Ram Pal's plans and running the guantlet

I am at a computer that can upload pictures. So I am choosing a few from Kolkata's Women's conference. And I will also try and get one of Nallasivan and Kit. I will be visiting Sivan and his family in Tamil Nadu. Kit has explained that when the Tsunami hit Sri Lanka and Tamil Nadu she had called and called to make sure him and his family were alright. His family was on higher ground, but many of the chilldren and teachers that he knew were not as fortunate. He i here for a few more days and then he will spend three days on a train returning to his home. Because of my limited time, I am going to fly part of the way. There have been a few bombs on the Indian trains and it is not being advised as a form of transportation at the moment. And, asmost of you know there will be some bomb, or disaster or government coup and my family will hear about it before I will! Which means I will be travelling and my family will be fretting which is never a good thing.

The other factor in my travel plans is that the AIPTF President got word that I am staying on for a few weeks in India. He has taken it upon himself to plan my itinerary. He is a very tall and traditional man and he has treated me very well. We have been having some difficulty with the PD coordinator...it is very difficult to determine if it is cultural (women in leadership roles versus male ego) or if it is language or something else. Either way the communication barrier had to be forged and Rampul Singh has been with us for a few days. The participants revere him. He does not come very often (once every 2-3 years) and the respect for him was overwhelming from both the men and women.
He is getting my tickets and hotel arrangements together for me, and I won't have to negotiate flight plans and places to stay along the way. It will truly be a treat to just travel without having to do the leg work.
The only area I left to my devices is Goa. I am doing a Yoga retreat there and will want the extra time to look into a dive site out of Miramar or stay at Ashiyana for a few days longer. I am told it is quite touristy and will be easy to manouver in. India is not an easy place to travel in. I have learned that it pays to have Indian guidance in areas of travel, eating, shopping (there is always two prices..Indian prices and foreigner pricing) Ihave also learned that you have to be careful of the words that come out of your mouth. There is a sayin in India that translates into "Guests are like God". If you mention that it is nice that there is AC in certain places, soon they will only take you to places that have AC. If you say you love the butter masala chicken..you will have masala chicken every day for lunch ( okay..so there are some really nice benefits in being a guest in this country..the butter chicken masala is to die for, however I just do not want to know the fat content!) Kamula and his people have been very hospitable and sweet. They tease and tease, and I laugh..even when I am not really sure what they are teasing me about.

The ratio of men to women on the streets is extremely skewed. For every 20-30 men there is one or two women. The other night when Kit and I walked home, we were approached by so many that we got a little testy. Most only want to speak English, half of them blatantly stare out our chests and the other half are probably just shocked to see two white women walking amongst them. Kit calls the walk home: the gauntlet. First we have to pass by a food market, then we have to cross two streets that are at the end of a round about, and then we must cruise by poop and pee alley... which is really an overpass over some train tracks. We are not sure which is worse, daylight when the urination is done right in front of you and you can see the mounds of poo and garbage in the street, or night time when you cannot see what you may or may not be walking through. The last part of the guauntlet is the sand pit party area. This is a large sandy spot that has clothed and naked children playing at all hours, it is entrenched at the end of poop and pee alley and guarded by groups of men playing cards on blankets. The children will start following you and yelling the English words they know while the youngest of them will start crying and pointing... I think a little scared of our skin and Kit's white hair. They are not dangerous but they can get a little annoying.

And last but not least are the dogs, and cows and goats that wander up and down the streets, sometimes lying in the middle of the road, not really belonging to anyone, and not really caring when you have to step over them to avoid getting hit by a motorbike or a motorize rickshaw that is honking incessantly and asking you if you need a ride. Oh the oh so sweet times had on the streets of India! They are the things that make you appreciate the luxuries of home.

I will try and put a few more pictures up on this site,

t