Preparing to "Shift"

We are in the midst of preparations for moving ("shifting" as they say here).

The worker we've been subletting from is returning mid-February. There had been some question if she would return, but recently she confirmed her return. That meant we faced the ordeal of searching for another place - a daunting task here in Delhi. Most people hire an agent to search for them.

Fortunately, a friend knew of a place coming available in his building. We looked and leapt at the opportunity. It's a little closer to the Nizamuddin office/classroom site, but not as close as we had originally hoped. However, it is close enough to save us several thousand Rupees a month in transportation costs. Plus it will actually be less monthly rent.

Ironically, it is one floor directly over the flat we stayed in for a couple days during the summer of 2006. We're three blocks from the Main Market area in Malviya Nagar, and right on the edge of the area called Khirki Extension. This is an area that has an "old-world" feel about it. It was originally settled by the refugees from Pakistan at Partition in 1947. Partly as a result, it has a certain sprawling sense of barely organized chaos.

We have the keys, the contract is signed, Janis and a helper will be cleaning tomorrow (Wednesday), and we're scheduled to move things in Saturday.

Fortunately, we don't have a lot, having arrived here with just two suitcases each, and one each was a pretty small suitcase at that. Since then we've acquired a few things (refrigerator and washing machine from workers who had to return to the US) and are being loaned several pieces of furniture that belong to friends we met in Pasadena and who are now serving in Varanasi.

We'll be posting pictures soon.

An Ancient and Continuous Civilization

Antiquities abound here! Some are preserved, many are allowed to deteriorate or are just neglected. The nation known as "India," is a fairly recent creation following
the British colonial period, but the evidences of prior civilizations (British, Greek, Persian, Muslim, Christian, Buddhism...), and mixes of civilizations, abound.

The following are not really very ancient - dating from the late Mughal and British colonial periods...


These first two are from the "Bara Imambara," in Lucknow and date from the period of rivalry between the Muslim empires of the Mughals, headquartered in Delhi, and the Nawabs, headquartered in Lucknow.






These three are ruins of "The Residency," a compound built by one of the later Nawabs in Lucknow to house the British, who he had invited to occupy these grounds. Ironically, in 1857 this was the site for the beginning of the event variously known as, "The First War of Independence," or "the 1857 Mutiny," depending on one's bias.

Sights & Sounds of an Autorickshaw Ride

Since so much of our time is spent in autorickshaws, for your own experience here are some sights and sounds of travel by autorickshaw. Horns are used here not in anger but as a signal that someone is there, hence they are virtually non-stop. Sorry, we couldn't provide smell too!

Days Before Christmas

KINGDOM INTERNATIONAL'S "STABLE SYMPHONY"









Kim, the choreographer in green, is a friend of Janis'. They've been spending time discussing art and life. Kim participated in the "Creative Conscience" Consultation in November.

Kim is multitalented having composed and choreographed this routine for KI's Christmas celebration.


EWEF'S CHRISTMAS CELEBRATION & EWLI'S GOING AWAY FOR MOTILAL UPADHAY


Language Institute Staff singing a Hindi Christmas carol.


Students, staff and others assemble on the rooftop for a combined Christmas celebration and going away observance for one of our senior teachers.


A traditional Indian "wrapping" honoring a teacher - Motilal Upadhay, who taught Hindi for seven years in the Language Institute, is moving to Dehra Dun to be with his family and teach in a language institute there.


Current and past directors pray for Motilal.


On a lighter note - Shammi Kapoor, another of our Hindi teachers, was willing to take part in this light-hearted skit about the days before Christmas at East West.



LINDLEY'S CHRISTMAS "OPEN HOUSE" FOR HINDI TEACHERS & NEIGHBORS
[technical difficulties with the blog site interrupted loading these final pictures...will try again later.]

Art in Process

[this blogger site has been having technical difficulties - we've found another way to load pictures and will begin to use that process but it may take a little while.]

ART In PROCESS
We're having difficulty with the blog site. I just added a post from November 26 that never made it up. The first picture is a painting Janis is working on inspired by: 1/ a painting by Vermeer entitled, "Head of a Young Woman," or sometimes known as, "Girl With a Pearl Earring; and 2/ seeing an Indian woman, fully bejewelled, working as a blacksmith along the side of a busy roadway. The first picture below is actually the link to a small album on our Picassa site that shows the painting, the "Brick Baby" painting from the Creative Conscience Workshop, and some work by Janis' friend, Divya.

Art in Process 12/31/07 10:08 AM

Divya

Divya & Her Painting

Divya's Painting

Brick Baby

So This Is What It's Like To Feel Good!

Yes, after almost 3 months of a cycle of illness, both of us are feeling good. The most recent lab results also report we're bug free!

So, as life goes on, many times it's not that things are being done wrong, weird or funny. Rather, just different. It takes some getting used to not to react with the first instinct of wrong, weird or funny.

For example: we went to a shop for the first time Saturday. After selecting what we wanted (there are many shops here where you don't get to do this, the shopkeeper or helper must do that for you), we made the mistake of taking it to the "Pay Here" counter. We found that before paying for an item, you had to take it to a separate counter where they prepared an invoice - in quadruplicate. Here, the invoice was computer generated, though it's not unusual that a shopkeeper doesn't want to give an invoice or receipt, it's also not unusual to have just a handwritten invoice, nor to have both a handwritten invoice and a computer invoice.

At the invoice counter, they also took your items - which you would not see again until you left the shop. We found out later that, while we went to the "Pay Here" counter, our items went to the "Delivery" counter.

After paying, we found our way to the "Delivery" counter...on the other side of the store. Here you presented one of the invoice copies and they would locate your items which were wrapped in brown paper, and had been placed in a bag that was stapled shut. We later opened the bag and found all of our items. However, while at "Delivery," the lady before us was having trouble. She had purchased quite a few things and the system worked for nearly all of them...but not all. The missing item was also the smallest. Have we mentioned it seems to us that everything turns into an adventure in INDIA!

Some of those adventures just seem to have more potential for Kingdom advance than others seem to have. Recently, when Janis was so sick, she had to cancel the Art lessons for our landlady's grandchildren. We found out later the girl cried for three hours because she couldn't have Art with Aunty Janis! She's the same one who has creatively fashioned a Christmas tree, complete with a star and angel decoration, from a large potted plant. She, and the rest of the family, have a strong fascination with Christmas - what it means and how we celebrate it - and are anxious to come to a Christmas Open House we will be having this weekend for them and the staff at the Language Institute.

And as Chuck has had to do some hard things recently with some of the international personnel at the Educational Foundation, we just found out today that those steps, though difficult and uncomfortable, have prepared the way for some significant advances in more effectively delivering education for children of cross-cultural workers - one of the most common reasons cross-cultural workers quit India is the struggles they have in providing a solid educational experience for their children.

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).