Week 13 in Review

It's hard to believe that my time in India will soon be coming to an end.

The first 13 weeks have flown by and there are only 7 more to go before the end of term and my flight from Coimbatore.

As mentioned in the last posting there was a timetable change and I am now teaching 1 class of Level 9 French for 2 periods and the entire Level 10 class of 24 for 4 periods per week. I am also doing all the Level 12s in conversation after school for 4 periods. A couple of the days are really long but that's OK with me as I would rather be busy than have nothing to do.

It took 5 days for my running shoes to dry outside from last Monday's rain. Tuesday I had a French conversation class after school before Concert Band practice. After practice we had a "Music Supper" for the staff and IGs who are involved in the Concert Band. We had some excellent homemade pumpkin soup. It was delicious with fresh whole wheat bread from the bakery in town. The soup was followed by a wonderful vegetable salad with Balsamic vinegar. (this was a first for me!) and stir-fry vegetables. Simply wonderful. NO RICE!!!

Wednesday I met both the Level 9 and Level 10 French classes. The students are nice and there is quite a range of ability in both classes. The actual French level is quite rudimentary in comparison with what I taught at High School. Wednesday night was my turn for telephone duty. This means that all incoming calls, after 5:00 P.M. came through my phone - even the direct calls to the dorms. No matter what number was being called my phone rang and rang.

Thursday was a long day what with a planning meeting at 9:00 A.M., a full school day, French conversation after school and the Staff meeting until 9:30 in the evening. there really wasn't much else to do because of the rain!

Friday I managed a quick run down to the store for toothpaste. I literally walked in a cloud. The umbrella was not effective at all as the water droplets managed to stick all over my glasses. Friday night it just poured.


Saturday was fine. So fine that Nigel (neighbour) and I walked to town and bought masks for the Masquerade event last evening. This is the major Student Council event for the term and was held in the Sports Hall. Everyone was asked to come in a mask. Some of the IGs with dorms had supplies to make their own. I had to buy mine.

There were stands selling Hot Dogs, Fries, Dosas, Pancakes, and Chilli Chicken. There was also a drink stand and a bake stand as well as games. The music was loud and the students had a wonderful time.

Today the sun shone just long enough to get to church and then the rains came again. I was fortunate to ride in the Trax and didn't get wet. Some of the students had left their umbrellas at school and ...

More photos can be found on the Hebron School website under Photos there is a series on last night's Masquerade.

Back at School

The trip to Delhi (and all the other sights) was wonderful, but it's good to be back on solid ground. It took a couple of days to get used to not being on the train.



Sunday, October 14, was Harvest Festival at St. Stephen's church. The church was decorated with fresh flowers and fruits on the pillars. A watermelon made a lovely flower vase and a pumpkin became a fruit basket. The ends of the choir stall were decorated with fresh flowers and a banana leaf basket greeted you at the entrance.




We sang 11 verses of a 4 verse song as the congregation came forward with their gifts in kind. There was basket after basket of 2 buns and some rice from the girls of St. Hilda's school. Fortunately the food donated was sent to 2 homes in the area as the bread would not have kept for long.

Following the service there was a coffee time outside the church. Coffee and fresh samosas were served. So good!!

During the break a staff member returned from a fund-raising trip. He took over my 2 Level 7 Math classes and I consequently had a new timetable. This didn't last for long. On Thursday I was asked if I would take over the 2 Level 10 French classes. The regular teacher is on sick leave due to pregnancy. I start this new challenge tomorrow, October 24. New text, new students and marks due in 4 weeks. Wish me luck.

We are back into the monsoon season. Yesterday, Monday, I got caught in the rain twice. I had an umbrella which kept my top dry but did nothing to keep my pants dry. The water was bouncing up off the sidewalk and//or road. One pair of wet pants and shoes in the afternoon. The rain stopped. The boys went out for supper.
After supper the boys stopped in at the store for some snacking food before coming back up the hill to school. The rain came again. The umbrellas were out. A second pair of wet pants. A second pair of wet shoes. My room looks like a laundry with pants and jackets hanging up all over the place.

Guess what happened today? We had sun this morning. And more rain this afternoon and evening. Puddles everywhere and more to come for the rest of the week. Who said India was a dry country? Not in this part and not at this time of the year!!

Train Trip

After 4 days of travelling around in an A/C coach it was on to the train for the return journey to Coimbatore and then school.

The train left Delhi on Wednesday, October 10 at 11:30 A.M. and arrived at Coimbatore on Friday, October 12 at 5:30 A.M. That's correct! It was another early morning. The journey was 2630 km and came down through the heartland of India before veering to the eastern side and then back across to Coimbatore.


The train accomodation was 2 tier A/C. That means an air-conditioned coach with a 2 tier berth, bedding of 2 sheets, blanket, pillow, and towel supplied. There was space for 4 people. We were 3 most of the time and 5 at other times! Due to the fact there were only 2 Europeans on the train there were many stares into our compartment and many people who had to recharge their cell phones with the plugs in the compartment. Many interesting people were met this way. One lady was particularly friendly and useful. She made sure we were getting off in Coimbatore and she made sure we had an auto that would take us right to the bus for Ooty. The train arrived at 5:30 A.M. and by 5:55 A.M. we were on the bus from Coimbatore back to Ooty. Arrived in Ooty at 9:30 and then took an auto back to school (30 Rs).


En route the train passed through Agra (Uttar Pradesh), Gwalior (Mayda Pradesh), Jhansi (Uttar Pradesh), Bhopal (Mayda Pradesh), Nagpur (Maharashtra), Warangal (Andhra Pradesh), Vijayawada (Andhra Pradesh) almost to the Bay of Bengal, then back inland through Salem (Tamil Nadu).



The landscape was very agricultural with all different kinds of produce - sweet corn, sugar cane, rice, carrots, and either peppers or something similar. There was also a brief section of arid land.


Now it's back to school and a changed timetable. More of that later.

Tour Day 4

Tuesday, October 9/07

There was no wake-up call this morning which was fortunate as we arrived back from Agra at 11:15 P.M. on Monday night. It was wonderful to sleep in until 7:30!


The first place visited was the Qutb Minar. This is the tallest sandstone tower in India with a base diameter of 14.3 m and a diameter at the top of only 2.75 m. Its foundation was laid in 1199 and it is 239 feet tall. (Interesting that some details are metric and some are Imperial!)



Outside of it are two large stone structures known as Metcalf's Folly. They are interesting to look at and one wonders what must have gone through Metcalf's mind when he built them.


The Lotus Temple of the Bahai faith was next on the tour. The grounds are magnificently kept with interesting round trees. The temple was constructed in 1986 and opened to the public in 1987. It has been called the Taj Mahal of the 20th century.


The 42 m tall India Gate was next. This was constructed in memory of the 90,000 soldiers who lost their lives in World War I.



The round Parliament building (one of two round buildings in the world) and the North and South Government buildings were next on the agenda.


Following lunch it was on to the Indira Gandhi Memorial. This was her house at the time of her assassination. The blood spattered pavement in the yard has been covered and is there for all to see.

The Teen Murti (Nehru) museum was next on the list.

Finally it was on to the Red Fort in all its splendour which was constructed between 1638 and 1648. As we went through the screening at the entrance we saw the high security in full effect.

Tour - Day 3

Monday, October 8, 2007, 3:07 A.M. WAKE-UP CALL!

The bus left at 4:20 A.M. from the hotel in Jaipur. Our first stop was FATEHPUR SIKRI, a fortified ghost city about 40 km west of Agra. It was built as the capital of the Mughal empire from 1571 to 1585 by the Emperor Akbar. Akbar had a great idea but unfortunately chose an area with no water supply.

In the fort is the Panch Mahal a 5 storey pavilion used by court ladies. The lower floor has 84 pillars - all different. The front set of pillars on each level are double.


The Diwan-i-Khan (Private Audience) has a magnificently carved stone column in its centre.

The Pachisi Courtyard was used by Akbar to play Parcheesi using slave girls as pieces.

Then on to AGRA FORT. This red sandstone fort was built on the bank of the Yamuna River. It was started by emperor Akbar in 1565. It consists of several buildings.


There is a huge slab of black stone which was used by Jehangir when he was prince Salim.

The Musamman Bury and Khas Mahal are built of white marble when Shah Jahan was imprisoned for 8 years. He could look out at the Taj Mahal tomb of his wife.

After lunch it was on to the Taj Mahal.

On to the Taj Mahal. With the trees that have grown you really do not see too much of the Taj before arriving at the main gate.

The price of admission was steep for "foreigners" at 750 Rs a head. The "ladies" had one line and the "gents" had a double line. Due to the fact that I was a foreigner I was able to jump the queue and took about 15 minutes to clear security with the metal detector and frisking. Once inside the west gate it was on to the main gate which is a 30 m. high red sandstone structure. Through the gateway one has a glimpse of only part of the Taj Mahal.

Once through the gateway, the view is stunning. The Taj Mahal is simply "beautiful" to look at. Its symmetry is perfect. A walk alongside the reflecting pool lead to the official stairway to the raised platform. It was here we had to take off our shoes before ascending the stairs. The sandstone and white marble were hot to the bare feet.

The door to the tomb is impressive. The light filters into the tomb through finely cut marble screens in the archways. At first it was very dark and almost impossible to see the 2 tombs behind the inner marble screen which surrounds the false tombs.

This second screen has 43 different types of semi-precious stones decorating it.

After the Taj it was back to the hotel in Delhi at 11:15 P.M. One long day!

(Stef will add the pictures on Monday. Sorry to make you wait, folks!)

Update: Stef is having some difficulty uploading this morning. I'll try again at lunch.

2nd update: the pictures are all up now!

Tour Day 2

Sunday, October 7 dawned bright and early with a 4:00 A.M. wake-up call and a 5 o'clock departure.


By 8:00 A.M. we were at the Dargah in Ajmer. The Dargah is the tomb of a Sufi saint, Khwaja Muin-ud-din Chishti who came to Ajmer in 1192 and lived there until 1233. The green and white mosque was built in 1571 with later additions. Upon arrival a khadim asks for a donation, 200 Rs in my case.. There are over 4000 khadim's in Ajmer. Upon arrival at the saint's tomb in the inner courtyard which is surrounded by a silver platform and silver railings, a further donation is requested, 100 Rs. In return a prayer of blessing is made over you with the edge of a tomb blanket. Bare feet and covered head are the rule for both male and female worshippers. There are all kinds of shops selling flowers outside the dargah.
A buggy ride brought us back to the bus.

News Update: On Thursday, October 11, there was a bomb blast at the Dargah. 2 were killed and 17 were wounded. This came at the end of the fasting period!

A bus ride took us to Pushkar and we saw some monkeys (92) on the way.

After a Western breakfast of wheat porridge, banana pancake and Indian coffee at the Hotel Navratan Palace it was off to the lake. The ever-present guide handed me over to a "priest" and it was no shoes, again! After explaining about Vishnu, Brahma, and Ghandi ashes it was prayers for bad karma out and good karma in, for peace, prosperity and contentment. This was followed by the awarding of a Pushkar Passport of red and yellow string around the right wrist and red and yellow daubing on the forehead with rice. Red and yellow coloring also went on the hands which was washed off and dried with a small coconut into which a donation was placed. There are 52 bathing ghats around the lake and most of our party went to bathe as they are of the Hindu faith. Then back to the hotel for a 7 Up and a quite read by the pool while waiting for 1:30 departure time. Check out the camel on the way back to the bus.

Delhi

On Friday, October 5, I left school at 8:00 A.M. for the bumpy bus ride to Coimbatore. Once at Coimbatore a short taxi ride had me at the airport just in time to check in at 12:40 P.M. for the 2:10 P.M. to Delhi, via Mumbai. With carry-on luggage no time was lost getting out of the airport and into the waiting taxi to the Panicker's Guest House.

On Saturday, October 6, the alarm went off at 5:00 A.M. and after a quick breakfast it was to the bus for a 6:00 A.M. departure for Rajasthan. Our first stop was the Amber Fort. The fort at the top of a hill was started by the Maharaja Man Singh in 1592.



The Diwan-i-Am (Public Audience Hall) features a row of columns and latticed galleries behind which the wives could watch the proceedings below.



The Jai Mandir (Hall of Victory) featured inlaid panels, and a multi-mirrored ceiling with both concave and convex mirrors. One candle was reflected in hundreds of directions.

From here we went to the Jantar Mantar (Observatory) which was built in 1728 by Jai Singh. The largest piece is the sundial with a 27 metre high gnomon which is accurate to 2 seconds.




On to City Palace (Maharaja's palace) and its various buildings. The first was the Maharaja Sawai Mansingh II Museum with its collection of royal costumes and shawl's Sawai Madho Singh I's clothing is there. He was 2 meters tall and 1.2 meters wide and weighed 250 kg. The welcome to the armoury was spelt with ceremonial daggers. This former women's palace still had some of its mirrored and gold inlay ceiling. It must have been very beautiful! The last hall visited was the Diwan-i-Khas (Hall of Private Audience) with its large silver vessels, each 1.6 tall. The Maharaja Madha Singh II, a devout Hindu, took holy water from the Ganges with him on his visits to England. The vessels are supposedly the largest silver vessels in the world.






The last visit on Saturday was the Birla Mandir Temple. the building speaks for itself.