First Days in Pune

Pune is about 105 miles southeast of Mumbai, formerly known as Bombay. You may have seen on the news where the monsoons are flooding streets there. We have had sprinkles and nice, cool temps our two days here. One interesting site we visited was Agha Khan Palace, used at one time as a prison by the British. Gandhi and his wife were both held there. His wife of 62 years, Kasturba, died in the prison with her head on his lap. (pic 1) This has become a "living memorial" in that the Gandhi National Memorial Society is involved with numerous projects to help those most in need. Among other things, they train women in vocational skills to help them become self-sustaining, help pay school fees and offer assistance to refugees. We took a long trip into the countryside through beautiful green mountains to visit one of these "projects". Laxmi Bakery is a place where women are trained to work in the bakery and sell their items to the community. I was able to visit with some young girls while there and give them bookmarks that my students had made. (pic 2) Before leaving, the women in our group were all given bangles and the men were given "Gandhian" hats. We visited two rural schools nearby and were given roses and serenaded at each. (pic 3) There seems to be great pomp and circumstance with the arrival of a group of American teachers. We have been given roses on 4 occasions, a bouquet once, the mark on the forehead 3 times, 2 flower garlands and had tea and biscuits more times than I can count! Needless to say, as teachers, we were thrilled to get to spend some time with students and I imagine the kids were happy to get out of class for a bit. Driving back through the countryside we saw numerous cattle with the giant long horns (not water buffalo) yoked together pulling plows through fields. Sometimes, the horns were painted blue, orange or even striped and color would be on the backs of the cows. Beasts of burden, we are told, are considered a part of the family. About a week ago, Indians celebrated Bail Pole, a festival to honor the animals. They painted them with colors, put jewelry around their necks and had a procession. (Wouldn't that have been a sight to see!) During this festival, the animals are given especially good food. They have a 3 month "vacation" after the fields have been tilled and before the harvest. From what I have seen, even though cows aren't slaughtered, some of them still have a pretty tough life. I think the animals I have seen include: cows, horses, monkeys, water buffalo, donkeys, chipmunks, goats, pigs, cobra, bats, birds, cats, a gazillion dogs, and today, we saw our first elephant lumbering down the road. My picture is of his backend, so I'll spare you. Speaking of pictures, I will start uploading them in a smaller size. It takes longer to load them big and there's no such thing as free wi-fi even in the big hotels, it seems. I think you can click on them and make them a little larger. 'More about Pune on the next blog.