At the YWCA in Mumbai

New York to Heathrow to Mumbai is quite the undertaking. We left NY at 6:25 PM on 10/8 and arrived at the Y on 10/10/10. We had arranged for transportation from the airport through the YWCA, but none appeared. So we arranged for a prepaid taxi at the airport at a substantial savings over the charges the Y quoted. The airport is quite a distance from Mumbai Central and it took a long time to get into the city. That was with no traffic in the middle of the night. And with ignoring traffic signals like red lights. We, and everyone else just barreled on through. The cab driver, who said he knew where it was stopped to ask for directions several times. Exhausted and happy to have arrived, our luggage was promptly unloaded and the driver left. Well, our reservations were at the YWCA. Another cab was called, this time a car instead of a little van. Luggage was loaded on top and off we went again. Turned out we had passed it during our previous search. Even with two cabs with tips and two sets of porters to tip, it still cost less that the reserved ride. Got to bed at 5:00AM and up at 8:00AM.

The weather, as described by our pilot, is typical Bombay; hazy, hot and humid. It did clear up for chunks of today in time for beautiful views of India Gate on the Bay of Bengal.

Breakfast at the Y was simple and adequate. As long as there is porridge, I am happy. The room is adequate; clean, air conditioned, private bath. There was no top sheet, just a light coverlet thing, and I was glad to have a shaw of Erica's from her first India trip. I am very much looking forward to our next hotel venue at the Pride in Nagpur.

After breakfast we ventured out for some light shopping. Margaret was quickly adopted by a young beggar woman with a child in tow. She spent a good two hours trailing, leading, and beseeching us. Finally, Margaret negotiated a "tip" and we were left in peace.
Lois and I bought 11 silk scarves for the mela we are planning for our church. Negotiating started at 550 rs and ended at 250 rs with one extra scarf thrown in. So we will be able to sell them for $10.00 and make a nice profit. the pashmina price dropped from $150.00 to $40.00,but we didn't want to invest that much in any items that might not sell. I do plan to buy one or two for myself or gifts and now have a good idea of price. Some more walking through crowded streets with hawkers calling out and we were ready for a break.

The cafe we went to turned out to be the first restaurant to reopen after the bombings in MumbAi in 2008. We ladies had mango lahassis and Jimmy a diet coke. then back out for a while until we were all ready to drop. We had planned to go to the Taj for high tea and decided to go there for a drink before tea, which we did to our mutual delight. In addition to the g&t, I ordered a calamari appetizer; the best ever; fresh, hot, lightly crisped and beautifully seasoned. We sat by a window overlooking the India Gate and Bay of Bengal. Throngs of brightly clad folks were enjoying the day with photograph, postcard, peacock feather, drum and balloon salesman touting their wares. It was cool and beautiful. Then on to tea where we sat on an enclosed veranda, again with the view of the Bay. This time we also got to watch a group of florists decorating a doorway in all white roses, orchids, etc. The tea was lovely as one would expect, with a big surprise. there was a lovely presentation of tiramisu in small teacups, light and fluffy and rich like a mousse. I have never liked a tiramisu better than what I make at home, but this was the all out winner. When our waiter learned it was my birthday he said he was so sorry he did not know earlier so that he could be bring me a cake, but it was too late and the kitchen was closed. A while later he came back with a lovely bouquet of roses and orchids for me.

Departure Looming

Time to get packing. Yesterday our group of four met over mulligatawny soup, served and assisted by Erica and Gerard. Lois is making last minute arrangements for airport pick up, transfers, etc.

Everyone is so knowledgeable, and all are reading up on Indian history. I can be the official ignoramus. I will finish reading Richard Young's article and downloaded Kiran Desai's book which Lois speaks of so enthusiastically. AND will finish A G McGaw's letterrs.

We have had definite confirmation that Bishopn Cutting of Agra knows of our plans. He has not received word from Etah either? We do have an outline of the Nagpur Conference which has sessions for Clergy, Bishops, Lay Leaders and Women.

Work on Share the Harvest for the Long Island Council of Churches keeps me very occupied; things are getting exciting now with money and ticket purchases coming in. Tomorrow a meeting with Edgar Goodale of Riverhead Building Supply, our Corporate Honoree.

Itinerary Adjustments

We still have not heard from anyone in Etah, or from Bishop Cutting in Agra. This is deeply troubling and i wonder what our reception will be like when we show up for church on the 17th. In addition, Enos has travel plans which entailed some changes on our part. The outcome, depending on hotel availability, is that we will spend more time in Delhi and less time in Etah and no time in Calcutta. I have contacted the hotels to make adjustments in our reservations, but have not heard back from them yet.

When I got home from 17 days in Eastern Europe, I learned I have bronchitis and am responding to treatment. It is time to get back into paying good attention to our mission trip. I am reading an article, as yet unpublished by Richard Young, whom we met in Princeton. It is about the history of politics of conversion in India, going back many centuries. It puts into perspective much of what is happening today with respect to Christian Dalits.

Blunder Repair

I made myself crazy after I sent for and recieved a birth certificate from the New York City Dept. of Health. It included very little information and I was afraid that it would not be accepted by the Indian Embassy. So I emailed the company I got the certificate from and I emailed the company that handles the visas for India. My "issue" was that the visa instructions said information on the certificate must include parents names, date of birth and nationality. My interpretation was that date of birth and nationality pertained to the parents. But it didn't and all went smoothly. (After I had to call Gerard two times; once for the exact address of where I was going and the second time for a telephone number where I can be reached in India. Good thing he decided not to go with me.)

I was lucky that Lois was in Manhattan that day as well to visit the Met with a friend, so I joined them for the costume exhibit and lunch. It made the day go quickly in a very pleasant way.

Earlier in the week our group of four met Professor Richard Young at Princeton Theological Seminary. He teaches World Religions and is extremely knowledgeable about Christianity in India. He had many insights to share about political situations that could affect our reception in Etah and about the plight of Indian Christians in general. so many Christians have converted from Hinduism where they were Dalit or Outcaste people. Indian laws have penalized these people in terms of educational opportunities and government job set asides that they no longer qualify for once they convert. Unfortunately conversion alone does not magically raise them out of dire poverty. The situation now with fundamentalist Hindus and the Hindutva movement also present potentially life threatening challenges to Christians as well as to Moslems. We don't know of this type of violence in the Etah area to date.

Professor Young also expressed concern about groups who do mission without connection to the established churches of India. There is no communication between these groups and the indigenous churches. This is not only disrespectful, it can be dangerous to those they are converting and is illegal. Two groups in particular enjoy the support of PCUSA, even as they disregard basic tenets of working in foreign cultures. We hope that our reports upon return can help alleviate some of these tensions.

A Blunder

Today I planned a trip to the city with Lois and Jimmy to get our Visas at the Indian Embassy. You drop off your passport and assorted other things in the AM, per a pre arranged appointment and pick up the passport with visa in the afternoon. One of the assorted other things is a birth certificate, which of course I have and had no need to check on in advance. Sure enough, that attitude led to disaster; the birth certificate was no where to be found. So Jimmy and Lois went in without me and I ordered a new one. I'll let you know if the old one turns up in the meantime.

On the plus side, I will receiving reimbursement for airfare in the mail in a day or two. And reservations are made for two nights in Darjeeling. Of course Lois had a lot of info to go over with us on the train, but she and Jimmy can make decisions on our behalf.

Sunday's Sermon

During the Sermon on Sunday Jimmy talked about our upcoming trip and how we would be extending the hand of love and friendship, deepening relationships with our sisters and brothers. He relayed a conversation he had with his dentist, who is of Indian descent. The dentist talked about the huge contributions Christian missionaries had made to India through schools and hospitals. These institutions trained and cared for anyone who came to them regardless of caste, creed, race, etc. And it was within these institutions that the caste system began to be broken down as people were forced to be in the presence of people they would not otherwise have tolerated.

Christians, Buddhists and Moslems raised people from untouchable and outcaste to children of God. Imagine learning that you are a person of worth and loved by the God who created you. A powerful message to people suffering on the edge.

Today I completed my application for an Indian Visa. I'll be going in to NY to submit it on August 2nd with Jimmy and Lois. Now all I have to do is remember the safe place where I put my pictures.

India in the News

It seems India is everywhere. Today the Times had two articles. Protests there against an honor killing made page one and further on there was an article about two Americans of Indian descent. Both of them are in elected office and both had converted to Christianity before their political lives began. It seems like the opposite poles.

I remember a young woman I used to work with who converted to Christianity in order to make herself acceptable to her future husband's family. They were Greek Orthodox. She did not want her family to know what she had done and so she did not wear the new gold cross in their presence. No religion is without adherents who cannot accept deviations from custom.