Post #24 "Bangalored" in Bangalore

We spent a week on health reforms in the State of Karnataka. A whirlwind.  Most of the time was in Bangalore, the IT and call center capitol of India, followed by a few days in Mysore, a wonderful old city with tons of character.

BANGALORE:

Bangalore, known as the garden city,  has the best year round weather in India. It is in the south at about 3,000 feet above sea level. There were some huge, old banyan trees and green spaces but what struck us most was the construction. There was ongoing construction everywhere - a new subway partially built,   high-rises,  new highways and bridges etc.   It could have been China for all the development that was going on.  The traffic was miserable in the city, so we felt a little "Bangalored", but new infrastructure should make an impact over time.  Our sightseeing was limited to the hour plus drives on our routes to and from appointments.

An old Maharajas summer palace which is now a funky hotel with very few occupants where we ate and collapsed at the end of each day.

Anil, Anil, our research assistant who set up and accompanited us on all the appointments and dealt with all the driving logistics. Our hero.

Bangalore is still India so this is in the center city.

MYSORE:

A 3 hour bus ride from Bangalore to Mysore, an ancient city with loads of interest.  We visited a public clinic which was staffed by a committed, very over-extended  physician.  She had clerical support but no nursing staff and no running water despite years of requests.  Only emergency deliveries were performed as a result.

An examination room which lacked many essentials.

We had a couple of days to explore the city on foot and by local bus.

The 1912 replacement of an older Maharaja's Palace which was destroyed by fire. This was built to withstand fire and to dazzle the eye inside.

Nandi, Shiva's cow,  carved about 500 years ago from a single rock and still venerated. The statue is located about a third of the way down a 1,000 step stairway down a mountain just outside of Mysore. We walked it. Painful.

Remarkable colors for applying Hindu facial markings

One of many stalls in a gigantic covered market -- our favorite market in India -- where you can buy almost anything.

A Maharaja's personal train car - a far cry from the ones we rode in, much less the 3rd class cars that are chock full of people.

The other end of the spectrum at the Railroad Museum

Indians are very entrepreneurial and use free space wherever they can grab it. 

Here document preparation is offered.

Post #23 The Sikhs and Amritsar

We have been really touched by the inclusive nature of the Sikh community in India. All are welcome in their temples, and people seem deeply engaged, spiritually and collectively. A Sikh Temple can be a real scene!

The Gurdwara Bangla Sahib in Delhi is an important temple for Sikhs. It was built on a site where a guru known for his healing powers stayed in the mid 1600's. There is a large reservoir  believed to be full of curative waters.  Every 12 years a call goes out to all Sikhs to help manually clean out this tank and make whatever repairs are needed.

By pure accident, we visited the temple on this important time.  What a response they got and what a scene!!

Some were there to work and others to pray but no one minded getting splattered with mud from the reservoir dredging.

As usual many, many people heeded the call to assist in the restoration and clean up effort.

AMRITSAR

The equivalent of Mecca to the Moslems, Amritsar, which is located a few miles from the Pakistan border,  is the center of the Sikh faith. The Golden Temple might be the single most memorable stop during our entire sojourn to India. It is a remarkable place in this world.

In front of the Golden Temple

Sharing food among people of all faiths as a sign of unity is central to Sikhs.  We had a meal here with the masses. The dining halls serve simple meals to 60,000 - 80,000 people each and every day and rely on volunteers to help with cooking, serving and cleanup.  That's the equivalent of the Annapolis Lighthouse Shelter Kitchen times 1,000!!  It is a herculean task, done with efficiency, humor and compassion.  

Families and friends sharing time together, laughter, prayer, reach out, community sharing -- all in the packed mad-house that is the Golden Temple.  

People come to the temple but may not wait in line to go into the temple itself. The wait can be very long and even under the white canopy it can get hot so volunteers offer water to those in line.

     Amritsar and the Golden Temple both have a long history of violence. A group of Sikhs took over the Golden Temple, demanding a separate nation for Sikhs. After a lengthy stand-off, Indira Gandhi sent in the troops and a massacre ensued. Soon after,  Gandhi's Sikh bodyguard assassinated her. in the weeks that followed, many Sikhs died in retribution. A complicated country.

Amritsar is also a site of disgrace for the British.  During the independence struggle, a British colonel opened fire on thousands of unarmed civilians to teach the Indians a moral lesson and to send a warning to India not to protest British rule. Thousands died.  This immoral action helped to galvanize Indian opposition to British rule. The site of the massacre is now a sacred place in India, and includes this small section of a mural above. A very moving place.

The Pakistani-Indian Border

About 45 minutes outside of Amritsar by taxi is the India-Pakistan border, and shortly beyond is Lahore. Ever night for the last half century or so, an hour or so before dark, a remarkable event takes place attended by thousands on each side of the border. The event is the formal closing of the border  for the day and the lowering of each national flag.

Music, cheering, pomp and circumstance abound, with audiences of 15,000+ on each side trying to outdo the other in singing patriotric songs, dancing and chanting. And this on a border of two countries always at war or in some form of conflict with the other.  A remarkable scene!

Gandhi at the border, of course!

Indian women dancing and singing at the border. 

Indian soldiers wearing wild uniforms and marching  with outrageously high kicks.  Each side tries to outdo the other. A patriotic sporting event!

A sign right at the border. The same cannot be said about Pakistan!

The day to day reality is very different. Many still feel the pain of the separation of India and Pakistan. Charu, the woman assigned to help us get oriented to Delhi, identifies as a Sikh and a Punjabi despite being raised in Delhi.  Her family was forced to move after independence and the separation of countries. She talks wistfully about the Punjab area. Members of the family go to Amritsar whenever they can but have never crossed the border.  Their sense of loss and alienation remain fresh and painful. She gave us so much of her time and attention and insights and feelings about India and the Sikhs. We will certainly miss Charu (below):

Caroline and Charu

Post #22: Rajastan desert get-away

We love deserts. We try to get to the desert in the USA about every year -- West Texas, New Mexico, etc. -- and we wanted to get to the desert in India. So we took our third overnight train trip and set out for the Thar Desert in the princely state of Marwar in Rajastan, very close to the Pakistan border.  Marwar translates as the "land of death", so this is the equvalent of India's Death Valley. Rugged terrain, rugged people. 

We find great beauty and awe in the desert, and great similarities among all of the the arid places we have visited over the years. 

The Thar Desert is certainly a little different than our US/Mexico deserts -- here there are camels, ancient forts, maharaja palaces, and towns abandoned centuries ago.

Meet Rocky and Rajiv who gave us a great, albeit bumpy  ride

Ken recuperating from the  ride while dinner is being prepared

Surrounded by the remains of an abandoned town, women and their kids head home after returning from a water run.

Historic cenotaphs, the royal burial site, with modern day wind farms

A full life in the desert shows in her face.

JAISALMER- the Golden City

We arrived by overnight train to this 12th century city which will definitely explode once the airport opens in the coming year.  Its winding, narrow streets are lined with magnificently carved, sandstone  historic mansions called havelis and  more populated by cows than tourists.

Cows, cows and more cows in this town

The intricate carving in the hallway of our haveli hotel is typical of havelis.

One of the grand havelis 

Forts such as this one typically included a palace for the maharaja. This was no exception.

JODPHUR - the Blue City

Another much larger city dominated by a perfectly situated fort that has never been captured and is still run by the royal family.   Emerging from its sandstone base, it is a wonder and an architectural feat.  Historically in the city only the Brahmin caste painted their houses blue but more recently others have adopted the practice.  Supposedly the color blue repels insects.

Mehrangarh, the 16th century fort 

A peak at the "Blue City" with its fortifications.

Color in the local market

A vendor with a pile of trinkets