Train Ride

*posted by Kayd

We traveled to Puri by train from Kolkata. Being my first train ride I didn’t know what to expect and asked the boys if it was going to be anything like Harry Potter… Abhrajeet said “yes”, Arny said “bring your wand.” Let it be known: it is nothing like Harry Potter. Traveling by train is very common – India has the biggest railway system in the world.

Seating in the train is quite divided. To begin, there is first, second and third tier. We were in 2^nd tier which means the seating/sleeping area is bunk bed like. Each person gets their own place to lay down complete with sheets, pillow and blanket. The train is also divided into AC and Non AC, thank goodness we had air conditioning. Travelers can also be in the seating section (bus-like), standing or traveling via roof.

Since it was so late at night when we arrived at the train we made our beds and fell asleep right away hoping that the 8 hour trip would quickly pass. Note to self: next time bring some febreeze to mask the musky curtain smell.

I woke up in the middle of the night needing to use the bathroom. I woke Abhrajeet up and he escorted me to the toilet… or to be more descriptive, a hole. Yes that’s right, a hole in which someone would have to squat to relieve themselves. (I wish I took a photo but the smell around the bathrooms was enough to choke a horse and at the moment it wasn’t something I wanted to remember.)  Here’s how I can best describe it: There are elevated places to place your feet which are on the sides of a large metal bowl that has a hole in the center leading to the tracks below. The hole looks much bigger than it is and I was scared my flip flop would fall down into the poo-riden tracks to be lost forever. To help keep your balance there is a handle to hold onto in front of you when you’re in squatting position. 

We later learned that there was also a Western toilet in the room over.

Oh well, I did it, I peed in a hole! (mom aren’t you proud?)

After the sun rose we opened one of the doors in the train so we could get a clear view of the outside. I would never have guessed India would have been so green. It’s amazing! We rode past many small villages, people washing their clothes in the river and workers in the rice paddies.

The Shave

*Posted by Jeet

With all this talk about food, family, and fun, we’ve hardly had time to get back to the basics. Luckily, that’s what India is all about. A couple days ago I saw a guy getting a straight razor shave on the street. Needless to say I was immediately intrigued, and I made it a priority to get an old school shave myself before we headed to the holy city of Puri. 

The whole endeavor was pretty sick – a rando showed up at the house with a straight razor and some shaving cream, we gave him some water, newspaper, and towels, and then he balled. Arny even got his peach fuzz owned. Hard. Check the photo booth pics. 

So fresh and so clean-clean,

Jeet

“Laughter is a form of meditation.” – Swami Chaitanya Keerti , The Alchemy of Zen

Kakima

She is dear to me who runs not after the pleasant or away from the painful, grieves not, lusts not, but lets things come and go as they happen.

-The Bhagavad Gita

Ganges River Bath

*posted by Arny

“You are the greatest book that ever was or ever will be, the infinite depository of all that is. Until the inner teacher opens, all outside teaching is in vain… We are the living books, and books are but the words we have spoken… Read man, he is the living poem.” – Swami Vivekananda, Meditation and Its Methods

Needless to say, the preceding quote is pretty baller. And its fitting, for Swami Vivekananda is perhaps one of the biggest ballers of all time. For those who don’t know, Vivekananda was a great Indian spiritual leader who followed after the OTHER great Indian spiritual leader, Ramakrishna. Today's events were permeated by the wisdom and influence of these two enlightened humans.

Our day started early, with a visit to the Dakshineswar Temple, the very spot in which Ramakrishna based his spiritual teachings, built right on the bank of the Ganges. The clay tiles and mason walls breathed history, and some of the tiles even had dog paw prints cast in them, leading me to believe some stray dogs must have been strolling on the wet clay when it was laid down, however long ago that was (Kolkata has no shortage of stray dogs). Pilgrims played music and chanted mantras while walking in small groups here and there. The main temple visit ended with Ramakrishna's bedroom, which is now a part of the temple complex itself, yet another destination for eager pilgrims from all over India.

Finally, we took a dip in the Ganges.

"With meditation comes compassion and love. And the nearest object of your love and compassion has to be your own body. Keep your body healthy and vibrant, as this is the first and foremost meditation." - Rinzai, Zen Master

The Ganges River, known in India as "Ma Ganga" (Mother Ganga) is one of the most revered symbols of Indian and Hindu culture. I have only been in its cleansing waters one other time in my life, which was 7 years ago; my family had gone to it to spread my mom's and my uncle's ashes in the river. So it was already an extremely substantial place for me. But this time, dipping in the perfectly warm and inviting water, the sun crying down on our heads, I knew the experience was one of renewal, rejuvenation. Cleansing of body became a cleansing of mind. I stood in the waters meditatively and wished (and still do) that I could come for an extremely long morning bath and meditation in Ma Ganga every single day.

It was then that I pretty much decided outright that I WILL live in Kolkata for at least some portion of my life.

We then went to Belur Meth, the headquarters of the Ramakrishna Mission, a spiritual movement based upon the teachings of Ramakrishna. (Cameras are not allowed in Dakshineswar, nor Belur Meth, so we unfortunately can't give you any photos. Use your imagination.) This place is one of the most calming spaces I have ever experienced. Unlike much of the rest of Kolkata, it was absolutely devoid of chaos, dirt, and grime. It was clean, pristine, pure, quiet, green, white, blue, orange renunciation, everything I would ever want of a place of worship, The vibe was self-centering, exhaling unto my lungs warm and sweet stability. Individual monks sat in front of shrines in various buildings, chanting Sanskrit mantras in low hums while performing complex and ancient rituals. This was definitely my favorite holy site so far, as far as the vibes and serenity it offered me. Better yet, its also built upon the Ganges.

"Machines never made mankind happy, and never will make. He who is trying to make us believe this will claim that happiness is in the machine; but it is always in the mind. That man alone who is the lord of his own mind can become happy, and none else." - Swami Vivekananda, My Master

Everything I need.

- Arnesh Vijayesh Roy; Dilip Kumar Roy; Bharadwaj Gotra

Friends and Family - Kolkata

Like I said in the previous post, the families here are so generous. We have been treated to huge meals and delightful company.

Below are some photos of the people who have been kind to us.

With the Sircars

Chillin' with the Maliks

Thampu with her sister

Abhrajeet, Arny and cousin Chao

Transitions

*posted by Kayd

I thought I would be more in-tune to the Indian way of life after being with Abhrajeet for seven years and spending much of my days at his house where his grandparents also live and carry out a certain Indian lifestyle, but no one could have told me exactly what I would be experiencing.

Here, family is a big deal. It’s a big deal in America too, but in India people would give up their entire life to support their family. Most of the servants (I really dislike that word so from now on I’ll call them helpers), most of the helpers live in rural India and take a train into the city to work.  The Roy family hires a driver named Mahadev that has been with the family for many years. The driver lives about 2 hours away by car but doesn’t go home so he can be on call whenever someone has to go somewhere. He lives with the other drivers in a complex and only sees his family 2 weeks out of the year. To me this is astonishing and shows so much devotion. My heart breaks a little too – but it is the Indian way of life.  

The Roy family also has two female helpers, Pratima and Neelima, that take care of all the cooking, cleaning, wash and every other task you can think of. They have been with the family for 10 and I’ve been told that many other families are very jealous of the relationship between the helpers and the Roy family. I try to do as many tasks as I can without having to bother them or to ask someone to translate for me but I am scolded each time I am caught busing my own dishes or picking up after myself. I understand it is their job and it’s the Indian system but after working in the restaurant business for many years and with my own upbringing it’s hard for me not to tidy up my mess.  But everyone here has helpers. Everyone here has a specialty they are trained in – whether that be a driver, mechanic, plumber … each person knows how to do one task and they devote the rest of their life to it.

Families also don’t split up and move away after a marriage. You can find 25+ people living in the same house – most of the time the brothers live together and the wives leave their family to live with their husband’s family. People were astonished that Abhrajeet and I were getting our own place 25 minutes away from our parents (which in America is still very close!) It’s kind of like how the Ablans live so close to us – but I could never imagine us all living together (no offense Ann, Gary, Ryan & Alex). It’s great that we all grew up together, can see each other whenever we want, can cut across the lawn to borrow some brown sugar…but it’s also nice to have our own space.

Our coming to India is a huge celebration and each family goes all out when it comes to food preparation. Each thing is delicious – obviously some more than others – and I can’t believe I’m actually eating so much Indian food.  However when you have a huge Indian feast for Breakfast, followed by an even bigger Indian feast for Lunch and then a Ginormous Indian feast for Dinner your digestive system never gets a break and you are ALWAYS full. It’s been quite ridiculous. Even Abhrajeet (who can eat boatloads more than I can) finds himself completely full halfway through his plate.  I’ve been here 4 days and have had 10 HUGE meals – Thankfully one family made me some lasagna! (oh boy 4 days in and I’m already craving Italian food). 

But food isn’t the only thing that people are treating us to. Everyone wants to show us the city they are from. We are traveling all around India and each family we are staying with has a huge agenda they want to treat us to. The generosity is outstanding. 

Taken from the 8th floor. (Man I love my new lens)

Fish Market

*posted by Kayd
It was our first day out of the flat and into real world India. We took the car to Kalighat, which is a holy Hindu site, and then walked to the fish market. There was so much to see at the market – freshly caught fish, many still flopping about, shrimp, huge river prawns, fresh fruit and vegetables and Lay’s potatoes chips. We were all surprised it didn’t smell like a fish market. Everything was too fresh!  We bought some fish from this man who was very excited about getting his photo taken and told us we would have to come back and give a copy to him.

Kurthas

Abhrajeet and Arny in their Pajamas (the white pants) and their Kurthas (the long shirt)

*posted by Kayd

We stick out like sore thumbs, or like the giant elephant in the room. I thought I had packed some Indian-looking things but my clothes only draw more attention to the white American girl with light hair. Abhrajeet and Arny are also much taller and more buff than your above average Indian and with their closely shaven heads and tie-die t-shirts (…arny) they don’t do much better than me with fitting in. Thankfully Kakima took us to get some Indian clothes.

I got a sari, and to be truthful, it’s pretty hot. The sari is at least 6 yards of fabric all wrapped around your body. The way most people dress here is with pants and a shirt – many long sleeves. None of us really understand how this is suppose to be cooler in the sun but we’re dealing with Thousands of years of experience so we’re not going to argue.

The Patriarch

To be considered truly an elder
A man must practice truthfulness,
Righteousness, harmlessness,
Restraint, and self-control,
Be free of stain and rich in wisdom.

-The Dhammapada

Hello India

*posted by Kayd

It took us 25 hours to fly from Minneapolis to Kolkata only it seemed much longer than that because we saw the sun set, then rise, then set again. Here are a few things we learned:

• Airport food really does suck, especially when it will be your last American meal for a month.
• When traveling with people who need a wheelchair make sure (double & triple sure) that the airline knows you need to board early. (Stupid Frankfurt airport)
• I used to love airports but now loathe them. There is no longer anything exciting to look forward to after you’ve seen the “dark-side” of the airport.
• If Bengali people are being rude to you it is okay (and acceptable) to be rude back. These were wise words from Kakima, sadly it was about 10 hours too late on the advice when we needed it. So much for killing them with kindness.
• International Flights rock! (or at least they are a lot better than what I was expecting) We flew with Luftanza and both Abhrajeet and Arny agreed it was the nicest plane they have ever been on while traveling.
• German security check point people have no patience when a motion sensor door is involved. (really! How are you supposed to move towards them while crossing in front of the motion door without setting off the motion sensor?)

We did not get out of the airport in Kolkata until nearly 2:30 in the morning, 1 ½ hours after we landed. Abhrajeet’s bag did not show up in Kolkata – we are crossing our fingers the airport calls saying they found it. After we arrived at the house in Kolkata, where Abhrajeet and Arny’s aunt – or Pishimoni – lives we ate dinner around 4am then went to bed.

Kolkata is 10.5 hours ahead of Minnesota and although I convinced myself that I could beat jet lag she failed miserably. We all slept until 1 pm, took a few naps through out the day and 3 days later are still on a different sleep schedule.

The family flat is wonderful and there is so much marble everywhere! There are two bedrooms, two bathrooms (with flushing toilets just in case you were wondering) a kitchen, a dining area, a balcony and many areas to sit and rest under the fans in the Summer heat. Everyone said we would ‘die from the heat!’ but so far it hasn’t been bad at all. The rain keeps most of the heat away. *MARY – it feels cooler than it did at the cabin when Amy and Brian came to visit us on the 4th and there was absolutely no wind reaching our deck. We are also staying in a guest flat which has more bedrooms on the 8^th story of the same building.

The view from the roof is incredible. You can see for miles and we’re surprised that many of the trees are eight or nine stories high.

We're heading to India

Can you believe our trip to India has finally arrived?
Abhrajeet, Arny and I will try our very hardest to update this blog as often as we can with stories and lots of photos.


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There's no place like Up North

The last two weekends were spent at the cabin up by Ely. Although it's a long drive (about 4.5 hours including stops for bathroom breaks, snacks and gas) it's completely worth getting out of the city and enjoying the fresh air and surrounding woods.  My parents have been doing some home improvements over the past three years including turning the garage until a bedroom that sleeps 5 with room to spare, remodeling the kitchen and lots of painting and carpet squares. Hopefully Abhrajeet and I have their determination and enough DIY motivation to fix up our new house.

Abhrajeet and I received matching life jackets as a graduation gift from my parents knowing they would be used all summer. I found a new hobby at the cabin this summer.. Kayaking (it's oh so fun!) It's much faster than the canoe and it feels like your skimming on the water. One of my post-graduation goals was to canoe at sunset with the loons which was competed!

 

 

Abhrajeet's a big fan of fishing (although he hasn't caught anything for the past 2 years). I'm more of a fan of eating twizzlers and casting my fishing pole.

The daisies remind me of my grandma's house. I've never noticed so many of them until this year. Since it was an early spring, the lupins in our yard bloomed a few weeks ago so there wasn't a massive field of them for the 4th.

It's just perfect up there. It's nice not to have access to internet and to 'accidentally forget' the phone charger.

Sadly it's back to reality. We can't wait to go back up in the fall

Catch up - India, House, Garden...

We've been slacking on this blog - but for good reason. So many things are happening this summer it's hard to find time to just relax. Many of you already know Abhrajeet and I are going to be traveling around India for a month starting at the end of July. We will be arriving in Kolkata and traveling to Puri, New Deli, Mathura, Agra, Ahmadabad, Vadodara and Mumbai to name a few cities. Our travels will take us to some of the most important and oldest cities in the world.  We will be traveling and staying with Abhrajeet's family and family friends through out our entire trip. I tried to get a good base tan this past weekend at the cabin but we all know I will burn with my Minnesota skin. I'm looking forward to meeting more of Abhrajeet's family and finally being able to put a face to a name. Of course I will have my camera out the entire time to capture everything I can. Be sure to check back often for updates. If anyone has traveled to India recently let me know - I have plenty of questions.

Other news:

We have a house! Our karma couldn't be better. It's a little cottage style home, built in the 1920s in Minneapolis. It is absolutely perfect - I can't wait to begin decorating. It's close enough to the U of M for Abhrajeet's grad school and will be close enough to many graphic design firms. I could probably bike to work! We start moving in a few days after we come back from India. If you're in the area and are good/decent with a paint brush let us know. We would love the company.

Abhrajeet and I usually try to start a garden every summer but this summer it has really taken off. We have sun flowers, radish, bok choy, asparagus, tomatoes and some herbs. The photo was from the beginning of summer after we started the plants in pots. We dug out this entire section (man I wish I had a before photo) and added a barrier. You should see the plants now! I just hope everything is done right before we leave or when we come back. Much more gardening in our future.

Everything will be Okay

Before leaving for college four years ago Abhrajeet wrote in my yearbook "Everything will be Okay"

Those are the words I've lived by no matter what situation I've come across.

Now we're both back in Minnesota, planning our month long trip to India, can't wait to move into our new house and are spending time gardening and designing. Life couldn't be better. Everything turned out more than okay.