The Story of Ganesha

As I plan to make a post explaining the celebrations that took place during Ganesh Chaturthi, I thought it would be worth while noting down the story of the God in a post as well. Everyone I asked had a slightly different telling of the story, most very similar but a few different so I plan to tell you the story just as Vara Lakshmi (one of my students) told me the Tuesday before celebrations started. Her telling of the story attracted many of the students and Aunties to the dorm we were sat in and there were very few times when she was corrected so I will take that to mean this version is a popular one.

Shiva, one of the most loved and feared Gods, was married to the kind and loving Goddess Parvati and both lived on Mount Kailash. One day, Shiva decided to travel the world and, in his absence, Parvati decided she fancied a bath. Understandably, she was uncomfortable with the idea of taking this bath without Shiva to guard the door so she decided to fashion herself someone to keep watch. She crafted the image of a young boy out of wood and tumeric paste, named him Ganesha and breathed life into him. Being the loving Goddess she was, the boys took his place in her heart as her son rather than simply a guard and she grew very fond of him. 

Some time later, Shiva returned home to Mount Kailash from his travels and was outraged to find that he was turned away from his own home by a small boy. In a fit of anger, Shiva brutally removed the head of the boy and his body was left lying on the floor beside the door. When Parvati found out she was completely distraught over the death of her son and refused to talk to Shiva until the situation was resolved. With his anger subsiding, Shiva saw that to make his wife happy again he would have to bring Ganesha back to life- and for this he would need a new head. According to Vara Lakshmi, at the time of this story there was a law forbid anyone from sleeping with their head facing North. Shiva send his angels out to find the first creature that disobeyed this simple law, cut of its head and bring it back to him. As animals did not understand this law, it didn't take the angels long before they found an elephant sleeping with their head facing North so they obeyed their orders and brought the head back to Shiva. In an attempt to stop Parvati's grief, not only did Shiva fix the head onto the body of the boy, thus bringing him back to life, but he also declared Ganesha as his own son and presented him with a the status of one of the foremost Gods. Parvati was overjoyed by this and forgave her husband for his anger and all was well on Mount Kailash. 

Ganesha's resurrection is the reason for celebrating new beginnings during Ganesh Chaturthi and many of the prayers people make to Ganesh during his visit are asking for peace and prosperity during a time of change or for the success of a new start - something I very much liked the idea of with the festival coming taking place so close to our arrival here.  

Hi-Tech City

Every Sunday morning, a one-way section of motorway in the business district of Hyderabad is closed to vehicles and becomes a gathering place for cyclists, Zumba and Yoga enthusiasts, performers, protesters and those who just fancy a stroll about.

On Saturday night, Lottie and I were informed that we needed to be ready for a 'programme' in Hi-Tech city which would require is being ready to leave Devnar at 6am the following morning. While neither of us were thrilled by the idea of a 5am start, we were both really excited about what this 'programme' was. We were given no indication of what this trip out would be, how long it would take or what Hi-Tech City was but at 6am on Sunday morning we were sat outside the school office ready to see a little more of Hyderabad. In true Indian fashion, at 7am a mini bus pulled up and Lottie and I were piled into it along with about 15 other students and a few staff members - two people per seat seemed to be the general rule. We made a 30 minute trip across town to this section of motorway where we all stumbled out of the mini bus and had to cross the busy road and climb over the central reserve before we actually understood where we were and what this trip was all about. We were there because, on the 4th of October, a Blind Walk is being held in honour of National Sight Day and to raise awareness about blindness and the school. During this event a number of the students will be performing various acts and the stage at Hi-Tech City was the perfect place for them to practice.

At one end of the blocked off road there was a very enthusiastic lady engaging a sizeable crowd in a Zumba fitness lesson, while the other end of the road curved into the horizon. We headed towards the stage and greeted by the enthusiastic lady who had one of the older boys onto the stage within seconds to explain why we were there. After the introductions four more older boys took to the stage and performed the most amazing dance to a remix of Hindi and Telugu songs I had never heard of and their energy and enthusiasm seemed to shock the whole crowd who, I think, had been expecting something a little slower or more simple from blind teenagers. I felt immensely proud of them when they finished and they completely deserved the large round of applause they received. Next up was a little girl from 2nd grade who sang a beautiful song is Telugu and then Sana and Sri Gangga completed the set with another song. I was more than impressed by the confidence these children had, especially in front of such a large crowd.

After the performances, the children were to engage in a number of team building activities such as finding objects on the floor while stood in a line and only being able to communicate through tapping on the shoulders of the person in front to get them to turn left or right. While this was a good idea for a game it didn't take into account that a number of the students have some vision so weren't completely relying on the physical cues and were, instead, just picking objects off the floor as they normally would. After this a game of cricket was set up so the people could see how the boys play the sport (by using a ball with a rattle inside rather than a normal one and also rolling the all rather than throwing it).

Lots of passers-by wanted to stop and ask questions about the school and the kids (as well as who Lottie and I were and why we were there) and some even joined in with the cricket. It was great to see strangers adapt to the children's disability so easily- people who didn't realise the children found it hard to catch would throw a ball to the boys and notice that they would stand with their arms protecting their heads as they couldn't see where it would land and, therefore, roll it to them next time.

I really enjoyed this little trip out and I'm now really looking forward to National Sight Day. Unfortunately, however, I spent the rest of Sunday curled up in the dark in my room being very unwell which put a bit of a downer on an otherwise wonderful  morning. Hopefully my stomach settles down properly soon and I can get back to teaching as normal and enjoy this week as much as I did the last!

The First Week

As I write this it is Saturday night meaning India has been my home for a week. Naturally, a fair bit has happened since the last time I wrote. As well as this, the world I live in now is about as different from the Guest House as the Guest House was from home. It is hard to pick out the bits that I think might be of interest but I will try my best to.

Devnar School for the Blind

We arrived at Devnar at around midday on Monday and were formally greeted by the Chairman Founder, Dr Goud, and the Principle, Lily Madam. After this came the introductions with the children. We were swarmed by students asking 'Good Afternoon, Mam' and 'Mam, Mam, Mam, What is your name!?'. While they all seemed thoroughly delighted to meet us, many of them were very eager to know whether we knew 'Anna Madam' or 'Jo Madam' and a number of other old Project Trust volunteers that have come here. It was lovely to see that the volunteers really make an impact on this school, but it also made our stomachs drop a little as the shoes we needed to fill felt immeasurably huge. That night we set about decorating our room with photos from home, fairy lights and nets for the beds. In all honesty this was a really rough night. It was the first night I'd felt homesick since I'd left and suddenly the thought of being away from my home for so long left me with a sunken stomach and choked up throat. I wanted to call a temporary 'time out' and pop home and give my family a massive hug on the sofa in the living room of my home before pulling myself together and carrying on out here, but that's clearly not an option.

My Photo Wall

Luckily, this feeling didn't linger for too long and I am settling in really here really well. It is very different from home but I'm used to the lizards that crawl along the walls (we have named them Penelope- all of them) and I don't even mind that there is no hot water and that the water cuts off so we have to wash out of buckets. The heat isn't too much of a problem at the moment, in fact, if we leave the fan on during the night, we wake up cold in the middle of the night and have to put our hoodies on. There are also no mirrors here which sounds like an odd thing to comment on but it has made me realise how embarrassingly often I looked at my reflection back in England. It's a little odd not to have looked at myself in a week but also fairly liberating as I haven't worried once about what I look like. After a few meals here I started to really enjoy the curries and could even start to differentiate between some of the flavours rather than describing everything as 'spicy'. Saying that, Padma (or new Indian Mum) still cooks us separate little dishes when what the children have is too spicy for us...

Penelope

Luckily, this feeling didn't linger for too long and I am settling in really here really well. It is very different from home but I'm used to the lizards that crawl along the walls (we have named them Penelope- all of them) and I don't even mind that there is no hot water and that the water cuts off so we have to wash out of buckets. The heat isn't too much of a problem at the moment, in fact, if we leave the fan on during the night, we wake up cold in the middle of the night and have to put our hoodies on. There are also no mirrors here which sounds like an odd thing to comment on but it has made me realise how embarrassingly often I looked at my reflection back in England. It's a little odd not to have looked at myself in a week but also fairly liberating as I haven't worried once about what I look like. After a few meals here I started to really enjoy the curries and could even start to differentiate between some of the flavours rather than describing everything as 'spicy'. Saying that, Padma (or new Indian Mum) still cooks us separate little dishes when what the children have is too spicy for us...

My first Bindi

The driving here still never fails to amaze me- be it in a car, bus or tuck tuck! There are a few road markings on some of the major roads but these seem to be ignored in favour of vehicles all picking seemingly random lines of travel as if they are working together to create some kind of elaborate cats-cradle on the road. On a short trip to the ATM today our tuck tuck decided it was okay to drive the wrong way up a dual carriageway sized, busy road for at least 100 metres before turning back off the road and it was wonderfully terrifying. I have also learnt that no matter how small the gap is a tuck tuck or motorbike will fit through it; failure is really not an option.

Tuck tucking!

The staff at Devnar are some of the loveliest people I have ever met. Even though many of them don't speak much English they are always there to give us an encouraging smile as we play with the kids or chuckle at is while we struggle our way through some of the spicier meals. One lady, Haseenah, sat and told us all about how she and some of the other staff spend their time translating textbooks from Telugu to English and then to Braille and then told us more about her life. In that single conversation which covered a few differences between the lives we led taught me so much about the people here that I can't wait to get to know the people here even more over the coming months- it feels like collecting images and memories that will build up to create a beautifully accurate tapestry of what living here is really like.

Trying on Haseenah's Burka

Most importantly, the best thing about this project, without a single doubt, is the children. They never fail to cheer me up! I have even become fond of our 7.15 alarm clock that is a little boy called Abdul who stands outside our door calling 'Elena Mam, Lottie Mam, Chocolate!' (though our patience is really tested when he locks us in with the bolt on the outside just before breakfast). The students are constantly asking questions about who England, my family, friends, village and school which I love answering just to see their excitement at the novelty they see in my life. Details like the fact that the local Arts Centre in my village is called Prema and that translates to 'Love' in Telugu throws them into fits of giggles. The younger ones climb all over us and are overjoyed when we agree to sing Ring-a-Ring-a Roses with them or tickle them while saying 'Cheeky Monkey!' I have spent a lot of time this week simply observing how they go about their daily lives. As I have never spend any time with any blind people in my life I don't really know what I was expecting but it certainly wasn't what I discovered. The children here love life, learning and each other. It's beautiful to watch them walk around in pairs or threes with linked arms to guide each other and how they all get out of each others way when they hear a peer shout 'Side!' so they can get somewhere with a clear path. Their disability doesn't seem to hold them back at all with many of them hoping to go to university and become professionals one day. There have also been little inspiring moments such as helping a student called Sana put clear plastic, Braille labels on the squares of a Rubiks Cube. This honestly made me feel like there is nothing these kids can't do which is truly heart warming.

As I write this one year still feels life an awfully long time, but after how encouraging I have found this week I do think that it's going to be a really amazing time out here. 

From the Guest House

As I type this it is 00.15am and a group of us volunteers are sat around a large table in the hall of a Guest House somewhere in Hyderabad. It's only the end of my second day here so I feel it would be wrong of me to try and tell you what India is really like- I've only seen two airports and the view from the bus as we drove through Hyderabad. 

I can, however, say that the flights both went smoothly. In fact the flight from London to Mumbai was the fanciest I've ever been on. It was massive (by Elena standards) with three rows of seats, each with TV screens in back of the seats and loads of movies and music to pick from. As the flight was at night we all huddled up under our blankets and watched movies before dozing off. This plane being the most fancy I have experienced made for a rather large contrast with my first sight out of it's window; slums. Doing Geography A Level these slums were things that seemed to be mentioned in every other lesson but there really is something very different between seeing pictures of them on an interactive whiteboard and seeing them sprawl along the side of the runway. No doubt there is an even bigger difference between that and navigating them from the ground. 

Slums by Mumbai airport

After a fairly painless trip across Mumbai airport to the right terminal we boarded a far less impressive plane to Hyderabad. Here we were met by Abhilash who bought us all Coca Cola as we stood around recovering from the wave of heat that had hit us and waiting for the bus to take us here. 

That bus ride was our first real (if restricted) taste of India. The first thing that struck me was how many people there were and how so many people seemed to just be... around. What I mean by that is that, as well as cars, autos, buses and motorbikes on the road there were also people wondering around. There were men in beige uniforms stood chatting under bridges, crossing the road and walking along the sides of the road- even in seemingly empty areas between the airport and city. 

White girls on the local bus also seemed to be a novelty to everyone who noticed us. Within seconds of leaving the airport we had men in motorbikes driving along side us using no hands to impress us. Getting further into the city there were more and more double takes and many waves. It's strange to think that while we were being amazed by families of 5 quashed onto mopeds they were equally in awe of us. 

At exactly 4.20pm the heavens opened, the roads quickly turned to rivers and it became impossible to get a clear view out of the window. It was heavy enough to bang on the roof of the car and, unfortunately, leak through the window and onto my seat. By 4.45 it had stopped and within ten minutes the roads that were rivers moments ago were back to being bone dry and even looked dusty again. 

The View from the Bus 

The Guest House is very comfortable, each of us pairs are in our own little rooms with on-suites as well as a bit of a view of the city skyline from a balcony down the side of building. 

Here we met Bharavi and, after having an evening of rest last night, we have been having a day of very specific orientation. We learned a little more about our projects and were each told how fantastic they all were. 

Lottie enjoying the Bed and an Apple 

Today was our first day with curry for breakfast- it consisted of something that looked and tasted very much like a savoury doughnut, idly and some curry and chutney (that didn't taste like any chutney I'd ever had before) which were both inside a little plastic sheet that was folded up and tied in a knot at the top. I only mention this because I had some strange idea that meals would come in bigger portions but also mixed together freely in a tub, kind of like how it would in and English Indian takeaway. Lunch was also curry cooked by Bharavi's wife- potato curry, dosa, more chutney (that tasted like a very spicy hummus) and some large pancake full of onion and other things (I didn't eat this one as I was too full by that point). 

Both evenings here, however, Abhilash has bought us pizzas for dinner. This has been in aid of fending off 'icky stomachs' before we get to our projects, however, the pizzas here aren't like the sort I would normally have at home. They are far spicier as well as small and had a thick, fluffy base. The plain chicken one as far from 'plain' as the meat was covered in spices- it was more like eating a cheesy curry on bread. 

Plain Chicken Pizza

Tomorrow we head to Devnar for the first time- a car is going to pick us up around midday and drive us for half an hour across the city to the school. I'm a little apprehensive about it but mainly excited having had a day of being told how wonderful the children were. I have a few butterflies, but they are good butterflies. 

Elena x 

Reflecting on Leaving

As I type this the countdown stands at 5 days, 23 hours and 45 minutes. My passport (complete with Visa) arrived in the post a couple of days ago meaning there is nothing in the way of me getting on that plane- aside from my own lack of basic competence regarding making it to the right place in the airport.  Knowing that my departure now looms right at the end of the week I wanted to try and put some of my feelings into words. I think it would be interesting to be able to compare how I am feeling now to how I feel as I leave Devnar next summer and whether the prospect of coming back to go to University is as exciting as moving to India.

When people talk to me about India the first thing they ask is ‘are you excited?’ Of course I am. How could I not be!? I am ready to have an experience of a life time and (as cliché as it sounds) my dreams are really coming true. The other thing people want to know is whether I’m nervous. This one always feels a little more complicated to answer because, yes; there are things that made me nervous and scared. The thought of my first lesson- or more specifically; running out of activities during my first lesson- makes my stomach drop. The same goes for having to deal with a difficult student but not being able to communicate well enough, the thought that I might not be liked by the other staff and accepting the inevitability of some degree of illness. In contrast, however, the actual idea of moving to the other side of the world doesn’t make me nearly as scared as I once thought it would. I feel like the combination of excitement and the number of times I’ve actually said ‘I’m moving to India’ have made this move feel like part of the natural progression of events in my Project Trust journey as well as in my life in general.

I had also anticipated that, by this stage, I would be an emotional wreck whenever I talked to someone I might not see in a year. I haven’t quite found this to be the case yet, even at my ‘farewell party’ last night. I know that I will miss people terribly while I’m overseas but in this whirlwind of preparation it’s hard to imagine how sad I will feel without everyone. Saying this, however, I’m sure it will be proved wrong as I say some final final goodbyes over the coming days and will morph into a pile of snot and tears.

Two of my lovely 'Goodbye' cards

Unfortunately, my departure has coincided with some unimaginably terrible times in the lives of some people I love very dearly. This is, without a doubt, is the hardest part about going away. I feel a heavy sense of guilt knowing that my moving means I can no long be there for those I want to be there for and, at times; this has been very difficult for me to comprehend. I feel in limbo between wanting desperately to help and knowing that there isn’t a lot I can do, especially once I leave. This isn’t to say that I am not looking forward to living in India but it has shaken life up and taught be about perspective in a way I didn’t really understand before. Now it feels more important than ever to have adventures and create beautiful memories. I’m reminded that I need to stop worrying that I don’t feel the way I thought I would about leaving and instead I should just be making sure that the time before my departure is as happy and lovely as it possibly can be. 

Elena x

Preparation, Planning and Packing

I would be lying to you if I claimed that the last month has been stress free.

It turns out that I had made two rather large underestimations.

The first was that obtaining a Visa would simply be a case of making an appointment, turning up at the Visa office in Bristol, handing over some forms while smiling sweetly and then I’d have my passport (complete with Visa) arriving in the post a few days later with a cheery wave from the postman. This should have been how the process went, however, that wasn’t the reality. The problem with a 12 month Work Visa from the Indian Embassy is that it’s valid from the date it’s granted rather than the date of your departure meaning that our years aboard could be cut short if we went through the process too early. On the other side of the coin, waiting to make an appointment close to the departure date meant a higher risk of not getting a Visa in time for our flight. In an attempt not to sacrifice too much travel time next summer while also playing it safe time-wise, I thought that an appointment on the 6^th of August would be a fair compromise. I would have been right about this had I not filled in the wrong form on my main Visa Application. Turns out, in England, every Visa office you go to requires you to fill out a ‘Birmingham Form’ UNLESS you are going to an office in London or Bristol, in which case you need a ‘London Form’. This meant that, on the 6^th, when I turned up to the Bristol office, I was sent packing within 60 seconds simply because my form and office combination weren’t incompatible. Further complications with nearly all of this year’s Project Trust India volunteers meant there was a long pause before I was able to make a new appointment. Thankfully, last week my application was submitted. Despite this my Visa-related stress levels remain high as there was a small problem with one of million forms (an incorrect digit at the end of my passport number that had been corrected with pen). This minor detail is exactly the kind of thing the Embassy could pick up on to reject an application so I have my fingers crossed that I don’t have any more trouble or my departure may have to be rescheduled. Not ideal.

My second underestimation was how hard it would be to pack a year’s worth of stuff. I honestly thought it would be simple: I’d just make a list, I’d have 90% of the items on that list, it would all fit into my backpack and weigh exactly the airport baggage allowance. Simple! But no- despite having several colour coded packing lists (Lottie had to help me), my organisation skills have temporarily failed me and my progress with packing has stalled. There is now a big red box full of stickers, flip-flops and toiletries sat in my room. At some point in the next 10 days I will have to go through it, organise it, pack it, (probably unpack some of it as I will inevitably exceeded the baggage allowance) but that’s all far too daunting at the moment.

The Big Red Box is looking very fill and I don't even have everything on my lists yet!

I think I’m starting to realise that the ‘it will all just fall into place’ philosophy I’ve adopted is probably not as sound as I thought it was.

As well as practical struggles, ‘goodbyes’ have started become very real and are beginning to play on my mind. Knowing that there are some people who have been so central to the last 7 years of my life that I won’t see again in person for a year is pretty hard to get my head around at the moment. Having grown up in an age where nearly all of my friends are only a text or facebook message away, there is also some anxiousness around the idea of not having everyone at my finger tips. I’m sure, however, that the hustle and bustle of Devnar and teaching will mean that I won’t notice this too much while overseas!

Goodbyes with Andrew

I apologise that this entry hasn’t been as upbeat as I would have liked. To counteract all this stress, worry and nervousness I would like to end by noting down some things I’m really looking forward to:

Singing songs with my classes.

My first first-hand experience of a Hindu festivals.

Riding Elephants.

Buying my first Sari.

Indian puddings.

My first ride in a tuk tuk.

Being able to have a conversation with someone in Telugu.

And lastly; spending time with and getting to know my lovely partner. 

Whenever I post next I hope that I bring good news about the Visa and my attempts to pack everything I will need over the next year into one backpack that I am physically able to pick up!  

Elena x