While I was in Delhi, we saw lots of monkeys! But these monkeys are causing problems in the city. The dilemma, though, is that in Hinduism the monkey is a sacred animal and should not be killed. NPR just reported on this problem and what Delhi officials are doing to take care of this problem...take a listen (it's less than 4 minutes long).
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After 18 days in India, I definitely cannot claim to know everything about India, but I have learned so much about myself and this wonderful country. Some of the highlights:
The hardest part about the trip was seeing the poverty and the stray dogs. The streets are scattered with homelessness: 6 month old babies sleeping on cardboard next to their mothers, a mom and dad with their three children sleeping on the sidewalk so the pedestrians have to step over their feet to walk, a little 7 year old boy sleeping in an ancient ruin who wakes up while we are touring the old city and carefully rolls up the poster he was using for his mattress, or the single women begging for food at the intersection. Dogs were littered all over the city and the countryside: old, young, puppies. All trying to find some shade and water. It breaks my heart, but it reminds me that I always need to keep giving back as a priority in my life. I am so incredibly blessed and it is my responsibility to bless others who are less fortunate. As I wrap up my final blog post, I think my experiences can be summed up with the phrase: Unity in Diversity. India is a country of contradictions, diversity, and differences but the people are all unified as Indians. The Indians are an exceptionally friendly group of people who accept all people, no matter their religion, appearance, language, or culture. I was continually amazed by this character trait. Hindus valued and respected Muslims, Muslims valued and respected Sikhs, etc. etc. I hope the U.S.A. can become a country that is more unified in spite of our differences than segregated or hateful. I think this will become a goal I have in my teaching: to help students value differences and recognize how differences can be a unifying factor in our national identity. When traveling to India, you must visit the Taj Mahal. Pictures do not do it justice. The Taj Mahal is in the city of Agra, which was founded over 2000 years ago and at one point was the capital of India. The story of how the Taj Mahal came to be is quite romantic:
Emperor Shah Jahan had three wives, but his third was his favorite. Her name was Mumtaz Mahal. Mamtaz died giving birth to their 14th child in 1631. On her death bed, Shah Jahan promised her any last wish. She made Shah Jahan promise that he would never have children with anyone else and that he would care for her children. Shah Jahan followed through on his promise, but was so distraught that he decided to construct the most beautiful building the world had ever seen to enshrine his wife. It took 8 years to complete the structure and during this time the people were unhappy that they were paying high taxes for such a building where the construction seemed to be never ending. Not long after this Shah Jahan was overthrown by his son, Aurangzeb, and imprisoned in Agra Fort where he spent the rest of his days. Below are pictures of my trip. Unfortunately I could not take pictures inside the Taj; since the Taj Mahal is a mausoleum taking pictures inside the building would be disrespectful. When you enter the main room of the Taj Mumtaz's, Shah Jahan's third wife, grave marker is in the center of the room. Her husband, Emperor Shah Jahan is the left of her grave and elevated. His marker is elevated because when he died the designers were unsure how to show that he was the Emperor and the marker in the center was "just" the wife. So they decided since Jahan could not be in the center of the room, he should at least have a higher grave marker. Both bodies are buried, but their markers show where the bodies lay. This area is then encircled with intricate marble working that resembles vines and flowers and works as a barrier or fence to keep people a foot or so away from the graves. When you first see the Taj from the gateway, it looks like it is floating since it sits a bit on a hill. The four pillars that are on each side of the Taj are leaning slightly away from the Taj, so if they fall they will not ruin the structure. The Indian marble that was used for building the Taj Mahal is very special because it is not porous so doesn’t stain and light is able to go through the stone. The Taj also has precious stones within the walls, so at sunrise (the time I saw the Taj) you can see the gems glistening in the sun.
Mahatma Gandhi spent his last 144 days in Delhi. His purpose for traveling from Kalkutta to Delhi was to help foster peace between the Hindus and Muslims in the city and country. The place where Gandhi stayed is called Gandhi Smirti (smirti meaning memorial). This space is a small house surrounded by beautiful gardens. To the left is a picture of Gandhi’s bedroom and the space where Gandhi received visitors. You can see Gandhi’s walking stick in the receiving room leaning against the farthest wall.
On January 30, 1948, Gandhi’s schedule included prayer and breakfast along with meeting with visitors. In the late afternoon, he walked to the prayer area outside the house. It was at this point that the assassin shoved Gandhi’s advisor out of the way and killed him by shooting three bullets into his chest and abdomen. The last words Gandhi said were “Hey Ram” meaning “O God”. The nation declared the mourning days afterwards time for fasting and prayer and leaders from around the world came to pay their respects. Below are pictures of the final walk Gandhi took, the prayer area where he was killed, and the peace gong that has been set up to remind all people of Gandhi’s mission of peace and unity.
A phrase that I see often around New Delhi is: "Unity in Diversity" which means that while the Indian people are diverse: their religion, their language, their dress, etc. they are unified as one people. I love this concept and wish in the USA we could accept each other more whole-heartedly like the Indians do. Today after visiting a different KV school, we went to Lotus Temple and Iskcon. Both are temples but of different religions. Lotus Temple is a Baha'i House of Worship. The Baha'i religion invites people of all religions and races to worship the Creator of the Universe and to express the love between God and man. Everyone is welcome to pray at the temple. Poonam (our host), Jen, and I visited this afternoon and were struck by the beautiful architecture of the building: the structure looks like a lotus! When you enter the temple you must take off your shoes and be silent. There are ivory benches to sit on where people pray. It is a very peaceful place. After we left the temple, we were taking pictures outside the temple and came across an Indian family who wanted to take pictures with Jen and me! (I think because they don't see many tall, white, blonde-haired Americans). I felt like a celebrity! Suddenly a crowd surrounded us and everyone was getting pictures with us. My cheeks hurt from smiling so much. After visiting Lotus Temple, we went to Iskcon, a Hindu temple. ISKCON is short for International Society for Krishna Consciousness. People come to worship Krishna and sing the Hare Krishna mantra. When we arrived, we were lucky enough to witness a service with the Pandits (priests). First we had to take off our shoes and wash our feet and hands before entering the temple. Right outside the temple was a statue of Sri Garuda Deva. When you enter into the temple, there are brightly colored pictures on each wall with three gold doors at the front of the temple. When the service began, the Pandits came out of the curtains and rang bells, sang, fanned the statues, and put sweet-smelling flowers on each statue. Another Pandit went to a table off stage and began making Panchamrita, which is a mixture of milk, honey, sugar. Followers cup their hands and the Pandit pours the Holy water into their hands for them to drink. The length of each service is up to the individual: some people stay in the temple for an hour or more, other people spend less time praying. Most Hindus visit temple on Saturday or Sunday to worship. One last note about Hinduism: since many people practice this religion in India, it is impossible to find beef in the form of a hamburger, etc. All hamburgers are buffalo meat. This is because in the Veda (the Hindu Scripture) the cow is considered the mother of all mankind by providing milk to people. Since the cow is a sacred animal, it is unthought of to slaughter this animal for food. I hope you learned something about Indian religions! These are just two of the religions that make up the diversity of the Indian people. Sikhs, Jains, Christians, and Buddhists are also represented in this diverse, but unified country! Throughout this week Jen and I have been observing at K.V. Pushp Vihar and doing some sight-seeing. Poonam, our host teacher, has taken us around to many important sites around Delhi. Here's a list of the places we have visited so far and a little bit about each monument, site, and/or temple! As you will notice, we have visited both Muslim and Hindu temples. India seems to be a land of great tolerance and acceptance: all religions are respected. When we go to a Hindu site, we see Muslims also touring the site; when we visit a Muslim site, Hindus are touring the site. There doesn't seem to be much, if any, religious tensions between groups of people!
1. Humayun's Tomb This is the tomb of Mughal Emperor Humayun and dates back to 1569. The tomb includes multiple arches, buildings, and lush gardens surrounding the buildings. India has a long and rich history that includes a Mughal dynasty. 2. Akshardham Temple This is a Hindu temple that was built in 2005 and includes several buildings, gardens, and reflecting ponds. The area is beautiful and peaceful. The intricacy on the buildings is incredibly. 3. Delhi Haat Delhi Haat is an open-air market that is permanent and includes goods from all different areas of India. Many stores include idols of important Hindu gods, hand-crafted items, and clothing. When we visited I bought a hand sewn pillow case for a throw pillow on my sofa at home. 4. Qutb Minar Qutb Minar is a Muslim temple and complex that was built in 1193 and is still an active place of worship today. This was the first mosque built in India! The most spectacular tower is here: it is detailed and tall. All other buildings surround this tower 5. Chhatarpur Temple Chhatarpur Temple is a Hindu temple dedicated to the goddess Katyayani. While the shrine of Katyayani is in the center of this temple, other gods are also worshipped here in side rooms. These other gods include: Durga, Krishna, Ganesha, and Shiva. Today I learned that outside each Shiva temple stands a bull because that is Shiva's animal. A sari is the traditional clothing for Indian women. It consists of a long piece of beautiful silk, cotton, or other material and is wrapped around the body in an intricate way so that no pins are needed to keep it secured on the body throughout the day.
Jen and I, with our cohort, went into the market (picture below) at Bangalore to buy a sari. When we entered the shop there were lots of people and rolls of sari material in every corner. I picked a color and pattern I liked and then the sales woman draped it on me so I could see if I liked it (picture below). After buying the material, we went to a store that sews the shirts that go underneath the sari. These shirts are cut to expose the stomach area (although the sari will cover this once it is wrapped) and then we went to another store to buy the petticoat that goes underneath the sari. Lots of work, but it will be worth it! I hope I can learn how to wrap it correctly! |
AuthorHi! My name is Janna Nobleza and I'm a high school English teacher in the Chicago Public Schools. This blog records my TGC India preparation, journey, and reflections. Archives
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