A Most Propitious Meeting

Yesterday Arvind Vora of the Dialogue Committee of the Long Island Council of Churches hosted a luncheon for members and their guests.  The occasion was a visit from Swami Nikhileswarananda on his way home to Gujarat from Oregon.  He spoke about the teachings of Swami Vivekananda; the existence of God within all people and the role of religion in human affairs towards promoting peace.
His words struck a chord in me and I felt I was in the presence of Truth.  Actually, there were two Swamis present:  the other I had met when the Committee visited the Hindu Mandir in Flushing, NY.
Swami Balgopal is associated with Ashrams in Kalimpong and Darjeeling.  So we are invited to visit ashrams in those two places, which I love, in addition to the hospitality house in Gujarat.  Margaret and I will have to take a separate trip to all the places we can't fit into our regular tour!

Countdown to Takeoff

Excitement builds as 16 folks (all Presbyterians as it turns out) from Long Island prepare to make their way to India this coming Friday, October 11, 2013.  The trip is organized by Margaret Cook of Baldwin and Grace Simonette of Smithtown.  We two have paired up to form India Journey with Grace, Inc. a travel company designed to acquaint first time visitors with India and her culture, and to introduce them to mission projects of our partner, the Church of North India.  During our journey we will visit houses of worship of Hindus,  Muslims, Sikhs, and Buddhists and learn about those religious traditions from scholarly adherents to different faith traditions.

Our trip will not be limited to scholarly and mission pursuits, and will include major tourist attractions in North India.  Visiting the Taj in Agra, riding an elephant up to Amber Palace in Jaipur, the Pink City, and visiting Birla House in Delhi, Ghandi's last home before he was assented are all musts on the tourist's itinerary.  A group from Northport will break off and travel to Chennai to visit Missionaries Anne and Daya Dayanundun who have a special relationship with Northport Presbyterian Church.  Meanwhile, the rest of the group will relax in between jeep safaris at Ranthambore Tiger Park.  We all meet again in Delhi and prepare to fly to Darjeeling in the foothills of the Himalayas.  Here we will be lulled by the soft, cool  mountain air, and soak up the beauty and serenity all around us.  This last stop will give us a chance, too, to stop, think and talk about all we have learned and seen.

Keeping a blog up to date is quite the challenge, and I can only try to make frequent entries so we can travel along together.

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!