Diwali and more

On Friday I left for Jonathan’s place.  On the way I met Durqa at the bus stand.  She gave me some chocolate to share with Jonathan and some sweet coconut bread to share as well.  She also gave me a beautiful saree as a Diwali gift.  It is black, red, and white and so beautiful.  I will definitely cherish it forever.  She had rushed to the bus stand so she was all sweaty and winded.  I gave her some water and she sat down and let out a massive amount of air.  She seemed stressed.  I have gathered that Diwali provides much stress on households.  It seems like the pressure to provide gifts and prepare food for any guests that you may have is equal to the pressures of Christmas.  I talked with her for a little while until my bus pulled up.  She told me I had to call her every day when I was gone and that she needed to talk to Jonathan Sir.  I assured her that we would talk and that Jonathan would speak with her too.  She then came and sat on the bus with me until I assured her that I was safe and would not let any men sit in my seat!  She stood by the door of the bus until the bus took off and waved me goodbye.  I felt such love for her at that moment.  She is just such a beautiful person.

After that bus ride I then caught a bus to Keeranur which is where Jonathan stays.  Right when I got on the bus this young woman in a saree came pushing through the crowd to stand right next to me.  There was no room whatsoever on that bus.  Suddenly, she pointed at me and said, “Jonathan Sir, Miss?”  I instantly started to laugh and told her yes I was the Miss associated with Jonathan Sir.  She then told me that she is the sister to the driver of the Gurukulum.  Both Jonathan and I know the driver quite well so I nodded and told her that I knew him.  We kept up small talk the whole way to Keeranur.  Once there she waited until we spotted Jonathan at the bus stand because the power was out so there were no lights and it was dark out, and Keeranur is not the safest place.  She was so sweet and it made me think about how many people there are in India yet how I had just happened to run into someone in one of the larger cities who knew me! 

The next day Jonathan and I traveled to Coimbatore and watched a movie.  We also bought some Christmas gifts and a few warm items for our adventures into the Himalayan region!  Because of the holiday the bus stand was a mad house.  We waited at the bus stand for over an hour and a half trying to catch a bus back home.  Finally, we got on a bus but once we got to Dharaparum we had already missed the last bus to Keeranur so we stayed the night in Jonathan’s old lodge. 

The next day we went to Chandra’s house and ate a ton of food.  We had sweets, chicken biriyani, white rice with rasam, and more sweets.  It was such a good meal.  And I always love being around Chandra because she is such a lovely human being.  She is so kind and genuine in her interactions.  We also met this couple who speaks English perfectly.  They were nice to visit with us for so long.  We even stopped by their house on our way home to have tea.  We then headed back home and played with the children for quite some time.  They were excited to see we had come back!  Right when we got back we were each gifted a new Indian outfit by a very rich donor to the Gurukulum.  I was given the uniform saree that all the wardens were given which was quite an honor.  And Jonathan was given a beautiful white dress shirt and a new dhoti.

The next day we took a short trip into Dharaparum to walk around and buy snacks for the kids for Diwali.  We walked around and then purchased our snacks at the bus stand.  We went back to the Gurukulum and handed out the snacks.  The kids were so grateful and appreciated the snacks.  And if you have read Jonathan’s blog about high fives and handshakes you will get the humor in this.  Jonathan is handing out snacks and I am the official handshaker next to him.  He refused handshakes because he was handing out.  I am sure that I shook each hand at least twice and maybe more, which would explain my sickness right now!

The rest of the day we just hung out with the kids and watched them get excited for Diwali.  They even set off a few fire crackers early in the evening to bring in the holiday!  Jonathan and I also did a swing dance number for the kids, which they thought was awesome.  It was a very fun evening.  During prayer Jonathan had somehow disappeared and I was left to give all the students a speech.  I told them all that I love seeing them and miss them when I am in Trichy and that they are all beautiful children.  You would have thought I gave them each a million dollars by the expressions on their faces.  It was a lovely moment.

The next morning all the children were extremely joyous and beautiful of course!  They were all in brand new uniforms and running about blowing things up.  Some of the girls were doing each other’s hair, trying to make it perfect!  We were then rushed to eat.  After eating I changed in my new saree from the donor.  We were then rushed into the classroom area where there was a stage set up and all the children were quietly sitting on the floor.  The guru from Kerala and the Gurukulum guru who is 98 years old were sitting in front as well.  We listened to the 98 year old guru give a speech and then three men played carnatic music.  It was beautiful to listen to.  I sat on the floor with the girls, which was fun. 

After that we took many photos with the wardens, the driver, and the three older Sir’s who take care of the children.  Jonathan escaped.  He has definitely mastered his escaping skills because it took me several minutes to figure out that he had left.  I told them all I was going for a face wash and then found Jonathan happily sitting in his room at his computer, relieved to be out of the spotlight and have some alone time.  We then took a nap which lasted for quite some time.  It is draining entertaining all the children and my body attempting to fight of at least 30 different viruses at the same time!  We then ate a beautiful big meal of biriyani, chilli cauliflower, and a sweet!  It was so delicious.  After that we walked to town to buy jasmine for my hair and as a gift to the wardens.  Jonathan and I appreciated the quiet time and the time together.  The wardens were so happy to receive the jasmine and roses which we gave them.  They never get to leave the Gurukulum so they were happy to have the gift which is essential to any dressy event.  They then redid my saree wrapping, put jewelry on me, and made me look like an Indian princess.  The jasmine and rose was secured in my hair so beautifully.  The wardens and all the children kept telling me I looked like a doll because of my white skin.  If only they all knew just how beautiful their many shades of brown skin is! 

The evening festivities were set to start right after prayer.  We were asked again to give a speech after prayer.  I told said that I was so happy to experience their culture and thanked them for showing me their culture and allowing me to participate in this holiday.  And of course that each and every one of them is beautiful!!!  Jonathan gave such a great speech that it made me get all teary eyed.  He does have a way with words, my boyfriend the writer!

The kids were then set free to blow everything up that could possibly ever be blown up in India!  We all sat down to watch fireworks.  Jonathan and I were given front row seats next to Chandra.  These seats were not all they that great.  Ash and paper on fire kept falling on us and I am pretty sure had any exploded in the case, as does occasionally happen, we would have received many of the flaming shards.  Chandra told me that most of the firecrackers and other things that the children were lighting on fire were all made in factories that are known to have child labor.  She told me that many children wasted their lives in those factories and died very young due to the conditions and exposure to chemicals.  That fact and my fear of being blown up were enough to keep me from partaking.  I just ran around and took pictures of all the joyous children.  (I posted most of these photos on facebook)  After about three hours of crackers and flames the children were exhausted.  They filled their bellies with delicious food and fell fast asleep.  The whole compound was dead quiet by around 9:00 PM!  Children are so beautiful!  I was fast asleep with a fever not much later.

The next morning I left before breakfast.  But before I let I said good-bye to all the children I could find and the wardens that I could find.  I did notice that many children had large burn marks and holes in their brand new uniforms which made me laugh!  I caught a bus filled with some Gurukulum alumni girls who stay at a girl’s home in Dindigual.  They squeezed me in between them and offered me oodles of sweets until they all fell asleep.  What a beautiful weekend it was.  Did I mention that I love India?