Mountain Climb

Hello Everyone,

We spent most of yesterday, surprise, surprise, waiting in vain for people to come help us move. It never happened, and we had our afternoon rest very late because no one wanted to sleep in case someone showed up. No one slept for long because when we finally did lie down the power went out and the heat was unbearable. I sat in Kumari’s room and we discussed the problems ahead, specifically how the next month and a half will work with the family living separately from the children. I think I have already explained this, but we only have the top floor of the new house because the bottom floor has refused to move. In order to keep the house we have to pay for the top floor until we get the bottom floor. The children, though, really need more room, so Kumari wanted to move out of this house to open up the other two rooms for the kids. The plan before was that Xavier would spend the night with the children here, but now he is too sick to travel back and forth between the old and new houses. Kumari, though, needs to get Prince ready for school, and needs to cook him a lunch in the morning because his school is the only one that doesn’t provide lunch. There are so many things to do, and Xavier is very limited in the amount he can help.

I took a bath, and afterwards when I went outside I found all the children sitting quietly and listening to Kumari. She was going through the rules with them, and telling what was good and bad about the week. Every week she does this, and for the rest of the day and half of the next day they will be very well behaved and then go back to their usual ways. After she finished, each child stood up and gave their complaints. The complaints were all very funny and usually was them tattling on each other. Kumari listened to each one very seriously, though a lot of the time she had to look away and laugh about how serious they were being about such petty problems. The children and I ate dinner, and then Kumari needed to tend to Xavier, so I went outside with the kids by myself. They started to talk about different Indian movies, and to my surprise and pleasure they turned the raised part of the front porch into a stage. The boys preformed first. I could not believe the way these kids had picked up song and dance routines from watching a movie. It was incredible. Plus, of course, it was hilarious watching a group of young boys sing and dance and act all macho, and then yell at each other when they messed up the moves. After the boys, a group of girls sang and danced, led by Maha. The moves were much more complicated, and Maha was like a pro; I could not take my eyes off her. Her dancing was perfect, from the point of her toes, to her twisting fingers, to her bouncing hips, and even her ever changing facial expressions. Then they did a group routine which was loud and fun. I’m hoping to get them to do it again so I can record it, it really was amazing.

Near the end of all this hustle and bustle Mukesh pointed out Sangeetha to me. She was sitting with her fingers curled strangely. She was wobbling her head and banging her fists spastically on the ground. I ran and got Kumari. Kumari had told me about this; Sangeetha has something wrong in her brain and she will go into fits pulling her ears and rapping her knuckles against her teeth or other things like that. Then she will go completely limp and be passed out for over an hour. When she wakes up she doesn’t remember a thing. She is being treated for it and since being on the treatment she hasn’t had any episodes, until now. She didn’t end up passing out, but she was really out of it for the rest of the night. Kumari made her lie in a special position, and she stayed that way twitching for the rest of the night.

This morning I woke up bright and early at five, ready to climb the mountain. Normally I wake up around seven, but I may have to change my sleeping schedule; the early morning here is beautiful and dare I say even a little chilly. One of Priya’s friends came, and he, Priya, Pown, Kartic, and I took two motor bikes to the ashram. The only main path up the mountain starts in the ashram, and since you have to leave your shoes at the door, the climb was made barefoot. It wasn’t too bad to start; the path was clean and made of large stones cut out of the mountain, so it didn’t hurt your feet if you chose your steps carefully. I also think my feet are finally starting to toughen up from always being barefoot. The path was pretty steep, probably as steep as climbing up a huge flight of stairs. On the way up we saw many people meditating on large rocks that jutted out like tiny cliffs. The views were amazing, and the early morning haze blocked all but a hint of the far off mountains. Tiru is even bigger than I realized, and from so high up it looked so lifeless and peaceful, neither of which I would normally use to describe the busy town. On the way up we saw several men carving intricate figurines out of stone. About an hour later we reached the end of the main path. We were maybe two thirds of the way up, and at the end of it was a mini ashram full of potted tropical plant and a small wood hut for meditation. We asked if we could go any further and we were pointed to a solid wall of stone with an arrow pointing up painted on it. We looked further up the wall, and there was another arrow, tiny in the distance, also pointing up. Before I knew it Kartic started climbing like a monkey up the rock. I’m talking real rock climbing. Priya said that I wasn’t allowed to go because Kumari would get mad at her if I did, but when Pown and Priya’s friend also started to climb, I had to go. The only word I have to describe those next twenty minutes is intense. Never have I been so exhausted. I was actually happy to be barefoot because my feet could grab at the tiny cracks and bumps in the smooth rock, and the sweat on my feet gave good traction even if there was nothing for them to hold on to. It got to the point where it was a little easier to climb, but we knew that if we went any farther we would never be able to make it down. We rested and came down the rock cliff in a not so graceful controlled fall. When we finally got back to Priya and the normal path, my legs were shaking uncontrollably from the climb.

We took a different path down so we could see the cave that a holy man spent over sixteen years of his life in. The cave was painted white and beautifully decorated with a small shrine inside. We prayed, put the red and white chalk on our foreheads, and left. The path we took down the mountain was a lot shorter, but also a lot steeper, than the one we took up the mountain. It ended randomly in a tiny neighborhood. The road was very narrow, and little channels on the sides were used for trash, drainage, and sewer. We trekked barefoot through town back to the ashram.

When we got home we came in on a huge commotion. Finally the movers had come. I was tired, sore, and still hadn’t had breakfast, but I helped lug everything onto the big cart nonetheless. Getting everything out of this house wasn’t a problem, but getting it onto the second floor of the new one was. The stairs were way to narrow, so we had to stand on the cart with the fridge and other items raised above our heads while people on the second floor terrace hoisted it over the terrace ledge. Finally, after being up for over six hours, I had breakfast. And now, I think I will sleep.

Peace, Robby

A good view of Tiruvannamalai. The temple is huge!

The crew, looking adventury while taking a rest.

Another view of the temple while coming down the mountain.

Prithivi, Skin, Doctor's Office

Hello Family and Friends,

So I know I always say this, but last night / this morning seriously were really quiet.

Yesterday Prithivi was brought back again. He is Prasad’s older brother. Their parents died a while back, and they were being taken care of by their grandmother and their uncle. I guess it became too much to look after them, because a month before I got here both Prithivi and Prasad were brought here. Prasad has adapted very well and has a lot of friends here; Prithivi, not so much. Prithivi has yet to spend more than two nights in a row here. He constantly runs away to his uncle or his grandmother. Every time it is the same story; they beg Kumari to take him back and promise that they have talked to him and that he understands that he needs to stay, and every time Kumari gives in. Finally, though, she said enough and enrolled another boy because she likes to keep the number at thirty, never even one more or less. When we woke up from our rest, though, there was Prithivi with his grandmother. Kumari is taking him in until we can decide what to do permanently, she refuses to have thirty one children at her current financial state. There is an orphanage in a nearby town that runs its own school. Because everything is all together, he will have less of a chance of running away, so Kumari is going to try and get him a spot there. I never have really interacted with Prithivi, but the thought of him has always made me kind of upset. Every time he runs away he is leaving his younger brother behind. In my mind, he has already lost his parents, why purposely try and loose your brother? Not only that, he takes things from his brother to help pay for his bus rides when he runs away several towns over to his grandmother.

Yesterday for the first time I got to know him. My first impression was that he was a very handsome boy and that he had perfect skin. Many of the children have scars and pimples from the heat, but Prithivi’s skin is flawless, even in comparison to the wealthy children I have seen in passing. He is also very, I don’t know how to put it, upright. He stands in a stretched sort of way, and always has perfect posture. He is very intelligent, and speaks with his eyes. He is twelve years old, but it is intimidating the way he comes off so perfect and almost better than everyone else. He was obviously intrigued by having a westerner here, and he spent a lot of yesterday evening with me. Conversation was difficult; he understands English but can’t speak it. Whenever I say something to one of the kids and they don’t understand, he quickly translates it to Tamil. But he has a hard time speaking to me. I’m trying to make this weekend interesting for him to try and see if by giving him attention he will be less likely to run away. I doubt he will leave this weekend, but come time for school Monday, we shall see.

Speaking of boils and pimples, Santhosh (there are two, both the same age, so all I can say is that he is the one with the skinnier face) came home with a huge swollen eye. He has had large boils on his head, which Kumari says occur when sweat glands get blocked up in the heat and then become infected. It is a vicious cycle, because they get huge, and if one pops, anywhere the fluid ends up another boil while form. He got several near the outside edge of his eye a couple days ago, and now they have gotten so big they have made it impossible for him to open his left eye. It is obviously painful, and a distant relative was going to pick him up to take him to a doctor. This elusive family member never showed up, so we will have to take him on Monday since it is too crowded on the weekend. So many of the kids have little skin problems. Kasthuri has had patches of skin that look like large grit sandpaper ever since she has been here. The doctor said it was from a lack of a certain vitamin, and she has been on supplements for over a year now with no result. I am a natural skin picker, if there is anything on my skin I feel the need to pop it or scratch it or pick at it. I have had to work really hard not to mess with my skin because who knows what I could end up with.

Last night we took Xavier to have his PPD (tuberculosis) test read. The doctor was hoping it would be the final conformation that Xavier did indeed have tuberculosis, but the raised area wasn’t as big as he hoped. He had us wait for a half an hour so he could then read it again, which I didn’t think would make a difference since the test is done over several days in the first place. It didn’t make a difference, but the doctor decided to go ahead with the tuberculosis treatment and have us come back in five days. While waiting for that half an hour, a group of men came in yelling and screaming for a doctor. They put a young man, probably in his mid to late twenties, on the floor. I could tell immediately from his color and by how stiff he was that the man was dead, and it took the doctor only a few seconds to come to the same conclusion. The man had died from an electric shock. Kumari was very upset from seeing him, especially since he was so young. The ride back was quiet.

This morning Kumari left for the market and I stayed home. Once again we are spending our day waiting to see if people will come to help us move. I am getting a little frustrated with the fact that we are wasting so much of our time waiting, but Kumari says that this is how it is here. People say they will do things and never follow through, or follow through much later. Hopefully, though, today will be different.

Have a good weekend,
Peace,
Robby

Results

Hello Everyone,

Once again it was a fairly quiet day. Yesterday evening when I got up Xavier was home from getting the MRI of his back. He was really worn out from all the traveling and his back hurt more than ever after having to lay so still in the MRI machine. He said they had to take it several times because he kept involuntarily twitching from the pain of having to keep so straight.

The children slowly rolled in from school and quickly got to work on their homework. Baboolu had homework too, for the first time. The teachers have been giving him a hard time because he doesn’t know anything and is way behind, and he feels no shame in admitting that they are correct. For homework he had to write the names of different animals in English, ten times each. I have never heard someone whine so much in my life. He kept throwing his arms in the air claiming his hand hurt too much from writing and that he needed a rest. All of the kids thought it was hilarious watching him do work, because usually he is the one harassing them while they try to finish their homework.

Pown and I took the motor bike to get water and print letters out. I have become a real pro at getting water. I get these big ten liter jugs of Bisleri water, and have to hand in my old jug. I read somewhere that this water isn’t always safe; the jugs are sent back to the company to be cleaned and refilled, and most of them are pretty beat up. Their caps are then covered with a piece of shrunk plastic wrap, and it isn’t hard to create counterfeit seals. Still, though, this is the only kind of water that I can buy in such large quantities, and even this much only lasts me two days. Buying hundreds of bottles would cost a lot more, and so far I have had good luck with this water. When we went to print out the letters there was some problem with the printer because I needed it on the WIDE letterhead. I wanted to know when it would be fixed. Should we come back later that night, or tomorrow? I felt really bad for Pown because he was trying so hard to translate and had no idea what I was asking. Finally he threw his hands in the air, stated that he did not understand, and we quietly left.

Later in the night we were all outside playing when the power went off. It was cloudy and everything was pitch black. The kids went crazy yelling and running around banging into one another. For some reason I have always liked power outages at night; it’s a change in the routine and there is something cozy and fun about only being able to see what lies in the small circle illuminated by your flashlight. Because of the power outage we weren’t able to serve dinner until later and everyone was starving. The lights came back in a little over an hour though.

After dinner the children presented Priya with tiny gifts for her birthday. The gift ranged from little handmade cards, to broken necklaces they found outside and then fixed with tape and string. Priya graciously accepted them all, and showed her presents off fondly to everyone. Subala gave her the funniest collection of strange broken knickknacks I have ever seen: a broen makeup mirror, a used container of foundation that only had a bit of powder left in it, several beads wrapped up in a piece of paper, and a colorful scrap of fabric. All of this was lovingly wrapped up between two sheets of ripped notebook paper that she decorated with highlighter and pencil.

Priya also received several figurines of different Hindu gods. The Xavier family is devoutly Christian, however they still respect and practice Hinduism as well. God, is God, Kumari says, and it doesn’t matter what figure or face you have given it, it is still God. All that matters, she believes, is that you pray and that your prayers go somewhere. I wish others could be so open to different beliefs. I spent the rest of the night having the children and Xavier tell me different stories behind the Hindu gods. Each child would yell out extra details to fill out any parts of the story Xavier was missing. When they finished, Kumari would then retell the story to me in English. The tales were fascinating, and I wish I had known the history and stories of the gods before I had gone on the mountain walk, I probably would have understood the paintings and figurines in the temples and shrines a lot better. I think my favorite god, of the ones I have learned so far, is Lord Ganesha. He both creates and destroys obstacles and problems; I like that he has a good and bad side.

Today most of the children had a holiday. Kumari and Xavier took the MRI scan to the doctor to have it read. I wanted to go too, but that would have left James alone with the kids, and he can be very rough and strict with them, so I stayed behind. I was with the kids until lunchtime when Kumari and Xavier returned. It seems that he has tuberculosis. It is in his bone, not his chest or lungs, so it is not contagious according to the doctor. Xavier feels pretty firmly that it is not tuberculosis, despite the tests saying otherwise. Still, the doctor ordered him medicine for five days, and after five days he will return for more tests. If it is looking better, he will need to continue on the medication for nine to ten months, and for one month he must do nothing but rest. If it doesn’t change after these five days, then they will have to open his back to remove fluid from the swollen area and run tests on that fluid. There is the possibility that he has tuberculosis plus some other infection on top of that, causing the swollen back. Time will tell.

The rest of the kids got home very early today; there was a bomb threat in one of the schools, so all the schools closed. Baboolu was probably the most excited about the unexpected break.

That is all for now,
Peace,
Robby

Mini Bios and Errands

Hello All,

Yesterday consisted of, once again, waiting for people to help us move. Once again, they did not show up. For lunch we bought fish from a street peddler. We picked out the fish and the man stuck a stick into its mouth and violently thrust it around. Then he squeezed causing most of the insides to fall out of its mouth. Then he roughly rubbed it against a piece of wood in order to rip off the scales. It was, overall, a very violent process. With the fish in hand, Kumari and I set off to make fish curry. The curry itself was very good, but the fish was full of tiny bones, and it didn’t really seem worth all the trouble. After eating I blew my nose, which was running because of the heat, and a tiny fish bone that was in my throat shot up and entered my soft palate like an annoying little splinter. It took a lot to finally get that sucker out.

We took our rest early because we knew that when Babuloo got home from school he would not let us sleep at all. Babuloo came home (school is shorter for him since he is only 4 ½), and a couple hours later the rest of the children followed. Kumari and Xavier then left for the hospital to get another opinion about his back. Priya and I were in charge for the rest of the night. It was pretty quiet and relaxing; we just corrected homework and played with the ones who were finished. We ate dinner, and before I knew it, it was time for bed. I read for a couple hours, I wanted to be up when Xavier and Kumari returned from the doctor. They got home around 11:30, and I went out to meet them. They had the results of several blood tests, which revealed that something was indeed very wrong, but they needed other test to say just what. Kumari and I looked on the internet to see if we could get anymore information about the test results, but everything said the same thing, that more tests were required. The doctor did, however, order an immediate MRI, which Xavier went in for today. The town with the MRI machine is several hours away, and the scan is very expensive.

This morning I woke up and ate. We knew for sure that no one was coming to help move, so Kumari and I got other work done. We set out to write little mini biographies about each child, including their family background, history at WIDE, and interesting little things about them, such as their interests or personalities. I am going to take portraits of each of them to go with the biographies, and we are going to put them on the WIDE website (which currently is only offered in Dutch…). It was fun sharing stories about each child, and it was good for me to learn more about their backgrounds. I knew that we had several sets of siblings, but I wasn’t aware of just how many. Kumari has taken in siblings since she started, despite it being against the law. The law stated that you could only take in one child from a family, and that all siblings must be separated when being sent to orphanages, an idea that I found very sad. Already these children have been through so much, being separated from their brothers and sisters would only make it harder. Kumari, for the past several years, has ignored that rule. Just this year they changed it to be that you can take in two from the same family, but no more.

At one point I was writing about Mukesh, and I reminded Kumari of how worried he is about Xavier, and how caring he is. She told me that the other night she was outside, and when she came in a small group of four or five children were in a circle praying. She went back outside to let them be. When she came back in she woke up Mukesh and asked him about their prayers, and he said that they were praying for Sir (Xavier). Kumari says that all of the older children know exactly what is going on; they know if Xavier is sick, they know if there is a money or food problem, they are aware of any hardship WIDE is going through, and they always pray for the problems to be solved. It is incredible seeing such young children with such great faith. These children care so much for Kumari and Xavier. Kumari started to cry while she told me that when she and Xavier get old she doubts Priya or Prince, their own children, will take care of them. It will be Anitha, Durga, and Maha who will always be there. It is more than true, the children here love and worship Kumari and Xavier, treating them like the parents they don’t have.

Kumari and I then went into town to get some things, and we fought about whether today is Thursday of Friday. It is, in fact, Thursday, so Kumari won that argument. I get confused sleeping in the middle of the day, it makes one day seem like two. On the way back Kumari got into a huge fight with the auto driver over how much we owed. Everyone tacks an extra 5 rupees (about 10 cents) onto anything I’m involved in, and Kumari refuses to let me pay more than an Indian would, even if it isn’t that much more. The ride cost 30 Rs. (25 for the ride itself, an extra 5 because we had him wait for us), and he wanted to charge 35. I only had a 50 (aka, $1.25), which I gave to him. He didn’t want to give me any change, so Kumari reached into his pocket and pulled the change out for me. She started laughing very hard as we walked away from the stunned driver. All I can say is that I’m glad to have her on my side, she is vicious!

That is all for now,
I miss you all,
Peace,
Robby

A Quiet Day

Hello Everyone,

Yesterday was definitely very quiet. I woke up a little later than normal because I fell asleep late due to the walk the night before. I was pretty sore, and my feet were achy. I got up and had puttu. My stomach graciously accepted this dry, bland meal, especially after the hell it was put through the night before.

I noticed that Baboolu (Prince) was still home when I woke up. Since I have been here he has not gone to school. He was born prematurely, and gets sick often; he will go to school for a week, and then will have to stay home for a month. So far this year, he has been at school two days. Personally, I think that he could have been at school for a while now; all he does here is run around and terrorize everyone, so he must be feeling okay. Anyway, Kumari finally put her foot down and said that he had to go to school. Baboolu whined and said that he could not walk because his foot was in a lot of pain. He refused to move, and finally Kumari gave in. When I woke up he was running around and chasing the dogs. Tomorrow, I told her, he needs to go no matter what he says. This morning I woke up to Baboolu lying on the floor shaking uncontrollably. He was having a fit about going to school, and Xavier said that maybe we should wait another day. Kumari said she refused to let him stay home another day, and started dressing him. Baboolu had such a fit, and even though it wasn’t funny Kumari and I couldn’t help but start laughing. Whenever he would start going off again, Kumari would look at me with a smirk and roll her eyes. He refused to feed himself, so Kumari he to force feed him breakfast. Finally, after an hour of calming him down and preparing him, Prince was off to school.

Yesterday morning a man came to help Kumari make sure that we had all the proper paperwork for the inspection. In order to be government certified an orphanage has to have been open for a certain number of years and follow certain guidelines. I was thankful to have the man here to check my work. He gave me a couple letters and more spread sheets that needed to be typed, and I diligently abided. After he left the power went off, and during the hottest part of the day we had no fans.

Someone had told Kumari that they would bring some people to help move all of the big items such as the dressers, the refrigerator, the desks, and other things to the new house. We sat around waiting for them to show up. I was a little aggravated that we couldn’t work on the computer because the power was off, and we also couldn’t go into town and get things we needed in case that men showed up to help us move. In the end, the afternoon was basically a waste; no one showed up.

When the kids got home from school I helped them with their homework. When they finished, I let some of them draw in my sketchbook. Santosh and Subala wanted to play a game with me and I agreed. Santosh kept cheating, but when I protested in English he replied in Tamil, and no progress was made. Subala kept setting me up to get points on purpose, despite me telling her not to. Finally, whenever she set me up, I ignored the move she wanted me to make and did something else, which let Santosh get the points. With all the points I was passing up and, along with the fact that he was cheating, Santosh won.

The older boys got home a little later, and Jana sat with me and we spoke in broken English. Suseela, the servant woman, sat with us and she asked me questions through Jana. It was really difficult, especially since I usually need a translator just to speak to Jana, let alone using him as a translator. In the end though, it was nice to talk to Suseela. I like her more and more, and feel bad that I misjudged her in the beginning. She really does care about that children, and she has made this job her life. She goes out of her way to help, and when James goes off to drink or do whatever else he does Suseela helps in the kitchen even though it isn’t her job. James keeps asking for more and more money, and I have not seen her ask for a thing. One funny thing about Suseela is how angry she gets if any of the girl children touch me. Swetha has even turned it into a game; she will look Suseela right in the eye, raise her eyebrows, and then rest her hand on me. When Suseela reacts she runs away, just to come back and do it again.

After dinner I enjoyed the cool night with Xavier and Kumari. We talked for a long time, and in the conversation she mentioned that someone’s mother had breast cancer. She had a lot of questions about cancer, and I answered them to the best of my ability. I talked a little about mammograms and checking for lumps, and she very solemnly asked if the lumps hurt. At first I thought she was trying to tell me that she had a lump, but after taking me to talk in private she revealed that she was afraid Xavier might have a tumor or cancer of some kind. We discussed the fact that he needs to see a western doctor. I personally don’t feel that it is a tumor, but who am I to say? Still, I feel terrible for Kumari, she has so many things to worry about and Xavier’s back is yet another thing to add to her mountain of troubles. Close to tears, she explained that she had no idea what she would do or how she would manage if she did not have Xavier.

Before going to bed she checked her email and there was some good news. We might a potential company sponsor from the Netherlands. They said they would send two representatives in two weeks. Kumari is very hopeful that they will come while I am still here so I can help explain everything, and take them to visit the land. I hope I am here as well, I think they may have an easier time communication with me and I would love to put in a good word for Kumari and WIDE.

That’s all for now,
Peace,
Robby

This is Swetha, she has some of the funniest facial expressions I have ever seen, and she follows me around like a puppy. She tries very hard to get my attention, and when I finally look at her she makes a starnge face, and then runs away. She is so much fun, and is a little troulble maker.

Full Moon Pilgrimage

Hello All,

After a simple morning of helping Kumari yesterday, we took our afternoon rest. When I woke up Kumari rushed to me with the news that the full moon walk was that night, not the next day as we believed. On our calendar it showed the full moon being on the seventh, but apparently it started the night of the sixth and went until the seventh, so the walk was occurring that evening. I went onto the terrace to get a view of the main road in the distance; it was swarmed with people starting the pilgrimage.

Every full moon people come from across southern India to walk around the mountain that Tiruvannamalai is at the base of. They all walk to the front of the main temple, and from there their journey begins. It is believed that all of your thoughts and prayers that you make while circling the mountain will come true.

I immediately went to bathe, which is necessary before making the pilgrimage. Priya, Kartik, Pown, and Maha also got ready. Xavier could not make it out of bed, so Kumari needed to stay home with him. She made me promise to pray for him while making the journey. We all dressed in our best, and at 6:30 we finally left the house barefoot, as is tradition. We passed by the huge field down the road, which was being used as a makeshift bus station for all the people entering Tiru from states far and wide. We hadn’t even reached the road on which the actual trek occurred, but already we found ourselves stuck in a crowd. A very young girl came and started talking to me. She was pushing against my leg while pointing at things in the distance and speaking in broken English. I quickly realized that she was trying to steal from me, and stuffed my hands in my pocket discreetly. In the middle of her sentence she looked down, saw my now protected pockets, and without finishing her thought she disappeared.

We finally reached the front of the temple which was stuffed with people. It was beautifully decorated with flashing colored lights. People stopped in front of it to place their hands over their heads and show their respect. It took twenty hot and crammed minutes to work our way out of the crowd, and so our spiritual journey began. The roads we lined with little makeshift shops. People cooked prasad and handed it out for free, while others made more complicated dishes which you could buy. There were men carving figurines out of whatever they could get their hands on, and snake charmers dazzling the crowds with their bravery. Cows roamed the street, and herds of people surrounded them trying to place a hand on its sacred body and feed it holy leaves that were sold on every corner. Also lining the street were beggars, many of whom were deformed or missing limbs. They tried their hardest to make eye contact with people as they passed, and some of the limbless ones would roll around in the center of the road groaning and yelling; it was very disturbing and upsetting to pass by. As we left the main part of town it got a little quieter and a lot darker. I was terrified of loosing my group in the dimly lit crowd.

We had not eaten before we left, so about an hour into it we bought newspaper cones full of a cherry like fruit. Priya did not know its English name. The seller poured salt over the fruit before handing it to us; they love mixing sweet and salty here, a combination that I do not particularly enjoy. I washed my fruit in my water, and ate. I though the pit would be small and hard, like a cherry, but when I popped one in my mouth I found the flesh to be quite shallow, and the soft seed broke open in my mouth releasing an awful taste. I spit the pit out, but it left a strange coating in my mouth, which took an hour or so to finally leave. Next we stopped for fresh “sweet” coconut (which is cut from the tree still green and soft, not the brown ones you typically think of), which was being sold everywhere. You would pick out the large green fruit that you wanted and the person would chop off the top and stick a straw in it. It was not what I expected. It was a little salty, a little sweet, and very warm; overall I was very disappointed and a little grossed out. Everyone around me finished theirs quickly, so I choked the rest of it down, it was so full. Once you finished drinking you handed the empty shell to the man and he cut it open and scraped out the jelly like flesh. The flesh was just as bad; on top of having no flavor, the texture left much to be desired.

After our snack I started paying attention to those traveling around me. People of every age, position, and religion were making the journey. I saw Muslim men and women walking and praying next to Hindus. Christians stopped at crosses to pray, while Hindus prayed in front of shrines. The pilgrimage is all about faith, and I was amazed to see that it applied to all religions. Some men ran the whole thing in large panting groups. Certain holy men walked very slowly, heel toe heel toe. Other groups of religious men would chant or sing and play instruments. Others carried radios, some if which played spiritual music while others played strange Tamil renditions of early 90’s American pop. Even the crippled and sick made the journey. One boy limped past me; the whole top of his right foot was a gaping, oozing, puss filled sore.

Around 10:00, we decided to stop for dinner and a rest. We found a shack type place that was serving people and entered. We seated ourselves and waited to be served. There was a lot of whispering on the building, and Priya told me that they didn’t want to serve us because of me. Until this point people have always been nice towards me, and were usually curious. Some showed indifference, but never have I felt unwanted until this point. Pown went and pulled a server to our table to take our order. She grumbled and served us brown, awful smelling water. We waited for a while and watched others come in after as and get food right away. Pown went and talked to the head server again, and she reluctantly brought us food. I had ordered two parratas, and they were very small, certainly not big enough to make a full dinner, but I refused to order more despite Priya’s protests. While sitting and eating, the plastic chair I was sitting in literally crumbled beneath me, drawing even more unwanted attention. No one came to help us, so we brushed the chair until a pile and took another one from the table beside us. The place was very dirty, and almost immediately after eating I could feel my bowels protesting. The woman came to clear our water, which none of us drank, and spilled a whole cup on my lap. She didn’t say anything or even look at me after it happened, and I just sat there pretending not to be phased by the incident or how I was being treated. We were severely over charged, and I felt bad because I knew it was because of me, so I paid for dinner and left. The meal both emotionally and physically put a damper on the trek for me, despite trying my hardest to not let it get to me. But just to reiterate, this was only one incident, the rest of my time here I have been treated very well by everyone.

We continued the journey, and waves of immense pain spread through my lower bowels off and on for the rest of the time. Priya asked if I would like to use a public restroom that we passed, but the thought of paying to use a disgusting hole in the ground without toilet paper seemed worse than waiting until we got back home.

We stopped at one temple after eating. There were literally hundreds of Hindu temples and shrines along the way, but this particular temple was dedicated to Priya’s favorite god, so we entered. It was small and clean and beautiful. Sadly, I don’t remember the name of the god, he was not one that I have ever seen before and the name was not recognizable to me. We also stopped to have our fortunes told. Priya went first and then it was my turn. Priya told him my full name, which he repeated along with some words in Tamil. A colorful bird then popped out of this little box and pulled a tattered envelope out of a stack. The man pulled the card out of it and unfolded it. All the strangers around me gasped and started whispering to each other, I had no idea what the card meant but apparently it was very good. The man started talking in Tamil, and when I asked Priya what he was saying, but she shushed me. Afterwards she explained my fortune to me, and hers as well.

At eleven we finally came out of the unpopulated area and entered town again. A half an hour later we made it home. It was exactly a five hour journey, and my bare feet would not have been able to handle another step (my intestines could not have handled it either). After talking to Kumari about the trip, I fell into bed and slept the best I have slept since being here.

I was thinking earlier today about all the unbelievable experiences I have had that I never thought would happen, and taking a five hour barefoot pilgrimage around a sacred Indian mountain is certainly on that list.

Peace,
Robby

The mountain around which we orbited. This picture does not capture its full size, or the fact that all the land around it is completely flat. I took this picture as we approached the makeshift bus station, and sadly it is the only one from the whole journey. I was afraid of loosing my camera, plus it was very dark and I didn't want to draw attention with a flash.

Rickshaw Robber

Hello Family and Friends,

Yesterday was cool and very cloudy, so we went over to the field to play again. It wasn’t quite as fun as last time; there were a lot of other people there, and they didn’t seem to enjoy having kids run through their games. Some of the younger children collected some of the more interesting pieces of trash and made these really beautiful shrines; I think these kids have a future in modern art. Others collected berries and leaves and mashed them up in these pieces of pots that they found. They created a whole kitchen, and boys gathered random bricks to set the perimeter of the “house.” It actually was a lot of fun, and quite interesting. Then I learned different games that only required a few rocks, and other games that required nothing at all. It really is amazing what they come up with to do when they have so little. It is quite different from home where every toy imaginable is available, and where we feel the need to have exactly the right equipment for every game we play. We ended up playing catch with balls made out of wrapped up scraps of fabric, but our outdoor playtime was cut short by rain.

We all came back home and eat lunch, and the children slept while I read and wrote and chatted with Kumari about little things. It is funny, I talk to her nonstop because she is one of two people here that have a full understanding of English, but our conversation still never slows down. I went down for a nap as well, but was abruptly woken up by loud, angry yelling. I quickly crawled out of my mosquito net and looked out my window, and on the front porch was a man I did not know yelling at Xavier. He pushed Xavier, and Xavier pushed back strongly. I threw on my lungi and ran outside. I got out just in time to see the strange man grab James’ shirt, breaking his beaded necklace. This pushed James over the edge, and he punched the man in the stomach several quick and hard times. The man was finally subdued. By this time all the children, and the priest who visits on Sundays, were standing outside the front door watching. A congregation of neighbors and those just passing by had also formed outside the gate. Kumari finally explained to me what had happened. Right now one of their neighbors is away, so during that time we are watching their autorickshaw, which Xavier has been using to practice his driving on the back roads. Kumari was out hanging clothes and saw this man sitting in the auto, and asked him what he was doing. He drunkenly responded that it was his. She figured that he must be confused in his drunken state, and called for Xavier and James to get him. When they approached the auto they saw wires hanging out of the dashboard; the man was trying to hotwire the auto and steal it. The man tried to run so they dragged him into our porch area, and somehow the heated discussion had turned physical.

Xavier took the motor bike to get the police, while we locked the gate so the man couldn’t get out. He was angry and obviously very distraught about being in this situation. Kumari was incredibly upset. We are in charge of the auto, and if it was stolen we would have had to pay for it. It would cost 70,000 Rs, which, to put it into context, would pay the rent on this house for two years. She was also upset because Xavier’s back is worse and more swollen than ever and now he would be late for his medicine. About fifteen minutes later, Xavier returned with an officer who took the man to the police station. Kumari then got Xavier’s medicine ready. A little more about Xavier’s back; it literally looks as if someone put two balloons in it and then has slowly inflated them over the past several months. When he returned from the doctor several days ago he brought a bag full of different expensive herbal mushes and tablets. Kumari then had to mix all the herbal concoctions and pills together into a terrible smelling mud, which Xavier must drink twice a day on an empty stomach. I am all for herbal medicines and supplements, but only to a point. Xavier has had this problem now for a year, and it is going to take something serious to fix it. Any faith I had in the mix he is taking now was gone when Kumari told me that everyday she must boil and cool water, and mix his medicine with that water before he drinks it. I asked if that was to make sure it was clean, and she said no, it was for some other purpose. I can’t for the life of me think of anything, other than killing bacteria, that changes in water when it is boiled and cooled. The doctor also says that Xavier needs to go for a ten day massage treatment in a town twelve hours away. Kumari doesn’t know what she will do those ten days, because I will be gone, and also doesn’t know how they will be able to pay for that long of a hospital stay. Thankfully she plans on getting another, more western, doctor’s opinion before Xavier spends all that time and money.

After taking his medicine, Xavier went to the police station alone. An hour later Kumari decided that she should have gone with him, and made her way to the station as well. Later, while making dinner, Kumari told me what happened in the station. When she got there they had Xavier in a room and were harassing him and asking for money and bribes. Kumari marched into the room and declared that they would no longer be speaking to Xavier, only to her. They asked her to write out a formal complaint against the man that tried to steal the auto, and she insisted on filling it out in English as a way to show that she is more educated than them. They returned the money Xavier had given them because they knew that this educated woman knew the law and could get them in a good deal of trouble for refusing to do their jobs without a bribe. They then tried to tell her to write a story about the man that was not fully true. Kumari ripped up her complaint and said that informing the police about misconduct is her civil duty, but lying is not. She took Xavier and left. I admire this woman so much; she might be the strongest person I have ever met.

The night was fairly quiet. James marched around like a hero and several times he told me the story of how he punched the man. I sat in the kitchen with Kumari, and we talked. It was uncomfortably hot because we had to close the windows so the burners wouldn’t go out, but I know Kumari likes the company. That night we chained the auto to our fence, and Xavier called the neighbor to say that we no longer could watch it. Kumari and Xavier can’t be held responsible if something happens to it.

Today was quiet, the children went to school and we cleaned the house and got some things ready to move to the new building. Priya had a fever and didn’t go to college, so I watched a movie in Tamil with her. It was terribly done, but the songs were great, and it was so horribly overacted that despite not understanding a word, I still knew what was happening.

Okay, that is all for now,
Peace,
Robby