Feb 15, Sunday - Final Thoughts

Welcome to the final installment of my India! blog.

I returned to the States last Saturday Feb 7 - exhausted (after the 28 hour trip and five intense weeks of work/play in India) but very happy to be back home. My body and mind suffered the effects of jet lag for about 5 days (time in India is 10 1/2 hours ahead of EST) but I'm fully back on east coast time now (and wishing the weather here in Syracuse was more like Raleigh or Bangalore). :)

On one level it was emotionally difficult to leave India - even though after 5 weeks of being away I was surely looking forward returning to my family and my 'real' life. As a whole, the Indian people are not emotionally demonstrative, or even warm, to people they don't know but if they're inclined to get to know you, then their kindness, openness and generosity of spirit will blow you away. I was there to work but getting to know the people I worked with, well, that was an unexpected and treasured gift. The trust and respect that was offered, and I daresay earned, between both the US team and the Indian team was a bridge that easily spanned our cultural differences. The people I met and built relationships with in India deeply touched my heart.

Here are some closing pictures as they always speak much more than words can convey ...


The Indian team broke out their ethic wear for picture day!


Genesha - a Hindu god of success and destroyer of evils and obstacles. He is also worshipped as the god of education, knowledge, wisdom and wealth. Almost every store, maybe every store, I went into had a Hindu shrine right inside the entrance. The shrine was usually to Ganesha; a fresh flower necklace would adorn the statue and the smell of incense often lingered in the air. Yes, this statue was really that big. :)


Shiva is a major Hindu god and Ganesha's father. The Ganesha statue was big but the Shiva statue was enormous!

Jan 26 - Republic Day
The hotel security and some of the staff (former military) assemble d fo r a discreet ceremony out on the front lawn. I just happened to look outside and see this taking place.



Malls, malls everywhere ... yes, you can go mall (s)hopping in Bangalore. Me? I prefer the managed chaos and energy of the small stalls on Commerical Street!


Hotel entrance - Ganesha. As we'd leave the hotel at 7:30 AM each day, there was fresh incense burning by this statue.





Room Tour - Taj

When we went to the Botanical Gardens one Saturday, scores of children were there on field trips. School is not publicly funded there and the children go to school 5 1/2 days a week. The kids were intrigued by our cameras and wanted their pictures taken. We disrupted many an orderly group of children just by being there. :) Once the kids ran to us, they jockeyed for position to have their pics taken.


Of coures, after you took the pictures, the kids had to see them! Their excitement was contagious. :)

Jan 30, Friday Part 2

Part of the India team!

L to R: 1st row: Askatha, Tracy, Shyni, Maria, Natasha, Kelli, Karey, Mridula, Been, Swetha. 2nd row : Muktha, some unknown woman who wanted to be in the picture :) , Anju, Deb, Robin.

Jan 30, Friday

L to R: Maria, Robin, Deb, Kelli, Karey

TGIF!

Yes, they celebrate TGIF here in India too! Hooray, it is now Friday evening at 6:45 PM so my time is unstructured for the next couple of days!

Ok, I know ... I have the most boring blog on the web! I've been very negligent about posting (here come the excuses) because I'm either too busy or too tired. My plan is to remedy that situation this weekend. Don't set your expectations too high 'cause I'm not going to write a novel. :)

The U.S. training team wore traditional Indian clothing to work today. The team we're training in Indai LOVED that we did that! Most of my colleagues wore "salwar" suits that include a top, pants and a scarf that you drape over your shoulders (hanging down your back). I wore a silk tunic I had made in Mysore and jeans. I was told I was wearing a 'fusion' look because it was a combination of both Indian and Western (not cowboy but American/European) wear.

While everyone was very excited about our clothing, the men seemed especially impressed. :) We were told that the men wanted to take our picture but none of them every approached us about it.

TGIF!

Jan 20, Tuesday

The inauguration of Barack Obama - the top story around the world!

Jan 18, Sunday

Hello, everyone! Sorry that I've been negligent about blogging but I've just been too busy or too tired to blog (sorry to worry you, Mom). I just posted a slew of pics (not sure why the last group displayed smaller than the others) for your viewing pleasure. I'll write a bit about them later but wanted to get them out there to help paint a picture of my adventures in India!

Hugs all 'round!
deb

January 12, Monday

Hey all! Just a quick note to say that the weekend was very busy and a lot of fun! I hope to start writing about it tonight - if my energy holds out. :)

~deb

Jan 7, Mehendi

We ate dinner tonight by the pool and a woman was there to offer Mehendi. Mehendi is an art form that uses an herbal mixture containing mainly henna, eucalyptus oil and lime (no water) to decorate the body (most widely used on the hands, arms and feet of brides). The artist makes her own mixture and fills her own tubes. I had my hand adorned with the henna and found the Mehendi artist, Zaiba Nayeem, to be most fascinating!

Zaiba said that Mehendi has been her passion since she was a child. She taught herself how to do much of it but also has had formal training. She has combined the intricacies of Indian Mehendi with some of the design elements of Arabic Mehendi to create her own unique patterns. She also does custom patterns when requested. Zaiba had a book of popular patterns and showed me a few of her recent favorites on her cell phone (seems everyone we run into has one and they use them a lot).

Hindu wedding ceremonies are 2-3 day events that begin with the arrival of the Mehendi woman. Ziaba said that the children eagerly await her arrival as they love to have it done too (the other women with the bride will also have it done). When Zaiba arrives at the bride's home, everyone is quiet with anticipation. Once she begins, so does the festive atmosphere. She said she loves to be a part of the wedding celebration. Check out the movie "Monsoon Wedding" to see a fairly accurate depiction of a Hindu wedding celebration (I love that movie).

Mehendi is supposed to bring happiness to the wearer. Zaiba said her experience has also been that if you think of something you want to happen while the henna is being applied, it ends up happening.

She further explained that there are also medicinal qualities to Mehendi. The people in the villages eat henna, or the Mehendi mixture, to calm stomach upsets. The main medical use of it is to draw the extra heat out of the body. A spiritual man currently popular in India (I cannot recall his name) explains that Mehendi is a gift from God to the whole world and that it can help reduce global warming by eliminating the extra body heat.

I'm so appreciative that I had this encounter with this wonderful, gracious woman and that she shared her talent and passion with me.

~deb