Namaste to the Motherland

With exactly two days left to go of our five -month stay in Varanasi I find myself constantly cataloging my favorite memories, nostalgically swerving back through them, attempting to grapple with the major transition I am about to make. The following are some of the moments I have been re living:

Back in March I ventured solo off to an evening of classical Indian music. A regular, government sponsored concert series, run over a five- day period where musicians play into the early hours of the morning. I remember sitting cross -legged on the ground listening to the sitar and tabla echo out through the monkey temple and up through the roofless stage into the night sky. Sitting alone, eyes closed, my reality collapsed as the music floated my thoughts into a different realm. I could have been anywhere, let alone in a Hindu temple, half way across the world.

Watching the first hint of monsoons back in May. Early one morning during yoga class, myself and the other students ran with our yoga blankets off the temple to take shelter below in the home of our yoga guru ji. Sipping chi as I looked out on the first of the season’s sheet of water showering the streets. It will continue to amaze me the naturalness and innate ability to treat strangers and guests as warmly as family members.

The maturation of our guesthouse into a home; it did not happen over night but it is no surprise that my enjoyment of this internship increased exponentially the closer my relationships became with the family members I live and work with. Mera ji and Mamta ji fulfilled pseudo mother / sister roles while our brother/ personal chef, Lalu, spoiled us daily with his delicious, home cooked food. We became a family and when it rained whoever was around home ran out and pulled everyone’s clothes in off the line.

I can safely say that food was an integral part of our internship. Gulping down servings of oiling okra subji and tasty aloo gobi, guiltily swallowing as I calculate just how vigorous my workout routine will have to be back in Canada if I indulge in a third / fourth serving, I lose count. Apple pie, cakes, amazing reincarnations of our western favorites, to say we have been spoiled, treated as princesses, waited on hand and foot is not an exaggeration.

The Tulsi Kunj community library fashion police – aka library assistant Sarika ji and her less vocal comrade Chandana ji, swelling my head with praises and compliments for my newest salwar kaeej. Sarika, one day, almost losing her balance as I entered the library in a traditional chudar suit, so overwhelmed with my transformation from a Canadian into “pure Indian”. If I am honest with myself my amassing collection of Indian suits might have been encouraged by her constant praise and approval.

The continual, genuine friendship and pride I feel as a teacher for my tutoring students. The generosity our students have shown us as they freely and regularly invited us into their homes for elaborate meals and hilarious conversations. Without a doubt the last hour each day I spent tutoring was the most enjoyable and rewarding part of my internship.

Thank you World Literacy Canada, thank you to the Yadav family and thank you India…. until we meet again.

“The Off Season” – You know it’s the off season when…

It was forty five to forty seven degrees for two months straight. We might have been the only westerners in Varanasi; even my beloved yoga teacher vacated his temple studio to take refuge from the heat in the mountains, leaving me stiff and unfocused. It was so hot that showering in ones clothes, for some, became the only reprieve. Yes, it was so hot that the library children looked at me in utter dismay, as my light grey suit soaked its way to a navy blue, as I discovered new sweat glands like Easter eggs.

I believe now that surviving extreme weather builds a special kind of endurance. Entering spring after a long bout of Canadian winter can feel like a rebirth. Similarly, emerging from the extreme heat we have endured over the last five months feels like a triumph. The weather tests and strengthens your endurance in so many ways. Hot weather, I find, has the tendency to amplify current emotional states for example, impatience easily turns to frustration when a heard of cows suddenly blocks your path or their trail of manure throws you off balance. The heat presents you with a choice; you either fight it or slow down. You either shower ten times a day or you learn to accept feeling sweaty. When you choose to slow down, the heat moves you to function in an overall calmer, slower manner, you can’t afford to lose your temper, or get too worked up because it all requires too much energy and will only raise your body temperature. Certain things become unimportant, previous annoyances begin rolling off your back. The heat ironically cools you off. Instead of fighting how your feel, you accept it and learn that, like the weather, this too will pass.