Qutub minar, railway museum, T-ball

After Diwali this week Harvey and some of his mates had another 2 days off school, so our best friends, Kristy & her 4 boys came with us on adventures into Delhi both days.  Day 1 we went to Qutub minar.  I had taken Harvey there shortly after we came to India but he didn’t remember any of it so it was great value for money seeing him enjoy it all over again…

They explored every bit of the place…..

And seem to be learning that there is no personal space here.  They were climbing up all around where this man was sitting and no one cared….

Unfortunately it was quite crowded (I guess lots of people took the whole week off) and we were the only white people around so we were CONSTANTLY being asked for photos with random strangers.  Here’s Kristy being swamped by people wanting a photo of her blond, blue eyed 10 month old….

We sat down in what we thought was a quiet area on the grass to have a snack and it was just classic watching groups of people slowly creep over and move closer and closer & then whip out their cell phones, take a snap and disappear. These guys each took a million photos…

This kid was sent over by his parents to get a close up of us…

And finally this group on the other side (we were slowly being surrounded) closed in and just stared….

Yesterday we went to the railway museum.  I’d also taken Harvey there when we first arrived but he didn’t remember it and was so excited that he could actually climb all over all the trains there….

On the way in there were 2 army guys who were checking that we had tickets.  I showed him H’s & mine but Kristy had run through after 1 of her boys so the soldiers were telling me to bring her back which I chose to ignore.  I figured it would do them good to get off their seats and do something physical.  Anyway they let her go.  On the way out I heard them calling to her and saying something which I guessed was to do with her not presenting her tickets but in fact what one of them was saying was (get this) “madam you must wash your sons’ hands.  They are all very dirty.”  She thanked them for their concern, went out the gate and then vented about how frustrating it is that everyone loves to share their opinions on her parenting skills with her.

 

Last weekend was the final T-ball game of the season.  Harvey had a great time and was starting to pick up some skills so we’ll sign him up again next season whenever that is..

Here he is with his team and coaches after the last game….

Rangolis, gifts & other Diwali stuff

Yesterday was “little Diwali”.  I’m not sure what that means other than everyone is gearing up for a big Diwali today and Steve & Harvey both score the day off.  In preparation H & I used stencils and coloured sand to make rangoli patterns outside our door.  We thought we’d done a really good job…..

….. until we stopped on floor 8 in the lift and one of the other apartment lobbys looked like this…….

Inspired by a message from H’s principle for us to all focus on others this Diwali, we went for a bike ride yesterday afternoon through the construction site behind our apartment complex and H gave out snacks & chocolate to some of the kids living in the sheds there. He said “Happy Diwali” to them all and really wanted to be the one handing out the gifts. I love that he’s developing a desire to help.

The boy in this photo started eating his chocolate, got halfway through and then shared it with a lady walking past who was loaded up with bricks on her head..  I doubt I would’ve been generous enough at his age to share a rare block of chocolate..

They were quite shy but started talking a bit before we left.  I promised to come back another day and next time I’ll take more snacks.  The kids just come out of nowhere when they hear what’s going on.

Here’s a snapshot of one of the biggest contrasts in this region.  Luxury apartment block and right next door a huge slum.  I don’t understand how these living conditions are tolerated and why no one looking out of their back window has the will to go and do something to make a difference.

Meanwhile the kids at the village school did really well this Diwali.  A few weeks back my friend Kristy & I put out a plea to all the foreigners here asking if they could donate old clothing or toys for the kids at our respective schools and we got a lot of stuff.  So I was able to package up a whole new wardrobe and 2 new toys for each kid.  Monday we had a party and I handed it all out.

 

This is the warmest thing he’ll have this winter…

The girls made rangoli patterns on the floor with coloured sand and did a great job (with no stencils!)

And then they all decorated small candles with beads to take home for Diwali tonight (festival of lights)….

To top it all off, Poonam ma’am cooked pancakes which I then smothered with Nutella and they had about 5 each!!

 Hari had helped me the day before to find a place that sells bamboo floor matting so I used some money raised from selling paintings to buy a mat for each family represented at the school.  It wasn’t long before the parents of other kids came to the cow shed asking if they could also have one (they sleep on the ground on old clothes).  Poonam handled it beautifully and told them that if they send their kids to school I’ll get them a floor mat.  So I might find there’s a significant increase in the role next week!!.

The kids were super excited about their gifts and ran off home for 10 mins after opening them.  I thought they’d taken off for the day but they came straight back.  Poonam told me they’d been wanting to show their parents.

The thing they loved the most out of all the gifts was – unbelievably – a pair of socks!!

Festivals, bike riding & parties

So we’re right in the middle of festival season here at the moment.  A week and a bit ago was Dusshera – ignorance reigns in our house re the exact focus of each festival but this one was about good winning over evil where the bad guy had 10 heads….. Harvey can explain it a lot better.  So in the garden downstairs one day a celebration just popped up with Rajasthani dancers and camels among other things. Harvey and I ran down there early and scored the first camel ride…..

He was right into the music and was enjoying watching the rajasthani boys do their thing.  I tried to get him to join in with them but he was a bit shy so he did this performance just around the corner….

Last week was the Karva Chauth festival where women fast from sunrise until moonrise and pray for the health and well being of their husbands.  They spend the day getting all made up in something close to their wedding finery and have intricate mehendi designs drawn on their hands.  Here’s a picture of Poonam ma’am’s hands 4 days after the festival where the design has faded a lot….

Needless to say I was a bad wife and didn’t fast but I am off all dairy products at the moment thanks to a tummy infection so surely that counts a bit????

One of the best things about all these festivals is that Harvey gets quite a few days off school this month so we’ve had plenty of time to perfect his newly acquired bike riding skills.  Day 1 I ran along side him just holding his shoulders for balance.  Day 2 he was riding 25 metres solo. Day 3 he was OFF!!!! And now one week later he’s doing stunts!!!

Along with festivals there is the ever present stream of birthday parties and the latest one was at a sports academy place.  We were told there would be a ton of outdoor activities so I was expecting tennis, mini golf, horse riding etc.  There was horse riding but it was on the road with no helmuts so we steered H away from that.  No golf or tennis but the bouncy castle more than made up for that.  One thing that was operational was the mini train.  Some of Harvey’s mates invited Steve on board for a ride….

 

H got on for the 2nd round….

And then the driver got off for a rest break or a snooze or something.  Either he’s got serious problems with vertigo or he’s just not into hard work.  Anyway the kids were all wanting another ride so Steve wandered up to the driver’s carriage saw some dodgy wiring and a switch and decided it couldn’t be that hard so he took over…..

H is getting a lot better at positioning himself closer to the cake when it’s candle blowing time.  Here he is with most of his classmates – and a few ring ins….

This weekend – Diwali office party, Diwali melas everywhere and a birthday party.  Next week – Diwali festival for 2 days

Baguettes, building and another school

So after we got back from holiday recently I decided to bring a bit of our French experience to the village school.  They made paper Frenchmen carrying baguettes and French flags (except some of the kids preferred their Frenchmen to hold the Indian flag) and chowed down on huge chunks of a baguette from the supermarket here smothered in Nutella…..

Lately there’s been more and more construction going on around the school.  More houses are being squished into the village and the yard around the cow shed is the dumping ground for all the materials.  One good thing about all that is that the labourers are always around and I’m getting to know some of the women better – at least they’re not scared of me now anyway – and some of them have sent their kids to the school….

Harvey came with me twice over his recent holiday break and was really happy to see his best mate at the village school is still there.  He was copying this kid’s favourite pastime of rolling down the mountains of dumped dirt and had a great time until Hari had a bit of a dig about all the dirt that was then transferred into his car.  I guess it interferes with the taxi driving that we are guessing he does in his down time (ie with our car!!)….

So yesterday when I turned up to drop something off to Poonam I noticed that 3 of the boys were up on the roof of the cow shed hauling up buckets of dirt.  Apparently there was a big problem with water leaking during the monsoon and it’s just being fixed now.  I was hoping to see labourers up there though!!

When I asked Poonam ma’am how they got up there she showed me the “ladder” that they use around the side where the “toilet” is……

This morning I went to see another school where my good friend Kristy volunteers her time to read stories and act them out with the kids.  This school is an open air one in the block right behind her apartment complex.  A local religious organisation let them use the land for free and classes are held on blankets under trees , under a verandah of a small storage room or up on the roof……

The roof top classroom is a bit hazardous and Kristy has nearly impalled her foot on one of the iron rods once – but I love how someone just deicded to get on with the job of teaching these kids something instead of waiting for all the resources to emerge out of thin air.  For the record Kristy is looking for donations to buy slates for the school so if you read this and are interested in helping out, send me a message on here.