Yes ... as suprising as it may sound I had a day of peace in INDIA, I couldn't believe it myself so I can understand if everyone is a bit suprised, especially those who know Mumbai. The city never sleeps as I have said a million times- horns, grenade sounding fireworks, trains, people... music... the list goes on. So today I was away from it all. Unfortunately I had to wake up super early - 7AM!!!! ( I go to sleep too late for that). Anyhow I went with the president of my NGO and another volunteer from work to go take a look at one of our outreach centers. The center is located in Khopoli, it is about an 1.5 hours outside of Mumbai, in a hilly region. This place was amazing... absolutely gorgeous. When we go out of the car I heard NOTHING... and smelt the fresh air and saw the greenest trees. I felt like I was in another country. We visited a temple closeby that was made for a saint who is from the Khopoli and the community members built a temple for him. They are still in the process of finishing up. The place is amazing... the walls were of red brick and the entire ground was of marble. There was a running stream of water in the back of the temple that you can hear while sitting and meditating or worshiping the dieties. I was quite suprised to see such architecture in the middle of no where. The entire view was very serene and peaceful it felt good to just sit and watch and not feel rushed to catch a train or be on the go. I think we often forget that the simplicity of life can actually make us very happy at times. Its too bad that we have to "get away" to live simply. Everything about that area felt good and made me smile.
So we we visited the outreach center which emitted the same energy as the environment. The outreach center works as a vocational training center and is looked over by my NGO as well as TATA corporations ( a very very large corporation in India). The kids attending the classes are drop out students who have no way of making a living. These kids are taught either tailoring, Wire man, or mechanic. I have never seen kids express such interest in learning as these kids. They were all very eager to be there and very happy to have visitors. The girls in the tailoring class presented all of their work and explained to me how they learn and what they want to do. Some of these girls are already getting orders for clothes. I was so happy for them. So I put in an order for myself. They were ready to make my order right away but I told them to take their time. I figured if I am going to shop I might as well as know exactly where my money is going and support these girls. The boys were thrilled to present their work as well. I thought they would be shy explaining stuff to two girls but they weren't at all. They all wanted to talk... it was cute. I took pictures of all the kids and one particular boy was funny because he kept flexing his arms for the picture - hehehehe. The girls were showing me pictures of an event they held where they were all dressed up... and they were trying to talk to me in English because they are in the process of learning. The whole experience was so much fun. Bonding with these kids and just spending time with them felt good. They are all so bright and talented they just express it differently than those who are in school for higher and higher education levels. One difference I noticed about this suburb and Mumbai is the discipline of these kids. They are all very respectful and very motivated, and they don't even pay for this education whereas in the city the kids that DO pay still lack the motivation. Its really interesting... not my research project though. We enjoyed home made indian food with all the professors and chatted for a bit before touring the land some more.
The rest of the land was just as peaceful and the best part was the running stream of water that you can hear from everywhere. Apparently TATA has a generator which is operated by the running water so as the water runs over the turbulenes ( i think thats what they are) they turn and create energy as well as provide water to the land. Its amazing. The only thing I did not like was the noise produced by a manufacturing plant which was located close by to another temple we visited. The temple was very nice however you do not feel peaceful due to the outside noise.
Our day of peace ended the minute we got on the train and sat for 2 hours passing through each station. The air became dense the smells stronger and soon we were back in Mumbai. It was still nice to see another side to this country... a side which is much slower... and still very happy.
So my moment of the day ... I was at a platform waiting for my train and this guy comes to ask me if the train was going to... I told him I didnt know. He continued to stand close while I talked on the phone. When I finished my conversation he asked if I was from Mauritias and I said 'NO" I told him I was from the states... then he asked where I was going so I lied... then he asked if he could accompany me on my train ride and i said "NO" he said he wanted information about schools ( yeah right) and then he wanted my number and I said "NO" again... he was about to follow me on to the ladies compartment but he couldn't get through the agressive women. What a weirdo... he didnt take "no" for an answer at all... arghhhhh..... it happens even in India!!!
Okay I am exhausted and I really hope this blog makes sense because I dont feel like reading it over.
Time to pass out. Another long day tomorrow.
