Community

A painting of light Janis did during a worship service at Kingdom International, the fellowship we attend on Sunday afternoons. It was also exhibited the next week in a service concentrating on Divali, a Hindu festival of lights.


Art lesson time for Vivan and Kritika, grandchildren of our landlady.



Baby, a local cosmetologist, applies henna to Janis's hand.







Cricket is very big here. Especially when playing Pakistan! Most of the parks have at least one area, if not several, where there a numbers of aspiring young cricketeers. All very passionate about the game.




The ever-present construction in Delhi - if not roads, flyovers, If not flyovers, high capacity bus systems (HCBS). If not HCBS, metro - both aboveground and underground. If not transportation construction, then buildings - a city intent on modernizing and de-centralizing is causing a boom in construction of government buildings, glistening, immaculate and sprawling malls, or something more mundane like sewers. These bricks are for a sewer re-construction in our area. Bricks are everywhere! The favored material of construction seems to be brick and concrete.



Recently we had the privilege of a visit by Sam, Colleen and Chris Yim. We first met the Yim's while we were all Pasadena. They are now serving in Varanasi (also known as Benaris).

Creative Conscience Workshop

Janis participated in this Workshop during the week of November 12-16. The theme of the Workshop was, "Disparity." It drew artists from all over India - Delhi, Chennai, Mumbai, and Pune - plus artists from Japan and Tonga. Most of the artists were followers of Christ, although there were two Hindus and one Muslim who attended. One of the artists came from a slum background.

During the week, many of them stayed and ate together at the site of the Workshop - TRACI House in Greater Kailash 2 (GK 2) in New Delhi. The paintings that were produced were used in an outreach community event the next weekend in a slum area of New Delhi. All of the paintings will be exhibited at a new gallery being opened by Stefan Eicher and the SALT Project as a part of the ongoing project to explore ways to use Art in Kingdom purposes.

Janis met Stefan Eicher last fall at the Transform World Consultation in Hyderabad. He has been a sparkplug for many of the artists gatherings in India.


This young artist comes from a Muslim slum background.


Janis met Kim at Kingdom International, the fellowship we attend on Sunday afternoons.


Shakutai Patade, now in her 80's, started painting about 10 years ago. She is self-taught, has a bold style, often painting with her fingers, and concentrates on social justice issues. Her paintings of prostitutes in Mumbai and Kolkata, and images of the Gujarat riot, are emotionally moving pieces.


Aunty and this artist from Japan collaborated on this painting.























Janis and Aunty Shaki. They and two other women artists, one a professor from Chennai, are planning an exhibit together sometime in the next year.

Janis' painting dealt with children in the city. It was inspired by observing a little boy (the child of one of the many construction workercouples who live on job sites - whether buildings or streets) playing in a puddle of water by the side of a very busy street in the midst of construction.

Some Happenings

Interspersed with several more bouts of illness - which seem to be plaguing both of us - here are a few other things that have been happening:

Language Acquisition
Janis has been able to stay even with her classmates and, with her thrice weekly private sessions with Mrs. Pande, is becoming more and more comfortable using Hindi in basic exchanges in the marketplace. Chuck has regained some of the momentum interrupted by illness and is starting to advance again in his four tutoring sessions per week.

Relationships
The Pande family have become dear to us in many ways. In addition to the crucial assistance in health matters, the private tutoring for Janis with Mrs. Pande, and the weekly art lessons by Janis for Kritika and Vivan, Mrs. Pande's grandchildren, they frequently share with us the various family celebrations. Below are pictures of some of the family before they all attended a wedding.

Kritika

Kritika and her mother, Nina (Nina is Mrs. Pande's daughter)

Vivan (Vivan's father, Vivek, is Mrs. Pande's son)


Teaching & Mentoring
Numerous opportunties in these areas are opening up. Janis is now informally mentoring two young artists, one a Christ-follower and one not. We are exploring the possibilities of an intensive, week-long training session in early June in which we would focus on, "The Kingdom of God: The Big Picture." This is a part of an intensive, month-long training for between 40 and 50 college-age and young professionals sponsored by Touch India Trust, the sponsoring organization of Kingdom International which is the fellowship we attend on Sunday nights.