Reflection on Day 5 in India (originally posted January 8, 2019 on personal social media)

Day 5 India: I knew it was going to be a good day when we had samosas with sweet chutney sauce on the breakfast buffet. Yum!!! 

Because this was a shift in our itinerary (today was our last full day in Jaipur) and a shift in our leadership (our AIIS representative had to fly home this afternoon so she could resume her classes in North Carolina) we had a three hour, midway-point debriefing/review session. It was good to be able to discuss our perceptions of all we’ve seen and heard over this past week. 

It’s also cool to see the potential collaborations that are already developing. That was one of the program goals but I think there will be far more tangible outcomes then any of us first expected, hopefully including a potential joint faculty professional development opportunity back here to India where we’d bring some of our own campus faculty. There’s also a great deal of individual resource sharing that’s already being done and more that people are willing to share that can be really useful to our own schools (and of course in our own classes). So seeing results already is pretty exciting. 

After saying goodbye to our North India leader, the bus took most of us to Galta Ji, otherwise known as the Monkey Temple, which also included the sun temple and a stunning overlook of Jaipur city. There’s a large colony of monkeys that inhabit the temple and hills that surround this sacred place. It’s a pilgrimage for Hindus and tourists alike. It was a memorable experience which included a personal blessing on the peak of the hill in the Sun Temple. 

A few hours later we were back in the bus to our hotel where 6 of us then took an Uber (yes India has Uber) about 10-15 minutes (1 dollar total for three people) to the famous Raj Mandir movie theatre where we watched a Bollywood film, Simmba, which is apparently a spin-off of another popular action Bollywood film. Some cultural differences were encountered even before the movie started. 

To purchase tickets men and women had to stand in separate segregated lines. We also had to go in separate doors even though they were six feet or so apart and lead to the same room. They sold tickets in different tiers. The most expensive seats were the box seats which were also the biggest/softest seats. I was short changed with my purchase and had to return to the counter a couple of minutes later to point this out to him. He tried brushing us off twice until my friend who speaks Hindi got involved at which point he pulled out his wallet and gave me the change he had obviously kept for himself. Not cool dude, not cool!

As in many parts of Europe, the movie quit part way through for a 10-15 minute intermission which meant our 6:30 film ended around 9:30 pm! Although it was in Hindi, we could tell the story line quite easily. Coincidentally, every so often English phrases would be thrown into the dialogue and we joked about the frequency and what was said, like “tell me something I don’t know”. It was a fun experience capped off with a tuk tuk race back to the hotel through the crazy traffic, which we are almost, (almost) getting used to. I’ve tried to video it but I don’t think you can quite get the full affect of the overall chaos occurring at any one moment on the road. I’ll keep trying.

The dinner buffet here at the hotel goes from 7:30-11:30 pm so we grabbed a quick bite after getting back even though it was late. I still have to pack so I better call this good. We’re hoping the public workers strike here in India doesn’t affect our flight tomorrow. Guess we’ll find out soon enough. Cheers and thanks to all who are following and commenting on my trip.

 

This time it has spiritual significance. I believe it’s a Peepal tree which is seen as sacred. It was the first type of tree depicted in India. There are a few stories about it in the Hindi and also Buddhist mythology where it’s known as the tree of enlightenment. The red and yellow mauli string is known as kalawa, or kalava (has many other names as well) and is often used in ceremonies as a blessing and is seen as a protection against evil. It is often tied around one’s wrist for wishes of long life and health as the wrist was historically seen as a life/control center because of the vein and nerve functions found there. It’s tied around the tree as I understand it to show honor and or hoping for favor with granting ones wish.