Meet and Greet

On Sunday Margaret and I held an informational party for our guests so they could get to know one another, and we could talk about the upcoming trip.  It was a wonderful afternoon with beautiful weather so that we could enjoy being out on our back porch.  Thanks to my husband, Gerard, who acted as host, serving and cleaning up.  There was plenty of food, surprising people who thought they were just coming to a meeting.  What surprised me was that many of them seemed unfamiliar with basic Indian appetizers of samosa and pakora.  They were pleased to try Indian food and find that they liked it and it was not too spicy, a fear that many share.  We reviewed our up to the minute itinerary and the general information included in our India Journey with Grace tote bags.
As of this writing, everyone has their visa.  Now we can concentrate on  confirming some of the details that will further separate our journey from those of other tour companies.
On another note, I met a young man in yoga this morning who teaches Hindi and Sanskrit.  Perhaps I can squeeze in a few lessons before departure.

The Visa Blues

Guests for the 2013 journey have had an incredibly difficult time getting their Indian Visas. The problems are of many dimensions, all of which overlap.  First, there have been changes to the Visa Application forms themselves.  The new instructions include separate forms for three types of visas.  But it is only by reviewing all three that you can get the complete instructions.  So one must constantly refer back and forth to get the complete instructions.  Secondly, the Indian Embassy has changed the company that processes all visa applications.  They are overwhelmed and seemingly unable to process everything in a timely manner, especially since the applications frequently contain errors and/or omissions.  Communication from and to the company is difficult at best.
The good news for our travelers is that they have all received their visas, and all passports have been returned.
Our advice?  Carefully review your application.  Make an extra copy for yourself. retain extra copies of your pictures. Don't forget to include a return envelope. Make an appointment to submit your application in person, if at all possible.  And submit your application as early as possible before your trip.

Yoga

Yoga, which means union, is an integral part of daily life in India.  This tradition dates back thousands of years and over time has grown many branches or styles of practice.  Our guests this year will be treated to a yoga workshop which will explain the development of yoga and its role and practice in daily life. Some of our guests may already be very familiar with yoga, but none have ever experienced it under the guidance of a yogi in the beautiful setting of Lodi Gardens.  This unique opportunity will be enjoyed and remembered by novice and experienced practitioners.  

Sixteen Travelers

We are very excited to host fourteen people on our Journey to India this year.  Counting us, that makes 16; a larger group than we had anticipated.
We depart on October 11th and there is much to do before we get on the plane.  This Sunday we will host most of our fellow travelers at a meet and greet party at my house. It will be a chance for folks to meet one another before we go, for us to answer questions and reiterate suggestions.  Many in the group have had and continue to have difficulties with new visa requirements and procedures and that will surely be a topic of discussion.  Suggested reading for the event is "A Fine Balance" by Rohinton Mistry.  We keep fine tuning our itinerary and will share it on Sunday.  I expect it will be the highlight of the afternoon except, of course, for the food.  And the company.

Come to the Mela!

Grace and Margaret Cook at the Marigold Garland Booth

  Mela is a Hindi word for festival, usually marking a religious event.  Our mela was a "Mission Extravaganza" at the end of September. The Parish Hall of First Presbyterian Church in Smithtown NY was set up like a fair with booths for each mission the congregation supports.  Of course India was well represented, with saris used for draping and three of the booths related to our India Mission.  One of them was educational and two were just for fun and appealed to people of all ages.  The puppet making booth used paper towel rolls, fabric and a paper head to make Indian ladies.  We had plenty of colorful trims, beads and sequins to make each puppet your very own creation.
Our other fun booth used fresh marigold heads to make garlands to wear around the neck.  In India garlands are used to welcome respected guests to an important event.  It was a challenge to find fkresh marigold heads, but of course there is a supplier in upstate New York who sells everything a Hindu Temple would need in the way of floral decor.
The feedback about the event was great, especially from the woman who said her grandchildren rarely remember something for even two hours, but they were still talking about the Mela several days later.  High praise, indeed!

Food and Friends

On Sunday we hosted 8 people for dinner most of whom had been to India with me at least once.  I used the cookbook "Good Cooking from India" by my friend Shahnaz Mehta.  Our mothers were very good friends and we feel like family to one another.  So you know this was not watered down easy cooking, but the real thing with many steps.  I made dal and plain rice, chicken curry, string beans with ginger, raita, and lamb Biryani.  And of course served with naan and chutneys.  Preparations did take much of Saturday and most of Sunday.  Homemade Indian desserts were brought by guests;  gulab jamins and kheer.  The kheer was made from a recipe I got from a dear co-worker many years ago and shar with friends.  I call it Meher's kheer.

We spent a great deal of time around the table enjoying the meal and stories from our travels.

Today I went to an annual luncheon I enjoy because I get to spend some time with people I've worked with over the years.  Imagine my surprise when I saw Noreen, Meher's daughter, who is working again with the same agency where we all first met. She was happy to hear about Meher's kheer and I know she will tell her Mom.  And so the circle of friendship goes on.

A Visit from India

I had the privilege of meeting a missionary based in India yesterday at First Presbyterian, Northport.  It is hard for those of us in the US to understand, but I have been asked not to post information about her on my website, so as not to jeopardize her safety or that of her family.  Christians are still the target of discrimination and violence in many parts of the world and that includes parts of India as well.  We delighted in finding out we know some of the same people in India and talked about the importance of teaching people about the plight of Dalits in India.  I really liked how she explained the meaning of "Dalit", as India's poorest describe themselves.  Dalit means broken and she had a dish of split peas, which are naturally broken.  The split peas are made into a dish called dal, which is the basic diet of everyone in India and an excellent source of protein when served with rice.  Dal...Dalit

It turns out there are several people in the Northport church who have expressed an interest in a mission trip to India in 2013.  It should be an exciting trip with folks from Smithtown and Northport together.