CULTURE, LEARNING and TEACHING

November 2, 2009:

Goa - tropical beaches, coconut palms, bright flowers, narrow winding lanes, characteristic architecture with modern buildings interspersed with colonial cottages with their shingled tiles, the spicy aromas of Goan cooking as in the prawn curry and rice, the rava-fried kingfish, the papad rolls stuffed with a spicy prawn mixture, the spicy Goan sausage sauteed in spicier oil; the brightly colored jewel-toned houses of the like that I’ve never seen before – bright magenta, shocking pink, emerald green, saffron, bright purple, turquoise, sapphire blue, ruby red, sunset yellow, and even a deep crimson; the numerous, mostly white, churches with beautiful architecture dating back to colonial and Portuguese influences; the numerous Hindu temples. The colors of the flowers are equally brilliant: Hibiscus in reds, pinks and yellows; the Sandwich Island Creeper with its bunches of small delicate pink blossoms spreading so wildly that it creates a thick canopy completely covering fences, hedges, trees and bushes; the Frangipani shrubs with their lightly fragrant white and yellow flowers as well as those with red flowers; the Morning Glory with its pale purple/mauve bell-like flowers creeping along stone walls and wooden fences; the trees with the bright orange flowers whose names I do not know, or the plants with long red blooms that look like cats tails; the Helicopia with its large flowers in a remarkable orange and yellow and white inflorescence; the dozens of varieties of palms, the drumstick trees, the cashew trees, the mango trees, and the hundreds of thousands of coconut palms that grow like wild grass. The vegetation is amazing and the colors are brilliantly blinding.

Goan music has a catchy beat, and the whole atmosphere of Goa is colorful yet slow, laid-back and calm, even more so than Bali I thought – a slower pace, a deeper breath, a calmer life. The Catholic texture of Goa is very much evident in the names of people and shops and streets and in the churches; the native fishing community of Goa is concentrated on the coastal areas where you can spot numerous fishing wharfs harboring fishing boats with colorful fishing nets. The people are friendly and welcoming.

The Goan shacks, or roadside eateries are simple restaurants with thatched roofs covered with dried fronds from the coconut palms, an outdoor feel to the patio-like lay out of the eating space – open sides but with a covered top. Right above the front entrance of one of the shacks, below the large blue sign displaying the varieties of available sea food, was a bold yellow placard with large red lettering in English that read : Atithi Devo Bhavah (a guest is none other but a form of god).

That's Goa in a nutshell...

October 20, 2010:

I went for a walk this morning in a nearby park. Parks in India are crowded, like every other public space. One can't escape the sheer numbers of people here. But, much to my delight, along with the morning joggers and walkers were bold and beautiful peacocks strutting their colors on the lawns! They're supposed to stay within an enclosure in the park. But they're birds and of course they're going to fly over the wire fencing! I also saw dozens of beautiful spotted deer - such a treat. They, unlike the peacocks, naturally stayed within the enclosed sections of the park. In addition to the fauna and flora, were small informally-gathered groups of people practicing yoga on the lawns here and there. And there was one large group of about 35-40 people who were engaged in laughter therapy where you get together and just laugh out loud for an hour. That's supposed to release the euphoria-producing endorphins in one's body. But the best image for me was that of an early morning motley group of peacocks, parrots and pigeons pecking away at seeds that someone had scattered for them along the long-abandoned ruins of a mid-fifteenth century monument that stood right in the center of the park. India never ceases to amaze me; life here reminds me of a complex jigsaw puzzle in which diverse people, different life forms and myriad activities are harmoniously juxtaposed, co-existing in close proximity, heterogeneous and yet part of a homogeneous whole.

October 17, 2009:

Today is Deepawali, or Diwali for short. The Festival of Lights – a major holiday and celebration for Hindus; the night when Ram returned to his kingdom in Ayodhya after slaying Ravana; the night when the Goddess Lakshmi visits each home to bless it with wealth and abundance; the victory of good over evil; the start of a new year for many Hindus; the lighting of lamps to show the way. Deepawali literally means a row of lights. The city is lit up as almost every house and building is adorned with oil lamps, wax candles or electric bulbs - twinkling, glowing, flashing, dancing, hanging, undulating. Lights along verandahs and rooftops; ribbons of lights cascading down building facades like a waterfall; strings of lights running along the railings of balconies or spiralling around pillars like living, glowing, flowering creepers; lights on trees and around courtyards; lights along thatched roofs and down glittering walls of steel and glass highrises. Families rich and poor are celebrating Diwali. The fire crackers go off in the skies and the celebrations have begun.

Here is a piece written by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar that appeared in today’s edition of The Times of India:

For an oil lamp to burn, the wick has to be in the oil, yet out of the oil. If the wick is drowned in oil, it cannot bring light. Life is like the wick of the lamp; you have to be in the world yet remain untouched by it. If you are drowned in the materialism of the world you cannot bring joy or knowledge into your life. By being in the world and yet not drowning in the worldly aspect of it, we can be the light of joy and knowledge. Lamps are lit on this day not just to decorate homes but also to communicate this profound truth. Every human being has some good qualities. Every lamp that you light is symbolic of this.

Light the lamp of love in your heart; the lamp of abundance in your home; the lamp of compassion to serve others; the lamp of knowledge to dispel the darkness of ignorance, and the lamp of gratitude for the abundance that the Divine has bestowed on us. Light dispels darkness and when the darkness of ignorance within you is dispelled through the light of wisdom, goodness prevails.