The Pittsburgh Folks

A group from Westminster Presbyterian Church in Pittsburgh, PA has been staying in Fletcher Hall here in Miraj. This is their last night after 9 days here, checking on projects funded by their church and generally enjoying the local area. They were given these clothes as a parting gift from Sandeep Raut at Sangli Industrial School.

Miraj Market

Have been to the market in Miraj a couple of times. The main part of the vegetable market is housed on the ground level of this old colonial building. The surrounding area is full of shops selling everything from stainless steel as in the middle photo above, to saris, punjabi clothes, children's clothes, shoes, etc... There are also smaller stalls with flowers (the white ones above are jasmine), bangles (the woman in purple is being fitted with green colored glass bangles), and colored powder for the tikka or bindi (god's eye) dot for the middle of the forehead. This is the same kind of colored powder sold in the market for throwing at one another during the holi festival. That comes on March 12th. I can hardly wait.

Arrival in Miraj

I arrived in Miraj at 5:45 am on the Mahalaxmi Express from Mumbai. Dad and a driver were on the platform to meet me! Yeah! Back to the Wanless Hospital Guest House for breakfast and a shower. Yesterday we had supper with a pharmacist and his family (pictured above left). He had open heart surgery a few years ago and has become friends with my dad. I was able to do some preliminary hospice medication availability research with him. The bad news is Morphine is not readily available for home use, but there is a way. I will be pursuing that. We went to a place where people with leprosy make woven goods. (see middle photo above). The last photo of the bullock cum cart was taken in the center of Miraj when Joan and I were on a mission to get some punjabi clothing made for me. Soon you will see photos of me having gone somewhat native.

Train Travel

Took my first train ride this trip from Haridwar to New Delhi. !st Class, AC car, the only way to go. The trip went from 6:15 pm to about 10:45 pm. Didn't have to worry about riff-raff pillaging my belongings. Plus, they fed us every 20 minutes of all things! So I didn't have to eat suspicious looking train station food, or go hungry. First there was a snack tray with Lay's brand masala potato chips, a large hot, fried potato pakora, a really weird little package of something they called "cake" but it was actually dehydrated powder that was sweet, may have had milk solids in it, had some flavoring, made from some kind of bean flour. A small Cadbury brand chocolate/caramel/cookie candy bar.Two little pieces of candy. A packet of "mouth fresh" which is sweetened fennel seeds. A quart of water. I thought that was the meal, so I ate it all. Then they brought some kind of lentil soup broth with tiny pieces of chopped green beans and carrots in the bottom. Then the full on hot meal came with curried kidney beans, rice, curried potatoes, curried squash, yoghurt, 2 chapatis. I could have had a small thermos of tea also, but I declined the offer. They brought fruit, bananas and some other round thing I didn't recognize. Then caramel ice cream. Whew! I won't be losing any weight here unless I get amoebic dysentery.

Playtime

Every afternoon at the Ashram from 5-6 is playtime. The trampolines are a big draw for kids of all ages. Badminton is another popular game, as well as playing house with a teaset. Kids play marbles in the dirt and race around on bicycles. There's a 3 wheeled cart they ride in along the drive up to the entrance gate.

Accomodations

My room at the Ashram is very comfortable. It's a double, but I don't have a roomie. The bathroom took some getting used to. That's a flush hole-in-the-floor toilet. No paper allowed. So I use the old water and left hand technique. No hot water in the bathroom, so I get a bucket and fill it at the water heater in the hallway near my room, bring it in the bathroom and mix it with cold and pour it over myself, standing up. Then I soap up, rinse off and squeegie the water down the drain. I don't use the cold water shower in the bathroom because the air temp is very chilly here, probably around 40 degrees Fahrenheit in the morning.

Spirit life at Sri Ram Ashram

Babaji sits in his room every morning and every evening and enjoys the company of the residents and visitors of his Ashram. This is called Darshan. People talk to one another, play games, sit with Babaji, receive his council. Everyone receives a piece of candy tossed by Babaji or a child seated with him as they enter, and most generally touch Babaji's feet as they enter or exit the room.

Morning and evening, the children have Arati, which is kind of like church. I haven't attended the morning session, but in the evening, they light the oil lamp, incense, chant a series of prayers that goes on non-stop for about 10 minutes, Om three times with a brief period of silent meditation maybe 2 minutes, sing some bhajan songs. They have a harmonium and tabla drums. The lead chanter last night was a 4 year old girl. A boy about 10 years old dressed in white lights the lamp, flings water, lights incense in front of the altar that includes statues of Shiva and Nandi and Ganesh, pictures of Babaji and Hanuman and a picture of a caucasian woman the children refer to as their mother who is now deceased. She must have been one of the Ashram's caregivers some years ago.

The poster above of Hanuman as a small child is hanging in on the baby rooms. The picture of Babaji as a young man is hanging in the children's dining room. The statue of Hanuman above middle is in front of the main Ashram building. The top left photo of Babaji was taken by me the first morning I was here. He is now 86 years old, I think.