India in Retrospect

It has taken some time to assimilate all that I experienced this past winter in India. In many ways it was my loss of innocence, of romanticizing India. In my first trips to India I became aware that India contained both the best and the worst of everything, and I chose to focus on the best--the glass half full syndrome.

I would return home from a trip to India with renewed vigour to fund raise for orphanages as I experienced so much pleasure in giving. On my previous trip I was made aware by some seasoned Canadian volunteers that all was not as it seemed. Most of the children were not orphans, but were supposedly from destitute families. I was there at Xmas when 90% of the children went “home” for the holidays and returned wearing much more beautiful clothing than I had brought for them. I became aware that a large percentage of the children were from the same village that the orphanage director was from, and that for many of them they were simply attending a free boarding school of sorts and that the locals did not refer to the facility as an orphanage but as a “hostel”.

I did not visit that particular orphanage on this visit but spent 3 weeks, including Christmas, with a local young man who had been adopted from a Canadian run orphanage at the age of 6, and was returning to discover his roots. He had done intensive fund-raising before he left Canada and brought a donation of about $10,000 with him.

His intention was to spend a year as a volunteer at the orphanage.

I was surprised to find him living with a local family and having been dismissed and barred from the orphanage after spending a couple of months there. He spent much effort trying to get permission for me to visit the orphanage but it never did happen. Through him I met a group of young people who were trying to improve the overall situation in orphanages--making them less insular and more accountable. They informed me of some of the abuses that take place, and how difficult it is for the children to integrate into the larger community when they mature and leave the facility.

The group had been very successful in getting the support of the local medical school and police force and in liaising with other charitable groups. I had brought a donation from my church and we decided to use this money to give a memorable Christmas to a local orphanage. Indians are very good at celebrating and this was no exception. It was a gala event including a feast and dance show.

The owner of the orphanage was keen to get my continuing financial support in her desire to build a facility rather than keep using the rented facilities that they were presently using to house the children, old age orphans and physically and mentally disabled people that they had taken in from the streets of Coimbatore. The children were presently being housed in a separate house quite a distance from the main facility. I was told that they had 60 children--45 boys and 15 girls and that that they all lived in the 2 room house that I was shown. I was shown the land and the beginnings of a new building that had been halted due to a lack of funds.

I was very keen to help them out and was planning how I could help to raise the needed money in Canada. The Youth organization informed me that the orphanage owner was not being honest with me and had inflated the numbers, using children who lived in nearby homes to make it look like they had 60 children. When we bought and distributed the 60 gifts I noticed that many were left over.

While in India I became aware of just how much corruption there is in the politics and civil service there. I guess it is just normal in India but was shocking to me. A local politician remarked that if he were honest he would never get elected.

So I am now planning to focus my altruism on helping to educate women in Nepal and hope that I find a bit more integrity in the NGO’s there!

I also became disillusioned with ashrams this trip. The two that I had supported and promoted for many years did not even know who I was and were not at all welcoming.

I discovered a new one close to Coimbatore that is now very popular in India and we spent 3 days there right after New Years. It was a very nice facility and I wanted to stay longer but was told I needed to do a week long course before I was eligible to stay.

I chose to do the course in Goa as it was the next one coming up. I was booked into a hotel and was in class by 6 AM every morning. I found the contents of the course to be very elementary and contained material that I had been teaching for years. I forced myself to complete the course but never did go back to the ashram.

Instead I went to spend some time in Hampi and then went to Shantivanam, a Christian ashram in Southern India. Here I found a very warm welcome and spent 3 weeks there which changed my life. They combined the best of Chrisitianity with the best of Hinduism and were extremely loving and honest. I was able to shed my prejudices about Christianity and to become open to the teachings in a whole new way.

Since returning home I have been discovering the treasures of mystical Christianity and integrate them along with what I have learned in India over the past 35 years. I continue to love my Unitarian congregation and my place in that community but have a richer, fuller understanding of my place on this earth.

Shantivanam--Forest of Peace

Shantivanam—Forest of Peace

 

This was my seventh trip to India.  With each previous trip I had been in search of Eastern spiritual teachings—both Hindu and Buddhist.  I was very attached to these, especially Hinduism and looked disdainfully at the religion I had been born and raised in—Christianity   But as I evolved spiritually I became aware that there were some unhealed wounds there that needed to be addressed.

 One day last spring I came home from the library with two spiritual books. I was surprised to discover that both of them had references to Father Bede Griffiths—an English Benedictine monk who had lived much of his life in Southern India combining the best of Hinduism with the best of Christianity in a Christian ashram called Shantivanam near Trichy.  My friend Brenda had visited there in 1989, had met Father Bede and been very impressed with his wisdom and humility.  I decided to buy a book detailing his life, “Beyond the Darkness” by Shirley du Boulay.  I found that I could relate to much of his search and later bought his autobiographical book “The Golden String” which I found very inspiring.

 My plan to spend the winter of 2008/9 in India came about by a serendipitous series of events that later revealed a very different purpose for this trip.   I had planned to go to Oneness University in Andrah Pradesh where I had previously done two courses and  had been promoting them for the past 4 years.  I wanted to see the newly completed temple and to do the Advanced course again.  Circumstances prevented any of this from occurring and instead I found myself at the Isha Yoga ashram near Coimbatore.  It is a beautiful ashram with a very large following and I hoped that perhaps I had finally found my spiritual home in India.  But after doing one of their courses I found it to be very elementary for me and I was disappointed that I was not learning anything new.  I had gone to Goa to do the training and decided to spend 3 weeks at Benaulim Beach resting up and deciding on my next course of action.  During this time I did a lot of writing and contemplation and re-read “The Golden String”.

 I still felt a strong attachment to the Hindu-based organizations that I had devoted much of my life to—Siddha Yoga and Oneness University and wanted to visit both of them.

My enquiries at both places led to dead ends and I began to see the darker side of India, the lack of love and charity—the heartlessness of the Eastern traditions which focused more on love of God and on karma than on love of neighbour.

 I decided to go to Shantivanam, arriving there on February 4, 2009 very soul-weary and disenchanted, and considering cutting my trip short and returning to Canada early.

After a two day journey I arrived on the train at the small village of Kulittalai at 3:30 AM feeling very apprehensive as I stepped off the train into the darkness with all my luggage.

I was amazed to find someone waiting at the train station with a sign bearing my name and a vehicle to take me to the ashram.  At the ashram gate the guestmaster had risen in the middle of the night to greet and welcome me and help me settle into my room.

 Later that day I met Brother John Martin, with whom I had been corresponding, and who is the spiritual teacher at the ashram.  I was immediately impressed with his loving and joyful demeanor, his accessibility and humility.  Later I was to be even more impressed with his wisdom and with the care in which he welcomed every visitor to the ashram, as well as the love showered on me by Sister Marie-Louise who led the adjacent Ananda ashram for nuns, where I stayed for much of my visit.

I found Shantivanam very relaxed, with attendance at events optional, but decided to immerse myself in the life of the ashram and take advantage of every opportunity to learn and experience what was being taught there.   The day started with mass at 6:30 AM.  This was a new experience for me and a bit strange at first, but I grew to love it and to look forward to it each morning. .  During the celebration of the Eucharist  I would go into a very deep meditative state and would sometimes have profound mystical visions.

  I had grown up with a lot of prejudices about Roman Catholicism, some of which had been offset by being married in  a Catholic church in Australia and by working as a nurse in Catholic hospitals in Vancouver, but I always knew that it was a mystical branch of Christianity.

    Each morning and afternoon tea or coffee was served in a gazebo in the centre of the ashram.  This was our opportunity to meet new arrivals and to socialize with our fellow ashramites.  I was amazed at the people I met there –some who were staying as long as I and others who were just passing through, but every one drawn from all over the world by the same invisible force that drew me there.  For the first time in my life I felt fully accepted and safe to be authentic.

Every afternoon at 4 PM (except Sundays),Brother Martin met with us and patiently answered any questions that were put forth.   He was carrying on a tradition started by Father Bede.  Brother Martin had joined Father Bede in 1984, when just before he was due for ordination as a priest, he came to Shantivanam for some spiritual direction and is still there.  Fr. Bede allowed him to find his own unique way of teaching—I found it veryrefreshing and insightful.  Along with others I found myself almost jumping up and down with excitement the first few times I heard him speak.  I was also very impressed by the level of spiritual maturity shown by those who asked the questions.

  There is a rhythm in an ashram that allows one to focus  inward as there are very few external choices that need to be made on a daily basis.   At Shantivanam our education was mostly self-guided with a wonderful library and book store full of books written by the founders, as well as books from every spritual tradition.  I continued to do lots of writing,which is my way of gaining clarity.  I was discovering a whole new approach to Christianity—one that dovetailed with my previous mystical experiences and understandings gained in Eastern traditions. I loved the combination of Psalms with Sanskirt and Tamil chanting.    I realised that I had gone as far as I could go with the Eastern forms alone and that it was time for me to reclaim my Christian heritage.

 My prejudices fell away as I discovered that Christianity is starting to change from within as it allows itself to embrace the mysticism that has always been present in the lives of Christian saints and is the essence of all religions.  Here at Shantivanam the myths and metaphors were addressed and the scriptures came alive for me in a whole new way.  I began to see how the Eastern and Western traditions had much to learn from each other and that combined they were more than the sum of the parts.

 The missing element in the Western traditions is Wisdom, and lacking in Eastern traditions is the Love of neighbour which has allowed such degradation of humans to continue into the modern world.  The symbol of the cross took on a new meaning, as for me it symbolized the need to come back down to the heart level after experiencing the bliss of the higher chakras.  It is important after realizing the essential truth of Oneness to be willing to return to living in a dualistic world with functional boundaries and to offer our lives in service to our fellow humans.

 I came to understand the meaning of the Trinity when it was explained as:

Father --static aspect of divinity (transcendent),

Son --the dynamic (immanent) aspect

Holy Spirit –the relationship between the two

 I could draw parallels from Hinduism  with the journey from Shakti to Shiva and the energy of the kundalini. 

 

Bother Martin was very knowledgable about Advaita and made insightful comparisons with the Judeo-Christian traditions.

One day after Brother Martin’s talk I was writing, and upon completing it, realized that I had just written a poem describing my spiritual journey.  I had been thinking about how impatient I had become for enlightenment, and it reminded me of my children on long car trips when they used to repeatedly ask, “Are we there yet?”  Here is my poem:

 

         Am I There Yet?

 The journey to the Promised Land has been long and arduous and I am feeling weary.

I keep asking, “Am I there yet?  How much longer?”

The journey started in the Garden of Eden—original innocence. oneness, wholeness, unity—but unconscious.

Then came the Fall and being expelled from the garden paradise.

But I remember it and I long to return.

It is close and I get glimpses of it—but often it is a mirage.

Not there yet.

 The journey through the desert has been uncomfortable

But manna (nourishment) has always been there for my needs.

In the barren landscape I remember the lush greenery and pristine beauty of the Garden.

Maybe next year---next course—next trip to India!

I keep plodding onward

Focused too much on the destination and not enough on the Journey,

The Eternal Now—outside of time and space.

 Letting go of the past and trusting the future

I dwell in the Present and\

There I find Presence

There I find Freedom

There I find Creativity

There I find Joy

There I find Love

I am There

I am Here Now

I Am.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Last week in Sri Lanka

I left Shantivanam as it was getting too hot to sleep at night, spent 3 days in an air conditioned hotel in Trichy and then joined a friend that I had met at the ashram to fly to Colombo. There we were met by our host from Kandy and we drove for a couple of hours up hill to the delightful city of Kandy. I am staying with a wonderful family here and it is very comfortable. I awoke the first morning to find the trees outside my room full of monkeys and watched them tightrope walking on the wires. Apparently they know which ones are safe to walk on.

I am a bit tired of sightseeing so am just content to join the family in their every day activities. Their 15 year old daughter is a chess champion who has travelled all over the world to compete in tournaments.

Sri Lanka is very different from India even though it is just a 40 minute air trip away. This is predominantly Sinhalese Budddhists and the country is much cleaner and more progressive.
Unfortunately the civil war here with the Tamil Tigers is still in its last days and there are soldiers with machine guns, check points and barricades everywhere, but I am finding it very peacerful where I am.
There is a large temple here that has a tooth from the Buddha and is one of the holiest shrines in Sri Lanka. The Tamil Tigers bombed it in 1998 so security is very tight now. They will be showing the tooth on the 6th and already are preparing for huge line ups. There are buddhist monks and buddha statues and shrines everywhere.

Sri Lanka is definitely worth a visit and I expect that I may return here some day. I also hope to return to Shantivanam. But now I am looking forward to returning to my comfortable home in Canada and integrating all that I have learned and experienced here. It has been an amazing journey!

Shantivanam

I arrived at Shantivanam. near Trichy in Southern India on Feb. 4 at 3:30 AM on the train. It was a bit frightening to be getting off a train in a small village at this hour of the morning, but I was delighted to be met by someone holding a placard with my name and to be taken to the ashram where the guestmaster, a woman from California had got up to meet me and help me settle in. What a change from the Hindu ashrams I have visited!. Here there is so much love and respect and individual attention. It is a small ashram with a limit of 50 guests and there are people coming and going every day from all parts of the world, but it doesn't seem to detract from the peace and serenity of the place. I am amazed at the people I am meeting here--the spiritual maturity is about as high as I have seen anywhere. I am making so many friends that I know I will keep in touch with.
It is difficult to describe this place. It is absolutely unique on the planet, and was just what I was looking for. It is opening up a whole new world to me--the world of Wisdom Christianity which seems to be a movement to change Christianity from within to a higher level of awareness of the mystical life of Christ. It all makes so much sense to me and it absolutely identical with my mystical experience in Eastern traditions, only much more loving. I find Brother Martin's daily question and answer sessions so exciting as he is Indian, but has spent his life as a Christian and seems to understand both on a very deep level. I am currently living in the nun's ashram across the road which is much quieter and more peaceful as there is not so much activity there.
The ashram is located beside the Kaveri river--a river that is just as sacred as the Ganges and when I left to come into town today there was a cremation going on.
My little hut looks right out at the river and I am surrounded by coconut palms, frangipani, banana trees and many exotic birds including a couple of peacocks, lots of butterflies. At night there are fireflies and the stars are so bright I can almost touch them.
I am doing lots of reading, writing and discussion with other ashramites and even wrote a poem the other day.
I look forward to sharing more with you when I return.
My journey is coming to an end with just 2 weeks to go before I must go to Chennai to catch my flight home.
My autorickshaw is waiting so must go now.
Love to you all,
Mary Lou

hello from Hampi Bazaar

I first heard about Hampi from Richard Padmos, owner of Cathedral Lakes Lodge, and he raved about it. I finally made it here and can see why! It is an amazing place.
After a 7 hour train ride from Goa shared with many European tourists we all got into autorickshaws and raced to Hampi. My driver went the fastest and I got here first.

My first impression was one of awe, and I sensed similar energy that I feel in Sedona, Arizona, which also has amazing rock formations. Hampi was the site of an idyllic Hindu kingdom until it was destroyed by Moslem invaders in 1565. There are still enough ruins to imagine what it must have been like. The site is naturally picturesque with stone heaps everywhere for miles around, and the buildings were built and carved in stone as well.

It is very difficult to describe and almost impossible to capture with a camera , so all I can say is come and see it for yourself if you possibly can.

I leave Monday for Bangalore and hope to spend a night there and leave on Feb. 4 for Trichy where I will go to Shantivanam Ashram where Father Bede Griffith lived until his death in 1993. I have been very inspired by his book, The Golden Thread and his journey from Philosophy to religion and how he combined the best of Christianity with the best of Hinduism.

Cara is back in Kelowna, Joseph is in Ooty and Manoj is still in Coimbatore but plans to join Joseph and travel together towards Delhi where they will leave for Canada on March 1 so they will be home before me. My Australian friends, Kate and Trent are headed to Bangalore so may see them there before they return home. I miss all my 22 year old friends and it seems strange to be on my own.

Bye til next time!

more from Goa

I am very happy here and have decided to stay for a month or so. Kate and Trent arrived yesterday and have moved into the same lodge that I am in. This is the third time we have stayed in the same place. (Bangalore and Ooty as well). Strange how our paths keep crossing!

They live in a suburb near Tathra in Melbourne. Last night we checked out the nightlife on the beach. It is quite idyllic to sit on the beach at night and watch a movie or listen to a band. There is a Film Festival on the beach here every year. So I am staying put here and anyone who wants can come and visit!

Introspection

I am in Goa alone after spending most of my time in India with other people. At first I felt quite lonely, but then started to see it as a chance for a retreat and some introspection. I bought a notebook and started writing. I was finding that once I started listening to a guru I started to lose my inner direction. I am now getting clear on where I am in my life and what is the next step for me. It is time for me to start finding my own unique wisdom and not keep drawing on the wisdom of others. This is starting to happen in my daily writing sessions.
I am seeing myself as being in a hermitage and loving it. It is a very beautiful hermitage--a penthouse surrounded by coconut palms, mango and papaya trees, with a beautiful beach nearby. I even have a television but am learning to use it appropriately and not as a tool to distract myself from loneliness.
This being said, I have some Australian friends arriving tomorrow--so will have some company after all!

in Goa

This is me with Joseph, Cara and Manoj on a hike at Kodaikanal. The views were spectacular and included several water falls. Cara and Joseph have gone to Kerala and I am in Goa doing a course called "Inner Engineering" which will give me the credentials I need to stay at the Isha Yoga Ashram for a longer period of time. I am the only foreigner and the only woman in my class, and it feels strange to be a student after so many years of being a teacher of many of the same concepts. I am learning lots though and enjoying the experience. I have to walk about 20 minutes in the dark to my class at 6 AM every morning past all the wild dogs on the street, up a steep hill, then do yoga postures which my body does not want to do!
My class finishes at 9 AM so I have the rest of the day to spend at the beach. When it finishes on Tuesday I plan to move to Benaulim, a small beach village and just veg out for a week before returning to Coimbatore on the 20th. Cara and Joseph also plan to return then and we will celebrate Joseph's birthday, hopefully at the Families for Children orphanage from which Manoj was adopted. Cara flies to Mumbai and home on the 25th and I plan to go back to Isha Yoga ashram for about a month.

Isha Yoga Ashram

I have just come from a 2 hour treatment at the rejuvenation centre here at Isha Yoga Ashram and feel wonderful--something I haven't felt for a while since getting a gastric bug on New Year's Eve. I was told about this place by a French woman that I met in Ooty who raved about it and I can see why. It is an oasis of peace and beauty with wonderful healthy food and the most beautiful temple with fantastic acoustics. You can check it out at www.ishafoundation.org
I am still with my 3 young travel mates, Manoj, Cara and Joseph and they have been a joy to travel with. Cara and I have been sharing accomodation and I feel so connected I am sure we will be lifelong friends. She has been travelling in Nepal and India for 9 months and is returning to Kelowna in a couple of weeks. We discovered that we know many of the same people and have many common interests. She is only 22 but is such an old soul.
I am not sure what comes next--we leave here tomorrow, and Cara and Joseph plan to travel in Kerala. Have a few more things to do in Coimbatore and I will be back on the road.
I hope you all had a wonderful New Years and wish you the best for 2009. It feels like the beginning of some big changes in most people's lives.
Talk to you again soon.
Love,
Mary Lou

photos from Xmas Day

in Koidikanal

Today is Dec. 27 and I am in Koidikanal, a hill station 4 hours drive from Coimbatore. I am here with Manoj and his friends from high school in Kelowna, Cara Christensen and Joseph Frigault.The trip up the mountains was spectacular and we are enjoying the cooler weather, the lush vegetation and the beauty of this hill station. Today we went out on a paddle boat on the lake and tomorrow we plan to hike and go horseback riding.

Christmas was incredible. Manoj and Arun decided to use the donations I brought to put on a very happy celebration for the orphanage that I spoke about in my last post. My new friend, Julia, the Hungarian woman I met in the supermarket, also came and shared the occasion.

We fed nearly 200 people and put on a song and dance show--some of it done by the children.

Each child received an individual gift as well we bought lots of sports equipment for the older children and toys for the younger ones. The photo above is of Cara and Joseph wrapping gifts for the children. The Indian man is our wonderful host in Coimbatore. Youth Helping Hands members did a great job of putting this event together very professionally and I must say I am so impressed by their dedication and their skills. The picture at the top is of a Youth Helping Hands meeting planning the event.

We will return to Coimbatore in time to celebrate New Years, then off to Isha Yoga Ashram for 3 days.

Children of Mother India

The night that I arrived in Coimbatore I was able to watch the news with Manoj to see clips of the Mega Youth Rally that he had helped to organize and in which thousands of students had participated. They were marching to increase awareness of the need for a clean environment for future generations as well as recognition of the rights of the disabled and orphans.

Youth Helping Hands is now planning a 3 day concert in mid-March in which local bands, and talented orphans will also be participating.

When I talked to Manoj about what to do with the $300 in donations that I had brought with me he wanted to use it to give a Christmas feast, party and gifts to a nearby orphanage that is very needy. We went to visit the orphanage and I must say my heart was nearly broken to see the situation there. The orphanage is called "Bharata Annai Illam" which roughly translates to "Children of Mother India". It was started by a woman named Nirmala who was an orphan who was sold to an older man at age 14 and badly abused. She had one daughter, Nalini, but left the marriage when her daughter was 3 years old. She worked in a Catholic orphanage but was not happy with the way psychiatric residents were treated so borrowed enough money to rent a large house and start her own facility. She takes in old age orphans, destitute widows, psychiatric and disabled persons as well as street children. Every month she goes out searching the bus shelters, ditches, etc. to rescue people who have been discarded by society. I see her as the Mother Theresa of Coimbatore. She now houses 150 people between the ages of 2 and 99 and is completely dependent on public donations to support them. She now has 60 children (15 girls and 45 boys), 50 old age orphans (35 are women), 22 psychiatric, and 4 physically handicapped people living in her home. The ones who are able bodied help the ones who are not. The older children help the younger ones.

She felt that she needed to keep the children separate from the psychiatric residents so has them in a separate house 10 km. away. Every morning she gets up at 5 AM and goes to the children's home to get them up and fed and dressed and ready for school. The children live in 2 rooms and sleep on the floor. I have spent some time with them and heard some of their stories which are so sad. One little girl Nandini, who is 13, spent 9 years of her life collecting garbage on the streets and selling anything she could to buy food for herself. She has blossomed in the orphanage and is now using the wits she used to survive to thrive. She has already made it to grade 5 and wants to be a policewoman when she finishes school. I will post a picture of her after Xmas.

Nirmala has constant problems meeting each month's rent for the two buildings as well as hassles with the landlords so she very much wants to build her own place. A kind benefactor has donated 1/4 acre of land near the present children's home and construction of a building was started but funds ran out.

It is Manoj and my intention to raise money for her to complete the building and to buy the adjoining empty lot so there will be some outdoor area as well. We intend to start fundraising as soon as we return to Canada. (Manoj is also planning to return to Canada in March).

So at present I am buying gifts for the Xmas party and the children are practicing a dance routine that they will be doing. I will send lots of photos. Nalini and I went shopping for gifts and bought a badminton net, racquets and shuttlecocks, cricket balls, a chess set, more games, a tambourine, as well as a few toys for the youngest children. I am amazed how inexpensive everything is here, so it is much better to send money than to try to send items here.

I am living with the same family that Manoj and Arun live with. It is a humble home and everyone except me sleep on the floor. I am getting used to the Indian toilet and to cold showers.

Yesterday Nalini took me on her motor scooter to Isha Yoga ashram 30 km away. It is a beautiful facility and I plan to go back and spend 3 days there after New Years.

All for now. I wish you all a happy white Christmas and hope that you will hold the Children of Mother India in your hearts as we celebrate with them on Christmas Day thanks to your donations.

to Coimbatore

Yesterday I said good-bye to Ooty and boarded a tiny steam train which took us down the mountain, through some of the most spectacular scenery on this planet. It was second only to cruising the backwaters of Kerala on a houseboat. What a lot of variety there is in this country!
I enjoyed being with all the backpackers from various parts of the world, including a 12year old Irish boy named Liam who was travelling with his father and was so wide-eyed and excited by everything he was experiencing. One of the highlights of the trip was stopping for chai and seeing a large band of monkeys crossing the bridge and approaching us for handouts. Some had babies clinging to them. Apparently they get fed like this 3 times a day when the train stops there.
Leaving Ooty was another lesson in contrasts as we arrived back on the plains to the humid heat and mosquitoes, crowded cities, and dealing with the Indian trains.
It was wonderful to see Manoj and two of his friends waiting for me when I arrived in the Coimbatore train station. He took me to where he is living and the family had a bedroom waiting for me with my own bathroom. So I am experiencing true Indian life now and am no longer a tourist. Manoj has changed so much during his year here, and we have enjoyed getting caught up and sharing our experience of India.
He was adopted from an orphanage here in Coimbatore when he was 6 years old by a Kelowna family, along with two other children who also were adopted into Kelowna families. Manoj came back in February to spend a year volunteering at the orphanage that he had spent the first 6 years of his life. There he met Arun, who had been his childhood playmate and was now a student in a music college. Arun was conscious of the discrimination that orphans faced and decided he wanted to do something about it. He was inspired to start a trust called "Youth Helping Hands" to raise awareness, to recognize talents and to empower orphans through providing resources and scholarships for further education. He shared his vision with Manoj who immediately recognized a kindred spirit and joined him with his more international vision.
They have been joined by two other groups who are working collaboratively with them: VOYCE (Voice of Youth for Clean Environment, and Caliber Trust which lobbies for equality for the physically disabled in India). Their efforts have attracted many influential supporters and they are doing some wonderful work. I will learn more about it as I spend the next month here and will add more as I understand more. I will also post some photos soon.

First Week in India

India is a country of contrasts, including contrasts in feelings about the country. One minute I can be in ecstasy and the next swearing I will never come back here. I arrived in Bangalore on Dec. 10 after a very smooth trip from Vancouver, through London and 24 hours at the Globetrotters Hostel by tube and being upgraded to first class on British Airways to find that Bangalore has a new international airport far from the city and 950 (about $35 Can)rupees later arrived at my homestay. I was so tired that I barely noticed the dinginess in contrast to my recent luxury on BA, but felt a bit depressed by it at first. I arrived at 6 AM and was amazed at the modernness of the airport, a brand new car, and a modern freeway. At 6 AM there were no cows on the roads so I could barely believe I was really in India!
But reality soon set in as I was taken down some very dirty backstreets and I shuddered to think where I was going to end up.
The homestay turned out to be absolutely wonderful thanks to the warmth and hospitality of my host and hostess, Sumathi and Jay Jayakrishnan. There were some other travellers there from New Zealand and Australia and we all ate with the family and became fast friends. All of the others were going on to Ooty, a hill station, and the highest elevation settlement in Southern India. When I realized that it was on the way to Coimbatore I decided to do likewise.
When I arrived in Bangalore I discovered that Manoj was no longer there, but he had returned to Coimbatore. So, rather than carry so much luggage by myself I ended up finding some needy orphanages in Bangalore and considerably lightening my load. Sumathi helped me to meet some people who were very much in need of school supplies and clothing, saris, etc.
After all of the others had left I became very good friends with my hosts and they took me with them to their farm, and to the Banaglore Club--one of the most luxurious clubs I have ever seen.
It is left over from the British colonial days and has been completely restored to its former opulence. We had dinner there one evening and I got a tour of the club.
Bangalore is quite a modern city with a nice climate. It is the IT capital of India. It is not unusual to see a chauffer-driven Mercedes limo next to a cowherd driving the cows home to be milked on the main streets of the city.
After 3 days in Bangalore I boarded a bus for Ooty. It took 8 hours, the last 4 of which were climbing via hairpin bends and first gear. We went through tea plantations, teak forests, and many villages. I could not believe that a city existed at such a high altitude and still cannot fathom how they get everything up here to service the needs of the thousands of people who live here. Ooty was a hill station where the British went to find cooler weather and relief from the hot summers of the plains below. It is now full of Indians doing the same in the summer but winter finds more foreign tourists here. It is a pleasure location with a man-made lake and lots of fun things for families to do. It was originally inhabited by indigenous peoples called the Toda, and some still live nearby. I am hoping to ride a horse to one of the villages later today if it ever stops raining. I am very glad that I still have my winter jacket with me as it is very cold here at night.
Yesterday I unexpectedly met my Australian friends from Bangalore on the street and have been hanging out with them as we are all staying at Reflections, a lodge overlooking the lake that had been hightly recommended by our hosts in Bangalore. It is full of backpackers from France, Germany, Holland, Poland etc. I am enjoying being on the road again and exchanging information with other travellers. Tomorrow I will be taking the mini train down the mountain and changing trains in Metapulayam for Coimbatore. Manoj will be meeting the train and has arranged a place for me to stay near the orphanage, so a whole new chapter of my life will begin.