Thursday, January 31, 2013

Green Tara,Mother of all the Buddhas
Headed into Retreat


The 21 emanations of Tara
Feb 3rd I will be starting retreat at Root Institute in Bodhgaya. The retreat will be on the deity Tara which is a very beautiful practice. An old friend Jimmy Neil will leading the retreat which will really good as he has lots of experience with Tara practice and I am sure to pick his brain. Root Institute these days is quite the luxury. I stayed at Root Institute back in 1995 when it had a small meditation hall and dorms with concrete mattresses and torn mosquito nets.Today is has beautiful gardens and statues and a really nice and bright mediation hall,which is very inspiring.

The Root Institute is at http://www.rootinstitute.com/

For a you tube link to the Tara mantra  this link  is a nice one  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lqcWl6VAB_M

For some info on Tara try this link .http://www.lamamigmar.com/html/practice-green-tara.html

Also in line with the Tara energy of  feminine wisdom and power (which all you guys have too) I would like to share an event that will take place on Feb 14th. One Billion Rising is a global strike and dance to  bring attention, protest  and hopefully encourage an end to the violence toward women. The links below have more info and I hope you can participate in some form, and send you support, best wishes or prayers to all women world wide on this Valentines Day. I will dedicate the retreat to also end violence toward all beings.

Tara statue on the Stupa in Bodhgaya
One billion rising  in at    http://onebillionrising.org/
and also   http://www.facebook.com/vday
Buddha Statue inside temple
Bodhgaya Mahabodhi Temple

The Mahabodhi  temple is one of the best place on earth; well at least for me and a few thousand Buddhist.
Here are some photos taken today that will give a wee taste  of the park in which Buddha gained enlightenment. The temple lay in ruins for many years because Buddhism had  almost died out in India. However when Tibetans came into India in early 60's they revived the notion of pilgrimage to holy sites and started to renovate the park.  I have been told by some older Tibetans that many stupas and statues lay broken in the ground, that the site was used by the locals as a rubbish pit and that cows and pigs wandered around the park. Today it is beautiful and there is a strong positive energy which has to come from decades of strong prayers being said in this space. The statue of Buddha inside the temple is truly gorgeous. I swear I have seen this statue in many different moods, this year he seems very happy in meditation. Ok it is maybe a trick of the light  or a new layer of paint that changes to facial expression or maybe my mind is in some way trying to communicate with a higher self through this Buddha image; or maybe I am just mad!: but it is a beautiful statue.
Nowadays there are constant prayers festival under the Bodhi tree from mid November until mid Feb which is the winter season and best weather for being Bihar. Certain time are busier than others and just now it is relatively quiet but still busy.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mahabodhi_Temple
For some years now there have been rumours about this site becoming a UNESCO site but this would be horrible because it would then have to be excavated and also we would be charge to practice our religion. Some say it is already a world heritage site but there is alot of confusion as to its status so who knows for sure; http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1056      http://asi.nic.in/asi_monu_whs_mahabodhi.asp


Blessing stone under the Bodhi Tree

Small shrine


Lay & ordained people from West Bengal do prayers under tree

Entrance to Mahabodhi temple


Mahabodhi Temple

Thia pilgrims meditate under the Bodhi Tree

Offering prostrations

Mandala and outer offerings under the Bodhi Tree

In meditation

Lay people under Bodhi tree
.

Wednesday, January 30, 2013


Happy Republic Day

January 26th is India’s birthday and it is celebrated with marching bands, flag raising and waving, speeches, parades and. National pride is big on this day but it is funny how this show of pride is done in an old fashioned British style which to me makes the day even more special.

In Bodhgaya there was a small parade lead by local dignitaries and every school had a flag raising and singing of the national anthem. I was in the grounds of the main temple in the morning so got the tail end of the town parade and managed a wee bit of flag waving myself.  I just love my India. So here’s to mother India, may she continue to flourish and be a great democracy fitting with your history and culture. 

The colours of the India flag is symbolic of all religion which thrive in India, The saffron is for Hindu, the White for Jain the green for Islam and the wheel in the centre is the Dharma chakra of Buddhism. The saffron is also for courage, white for purity, green for hope and fertility and the blue of the dharma chakra, vigilance, truth and loyalty.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_of_India

Most of all though, especially since  I am in the place of the enlightenment of the Buddha, a man who like Mahatma Gandhi wanted peace and harmony for all people, I took this day as a day of prayer especially for a positive relationship between sibling nations of Indian and Pakistan. May they flourish together communicate and grow together, appreciate and respect their shared culture and history and show the  rest of the world that real democracies, that truly care for the welfare of their people, use the peaceful tools of  diplomacy to heal wounds and bridge differences rather than armies, guns, tanks and bombs. My prayer is  for harmony and a positive peace between these nations and for peace to become a reality in Kashmir.  

Inner and Outer Fog

Before I left Varanasi a thick, cold fog descended and it is still with us. Trains have been delayed, traffic is slow and of course there have been many road accidents. This fog is so thick you cannot even see 10ft in front of you at some points. Buddhism likens the state of unawareness or ignorance of the true nature of reality to fog. The Tibetans call this state ‘timug’ and it refers to a dull, sleepy mind that is just lead around by desire or revulsion to sensual objects simply because it has no concept of ultimate reality. In Sanskrit the word ‘maya’ means illusion or enchantment, it is also used to descried the illusory state of the world, our attachment to the world and that we live in ignorance to the true nature of reality. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maya_(illusion) Shrouded in this ‘fog,’ this mind, which we all have, is very difficult to train toward enlightenment. Anyway with the fog my mind has also become extra foggy and dull.

Fog on the Ganga
On the last day in Varanasi I took a boat trip to see the Brahmins do their prayers and welcome the sun. I had put it off till the last day as I had volunteered early morning. Anyway it was an interesting experience, on the Ganga with the fog swirling over the grey water and rowing boats coming into vision through the veil of mist. Yes, it had a mystic feel to it;  a haunting feeling or melancholy came over me as I sat wrapped in my wool blanket watching the barefooted boatman quietly pull at the oars. After watching all the funeral fires the last few weeks it made me think maybe ghost are hanging around. It is weird but I truly love these grey, misty scenes with stillness, quiet and a bit of water. Maybe it is my Scottish blood that has within it imprints of the highlands and misty lochs, or rugged, treeless misty battlefield where ghosts clansmen, my ancestors roam. Whatever it is maybe the fog or mist just gives me permission to go slow and relax. Maybe seeing only the part of the world in front of your face gives the brain and the senses a break, allowing space for the sense of self to go inward.

Until around noon or 1pm every day this fog is with us, then maybe some sun for a few hours but as it gets cold dung fires to keep warm are lite and the air become thick with smoke as another blanket of fog desends. Two days ago myself and two others  headed to Lumbini in a car. The driver had to navigate this soup like fog dodging pedestrians, cars, truck, rickshaws, buses and bullock toed carts as he went. It is the weirdest thing but Indian's just wander all over the main road as if they are having a stroll in the park. No rules driving applies and the fog seems also very reflective of people's half asleep awareness of safety and rules of the road. It was an exhausting car ride and the roads are "no good."

One of the 4 holy places of the Buddha, Lumbini, is the place where the Buddha was born and is just over the boarded into Nepal. The main reason to take this journey was to get a new stamp on our India visa and seeing a major Buddhist pilgrimage place was an added extra. http://www.buddhanet.net/e-learning/buddhistworld/lumbini.htm
The fog lay thick in Lumbini as well but I still enjoyed sitting quietly by the pond where Buddha’s mother, Maya Devi bathed before she gave birth and where the baby Buddha was first washed.  Maya Devi literally means Illusion Goddess; referring to that even she, a queen was ignorant of the true nature of reality but she  was able to give birth to the Buddha, an enlightened one; i,e, out of ignorance come enlightenment and according to Buddhism we all have the ability to get out of the fog. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maya_(mother_of_Buddha)   
There was one huge Bodhi tree next to the pond which welcomed me to sit under for a while. As I breathed in the cold fog I made prayers not only for the fog to rise so we could have a safe drive back to Bodhgaya but also for this foggy mind to become enlightened; or at least be able to  taste or catch a glimpse of, even for a split second, the true nature of reality and the clarity of mind which the lamas talk of. Maybe then real true lasting compassion will arise.
Bodhi tree and pond

Pond and Maya Devi Temple

old Tibetan  Sakya Temple
Lumbini is also undergoing major construction just now. It was proclaimed a UNESO site a few years back which means money is charged to see the spot where Buddha is said to have been born. http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/666    
The old temple dedicated to Buddha’s mother has been torn down to make way for an archaeological dig. That is a real shame as the small temple was beautiful and built into the tree which she supposedly held on to has she gave birth. Whether this is the spot or not it is just such a shame that a centuries old small temple that pilgrims have been flocking to for centuries has been torn down and the area is now under the control of some global, non-Buddhist organization. It has become a museum now with bus load of tourist filing past the statue and spot, snapping a photo and then moving on to the next thing. Before UNESCO it was a place of worship, you could visit anytime for no charge, make offerings and meditate in peace. Seems like the money god it taking over. Oh yes and China is funding this huge project, a master plan to renovate and make Lumbini a tourist destination. Hmmmmmm? check out this web site    http://www.lumbinitrust.org/                 I do not trust that for a second. The ignorant mind of communism and materialism mixed together is a dangerous foggy mind indeed.

There is also a very old Sakya Tibetan Temple in Lumbini which I was luck to be able to make an offering for Tara prayers to be said. This is a great temple complete with years of butter lamp smoke covering the painted walls and a great feeling of calm and serenity inside. his temple is not in the new shinny tour map as guess what the Chinese do not want you to visit this temple which actually practices Buddhism. The folowing link is to the new Sakya Temple.  http://chogyetrichen.com/English/aboutus/index.html

Friday, January 25, 2013

This Morning I had a Dream

Buddha Statue in Bodhgaya
After months of washing in cold water from a bucket, or boiling water in a kettle  for  take the chill off the cold water I had the experience of being in a beautifully tiled clean, bathroom under a fountain of gushing hot water. My whole body relaxed and as the water flowed over me making every muscle relax. Ahhhhh. The room filled with steam and as I breathed in the hot vapours my lungs felt clean and cleared of the dust that had accumulated over the past month in north India. Ahhhhh. The soap suds smelled like flowers and  the shampoos felt like the expensive stuff from the salon. The hot water from the strong water jets pounded over my head then massaged my shoulders; it felt heavenly. I scrubbed and scrubbed then took breaks to just stand breath and enjoy this never ending stream of hot, hot water. Ahhhh When finished showering, I turned off the water and the room was filled with clouds of steam just like a sauna. I opened the door, stepped into the bedroom, wrapped my self in a fluffy, clean towel and watched the clouds of steam, fill the small room. Outside the window the fog was thick and I could not see the landscape; was I inside or outside? Either way I just felt good and for the first  in months cleaner than clean. I decided to open the window and then reality struck.  Bam! An icy blast of cold air mixed with the smell of wood fires burning, the noise of children, the chatter of parents, the distant honk of an auto rickshaw and the Hindi music coming from the neighbours house. I was in Bodhgaya. Wow ! thank God (or should I say Buddha) I was still in India; for a moment there it felt like I was back in the USA with all the comforts but none of  the amazing experiences that only being in India can offer.
Mohammed's new guest house is fantastic and just the wee bit of luxury that a tired traveller needs. Thanks so much Mohammed for installing such and amazing hot shower.
Now in Bodhgaya  (for the 12th time) the place of Buddha's enlightenment.



Priya and me


Nisha

Meet Nisha and Priya

Every ghat has it’s flower sellers and most of them are all under age 15. These kids sell readymade flower and candle cups that float on the water to pilgrims both in the morning and evening which is the time for prayers and offering. They are the children of the boatmen who take pilgrims and tourist out in the river sightseeing and you guessed it to set their flower/ candle offerings in the river. Over my sty here I have hated with the kids and gotten to know the kids in Assi ghat especially Nisha and Priya, who speak perfect English and are so bold in thery manner it is obvious that they have been around tourist for years and extracted many a rupee for flowers. Priya, who is 10, actually says she like to do “her flower business” and thinks of school as something that she is forced to do on the side. She is a smart lass with tons of street smarts and is not scared to put the older boys and men in their place. One tough cookie but she can turn on a smile and yi would think butter would not melt in her mouth. She has a lot of smarts but as Basker say “ she is going wrong way, wasting (her) mind on small business.” The girl needs some direction but with parents who are not educated and do not thing beyond the next meal it is so sad that the potential of kids like Priya  is wasted.
Nisha is maybe 12 or 13 and like Priya she is very street smart, pushy and cute as a button when she wants to be. She has been selling flowers  for  “oh.. long time sell.” She also does henna painting on hands and painted a flower on me for 20 rupees Over priced for sure  but I am a sucker. I try to talk with the girls about school  and what they want to do with their lives  but they say “ no idea”  with there eyes scan the ghat for the next customer and when an unsuspecting tourist appears  they are off. I guess the moral of the tale is get them while there young and they will learn whatever you teach them.

Tuesday, January 22, 2013

Tent Town; 'professional beggars' or not?

You hear this phrase a lot in India; 'professional beggar' and yes in many ways some of them are.They play with your emotions, can put on a great act and of course can extract money, food and clothes if they pester you enough. Now I know you may think that it a harsh thing to say and yes it may be but hang around India long enough  and you get to know the game and see that a lot of ways in which foreigners give to beggars just encourages this practice even more. The problem is that people are suffering and if you have anything of a heart you want to help, the question is, how to help. In what skillful manner can the acts of one person ( little old me) make an impact that can work to change a mindset, a cultural norm or a corrupt and exploitative social functioning. It has taken many years of trying to figure this one out.

Do I give out of pity, believing somehow I am superior: I have done this but the real answer is; NO
Do I give out of guilt for having what they do not: In the beginning this was all I knew but now; NO
Do I give to make myself feel good:  Guilty as charged but it is never effective and again the answer  is; NO
Do I give to get rid them:  I have to say, been there done that too but the real response should be; NO

It all boils down to motivation. What is my motivation to give? and that in and of itself is a huge rabbit hole that needs to be survived, checked and re-checked.

gathering for samosas and mantras

eating samosas in peace

saying bye; tents and palace in background













I am beginning to think (and please tell me what you think as this is maybe something we can all understand better) that the only way to give has to come with compassion and empathy but no expectations or need for reward. It must also contain the essential ingredient of wisdom while planting the seeds of responsibility and long term thinking in the receivers mind.

Yesterday Jesulmeil,  Doris, Kush and I went to the beggar tent town which is on the banks of the Ganga across form the  Maharajah's Palace. Now if that is not a contrast of wealth I do not know what is. Anyway this is where Jesulmeilr's school children live and she goes once a week to meet the families and give some food to the children. It is a small act to buy and give samosas ( deep friend veggie pastries) but it is the manner in which she does this  and her motivation which I think is very effective.

A Christian religious women, maybe Christian spiritual is a better word here, Jesulmeir's  motivation is to get the children to sit together quietly (without hitting or fighting) and connect with their higher self or with God. She chooses to do this excises in front of the parents and encourages the parents to get the children to first gather and sit quietly. Now you have to remember that these kids live with constant noise of traffic, being yelled  at by drunken parents or people who shoow them away when they beg, well as the constant in fighting over getting stuff. So for them to sit still is huge.
Jesulmeil then lite some incense and got them all to quietly recite a mantra, which is all in line with their own culture, not forcing another religion on them. At first the kids yelled and mothers laughed but she persisted and slowly the kids all followed her lead. They closed their eyes, held their hands in prayer and quietly recited the mantra. WOW! We sat for about 5 minute,s not long  but it was probably the most peace these kids had experienced all week. She then had one of the girls fill a metal contained of holy water from the river. Then again some mantras were recited and she sprinkled all the kids with Ganga water. Lots of laughter ensued and the kids hugged each other and played nicely. Next we handed out the samosas and the kids still sat in their circle enjoying the warm food.
When finishing  she had the kids tidy the paper bags up and put the ground cloth back. She met some parents and encouraged the parents to bring the kids to her small school in Assis ghat. It was overall a very well received visit.


So as far as giving she gave with empathy and compassion, expecting nothing in return. She gave not out of guilt for having what they do not  she give not out of pity and not to get rid of them. She gave in a way that made then feel good, encouraging them to feel the goodness within themselves and her own  happiness from this act was a mere by-product. She planted the seeds of being responsible for their environment and going to school and an introduction to not only practical spiritual practice but also patience and sharing. The wisdom part I saw play out in several ways. She did not discriminate who came or who got food, all were welcome. She knows that some of this group are 'professional beggars' but sees that breaking the cycle of begging begins with people giving attention and showing love to beggars. Attention in the form of education, instilling self worth, self responsibility and self respect. Jesulmeil is starting with the kids and learning about how to change a community through the mothers.  As they say in India; Slowly Slowly. i.e the long term view.



Mother Teresa's Home cont.

Today was my last day at Mother Teresa's home and I have to admit I was a bit sorry to leave. It has been a tough but great learning experience in so many ways. The cleaning and laundry was hard work and we went through lots of elbow grease. Carrying buckets of laundry up three flights of stair to the roof top line was my favourite chore! (not to self, if you ever open up a home put the laundry room on the top floor). Something about cleaning though; it does feel good when at is all done. It is funny how at those cleaning moments of utter satisfaction at a job well done I must be channelling my Granny Ellis. Her mantra/ catch phrase "fine and fresh" rings happily in my memory when ever I get the chance to take down clean clothes from the drying line on a sunny day.
Shanti  with her ladies
Anyway being with the residents in the home was really great! Every day as we drew, danced or played games I slowly got to know them and learn of there story from the sisters or other volunteers. Shanti, from France has been volunteering for 10 years. She come for about 4 months every year and is a real work horse and gets the ladies involved in doing laundry, dusting and sweeping. She is a real gem with a heart of gold. The sister have told me that they have more women residents than men, not because more women are born with mental disabilities but that due to domestic abuse, rape and overall mistreatment from in-laws any women have mental breakdowns. They explained that in comparison to South India, North India male dominated culture view women as second class citizens and possessions to be exploited. I have never really noticed this before but the sister are so very right on with that.  What a horrid truth !
The ladies

Copying chalk drawings

wearing her newly made necklace

Morning tea time











In the home the residents call all the volunteers either Aunti or Uncle. Uncle Micheal has been a donor to Mother Teresa in Varanasi for many years and when in Varanasi he assists with the men. A truly nice men with a very loving heat.
The residents are of course n some for of medication and are monitored by a doctor regularly. Many of the ladies were either violent of completely withdraw and catatonic on arrival  but to look at them today you would never guess that. There are only two ladies who were bed ridden due to sever mental problems, and another two due to mainly old age. Every day though these ladies would be washed and dressed and carried out into the courtyard where they could at least feel part of a community. The sister tell me that slowly with routine, love and medication they begin to come around again; but they will never be what they were before.


Doris assisting art class
Me and  some of the men
Uncle Micheal's birthday,  with residents, sisters and volunteers

Mia the scribbler
It was also so very interesting to see some residence just shine  at different activities. One lady could look at a chalk drawing, memories it, turn the board over and draw exactly from memory. Another girl maybe in her 20's who could barely focus would take up beads and string, thread the beads with great focus and make necklaces. Mia was an amazing scribbler and would get completely immersed, in the zone, when she is creating. She scribbles in all kinds of shapes and colours and when you hold the paper from a distance it appears three dimensional; she is a real artist. One women who is especially disturbed with tendency's to hit or grab and shake herself as well as other women became a different person when you held her and danced. She would smile, swing her arms, attempt to sing and her tremors would melt away. Sometimes all I could do for a resident was to hold them, gently wipe away spital, rub shoulders or just give a smile from my heart. It was really quite interesting to see how simple but genuine human kindness and concern alone could bring peace to a disturbed mind.

I think that the full effects of what I have seen and done at Mother Teresa's will not hit me for a while yet because it is was both very satisfying to help but deeply troubling to  become aware of how disturbed the human mind can be. It is especially difficult ton think that due to violence and neglect a person's mind can become horrifically disturbed.
When I left the sisters thanks me and asked me to come back again; Thank me ! for what?  It was them I had to thank for giving me the opportunity to learn and interact with the residents. I am sure this is one of those life changing experiences I just can't fully apprecaite it yet.

Monday, January 21, 2013

Krishnamurti, Raj Ghat


A young Krishnamurti
view from under the bodhi tree at Raj Ghat

retreat cottage





After volunteering today I went down river to Raj Ghat Fort to the Krishnamurti Foundation. What a beautiful place and so peaceful. In his life time Krishnamurti spent a lot of time here giving talks holding dialogues, reflecting and meditating.; I think his presence can still be felt there. After being shown around by a member of staff, who was a true gentle man, I had lunch and the staff and bought some books written by Krishnamurti on meditation and the nature of the self. This land of the foundation is also rumoured to be on the same road where the Buddha walked from Bodhgaya, after his enlightenment to Sarnath where he give his first teaching. The land is on a high bank  and used to be a fort in the time of the British rule it is also next to where the Assi river (the Ganga) and the Varuna river meet (a tributary that flows into the Ganga). In Hindu belief places where rivers meet have a special spiritual quality/power. There is also a Vishnu temple next door and  a Hindu ashram across the Varuna. So this land had a long spiritual history and some of the trees there were just huge. I spent the afternoon under a beautifully huge,old Bodhi Tree, overlooking the Ganga. It leaves and branches sheilded me from the hot sun and hung in front of me like a veil with the sunlight sparking on the water below; quite magical. Anyway I attempted to meditate  for a wee while and just take in the sounds and feel of the place and then read Krishnamutri's thoughts on human perception and interaction with nature. His writing, to me at least, are so beautiful and so clear, no dogma and he truly makes the reader question life, perception, emotions all of it and he is so right on. He, like the Buddha, provokes the reader to dive into their own mind; question existence, question our messy, uncontrollable minds and question how our projections of mind effect our the environment, society and each other.  He seems to nudge the reader in the direction of getting to the core of what being alive in the moment truly is, so that we can come to our own realizations.
I am looking forward to reading more of his works and if you fancy here is the web site for more info on this amazing teacher.
http://www.kfionline.org/foundations/kfi

Saturday, January 19, 2013

Jaselmear with her homeless children
 Meet Jesumiel

Jesumiel comes from Argentina and has been coming to Varanasi for 15 years. She originally came  to study music at the university but fell in love with the people of Varanasi and now makes this holy city her second home. Jesumiel  is a very quite yet grounded woman, who spend her mornings at Mother Tereasa's teaching art to the residents  then spends her afternoons at Assi ghat holding a small school for homeless children. She teaches Hindi  and  simple arithmetic as well as drawing, she also recites mantras and sings with the children. The kids know she is always at the same place at noon and they come to send a few hours learning. Some days she has one or two children and other days  up to 25. Jesumiel also take time to shampoos the children's hair and bathe them using soap in the Ganga on the warm days. The kids just love her and are eager to learn. Today they were so happy to show me their drawings and recite the alphabet together. The Indian tourisst also gathered today and were just amazed to see what they perceive to be the lowest caste children learning to write. I guess small miracles can happen every day thanks to people like Jesumiel.
girls drawing

homless kids of all ages welcome

Meet the Social Workers Of Assi Ghat

These are the lads I have met in Assis ghat who are  self motivated and self funded doing social work. I just admire that unlike so many of us, they see a need and then do something about it.  They have told me that the more work they do together the tighter they have become and the more work they want to do when they see results. Plus I think they also got fed up just hanging around drinking chai. All of them are in their 30's, have been freinds since childhood and have been more than helpful and respectful to me. I also see that they know all the long term foreign residents who also have only good words about them.

From Left to Right;
Kush, aka temple guy. He guides tourist to the many temples or ghats by day and  is a silk factory worker by night. Everyone knows and likes Kush.
Punkaj, aka King Kite, he is the guy who cut 16 kites in one day. He is doing his PhD in economics at Varanasi University. He admits he thinks too much and needs to learn meditation to calm down.
Rajesh, aka  the Ring Leader. He has a restaurant  and small guest house in Dharamkot, Dharamsla which is open for about 8 to 9 months of the year and the rest of the year he does social work in Varanasi and takes a holiday to Arambol for New Year.
The Advocate; he dresses like a dapper advocate but is a silk sari painter instead. I am not sure when he works because he always seems to be having a day off. Very quite, only little English  but always a big smile sporting well combed, oiled, jet black hair.
Missing from the photos is Laughing Baba who giggles way too much and helps out now and again with whatever is going on and Baskar.  Baskar has to a saint as he has taken upon himself the job of working with the police to provide a descent, religious funeral to all the unclaimed bodies of homeless people. I will be going to learn more about his work in a few days.
So here's to people all over the world who get involved in helping their communities, the world need more concerned people like you. Thank you !!
Bin writing session

With Basker, Pankaj and new bins
New Rubbish Bins

After our pick up rubbish day we were having chai and decided that Assi Ghat needed new rubbish bins. The old one was in bits and the cardboard box rubbish bin by the chai shop was hardly being used. The lads figure that if Assi ghat had nice new bins then people may, just may, take a bit more interest in not littering. So we clubbed together and bough 5 blue plastic bins and spent the rest of the day writing in red USE ME  and the same in Hindi on the side of each bin.We even put some drawings of cups and bags on the bins for those who are illiterate. Let's see will see if they get used or not but with the lads trying to teach by example and instill in the locals some pride in their ghat, it may work. Fingers crossed.

Mother Teresa's Varanasi Home

On my first trip to Varanasi in 1997 I saw a sign for the Mother Teresa home. I only had a few days in town at that time but always thought it would be great to volunteer there one day. Well now is one day.
I have been going there in the mornings for the past 4 days and plan to keep on volunteering until I leave. It has been a huge heart opening experience. I am learning so much from the nuns about caring for mentally disabled people and learning from the residences how to be patient, smile and just enjoy every moment.  So far I have not taken the camera into the home but hope to do so soon; I thought it best to get to know the residence first before sticking a camera in their faces; so photos to follow soon.

Anyway I arrive at 7.30 am and the residents are already dressed and have  had their breakfast, so they get up around 5.30 am or 6 am. The home is separated into a men and women's wing and the volunteers work in the wing according to their gender. So in the women's wing there has to be about 60 women of all ages and differing levels of mental capacity. Some of the women help out with the daily activities while some are unable to even notice what is happening around them, so they usually sit or lay down either in bed or out in the courtyard.
The first job of the day is cleaning and I tell you this home is sparking. Every day the floors, walls and windowsills are washed with hot soapy water. On the cold or rainy days a good sweep does the job. The first day I arrived it was spring cleaning day as the weather had just turned a bit warmer. Every inch of the home wash being scrubbed. Next comes laundry. There is always a ton or two of laundry as the residents often wet themselves and have to be changed a few times a day. The home is staffed by young girls of lower cast families who come form Bihar and Utter Pradesh. These young women are amazing, they work so hard and are wonderful with the residents. So about 4 girls, maybe 5, 6 or 7 of the mobile resident ladies plus a volunteer or two get stuck into hand washing clothes, blankets, sheets and towels. Everyone knows the routine and it can be a lot of fun. First we scrub the clothes or stomp around in a huge metal basin filled with clothes and hot soapy water, then rinsing the laundry in the three basins of cold water, then fill buckets of washed laundry and walk up three flights of stairs to the roof to hang the laundry on several lines. We all manage to have a good laugh and everyone is very industrious. The residents who can understand what is happening but have small attention span help out where they can. Today I hung clothes with Mauri,  like me she is under 5 ft so we both had a good giggle trying to reach up and hang clothes on the high washing lines.

After cleaning and laundry comes a much deserved tea break, which everyone enjoys as this is when they also get a sweet. So on their newly acquired sugar rush, we then open up the activities room where some of the ladies draw or do colouring in or play with rattles and beads or just sing and play in whatever way then  want to. Also at this time the music goes on throughout the building, the music ranges from Hindi popular Bollywood songs or christian praises and hymns. This is also the time when the men and women can mix in the activities room and they all seem to get on well together.
 I have been roped into playing a type of shuffle board game with one of the men and every day he is happy to teach me how to play. He is slightly mentally challenged so he demands that I actually try to win, but his attention span is only half and hour so one or two games is enough. There are a few ladies who just enjoy drawing and some are very good at coloring in and give great attention to keeping within the lines.
Some days there are 4 or 5 volunteers so on these days I go into the ladies wings where the not so mobile and more mentally challenged ladies sit for the day. I  take some toys for them to play with, or sit and listen to them rant on in Hindi and I pretend to understand.  Yesterday one lady, who was just skin and bones and has to be around 70, explained how to make chapatti, pickles and vegetables. The only way I knew she was telling me this was by the extensive hand actions. In her mind she must have been giving me a cooking lesson and today when I walked in and said hello to her she slapped her palms together, gave me a huge grin and said "chapatti".   The ladies are very affectionate we give them shoulder massage, lot of hugs, stroke their  hair and clap hands a lot. They thrive on getting some attention and I have discovered that I love to given them the attention they desire.
Around 11am the activities room is closed and lunch is served. In the Indian style the men are served first, then the ladies. Some residents need help with their food but the girls who work in the home do this job, we volunteers only serve the food.  By noon the volunteering is finished for the day and the residents have some quiet time in the afternoon.
As the days pass I will get to know the ladies more and give you more stories    

Friday, January 18, 2013

Silk Factory

embroidery and sequence design
Varanasi is known world wide for its hand made silks, it is the towns biggest industry. I am lucky in that Kush, one friend of Rajesh, works in this industry and invited me to tour a small portion of the silk making are of town. There are no big factories, the whole industry is ran out of peoples homes or small rooms. Conditions for the workers are of course grim. Very low lighting, no heating and very little sunlight. The wages ranged from 200 ($4)  to 600 rupees ($12) per week depending on the age of the worker, their experiences and skill in embroidery. The workers I met were mostly boys and men but I did get to peep in a room where 4 women worked, however they were too shy to talk to a foreigner. I was told that because it is mostly Muslim women that do this work they are in their homes and have little contact, or need to go outside. A lot of silk is made by machine these days. The machines weave the silk more smoothly  and more readily available but it is also costing people their jobs. Unemployment in the silk making business is increasing, a machine can do in a few hours what 15 people would do in one month. Luckily wealthy Indian still prefer handmade silk so there are still a lot of silks made on looms. Loom work looked to be a painfully slow process and it was just amazing to see how intricate designs are woven into a fabrics. It gave me a new appreciation for the amount of time and effort that goes into some of the really fancy saris. On leaving I did however feel quite disguised at how hard people work for such little money and had no great desire to buy any of the beautiful and colourful scarfs that Kushis' boss was trying to get me to buy.
silk scarfs

New weaving machines
boys doing embroidery