Delhi Belly!

Delhi Belly!!

Oh dear it has happened so soon. Four of us got Delhi Belly and we have been so careful. Several more were starting the grumbles this evening. I suspect it was from the dinner in Old Delhi last night but at least I was able to make the day whereas the others took a taxi home.

It was worth it as I listened to a panel of 5 religious leaders who described Judaism, Hinduism, Catholicism, Sikhism, and B’hai and how they are practiced in India. It was interesting that while the ladies of our group asked “to the point” questions that certain members of our panel where not used to such assertive young ladies.


Finally, we got to watch some Indian classical dancers and musicians, the renowned Odissi dancers.

An interesting fact is that these young ladies centuries ago would never marry as they were married to Vishnu. However, they could have babies if they adopted them. Now that is not the case in contemporary India and you may even see young boys playing the part of these maidens although their form is more aggressive and jerky.

I will leave you with some photos. Enjoy.

My favorite lecture so far

Now it was back to academics with a lecture on the economics of India. Something I found interesting was that within the next 10 years, economists hope that the private sector will fund high school education and the government will focus on primary education and try to get this level up to speed with the rest of the world. This is part of the Universal Primary Education Plan.

Now what was definitely the BEST presentation of the visit so far was by an incredible gentleman, Professor Goswany, who critiqued art with us His voice and mannerisms were so soft and gentle that we could have listened to him all day. He recited poetry in Sanskrit and Hindi and it was like having story time with my favorite grandpa. Here are some awesome quotes about art that I will carry with me.

“Art is like a mistress who whispers in your ear, we have to tune our ears to listen carefully to what the art is saying to us.”

“The act of viewing is an act of energy and it is not a passive task.”

“The art of India is an art of silence as no one speaks about it and many pieces of art are not even signed.”

However, the best thing he said was “absolutely brilliant!” in an Indian English accent☺

Tombs and Towers

Today we got to do some cultural activities. We went to visit Humyan’s Tomb which is the first true example of Mughal architecture in India. It was built in 1565AD by his senior widow, Bega Begam. There are several other prestigious Mughals buried there but it now only houses lots of bats!

Next we traveled to Qutab Minar (Light of Islam)to observe its soaring 73 m high tower built in 1193. It is built in a beautiful red brick and sandstone and marble nearer the top. It was built by the first Muslim ruler in Delhi but he died before its completion.

Ella loved this site. Can you find her?

Old Delhi

You have to see the video of the streets to believe the noise. Yes, deafening as everyone honks the horn continuously. Dogs and beggars surround you especially young children who look at you with those longing eyes. We know, however, that if we give to one we will be mobbed. However, they are quiet mannered people and we never felt threatened. Everywhere we go people stop and stare. Some even take photos or just sit down to watch us more closely The pungent smells attack the senses and images of Tijuana flash into my mind.

We enter the Red Fort which is considered one of the finest pieces of architecture from the Mughal reign. It included a mosque and even a hareem for the first owner,Sha Jahan in 1638. The guide told us the gold and silver is now gone due to the British stripping it and removing precious diamonds (one holds prime position in the crown of the current queen of England) after independence from Britian was earned by India.

We went out to ear in small groups, mine being the vegetarian group and this caused quite a stir. People could not take their eyes of us as we entered the local restaurant and it continued until we left. I hope we get used to this. One local insisted that we visit Kashmere if we wanted to see the real India and he was most insistent. Not during this time of political unrest.

Finally. At nearly midnight we arrived at the hotel after being stuck in traffic which was stopped due to a long train crossing. No exercise as we had planned tonight as it is finish this blog then get some well earned zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz’s. I hope you are all enjoying the photos and video on this blog. See you soon.

Oh we are going to arrange a jolly good game of cricket against the math and science people and guess who will be umpire?

Namaste

Dabbling in Delhi

Exercise was the order of the day especially if you could see the food that is available. The staff are so helpful and courteous and they eep encouraging us to eat more. Yikes. Tread mill, weights and yoga and I am feeling ready for anything.

We started with a presentation on news media by the chairman of CMS. He was an incredible person with several MA and a PhD. The big message was in rural areas, TV is the most popular, newspapers were the most credible, but radio was the most reliable.

Next we visited the National Museum in the capable hands of our museum expert, Dr. Shobhita Punja who made our morning fly by with us not wanting it to end. We even saw the remains of Buddah in an ornate golden tomb. It was remarkable that it was just positioned in a room with many of his statues and not in an area where it should receive respect and honor.

Now our first solo dabble into Delhi began.

We returned for Chinese lunch at the hotel and then 3 of us took a tuck tuck into the local market. I now know the meaning of scarey and we decided to take a taxi back. I bought some shadow puppets of Rama and Sita, Ganesh and the monkey king ready for my students to role play the Ramayana which is one of the legends I am investigating for my curriculum.

Two hours later, we were back at the hotel, changed, refreshed (in all of 10 minutes) and continued the fast pace to Old Delhi to see the Red Fort and a “Son et luniere” (light show story of the end of British Rule at the fort in the open air.

Enjoy the photos and follow on with this story in my next blog. I took video but it takes too long to download.

Our First Day

The day broke as the cleaner greeted my room mate Mary and I with the words. “Good afternoon madam, may I clean your room?”

Good afternoon screamed I, Oh my goodness it is 12.10 pm and we have to shower, eat lunch and be ready to leave at 1:00 pm for Fulbright House, Deli and we hadn’t even opened a suitcase! Don’t worry, we made it.

The academics started straight away with two incredible presentations called Indian Educational System by Dr Janaki Rajan followed by Cultural History of India by Mr G C Joshi.


By 5.30 pm we were all struggling to keep awake so a lovely cuppa tea and a biscuit did the trick.

We were introduced to Mr Adam Grotsky, Executive Director of USEFI who told us the breaking news that India was to match the funds from Fulbright which would double the number of educators that could visit both countries to gain valuable insights to share.

Two more presentations followed before we had a ceremonial lamp lighting ceremony which was enjoyed by all. I was invited to present the first gift to our Delhi professors and then we went on to the lawn in a huge tent and had a wonderful dinner with teachers, Fulbright employees and many other invited guests. Networking was primetime and a good time was had by all.

I think we all slept better that night at least until 3:00 to 4:00 when jetlag hit.

CRZTCHR and Ella hit Delhi, India

CRZTCHR and Ella hit Delhi, India

The journey was long but passed without incident. The layover in Frankfurt was 5 hours and the plane was overbooked but we all made it.

We are staying at the Taj Mahal Hotel and you can enjoy the welcome pictures as I get my bindi, an Indian custom.

Getting Internet is time consuming and costly so my blogs may be a little late but will be typed and ready to go when I am able to connect.

It is 4.30 am and we are just getting to bed!!! Let us see what the next day brings.