CROP Walk and Water in Mumbai

For a number of years, we have been involved in the Holland Area CROP Hunger Walk. We've supported it because we've always felt so lucky and blessed to have all that we have and we want to help in some small way with those in our neighborhood and around the world who struggle with adequate food and water.  We like a couple things in particular about Church World Service (CWS) and their CROP Hunger Walks. First, we walk at participants to experience just a little of what many around the world every day do, walk to get their food and water. Second, 25% of the money raised stays in the local community to help with hunger issues locally. (Too often well meaning efforts seem to be focused elsewhere). Third, Church World Service works not only with disaster relief, but also with projects that empower people to better their own lives and not need relief.

about to begin walking

This year, because we were not able to walk our neighbors in Michigan, we did our own little CROP Hunger Walk here in Mumbai. We started  at our neighborhood church, Holy Cross, just like our fellow CROP Hunger Walkers in Michigan start at a local church.  Thank you to our friends and family that supported our walk here in Mumbai. 

Reservoir for water storage

We walked through a few neighborhoods - really little villages - near our house.   It is warm and humid here, quite different from many of our walks in Michigan when it was cold and rainy. It hasn't rained here since sometime in October, with the end of the monsoon, so it also quite dusty.  It also means that access to water, especially clean drinking water, is such an important issue here.  To try a share a sense of how important it is, here's a few pictures relating to how people get their water here ...

Water delivery truck

Water tank supplying clean water for a group of houses

Water tap for several houses

Communal water tap

Water jug at local restaurant

 

The run

He climbs slowly up the five flights of stairs to their apartment on the fourth floor, sweat dripping from his arms, face and shirt. He pauses between the second and third floor to stretch his calves and back with one foot placed three steps up the stair from the landing. After a few seconds, he switches legs, noticing as he does the drops already pooling beneath him. Some days he does all the steps to to top and then back down to the apartment, but not today.
Arriving at the flat he takes the key from his pocket and slides it into the lock, trying to open the door quietly.
"How was your run?"
"Fine" His usual response. For some reason he is reticent to speak much about it. Occasionally, he'll admit it was a tough day or a hard run. Today was more like normal so he just said "fine".
"Where did you go?"
"My usual route".
He thought back over it. He had walked down the stairs, out the gate and down just past the school to the first speed bump, where he clicked the timer on his watch and began to jog. Around the corner onto Kirol road, he went stiffly and without much speed, then past the buses parked in front of the mostly empty Kohinoor Mall. He went by the spot where a few weeks ago there had been a dead dog being worked over by the crows. It had surprised him how soon the spot disappeared.
He came to the corner where a man always seemed to be having his morning bath,then past the intersection of the road leading from the little "village", where he always had to watch for rickshaws. As the road straightened out he started to get into a little rhythm , thinking about his breathing. He had read a "Runners World" article about running with an odd rather than even stride per breath ratio, so sometimes he thought about it as he ran, using either a 3:2 or a 4:3 tempo, depending on how he felt. He liked it.
Approaching the next corner , where the road led to the Vidyavihar train station and his longer route, he began to feel his hips loosen a little. He went straight through the narrow street near the temple, then around the curve by Fatima High School and Jolly Gymkhana. He always enjoyed this stretch, with the trees on either side and the early morning exercisers on the cricket fields at Jolly. Then the slight rise into the residential neighborhood past the little Jain shrine. He looked for the old couple now, walking so slowly and carefully. The first few times he ran past them, they looked at him blankly, but the last few times he had seen recognition and even a response to his greeting. He wondered how old they were and if maybe the man had had a stroke.
Left down the lane then right around another school on the corner, up the next road and he neared the business area on Mahatma Gandhi Road and his halfway turn. Taking the little one-way loop, he looked to see if they were feeding anyone at the temple on the corner. A couple of times there had been some monks or priests serving our food to fifty or sixty people lined up outside. There weren't any today.
On the way back he ran more smoothly and easily, hitting his rhythm. It usually takes him about a minute less on the return trip. Of course he is soaking wet by this point, with sweat dripping off several points, including the tips of his little fingers as he swings his arms. Running back along the way he came, with the sun at his back, he sees a few other joggers running the other way, back to Jolly Gymkhana. He exchanges little nods of respect with several of the older gents as they recognize each other's efforts. Reaching the last long straight-away coming to the Kohinoor mall, he picks up the pace just a little, then makes the turn onto his street and runs just a little faster. (Of course, faster is a relative term in the heat and humidity). Finishing his run, he turns into the gate, then walks down the end of the apartment complex and back to cool down a little before climbing the stairs to the apartment.
"How was your run?"
"Fine."

Cecilia's Notebook

A favorite time of my day is coming home to see what Cecilia, our housekeeper, has written in the notebook that we keep.  Cecilia and I write notes to each other.  Cecilia keeps a running tab of expenses plus we write notes about menus and daily happenings.  Cecilia's writing has such voice.  She fusses over our health like a mother hen.  She apologizes over the tiniest glitch in the menu ingredients. Cecilia gives advice. She bought cough drops for me from a vendor at the train station when I had a terrible cough this fall.

As you can see in this page, the market shopping came to 705 rupees which is about $13.00. Tim and I want to make pesto, so we needed to know if Cecilia had extra parmesan cheese in the fridge.  Can you imagine not being sure what's in the fridge?

I saw a man hawking peaches along the road this weekend, so I wondered if Cecilia could buy some peaches.  Do I still want Cecilia to buy watermelon, cut it up into squares, plus make watermelon juice?  YES!

Cecilia and I have a running joke about how she makes the food extra mild for me.  She is so sweet.  She brought pork from home for Tim, warned me not to try it, and warned Tim that there were bones in the pork.

This country and its people humble me. Cecilia made our landing in this country soft and smooth. I am thankful for Cecilia. I am thankful for the generous hearts of this country.

India 101. Part 3 Agra and the Taj Mahal

Agra.
From Jaipur we traveled the third leg of the "Golden Triangle", taking the road towards Agra, the capital of the Mughal Empire from 1556 to 1658 and the site of the fabled Taj Mahal.

One of the Palaces at Fatehpur Sikir

Along the way we stopped at the historical city of Fatehpur Sikri, a planned city constructed by the Emperor Akbar to celebrated the victories that consolidated most of Northern and Central India under his rule. Another amazing place built mostly of red sandstone with several palaces, a mosque of course,  and the marble tomb of Sufi saint.

Entrance to the Agra Fort

We arrived in Agra late in the afternoon, with just enough time for a quick tour of the Agra fort. The fort itself reminded me quit a bit of the Red Fort in Delhi, with red sandstone walls enclosing palaces and buildings erected over the course of hundreds of years.  The Agra Fort also played a major role in the Indian Rebellion of 1857, but is perhaps most famous for being the residence, during his last years, of Shah Jahan, imprisoned by his son in the fort where, he could see in the hazy distance glimpses of white marble of the tomb he built for his beloved wife - the Taj Mahal.

View from the Agra Fort

After touring the Red Fort we headed to our hotel and dinner, eager to get up early to experience the Taj Mahal early the next morning.

I knew this when I married her ;-)

After waiting in line briefly, we lead through the outer courtyard and then walked toward the gate.

One of the Gates

First view through the gate

no caption needed

It was stunning.  The beauty and grace of the building glowing in the early morning light filled us with a sense of wonder and awe. Even with hundreds of people around, the grounds and gardens are big enough that we did not feel crowded and everyone seemed to be struck by the place.

Delighted Duo

It was magical.  It if were not for the fact that we still live here in India and there are so many more places to go and see both here in India and around the world, we might almost call it the trip of a lifetime. That evening, as we had dinner with our group and reflected on the day, we were somewhat taken aback as the discussion turned to "Now that you've seen the Taj, where do you want to go next?" We needed just a little more time to savor it, which we've been doing for several months now. Part of the reason this blog post took so long to write is that it is just so hard to express how magnificent an experience it was and pictures, though giving a sense of the beauty, do not capture that feeling.

Intrepid travelers

 

India 101: A Day in Delhi

    "You don't need to go down there," the tour guide said with a wave of his hand.
    "Yes I do. I want to see up close. I want to be a part of it." I insisted.

    The guide, who had been satisfied with looking from the street above, reluctantly led Tim and me down the stairs, along the narrow sidewalk, and to the place where the crowds were removing their shoes.

    Tim and I left our shoes with the piles of worn sandals and joined the throng of people walking on sacred ground. Walking quietly to Raj Ghat—Mahatma Ghandi's final resting place. We followed an old woman. Her long gray hair braided, her sari worn, her back bent. At the platform, she reached out and gently touched the smooth, black marble. Her hand then moved to her lips, her heart, and head. I looked around. Circling the large marble slat were Indians of all ages. Men in faded dhotis, their faces lined with age. Children in their blue school uniforms. The girls with their long braids looped and tied with ribbons. Families holding up their little ones to see Gandhiji's final resting place. Women in saris of all colors: turquoise, pink, yellow, jade green, royal blue. The young women's backs were straight and their gait graceful. The old women's backs were hunched, their tired feet shuffled. One man, missing a leg, rocked forward in a slow rhythm. He swung his crutch forward and caught up with the crutch on the second beat. As each person passed the monument, they paused momentarily to touch the holy platform then touch their lips. The crowd moved slowly as if no one wanted to leave this place as peaceful as the man it honored.

    As we walked back to where we left our shoes, following the people of India, Tim and I squeezed each other's hand. "This place, this country is good," I thought.

India 101. Part 2

Jaipur.
After leaving Delhi, we headed west and south, into Rajasthan, to the area around Jaipur, the second leg in our "Golden Triangle" tour.  It felt good to me to be traveling through the countryside, past the rich fields and small villages, the vistas punctuated by the narrow towers of the brick making kilns. Recognizing some of the crops made me want to know more about those that I did not know. What are they growing?

Amber Fort - on the way in.

The Amber fort, was our first stop in the Jaipur. It is not named for the color, but rather for the town of Amer, and so is also known as the Amer fort.  We had the opportunity to ride an elephant up to the fort, but choose not to wait the hour or two. I think most of us felt a little sorry for the elephants as well, though we were assured that they were limited to two or three trips each.

Part of the fort - note the screen area above .

The fort itself is a great example of Rajput architecture, engineering, and artistry. The marble and red sandstone courtyards and the fine craftsmanship really are stunning, and the clever uses of water to cool and refresh are amazing.

Garden and hall of mirrors within the fort - elaborated channels to water the garden.

In the town of Jaipur itself (also known as the pink city), we saw two more significant places: the City Palace, and the astronomical observatory or Jantar Mantar.
Like many of the forts and palaces in Rajastan, the City Palace is really a complex of palaces and courtyards, elaborately decorated. It was (and is) the residence of the Maharajas of Jaipur, the first part built between 1729 and 1732. Lots of interesting things in the museum and incredible details in the ornamentation of the gates.

Detail from one of four main gates to City Palace courtyard

The Jantar Mantar was a neat combination of science and architecture. The massive sundials and observational structures are pretty impressive. From the wikipedia article: "The observatory consists of fourteen major geometric devices for measuring time, predicting eclipses, tracking stars' location as the earth orbits around the sun, ascertaining the declinations of planets, and determining the celestial altitudes and related ephemerides."

The largest Sundial in the world - shadow on the curve tells time in 15 second increments.

Very worthwhile visit, enhanced by good company and food - we even did a little shopping.

Learning how carpets are made. A look of concentration.

India 101. Part I

A week of break from work
"India 101" Nancy calls it with
A trip to the classic sites
described as must sees by all the guide books:
Delhi, Jaipur, Agra

First Stop: Delhi
A great day shared with brother Steve, laughing and enjoying each other's company and seeing the grand mosque, the Red Fort, Gandhi memorial, and Birla Temple.

Red Fort - Built by the Moghuls, taken by the British and then the site of where the flag of the new India was raised on August 15, 1947

One of the Palaces within the Red Fort.

Raj Ghat - memorial to Mahatma (Great Soul) Gandhi. An eternal flame marks where his body last rested before his cremation.

Birla Temple. Built in the 1930's by a major Indian Industrialist (think Rockefeller or Carnegie). He was a friend of Ganhi's and built the first caste-free temple in India. Gandhi attended the opening.  Nancy has a Birla descendent in her class.

More coming as we find time to reflect on the trip... Part II and Part III