Anticipating Pune, Ahmednagar, and Meherabad

4/1/12

I want to set the scene as I anticipate with considerable excitement a special part of my pilgrimage here in India. Two really good friends Matt and Viola in NYC are Baba lovers and have been sharing with me from time to time about Meher Baba and the Baba centers at Meherabad and in South Carolina where they have frequently stayed. I have just finished reading their gift to me of Donkin's Diaries - Travels in India with Meher Baba. From Mumbai, tomorrow morning by bus I am heading towards Ahmednagar (and Meherabad) by way of Pune, where I will spend one night. Baba was born and grew up in Poona (Pune) and I will visit his childhood home. When he was 19 he met another Perfect Master of the time Qutub Hazrat Babajan who sat and taught under the neem tree in the Char Bawdi area of Pune. There she made him aware of his divine status but bringing him into a state of God-consciousness. And the amazing story begins from there.... I have a map of all the significant places in Pune so I hope to also find the neem tree. I will definitely have my camera with me. I will then spend three nights in Ahmednagar in order to spend time over two days in Meherabad visiting Baba lovers there. I will visit Baba's Samadhi (tomb shrine) in the company of Viola's good friend Debjani. I am so honored, thanks to Viola's introduction and Debjani's plan for my visit, that I will have a meeting with Bhau, the last of Baba's male disciples still alive - who lived with and served Baba in person. To be continued .....

Worship and Hospitality in Mumbai

4/1/12

I arrived in Mumbai on Thursday evening, very grateful for the help of my friend Deepika from Varanasi, who had made connections for me to settle on a good hotel at an excellent price (not an easy thing in this big city). Then for two days I saw only the inside of my hotel room because I was laid low with another tummy upset, this one more severe and needing the attention of the hotel’s on-call doctor several times. I am on antibiotics he prescribed, one of which I had brought from my doctor in NYC. Last night I ate for the first time (curds and rice only). Today I ate curds and bread for breakfast and felt well enough to venture out to find a church, it being Palm/Passion Sunday after all! I followed directions in a text message sent from Aneesha Henry (elder daughter of Arun and Chitra) who had lived and studied in Mumbai. She had a recommendation of a church near my hotel. It was perfect for me - just what the (higher) doctor ordered  – quite refreshingly different from my own tradition – New Life Fellowship meeting in Mumbai University at Kalina’s Dinesh Mody Auditorium. We had lots of praise and worship recalling for me my teenage and student years. The preacher and translator were both women and were excellent. I met the pastor and his wife, Bosco and Elvina Gonsalves, at the door as I arrived. He later invited me to share testimony towards the end of the service, which I was delighted to do. Then after worship he and his wife invited me to their home, together with a few other familiar visitors to the service, where I enjoyed my first full meal in three days together with wonderful conversation well into the afternoon. This was far from a usual tourist’s visit to Mumbai, but it was delightful in its conclusion none-the-less. Sadly I don’t have pictures because I forgot to take my camera in my less-than-focused self this morning. The adventure continues... 

Sands of Time and of Goa

3/28/12

Reporting from Goa beach and a beautiful hotel called Tarika's Sea Breeze which just about describes the whole experience. I have been kicking back here and playing in the waves, enjoying some fish and seafood, watching families playing cricket on the beach (only in India!?) In case some of you did not notice India beat Pakistan in the Asia Cup one-day test cricket competition only to be eliminated in overall performance. Then Bangladesh having exceeded all expectation in reaching the final with Pakistan and with one bowl left to decide the match lost by three runs to Pakistan. I watched most of both these exciting cricket matches in the past two weeks. It is the only TV I have watched while in India, but then again those of you who know me, know I watch next to none at home either. The India Pakistan match as you might imagine roused a lot of sentiment all over the country - perhaps even more than a Scotland-England football match would ... well maybe:). Its good to have my body back to normal appetite and digestion. Tomorrow I am onward bound to Mumbai for four nights and no doubt some more sight-seeing adventures.

 View in one direction

 View in the other

 Towards sunset

 Some cricket action - the best kind - an extended family on the beach

  Wider view of the cricket

Vellore and Kochi/Cochin

3/25/12

I'll let the pictures tell the story....

 A day center in the village for the elderly to gather and hear the newspaper read to them, play games and chat togeher - addressing a serious and widespread problem of depression in isolated seniors

The biweekly Thursday morning clinic in the village where primary and secondary care is available through the nurse program. Here two nurses are at work.

 Above: the signpost that pays tribute to K.A. Norris who worked hard to establish this work in the villages and rural areas around Vellore.

Below: At far left my guide for the tour Senior Nursing Director and Faculty member Rajeswari Siva pictured here with the staff of the new library in the new College of Nursing building

After all the references in JWD's letters to playing Carrom and my own memories of playing it at Great Aunt Mary's house in Banff, I couldn't resist taking this picture in a sports shop in Kochi.

Our houseboat for the backwater cruise and one of our two very able boatmen

Just one of the many delightful views on the cruise

They call this Chinese fishing on account of the origins of the method

 Very colorfully painted homes all over the south of India

My companions for the morning part of the cruise Sanjolie and Namrata, two young accountants from Delhi on a weekend trip to Kochi after a month long work assignment in Chennai

Handing over some control for just a few moments :)

Great fun, but we made much less progress with my efforts !

Finally the tummy bug has struck

3 /23/12

No I am not superman !!! Yesterday and today I am in that “almost inevitable” place with my GI tract after so many weeks without it. So I am keeping up with my program of activity but cutting back on blog writing and photo uploading etc.

My visits to the Christian Medical College and guided tours, especially to the rural 100% nurse managed College of Nursing Community Health (CONCH) program and the Low Cost Effective  Care Unit (LCECU) program in Vellore itself have been amazing experiences. The concepts and approaches developed here have so much to teach the medical world and the church world … “till every church be a hospital and every hospital a church” in achieving the highest aspirations of each. I will upload pictures and perhaps more commentary at a later date. Now to rest and conserve some energy.  

Traveling to Chennai and Vellore

3/21/12

I'm grateful this morning for the efficiency of public transportation in Delhi. By four means of conveyance I reached the Domestic Terminal at Indira Gandhi Airport - by car to the Metro, from the Metro to the Airport line, and from a stop on the airport line by shuttle bus to the Terminal - all in less than an hour and for $2. I am traveling by Indigo Airlines to Chennai. The flight is estimated to be 2hrs 40mins. From there a car from Vellore Christian Medical College will meet me and transport me to the Big Bungalow, once occupied by the founder of the CMC, Ida Scudder, but now used as accommodation for visitors. Thanks to the good agencies of Melanie in NYC and Mrs Sundari Edwin (whom WEPC folks might remember from a visit last year) I have visits and tours arranged for me for tomorrow and then on Friday I fly to Kochi on the coast, in Kerala for some sightseeing and relaxation. The saying "flying by the seat of your pants" I think would apply to that flight as I have not been able to purchase it yet !!!

Rest and Be Thankful

There is a small village in the north of Scotland with this lovely name, "Rest And Be Thankful." I am feeling this exact sentiment here in Old Delhi, enjoying the quite contemplative spirit of this monastery, the formative power of praying the hours even for just two short days. I am doing my own laundry for a pleasant change (on the road it has to be entrusted to others). I am enjoying the 7 month old puppy, Piddi, and feeling the gentle breeze that floats through the cool inner chambers of the house. Its getting much warmer in Delhi. It will be in the high 80s and 90s in Chennai and the south, so we will see how I fare in that humid heat ! Here are a few pics from my journey from Jaipur to Delhi.

Just a tiny portion of the Wind (Window) Palace in Jaipur (365 windows) by which the Queen and female attendants could watch the processions below.

Amber Fort outside Jaipur on the Delhi road.

With Dimpi (seven months), daughter of Maya and Bumpi

Delightful to meet her at last!

Family reunion after 25 days on the road.