The Other India

Life in the Village

My second stay in India has been drastically different than my first. When I was here studying two years ago I only visited a few villages and spent just one night in that setting.  My school was located in Jaipur, Rajasthan - a city of just 2.3 million.  For my independent research project, my friend Peter and I made the bold choice to research in Mumbai, with a population of around 20 million.  Indian cities are different from any others I've visited in the world. They really feel alive, and how could they not with such populations and concentrations of India's famous cultural vibrancy. This time, I'm living and working in a village 12km south of Varanasi city.  Village India has been, in a way, the real India for many; though this is changing with the rapid urbanization that has characterized the last decade or two. The Indian newspaper the Hindu reported that close to 70% of India's population is still rural. So it seems that I am living in the kind of environment a majority of Indians live in. My village is a little different than some I visited in Rajasthan, with lots of general stores within reasonable walking distance, etc. This is probably due to its proximity to the city and maybe the fact that an often-visited temple lies just down the road from my house. There are a lot of new buildings being constructed in Madhopur and other villages nearby. I've been told that some more wealthy city-folk are starting to build homes out here to get a break from the intensity of Varanasi. A co-worker of mine mentioned that Varanasi is set to expand quickly in the coming years and I wouldn't be surprised if in a decade Madhopur village will be something of a suburb. For now though, it maintains much of what seems to be rural authenticity, with plenty of crop fields, animal herds and brick/thatch huts. One thing that can't be denied is that this village is beautiful.

Pictured above is the street just outside of the KIRAN complex. It can actually be a relatively busy street, mostly filled with villagers walking and biking about. Oftentimes motorcycles and cars will honk and swiftly pass by on their way to the Shultankeshwar Temple, a famous Shiva Temple, and the adjacent ghat. 

When I first arrived in January there were puppies EVERYWHERE and it was like a tortuous heaven seeing them all around and not being able to cuddle them. They're starting to grow a lot now, which is somewhat of a marker of my time here. These two, siblings, live right outside of KIRAN and are my favorites. There are many dogs around, some live in KIRAN and many others live throughout the village. They are rather harmless and don't take much interest unless I have food or when I'm running. They do, however, like to bark at night sometimes which takes me back to my time in Hawaii living next door to hunting dogs. 

Speaking of Hawaii, I am still in a position to gather shells! It seems there are some sort of clams or something living in the Ganga and on the path along the banks you can find many shells. 

One of the best things to do in the village is watch sunset over the river. This isn't even the most colorful of sunsets I've witnessed here. Sometimes the reflection of the setting sun will be a hot pink streak in the water. What my camera fails to capture is how big and saturated in color the sun is when it sets here. 

There are quite a few fishermen here in Madhopur. By the time I'm out for a walk in the village after work they are usually lounging lazily on their boats. A family I have befriended wanted to cook fish for me. I politely declined the offer for Ganga fish, as the river this far South is pretty polluted.  Many locals seem to eat it with no problem and in the city there are a lot of fish butchery stands. 

My absolute favorite thing here in the village is the path along the Ganga. Here I can walk for maybe 10-15 minutes on a narrow path that lies between the river and small vegetable fields. Mostly tomatoes and mustard are grown, which makes for a lush landscape filled with the yellow flowers of the mustard plant. The mustard plant is used mostly for it's oil, which is a preferred cooking oil around North and North-East India. 

For a while now I've been a little obsessed with trees, finding my favorites wherever I go. This is definitely my favorite in the village. It is huge and perfectly formed. Sometimes when I'm going for a walk I will just stand and stare at it... so long as the family who tether their buffalo there aren't around. 

Their buffalo enjoy the shade this beautiful tree provides. I don't like to stay long while the buffalo are around so as to not disturb them or cause any problems for the family who lets me walk through their land to reach the path along the river. 

One day while walking along the path two women called out "Namaskar," greeting me and gesturing for me to come over to where they were, picking tomatoes. I asked their names and exchanged "Ap ke si hai?"s, asking how they were. A few days later as I was out for a jog I walked past the same spot again and Manju, the matriarch pictured above in a sari, asked me to come up to her house. I walked up the steep hill through her tomato field to reach her house, which has two small rooms and is made of brick. She wanted me to meet and hold her grandson - who they refer to as Babu (baby). The baby is a sweet and chubby baby boy who likes to stare up into the sky and laughs when I make silly noises at him. I visit them pretty regularly and see the young girl shown on the left at KIRAN since she is in kindergarten there.  Though I hardly speak Hindi and they don't speak any English, we have fun trying to communicate, laughing over tea and finding ways to get Babu to entertain us.

Jallianwala Bagh - Site and Memorial for the 1919 Amritsar Massacre

A Seminal Event in British-Indian History

Jallianwala Bagh Massacre, also known as the Amritsar Massacre, it occurred on April 13, 1919 and estimates of the death toll range from 379 (from British Indian sources) to ~1,000 (estimation by the Indian National Congress).  It seems to be accepted that there were at least 1,500 casualties ranging from death to injury. I am no history expert on colonial India so I will not attempt to go into the complex background of the event save to say that the Punjab region was quite tumultuous with clashes between native groups and the iron-fisted Lt. Governor Michael O'Dwyer. The day of the massacre began with a gathering of nonviolent protestors within the bagh; at that time just an open field-like area between buildings with a well. Protestors gathered to peacefully to express their disapproval of the arrest of two popular leaders in the area.

Located just down the road from the Golden Temple, the bagh is enclosed with buildings on all sides.  There is one narrow entrance (pictured above) which, according to information provided at the memorial, was usually kept locked. Upon hearing about the meeting at Jallianwala Bagh, General Reginald Dyer, who was temporarily placed in the area as Brigadier General, came to the bagh with 150 soldiers and placed them on the elevated ground along the perimeter of the bagh entrance. With no warning, Dyer ordered for his troops to fire upon the peaceful protesters, killing and maiming many with shots and causing stampedes.

As you walk around the beautiful gardens you will constantly and bittersweetly be reminded of the tragedy that took place nearly a century ago. There are multiple walls where bullet holes have been highlighted and preserved as testaments to the cruel offense inflicted upon the innocent, nonviolent dissidents.

We walked counter-clockwise through the bagh and thus happened upon the "Martyr's Well" towards the end of our visit.  As such, the atmosphere and emotions stirred up by visiting a site of such tragedy were already coursing through me strongly and happening upon this sight was probably the most poignant of moments at Jallianwala Bagh.  This well is where 120 bodies were recovered after the massacre representing 120 individuals who threw themselves into the well to take cover from the unwarranted fire. 

A monument sits towards the center of the gardens that now fill the bagh, along with a couple of small museum exhibits and an eternal flame.

We had hoped to see the light show that is put on every evening, which seems to be a sort of reenactment of the events. A couple who we shared a train cabin with on the way to Amritsar recommended going at this time since the display really gives the best feel of the events.  

Harmandir Sahib - The Golden Temple

Harmandir Sahib - the most important Gurdwara

Located in the Punjabi city of Amritsar, very near to the Pakistan border (more on that in a post to come), is Harmandir Sahib - or known in English as The Golden Temple.  This incredibly beautiful place is the holiest gurdwara of the Sikh religion.  According to the Sikhism website, sikhiwiki.org, the 3rd Guru, Guru Amar Das, is responsible for the idea of this gurdwara; though its construction was initiated by the 4th Guru, Guru Ram Das, in the 16th century.  The Sikh religion is known for its openness to any and all people, thus the temple was built lower than the level of the city outside - equalizing all with no regard to religion, caste, gender, etc.  You can feel the welcoming spirit as you enter the grounds, and especially as you take part in Langar - "Free blessed food." You must enter barefoot, head covered and feet washed. In the rainy weather of this weekend, hundreds of meters of mats were laid out along the marble floor.  

Stormy weather provided the perfect backdrop for the gleaming temple. 

Martina - my Italian roommate - and I.

The water in the lake that surrounds the temple itself is said to be filled with holy water.  While on the train from Varanasi to Amritsar, a fellow passenger - a young Sikh student - told us the story of a wheelchair-bound man whose wife brought him to the temple.  The story goes that he could not so much as control a finger.  As he sat beside the lake while his wife walked the compound, he dipped one finger in the water.  Immediately feeling a change, he slowly submerged his whole hand, arm, so on until his entire body was in the water. Upon returning his wife could not recognize the man before her for he had been cured of all ailments! When walking around the lake many visitors dip their feet and hands in, while other devotees strip down and dip fully into the water.  Pictured above, a devotee dips in the water, praying. 

Since my first class on Eastern religions, I have known that one can go to any Sikh gurdwara and be fed with blessed food free of charge.  Here at the Harmandir Sahib, it is said that the kitchen sometimes feeds up to 100,000 people in one day.  They serve all day long, including delicious chai! This is known within the tradition as Langar and it is seen to be a way of expressing Sikh ideas of community, oneness, etc.  as any and all can come to share in a meal. Pictured above, a devotee stacks clean plates to be distributed.

The Golden Temple houses multiple dining halls where one can sit in a line on mats and be served a wholesome and tasty meal!

 Roti is gingerly tossed into eager hands.

 Today's meal consisted of wonderful dal, a potato sabji, kheer and roti - the kheer was exceptional.

It wouldn't be India without chai - after lunch you can go to have a large bowlful of piping hot, sweet chai. One thing to note is that a lot of the work done at the gurdwara (cooking, cleaning, etc.) is not done by staff but by devotees who give their service.  We had hoped to do so, but with just over 24 hours in Amritsar we did not have the time to figure out how to arrange it.  

We returned to the gurdwara after dinner around 9pm to watch the closing rituals.  Prayers are said and around 9:45pm Guru Granth Sahib - the central holy book of the Sikhs and also the 11th and final Guru - is wrapped and put to rest until morning.  The book is put in an ornate palki, which is carried on the shoulders of devout followers.  This ceremony was incredibly beautiful and moving with the glowing temple, light flickering across the water and enchanting prayer chants being sung by devotees. 

Above, the palki is carried, with devotees walking alongside it to usher it on its way into the gurdwara. 

Once the Guru Granth Sahib is put to rest, the doors to the temple are closed. Afterwards, presumably devout followers lingered to read scripture outside the doors. 

More to come on Amritsar - the Wagah Border Ceremony and the monument to Jallianwala Bagh.