, one simply needs a tube of premixed henna and a friend. It usually takes about 20-30 minutes to do, but varies depending upon the skill and proficiency of the artist.

Our friend Erin, also affectionately known as "this one" (it's an inside Indian joke), was sporting some mehndi before we left on a Sunday trip to Ramoji Film City (blog entry coming!) so we went onto the roof for some photos.

Fulbright Conference

USEFI (United States Educational Foundation in India) organized the annual Fulbright conference in Manipal in the southern state of Karnataka near the city of Mangalore. It was really fun to be reunited with the other seven US Teachers as well as about 50 other Americans who were primarily University Professors, Researchers, and Doctoral Candidates. The theme of the conference was "Evolving Contemporary Fields for Fellowship in South Asia" in which we spent three days in discussions about our various experiences in India (although there were also a handful of participants assigned to Sri Lanka and Nepal).

It was a nice time and Jessie and the boys got to spend some quality time with some other families who have come along for the Indian adventure. We spent a part of the last day touring the Manipal University campus and at an old age home for the elderly doing some outreach.


But the highlight was having Thanksgiving dinner complete with turkey and all the fixins at an incredible beach house with our extended American family. It was heartwarming when we all sang "This Land is Your Land" followed by "Jana Gana Mana", the Indian National Anthem. I had tears in my eyes, knowing that this whole thing was coming to an end in a few short weeks. I felt homesick but I wouldn't have stepped onto a plane home for all the money in the world.

Of course I have a lot to be thankful for - a lovely family tops the list. But I took the particular point in time to give thanks for the amazing experience we have been given in India and specifically for the amazing people it has connected us to. My new Indian friends top the list - Dr. Sharma and Sudha and their amazing daughters, my colleagues at KVT like GS Reddy, Mohammad and Elancharian, my neighbors and friends Hemanth, Bhanogee, Lakshmi, Shalem, and Chinu, and perhaps most importantly the warm students from my classes XI A and B and IX C and E. Their faces remind me of my students back at CHS in so many ways - so much hope, energy, and possibility. Seeing their faces lights me up each day (OK, most days, when they aren't sweating their "marks" and Vinay isn't bunking my class) and reminds me of why I became a teacher and why I still want to teach every day.

What is India? I have started asking myself this question lately and am getting somewhat reflective in the final weeks...

CLICK HERE TO SEE THE FULBRIGHT CONFERENCE SLIDESHOW

Karnataka Dancing

The family and I traveled to Mangalore with a layover in Mumbai (more on Mumbai to come) for the annual Fulbright Conference (more on that to come as well) which was hosted by Manipal University and USEFI (United States Educational Foundation in India).

Upon arriving we settled in at our hotel and attended a lovely outdoor reception dinner which showcased an incredible performance of one of the cultural dance forms of the southern state of Karnataka (this was our second time in Karnataka - formerly in Mysore and Bangalore). It was somewhat similar to the Kathakali we saw in Kerala, with dramatic hand gestures and facial movements, but unlike the Keralean version this was performed by only women. The dance was accompanied by heavy rythmic percussions, a stringed instrument (not a sitar, but similar) and some mantra-like chanting from a vocalist (not the dancers). The dancers wore thick bands of bells on their ankles that jingled when they moved. As you see, the costumes were incredible - the silk and gold were flowing. In this opening video (see below) the dancers are making a tribute in a form of puja to Lord Shiva - one of the three main Hindu gods and my personal favorite. Shiva and his wife Parvati are notorious dancers - and Shiva once challenged her to a dancing dual (sounds like a healthy marriage!) which she accepted. Shiva did eventually win the competition (but was subsequently beaten by her in a game of dice) and is considered the god of dance. The famous idol (there is a picture of it from the National Museum in Delhi in mu Delhi set) of Shiva pictures him with four hands in an elegant dancing posture while stepping on the demon of ignorance. In this dancing form Shiva is also known as "Natraj". The dancers adorn the idol of Natraj, the god of dance, with flower petals before commencing the performance.

It was really fantastic to see all the other US Teachers again after meeting them for the first time in Washington with the Indian Teachers and then again for our orientation in New Delhi. But I'll be frank, the opening night was about the Indian dancing girls...

SEE THE KARNATAKA DANCING SLIDESHOW HERE!

Camel Vending

One of the funnier aspects of living where I do right now is the completely random street vendor. By street vendor, I don't mean someone selling hot dogs or falafels (I wish) from a steel cart on a corner in NYC. I mean people walking with giant baskets on their heads, riding their bikes hauling a bundle fabrics, or better yet pushing or pulling a wagon of wares. The best part of it is that the street vendor calls people from their homes in a style not too dissimilar from a vendor at the Fenway selling franks.

Now translate "Git yer Fehn-wahy franks heyar!" into Telagu and that is what we hear from our flat on the third floor.

Sometimes I'm really curious - perhaps because the vendor is just a bit too enthusiastic about what he is selling (it must be good) or perhaps because I just in the mood to know. It's enough to get me to the railing of our balcony to find out. The whole trip usually ends with a disappointed announcement like "it's only papayas", or "just a bundle of carpets".

But every once in a while, usually once a month, the announcement is just a little bit different.

"CAMELS! Evan, quick! Get your shoes! The camels are here! (Evan shrieking) CAMELS!"

And the lot of us rushes down the stairs to admire these majestic animals and their unscrupulous handlers. What is 5 rupees for all the other kids becomes 50 rupees for my kid. After about 10 or 15 minutes of negotiations, a couple of false "walk-aways", and some raised eyebrows, the fare is back down to 5 rupees and the owner brings the camel down to the prone position for the riders to get on.

On this journey Evan was escorted by Virajita, the elder of Dr. Sharma's two daughters. It was a fun day for everyone.

Bibi ka Maqbara

The Bibi ka Maqbara has the unfortunate pseudonym of "the poor man's Taj Mahal". In some ways it kind of deserves it - Aurangzeb, the last of the great Mughal rulers (their power waned as the influence of European colonial activity increased - mostly from France, Portugal, and eventually the British) had it built as a mausoleum for his wife in 1679. I have wondered who in their right mind would try to copy the Taj Mahal - arguably the most beautiful man-made structure in the world. I assume that before the information age (and photographic technology, for that matter) someone might of thought of pulling it off. What makes it peculiar is that is for the most part an exact copy of the Taj Mahal - except that only some of the materials are actually white marble and it lacks much of the fine detail work found on the Taj.

But it's still an impressive structure.

We finished the day with an afternoon at Aurangabad's general bazaar which included a stop for jelebe - one of the countless delicious Indian sweets.

CLICK HERE TO SEE THE BIBI KA MAQBARA SLIDESHOW

The Ajanta Caves

The Buddhist caves at Ajanta are perhaps the most significant site in the state of Maharashtra outside of Mumbai (formerly Bombay). It, like the rock-cut temples at Ellora, are listed on the UNESCO world heritage sites and are the home to some of the oldest known paintings and frescoes in Asia, dating back to 200 BC. The caves remained in somewhat obscurity until 1819 when a British hunting party apparently came across them in their travels. Although the caves are completely isolated in the hills, I find it hard to believe that not one of the 1.2 billion Indians living here didn't know about them!

We hired a car in Aurangabad (an awesome guy named Aleem) and traveled to Ajanta which is located about 100 km north of the city. We took a leisurely stroll through the 30 caves which took the better part of a day - most of the caves had elegant pillars and statue-type reliefs from the cave walls. Many of the frescoes were in good shape - which is amazing given that they were done using completely natural dyes and pigmentation. The detail in the art is astounding given that much of the work was done on the ceilings (I'm thinking Michelangelo and the Sistine Chapel) of these cave temples and the fact that most of them have endured for over two thousands of years.

Evan again made sport of calling out each and every Buddha that he saw ("there's a Buddha and there's another Buddha..."), and it was fun to watch him run around and enjoy the caves since they were nice and cool.

On a separate note I've been corrected numerous times by my students (at KVT) for my pronunciation of Buddha:

"No sir, it's Bood-THA!" (with a strong accent on the second syllable).

CLICK HERE TO SEE THE AJANTA CAVES SLIDESHOW!

The Temples at Ellora

The festival of Diwali gave us a 4-day break from my teaching responsibilities at KV Tirumalagiri, so we (Jessie, Evan, Eli, Erin McGraw - our travel companion from Malekpet in Hyderabad and Rodney Kleber - US Fulbrighter from the North Hampton, MA area currently assigned to A KV school in Pune, Maharashtra not far from the megacity of Mumbai) booked overnight train tickets from the Secunderabad Rail Station to Aurangabad - which is located in the northwesterly direction in the state of Maharashtra. It is named after Aurangzeb - the last of a line of great Mughal rulers who extended his reign all the way south into our region of Andhra Pradesh (he was the last conqueror of Hyderabad after seiging the main fort at Golconda in 1687).

Ellora is about 30 km from Aurangabad and is a UNESCO World Heritage site for its incredible rock cut cave-type temples and monasteries that date back to about AD 600. It was an absolutely fantastic place, with intricate Buddhist, Jain, and Hindu temples (the area was alternately inhabited by these religious groups) jutting straight out of the sheer rocky cliffs. There was an inexplicable harmony between the natural surrounding and the architecture of the temples themselves, with some of the 34 caves going inside the mountain and some of the solid rock temples, including the masterpiece Kailasa Temple, standing separately where mountain had once stood. The Kailasa Temple, built in about AD 760, required 200,000 tons of solid rock to be removed!

The coolest part was that we were able to walk freely in and around the temple caves with no restrictions. I remember hiking out to the Keet Seel site in 2003, an Anasazi Native American cliff dwelling in Navajo National Monument in Arizona (it's about a 3 or 4 hour drive northeast of the Grand Canyon). We had to get a permit from a US Park Service Ranger, hike out the eight miles and meet a different ranger there who guided us through the ruins of the village. She permitted us to touch almost nothing, and significant portions of the site were off limits. I'm sure that some of it had to do with the frail sandstone in comparison to the granite at Ellora, but it was such a different experience to be able to wander around and explore at your own pace.

Evan made a game of counting all the Buddhas we found in each temple. The lighting inside the temples was very difficult to take photographs in without using the flash (both Jessie and I hate using the flash for a variety of reasons, but primarily because it's just hard to use it with good results). I opened the lens up all the way and bumped up the ISO to the maximum setting and hoped for the best. I've also decided to drop all the color and show them in black and white since most of the images are shot in extremely low light.

After visiting the caves at Ellora we quickly visited the simple marble tomb of Aurangzeb in the courtyard of Alamgir Dargah in the walled village of Khuldabad (Heavenly Abode) as well as the 14th century mountaintop fort at Daulatabad (by the way the very popular suffix "abad" means "home of" - so Daulatabad is literally the home of Daulat, etc.). It was a great day with lots of walking!

CLICK HERE TO SEE THE ELLORA SLIDESHOW!

Trick or Treat?

Trick or Treat? I'll take a samosa, thank you.

Halloween is one of our favorite holidays to celebrate, so we decided to do it up in our neighborhood. My mom and dad sent out a package filled with some Halloween decorations (like the stretchy cobweb stuff) and we were able to procure some small to medium sized pumpkins from the local market. Needless to say the neighborhood kids came over to enjoy the festivities. In lieu of bobbing for apples we decided to make pinatas from paper mache. One of the older children opened the pinata with a direct hit and left Evan asking "What happened to that pinata?" while the other kids quickly descended upon the loot.

Evan's costume was a stoplight of course, since his favorite game is "red light-green light", while Eli was a wrapped present (with only his head sticking out of the box).

It was a lot of fun to show off one of the more unique American traditions.

Horn Guy & the Holy Cow

Did you ever wonder where the term "Holy Cow!" came from? I've been thinking about this lately and I figure that it has to come from India. Of course cows are sacred here and they roam freely in the streets. People sometimes go out of their way to feed them for good fortune.

We have cows in our neighborhood and they hang outside of our house sometimes. They're fairly low key as cows are - just chewing on some grasses and such. They ate the pumpkins that we had carved into Jack-O-Lanterns for Halloween.

The other day this guy came through the neighborhood ("colony" as they call it here in India) and was playing his horn and bringing his cow by for good luck. I tipped him big - 50 rupees, and took a video of him jamming on the horn. The cow is really decked out!

The Art of Rangoli

Rangoli is a Hindi word for making temporary patterns on the ground with white or colored powder. It is process that is exclusively reserved for women in India, and Kendriya Vidyalaya Tirumalagiri recently had a Rangoli competition as part of its CCA activities (cultural preservation). Although in appearance it might look like some colored chalk sidewalk art you might see at a crowded urban getaway like Battery or Central Park in NYC or perhaps at Faneuil Hall in Boston, it's different in many respects.

The Telagu word for this type of design is "Muggoo" - which is actually done daily in the morning as a sign of cleanliness. It shows that the house has been cleaned and in some ways publically reflects on its occupants. Usually done in only white powder on the sidewalk or street, it is usually barely still noticeable by evening time. I'd like to do more on the local Muggoo in the coming weeks - because it's really cool.

Both Muggoo and Rangoli are creative in their own rights, but the interesting thing is that there seem to be a few set patterns that most of the designs will follow. There is usually a series of dots arranged in a matrix through which a curved and unbroken decorative line will be woven. The pattern is usually symmetrical and is very beautiful. Although I can not say with 100% certainty, I am fairly convinced that the patterns are traditional and offer some underlying meaning or just simply an aesthetic connection to the past.