India 2009!

Michelle and I were totally wired from our day of rest yesterday, and we were up so late last night talking that we slept in until 1 again today. When we finally woke up, Mayadidi gently broke it to us that we were just way too American to manage a sari in the pouring rain that had started that morning. We were a little bummed, but we had bought some salwar kameezes at the market the other day, so we wore them instead.

Our first stop of the day was Maya’s relative’s house! It was HUGE and beautiful and her family is so nice! There were so many people that it was a little difficult for us to tell who lived there and who didn’t, but we got to meet her eldest sister, who we called “dadu,” another term of respect meaning “eldest sister.” When we first met her, Mayadidi told us to touch both of her feet with our hands and then put our hand to our heart as a sign of our respect. But Dadu insisted on shaking our hand because she says she is a modern woman! I personally really like the Indian signs of respect here – like the way you fold your hands across your chest like you are praying to greet someone, or the way you can touch your hand to your head and then your heart to say that you honor someone. That’s what Mayadidi does when a beggar comes by asking for money – she puts her hand to her head, her heart, and then motions them away with her hand to say “I honor you and I respect you, but I can’t support you like that.”

Anyway, I’m getting off track – we also got to meet her brother-in-law, a few of her nephews, and their wives. They took us up to the terrace, the roof of their house, which was a BEAUTIFUL view of Kolkata! We could see the top of the temple were going to visit later, and Howrah Bridge off in the distance.

Before going to visit the temple with most of Maya’s family – Sunday is a day of worship for Hindus, just like it is for Christians – we stopped to visit Maya’s guru, a holy man who she goes to talk to whenever she has any problems or concerns in her life. He was SO interesting to meet! First we entered the building and saw a beautiful shrine for Kali, a Hindu goddess. She was decorated in flowers, and Maya explained to us how yesterday there had been a small “puja” for her, a celebration in her honor. Then we entered the room of Maya’s guru, where we sat for awhile and asked him some questions about the Hindu faith, especially how it relates to poverty and the role that Indian women play in society. It’s really interesting to see how much respect women are given in religion – they can be holy mothers, just as there are holy men, and goddesses are actually more popular in Kolkata than gods – yet in society, men still dominate.

After we left the temple, we headed to the bank of the Ganges River, which we needed to cross before getting to the temple. We reunited with Mayadidi’s family members, who were coming with us! We were really excited to see the Ganges because we know it flows through Allahabad. And the river flows eastward, so we told Mayadidi that if we have any troubles while we’re in Allahabad, we’re just going to build a little raft and float back down to Kolkata. We definitely have enough protein bars to last us the journey. Crossing the actual river was SO COOL! When we landed, it was a short walk until we made it to the temple. Pictures were forbidden to be taken – which was a bummer because the temple was GORGEOUS! It is a fairly new temple and was built to honor Rama Krishna, a much-respected holy man who spent much of his time in Kolkata. There was a sign next to the temple explaining how it was built to honor parts of all the major religions, because religious harmony was something Rama Krishna emphasized. We are finding that to be one of the awesome beliefs in Hinduism – or at least one that Maya and her guru share: that religion is manmade, and that we all worship the same God, in our own unique ways. Inside the temple, we found hundreds of people sitting on the ground with their heads bowed in front of a big statue of Rama Krishnu. They were singing a mantra – pictures were still forbidden but I managed to sneakily press the record button on my video camera so we could capture their voices.

When we left the temple it was POURING. Finally we understand what monsoon season might actually be like when we return to Kolkata in July. After a wet boat ride back across the Ganges, and an even wetter rickshaw ride, we finally arrived back at Maya’s family’s house. One of her nephews was nice enough to give us some of his clothes to change into. He kept apologizing that we had to wear boy’s clothing, and we kept trying to explain that all we actually wear at home is boy’s clothing anyway…I don’t think he understood.

While I sat in the TV room with Maya’s family, little did I know that Michelle was in the middle of experiencing Bathroom Adventure Part 2. Unluckily for her, she had received her monthly visit from mother nature a few days before and needed to use the bathroom. Afterwards, however, she discovered that there was no trash can or toilet paper in sight. Unsure of what to do, she sat there for a few minutes, considering her options. Suddenly she remembered what all Indians do with their trash – throw it out the window!! So she peeked her head out of the bathroom, made sure the hallway was clear, and made a mad dash for the kitchen window, chucking her trash out of it as quickly as she could. Suddenly, she heard a man on a rickshaw below yell at the top of his lungs, and the street below erupt into an explosion of honks. Yes, you’re reading this right. Michelle had hit a poor, innocent rickshaw driver with her used tampon.

After Michelle had recovered from the shock of what she’d done, we spent some time with another one of Mayadid’s nephews. He showed us videos and pictures of a Hindu Puja, a festival to celebrate a god. It was basically like an insane combination of Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter, all taking place in the holy space in the bottom of their home. They have a statue of a goddess there, so people from the surrounding area come to their home to celebrate the Puja then too. After that, we ate a late dinner with all of Maya’s family. Michelle and I aren’t eating as much as we normally do because of the heat, and Maya keeps telling everyone about her American girls with the small stomachs that are always full. What we do eat though is absolutely delicious – we can’t wait to learn how to cook!

We were sad to leave Mayadidi’s family that night, but we assured them that we’ll come and see them when we’re back in Kolkata in July. We can’t wait!