My trip to India is over and I am still somewhat numb about the experience of two weeks' intense time in Rishikesh, Hardiwar and along the banks of the Ganges River. Many different events took place in this organized tour.
One highlight was our visit to the Arya Sugandh Sansthan Ashram, an orphanage and school located in a rural area on the plains to the south of where we were staying. The motto of the place is "When a candle is lit, it shines in all directions..." and very quickly my candle was lit by the place, the work of the staff and young people who live there.The place is a 6 acre farm and there are beautiful mango and other fruit trees as well as an organic garden and a cowshed with over 30 cows.
We broke up into groups and designed costumes made out of newspaper, coloured paper, stickers and the brilliant imaginations of the kids. Mina was our model and here is the finished product. She walked down the runway with music blaring and all the other kids as audience. Smiles everywhere so it wasn't just us that had fun.
As part of their welcome, the students gave us flowers and we were honoured with a tilak. Here's Chandra receiving his.
Tilak is a mark of auspiciousness. It is put on the forehead with sandal paste, sacred ashes or kumkum (red tumeric). The sweetness and kindness of this welcome brought me to tears.
The gray-haired woman is an English-speaking volunteer who lives at the ashram with her 80 year old husband, a retired Air India pilot. About five years ago, they gave up their comfortable lives to come to the ashram to help. In October 2012 they will have been married 50 years.
The place houses about 100 boarding students and 800 other students come to the school daily. The children and young adults tend to the gardens, the cows and also make crafts. I found a paper mache deer that I treasure, of course.Those that live here are under-privileged, orphaned or physically
challenged children.
www.aryasugsans.com
More pictures and thoughts to follow as I recover from jet lag and start to process.
Namaste and love, Jane
