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Coming Home

Some final thoughts as we are on the final leg of our journey.

Adventures are fun. But home is good, too. The Teenlet asserted earlier in this trip that he is the most Hobbit-like of the four of us. But I would say that I am very much like a Hobbit, for some of them went on adventures and returned home joyfully to their creature comforts. That is how I feel... glad I went, but done with adventures - until next time.

I said at the beginning of this blog that I expected to see beauty and tragedy interwoven so that they are almost indistinguishable.  That was true. We saw the depths of human poverty, but with a community that is always looking out for each other, and helping each other. We saw the most beautiful building in the world, built as a monument to despair and loss. We saw human dignity that was resilient to the hardest conditions, and the stagnancy that is caused by lack of hope. We saw the beauty of religious expression, and how religion can become the oppressor. We saw how a corrupt and completely hands off government leaves its people in chaos and poverty, but also how a government that drives too much turns its people into little more than slaves (thinking of some of the Mughal kings, there).

Woman, employed to sweep the palace.

Tent slum, along the railway in Gujurat

But I was also very surprised by India. I'm not really sure how to explain that, except to say that the pictures I've had in my mind my whole life were both right and wrong. There were times it was easy to forget that we were not in the United States, and times we felt very out of place. I did not like being the object of so many stares (especially from the men), and it was comforting to have my dad and brother right there with me. In southern Gujurat, I actually felt animosity towards me for being a western female. But I only felt threatened once (and that situation - the aggressive hawkers in Jaipur- was overwhelming for everyone in our party).

Note to self and anyone else foolish enough to try it: 57 hours of straight travel is a long time. Between the 14 hour train ride, 16 hours sitting in the Delhi airport, 15 hours from Delhi to Newark, 6 hours in the Newark airport, and 6 more hours from Newark to Seattle, we are done with all forms of transportation. The Teenlet proved himself, once again, to be a super traveler.

Things I Miss About Home

Mattresses that are more than 3 inches thick
Sleep
Toilet paper (and its correlary, not carrying tp in my purse)
Not wearing a million bags around my neck (security bag for passport & cash, purse, camera)
Soft towels and unstained sheets
Reliably hot showers
Clean clothing
Not worrying about illness from the water I drink or the food I eat
A cute handbag (travel one is very handy but UUUUUUUGGGGGLY!)
Queues, taking turns in an orderly fashion
Not being stared at
Street signs
Quiet, peace, time alone

But most of all... David (and my kitty).

Things I will miss about India:
The prices for foods and goods
Bargaining
The beautiful clothing on all the women - even those in poverty have some gorgeous clothes, maybe only one or two options, but they are so colorful!!

Clothing market, Jaipur

The food
The India head nod
Seeing elephants (camels, cows) walking in traffic

Elephant, walking in traffic, Ahmedabad

Hanging with three of my four favorite guys.

Outside Jama Masjid, Delhi

Walking around Ahmedabad

Today we spent the morning walking around the Riverfront Park, Ahmedabad.  The park is more of a dream than anything else, with a huge expanse of dirt where a slum was cleared out for development. The river was narrowed to build a river walk (completed) which is 6km long, with space above that will be sports complexes, gathering areas, and open spaces. Our guidebook suggested it would have paddle boats for rent, but that didn't look like reality yet.

Riverfront Park, Ahmedabad. 

My brother is meeting with someone, so the other three of us wandered around the park for anwhile before setting off to find the restaurant where we had agreed to meet John. We found it more easily than expected,  and they brought us thali plates practically before we had even sat down.

Thali plate - small portions of lots of different curries (all veg)

We have started to call the Teenlet, "Pig Pen," because he is so grimy (especially his sweatshirt), that I'm pretty sure he is emitting dirt every time he moves. He has showered here, but clearly not frequently enough, and his sweatshirt I haven't dared wash because it is his security blanket. My own clothes are feeling rather gross as well - I did do laundry,  but it took two days to dry so I haven't tried again, though the hotter and drier climate in Gujurat would probably dry it faster than it did in Jaipur (though we haven't been in the same place for two nights since Delhi, which makes it hard to allow it time enough to dry).

Saying goodbye at the train station, Ahmedabad

The end of the day finds the Teenlet and I on our own, on the Swarna J Raj Express train to New Delhi, having left Dad and John at the station in Ahmedabad. We are in 3AC this time, which is almost as nice as AC Chairs class, except with long benches which will turn into sleeping beds later. They aren't very comfortable,  but we get food and looks like we also get blankets and pillows at sleeping time. My fellow travelers have been helpful, though not very talkative (which is fine with me). I am traveling with an elderly gentleman who is reading a little book by his guru, a young woman who is playing a game on her phone, a man who hasn't looked away from his computer,  and another gentleman who keeps getting phone calls. Across the aisle is a family of 3, who have a baby who is just learning to stand. I do not envy those parents on this 13.5 hour journey. My own child has taken up his place on the top bunk and is happily eating all of the snacks we brought for the journey. He is looking forward to eating again - I think he has subsisted on naan and rice this whole trip.

Funny note: the Teenlet managed to surprise one of our seatmates. He came down from his loft (upper bunk) to eat dinner and was sitting there explaining to me exactly what it would take to derail the train, and why heavier trains take longer to brake (simple physics topics, basically). The guy sitting on the other side of him started staring at him with eyes wide... and soon after (when Teenlet had gone back up to his bunk), he asked me how old he is, surprised that he knew so much and could talk in those terms.

Another aside: homeschooling is not legal in India (according to the people I spoke with about it) and seems like a foreign concept. I was asked several times how it works, how can I teach him, etc. 

Back to Ahmedabad

On this trip, we have traveled almost every class in the railroad system. To see  the differences is striking. In the inappropriately named "chair" class, we sat tightly crammed on hard, vinyl benches. Sleeper class had similar bench seats, but with upper berths for sleeping, and slightly more privacy with walls that were floor to ceiling. Our compartment was not full, so the four of us took over the whole thing. It was not comfortable sleeping, and we had to have our own pillows and blankets, and bring our own food. We ate a late lunch that day, and took naan and some candy bars to tide us over.

On our way to Vapi yesterday, we were in First Class. It was a small, doored compartment with a single bench seat and an upper berth. It was equally as uncomfortable,  and as the day grew warmer, the compartment grew hotter, even with the window open. We still had hawkers going up and down the aisle, selling food and beverages. 

A/C Chair compartment on the train -
it's like being in an airplane, but with legroom!

Today, as we return to Ahmedabad, we are in A/C Chairs. Wow, what a difference!  This is like being on  an airline, but with more legroom. We were served a hot breakfast, a snack, and a hot lunch with ice cream for dessert. We each received a liter of bottled water (even the Indians don't drink the tap water). The chairs are padded, and actual chairs, not benches (no encroachment by your neighbor!). You can plug in your electronic devices. And it is air conditioned. Tomorrow we will travel by 3AC,  meaning,  an air conditioned sleeper car with 3 berths high (total of 6 in a compartment, with no door). We have no idea if food will be served, but I guess that's what makes this an adventure! 

We are back in Ahmedabad and in our last hotel for this trip (at least the two of us).

Gujurati Express

So wow. I think today I will start my story from the end.

We began this journey with the desire to travel the roads my great-grandfather did as a missionary for the Church of the Brethren, from 1906 to 1925. We have his old diary, some letters, my grandfather's recollections of his years in India, and a book on the 51 years the Church of the Brethren had a mission here. Though we came with hopes, the most we felt we could truly hope for was to see approximate locations of their bungalow and  mission area.

We got off the train, and it was immediately apparent that this is not a tourist area. We stand out here. A lot. Our driver picked us up, and we started to ty to explain for what it was we were looking. He drove us through Valsad,  looking at the older areas of town, which have mostly been razed and rebuilt in the 100+ years since E.H. and Emma Eby were here. Dad has a picture of he bungalow in which they lived, but this is like finding a needle in a haystack. We searched around a bit, and then saw some of the local sights. We were just about to leave Valsad, when my brother pointed out a Church of the Brethren church. 

Church of the Brethren, Valsad, Gujurat, India

Bungalows like the one my great-grandparents
and grandfather lived in.

We stopped to take pictures. Dad noticed some bungalows that were next to the church, so we went to look at those. They were all about the right era, the right style, and matched each other - looking much like a compound for missionaries. While we were taking more pictures, our driver came over and said the church was being opened for us. We went in, accompanied by the pastor and several others who were involved in the church operations. It was founded in 1908 by Wilber Stover, who was the founder of the Church of the Brethren mission in India. It is very likely that my great-grandfather was in that building at some point, perhaps for a few years as one of the church's missionaries.  The men at the church did not recognize their names, but they recognized that they had been part of this church.

Rear view of the church

Inside the Church of the Brethren, Valsad.

Then as we were preparing to leave, someone mentioned Wilber Stover's bungalow, which is still standing, across the street. We went over and saw his bungalow,  the great banyan tree he planted in the yard, and the ancient baptistry that could have been where my grandfather and his two brothers were baptized.

Baptistry, likely where my grandfather
and his brothers were baptized

Banyan Tree in the yard of Wilber Stover's bungalow.

My dad is elated. None of us expected to be able to find anything, and we were prepared to walk away having seen only the area. And we now have some new friends in India. 

As for this southern part of Gujurat, we have seen so much poverty today it breaks your heart. Mile upon mile of slum cities line the railway and pepper themselves through the towns. They are interspersed with a landscape of cultivation - fields of castor beans, sugar cane, cotton, corn, and banana trees spread out before us as the miles flew by. Rivers and streams flow toward the sea, carrying human detritus with them.

In Gujurat, we are noticing that there is a lot less English spoken and written than in the other places we've been. At lunch, the waiter had to call over the one English-speaker to help take our order.

Our driver took us to a beach on the Arabian Sea. It had fine black sand and the biggest difference I've ever seen between high and low tides. There were camels and horses on the beach, ready to give rides.

We also visited two Hindu temples, one for Swaminaranya and one for Sai Baba, who our driver said is his guru.

We ended our day at McDonald's, the first we've seen in India. It was good to get the Teenlet some food he would eat that was not spicy, though about half the menu was spicy.

Tomorrow we go back to Ahmedabad for one final night in India. This has been an amazing trip, but I am anxious to get home.

Ahmedabad

Today we arrived very early in Ahmedabad,  but we were able to check into our hotel and get a couple more hours of sleep. The bed is still like sleeping on a board (as all the beds in India have been), but at least we were able to rest a bit. Then we went out to explore the city.

Ahmedabad is the 7th largest city in India, and the first place we've been where we saw sidewalks! It was so nice to walk along the busy street and not feel like a tuk-tuk or bus is going to run into you. The State of Gujurat has significantly less tourism than any of the other places we've been, and it is quite clear - we haven't seen a single hawker, and the markets are set up for locals.

The first place we visited was Bhagra Fort. It is a 14th century defensive structure that has fallen in serous disrepair.  They are trying to fix it up, but it is not high priority.  We explored a bit,  and then decided it was time for lunch. We caught a tuk-tuk, found a restaurant and ate a meal for the first time since yesterday's late lunch. The palak paneer was a bit spicy for the Teenlet, so he didn't eat much.

Bhagra Fort and street market, Ahmedabad

Priority for today was to visit the Satyagraha Ashram - where Gandhi based his passive resistance movement,  lived as equals with untouchables, and focused his teaching on craftsmanship and local labor.  It has a wonderful museum of Gandhi's philosophy,  life, and the purpose of the ashram.

Gandhi's home at the Satyagraha Ashram

This afternoon,  we decided to lay low a bit, so I am catching up on downloading pictures from my camera, while the Teenlet reads and I suspect the other two are napping. I think only my brother slept much on the train, and we are all tired.

Tonight we went out to a special dinner at a Gujurati restaurant to celebrate my birthday a little early. It was amazing food and a wonderful atmosphere. Thanks Dad and John! 

Birthday dinner at the Green House Restaurant. Yum! 

Tomorrow we head down south to Vapi and the southern part of Gujurat,  to visit sites of personal heritage importance. Then we return to Ahmedabad for a few hours before Teenlet and I hop back on the overnight train back to Delhi and then fly home. Not sure how much access I will have to WiFi, but I will post what I write when I can - probably from an airport somewhere.