January 26-27 - Udaipur India

Udaipur is a small city amidst the lakes in the Rajasthan region of India. It is a city of palaces and shrines where the ruling dynasty prevails after centuries of relatively unbroken  lineage - although like our own monarchy they haven't actually ruled for some time. It is a lovely location and - although our Canadian and American friends will have no sympathy with this position this winter of 2013-2014 - it was a relief to be in a cooler climate. We stayed in a lovely hotel with a spectacular view.

A room with a view at sunset.

We started with a boat ride on Lake Pichola to Jagmandir Palace - set on an island in the lake. On the way we passed another island palace called The Island Palace. Apparently Pichola and a neighbouring lake were the first human-made lakes anywhere in the world and circa the 16th century. The capacity to drain the lakes when necessary is what made it possible to build these palace islands.

The Island Palace

Jagminder Palace 

Another sunset!

In the evening we went to cultural show replete with the traditional music and dancing of the Rajasthan region. Particularly impressive was the woman dancing while balancing water jugs on her head! 

You can go a whole life without doing something and then next thing you know you are riding on the back of a camel!

Apparently the Maharana had 7 wives but that wasn't enough so he also had a girlfriend for whom he built a garden where she would hang out with the wives.

Andrew with his one wife in The Girlfriend's Garden.

January 25 - Mumbai India

Wow! Mumbai: the most unrelentingly alive city we have ever experienced. 21 million people, 24 hours a day.

For more: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mumbai 

To start we need to note that hardly anybody in India calls Mumbai, Mumbai; they prefer the old name of Bombay and readily acknowledge that the new name, although politically and religiously correct, does not best name the city they love. The religious aspect of the name Mumbai is related to an ancient myth by which the God Brahma creates an goddess named Mumba to save the fisher-people of the 7 islands from the threats posed by a demon. Today we visited the temple dedicated to Mumba and payed our obeisance. It was a special inter-faith moment for us to be welcomed into the temple and to engage in some of the ritual involved. As our guide said Hinduism is a pretty chilled-out, her term for tolerant, religion. We would agree, and reminded of the story of the synagogue in Kochi, we could see that it has always been so. At least as long as adherents remain true to the core tenets of the faith. Sadly there are also many examples of inter-religious intolerance in this region. 

The temple from the outside - no pictures inside.

We began the day with the quintessential Bombay street food breakfast, chai and a Bombay burger - essentially battered fried potatoes on a bun. Delicious.

The Chai man.

Bombay burger.

What followed was a whirlwind tour hitting many of the landmarks:

Amy Crawford at the Crawford Market

The world's largest laundromat. And apparently they never mess up an order! Here are more images from The Globe and Mail - http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/mumbai-boasts-the-worlds-largest-open-air-laundry/article637392/

St Thomas' Cathedral, Church of North India (Anglican) 

The Gateway to India, Amy with our guide for the day, Vaydehi

Vaydehi is the daughter of Anu who hosted us last week in Coonoor and took us to the delicious tandoori hut. With her sister Shriti she runs Beyond Bombay - http://www.beyondbombay.in/. Now as delicious as mom's tandoori choice was Vaydehi's seafood choice for lunch was, dare I say, even better. The prawn pakora, pepper fish and crab curry were superb. And washed down with Kingfisher of course!

The national obsession - not the boys playing soccer in the foreground but the men playing cricket in the background.

You may note the ubiquitous haze in the air despite it being a cloudless day; Mumbai is a very smoggy city, as Amy, an asthma sufferer, can attest.

One troubling aspect of Mumbia is the way children are used by adults as a means of income. At the most basic level it is children who persistently follow you asking for a hand-out. This girl on a tightrope is a more sophisticated version.

 A Hindu holy site; a fresh water spring deemed to flow directly from the holy Ganges River. Which is quite a feat given that the Ganges is 2000 km away!

The Arabian Sea from the 'end of Mumbai'.

January 21-24 - Goa India

We arrived at Palolem Beach in Goa ready for some beach time but also with ideas of exploring old churches from Portuguese times and spice plantations. As it turned out beach time was all we were interested in. Four training's in three weeks was actually pretty tiring and so once we hit those deck chairs we didn't want to move. Nonetheless we did walk down the beach to take in a couple of boat rides. One was out into The Arabian Sea  to check out the dolphins, and another was up the river to check out the bird life. Otherwise it was laying in the sun, the occasional dip in the sea, the occasional walk on the beach, and eating and drinking and sleeping. Perfect.

Our beach.

Our beach hut home.

If you zoom in that's a dolphin fin in the middle of the picture. They are faster at swimming than Andrew is at shooting them - shooting as in taking a picture..

Amy, and Mr Lucky our river punter

Mr Lucky was throwing chicken gizzards into the river and at one point there was at least 50 eagles/kites feeding. It was all so fast and we were more interested in experiencing it than in filming it. (Well maybe we were interested in filming it but just not very good at filming it.)

 The Kingfishers we saw

The Kingfishers we drank.

And Amy had her nails, all her nails, done.

All in all a lovely break. And if you are ever in Goa be sure to go to Palolem Beach, and if you are ever at Palolem Beach be sure to stay at The Art Resort, and if you are ever at The Art Resort ask for Suni to look after you.

January 20 - Kochi India

We spent 2 nights and 1 day in Kochi staying at the Bolgatty Island hotel - the former home of the British authorities during colonial days. We ventured out for the day to see a few sites. Of interest was the Jewish Synagogue, situated on Jew Street in Jew Town; perhaps not the way we would prefer to put it! Jews first arrived in the Kochi area soon after the fall of the Temple and the diaspora. For close to 1500 years they peacefully cohabited with the Hindus and Buddhists of South India. And then in the 16th century the Dutch and the Portuguese showed up and promptly destroyed the Jewish community in the name of Christ. (Sometimes it sucks to be a Christian.) The remaining Jews then found protection from the local Maharajah and built a synagogue on the  Raj's palace grounds. It, and the palace, still stands today.

The Synagogue outside.

And inside, with Amy's arm.

Kochi is also known for the 'Chinese Fishing Nets'. It was thought that these were introduced to the region by a Chinese explorer, but it is more likely that they are Portuguese in origin. Still they are captivating contrivances needing a number of people to haul them up and check-out the catch.

The nets.

The catch.

Unfortunately we also had to spend some precious time shopping at a western style mall; both our suitcases had been badly damaged in our travels and we needed to replace them. Thank you Samsonite! 

That evening we were treated to our  personal Kathakali dance presentation. Kathakali dance is an ancient form that tells stories through dance, But this is not jumping around dance; it is primarily though facial features and hand movements that the story is told. Before the performance we sat in on the makeup aspect of the event which was quite meticulous and time-consuming. And then the dance itself was unlike anything we had ever seen; the way the dancer manipulated his eyes and cheeks, and mouth,  and ears, was extraordinary. This is one of those times when we have to say 'you had to be there'.

The makeup.

The dance.

The photo-op.

January 19 Coonoor to Kochi

After church, lunch, and goodbyes on Sunday we made the long drive from Coonoor to Kochi. Andrew's research back in the contextual confines of Toronto suggested a 300km journey so what, maybe a 3 1/2 - 4 1/2 hour journey? Over 7 hours later we arrived. And all we can say is that an automobile journey in India is something that all should experience. Well maybe not all; if you are the least stressed out by traffic don't get into traffic in India, which pretty much means don't come to India.

For instance a car's horn must wear out before the brakes because they sure get used a lot more! Drivers honk their horn to indicate they want to pass another vehicle, they are passing another vehicle, or that they have passed another vehicle. That plus all the usual reason the rest of us honk horns. Indeed most trucks have a message on the back of the vehicle saying 'please honk'. What is interesting, however, is that the horn is seldom used in apparent anger. It is as if, when another vehicle cuts you off in a way that Canadians would find reprehensible and therefore the object of much horn honking, finger gesturing, and coarse language, the Indian driver shows some grudging respect for such a maneuver.

Where else would you run into an elephant on the road!

And braving the Autorickshaw.

Training Photos - Coonoor India

Are you ready for a story?

The India Sunday School Union generates revenue, in part, form growing tea leaves on their property and selling to a local tea company. Here is a woman picking the tea leaves.

Amy amongst the tea plants.

Andrew's, very small, fan club.

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Andrew was invited to preach at the ecumenical chapel on Sunday morning. When told that the preacher usually takes 1/2 hour he stretched things out to 18 minutes! Also asked to preside at Holy Communion where he could do 'whatever he wanted'; pretty much stuck to the Anglican Eucharistic prayer with a Godly Play twist. Generated an idea for a Godly Play(ish) Eucharistic Prayer.

Coonoor India, January 16-18

Well that was quite an experience! The default position for Godly Play trainers is one trainer per 12 participants over 3 days; and so on average around 24 participants per training for 2 trainers. For some time we had been told that there would be around 25 participants for this inaugural India training event. But just before arriving we were informed that there were up to 50 people coming and would that be alright?! Well clearly it would have to be alright and so we put our heads together and devised a plan. It involved breaking into two groups, creative time allocations, a lot of moving about, and 12 hour days for the trainers. But we made it happen and today we accredited 44 newly trained Godly Play practitioners for India.

The group photo

It was hard work, but it was also a delightful 3 days of storytelling, wondering and learning. We are confident that under the auspices of The India Sunday School Union and with the enthusiasm of these new Godly Players that Godly Play has a bright future in this part of the world.

And what a delight it is to be in India. One of our first tasks was to go to a local shop and deck ourselves out in Indian garb. As such Amy is now the owner of a couple of of Kurta and Salwar's and Andrew some Kurta as well. (If by chance you are Indian and reading this please forgive us if we have mis-identified!)

Blending in

And the food! Hot and spicy 3 times a day but our stomachs are bearing up and we have experienced many a culinary delight. Of particular note was a visit to a local tandoori stand- aptly named The Tandoori Hut. There we had an Egg Paratha which was one of the most delicious things we had ever tasted - absolutely exquisite. Upon returning to Toronto Andrew will make it a priority to find somewhere in the region that makes this very thing. 

The Tandoori Hut

Special thanks to Ajit Prasadam, the Executive Director of The ISSU, and to his wife Daisy - Ajit is the one with the vest and tie and Daisy the one with the red hair. We have been so well treated here, and, perhaps not surprisingly, we have fallen in love with India and Indians. As  it is with Godly Play we will be back to train some more and to train trainers. On the one hand we can't wait, on the other hand we look forward to the day when Godly Play India stands alone.

Tomorrow Andrew preaches at the local church. After that some welcome vacation time in various parts of India. Stay tuned. 

Coonoor India, January 14

We have arrived in Coonoor, the home of St Andrew Centre, the training facility for the India Sunday School Union - http://www.issuho.org/Pages/StAndrewCentre.aspx 

The drive here from Combiatore, the closest airport, was spectacular. We climbed and climbed into the Nilgiri Hills, also known as the Blue Mountains, which evokes both Southern Ontario and Australia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nilgiri_mountains 

Our home for the next 6 days is a lovely cottage set on the grounds. We were greeted with garlands and refreshments and were quite moved by the hospitality shown. But what we needed more than anything, after back-to-back overnight flights, was sleep. And sleep we did. Except now it is bedtime and I, Andrew, am wide awake!

Tomorrow we set up for the training and then Thursday through Sunday a Godly Play Core Accreditation for 46.

The Nilgiri Hills

Greeted with garlands.

Our cottage home.