A Busy 26 Hours

Saturday evening saw us attend the double wedding of Sepna and Meena. Sepna works at NLU and she, her sister, and their betrotheds concluded that Valentine’s Day would be an auspicious one for their wedding celebrations. Of late ,Valentine’s Day has become a rather big deal in India, which has not pleased the more traditionally minded. My Fulbright manual noted that Western dating-like behaviors are not appropriate in India but appearances at NLU suggest that the times, they are a-changin’. The colors were amazing, the food excellent, and the opportunity to visit with lots of folks very enjoyable. Given the relentless march of years, we came late and left early, staying not more than three hours. (I might mention that the public celebrations were sequential, not concurrent.)

Then up Sunday morning for worship at Summer Memorial Methodist Church (a congregation of The Church of North India). We enjoy the opportunity to worship even though the service is almost entirely in Hindi. Lots of folks speak English so we could share fellowship afterwards.

After a quick lunch at the NLU House we were back on the road for about an hour by auto taxi to one of the few homes for seniors in the area. Indian culture strongly maintains that children take care of ageing parents in the home but in the case of Miriam Elfreida, with whom we visited for an hour or so, the loss of her son in a railway accident made alternative accommodations necessary. Then off to the Gury Ganesh Ashram to meet with Mahesh Pareek, self-styled yogiraj. LaDonna met Mahesh at the school for the handicapped where she has been volunteering her services (he is spiritual director); he insisted that we visit his ashram. Given the difficulty our taxi driver had in finding the place, the final walk up a narrow, twisting alleyway, and the attention we drew from kids and adults alike, I suspect we were two of few Westerners to visit this ashram. Dueling metaphors for God, humanity, sin, and salvation over tea, sweets, and bhujia.

Back to NLU for a quick freshen-up and then onto a bus with many of the second-semester students to see a production of Measure for Measure staged in a courtyard of the Mehrangarh Fort. LaDonna and I had gone the previous week but took the opportunity to hang with NLU-Jodhpur Batch 2013 and see the play again. (Plus, it was free.) The small English theatre group did an excellent job and the setting was ideal. Finally, return via bus in time for a late dinner at the NLU Mess before crashing for the night.