Janmashtami Part 1

It’s Krishna’s birthday! Krishna is best known as the little mischievous boy who would sneak and steal buttermilk (I’ve also been told that it was ghee). He also cared for the sacred cows and played his flute for them. He was a lady’s man who wooed the heart of Radha, the milkmaid (along with his 16,000+ other wives). Krishna and Radha are known as the model of true love in Hinduism. Most little girls love Krishna especially when they are younger.

Krishna is the 8^th of 12 avatars of Vishnu. He is most known as the god of the Mahabharata which contains the Bhagavad Gita which teaches the basic principles of life and obligations/duties (dharmas) that each person should fulfill to obtain moksha (liberation) in order to be released from incarnation and live eternally in Krishna's presence. For a synopsis and more information check out

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mahabharata

He is also the god associated with the Hare Krishna group in the west.

Krishna leading Arjuna into battle in the Mahabharata.

Happy 65th Independence Day!

I really like the Indian National Anthem. I thought I would share it with you on this Independence Day.

Hindi

Jana-gana-mana-adhinayaka, jaya he
Bharata-bhagya-vidhata
Punjab-Sindhu-Gujarata-Maratha-
Dravida-Utkala-Banga
Vindhya-Himachala-Yamuna-Ganga
Uchchala-Jaladhi-taranga
Tava shubha name jage
Tava shubha ashish maange
Gahe tava jaya-gatha
Jana-gana-mangala-dayaka jaya he
Bharata-bhagya-vidhata
Jaya he, jaya he, jaya he
Jaya jaya jaya, jaya he !

Tagore's English Translation

Thou art the rulers of the minds of all people,
dispenser of India's destiny.
Thy name rouses the hearts of Punjab, Sind, Gujarat and Maratha,
Of the Dravida and Orissa and Bengal;
It echoes in the hills of the Vindhyas and Himalayas,
mingles in the music of Yamuna and
Ganga and is chanted by the waves of the Indian Sea.
They pray for thy blessings and sing thy praise.
The saving of all people waits in thy hand,
thou dispenser of India's destiny,
Victory, victory, victory to thee.

Here are two youtube links which I like...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8yMvU73Wr7Q

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NiTiiOSJ-6Y

The Indian BRAT Diet

I have wonderful friends who only have my best interest at heart. I will be the first to say I am grateful for their friendship and care. I also believe that these remedies work. The issue is that I can't stomach them. When you are sick in India, this is what you do instead of the American BRAT diet.

1. Steaming (basically vaporizer. They believe in Vick's Vapor Rub as well)
2. Steaming with tulsi or drinking tulsi tea (this one I do)
3. Drink turmeric with warm milk or water as OFTEN as you can - its an excellent antiseptic. (Can't bring myself to do this one, but let me know if any of you try it)
4. Make a broth boiling Ginger , Garlic, Whole Black Pepper, Cumin & Tulsi together in some water. Make a concentrate of it and drink it for 3-4 days. (I'd rather have rasam)
5. Good old acetaminophen
6. Chew 4- 6 elachi (leaves of cardamon plant) for pain relief - headache / body ache
7. Over cooked dal which tastes like bean-dip and I quite enjoy it.

A little cultural explanation...

Well, as far as I understand it....


Earlier this week (which is now more that a month or two ago) I mentioned on Facebook that I am going to be an Aunty via my house help's daughter-in-law. That raised some understandable questions. Let me try to give some clarity to the situation....


First, I am an aunty to all my friends' children. If you are friends with a child's parents then you basically become their aunty. I call all older women here "Aunty" unless I have another clearly defined relationship with them. It's just a cultural term used to show respect. I get called "Aunty" all the time.

In this case, there is a relationship. My relationship with this family started when Zarina became my language helper and I spent at least 3 days a week at their house. Their family became family to me. They call me, not aunty, but didi (big sister). I am a token member of their family. They were there for me in my first year when I didn't have any family or a lot of friends.

Then when I got my own place, I hired the mom, Saira, to be my house helper. This has been a very complicated relationship because of the previous established relationship being transformed into a employer-employee relationship.

I am not under any obligation to pay this family's health care. BUT as a responsible employer and as one who feels called to empower the poor, I help give them skills to make the most of their resources and find help when needed. Example, if they need money for something I might consider giving an advance but will then deduct it from her pay over several months. I have looked and found people to help with school costs (scholarships based on their grades, etc).
I participate in the culturally appropriate giving of bonuses. I try my best to set clear boundaries.


Back in December, Saira's oldest son made a bad choice. He and a girl ran off together. By law (family law is based on one's particular religious law) here, he should be in jail and the girl (being disowned by her family) should be on the streets, because the girl was under 18. The police allowed them to get married (in a religious ceremony not civil union). In the natural course of things, the young bride is now with child. Because of my initial relationship with this family, I am genuinely concerned for this young mother to be and the unborn child. I want to make sure she and the baby get appropriate medical care. This does not mean I am going to pay for it. This family does not have any concept of prenatal care and left to them, the young girl would only go to the doctor to give birth. I am advising and reminding them that they do need to take her to the doctor now. I will probably buy the girl prenatal vitamins. I will be the baby's aunty.

I don't provide them with everything they need. I encourage them to prayer and ask God to provide. I help to find resources for them. I am their advocate.

I wrote this and saved it to post for later...

Later now means it has a very heartbreaking ending. The young bride's mother came and took her back home. The father beat her till she lost the baby. She must now remain with her family till she is eighteen. My older brother has went to stay with her. This is very unusual and difficult for Saira. Her eldest son is the head of the household and now has left them.

That is the simplest explanation that I can give without getting into all the complicated details.

Easter

It started out as a small gathering of my friends, their kids and me. It ended up being them plus all the kids in the building. Here are pics of the chaos that happens when you are expecting 10 kids and end up with 20! Thanks to the moms who were there and helped out. It was most of these kids first time to dye and hunt eggs. They went home with a bag full of candy after a nice potluck (with a sigh of relief, most of the non-expected kids went home before lunch because they were concerned about eating "foreign" food and/or food with egg in it).


Handing out bags for the kids to hunt with....








Moms getting their turn at dying the last minute boiled eggs to compensate for the extra kids. About 50+ eggs were boiled, dyed and hid.
Their daughters watching....



Let the hunt begin....







Those that stayed behind for lunch and chai.

Earth Day and other celebrations...

In North India, school starts in March and goes through the beginning of May. Some get out earlier depending on if their school has a/c or not. No one is allowed to return until July 1, that's when the monsoon is suppose to start. I collected some pics from the past two months from the school I am working with at the moment.


Welcome to Senior Assembly (Class 4-12)


On Fridays they wear their house polo shirts. I love the vibrant colours. They have several different uniforms which they wear on assigned days.

Earth Day

This was a play of Mother Earth (Christmas Carol Style) coming to someone not caring for her and showing him his past, present & future connection to Mother Earth. They did a great job!



Welcome to Junior Assembly (Class 1-3)

Children's Choir

Mother's Day Celebration

"Say No to..."

If you said drugs, you're wrong. In my school, we say no to child labour. Our children do not attend DARE classes and learn to "Say No to Drugs!" We spend a month learning about the injustice of child labour and make posters to help raise awareness. Here are some of the posters they made.

What do you see?

Some of you may have seen this already, but if you haven't...

Do you see a young woman? old woman?

The truth is they are both there.

I showed this pictures to my class to start a discussion about how we can see things differently because of our experiences & backgrounds. It is ok to have a different opinion than your friend. My students come from very diverse backgrounds and I want them to engage in authentic conversation (as much as they can). The real life example I gave was concerning what a bride should wear. I asked them to raise their hand if they thought a bride should wear red? white? green?

Some of the students were hesitant to answer differently than their peers, but the reality here is all three are acceptable colors for a bride to wear depending on your religious and family background. For the older children I took it a step further...

What do you see?


For those in the West & for Jews, this is the Star of David. Put a circle around it and it quickly becomes a satanic symbol. Where I live it means unity (various interpretations of what is being brought together, i.e. man & God or man & woman, etc). That is how all my students answered the question...it was the symbol for unity. This symbol is also used by Freemasons and the Mormon Church. In my research, I even found a form of it in Islam. Symbols get their meaning from the people who see it & use it. The symbol in itself does not have meaning.


The Red Fort in Agra in the home of Akbar's Hindu wife.

A perfect example of this...


What do you see?






I see a Hindu symbol for well-being & prosperity. This symbol can be found throughout Eurasia. It is even in some Southwestern Native American Artwork. This symbol is even found in Christian artwork & in cathedrals. Many people have used this to symbolize many things. One man & his followers ruined it for the rest of the world.