"On the Trail"
July 26 - August 26, 2001: India summary (Tad)
Hello Friends,
This is Tad. As Penny adds some details from the comforts of home I will do a quick and dirty recap of the main events of our journey.
ICRISAT
International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) is located almost 30 kilometers west of Hyderabad on the Bombay Highway, so we got there after our first day of riding. I remember visiting a classmate of mine from Kodaikanal International School (where my family lived from 1987-1989) and wanted to see if she might still be there or even be contactable. We were welcomed with open arms by everyone at ICRISAT. ICRISAT also has stations in many countries in Africa so I was given contact information for those places as well, just in case PeaceBike drops by. Both Penny and I were impressed by ICRISAT’s philosophy of cooperative and participatory research, meaning scientists from ICRISAT don’t just sit in their labs and dream up new varieties of crops and then try to market them to farmers. Instead, the ICRISAT staff interviews farmers and asks them what varieties might be beneficial to each circumstance. Some farmers want crops that survive on less water, others need more disease resistant varieties. This information is then used to develop the crops and then new seeds are given back to the farmers. Seeing the good work this organization is doing re-emphasized for me that there are so many paths of peace and service that are focused on bringing about a better planet whether you are a scientist helping farmers, a farmer growing crops for your family and others, or a cyclist who meets a farmer and shares the story. Thanks to Raman who wrote an article about the PeaceBike visit for the Deccan Chronicle. Please visit ICRISAT’s website at www.icrisat.org and, if you are impressed, please tell others. Thanks to Deepak for giving us a fantastic tour around the campus and to Eric for sponsoring a call home to Oregon for us.
Bidar and Bagdal
With a great visit at ICRISAT under our belts Penny and I biked out to the town of Sangareddi. After searching for a hotel we were offered to stay at the home of Mr. Prashad. He worked at the sugarcane factory near town and we had a great dinner together. The next day we found a back road that was recommended by one of the scientists, Tom, at ICRISAT. This back road provided a basically traffic free, well paved route to Bidar. We didn’t make it to Bidar in one day, however.
We stopped for the night in a small village next to the road. The language spoken in this village was Telugu but through common sense communications with hands and a very basic knowledge of Hindi by both parties we communicated that we were looking for a place to stay. We were offered to stay in the president of the town’s office. We pitched the tent inside the office and slept quite comfortably after a dinner of oranges and biscuits (cookies).
The next day we passed through a number of other villages along this road and even got to witness a community election going on. It seemed that both men and women were being transported by tractors to vote at a county center of some kind. At one point we rode through a political march. It made me a bit nervous to be so close to so many people and as such an attraction but we passed through the crowd before most people knew we were there. At lunch almost the same thing happened but this seemed to be a religious march of some kind. We got on our bikes and got out of the way before the procession of people got close to us. At the end of the day we got to Bidar where we stayed for a day and visited the Muslim mosque and old fort there. We also got a bit of time to check the internet connection which now exists in this town. When we headed out of town we realized we were low on toilet paper and spent about an hour searching for some. Internet is much easier to find than toilet paper in Bidar. This may be because toilet paper is not used as much as just water and also because it is expensive, at almost one dollar a roll. Speaking of roll"we hopped on our steeds and rolled on down another road toward a smaller town, Bagdal.
Back to Bagdal
Our parents had served in the U.S. Peace Corps in this village from 1968-69 before they stationed in another village nearby. They became friends with the watchmen of their small bungalow and when we, as a family, returned to India in 1987 we came back to this village for a visit. The watchman and his wife had died years before but their children Ismail, Krushed, Dolat, and Sultan welcomed us with open arms. I remember quite a bit from that visit but sister Penny, who was about three years old at the time does not. When I was teaching school in Oregon, the rest of my family returned to India (1999) and Penny remembers that visit well. So for both of us we were coming back to a familiar place from separate decades.
It was towards the end of the day when we rode into town and asked people for directions to the home of this family. We were both a bit giddy with anticipation of this reunion. I recognized Krushed’s face when we wheeled the bikes into the extended family’s home. She greeted both of us with prayerful, thankful eyes and then helped us wash up. There were lots of smiles and greetings of "Salaam walekum" (spelled phonetically) which means "Peace be with you". The response is "Walekum salaam" which means something like "And also with you." Over the next two days we got a chance to eat so much (There is Tad, thinking about the food again.) and were treated so generously. We visited the town’s new mosque, and the family’s sugarcane field. We took pictures of the extended family and got to meet some of the new, younger members of the family and Ismail’s second wife Rupiah. I was impressed by how well Penny connected with the teen girls in the family. They sang songs for each other and we played various card games like Go Fish and Pit.
Ismail, Mustafa (Krushed’s husband), and, to some extent, Sultan, knew a bit of English and both Penny and I were talking through our Hindi phrasebooks as much as we could. This family speaks Urdu, which is quite similar to Hindi, and those who go to school learn Kannada, the state language. We had a wonderful time in so many ways and we were blessed to be included in the lives of this extended family for a few days. I plan to go back to this village for about one week and spend some more time learning Urdu/Hindi and learning about what life is really like when the guests are not there (hopefully, a normal routine will resume after a day or two). We then took the bus back to Hyderabad then an overnight bus to Bangalore.
Bangalore
We went to Bangalore to see friends of our family that the rest of family met in Kodaikanal, India in 1999, the Mehtas. They came to visit in Oregon when I was riding through Mexico. For me this was the first time meeting them but Penny had gone to school with the two sons, Zubin and Karl. Karl is now studying in the US and Zubin is finishing his last year at Kodaikanal International School (KIS). Zubin was already in school at KIS, but Karl was still on summer break from his first year at university. Karl met us near a hospital in Bangalore and led the weary PeaceBikers, in front with the car, to their home. Daraius and Paroja, the father and mother of the family, welcomed us with their legendary scrambled eggs and a huge breakfast that Penny told me might be coming before we got there. It was so refreshing to be able to wash all of our dirty clothes and our dirty bodies and then just settle in for a while. In the evening we went shopping and I bought some classical and popular Indian music and then we went out to one of the best rice meals I have ever had in India.
The next day Karl, Penny, and I went out to see the Hindi film "Lagaan" and we were all quite impressed. It’s a fictional story set in colonial India. An arrogant English captain challenges a group of villagers to a cricket game. If the villagers win they avoid paying a grain tax or "lagaan" to the English government. If the English win, the lagaan doubles. A long drought has been plaguing the area and so it seems that the match is the village’s only hope. Even for those who do not know Hindi but want to learn about India, cricket, and Hindi films, this is a great movie to see.
Daraius helped us line up an overnight bus to Kodaikanal and then Karl and the family’s driver valiantly escorted us across town, assisted us with luggage, negotiated a new ticket (no bikes were allowed on the first bus) and acted as all-around superheroes. Thank-you to all of you for the wonderful visit!!
Kodaikanal
After quite a "bike-off-and-back-on-bus" maneuver on the plains in Dindigul, we successfully got on a bus that would take us up the hills to Kodaikanal. It was not easy but after hiring a small squadron of coolies, and seat-savers we both got a seat on a super crowded bus headed for Kodaikanal. The coolness of Kodai was refreshing and we both remembered the cool, eucalyptus smell as the bus neared the Kodai bus station. After putting on our jackets we rolled our bikes to Kodaikanal International School, a home away from home for both of us. I studied there from 1987 to 1989 (8th and 9th grade for me, while Penny was in pre-school and kindergarten) and Penny studied there again for six months of her 9th grade year in 1999. For me there were only a few familiar faces but Penny started meeting old friends as soon as we stepped on campus. We were graciously hosted by the Kaul-Padte family. My mom met Anjuli Kaul through taking her Indian Studies class in 1999 and just 2 months ago the family took a vacation to the US and actually visited the Old Beckwith Place in Dayton, Oregon.
After meeting with the new principal of KIS, Dr. Robinson from Sydney, Australia, Penny and I were invited to share the PeaceBike story with the students of Kodaikanal International School. Over two days we presented to the entire elementary school and then later we also got a chance to present to many of the high school social studies classes, and even math classes. I really enjoyed talking to all of the different groups. The first and second graders enjoyed discussing how they were each peacemakers by helping out in their family and helping their friends get along. In an 11th grade social studies class we started an engaging dialogue about what world peace was and how possible it was. I also thoroughly enjoyed the questions from the other high school classes, the ESL classes, and the middle school classes. Many of the students at Kodai School are living examples of cross-cultural understanding because they have created friendships with other students from around the world. Although I bike with a message of peace in a conspicuous "yellow-shirt," flag waving manner each one of you have the personal power and the unique multicultural experiences to be global peacemakers. It was an honor to share with you all. Thanks to Anjuli, Nitin, Richa, and Mr. Akshay for adding me to the list of people who sit down at the dinner table. Thanks to Eric for letting me chew through his Lonely Planets and stay at his house. Thanks to Janet, Kirk, Mr. Sither, Priya, Anna, and the Ultimate Frisbee Folks for keeping me in good shape in great company. Thanks to my Hindi class buddies, my many Hindi teachers, and my Spanish student for showing me again why learning languages is so important and just darn fun!
Mahabalipuram
After going in lots of different directions for a week and meeting and re-meeting many fantastic people on hikes, in classrooms, and over rice meals at the KIS cafeteria it was almost time for Penny to head for home. Our journey together was coming quickly to an end and we both felt like spending a little "brother-sister" time together. We chose to go back to Chennai and then ride 60 kms to a beach and historical village called Mahabalipuram. Mahabalipuram is known for its stone carvings and we arrived during the middle of the Hindu Ganesh festival so we had lots to see and hear. We also spoiled ourselves a bit with a day at a beachside swimming pool and great meals from rooftop cafes, the two German bakeries, and a restaurant on the beach. We laughed through memories of toilet plunging in a Bidar hotel and various other anecdotes from the last month together.
Then after two nights there we started back to Chennai. In the early afternoon we were greeted by a couple, Ravi and Kamalee, who lived near the beach and they invited us in for tea, some fruit, and a tour of their new home. Their cool home and warm kindness were refreshing after a few hours of sweating on the bikes. Thank-you both!
Chennai
The last few days in Chennai consisted in packing Penny’s bike and all her gear, getting a few gifts for friends at home, spending some time with the generous Iswariah family, and then hopping on the back of a flatbed rickshaw or as Mr. Iswariah called it "A Fish Cart" out to the airport. As we waited for Penny’s flight I found myself so thankful for the time and effort Penny and so many others back home had put in to make her journey possible. I know she has learned and grown from her month as a PeaceBiker and this wisdom and experience will always be references for her as she continues being a peacemaker. She will now be able to present to schools back in Oregon and continue spreading the word and sharing the good news about being neighbors on a shrinking planet. I love my sister dearly and miss her, especially as I type in these last lines. I know that we co-created lifelong memories that neither of us will forget. You are taking the quick route to Oregon and, although I will be taking the slower, more scenic route, your smile and your spirit will be right beside me. Thanks, sista Penelope!
Solo but not alone,
TAD
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