Golden Temple Group Photo

Our group of adventurers posing for a photo at the Golden Temple

Commemorative Head-Coverings

Head-coverings are required at the Golden Temple.  In this picture, four of the girls are modeling their specially-purchased Golden Temple headscarves.

Ritual Purification

Some of the girls washing their feet in the footbath at the entrance to the temple compound.  The Golden Temple can only be entered with freshly-washed bare feet.

The Golden Temple

Our last stop in Amritsar was the Golden Temple, the center of the Sikh universe.  Our guide, who was a Sikh, did a great job of explaining the rituals and symbols, and the bravest of us even tried the prasad, the blessed food that pilgrims receive upon leaving the temple.  (It tasted a little like maple and brown sugar oatmeal.)

Tragic Evidence

Bullet holes left behind by the massacre.

Jallianwalla Bagh

Our group visited Jallianwalla Bagh, the site of the infamous Massacre of Amritsar depicted so vividly in the film Gandhi.  It was a very moving experience.

We Could Win It If We Could Understand It

DAV tried very hard to teach us to play cricket, a game so inscrutable that I have to bring in a guest speaker (Mr. Watkins) to explain it to my Modern India class.  In this picture Eleonore is about to get a great hit (although none of us knew exactly what it meant when she did).

Team USA

Tino showing his national pride in a heated basketball game against Team India.  Note the exceptional off-ball movement of the rest of the team.  USA, USA, USA!

The Chairman

Dr. Lakhanpal, grandfather of Nikhil and Rahul, addressing the assembly.  Dr. Lakhanpal is the Chairman of the Board of Trustees.

Song and Dance

The arts are obviously a big part of the curriculum at DAV.  We were greeted in the lobby by a traditional Punjabi dancer, and were expected to join in.  Once we were in the assembly hall, we were treated to further performances of song and dance.  This girl is entertaining the kids with a Bollywood-style dance.  During this dance, the master of ceremonies whispered into my ear, "Sir, your lecture is next.  Can you please tell me the title of your talk so I can introduce you?"  I had three minutes to prepare my own little song and dance.  :-)

Unexpected Welcome

Our casual visit to DAV International School in Amritsar, a school supported by the Lakhanpal family, turned into an unexpectedly formal event.  We were greeted as esteemed visitors with garlands, sandalwood tikhs (forehead markings) and even a film crew documenting the occasion.  This little boy is welcoming Eleonore with a traditional tikh.

Group Photo with Our Hosts

An after-dinner photo with the Lakhanpals.

Dinner at the Lakhanpals

Eating a delicious home-cooked Indian meal at the Lakhanpal home in Amritsar.  Mrs. Lakhanpal (grandmother of Rahul and Nikhil) is standing in the background.

A Good Sign

The giant sign greeting anyone entering India.

Closing the Gates

The end of the ceremony, when the border is closed for the night.

Symbol of Unity?

Curiously, the loudest applause of the evening was at the moment that the two flags crossed, when it was difficult to distinguish which flag was which.  Is this a symbol of the Indian desire for unity?  I'm not sure, but it's interesting that they chose to lower them in a diagonal X fashion rather than having them on flagpoles.

Flag-Lowering Ceremony

The two border flags are lowered simultaneously.

Pakistani Women

This is the women's section in Pakistan...men and women sit in two different sets of bleachers on the Pakistani side.  According to our guide, this is relatively new; apparently, the Pakistanis are becoming more religiously conservative (our guide used the word "radicalized").

The Border Ritual

Part of the daily border-closing ceremony.  The troops closest to us are Indian, while the ones in black are Pakistani.  Note that both are wearing traditional Punjabi headdresses, an interesting symbol of Punjabi solidarity.  The people in the background of this picture are Pakistani spectators and tourists sitting in the VIP box in Pakistan.

Peering Into Pakistan

We sat about 50 yards from the Pakistani border, and about 100 yards from the people watching the ceremony from their own set of bleachers on the Pakistani side.

Chak De India!

Melinda, Stephanie, Hope, Charlie and Caity enjoying the Indian women dancing to Bollywood tunes while they wait.

Mother-Daughter Nationalism

While waiting for the ceremony to start, Indian people lined up to take turns running the flag back and forth in front of the crowd.  This is a mother and daughter running the flag together.

Watching Wagah

Eleonore, Tino and Chris in the bleachers getting ready to watch the border-closing ceremony at the Wagah border crossing.

International Commerce The Hard Way

These trucks passing the kids as they walk to the border are for international commerce betweeen India and Pakistan.  Trucks drive goods to the border where they are unloaded and walked across then reloaded onto other trucks waiting on the other side.  The two countries apparently make it too difficult to actually drive the goods across the border.  No danger of a South Asian Union anytime soon.

The Road to Pakistan

The six girls on the road to the Pakistani border, where we witnessed a highly entertaining display of Indian (and Pakistani) nationalism at the daily border closing ceremony.

Vocational Training

Older girls learning to embroider, a money-making skills for these girls, most of whom won't proceed past the eighth grade.

Checking Out the Curriculum

Alison taking a peek at the workbook the kids were using to learn to read and write in English.

Ganesha's Free School

We visited a free school for low-income children sponsored by Mrs. Lakhanpal (grandmother of Rahul and Nikhil).  This is a typical classroom.  "Ganesha's Free School" is a rough translation of the school's actual (Hindi) name.

Amritsar Teaser: The Golden Temple of the Sikhs

We have a full day ahead of us, but I'll add Amritsar posts when we get back this evening.  Here is a picture to tide you over in the mean time.

The Obligatory Overnight Train

Kids hanging out on our overnight train to Amritsar.  The verdict on this quintessentially Indian experience?  "It was pretty gross."  Despite the gross factor, though, the kids stayed positive, had fun together and arrived in Amritsar in good spirits.

Leaving the Himalayas

Looking upstream, you can see that Rishikesh is in a beautiful Himalayan valley.  An brief jeep ride into these foothills provides a distant view of Mount Everest.  Unfortunately, we had a train to catch.

Festival Crowds

We shifted our itinerary from Haridwar to Rishikesh to give the Kumbh Mela a wide berth but, as you can see from this picture, we were still exposed to its overflow.  On the positive side, the kids were able to experience the festival atmosphere surrounding the world's largest gathering of human beings.

The Holiest Souvenir

Hope and Charlie collecting gangajal (holy Ganges water).  Remember not to drink that!

Henna in Rishikesh

Melinda having henna applied after the Ganga Aarti ceremony.

Lakshman Jula

The famous suspension bridge over the Ganges River, connecting our hotel with the Hindu temples and ashrams on the other side.

Across the River

The Hindu temple across the Ganges from our hotel.  This temple was a multi-story temple with shops mixed in among the shrines.  Our very helpful guide explained this to us; when Stephanie asked him why there are shops mixed in with the more religious elements of the temple, he replied: "For shopping!"

Teaching the Teacher

I was invited to sit down with Gopal for a chat about the yoga lifestyle for the benefit of the students.  I suspect that "You know quite a bit for an American" is a nice way of saying "You don't know much for an Indian"...I mostly listened while he talked.

Snortically Challenged

I had to invent a new politically correct label for Stephanie's disability.  In this picture, Stephanie is being gently scolded for her inability to snort correctly.

Snorting Yoga

Eleonore and Melinda having trouble keeping a straight face while practicing a breath-expulsion technique that amounts to energetically snorting out one's nose.

Hope @ Peace

Hope in a seriously relaxed state.

Gopal

Gopal explaining Hindu philosophy in between yoga positions.  He did a great job of making yoga accessible to high school students who might not have time to "fully embrace the lifestyle," giving the kids practical pointers about ways to use yoga to improve focus, concentration and energy.

Cobra Pose

Tino, Charlie and Caity striving for enlightenment through a sincere rendition of the cobra pose.

Yoga with Gopal

Our yoga session with Gopal, a local yoga master.

Ganga Mata

Our hotel in Rishikesh was on a cliff overlooking the Ganges River, or Ganga Mata (Mother Ganges) as she is known in India.  The breathtaking view made this an inspiring place to practice yoga.

Welcome to Yogaville

On the banks of the Ganges River, nestled in a valley in the Himalayan foothills, Rishikesh bills itself as the yoga capital of the world.  Famous for its association with the Beatles, who wrote The White Album at an ashram here, Rishikesh attracts Indians and Westerners alike to traditional and New Age versions of the ancient Hindu practice of meditative yoga.

Our Home Away From Home

Chris, Charlie, Hope and Caity relaxing in our posh tour bus.  We have had a bus like this in every city.

Still Smiling

Old Delhi can be an assault on the senses, but this group of Falcons handled it with grace and came out smiling on the other end.  This is the obligatory group photo in front of the Red Fort.

The Red Fort

After our rickshaw ride, we walked down Chandni Chowk to the Red Fort.  This is a picture of the front of the Red Fort; the flagpole is the location of the flag-lowering and flag-raising ceremony that ended the Raj and began India's history as an independent nation.

The Narrow Streets of Old Delhi

This picture shows why we needed to tour Old Delhi by rickshaw.  The narrow streets are a maze of shops selling specific things (i.e. a street that sells weddings saris, a street that sells kitchen appliances, etc.), and the crowds are thick enough that rickshaws are the best way to get through safely.  Alison is in the lead rickshaw and I am bringing up the rear; as you can see, our group stretches out for half a block.

Rickshaw Ride

Heading off from the mosque entrance (in the background) for a rickshaw tour of Old Delhi.