11.28.08
Visiting historical gurudwaras
We spent the day visiting historical gurudwaras in Sultanpur Lodi and Goindwal. Guru Nanak (or Baba Nanak), the founder of the Sikh faith, spent a lot of time in Sultanpur Lodi. Baba Nanak was a philosopher born in 1469 in the part of Punjab which is in present day Pakistan. He travelled extensively as he thought about the meaning of life - his thoughts and ideas are recorded in the Adi Granth (Sikh holy book).
The gurudwaras in Sultanpur Lodi are beautiful. They are simple, mostly white marble with dark blue accents, and the writing and symbols also in dark blue.
Rainik Bazaar:
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Back in Jalandhar, we dropped mum off at a function she wants to attend. Then dad and I headed back to the bazaar to pick up a few things. We stopped by a bookstore in Model town so I could get some novels for our host's children. Then as we were heading out, dad and I popped into a bakery to get some sweets for our hosts and also my bhabhi and niece in Amritsar where we were headed next. As we turned the corner, we saw a clean chaat place, and dad gives me this look of `you probably want some chaat and badam (almond) milk, right?' Though I'm not hungry, I find myself saying, `Oh yes, that would be splendid'. Dad and I shared a chaat and delicious badam milk on the street corner.
We concluded the evening by heading back to Rainik Bazaar so I could get a couple more dupattas (scarf worn by women with salwaar kameez). Now here's something that will only happen in bazaars in India, the shop keeper offered us chai or coffee. Since we'd bought a lot of dupattas from this place last time and in the course of shopping we'd asked him about his life, how long he'd been here etc, and he'd asked us about ours, plus we'd spend a fair amount on the dupattas, so when we came back, he was quite hospitable. Most of it is just good marketing and business, but part of it is also that we've now built a personal relationship so next time we go to Jalandhar, we'll first go to his place. The culture of hospitality spills over into business as well. Wandering around in bazaars is a fun experience - it is a very local fun activity in the cities here.
Friday, November 28, 2008
Saturday, November 22, 2008
Jalandhar @ Unique Home
11.22.08
7:00am
Jalandhar @ Unique Home Orphanage (new setup)
The sky is a lavender color with a streak of white clouds. I'm looking around for the sunrise but I don't see it yet - only a cool dawn. There are trees and fields all around us, a beautiful garden just behind this home. The birds are chirping mixed in with gurbani from various sources. Gurbani (Guru ki bani) or kirtan is the music played at Sikh gurudwaras - the guru granth sahib (Sikh holy book) is written in verse, since music is deeply rooted in our culture. Amritwela (morning time) is considered an auspicious time, many people tend to wake up early and start their day by listening to bani and remembering God. It is getting cold - Simla has had it's first snowfall and I can feel it's cold wind visiting us from up north.
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Mum and Dad have gone on their Tirith Yatra (pilgrimage). Mum has always wanted to go visit many of the historic sites where we have gurudwaras (Sikh temples) and dad's happy to accompany her - they should be back tomorrow night. Since time is limited, I think I'd rather spend it with the children so I'll be staying here with our hosts. We're staying at Bibi Prakash Kaur's place. She's a woman that runs an orphanage, mostly for abandoned girls since boys are generally desired and kept. She's an incredibly dedicated and strong woman who is doing a tremendous amount of service for these children and the community. She's devoted her life to this cause, a real compassionate soul. Since she landed up in Nari Niketan some 18 plus years ago and saw how neglected the children there were, she has built this unique home and invested her life into ensuring these kids are loved, and their needs are met by the donations people give. Many of the girls who live here were abandoned when they were very young, and Bibiji not only ensures they're fed and clean, but also sends them to very good local schools. Despite the fact that the government in India does not provide many social services as we have in the west and the systems are corrupt - the local people fill this gap. It is likely their faith, their gursikhi that causes them to provide these social services and improve their communities. Bibi Prakash Kaur gets a lot of support from the community, despite her many struggles in the beginning.
They're building a new home for the kids just a couple of miles outside of Jalandhar. We came here yesterday, and I was delighted to see all the space, the trees and the plants. It's still close to the city but just being in open spaces has such a relaxing influence on the mind. The place is still under construction and there's a lovely gursikh family down below who've been generous and kind in taking care of us; Nirmal Bhabhi fed us a wonderful home cooked dinner last night. The GT road from Amritsar is lined with Eucalyptus trees.
Aside from Bibiji's service, people have set up trusts that provide practically free medical services to those who cannot afford it. In Amritsar, we met a young woman who is a physiotherapist. She works at a clinic where a lot of older people come for therapy in the early stages of arthritis. Knee replacement surgery is expensive and still not very common. Evidently, therapy helps seniors manage the problem if caught in the early stages. There was an older woman who could not even afford the Rs. 10 (20 cents) co-payment. The young physiotherapist took care of her regardless since that is the purpose of these clinics. The lady's husband had passed away and she had 5 sons, though not one of them was willing to take her in and support her, so she does some sewing that enabled her to take care of her basic necessities.
7:00am
Jalandhar @ Unique Home Orphanage (new setup)
The sky is a lavender color with a streak of white clouds. I'm looking around for the sunrise but I don't see it yet - only a cool dawn. There are trees and fields all around us, a beautiful garden just behind this home. The birds are chirping mixed in with gurbani from various sources. Gurbani (Guru ki bani) or kirtan is the music played at Sikh gurudwaras - the guru granth sahib (Sikh holy book) is written in verse, since music is deeply rooted in our culture. Amritwela (morning time) is considered an auspicious time, many people tend to wake up early and start their day by listening to bani and remembering God. It is getting cold - Simla has had it's first snowfall and I can feel it's cold wind visiting us from up north.
----------------------
Mum and Dad have gone on their Tirith Yatra (pilgrimage). Mum has always wanted to go visit many of the historic sites where we have gurudwaras (Sikh temples) and dad's happy to accompany her - they should be back tomorrow night. Since time is limited, I think I'd rather spend it with the children so I'll be staying here with our hosts. We're staying at Bibi Prakash Kaur's place. She's a woman that runs an orphanage, mostly for abandoned girls since boys are generally desired and kept. She's an incredibly dedicated and strong woman who is doing a tremendous amount of service for these children and the community. She's devoted her life to this cause, a real compassionate soul. Since she landed up in Nari Niketan some 18 plus years ago and saw how neglected the children there were, she has built this unique home and invested her life into ensuring these kids are loved, and their needs are met by the donations people give. Many of the girls who live here were abandoned when they were very young, and Bibiji not only ensures they're fed and clean, but also sends them to very good local schools. Despite the fact that the government in India does not provide many social services as we have in the west and the systems are corrupt - the local people fill this gap. It is likely their faith, their gursikhi that causes them to provide these social services and improve their communities. Bibi Prakash Kaur gets a lot of support from the community, despite her many struggles in the beginning.
They're building a new home for the kids just a couple of miles outside of Jalandhar. We came here yesterday, and I was delighted to see all the space, the trees and the plants. It's still close to the city but just being in open spaces has such a relaxing influence on the mind. The place is still under construction and there's a lovely gursikh family down below who've been generous and kind in taking care of us; Nirmal Bhabhi fed us a wonderful home cooked dinner last night. The GT road from Amritsar is lined with Eucalyptus trees.
Aside from Bibiji's service, people have set up trusts that provide practically free medical services to those who cannot afford it. In Amritsar, we met a young woman who is a physiotherapist. She works at a clinic where a lot of older people come for therapy in the early stages of arthritis. Knee replacement surgery is expensive and still not very common. Evidently, therapy helps seniors manage the problem if caught in the early stages. There was an older woman who could not even afford the Rs. 10 (20 cents) co-payment. The young physiotherapist took care of her regardless since that is the purpose of these clinics. The lady's husband had passed away and she had 5 sons, though not one of them was willing to take her in and support her, so she does some sewing that enabled her to take care of her basic necessities.
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