Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
India in the classroom
During our visit, I noticed that David Dudrick appeared to be having a very intense interaction with a woman standing in front of some large painted scrolls. She was singing and gesturing to the images. David was clearly very moved by it, and I snapped his picture.
I stayed and listened a while longer. I learned that the woman, whose name is Mommi Chitrakar, is a maker of something called a "pat," a scroll that illustrates a song (or serves as an aide-memoire to the singer). She was selling scrolls that depicted a variety of stories, including an episode of the Ramayana (which, naturally, was purchased -- see my previous post, "Shadows of Homer"), as well as one about the Titanic (which seemed to be closely based on the movie). She was more than happy to sing all the scrolls' songs for us. Eventually, she showed us one about the 2004 tsunami. Here is a video taken by Dai Yamamoto of her singing this song: video link
Monday, January 23, 2012
Fire
I probably would have guessed "curry," which would have been wrong in several ways, not the least of which is that "curry" isn't actually a food category in India; it's a word that's been imposed by Western culture to describe a wide variety of different Indian dishes.
Wrong, wrong, and wrong.
Saturday, January 21, 2012
Chinese in India
my top 25
Friday, January 20, 2012
Jewbiquity
Thursday, January 19, 2012
Processing
If potable water seems a luxury, all the more so a pantry full of food and a warm house whose construction has long been complete. A stable internet connection—something that eluded me the entirety of the trip—seems positively decadent.
I am a good Muslim: I wear the Veil
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
Drawing a Line in Water
Monday, January 16, 2012
Adaptāre
final pictures
Sunday, January 15, 2012
Reflections from India |
Plus, a gracious note from Montek Mayal (Class of 2009), whom we met in Delhi:
Dear All,
It was a great pleasure to meet you all during your stay in Delhi and enjoy the Dargah in Nizamuddin and Karim’s after! Thank you for inviting me to join your experience and a special thank you to Professor Kaimal for making this possible!
I just wanted to congratulate on your unique, exploratory and intriguing trip covering the length and most of the breadth of the country. Being an Indian citizen, and moreover, being involved in the travel and tourism business myself I must point out that your itinerary was very fascinating and, though it had its appeal from a mainstream tourism prospective, it went beyond the usual realms of international tourism and covered the aspects of Indian identity, culture and indigenous knowledge. And I must congratulate you on this again!
I believe this stance Colgate has taken, defined in its theme of “Crossing Boundaries,” explicitly identifies the need for students and faculty to investigate and learn international cultures, perspectives, and history. Which I believe is highly important in today’s globalized concept of trade and economy.
As I had briefly mentioned during our meeting – I believe such exposure is highly valuable and I have a keen interest in promoting such a “discovery” of India.
I look forward to the next such trip Colgate plans and how I could possibly add value to the excursion!
Best regards,
Montek Mayal
Colgate Class of 2009
Taj Mahal: Where Love and Death Meet
It is difficult to write something about Taj Mahal that has not been said already. Anyone who has been there knows that the photos and the postcards barely do any justice to this magnificent monument. It is something that must be experienced, not just viewed.
The only parallel I can draw is this: it is the same kind of sensation as you look up at the falls from the Maid of the Mist at Niagara Falls. The difference is that at Niagara Falls, there are two falls; the wonder of the Taj Mahal is really a series of wonders.
As you enter the first gate, you can’t see the Taj; its dome quietly enters the visual space as you move towards the main gate: the gates of paradise. If heaven could be on earth, it would look like Taj Mahal.
As the structure with the four pillars, with the pool in front and the mosques (one real, one a façade) on the two sides mirroring each other confronts you, you are transported into, yes, paradise! You can only gape in wonder as you move closer and realize how intricate the details on the structures are, how symmetrical the entire composition is, and how much effort, resources, and love must have gone into building it.
Apparently, the popular story about Shahjahan building this as a symbol of love for his wife Mumtaz is a myth; instead, it is for self-aggrandizement. Even if that may be the case, today it is certainly a place where lovers become starry-eyed, and irrespective of whether the true intentions had anything to do with the pain of lost-love, the Taj Mahal has become a monument of love. Yet, it is difficult not to think about mortality. Why do we wait until someone dies to really appreciate that person, and yes, build a monument in her honor?
If you have been able to keep thoughts of mortality at bay until now, you will no longer be able to as you reach the last gate, the gate through which you enter the tombs. The beautiful Arabic calligraphy reads something akin to “get prepared to meet your maker”. It serves as a quick reminder that death is perhaps the only thing in life that you can take for granted. “That and taxes,” as Eliza Kent said.
Other people's religions
And then the first corridor came to an end, with the usual set of merchants guarding shoes. Behind them was more dark corridor, but this time something a little menacing. We found out later that it was an exorcism. Go in? Not go in? Timid me, I thought I'd seen enough. The rest of the crew went along--as I said, they are really gracious--and we went to find a second entrance.
Second entrance: another corridor, more people, maybe slightly less impossibly narrow, more beggars. The opening to the shrine was more inviting. We left our shoes, we went in, and there on the edge of the dark mass of people listening to the singing was our group. The singing was in the center of the shrine (men sitting cross-legged), surrounded by concentric circles of listeners. The exorcism was to our backs, behind a screen.
At this point opinions differ. Most everyone, including the scholars of religion, felt comfortable and even welcomed. What I felt was danger--not so much an undertone of menace so much as a lurking awareness of its possibility. This is, after all, an Abrahamic religion, and all Abrahamic religions (I adhere to one myself) have their exclusionary undersides, which don't always remain undersides, and had anything like that happened here, in this atmosphere of ecstatic singing, there would be no way out. Of course nothing of the sort happened. Instead, the singing led into the call to prayer. Visitors started moving toward the corridors. I was relieved, but I also thought: stampede? Again, nothing of the sort. We paid for the return of our shoes and retraced our steps.
Saturday, January 14, 2012
back in the usa!
Half of our group arrived back in the US just after noon on Saturday...we are waiting for our other colleagues to land at JFK and then one final bus ride back to Hamilton. Wow, what a trip...hope you have learned something about India from our reflections here on the blog. Those of us who traveled to India still have a lot to process and will likely all welcome your questions, comments, etc about our adventure and how we can bring India back to Colgate with us.
Friday, January 13, 2012
Thursday, January 12, 2012
photo update, pictures from the taj and dehli
Poem from Jaipur
India teaches: let go of outcome
(The Stoics from Phoenicia knew this;
they opposed slavery and challenged Aristotle.)
Wealth is not required in the search for truth;
Pursue virtue!
The monkeys watched our climb to the Sun Temple
of Surya Deva
Children, families, sadhus greeted us:
"Hello"
"Hello"
"Namaste"
And after puja, on the way down
more smiles, handshakes, offers of
pakora, rice, halva
"Namaste"
"Namaste"
"Namaste"
"Namaste"
Free of bazaars and shops,
deference and service,
We were stilled for once
Thank you, India
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
Breaking down the "Global South"
Shadows of Homer
Chris Henke's photo of the show |
It was exciting to see this performance of the Ramayana as part of a living tradition. This troop travels all around the region performing at religious festivals. The expectation is that the audience already knows the basic outline of the Ramayana story, as they will have heard about it and seen performances of it on many occasions; this enables them to enjoy this particular snippet, to appreciate the artfulness of the telling and to fill in the gaps of what has been left out.
I suspect that this is very similar to the way the Homeric epics circulated in antiquity. We teachers of Core 151, Legacies of the Ancient World (formerly Western Traditions), might sometimes feel, or might convey to our students, a sense that Homer's epics are Great Canonical Literature, to be admired and revered and pored over word by sacred word.
This is true in a way, but it is also true that in antiquity, these stories were deeply embedded in the culture. In addition to the recitations of the canonical text at religious festivals, there were all sorts of other performances and retellings and spoofs of the stories as well. The tales would also have circulated visually, as do the stories of the Ramayana.
I have made it something of a mission on this trip to acquire as much Ramayana imagery as I can; so far my collection includes a delicate miniature painting showing Rama romancing Sita in a garden setting, and a series of drawings of various episodes on palm leaves stitched together to form a fan-like object. I also bought two goat-skin puppets made by the troop we saw perform.
I look forward to sharing these materials with my Core 151 students this semester, as a parallel to the way the Homeric stories would have suffused the life and visual culture of the ancient Mediterranean.
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
Breakfast in Bharatpur
Pottering - Jaipur style
Fatehpur Sikri Detour: Mazar vs. Masjid
Salim Chisti, who was the Sufi saint who was finally able to help Akbar bear a son, has a mazar by the mosque in Fatehpur Sikri. The ritual there involved a process of tying a holy thread onto the marble screens on the window by the tomb. You are to make a knot and make a wish: one wish per knot. Then you circle around the room with the tomb in it, and then enter the room. You can place clothing items that you want "purified" onto the tomb: a man will recite a few surahs and return them to you (you are to wear them during prayers). You circle the tomb, and as you complete the circle, another man will "bless" you by tapping your head with peacock feathers. All the while, as you go around the tomb, you are to say a prayer or make wishes that Allah can grant you.
We were there when the azaan for Zohr prayers filled the air. To my surprise, not too many people answered the call to prayers; instead, people kept piling into the mazar. I, then, realized that the vast majority of the visitors were not Muslims. They were there not to pray but because they wanted the blessings; they want to tie their luck-thread onto the windows of the Salim Chisti's shrine in the hopes that their dreams will come true.
Agra Crowds
The Tourist Economy
When we first arrived in north India, it was easy to be impressed. The streets between Jaipur's airport and our hotel were wide, clean boulevards, unlike anything we had seen in Tamil Nadu. This surprised both Maureen Hays-Mitchell and myself because we both knew that, according to World Bank statistics, Tamil Nadu is actually much more economically developed than Rajasthan (the state where Jaipur is the capital).
After a few days in Jaipur and Agra (in Uttar Pradesh), we have solved this mystery. These are places where the economy is built on tourism, whereas southern India's wealth comes from industry. If you look past the wide avenues, hotels, and tourist shops, poverty is hidden in rural shacks and urban alleys. A few blocks from the lovely hotel where I type, fires burn so that homeless people can huddle around them as they sleep on the street.
Birds
Reading Indian signs
Dung Fires
It is cold right now in Bharatapur and the air noticeabely thickened and smelling of smoke. All around us, families are cooking and eating over their dung fires (those who have wood also use wood). The poor air quality is a reminder of the many (approx. 70 percent in India), who are dependent on home fires for warmth and cooking and a leading cause of pneumonia and death for children under four years of age. These fires are also linked to devastating ecosystem impacts, including deforestation, nutrient deposition which alters nutrient cycles, and increased carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.
How to address the negative impacts of these home fires has been the work of many. Of note is the Global Alliance for Clean Cook Stoves (http://cleancookstoves.org/) initiated by the Clinton Global Initiative and supported by UNEP. The initiative supports clean technology in homes to reduce emissions which has both human health benefits as well as natural resource benefits. Right now, when surrounded by thick smoke and thousands of small fires, it is hard to see how it could happen. However, I have worked in countries that have made the transition, for the most part, and know it can be done. I imagine the rate and efficiently will be determined by local governments as well as by local people.
keoladeo national park
Monday, January 9, 2012
my hero, zero
From Chris Henke's India Photos |
The other point I find fascinating about the sites we have been seeing in Rajasthan are the signs of influence and transaction between Indian and other cultural systems of belief and knowledge. Perhaps the most interesting of these transactions is the invention of zero, which seems pretty obvious, but eluded European mathematicians until the fourteenth century. According to India scholar Thomas Trautmann, the idea of zero was conceived by the Indian astronomer Aryabhata, who lived circa 500CE. Though we often think of many of our modern mathematical concepts as coming from Muslim culture, Trautmann describes a movement between Indian and Islamic scholars well before the advent of "globalization." Therefore, although we use the arabic name "algebra" for the use of variables to solve equations, Trautmann notes that Muslim scholars termed this method the "Indian reckoning."
Sources: Trautmann, Thomas R. 2011. India: Brief History of a Civilization. Oxford. See especially Chapter Seven.
Via YouTube: My Hero, Zero
Sunday, January 8, 2012
warning: low memory
I might have to be a little more judicious in my picture taking, since I'm running out of space on my memory cards and am having trouble finding them here. Bad timing...among the most photogenic sites in the world is on our itinerary for Wednesday morning: the Taj Mahal.
The Tamil Nadu vs.Rajasthan Treatment
Instruments of calculation
yes, exactly that–an astronomical garden called the Jantar Mantar, which means Instrument of Calculation.
One of the maharajas in the early 18th century was interested in astronomical measurements, so he gathered all the knowledge he could and constructed a garden for instruments: huge geometric shapes with brass (I think) fittings and finely etched notations.
The shapes are covered in plaster painted an imperial yellow–I say imperial because I recognize this yellow from St Petersburg in Russia, another city planned by mathematically-inclined or Enlightenment monarchs (that would be Peter and Catherine, roughly the same period as Jai Singh).
As for Jai Singh's shapes, Dave McCabe said that being in the park was like finding yourself in a Di Chirico painting. If you look closely, you find another great thing: the Hindu prototypes for our Arabic numerals. Most of the numbers have changed a bit, but 2 is a 2.
Related:
- A day in the Pink City - Jaipur, India (travelpod.com)
- Jaipur (wildplanettours.wordpress.com)
- Astronomical observatory [Jantar Mantar] (mariotkalac.wordpress.com)
Thanks Be To Surya
Kite Festival in Jaipur |
Beautiful flowers
Jaipur: Three Anecdotes
1: Hati-wallah (HW) or the elephant driver who took us up into Amber Fort told the story of a princess who was always escorted by a driver. As would happen in Bollywood movies, the princess fell in love with the driver, got married, and then moved into the city. Love 1, Royalty 0.
2: The auto-rickshaw wallah's ancestors came from Sindh (Pakistan). During Partition he was 10 years old. His father was a jeweler. The move to India had cost them financially.
Auto-rickshaw wallah (ARW): Sixteen people live off a single stove in my family (with a smile).
Me: That must be fun.
ARW: Sixteen people – how can it not be?
I find it fascinating how people still talk about Partition and the misfortune it brought to their families; how life before Partition was prosperous. And yet, he seemed sincere when he said Main bohat khush hoon (I am very happy) with a huge smile that made him squint his eyes.
David McCabe wanted to give him an extra Rs. 100 to keep his eyes on the road.
3: Jai Singh's 500 concubines and 12 queens lived in Hawa Mahal, our guide told us. All the windows have concrete screens to maintain purdah – the women could look outside, but no one could see them through the screens. There were, however, small windows which they used to throw baskets down into the market below to do their shopping. Were they used for shopping purposes only, Eliza and I wondered. We couldn't help recall the movie Antarmahal which showed the numerous interactions 'wives' had with different people, including priests and holy men.
An observation
Saturday, January 7, 2012
Elephants
The Fort could not have been more different from the exuberant carvings of Mahabalipuram. This was a different kind of magnificence--Islamic shapes and patterns, marble columns, elegant open spaces, a Rajput palace. Here's what struck me: the evidence of trade with western Europe (mirrors, part of a wall design, imported from Belgium), the amazing technology (heating and cooling, a water system, a dumbwaiter) and what looked like a seamless merge of Hindu and Islamic visual styles. By which I mean: there were no depictions of human forms, but it you looked high up above an arch, there was a perfect, elegant Ganesha, the elephant god.
At the end of the day, we went to a temple on a hill. There was a festival (other people will write about it). On the path up to the temple, two lines of people sat and ate a meal that had been prepared for them on the road. And they sat on the road, which they shared with monkeys, goats, boars, and cows. It was impossibly messy but also harmonious.
day six in india: jaipur and amber
New pictures are up if you want a look.
Am(b)er Haircut
A few random pictures from our 3-temple day
Everything cobbles itself
on the rubble of ancient cities
You crib your divine
from village gods, fierce and fickle
Even now kuta and shala
are counted and copied
But the plant that eases labor
is never etched on temple walls
And did you know
that milk of water buffalo is rich as keer?
The Pondicherry sun scorches paths
to garlanding priests
One's divine is work,
The other's, happiness.
Back a couple of days
So we've been in such a whirlwind that it's been hard to find the time to describe everything, and now I will go back to I guess it was Wednesday or Thursday to describe a few things. We saw this wonderful site, Auroville, on Wednesday, as part of our "three faces of Hinduism" day. It was a community founded by someone called The Mother, the spiritual consort of a daring young Indian nationalist, Sri Aurobindo, who took refuge in French Pondichery sometime in the first half of the 20th century and left politics, more or less, for a contemplative ascetic, spiritual life. Long after he died, The Mother set out to found a city for their followers, and received land to do so in the late 1960s, with many Indians as well as westerners who, in the words of one of the foremost ecological planners (a gardener he calls himself) of the community, "wandered out of the '60s". By the late 1990s they had completed the central institution of the community, seen here.
Two videos
1. A little bit of the puppet show at the craft museum on day one, featuring Hanuman, the marvellous monkey god:
2. A very short clip of a possession of priests in front of the Mamallapuram rock reliefs:
Friday, January 6, 2012
Religion and "Intentional Community"
The Matrimandir of Auroville |
The idea of an intentional community -- a community, as the name implies, that sets itself to the task of carefully thinking through the logic of its self-creation and self-maintenance -- is actually a fascinating idea. It is fascinating not only in its own right, but in the way it forces us to think about the chaotic, ad hoc, unjust, and bloody societies -- our societies! -- against which such a community defines itself.
Here, though, is what I consider the most fascinating thing of all: Aroville's charter is emphatically anti-religious. In the midst of a region steeped in one of the most all-embracing and syncretic religions in the world, Auroville asserts that, "[w]hile Auroville respects religions and has nothing against their practice, they divide the people of the world."
As a scholar of religion, I have heard more versions than I can count of the "religion is responsible for the wars and violence in the world" argument. I simultaneously agree and disagree with this argument. What strikes me about Auroville, however, is the question of what the vast numbers of Hindus in the area must make of its claim that religions divide the people of the world. What must they make of the specific prohibition, laid out in an introductory video in the Auroville visitors' center, against devotional practices such as the offering of food and the burning of incense -- practices central to the religious practices of so many Hindus?
Another thing that strikes me: the Auroville community has been drawn to India as a place offering a promise of freedom from religion. This simply amazes me, given the astounding ubiquity of religion in this country -- religion that juts up from the skyline of every single town we pass through, and that seems to lurk within every shady grove throughout the countryside.
Possibly related
- Auroville, a Township Symbolizing Unity (chennaifocus.wordpress.com)
- From Auroville with love! (thouartthycreator.wordpress.com)
I write from Jaipur
After a wonderful last day at Mamalapuram seeing the monuments (including my favorite Siva, letting his hair down),
Thursday, January 5, 2012
pictures from mamallapuram
Later today (Friday) we travel back to the airport in Chennai to fly to Jaipur and begin the northern leg of our trip.
The Bay of Bengal
Mahabalipuram
Learning Plants
Pondicherry: Last Day
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
Photos
https://picasaweb.google.com/100707643390403168184/ReflectionsFromIndia?authkey=Gv1sRgCM3r8bvvgMe0pwE
pictures, from wednesday the fourth
https://picasaweb.google.com/102838864130127911289/ChrisHenkeSIndiaPhotos
Blessed by an Elephant
Forests
Religion and the "Intentional Community"
Here, though, is what I consider the most fascinating thing of all: Aroville's charter is emphatically anti-religious. In the midst of an area steeped in one of the most all-embracing and syncretic religions in the world, Auroville asserts that, "[w]hile Auroville respects religions and has nothing against their practice, they divide the people of the world."
As a scholar of religion, I have heard more versions than I can count of the "religion is responsible for the wars and violence in the world" argument. I simultaneously agree and disagree with this argument. What strikes me about Auroville, however, is the question of what the vast numbers of Hindus in the area must make of its claim that religions divide the people of the world. What must they make of the specific prohibition, laid out in an introductory video in the Aroville visitors' center, against devotional practices such as the offering of food and the burning of incense -- practices central to the religious lives of so many Hindus?
Another thing that strikes me: the Auroville community has been drawn to India as a place offering a promise of freedom from religion. This simply amazes me, given the astounding ubiquity of religion in this country -- religion that juts up from the skyline of every single town we pass through, and that seems to lurk within every shady grove throughout the countryside.
Roads and the bus ride
Monday was a strange day for many reasons. First–and this not be overlooked in judging my reactions to what follows–is that it was long. We arrived at the hotel from the airport at 5am, jet-lagged and exhausted (always a bad combination!); most of us were down for breakfast by 10am.
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
um, where are all the people?
But as you look at what I've posted so far, you might be thinking, "How is it that these Colgate faculty seem to be the only people in India? Aren't there other people there?" The answer is: yes. Like a billion or so.
When I travel, my favorite subjects for photography are architecture and architectural details, flora and fauna, vehicles, and quirky stuff that catches my eye. But I really need to work on taking more picture of people, which tends to be my weak side. I promise to try harder...if you are following this and want to see more people pictures, you should email me (chenke@colgate.edu) and cajole, encourage, threaten, or whatever means you can devise to help me achieve my goal.
Morning sights
What is this?
Anyone have any idea?
It looks a bit art-deco, almost, like something from 1930s central Europe--found on an enduring if dirty building on our hotel's street.
Walking through Pondichery
Yesterday after the presentations, I went on a failed quest (the goal of which may be revealed in due course, if it eventually succeeds), traipsing all the busiest streets in the vicinity of our hotel.
Among many finds I was lucky enough to come across in spite of not seeking them was evidence that Communism & chivalry share something like the same degree of continuing existence, if only just barely in either case.
Finding Connections
Some of my other momentary impressions involve recognizing connections of different sorts. As nine of us sat in a stark basement restaurant on Monday night awkwardly eating dosas with our right hands, we realized that the Kinley club soda that had formed the base of our lime sodas was a Coca-Cola product.
On the road to Puducherry, as I watched for the unfamiliar, I caught a glimpse of the "Jesus Tea and Cool Drinks" shop, whose sign features the well-known Warner Sallman image, "The Head of Christ."
But there have also been more complex experiences that open up the richness of subjects that had only a casual presence in my mind. I had heard of Madras cloth, of course, and knew that Chennai was formerly called Madras. The DakshinaChitra textile exhibition, in a small hall at the back of a model weaver's house, explains the cultural meaning of the Madras hand kerchief, the significance of the dhoti, and the iconography of textile design.
It also features a large framework loom, the form of which local weavers adopted from a group of Swiss missionaries from Basel in the 1850s. Walking through the hall I felt the power of a deep-rooted cultural practice and saw a token of the possibility of beneficial cultural exchange.
Days 2-3--Pondichery
There's lots to remind one of the nordeste, Salvador & São Luis.
The wet and sweet putrescence of the streets especially reminds me of days & nights in Maranhão.
There's too much to put it all in one blog post.
Here we are in a French colonial library (very like some old Portuguese structure that might overlook the South Atlantic, this one is steps from the Bay of Bengal, where I went to watch the sun yesterday morning), which is the heart of the École Françase d'Extrême Orient where we listened about the work of various humanities scholars here in what was once the most important redoubt of the little bits of the subcontinent still called French India up through the middle of last century.