Seeing More of Incredible India: Goa, Hampi and Mumbai

Let the Train Take the Strain

We have just got back from our winter break, and were lucky enough to be able to visit Goa, Hampi and Mumbai (formerly Bombay). Because of Kirsten's condition (she is heavy with child), we were unable to fly, so we let the train take the strain.

As I have mentioned before, the Indian railway system is highly impressive, transporting 25 million passengers a day in 2012, which equates to 9 billion people a year! It covers the whole of India and has 7,500 stations and 40,000 miles of track. It is apparently the ninth biggest employer in the world with 1.4 million employees just behind the People's Liberation Army in China and McDonalds. Unfortunately its safety record is not brilliant, and there were two fatal fires on trains in recent weeks, but by and large it works very efficiently. It's also a great way to see India.

Being a train geek, I was delighted to have to spend two days travelling down to Goa. Our second train from Delhi to Goa, the Radjhani Express, took 26 hours, and in total the distance of our journey there was the equivalent of transversing the length of England and Scotland twice! The ultimate destination of this train was Trivandrum, which takes about two days and two nights!

The trains are comfortable in the air conditioned second class carriages which we travelled. However, the majority of people travel third class, and hundreds of people cram into carriages for these long journeys (these days sitting on the roof is banned). I don't think I'd last two minutes in there!

I also went on the suburban rail system in Mumbai which is very efficient and well-used, see photos below.

On the suburban service in Mumbai         TAMARA PHILIP

The Rajdhani Express which took us to Goa

Goa

We spent a couple of weeks in Goa which I suppose you could say is India's Costa del Sol, but thankfully not full of English tourists getting drunk on stag weekends. It is very popular with Russians now, with many signs in bars and restaurants in Russian, and some local waiters even speaking the lingo!

It's India's smallest state and very chilled out, and its beaches are lovely. It still retains its Portuguese influence, as Goa was a Portuguese province for about 450 years until it was annexed by India in 1961. You can see clues of this former history with Indian-Portuguese names such as Dr Varun Carvalho (sign spotted in the town of Margao), and the design of the houses which have a definite Iberian feel. The historic churches in Old Goa also highlight the Roman Catholicism inherited from the European invaders.

Another great thing about Goa is the food! The fresh fish is delicious, and we enjoyed browsing around the fish markets in Margao for freshly caught delicacies for our supper!

A Portuguese-influenced villa in Goa

Hampi

After Goa we spent a couple of days in Hampi, a ten hour bus ride from Goa in the neighbouring state of Karnataka (relatively close in Indian terms!). Hampi is one of the most extraordinary places I've ever visited in India, and reminded me of Pompeii set among boulders.

Formerly called Vijayanagar, it is the ruins of a kingdom from the 14th century, with many temples, elephant stables and a plethora of other amazing buildings remaining, some in very good condition. What makes it more remarkable is the natural geographical setting among incredible boulders. It almost seems like you're on a different planet at times.

The scale of the remains is impressive, there were large areas of the site we did not get to see. A river also runs through the ruins, and one morning we were able to cycle up to a beautiful waterhole for a refreshing dip from the scorching sun.

I would say Hampi is a must-visit for anyone going to southern India.

A ruined temple at Hampi with ornate carvings on pillars

On the moon: Boulders at Hampi

Having a dip in a waterhole at Hampi

The Hampi crew: L-R: Jonny, Abner, Ed, Tim and Christina

More beautiful carvings on a wall

The Elephant Stables at Hampi

Another ruin from above

Mumbai (Bombay)

Finally we wound up in Mumbai, India's financial and cultural capital. The city has a real European feel, and many of the old buildings in south Mumbai are impressive, particularly the fantastic colonial era Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (formerly Victoria Terminus) railway station, one of my favourite buildings in India, a UNESCO world heritage site. And yes there are Routemaster type red buses in Mumbai (see photo below)!

Just like London: Red bus at Chhatrapatai Shivaji Terminus

Like everywhere in India the sharp divide between rich and poor is clear to see. When you visit the Gateway of India, next to the sumptuous Taj Mahal hotel (scene of the awful terrorist attack in 2008), you are approached by street children begging. And as you drive to some of the more swanky parts of the city, you pass by many slum areas (blockbuster film Slumdog Millionaire was set here).

I went out to see the Elephanta Caves situated on an island just off Mumbai, which contain statues of Hindu gods in caves hewn out from the rock, dating from the 7th century. The day I went was a cold one by Mumbai standards (the newspaper said they were "shivering in temperatures of just 13 degrees"). It was a foggy day with a bit of drizzle, but I still boarded the boat to the island hopeful we would make it within the hour we were told it would take.

About half an hour in and limited visiblity, it turned out the boat driver (skipper?) was lost and had been going round in circles. Unfortunately he did not have a GPS, radio, or any other sort of navigational aid to help him find our destination. Thankfully a group of Danish tourists on our boat had GPS on their phone, and were able to point him in the right direction, and we finally arrived about 40 minutes late. Not sure that boat operator would pass health and safety regulations in the UK, but chalta hai, this is India!

India Gateway in the rain

The GPS-less boat to Elephanta Island

Statue at Elephanta Island

Time to Get Back in the Kitchen!

We were forced to partake in an activity that has become completely alien to us in the last couple of years - cooking! It's fair to say that baking, roasting and frying have become somewhat foreign concepts for us - largely because we have a cook!

Some of you may at this point be falling out of your chair thinking we are a couple of neo-colonialists harping back to the time of the Raj. However, having an ayah (maid) or cook is actually very common in India. It's win-win situation for employer and employee. We provide work for Vimla our outstanding and hardworking ayah, and in return she is able to supplement her family's income and pay for her grandchildren's schooling. I sometimes think if we had a similar system in the UK there would be fewer people on the dole.

So it was something of a blow when Vimla announced last month she was going to Delhi for a week for a wedding. Shamefully, we resorted to takeaway most of that week, highlighting how much we rely on Vimla. We really need to start doing some cooking again, otherwise we're in for a shock to the system when we leave India!

Christmas video

We made this video for our family for Christmas, and it gives a snapshot of our life here in Mussoorie. You can watch it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qZIY9Q8we20&feature=youtu.be

Ta-ta to Tata tea, Indian News Confusion and Various Other Bits and Bobs

Term has ended at Woodstock and we are winding down before a trip back to Blighty. I've completed my first full academic year at Woodstock, and have now been in India for 18 months! How time flies! It's been a great experience but I feel like I've only scratched the surface of trying to understand this great country. Anyway, here in no particular order are some more observations on life here:

Tata teabags and my favourite mug

Anybody For Tata Tea? No Thanks!

Tata is a huge Indian multinational company which has its fingers in lots of different pies, including companies making steel (it owns Corus in the UK), trucks, as well as having a hotels arm and a beverages division which makes tea.

Yes they have even tried their hand at teabags...I purchased some the other day. But unfortunately the tea they produce is pretty disgusting. My wife says it's probably leftovers from the factory floor...and as an Englishman obviously this is a big issue...tea needs to be tasty!

Although Tata is obviously excelling in its many business ventures across the board, posting profits of billions of pounds, I would encourage anyone in India to give their tea a wide berth and say Ta-ta to their teabags!

Read All About It: Indian News Confusion

As a journalist and news junkie I have missed the British press while living here. We do get BBC World News which is a good global perspective, but trying to watch the Indian news and read the national press here has proved unsatisfactory.

This is because it is largely incomprehensible to me. Indian television news is a horrendous experience, think Sky Sports News on steroids and you're only halfway there. It consists of incessant hyperbolic captions rolling across the screens while often four, five or six people are interviewed simultaneously, each shown on screen (see photo below). This leads to people just shouting over each other and the viewer being completely lost as to the point of the story, and gives you a headache.

The newspapers are not much better. Both TV and the press assume a certain level of knowledge and give precious little context. The headlines are full of acronyms and strange abbreviations, most of which I have no idea what they stand for. A recent copy of the Times of India, supposedly one of India's best papers (but not in reality), illustrates this well. Here are some of the headlines:

Screen overload: a typical shot from Indian TV news

IIT-B buries painful birthday bumps in the dumps
Channelize savings to fin assets, says PM
CSK CEO Gurunath 'missing', gets Mum cops' summons
53%: That's what this year's UPSC topper scored
Rlys gains as Lalu hires 13 special trains for RJD rally
Digvijaya slams SC, CAT for 'belittling' CBI and IB

No I haven't got a clue what most of the headlines meant either, even after reading the stories. Oh well, maybe in a few years' time I'll be a bit more au fait with the news lingo...although I'm not holding my breath!


And finally...

Finally, the BBC recently posted this list of ten things you may not know about India. The car horns have been covered on this blog...the spitting is another pet hate...below are some more observations on life here and links to a few other things.

A metal based meal in Mussoorie

• I no longer shave at home, because it is so much easier to go the barber who will give me the closest shave for just 50 rupees every couple of weeks
• Langurs are our friends (langurs meri sati), rhesus monkeys are not.
• Food in restaurants in served on metal plates (see photo right), which gives dining a completely different feel.
• Having already met the Dalai Lama and Sachin Tendulkar, I was lucky enough to interview Booker-winning author Kiran Desai who was in Mussoorie last month. Read my interview here. Who'd have thought I'd have met all these folk in the foothills of the Himalayas?!
• Kirsten and I were also featured in the Guardian Weekly readers' column in April.
• We often see donkeys on the road, delivering milk and weaving between cars and scooters (see pic below). They have bells on them which make a lovely sound as they walk. It's a reminder how India is modernising but many people still live by traditional, more simple methods.
• My colleague Abe Okie and I made this mockumentary on food at Woodstock for a story festival here last month. You can watch it on the link below. Not wishing to sound vainglorious, but it is hilarious! Enjoy it if you watch it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HCpYTzGG1E8

That's all for now folks! Have a great summer, whatever you're up to, and see some of you soon.

Dude delivering dood (milk) by donkey

Chandigarh: The Milton Keynes of India

One of Chandigarh's many manicured roundabouts

After posting just twice this year I now find myself posting twice in a week! I'm becoming positively prolific!

Anyway, this post is about Chandigarh, a city five hours' drive from Mussoorie to the west. We went there last weekend to watch the cricket at the Punjab Cricket Association Ground at Mohali, just outside Chandigarh.

What's extraordinary about Chandigarh compared to every other city in India is that it's a planned city. As you cross the city you drive through different "sectors" over grassy, manicured roundabouts, with blocks of houses and flats and shops which make you feel like you're back in a planned city such as Milton Keynes or Welwyn Garden City in England.

A tree-lined street

It really is the most strange feeling, as it feels quite ordered, and almost makes you feel like you are not in India (however the bad driving and camels on the road soon remind you that you are!).

The city was built in the 1950s and designed by French-Swiss architect Le Corbusier, and was a pet project of the first Indian Prime Minister Nehru. It was built after partition in 1947 when a new capital for the state of Punjab was required to replace Lahore, which became part of Pakistan. It is now a union territory and serves as the capital of both the states of Haryana and the Punjab.

It's definitely worth a visit just because it's so different. I'm going back to visit its famous rock garden which sadly I did not have time to see this time.

Don't get the hump! A camel on the road in Chandigarh.

A row of houses in Sector 27, or is it Sector 37?!

Meeting MS Dhoni's biggest fan at the cricket in Mohali

Thailand, Tendulkar and Tomes

Thailand

So finally, six weeks after our winter holiday in Thailand I am finally writing about it, apologies for the delay. Well, what can I say, it’s an amazing country, so much easier to travel round compared to India, mainly because you don’t get hassled every five seconds.

It is also clean, has beautiful countryside, lovely beaches and crystal clear sea…and the food is out of this world - so fresh and flavoursome.

Highlights included seeing the Death Railway at the Bridge Over the River Kwai, made famous by the film of the same name, the Erewan Waterfalls, New Year’s Eve in Bangkok - a bustling city full of energy - snorkelling centimetres from turtles off the west coast, and playing football golf in Ko Sumoi (!). It was great also to catch up with some old friends who are working in a church there.

It is little wonder Thailand is so popular with tourists (around 20 million came in 2012, the equivalent of the population of the country), apart from all of the above…everything is efficient, the roads are good, and it has all the creature comforts westerners can’t live without. There are 7 Eleven convenience stores on just about every street corner in urban areas!

For hardcore travellers India is much more demanding…people everywhere, trying to sell you something, help you, transport you, scam you…

This is not to say I don’t love my current country of residence. But “India is just soooo not Thailand”, as I posted on my Facebook page when we first arrived!

Tendulkar

Me and Mr T in the Woodstock gym

Unless you live under a rock in India, you will be aware Sachin Tendulkar is an extremely famous cricketer. Think of footballer David Beckham in England and then multiply it by about a million.

Tendulkar has idol status, he is literally worshipped here. India’s outstanding batsman of the last 15 years, he recently became the first cricketer to achieve 100 first class centuries.

So it was somewhat bizarre to be singing Christmas carols to him at a Christmas dinner party here in Mussoorie.

Mr Tendulkar was up here with his family for a holiday. He trained everyday in our school gym preparing for the next set of test matches, and I was lucky enough to join him in bowling to his son.

He seemed like a nice enough chap and was kind enough to pose for a photograph.

We chatted briefly and I asked him if he fancied coming over to play for my team Essex in England, but he said he had received offers to come to England but his body could not take the rigours of country cricket these days. He reminded me he was the first non-Yorkshireman to play for Yorkshire, and when I asked who he thought was the best current England player, said: “Well, he’s not actually English, but it’s the South African Kevin Pietersen.” Touche Sachin! 

He was certainly pushing his son very hard, who seemed to have some talent, so who knows, I may have bowled to a future Indian cricket star following in his father’s footsteps!

I saw him in action this weekend in Mohali during the third test versus Australia. Sadly he only posted 31 runs, but it was still an experience to see him bat, and the crowd reaction to him. Every time he nudged even a single the crowd would go wild as if he'd hit a six! He was overshadowed by debutant Shikar Dhawan who made 187 on his Test bow! Perhaps the next great Indian cricketer!

Sachin (right) exiting field at Mohali Test match versus Australia

Tomes

I have a massive pile of books on my bedside table but for I’m always so tired during term time I make little headway through them. During our holiday though I managed to get through four excellent books about India or by Indian authors.

Firstly I read Train to Pakistan which is a grisly novel based on the ethnic tensions that flared up in 1947 during the partition of India and Pakistan. I then moved onto All the Way to Heaven by Steve Alter, a Woodstock alumnus who still lives on the hillside. The book chronicles his upbringing as a Third Culture Kid, son of missionaries here in the 1950s and 60s. His childhood is very similar to my wife Kirsten’s upbringing here, and so many of the details, the flora, fauna and challenges faced by a white person who isn’t quite sure where they are from, made for a fascinating read.

I then read The Glass Palace by Amitav Ghosh which is an excellent historical novel of the history of Burma and India under colonialism in the late 19th and early 20th century. I then picked up Booker winning tome The God of Little Things by Arundhati Roy set in southern India, not a bad read but quite sad. And I am halfway through another Booker-winning book - The Inheritance of Loss by Kiran Desai, who is coming to the school in May as Writer-in-Residence.

Sadly the book I had hoped to read eluded me…my darling wife stole Salman Rushdie’s Midnight’s Children at the beginning of the holiday!

Show's over folks: A diary of the staff musical at Woodstock

Howdi folks,

Sorry it's been so long since I last posted. We had our long Winter break which saw us spend a lovely month in Thailand, before we returned to Mussoorie and were immediately plunged into rehearsing for the staff musical, You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown, which took over our lives for two weeks.

I played the role of Linus and below is a diary I wrote of the whole experience. Enjoy! Proper web post on India to follow soon, I promise.

A shot during the "Glee Club" scene, Ed (Linus) with blue blanket in the second row, Kirsten (Patty) second from left in front row PHOTO Nan Onkka

The Secret Diary of Linus

28 September 2012
Did my audition for the staff show…not sure how well it went. I sang Any Dream Will do from the musical Joseph and his Technicolor Dreamcoat, using my dressing gown (a hand-me-down from former staff member Kathy Hoffmann) as my “multi-coloured coat”. Unfortunately as I went to throw it off it got tangled in my legs, causing much hilarity. Then in the dance audition I got annoyed and nearly gave up as my general lack of co-ordination led to frustration in the try-out. I wonder if I’ll get a part?!

9 October
I got a part! I will play Linus in the show, the kid with a security blanket from the Peanuts cartoon. Turns out my disastrous audition worked in my favour! We will start rehearsing in December, a week before the winter break. My wife Kirsten will play the part of Patty, so it’s fun to be in a production together. There are 16 of us in total in the cast, representing India, the US, the UK and New Zealand, with a good mix of teaching, residential and administrative staff involved.

1 December
Started rehearsals today, doing a read-through of the whole show. It’s very funny! All this week we’ll be practising the songs and our particular parts - I am a tenor.

20 January 2013, Ko Sumui, Thailand
Ran into Woodstock teachers Jessie Versluys and Sachi Angel in Ko Sumui today! Went for lunch with them and told them about our progress for the show. I have been trying to learn my part by listening to recordings I have made on my dictaphone, as I sunbathe. Really need to work on my blanket dance. I’m getting a bit nervous as our director and drama teacher at Woodstock, Bethany Okie (a professional actress), has very high standards, and I need to be ready to hit the ground running when we get back to Mussoorie.

26 January
Arrived back last night after catching the Mussoorie Express overnight train. Feeling pretty shattered but had a six-hour rehearsal today, “blocking” all the scenes, which means working out where you will be standing during the performance. Was pretty intense but it was good to see everyone.

Lucy (Meredith Dyson), Linus (Ed Beavan) and Patty (Kirsten Beavan) PHOTO: NAN ONKKA

28 January

Math teachers Zach Conrad and Paul Morrill and parent Craig Wiggins have started working on the set which is starting to take shape very quickly - they are master craftsmen. Meanwhile teachers Mike and Mary Ellen Pesavento and their two hardworking daughters Elizabeth and Juliana are working like Trojans on the lighting and sound, and various other technical aspects of the show. Judy Crider has stepped up to be stage manager which is great.

2 February
Just five days until our first performance, we have been rehearsing every evening after our staff training days. We did our first full run-through today which didn’t go too badly apart from a few people forgetting their cues. I have been having voice coaching lessons with English teacher Paul Roberts as I need to project my voice more to be heard. Bethany has given me free rein to improvise on the blanket dance as long as I just smile at the audience! I think I’ve nailed it now… It’s so bad it’s good!

6 February
Our final dress rehearsal went well. Behind the scenes lots of people are helping out with final set designs and props. Minda Philips, mother of SAGE student Maggie, has been a great help, while Elizabeth Pesavento has created an amazing bust of Beethoven for the Beethoven Day song. Director Bethany’s attention to detail is outstanding, she is working extremely long hours to finish everything off.

7 to 9 February
We did it! Two evening performances and one matinee on the Saturday afternoon were an absolute blast! It was such fun, and having the audience interaction added an extra dimension…happily everyone seemed to enjoy it! All the audiences were awesome, particularly the second night when they got up to dance during the finale – we all left the stage buzzing. It was interesting to see how different age groups reacted to different gags…obviously the younger kids enjoyed the slapstick moments more.

After the final show Dr Long and his wife Sue very generously hosted an aftershow party at their house. I was lucky enough to pick up the “biggest surprise” award, while Devan Landseidel picked up the “princess” award for his outstanding turn as Snoopy, and pianist Jessie Huang won “hero” award for the long hours put in learning the music and playing at every rehearsal, as well as being an outstanding accompanist for the actual performances.

Quite frankly everyone in the cast and all those who helped in any way deserve to be recognised. The show could not have happened without all the Woodstock community rallying round to help, and was a testament to the hard work of so many people here.

I would wholeheartedly encourage everyone, whether student or staff, to get involved in a drama performance if you get the chance. It’s an absolutely fantastic experience, and it will help you get to know colleagues much better.

So, who’s for a Woodstock production of Les Miserables next year?!

The final pose at the end of the show PHOTO: Nan Onkka

Absolutely bilkul: A year in India: Mussoorie, Modernisation and Movember

Absolutely bilkul: A year in India

Howdidy Doodily folks! Apologies for the radio silence on this blog for a while, it was a crazy last few weeks of semester, but now school is out things have calmed down a lot.

It’s lovely being up here just chilling in the run up to Christmas, enjoying the mountain environment and spending quality time with Kirsten. We were even able to sit out and sunbathe whilst reading this afternoon. It’s boiling hot in the winter sun, but when the sun goes in it’s freezing. We’ve also been enjoying the stunning sunsets from our house…the photo here does not really do it justice but hopefully gives you a flavour.

The view from our sofa at sunset, they have been stunning recently. PHOTO: KIRSTEN BEAVAN

So, unbelievably, we’ve almost completed our first year of marriage and of living in India together. It has flown by but as I said in the title, it’s been absolutely bilkul. For those of you without knowledge of Hindi, I should say bilkul means absolutely. Why then, you might ask, am I using this tautology: absolutely absolutely?

It all stems back to a funny story when I was in Delhi. I had learnt the Hindi expression, bilkul pagal, which means absolutely crazy, and tried to level it at a taxi driver who had sped me across Delhi like a madman before demanding an extra 200 rupees from the price agreed. Attempting to express my dissatisfaction during our altercation, I told him I thought he was absolutely bilkul. Needless to say my wife and Hindi speaking family members found this mistake hysterical, and now the expression has become common parlance in our household.

Mussoorie

I realise I have not written much about the town where we live and where Woodstock is located. Mussoorie is 175 miles north of Delhi in the foothills of the Himalaya, in the state of Uttarakhand (literally mountain region). It is about 7,000 feet up and nicknamed “Queen of the Hills”, and is a hill station where people come up to escape the heat of the plains. During the days of the Raj British soldiers came to convalesce. Local author and Woodstock alumnus Steve Alter has written an excellent piece about Mussoorie and its link with literature.

It is a six hour train journey from Delhi to Dehradun, and then an hour’s taxi ride up a hairpin mountain road (if you’ve not had car sickness before, you will here!).

It has changed a lot in the 20 years since Kirsten was here growing up, and she often points out new concrete developments which sadden her deeply. I guess that is a sign of India modernising (see more below), and inevitable in some ways.

Mussoorie from below PHOTO: CHESSY BEAVAN

It has numerous hotels and guest houses, and at weekends, particularly in holiday periods, it is flooded with tourists. It is a gateway to some great walking in the Himalayan foothills, although I’m not convinced local tourists ever get beyond the central attractions of the ferris wheel, horse rides and aquarium (containing Mussoorie’s only escalator)!

It still has a number of historic buildings such as St Paul’s Church and Christ Church, the Old Library, a wooden skating rink (the largest in India apparently), and a cemetery. We hope these will be preserved for the future.

It also has a cinema called Picture Palace which is now some sort of hideous 3D tourist attraction, and I'm told, a Clock Tower, although sadly I've never seen it as it was taken down some years ago because it was cracked, and has still not reappeared. I wait in hope...

Anyway, you should really come to see Mussoorie for yourself. As a taster, a Woodstock parent and fellow Brit David Berger has put up some great photos of the bazaar on his blog, so please take a look his photos, which really capture the everyday feel of the town brilliantly.

Mussoorie's ancient cemetery entrance PHOTO: KIRSTEN BEAVAN

There is also a great video about the school, the Himalayas and the recent mountain festival, which included the first Mussoorie half marathon which I took part in, available to watch here.

Modernisation

As I have alluded to above, we see signs of India rapidly modernising all around us: building work, everyone with mobile phones, shops selling domestic appliances, and huge numbers of cars on the road. This is all a far cry from 20 years ago when there was much less traffic and fewer technological advances.

In some ways it’s great that people are prospering and able to move up the social scale into a burgeoning middle class out of poverty, and this is a good thing.

However, one can’t help thinking this modernisation comes at a cost. We sometimes see adverts of TV where the whole western lifestyle is being sold as the best way forward. Although there are benefits to modern technology, it seems India is teetering on the brink of verging away from its roots founded in the family and spirituality.

If India were to abandon these foundations and go the same way as the west in chasing the material dream, this would be a tragedy. The results of this in the west have caused much unhappiness and loneliness as we have moved away from family and God and embraced a secular society. But part of me sees the juggernaut of materialism as unstoppable, not just here but everywhere across the world. Only time will tell how things will pan out.

Movember

In November we took part in the Movember moustache and beard-growing charity event, to raise money for a local children’s hospital to buy a number of wheelchairs. The event was embraced by the community and we ended up raising a huge 150,000 rupees, a phenomenal amount. There was a competition for the best moustache, and my effort ended up a half shaved, half moustachioed head, which sadly did not win! After shaving it off, I realised a number one shave was not the best haircut for winter, so I am living in my Tibetan woolly hat during these cold months.

Left, crazy sideburns for Movember; right, a shorn Ed cutting firewood by the bukari PHOTO: KIRSTEN BEAVAN

Merry Christmas

It just remains for us to wish you a very Merry Christmas wherever you are reading this. We hope you have a relaxing time and remember afresh the great news of Jesus’ birth this Christmas time. With all good wishes from Mussoorie, Ed and Kirsten.

PS My parents-in-law kindly subscribed us to the Guardian Weekly, which is an excellent read and keeps us in touch with world and UK affairs. I had a letter published in it recently, which you can read here.

PPS Wonderful to see England wrap up a test series win in the cricket recently. Sadly my schedule and long distances precluded me from attending any of the games, but I followed it closely on TV and was delighted we won a series for the first time in India in 28 years. Jai England! (Sorry Kathy H!).

Our official Christmas photo with Kirsten's Mum and Aunt PHOTO: SELF TIMER!

Delightful Delhi, becoming more "Indianised" and Mussoorie's Winterline

Listening to an awful audio guide at Qutub Minar

Delightful Delhi

I went down to Delhi a few weeks ago for some work meetings, and was able to "do a bit of tourism" in the Indian capital for the first time.

My first impressions of Delhi were not particularly positive, as I passed through it on the way up to Mussoorie. On my first trip to India last year I only travelled from the airport to New Delhi station, which is a harrowing experience for the most seasoned of travellers, as you negotiate your way through crazy traffic, and hundreds of people at the station being hassled and harangued. Delhi can be overwhelming at first, with its hustle and bustle, and people everywhere.


Taj Mahal-esque: Safdarjung's Tomb

However, it's fair to say that I pre-judged the capital, which has many magnificent historical monuments scattered around it. My first tourist stop was the amazing Qutub Minar, a UNESCO heritage site containing India's tallest minaret, with beautiful stone carvings, dating from the 12th century.

I also popped in to see Safdarjung's Tomb, a Taj Mahal-like masoleum built in 1754 in the late Mughal Empire style, which was absolutely deserted and an oasis of serenity in the middle of the busy city.

My host recommended the Hauz Kauz Village area, a trendy, bustling part of town with small alleyways of shops and cool cafes, which reminded me a bit of Brighton's Lanes area in the UK. I was able to pick up some nice presents in one of the many antique shops there.

Finally I went and looked at India Gate, the impressive monument at the heart of the city which sits on Delhi's equivalent of the Champs Elysees, which winds its way down to the Parliament buildings.

Inspired by Paris' Arc de Triomphe, it was designed by British architect Sir Edwin Luytens and built in the early 1930s. It is India's national monument and also known as the All India War Memorial, commemorating the 90,000 Indian soldiers who lost thier lives in World War I and the third Anglo Afghan War in 1919.

The inscription on it reads: "To the dead of the Indian armies who fell honoured in France and Flanders, Mesopotamia and Persia, East Africa, Gallipoli and elsewhere in the near and the far-east, and in sacred memory also of those whose names are recorded and who fell in India or the north-west frontier and during the Third Afghan war."


The inscription on India Gate commemorating Indian soldiers who died in WWI and Afghanistan

It is very poignant and an important memorial and reminder of these Indian troops who sacrficed their lives fighting for the British Raj, an aspect of 20th century history which shamefully seems to have been airbrushed from most British classrooms, certainly from personal experience.

Arc de Triomphe-esque: India Gate

A view of a three wheeler from a three wheeler

I travelled around Delhi in auto rickshaws, the green and yellow three wheeled vehicles which are ubiquitous in the capital. Unfortunately being white you are always charged a foreigner's rate, often two or three times what a local would be charged for a ride, which means you are constantly haggling with the drivers to get a reasonable rate. It can get a bit wearing, and annoying, but then on the other hand I guess we can afford to pay a bit more than most people. Throwing in a bit of Hindi can help with negotiations (don't laugh Mark Bradby donyervard!).

I also used the impressive Delhi Metro system (map here for all you fellow public transport geeks), which is cheap as chips (ten rupees a journey), and far more clean and efficient than London's creaking system. It even has air conditioning! Sadly I didn't make it to my favourite station this time, Dwarka Sector 21.


Pristine and clean: The Delhi Metro

I'm glad I've got to see more of the capital and look forward to exploring more of its many monuments in future trips.

Becoming more "Indianised"

Mussoorie really feels like home now, I'm pleased to say. On this theme, I received a birthday card from my aunt the other week, which contained a rhyme in which she said I was becoming more "Indianised", which I think is true. How do I know this?

i) I no longer double take when I see a man driving a scooter with a broken arm / lorries driving towards me on the wrong side of the road with the horn blaring / taxi drivers overtaking on a blind bend / or when I see whole families including a new-born baby riding on a single motorbike
ii) I say certain words with an Indian accent eg no (although I've yet to adopt the famous head wobble!)

Mussoorie's wonderful Winterline

Last week temperatures really dropped and it seems winter has arrived in earnest. During the winter months, a beautiful phenomenon occurs here in Mussoorie, called the Winterline (see photo below), a false horizon in the west when the sun sets, creating stunning orange and mauve hues. Apparently it only occurs here and in certain parts of Switzerland.

The view from our house looks west so we see this amazing scene every night...yet another reason for you to come and visit us if you're ever passing through this neck of the woods.

Many thanks to my colleague and neighbour Owen Fidler for the excellent photo below.

Wonderful Winterline: the view from our house at sunset PHOTO: OWEN FIDLER

A month in the life of Woodstock: The Dalai Lama, human log fluming, and cross country (not all at the same time)

The Dalai Lama at Woodstock


The DL laughing at Woodstock on Sunday
Pic: Phuriwat Chirapisit (Fuse)

After weeks of planning in my department and to-ing and fro-ing, His Holiness the Dalai Lama came to Woodstock on Sunday (September 16). It was his fourth visit to the school since he was exiled from Tibet in 1959, and he has long term links with the area, as Mussoorie was his first port of call after he left Tibet before moving to Dharamsala.

As communications associate at the school I had the job of welcoming press and chaperoning our student photographer Fuse during the event, so we got a great view of his arrival, while the rest of the school was locked up in the gym. Surrounded by a huge security entourage, the video below shows him coming up the school ramp, and you can see me shaking his hand and saying "a very warm welcome" (sorry it's on its side but when I rotate it I lose the sound).

I also got to ask him a question later during the Q&A session, what does he feel about the current situation in Tibet's capital Lhasa, which is being rapidly China-fied, to which he gave a very diplomatic answer, at one point thanking the Communists for helping Tibetans develop more character as a result of their struggles.


HH the DL with WS Principal Dr Long

As for the second part of my question, does he still work out (I read he uses a treadmill everyday), I did not get an answer! Perhaps it got lost in translation.

My orginal question was going to be "What football team do you support", but much to Kirsten's relief I didn't ask this. My sources tell me he supports Manchester United (boo).


He is certainly quite a character and had us all in fits of laughter at times. He's a bit like a cuddly grandfather. His speech was at times interesting, at times hilarious (at one point he turned round to ask his assistant what he was supposed to be talking about!), at times difficult to understand because of his accent, but the overriding themes seemed to be show love and compassion, don't view people through the lens of race or religion but look for our common humanity, and develop a positive mental attitude. All good things.

From a Christian perspective it was interesting he admitted he had no special powers to heal or bless. Ultimately he said one has the power within oneself to change, a difficult concept for Christians who believe in an relational creator God and the inherent sin inside us which we cannot ever overcome apart from Christ.

All in all a fantastic, slightly surreal day, and certainly a once-in-a-lifetime experience. There is a great piece by a visiting journalist Joanna Sugden on the day here: The Dalai Lama does Woodstock



Log blog

It was Kirsten's birthday earlier this month, which coincided with our two-thirds of a year wedding anniversary, so I whisked her away to a lovely hotel for the weekend. We were staying just outside Dehradun near the Tons River, an area which we soon discovered was a birdspotters paradise, with numerous species flying around the beautiful gardens of the hotel, including a...er...red bird, a yellow bird, and a green and blue one (ornithology never was my strong point!).

We walked down to the river on both days which were sunny, and were able to swim, despite it being quite shallow.



Being an adventurous soul making the most of the great outdoors, and inspired by the thought that my absent bros-in-law would have done it (Marks Bradby and Oden take a bow), I decided to brave the strong current and get up close and personal with the river. Sadly I didn't have a surf board, but I found human log fluming was quite fun, particularly when my butt wasn't scraping against the stones on the bottom.

Kirsten had a go too, and although our wedding rings got quite battered, my wife assures me this is all testament "to the rich tapestry of our marriage". Watch me go on the video (above)!


Cross country challenge: I've still got it!



Still got it: Ed running in the red of Merlins

It was the school interhouse cross country tournament earlier this month, and almost 20 years after my last cross country run, I was determined to take part and rack up some points for my house Merlins (a bird, the other houses are Condors and Eagles).

I decided to run with the Grade 9 boys, the year we are advisers to, so that meant a two-mile trek round the chukkars (circles) at the top of the hill here.

It's fair to say my wife didn't have the utmost confidence in me, particularly as my earlier attempt to run at altitude had ended with my lungs almost exploding.

It is really tough running at this altitude, and I did have to stop and walk a few times, but I was pleased to finish the course in just under 25 minutes.

Amazingly Merlins, who in recent years have underachieved in the sporting arena, won the entire tournament, so my efforts were not in vain.

Now I just have to decide whether to run the Mussoorie half marathon in November...if so I really better start training sharpish!

 

Jai Hind! Indian Independence Day

Jai Hind! (Victory to India!) My first Indian Independence Day

The Indian flag is raised during the ceremony in the school gym

Two years ago I was a singleton in London stuck in the daily grind of the rat race, and wasn't even in touch with Kirsten. On Wednesday I stood in the school gym next to Kirsten, my wife, wearing a kurta (long shirt/dress that Indian men wear) singing the Indian national anthem, as part of the flag raising ceremony for the 65th year of Indian independence!! It felt surreal how quickly things have changed...who'd have thought I'd have ended up the foothills of the Himalaya in India!

It was a great day, and you can read more about it and see photos in the article I wrote for the school website here.

The Indian national anthem, entitled Jana Gana Mana, is rather challenging for an Englishman to learn, but I've just about mastered the first line. It was composed and scored by Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore in Sankritised Bengali. I've put the words below with a translation, it basically goes through different regions of India...why not have a go at singing it...this YouTube video should help you sing along, it sounds like someone singing it accompanied by their Casio keyboard in their bedroom.

What's funny about the anthem is that the end note seems to leave it hanging...I'm informed by a musician here it ends on a fourth...so it sounds unfinished...like it needs a final line which never comes. It's a bit like ending God Save the Queen on "long to reign over us". Have a listen to the link above and see if you agree.

National Anthem of India

Jana gaṇa mana adhināyaka jaya he
Bhārata bhāgya vidhātā
Pañjāb Sindhu Gujarāṭa Marāṭhā
Drāviḍa Utkala Baṅga
Vindhya Himāchala Jamunā Gaṅgā
Uchhala jaladhi taraṅga
Tava śubha nāme jāge
Tava śubha āśhiṣa māge
Gāhe tava jaya gāthā
Jana gaṇa maṅgala dhāyaka jaya he
Bhārata bhāgya vidhāta
Jaya he, jaya he, jaya he
Jaya jaya jaya, jaya he.

English translation

Thou art the ruler of the minds of all people,
Dispenser of India's destiny.
Thy name rouses the hearts of Punjab, Shindu,
Gujarat and Maratha,
Of the Dravida and Orissa and Bangla;
It echoes in the hills of the Vindhyas and Himalayas,
mingles in the music of Jamuna and Ganges and is
chanted by the waves of the Indian Ocean.
They pray for thy blessings and sing thy praise.
The saving of all people waits in thy hand,
Thou dispenser of India's destiny.
victory forever!

Greetings of the day! I love Indian English!

Dear Sir/Ma'am,

Greetings of the day! I saw that fellow last week and he has told me to do the needful. Trust you will be able to tell me your timings for the train to Delhi. I must warn you there is a bifurcation at Saharanpur where the train will change direction. What to do? If you can avail yourself of the itinerary and tell me the good name of your wife I will proceed to make the booking, otherwise you may need to prepone, as I'll be out of station next week.

I'm pushing off shortly so kindly revert.

Thanks and regards,

Ranjeet Singh

I've made up the above but it is similar to some of the communications I've received from our travel agent in Delhi. Indian English still uses a number of archaic or unusual words which are delightful to the ear. My father in law tells me "good name" is a direct translation of the Urdu word for name. It certainly makes some conversations feel like a throwback to a bygone era!

Kirsten also receives some interesting communications in her role as admissions director at the school, this is one that came from Thailand recently...looks like it came straight through Google Translate!

hello! yes i giel foe fungus my name is *&^%$ please as i haers to have a person say that the school where India study excellent i will feel like to go to the school if the teacher will come to Thailand helps to contach with seek me bot to letter at I want to go to school very there the will teacher come to speak or feeshness that have interesting substance about the education pleasa now istays mookdahan is studyying the primary school level studies yere that 5 me will go to while 6 graduate of theolongies are help answer with Thank yes


Where is the Monsoon?

We've had a bit more rain in recent days but the Monsoon is still light compared to previous years. Everywhere is green and mossy which is beautiful, and when the mist lifts there are great views of the hills around, with clouds floating in the valleys. Below are some great shots of the Monsoon by two of my colleagues Amy and Abe.




Great shot of mist in the rainforest PIC: ABE OKIE

Mist hangs over the valley looking down from Mussoorie PIC: AMY SEEFELDT

Mossy walls on the chukka PIC: MY DARLING WIFE



Bethany, Kirsten and me holding packet of cornflakes, in atmospheric Monsoon mist Pic: ABE OKIE

More Olympic spirit please footballers

The English football season started this weekend; it seems a bit too soon after the Olympics, when we were all inspired by the fantastic spirit, determination and guts displayed by the Olympic athletes, many of whom had been training for years for this one shot at glory. We were inspired by Mo Farah and Jessica Ennis, and also enjoyed the gymnastics and diving. London did us proud!

Such a refreshing change from the lying, cheating and overpaid footballers in the Premier League, they really could learn a lot about sportsmanships from their Olympic counterparts. Saying that though I still watched the Liverpool - West Brom game with the boys at school. Thanks to the school we all have satellite TV, and I can watch five Premier League games a weekend, a couple from the Championship, live French, Spanish and German games (happily for Kirsten, I don't!).

I also watched the Test Match from a blazing Lords as the Monsoon rain fell. Very bizarre watching the cricket in sun-drenched England as we shiver in the rain here in India.