the final count down

well a lot has happened sense my last post.  

once again i participated in an all night event.  the night before easter the church of one the staff i have been volunteering has a program.  they played a movie, then a musical act, then some of the men from the church sang bhajans till the wee hours of the morning.  in the morning they did a processional around the city singing and saying “he has risen indeed” (except in marathi)….something about indians and staying up all night.  

someone told me it might be from agricultural times when people didn’t have a strict schedule to keep the next morning.  i have heard of indian musicians practicing all night long…..supposed to really help..give you power or something…stamana….

 

it is quite warm here around 100f….i come back to the USA on wednesday….i have a feeling i am going to be cold.

random note.  i have averaged about 5 cups of chai a day.  the people i volunteer with really dig it. 

 

so i am wrapping up loose ends, and saying goodbye to people.  

 

i tried packing all my stuff today…..it all “fits”  but one bag was crazy heavy.  i divided up some of the heavier things…..i really need to weigh these to figure out where i am at.  

 

i will be back from the flipside soon

new pictures

still have stories

My time is running sort here in india…but I still have stories to tell

 

sunday I went to bombay with my tabla teacher (from lonavala) and a friend.  We went to get a tabla case for me and to visit with Sultan Khan who is probably the worlds greatest sarangi player.  Sarangi is a indian instrument that is played with a bow (kind of like a cello) and has a number of resonating strings which give it a haunting sound…i think its a really beautiful instrument.  It was an interesting visit he lives in a standard indian apartment and other family members live in the same building. Before we went to the house we stopped and got some flowers.   He was actually rather sick and stayed on the bed sitting or laying down.  Even though he was sick he still welcomed us in his house and chatted.  Most of the conversation was in hindi so I didn’t talk that much.   Before we got there my teacher said I should get some flowers for him.  

 

On the way home we were in one of the most crowded trains of my life.  I had a general express ticket from mumbai to pune so we were in sleeper class.  Sleeper class is non-AC and is like a 3 tier bunkbed where the middle bunk folds up to allow people to sit on the lower bunk.  So I was sitting on an upper bunk with a tabla case and two other people.  For some reason people like to put their shoes on top of the fans which are mounted on the ceiling of the train. So i’m sitting here which is a pretty good seat because people we standing/sitting in the aisles.  

So I was chatting with some indians close to my age about music and what I do and this older man pipes up and say something about me doing music in the US maybe I know his son or son-in-law who does music there.  I am thinking to myself “yea right.” but then he starts saying it is a guy in ohio, then Cincinnati and he says his name is Jim Feist.  I do indeed know him! In fact he has been like a mentor for this trip…he was the one who originally suggested to just save some money and go when I hadn’t gotten a scholarship.   So out of all the days, all the trains on that day, all the cars on that train, and all the seats in that car, I end up meeting this guys father-in-law…crazy

 

 

today (wednesday) we had a satsang (worship service) at the clinic in the red light area where I am volunteering.  It was different that what I expected but they haven’t done one of these in a while and I hope it is something that they can continue on with.  We sang bhajans (indian style devotional songs), prayed a little and had some chai and snacks.  People kinda came in waves.  First was people from the place where many of the nursery school kids stay, after they left a wave of eunuch came in, after that there were a few mothers with children.  It was interesting seeing two of the nursery school kids in their street clothes hanging out.  Even though there were different people around the kids still seemed pretty comfortable.  

Its been good playing all this “light” music (opposed to classical).  Its more groove oriented like playing drumset.  Unfortunately I only know a few grooves so sometimes its like being a rock drummer and asked to play latin.  Its good for me…

this is the one to watch

 

out of 15 kids (give or take) we know of 3 where someone knows their birthday

something to watch

ice cream soup

its even popular in india!

ice cream turns to soup a bit quicker here so it would make sense.  

 

lots more pix on flickr

today was “happy birthday day” at the Jeevan Jyoti nursery!  the kids had a lot of fun. hopefully God will continue to use it in their life to remind them that he loves them and that they are special and significant.  we had music (the hit song from slumdog millionaire) streamers, balloons tied the the fan, bryani, cake in the shape of an aeroplane (to go with a song they sing), cold drinks (aka pop..but cold drinks could also be other chilled beverages), ice cream (which was a big hit), some games, some singing, blowing out candles, a gift bag with bubbles, noise makers, and sweets

a brief tangent…mother you may not enjoy this one…. they have these sweets that i guess people really dig which are candy coated anise seeds (similar flavor to black licorice).  it looks like red, white, pink rice.   the nickname for it when translated is “rat poop.”…… mmm tastey

back to the party.  the kids had a good time. 

its interesting because i get to come in and throw down some money and see a fun exciting time.  a little different from the people that are there with the kids day in and day out….maybe wondering if they will get a donation for their next check.  i think it is good to be able to come in and do these things.  perhaps kick start some things into motion.  but also to recognize those who are with the kids though day in and day out.

jjcf

i started to volunteer this week with Jeevan Jyoti Charitable Foundation. jeevan jyoti = light of life. it is a organization that started out as a free drop-in medical clinic in the red light district of pune. the current focus is a nursery school (ages 3-5) for the children of “the area,” as it is called. the hope of the school is to get kids ready for some sort of regular government school and a large focus is teaching english. also to impart some values to the kids and show that there is another way to live life out there. it is a fairly small organization with only 5 people working for it.

this week i have had a few planning meetings about what will be going on as i came in as they are finishing up their curriculum. i spent one day at the school and helped out…basically played with play-dough making “chappaties.” which is kinda like a tortilla…so, real easy to make….. i have also been helping out with a blog site and some other “promo” stuff. i will also do some music stuff with one of the other guys here with the kids and i believe we are planning on having a satsang.

we will be having a “Happy Birthday Day” soon where we celebrate everyones birthday thanks to some money that someone gave me for “sweets for the children of india.” i think this is rather significant because i think most of these kids don’t know their birthday. the people from Jeevan Jyoti tried to find out but i guess no one knew their birthdays. so it should be a good time. our orders for the day was “nothings subtle, everything gaudy”

on another note i lost my indian mobile phone…i think it fell out of my pocket in a auto-rickshaw…….

begging

so after 4 months in india i have been asked for money or to buy something a fair amount of times.  i think what i dislike the most about my experience in india is i feel like i can not stand still on the street for very long without being asked for something or to buy something.  it doesn’t happen all the time but often enough that i feel like it is easier to see india “on the move” than standing in one place.  

i do think it is tragic  that anyone has to go about living their life that way but it still doesn’t sit well with me when people ask me for money.  if i see someone who is obviously in need and i can give them something without them asking a feel a lot better about it than if someone approaches me.  i usually don’t give money because in some situations it is not the best thing to do…i was given good advice to carry candy to give to kids so they can at least have something nice that they may not get often, or i have bought food for people.  i think part of the thought in me is “why should i give you something just because you ask for it? did you earn it /  deserve it?”  do i deserve the love and salvation that God has for me? No.  did i deserve to be born into a situation where i didn’t have to beg for my food? i had nothing to do with it.  freely i was given, freely i should give.  this all makes sense but my heart is still in a place where when people ask for money it rubs me in a unpleasant way. thats where i’m at for better or worse.  

i think when charities ask for money it is that same part of me that is rubbed.  in some ways missionaries/charities become beggars.  i think mother theresa knew this when she took a vow of poverty and decided to live like the people she was serving.  so maybe its not a bad thing.  some work needs to have outside help while i think some work could be done while earning ones own bread.  similar to how if someone asks me or if i just see the need on my own depends on how it will rub me.  with jeevan jyoti i have a relationship there and have gotten to know the situation without being asked for money, so i have become inclined to want to help.  opposed to if someone shows up on a sunday morning and asks for help i am less likely to be excited about giving.  ….. i don’t know how else they could solicit support or think it is wrong to solicit support….i’m just saying how it strikes me.

tabla solo

you can check out my solo from a few days ago at

http://www.youtube.com/mlistpercussionist

so i haven’t updated this in a while and i have been doing a variety of things.  

i just posted lots more pictures!!!

so last you heard i was in to varanasi.  

in varanasi i stayed at a “Christian ahsram” properly it is Muketheshwar Math (said mut) for Yeshu Bhaktas (devoties of Jesus).  it was great to stay there to hear the swami’s story and hear about what was happening there.  it was kinda surreal because there i was in a hindu holy city with a swami wearing orange who follows Jesus and she shared with me a lot about world politics and “conspiracy theory” stuff for lack of a better term.  if your intereted his blog. is www.margdarsha.blogspot.com 

i also attended a conference called the rethinking forum. the basic idea behind this is people following Jesus in their own cultural context in order to not isolate themselves and be able to reach people.  a simple example of this is singing indian style devotional music to Jesus rather than western style music.  if you were to see some people who follow Jesus in this way you might think they were “hindu.”

this was all quite a blessing because i wasn’t sure if i would even meet people who followed Jesus in this way and i ended up going to a conference (that only happens every two years here in india) and i got to stay at an ashram for people of this way….very blessed.  

i was also in varanasi for holi.  this is a festival where people get colored powder and throw it at each other (or colored water balloons).  i guess the streets of varanasi are not the safest place to be during this festival and i had no one to go out with so i stayed in and took pictures from the roof and out a bathroom window.  

i am writing this from agra, home of the taj mahal.  the restaurant on the roof of the hotel i am staying at has a nice view of the taj.  the taj is quite nice and even crazier knowing that it is 400 years old.  so much detail on the micro level and the symmetry on the micro and macro level are quite impressive.  if you draw a line though the center it is said that both sided are the same…or darn close.  ironically when the king who had it made died his tomb was put there as well but his tomb is not in the center and not matched on the other side.  so it is the one major thing that is not in symmetry.  

tomorrow i am back to pune by train

my teacher said he set up a program for me to play a tabla solo and play drumset with him on sunday.  next week i plan to be in pune volunteering at Jeevan Jyoti Charitable Fund (the medical clinic, nursery school in the red light district i visited earlier)