Where love is...

This season always seems to be filled with so much.

So much...

…food

…laughter

…singing

…outings

…dishwashing

And of course, it is filled with the opportunity to spend time with family and friends.

I realize that this year is the first time in 25 that I haven’t been close to my family in the time surrounding the 25^th of December. One Christmas, on a flight home to PEI, I met a pilot who was going to be flying on the 25^th. I asked him if he was disappointed that he wouldn’t be able to spend Christmas with his family, and he explained that the 25^th was just a date on a calendar and that the spirit of Christmas, the true intention of the season could be celebrated any time. So, perhaps it’s possible to have many Christmases throughout the year.

Bangalore itself (and Asha Niketan Bangalore specifically) is diverse in its population, and therefore we have the opportunity to celebrate all of the holidays and festivals. Earlier in the month we ate Chicken Biryani for three days straight as we celebrated the Muslim festival of Bakrid, there was a Hindu festival a couple of weeks ago that lit up the temple next door, and (although not as elaborately as in North America) Christmas decorations have slowly been showing up around the city.

Our celebrations at Asha Niketan have been simple, but quite rich. In what seems like true Indian fashion, we began our preparations for our Christmas Pageant on the morning of the 24^th. Ashita, Aramuda, Akash, Chikku, Kanaka and I were responsible for costumes,

and Sonya and I rehearsed with the dance group. At 6pm that evening we welcomed family and friends for the story. There was something quite beautiful about the time together. Everyone was invited to be a part of the story, so we weren’t actually performing, but living the Christmas story together. There were some musical interludes and a couple of dance breaks that made the evening quite festive. Unfortunately, my knowledge of Kannada (that’s the state language) carols is non-existent, so we settled with English.

Everyone joined us for supper afterwards, and although it wasn’t turkey and stuffing – the paneer and rice were quite tasty!

On Christmas day our breakfast and lunch were gifted to us, and then Santa Claus and his elf (Nyem and Sciub) arrived and handed out presents. I received a lovely cd that was recorded by Aramuda’s family.

The next few days will be filled with outings to visit friends, and I imagine, a neverending stream of cake!

Christmas this year has been filled with many things – great gifts of developing friendships, sharing in new traditions, a sense of loneliness for all that is familiar, a desire for a deeper understanding of what we are living together, overwhelming feelings of gratitude to all who called or sent emails from home.

During our prayer on Christmas evening, Katharine (our community leader) invited us to look back over the past year and consider all of the times when we knew we were loved. I was filled with an overwhelming sense of joy as I was able to reflect and give thanks for all of the people who have offered me love in the past year.

May this Christmas season be a time of good company, good food, uproarious laughter, and abundant love.

Love from India
Haley

“"Why do we have to listen to our hearts?" "Because, wherever your heart is, that is where you'll find your treasure." (Paul Coelho)

I've been spending some time reading Coelho's reflections and short stories (hence the quotation...)

This week has been filled with so much kindness and true hospitality.
On Saturday, we were invited to Aramuda's sister-in-law's house for Aramuda's birthday celebrations. The house was lovely, and we received such a warm welcome - complete with tea, a budgin (songs and music of praise), games, a lavish meal of dhosa (a very popular pancake-like food) and presents as we left!
I was struck by the overwhelming kindess and generousity of Aramuda's family as they welcomed our entire community into their home.

(The budgin room)

(On the roof)

(Some of Aramuda's family, members of Asha Niketan and me!)

In honest reflection of my time here thus far, it's been filled with many challenges, moments of great joy and real peace. I'm beginning to truly understand what it means to be an outsider, and, as Katharine our community leader pointed out, it's an important way to feel solidarity with those who have felt like outsiders their entire lives.

I tried to identify what some of my biggest challenges have been, and they include:

-being stared at all the time

-not understanding what it being communicated

-not being understood

-being ignored

And so, isn't the same true for most people who have been marginalized?

It's so important for me to surrender to this, and be thankful for all that I learn from it.

Love from India
Haley.

I'm responding with the only vocabulary I have to ordinary and extraordinary situations that I see around me. (Sally Mann)

It's difficult to give a proper impression of this place. It's a cacophony of noise, a blend of smells, and so many new sights that I'm exhausted by the end of the day.

It's also a little funny because I'm not living as a tourist here and so there's a sort of 'strangeness' about taking pictures, especially when I know that I'll see people the very next day.
Here are a few of my favourite pictures, complete with 2 of the people who sent me on my way from New York :)

On the last Friday of every month, we celebrate birthdays. For November, it was Sital (on the left) and Christopher (on the right)

Our house is large and spacious, with a great deal of the outside on the inside. This keeps the air cool and fresh, but it also means that creatures like bats and rats can come into the house with ease.

Chikku is not only the founding core member of Asha Niketan Bangalore, but also the first core member in India!

A popular place to spend time is at the park. However, you're not allowed to walk on the grass, just enjoy the way it looks. Chikku, Christopher, Kanna and Damodrahn squeeze onto one of th benches!

Ashita indulged me in visiting a restaurant that served authentic South Indian cuisine. Now, I know that we eat authentic India cuisine at home every day, but it's so much more exciting to have it served on a banana leaf!

The festival at the temple next door.

And just to prove that it's really me here in Incredible India:




Love from Bangalore,
Haley.

Sounds heard from my bedroom...

**The continuous honking of car horns
**Bells from the temple next door
**Dogs barking
**Birds chirping
**The 'swoosh,swoosh' of people sweeping the streets
**Random outbursts of horns and bells in celebration of something next door
**Hindi music from a nearby radio


Today there is a festival at the Temple next door. Everyone keeps telling me that it's the festival for the Monkey God - Hanuman, so it must be the truth!
Chikku and I went and checked things out, prayed to Ganesh for a little while, ate some sweets and came home. The temple is decorated with beautiful flashing lights, and there is even a waterfall in the courtyard!


Love from Bangalore,
Haley.

Some Notes About Life Here...

Asha Niketan Bangalore:
...is located in Koramangala in Karnataka State.
(Most people identify themselves based on which state they're from.)
...was the first L'Arche community in India
...has 14 live in core members, and 14 live out day workers
...has 8 assistants, 1 community leader, 3 long-term assistants
...makes candles, cards, batik, tie-dye, whittles bamboo, and weaves
...gets up very early to clean the house
...celebrates prayer in a variety of different traditions
...drinks a lot of chai!

Our days are pretty routine thus far, everyone begins to wake up around 6AM. There is black coffee served at 7, prayer at 7:45, breakfast at 8. At 9 there is work prayer and the day begins. We work in the garden, in the craft or candle workshop until 10:30 (tea time), work again until 12:30 (lunch). In the afternoon we rest until 2:30, then do similar work as in the morning, break (for tea) and spend the remainder of the evening together. At 7 we have prayer, and then around 7:30 we usually eat supper. The days are full, but not terribly fast paced.

Today was my first day away, and Ashita (my current saviour, as she speaks English, and is familiar with the city) showed me to MG Road - the busier part of the city. We enjoyed plenty of walking and browsing through the silk markets. We also visited Cubbon Park, a park that Lonely Planet's Guide to India suggest is the place "where the city breathes". We bought peanuts from a man carrying the tray around on his head, and after I paid him, he carried out a short ritual explaining that it was a prayer for the first sale of the day.
Spirituality and religion are interwoven with the daily life here and it's really quite remarkable.

Love from Bangalore...

Advent is a season of...

On Sunday, we went to mass at St. Anthony's. It was the first time that I've been to a church where there were so many people many had to stand outside.
As we arrived, a little late, we were greeted by the words of the sermon (we made it before the Liturgy of the Eucharist, so it still counts!)in which the priest spoke of Advent.
The first words that I heard as we approached were:
"Advent is a season of longing"
What a beautiful thing, to long for something. To feel the need for something, for someone so deeply that you long for it. It reminded me of the song "Pilgrims Together" that states:
We know our thirst for God is a blessing
We know our hunger is not a curse
We know emptiness is sacred room

We thirst, we hunger, we long for so many things, and in this time of Advent, many of us long for a saviour.
Perhaps just practically, considering Christian, Hindus, Muslims, Jews, people of all faiths, people of no faith, many of us long for salvation.

And thus, the journey. Because we must seek.

The longing, that's what helps us move forward.

Enough rambling...

Some Things that I've Done for the First Time This Week...

**Crossed a street where the traffic never ends, and never stops for pedestrians
**Sat in a room where 5 language were being spoken, and did not understand even one of them
**Had a drink that came directly from a coconut
**Ate rice for 7 days straight

Love from India
Haley.