Weekend

We had a busy weekend! We will need to get our passports renewed as soon as we get home, so one thing we need is new pictures. It is cheaper here than at home, so Saturday we planned a bazaar trip to have our photos taken. There are new rules since the last time we did it — the size has changed and we learned that on Nov. 1 this year glasses must be removed. Dan took the scooter in and I walked, with the plan for me to take a taxi back.

Between Springview and the hospital a car full of young men drove by, with one of them brandishing a small pistol out of the window and pointing it at people. I am quite sure it was a toy, but it looked real enough and quite frightened me. There was a Woodstock School boy walking behind me and I turned to him and asked him if he saw it, too. That started quite a long conversation as he walked with me most of the way. He is a freshman, Indian boy, but living in Dubai. He was quite interested in what it was like long ago and I quite enjoyed chatting with him about things that are the same and those that are different. He left me at a salon where he was due to have a haircut. It passed the time quite well and I had a good time. The one thing he couldn’t agree with me on was the food — he was convinced it is absolutely terrible, even though in truth it is not bad. I told him that every boarding school student feels the same way as he does.

I met Dan at the Mussoorie Heritage Centre just behind the Clock Tower site. We had a good visit with Surbhi, daughter of Vinod, who runs the Centre. They have many interesting old photos on display and sell a variety of handicrafts made right around here. She told us about the plan for the Clock Tower, which was taken down several years ago. A WS alumnus wanted to renovate it and when they got inside, found it so decayed that it had to be removed. Since then the project has been stuck in political wrangling, but it appears that the final rebuilding has been approved. The hole for the foundation closes off the road to the left, which heads toward Wynberg Allen School and is one of the bypass roads to get out of the bazaar traffic. 

We went into the Glamour Photo shop, which is only about 6-7 feet wide. It has three rooms, with the one in the rear having the photo area. We both had our pictures taken and ordered 20 copies. They will come in handy if we need to apply for any visas in the next few years. The proprietor said they will be ready on Monday.

Next we went into the Golden Restaurant, one of our long-time favorites. They have a newly printed menu but mostly the same food. We started with paneer pakoras, then had aloo zeera (potatoes with cumin seed, dry) and channa dal (chickpeas in curry gravy). The fresh tandoori rotis were great! The total was about $7, so food isn’t quite as cheap here as it once was.

So which of the 4 numbers should I call for delivery?

Paneer Pakoras

Bill with the usual fennel seeds and sugar crystals
(Dhai actually is dahi - yogurt)

I decided that I was up for the walk back to school rather than getting a taxi, so Dan took off to order our taxi for Sunday. By the time I got to the top of Mullingar Hill I was quite tired, but managed to make it the rest of the way. I spent some time resting at home, feeling exhausted.

New hotel facade - including astroturf decor

Tiny garage along road

Downed electric pole; it must have been there for some time

Monkey family

Jacob's Ladder, steps from school gate to high school building

In the evening we went back into the bazaar with our friends Darab and Naz. Darab drove us in his car and parked just below the Clock Tower. We walked down to the Little Llama Cafe, located just above Union Church. This cafe was open for the first time when we were here last year and it is a very popular spot with WS students and staff. Their pizzas are quite good and most of their things are western rather than Indian.

Hot dog with fries

Nachos

Chicken burger with fries

Dan and Amriq - Ajit's brother from Toronto

Ajit and his sister

Dunda Village, Part Two

It took some persuading to get the Indian girls to dance, too, but they finally did, and actually showed two dances. Unfortunately, I can't get my videos to work right, so you'll have to ignore the arrows.

Next they talked about games. This India girl showed a game similar to jacks, where she had five stones and tried to pick them up one at a time while tossing the first one in the air.

The African girls were excited at this, as they have a similar game. One drew a foot-wide circle on the cement with a stone and put a large number of small stones in it. When they tossed the stone in the air, they quickly pulled a small bunch of them to the outside. Then pushed them back in. They gradually moved more and more stones until they couldn't get them all back in with one push.

I was a bit worried about the path back down to the car, so when the others went off to tour the rest of the village, I took my time heading down the hill. (That was probably a mistake; I would have had time to do both.) I saw some freshly cut small leafy branches on the path and looked up. This woman was up in the tree cutting them for fodder. I said hello and she turned around, smiled, and talked at me. I couldn't tell what she was saying, but I tried to act friendly!

Looking back up toward the village, I saw some women returning from their grass-cutting job for the day. Grass is gathered for fodder. It is stored hanging in the branches of trees.

The college-age village girls posed with the Africans for one last shot. They all seemed to have a great time getting to know one another.

The road was extremely narrow near the village but we got through it all right. Then we came upon a truck with men gathering fallen rocks at the side of the road. He pulled forward a bit and tried to convince us we could go around, but it was clear (to me at least!) that there was no way we could make it -- not only was it too narrow, but the edge was very crumbly. So he finally pulled forward to a somewhat wider spot and parked very close to the uphill side. We did manage to get around and head on our way home. Later I learned that this was an illegal operation; the fallen rock belongs to the government and these men were probably going to use it in construction or, more likely, sell it.

We were very fortunate to be included in this village trip. It's an experience I hope we'll never forget.

Dunda Village

We turned off the main road and onto a narrow gravel one that followed along the side of the river. When we were about a half kilometer from the village, we got out and walked the rest of the way so we could see more. In the first picture you can see ahead on the road with some fields below.

Many of these boulders were strewn when the flood came. There is a narrow stone walking bridge we passed so they can easily get to the fields on the other side.

The former primary school was ruined in the flood. There is now a fairly large flat area there where cars can park.

We climbed up a footpath to the area where our school had assisted in building a new primary school. It had a large paved flat area where chairs were set up so we could meet. At first there were a group of men and a few college students (on the left).

As we began visiting, more and more people came and the circle kept expanding. I don't know what percentage of the village population was there, but there were quite a lot. The man in the blue shirt sitting at the back is the headman; he was the one who interacted the most, encouraging the younger ones to answer questions and talk about their lives.

Sanjaya, in red, sat on the right side with the three African girls. The others of our party were near me, so not in the pictures. Over the past three years, the people, especially the women, have gotten to know Woodstock people and are quite used to interacting. Sanjaya was an excellent interpreter.

One conversation turned toward marriage customs. There was quite a bit of back and forth. Both groups said that cows were important at marriage time, but only the African girls ate them! After some persuasion, this village girl put on a large nose ring that a married woman brought from her home to demonstrate an important part of their wedding regalia. This girl is in college and recently became engaged. She was shy at first, but then seemed to enjoy being in the limelight for a bit. (You can see the headman better in this shot.)

The African girls demonstrated a dance they all knew. 

Dunda Village, Part Two, coming up!

Visit to Dunda

On Wednesday Dan and I had the privilege of joining a small school group on a visit to thevillage of Dunda. In June 2013 a tremendous rainstorm caused flooding in the Uttarakhand hills. See here.  You may have heard the stories of the Hindu pilgrims traveling to Gangotri and other pilgrimage sites and the thousands who died. The Indian military provided helicopter evacuation, but they could only rescue some of the people, many of whom were washed away in the flood. 

In Dunda village, located on the Aglar River in a valley, the floods washed away their fields, irrigation system and buildings. Woodstock wanted to respond and offer help and Dunda was chosen as a village that needed a lot of help. For three months, the school provided food bundles to the families of the village, as their cash crop of potatoes, nearly ready for harvest, was totally lost. A close relationship has been built up and is one of the main projects overseen at Woodstock by Sanjaya Mark, the Director of Community Engagement. The projects include training women on sewing machines so they can earn some income; at the end of the training they receive a free machine. The project “Not Just a Strip of Cloth,” teaches young women about  hygiene and manufactures sanitary napkins from rags. A new primary school has been built with Woodstock’s assistance, as the previous one was ruined in the flood.

At 1:00 we met our group at the school gate: Sanjaya’s mother and uncle, her gap year assistant Maria, former staff member Kay and her daughter Ella, and three exchange students joined us. The students are from Africa, two from Botswana and one from South Africa. Our drive to the east took about two hours, as we stopped several times. 

At Second Jabarkhet we met our third vehicle with the mother and uncle. Dan had a few minutes to say hello to the chai wallah he used to visit regularly. (His foot injury has made that much walking difficult and he hasn’t been out there this trip yet.) Along the way we stopped at a wide spot in the road above a local secondary school to take a look across the valley. Sanjaya talked about the changes in the region as new people have moved in to build summer homes and start businesses. There were quite frequent restaurants and shops all along the road.

Dan at Second Jabarkhet

Dahlias on the Khud 

Stop along the road - students in center

Secondary School

Not long after we stopped at an encampment of forest gujjars. These are nomadic tribes who spend the summer high in the mountains with their goats and cows, then migrate to the valley for the winter. It is a long walk. They start about 3:00 AM and walk until 9:00 or so. They spend the rest of the day grazing the animals, resting, and preparing their food. They seemed happy to chat with us about their lives.

Gujjar man and child resting 

Part of the encampment

GUjjar woman

Women and girls

View down into the Aglar Valley - river barely visible below

Close to the river

The next post will be about the actual visit to Dunda.

Technical Difficulties

Just a note to those of you who check my site -- I am having problems getting my next blog entry to post; my pictures will not load. I will keep trying and may have more luck over the weekend, as the students leave for the Activity Week adventures for the next week. We had a wonderful visit to the village of Dunda and I'm eager to get those photos and narrative posted.

Miscellaneous Photos

Saturday morning the air was beautifully clear after the rain. I got a good shot of the Doon Valley and the Siwaliks beyond.

As I walked from the Quad toward the gate, I could see the mist rolling up into the hills. (Old music building on left, now the business and principal's offices.)

In the early evening, the lowering sun was reflecting onto these clouds as I looked to the east.

The venerable Lyre Tree, which died from being covered by too much cement for too many years. It is sad, but its iconic shape is still there.

There are lovely pots of flowers all over the main campus. This one is near the gate.

On Saturday I went with a friend to the Mud Hut, a new cafe just above Mullingar. It is in the back of Claremont, which once served as a mission boarding house. It is very nicely decorated and has a small menu of drinks and delicious snacks. I had a non-veg (chicken sausage, I think) savory tart. Fab had a coconut pastry with some chocolate chips and we had an oatmeal/chocolate chip cookie. Upstairs is a small art space. We went because one of Fabi's students was having a show of her art. It was well done and she is a talented young woman.

On our way back, we saw a group of Sikh students who were dressed up and carrying instruments. Later we heard that the bazaar was extremely crowded with multiple groups marching, but we never found out what the special occasion was. (Not that it takes much to cause either a celebration in India nor a traffic jam in Mussoorie!)

For our Sunday lunch, Dan rode his scooter in to the Delhi Sweet Shop near Picture Palace. He brought back samosas, channa and a bottle of tamarind sauce. We also had dahi (yogurt).

Sunday evening we walked up the hill to visit Darab & Naz and their daughter Vanu. Redwood Cottage, the first home above the school, is undergoing renovation. In fact, it was torn completely down and is being rebuilt as a more modern two-bedroom home.

Autumn Equinox

Early in the morning as I was waking, I heard thunder. It is traditional here in the mountains to expect storms on the equinoxes. It has happened almost every time I've been here during one, from 1968 to now. There was a bit of rain in the morning, but not very much. Then in the early afternoon it let loose, with lots of thunder and a heavy downpour. It didn't last too long.

A little girl was playing with a tricycle in the Quad, holding her umbrella over her.

In the late afternoon, I joined a group of crafters. Everyone was knitting. Maria from Indonesia is a beginner; Sue has done some knitting before, and Judy has knit quite a lot. She has been helping the others. I worked on some socks, which I've just learned to do two at a time on one long circular needle.

We are back to our simple soup and grilled cheese sandwich supper. We'll be alternating with having dinner in the dining room. The food has improved a lot and there is quite a good variety of choices.

First Weekend in India

I didn't get any of my pictures loaded in our hotel in Delhi, so I'll start with a few of them. I was able to get an amazing picture of the Chicago skyline as we took off from O'Hare.

In September the festival of Ganesh is celebrated. I'm not sure of the exact dates, but something was still going on. I heard drums from our hotel room and saw a procession with a statue of Ganesh going by on the street below.

We were only in Delhi one day and it was very hot, so we didn't go out much. Around 3:30 we headed for the Metro to visit Anju and Sandeep. We had a good visit and went to a Noida mall for an early dinner. They recently found a restaurant called Marwari Bhoj. It serves a Rajasthani thali meal, similar to one we had in Meerut some years ago and more recently at Suruchi in Delhi. Sandeep grew up in Rajasthan and enjoys the taste of home. As you can see from the menu board outside, the cost is about $5 per person.

When we arrived, the tables were set and ready for the waiters to fill our dishes.

Our dishes were automatically filled with a variety of vegetarian dishes, from salad of cucumbers and carrots to dal and curries. The center of the plate was soon filled with missi roti and chapattis. Near the end of the meal rice was offered to finish off the curries, but I was finished well before that. Each curry was tasty and quite different from the others.

In the morning we left for the train station at 6:00 to catch the Shatabdi to Meerut, just over an hour away. I always enjoy the colorful clothing of the Indian women.

Deepa met us at the train station. Her father, Brij, was waiting in the car for us, which was very unusual. It turned out that he had a viral illness that acted much like chikunga\unya, a mosquito-borne illness (which Sandeep had just recovered from). However, the doctor said this was viral and would pass. During our stay he had a high fever and very painful joints and muscles. We were glad that he seemed better by the time we left.

On the way from the station to their home, we stopped to pick up some fresh jalebis and yogurt for breakfast. 

We had a very good visit, in spite of Brij's illness and the high heat. Anju and Sandeep came for the weekend, too, and we had good times and good food (always important!).

Monday morning we took a taxi to the Meerut train station and headed for the hills. For some reason we were stopped on the tracks between Meerut and Muzaffarnagar for an hour; otherwise the trip was fine. Kulwant's taxi driver was waiting for us in Dehra Dun. After some time struggling through the traffic, we hit the Mussoorie Road and headed up. The cooler air was very welcome. Mussoorie was shrouded in monsoon mist, which felt good. We got unpacked and settled into our regular place, Guest Room #1. Tuesday morning I'll start work in the Alumni Affairs Office.

Back in India

We left home midday on Wednesday to head back to India. This time we flew Air Canada from Chicago via Toronto. The flight landed in Delhi about 10:00 PM Thursday, which is earlier than many arrivals. We breezed through immigration and customs and got a prepaid taxi to our hotel, the Metropolis in Pahar Ganj. They were expecting us and we were in our room and showered by midnight. The A/C felt good; it is hot here in the post-monsoon pre-winter season (upper 90s F).

As usual, Dan went out early to get our morning chai after a fairly decent sleep. It is so sweet it makes your teeth hurt, but it wakes us up! He also brought in some bananas and cookies. Around 8:30 we went out for breakfast at our usual restaurant just around the corner. We both had banana porridge, dalia (cracked wheat cereal) with sliced bananas and honey. Delicious and nutritious! We also had toast, plain white bread with butter and jam. I almost never eat toast at home but for some reason it always tastes delicious here! More chai, of course.

This afternoon we will get together with our friends Anju and Sandeep for an early dinner. Anju is the daughter of our long-time friends the Lals. Early on Saturday we will catch a train for Meerut, where we will spend the weekend with the Lal family. We'll be off the grid while there and should arrive back in Mussoorie on Monday afternoon.

More posts and some photos once we are settled at Woodstock School.