Chiheru - Punjab

Surrinder talking (Shamir typing!) – I really didn’t know what to expect from Chiheru village, where I was born. I left at the age of 7. From the moment I spoke to Chacha (Uncle) Mohnie on the phone, I felt such warmth and love that it was clear we would not be intruding. Chacha said there were 4 places we could stay, and he meant it. This is despite the fact that there are no hotels or restaurants in the village. People had expected us to take a taxi from Phagwara, which is a nearby major train stop. We surprised them by asking and asking, till we found the small local train, and then simply walked up to the village! All we had to do was ask for the home of “Mohnie the Canadian!”

The afternoon we arrived, there was a colourful celebration going on. I’m still not sure exactly what it was about, but Chacha made sure we were introduced formally, and were involved in the celebration. It took place near the huge tree that I remember from my childhood. We learned that it is actually hundreds of years old! This is the tree I remember climbing, hanging upside down from, and getting my dresses caught in! A couple of photos are attached.

Chacha and Chachi (Auntie) Malkit Kaur have a deluxe home, complete with modern appliances, so our stay there was very comfortable. I did not recognize the haveli (loosely translated as courtyard) built by my Dad in the 50’s, when we walked by it the first day. This really is a very special place, because my Dad built it and really loved it. He spent 7.5 happy years in Chiheru with friends and family, mostly at the haveli. He would probably not have left, but he ran out of money! This was partly because of all the generosity he displayed to others, as was repeated by many people throughout our visit.

I have a huge extended family!! They were all so welcoming, it’s difficult to put into words the connection we felt. It was like my parents were there, introducing us around the village. The words that come to mind are warmth, love, affection …

One of the warmest was Santokh Singh Bul, known to all as Tokhi. He is a retired soldier and seaman who took us under his wing. We mutually grew to appreciate his humour and his clear knowledge and love of the village. Among other things, he took us to the neighbouring village, Hardaspur, to visit with 3 more cousins, plus one visiting from Canada.

Tokhi also took us to the house where I was born, which was rebuilt in the mid-70’s. It is now owned by my Aunt, Chachi Gejo, who lives in Richmond. It is located at what seems to be the highest point in the village. Some photos of the views from there are attached. Also attached is the photo of a little boy we saw up there, who reminds me of my nephew Gene, when he was a little guy.

There are also some photos of wheat fields. My mother’s land is still farmed under lease to others, and is currently planted mostly with wheat. Some photos attached. Also a photo of me eating a wonderful fresh piece of “saag” (a mustard family green) directly from the field. Delicious!

Fuel in India is of many types. The last photo is of traditional village fuel – hand made cow patties. They are still burned for warmth, cooking, and the like.

Amritsar - Punjab

Surrinder talking here - Amritsar is 3 hours from Chiheru, so we took a day trip there by bus, back and forth. The Golden Temple is the holiest place for Sikhs, such as my parents. We went because I was curious about it. Old Amritsar is very hectic and polluted, and given our short time, we didn’t get to the new part of the City. Once we were inside the Golden Temple complex, it was peaceful – quite a different feeling. The actual temple itself is surrounded by water – the “pool of nectar” or Amrit Sarovar, for which the city is named. The lineup to enter the temple itself was long, but people waited patiently for their turn. Music and singing went on continuously (the reciting of the Granth Saheb, which is basically the Holy Book of the Sikhs. We were able to climb to the upper level of the Golden Temple, where we could sit and contemplate in peace. One of the traditions of Sikhism is offering food to all. This is called the “langar.” We ate a simple meal there, which enriched the whole experience.

Delhi

As mentioned in an earlier blog, Delhi is where some of our travel caught up with us. We needed to rest, regroup, recover from a little stomach upset and the like. Finally, that left us with only a day of real sightseeing. We took a guided tour, mostly of New Delhi. It’s unfortunate we didn’t see Old Delhi, since it is fascinating. But maybe in the future …

Delhi is a surprising juxtapostion of old and new architecture. The new Bahai prayer place – the Lotus Temple – was a highlight. It is shaped like a lotus, with wonderful pools and gardens around it. Very simple, very serene. They encourage people of all faiths to worship there in silence. A welcome breath of inclusion and tolerance. A photo of it in silhouette is attached.

Among the usual tourist highlights is the Qutb Minar. For now, we’ll just say there are a couple of photos attached showing some of the complex which surrounds it. For what it’s worth, we passed as “Indians” for entry – much cheaper. But then, so did an African who was in the tour group with us. Don’t know if we’ll manage at the Taj Mahal …

Ajmer, Rajasthan

We have been so deprived of fresh salads that we needed to go and buy some veggies and fruits behind our hotel. A photo of a typical produce vendor is attached. Sweet green peas, white radish (mooli), cucumbers, tomatoes, papaya. Surrinder was in heaven.

Ajmer was small enough for us to walk pretty well everywhere. We had a great rooftop garden at our hotel, and we could watch daily life take place action on the street below. We found a wonderful sweets and snacks shop not far away. The proprietor was somehow very warm, treating us as friends or family. He insisted we try a drink, which turned out to be hot milk with sweet spices, saffron, and the like. See the attached photo. We went back the next couple of days, and tasted more of his wonderful wares. The last day, he invited us to eat at his home, but we were unfortunately about to go off to Delhi by train.

Ajmer was our only stop in Rajasthan, and is off the usual tourist route. Its main “tourist attraction” is the tomb of a Muslim “saint.” We walked our way up a hillside, not quite knowing where we were going. It felt as if we walked back through a couple of centuries and into the Middle East … A couple of photos attached. Quite magical, actually.

Really soon now ...

Short Internet time today (about to rush for a train), but will be doing a big update very soon. Stay tuned! A fabulous experience going to the village and the Golden Temple. Lots to report. And only 2 weeks now till we're back.

Soon.

Love,

Shamir and Surrinder

Brief Thoughts ... from Delhi

Hi all:

We are on the verge of going to the Punjab tomorrow, to the town where Surrinder was born, Chiheru. It is near Jalandhar, between the capital Chandigarh, and the home of the Golden Temple, Amritsar. We may not have Internet access there, so thought we'd let you know why you might not hear from us for a few days. Haven't had time to go through recent photos, though, so none today ;-(

A few thoughts and updates, though ... we've had a minor attack or two of good old "Delhi belly" (not just in Delhi, though), and it seems to be cold and flu season here, so we've had our share of colds, too. Fortunately, nothing major, and we're bouncing along nicely. We ARE looking forward to what we hope is an unpolluted rural environment at Chiheru, though. India's teeming millions, together with auto-rickshaws all over, cooking fires, fires for warmth (yes, it's cold at night in the North), and fires to burn garbage ... all leave a disappointingly unpleasant time for the lungs. It would be difficult to live in one of the large cities after being used to our relatively clean air in North American cities.

By the way, I think I mentioned in the first blog, but the tiny village of Chiheru also happens to be the home town of Herb Dhaliwal, former Liberal Minister of Revenue (I think) under Jean Chretien. We understand Herb may be or have recently been there, so we may see him, too!

Anyway, if we have Internet there, we'll update photos; otherwise, we'll do so as soon as we can.

Also ... we normally check email when we can, and you can reach us at smbskb@yahoo.ca It's always a pleasure to have some words from friends and family. Thanks so much to those who have written and posted comments.

Soon, we hope,

Shamir and Surrinder

Mumbai and Gujarat

Happy Valentine's Day to all!

We have been busy! Mumbai was a surprising mix of people, modern galleries, and some fine architecture that the British built during their stay. Mumbai Harbour and the Taj Mahal Intercontinental Hotel reminded Surrinder of Victoria and the Empress Hotel. I think you'll figure out which those photos are! There is also a photo of the "Gateway to India" - which was being cleaned up. You'll see the scaffolds on part of that.

We arrived in Mumbai at 5:30 a.m. following the long train ride we wrote about earlier. Nothing was stirring, really. We walked along some of Mumbai's busiest streets to get to our hotel. It was amazing. A few hours later, the streets were completely unrecognizable. So much traffic and busy-ness where there had been silence and people sleeping on the pavement.

We had a couple of great days. We went to Elephanta Island to see the fascinating sculptures carved within caves. A couple of photos are attached for your interest. The 3-headed Shiva is huge, and the main face is incredibly serene. The other Shiva image is of Shiva as the God of Dance, Natraj. It is surprising how much life can be brought into stone! Surrinder really enjoyed the one hour boat ride each way ... and the roasted fresh corn on the cob with lime and salt. One of the photos shows her delighted anticipation when she first saw the corn vendor! What we didn't enjoy was the rate of Rs. 250 (approx. $7) for foreigners, versus the rate of Rs. 10 (approx $0.23) for Indians. Shamir thought it was not a completely unreasonable way for India to raise some cash, but Surrinder was outraged.

We only saw some of the art galleries, but they contained surprisingly modern cutting edge art work. Just outside was a major student art exhibition, and we were lucky to catch a part of a several day long art festival, which actually shut down several busy streets. A few photos of those are also attached.
We then went off to Gujarat. We spent a good chunk of our first day visiting the former Sabarmati Ashram in Ahmedabad. That is the ashram where Gandhi stayed for 15 years or so, developing his strategies for India's independence. We were truly touched by what we saw depicted of his life and work. The museum was excellent. The ashram was a surprisingly refreshing break from Ahmedabad's significant noise and air pollution.

We decided soon to go to Saurashtra, the area where Shamir's grandparents are from. We went to Jamnagar, the larger city in the area, about 450,000 population. It was a significant mix of modernity and ancient village bazaars. Some attached photos should help see this.

Our last day there, we visited a special village in Gujarat. One of the photos shows the name of the village. See if you can figure it out! We loved the village, though we had only a few hours there. People were friendly and curious. We bought some fabulous ganthia, dhokra, and jalebi, which made lovely snacks during our bus trip back. That little journey was a special adventure for us.

In Jamnagar, one of our special treats was freshly pressed sugar cane juice with some lime. It was simply delicious, and highly nutritious, costing a mere Rs. 5 for a glass (about $0.07!). Jamnagar's central bazaar was a great place to see the bandhani garments and fabric for which the area is specially known. It involves thousands of tiny knots into the fabric and careful "tie-dying" techniques. It brought Surrinder back to her old days of tie-dying T-shirts, back when she was an almost-hippie.

Our apologies if photos are a bit of whack. We're still learning!