Different world

Today is a historical day for the Netherlands, our Queen abdicated and we now have a King for the first time since 1890. Living in what is supposed to be the IT capital of the world, you would expect to be able to watch the ceremony life on You Tube, but the connection we have at home is not good enough to do so (or maybe I should say not good enough when 5 people are on line at the same time). We will watch the whole ceremony tomorrow with the Dutch Club (fingers crossed the Internet connection will hold and the power too...).

So today was another day at the slum for me. The first day for the second batch of children. I have shown pictures of all the activities before (today's was painting flower pots), so I decided to show you some other photos of today.

Adriaan came along for what was supposed to be a whole morning, but duty called and he had to go home for conference calls etc. He did take some photographs:

Lovely!

Where did this girl come from?

She came to drop off a grand child

This one I took when I sat down in the little hallway of the classroom, to recover from the disappointment of finding a boy stealing...

Playing marbles 

The Netherlands felt far away today, I was in a completely different world, but somehow I didn't really mind.

In the mean time...

While the kids are enjoying the summer school and the volunteers are trying their best to keep things running smoothly, life goes on in the slum:

This cow has perfected the art of opening plastic garbage bags to get to the food. I have noticed that the cows are mostly scavenging through garbage piles and don't seem all that interested in grass.

 This goat is taking it easy while the other goats are 'playing trains' on the track

Women sit in the shade

Boys play cricket while a train goes past

Summer school, day 4

Today was the fourth and last day for the children in the first batch and we ended summer school with a bang: ZUMBA!

Jen was the hero of the day, doing almost 4 hours of Zumba classes in the heat. The children had so much fun and the volunteers too. During the last session even the women of ANU joined in.

The other activity was a bit more low key: making photo frames. I had made group photos last week and the children made a photo frame for it today.

 

 

So coming Tuesday we will start all over again with the next batch. Let's hope will be as much fun.

Summer school, day 3

Today was another nice day. The children did musical games with Yoos, they painted and they made bracelets.

 Lots of clapping, singing and dancing with Yoos

Remember the boy that was crying last week? He is the one in the brown t-shirt. He arrived this morning with the biggest smile on his face "Auntie, I am here!"

Framed cotton with a drawing made with wax

Making bracelets

The day ended with heavy rain and even a bit of hail.

Summer school, day 2

The summer school is on Tuesdays and Thursdays, one session in the morning (10:00 - 12:00) for children from 6 to 9 years old and one session in the afternoon (13:00 - 15:00) for 10 to 12 year old children. The summer school lasts 2 weeks per batch of 100 children (50 per age group) and there are 2 batches (so 4 weeks/8 days/200 children total). The program is the same for both the morning and the afternoon (with some exceptions) and for both batches.

Yesterday we had games day. There were 8 different games so the children were divided in 8 groups to go from game to game.

Playing with water is always a lot of fun

Throwing balls into a 'chimney' and throwing balls at cans is harder than it looks...

We also had some indoor activities: balloon race, sack race, egg race, making word puzzles and the real Dutch game of spijker poepen



It was a long, hot, noisy and fun day with lots of cute, noisy and naughty children

Halfway through the afternoon there was a boy sitting at the entrance, crying. He had missed the morning session, but really wanted to join in. Unfortunately he was too young and too late for the afternoon, but I am sure he will be the first in line coming Tuesday morning. I gave him some water melon and he got something to drink and then he could smile again...

Summer school

Today was the first day of summer school in the slum. The children we ready and waiting an hour ahead already.

What time is it Auntie?

One of the volunteers had thought up a very nice activity for today. The children we decorating flower pots with 'Orissa men', a local art form. They first practiced on paper and then went ahead with paint.

When they were finished the pots got filled with soil and some seeds to grow coriander.

Water

In most cases the weather is a great topic if you want to make small talk. Here in Bangalore the only thing we can say about it at the moment is: "Too warm!" Usually the next topic is water, or more to the point, the lack of it.
Water comes at a cost here. Our community has bore wells and we get water tankers in, but those tankers are ruled by a mob, with strict areas and if prices go up, you can't just get another mob to do a delivery.
Bore wells have to be drilled deeper and deeper as the ground water levels go lower and lower. The population of Bangalore keeps growing, so water shortage is a mayor problem and will only get bigger over the years.
We are expecting the water to be rationed, like last year, to a few hours a day, to make us last through the summer months.

The monsoon seasons have been too dry in the past few years so that doesn't help either.

When we drove from Udaipur to the Jain temple last week, we noticed the farm land looked dry and in desperate need of rain. Then we came across this:

Two bullocks walking in circles, pulling a beam and making the water flow

We got out of the car to have a closer look:

Adriaan got a ride

Rusty, leaky buckets

Precious water from a deep well 

A lot of hard work for some water. I wonder when the price per liter of water will be higher than per liter of petrol...might not be too far away, especially in India.

Easter Holidays, part 4: Jodhpur

We stretched out our time at the palace for as long as possible, making the most of the luxurious rooms, having a taste of almost everything from the breakfast buffet and using the free(!) Internet till the last minute (an Internet connection is the most important feature of a hotel when you travel with 3 teenagers), but with a 6 hour drive ahead we had to leave at 10:00 AM at the latest.

Internet junkies

On the left hand side, behind the white drapes is the bedroom, through the entrance on the right is a hall with the entrance to the bath room and to a tower room

The condition of the roads we took was amazingly good, especially compared to the pot hole covered and speed bump littered roads in and around Bangalore. The first part of the trip was nice and scenic, with mountains, rivers and families of monkeys crossing the roads, but the largest part was on a main road that was supposed to be 4 lanes and got reduced to two lanes because of road works. The majority of the traffic were trucks and buses filling up the small lanes (one lane per direction) and in between were the cars weaving in and out with drivers risking their lives just to squeeze in between the next two trucks. I can tell you I have held my breath for most of the trip and said many prayers to keep us safe (and muttered many comments about the idiots that can't estimate distances and speed racing right at us and signalling us to get out of the way... going where? you *****!). How can India have a billion people with traffic like this? Our driver stopped at a temple along the road, to say a prayer, combined with my endless prayers for survival that might have been what saved us.

We made it to Jodhpur and had a nice surprise when we got upgraded to a suite, WITH an interconnecting room. We always request interconnecting rooms when we book a hotel, but seldom get them, so this was a double bonus.

The next day we went to see the highlights of Jodhpur: a cremation memorial site and a fort (the boys vetoed the local market).

Jaswant Thada is a white marble memorial to Maharajah Jaswant Singh II. The cenotaph was built in 1899 by order of Jaswant's wife, who wanted to see a memorial on the place where her beloved husband was cremated every time she looked out of her window from the palace in the fort.

There are several cenotaphs and a temple-like building with portraits of the Maharajahs that ruled Jodhpur.

Jaswant Thada (1906 AD)

The memorial on the cremation site of Jaswant (1873 - 1895) 

Main building, with Hindu, Muslim and British architecture combined, where the portraits of the Maharajahs are displayed.

The fort looks very impressive, towering over the city.

 



Jodhpur is known as the blue city. We noticed that only this part of it still seems to do justice to that name. In the olden days the Brahmans were the only ones that were allowed to paint their houses blue, but a new law stated that there are no fixed colours anymore, so everyone is free to colour their house any shade they like.

The very bling entertainment room in the palace

The room where the Maharajah would meet with his ministers.

The small areas on the right hand side, with the rolled up curtains, were for the women. They were not allowed to be seen and not allowed to speak to the Maharajah. They had to say whatever they wanted to say to him, to a specially appointed women, who would tell a clerk, who would tell a minister, who would tell the Maharajah. Talking of Chinese whispers....

The last day of our holiday was spent doing nothing. We slept in, had a nice break fast, relaxed in our room(s) and lounged by the pool. We could have filled the day with lots more sight seeing, but my men felt they really needed some time off. Especially since Adriaan had to leave for Singapore and Jakarta for a week, the day after we arrived back home.
I was bored out of my skull halfway through the morning already...but I had had 'my way' several times during the trip (that's the good thing about organising the bookings), so I couldn't complain (still did, ha).

It was a great way to spend our Easter break. Now it is back to normal. Joshua has got exams coming up in May, so no more travelling till we go to NL this summer.

Easter Holidays, part 3: Palace life

The car journey from Udaipur via the Jain temple and the fort to our hotel was a long one, but boy was it worth it! I had booked one night in a palace hotel, on the advise of a friend, but when we headed there, there was some confusion about which one of the two possible palaces (at very different locations) it was. Knowing our luck I suspected we were booked in the 'wrong' one (and I am still not sure if we were at the one she recommended) so I was a bit nervous when we drove up. No need, because it was the most beautiful hotel we have stayed at EVER!

On arrival we were greeted by our personal assistant. While we walked through the gate we were showered with rose petals that were thrown down from the top of the gate.

The palace was built in the 18th century and was fully restored and made into a hotel a few years ago. It has 39 suites all situated at different court yards and at different levels.
We had two suites and to get from one to the other we had to find our way through covered walkways, up and down small staircases and though beautifully decorated common areas.

Do you know that feeling of being out of place in certain surroundings? We arrived after a long, hot day, in shorts and t-shirts and entered this posh hotel...where were our tuxedos and gala dress?
We were walking around with big grins on our faces saying: "O, look at this...O, look over there!" The only thing we regretted was that we had just the one night. So, if you plan to go to Udaipur and feel like treating yourself to a great experience, you should book (more than 1 night) at the Devi Garh by Lebua hotel in Delwara!!!!

First sight of the palace while driving up

Lounging after a long, hot day and watching the sun set

One of the many court yards

Easter Holidays, part 2: a temple and a fort

When I booked this holiday, I knew there was one temple we had to see, the Jain temple in Ranakpur called Chaumukha Mandir (four-faced temple).

"Carved from milk-white marble, the complicated series of 29 halls, supported by a forest of 1444 pillars (no two alike), is the finest in Rajasthan, and one of the most important in India. The devotion of its builders is encapsulated in the intricate carving" according to the Lonely Planet India.

"Jainism traditionally known as Jaina dharma, is an Indian religion that prescribes a path of non-violence towards all living beings. It is one of the oldest religions of the world finding its roots in ancient India.^[1] Tradition says that this belief has been preached by a succession of twenty-four propagators of faith known as tirthankara. Jainism emphasises spiritual independence and equality between all forms of life. Practitioners of this religion believe that non-violence and self-control is the means by which they can obtain liberation from the cycle of reincarnations. Jainism is a religious minority in India, with 4.2 million followers, and has adherents in immigrant communities in Belgium, the United States, in Canada, Hong Kong, Japan and Singapore.^[2] Jains have the highest degree of literacy for a religious community in India,^[3] and their manuscript libraries are the oldest in the country.^[4]"  according to Wikipedia.

Very intricately carved ceiling

A few of the 1444 pillars

The craftsmanship is impressive

After our visit to the Jain temple we went to Kumbalgarh, a stone fort, built in the 15th century, in the Aravalli hills.

The fort has only been taken once in it's history and it took two combined armies

The walls are about 36 km long

One of the rooms 

When we were almost at the top, the boys and I decided we needed a rest and sat down on a bench in the shade. Adriaan walked on to the next building to take some photographs and decided to sit there. Within no time he was surrounded by a group of children (on a school trip). The boys all wanted to shake hands with him and the girls just stood there giggling.

After a while Adriaan had had enough and came up with a great plan to distract the children: he pointed to us and said: "Go and say hello to my wife and sons".

The one thing that my boys don't like about India is the fact that they always stand out in a crowd. They are often asked to be in a photograph with perfect strangers and lots of 'sneaky' photos are taken with mobile phones. Seeing this group coming to meet us and stand around to stare at us, is their biggest nightmare. Thanks Dad!

Ruben walked away, Joshua suddenly had to clean his glasses and Simon's body language says it all....

Easter Holidays, part 1: Udaipur

Last week we went on a 6 day trip to Udaipur and Jodhpur in Radjastan. Like any trip in India, the main sites to see are forts, temples and palaces, so that's what we saw. Beautiful old buildings and intricate stone carvings. To balance all those cultural outings, we also spent a lot of time in and by the pool.

Boys...

In Udaipur we went on a boat trip on Lake Pichola a man made lake with two (man made) Islands. From the lake you have a nice view of the City Palace complex  and part of the old city.

View from the water

Doing the laundry

'Maandag Wasdag' /'Monday Laundry Day'

The Lake Palace, now turned into a fancy hotel

Jagmandir Island Palace

At Jagmandir Island we had a stop to look around. The Island was build as a garden area and is now a popular wedding venue. If we lived in Udaipur I could see us spending our Sunday afternoons here with a nice brunch or an afternoon tea.

 Nice view

The City Palace Complex

After the boat ride we went to see the City Palace. The palace complex has 2 hotels in it and there is a private area where the Maharajah lives.The part that is open to the public is a museum.

Colourful rooms with lots of mirrors

The outside is also decorated

From this balcony the Maharajah would watch the performances in the court yard below

The last thing we did that day (before heading back to the hotel to have a cold shower and a nap followed by lounging by the pool till dinner) was a visit to the Royal Gardens. Lots of fountains and big trees.

The "Ugly Face" tree

A lovely meal to end a great day