India for better, for worse

As I am writing this, I am on a six-hour transit at Kolkata’s airport on my way home after almost two weeks here in India. However, I will only get to post this after I’m home tomorrow morning. So much has happened since I got here and I think the easiest way for me to tell you all that’s happened is chronologically.

First stop: Chennai
I arrived in Chennai late Sunday evening (Sept. 16) and started teaching at the RZIM Academy of Apologetics the next day. I spent the next five days here teaching at least two sessions a day. Nothing out of the ordinary happened here except that the entire batch of participants this time was male. So, you can imagine me, a foreign woman, teaching a bunch of men from India…interesting dynamics…

Oh, I also met this sweet boy – Suresh. He’s probably 12 years old and works for the caterer the Academy uses. However, India has strict regulations about child labor. Businesses are not supposed to employ anyone younger than 17. So, if anyone asks Suresh how old he is, he will say that he is 17 though there is no way he can be mistaken for any older than 13! You see, his is a sad but typical story here. He’s a sharp kid and very sweet and would love to go to school but his family needs him to help with the little that he makes. So, he has no choice but to work (and lie about his age!) He says that one day he hopes to go to school. My heart breaks as I listen to my colleague tell me Suresh’s story. Despite our language barrier, I was able to coax him into taking a picture with me.

Second stop: Pondicherry
Early Saturday morning, my colleague (and his wife) and I rented a car (along with a driver) to drive us to Pondicherry – a coastal town 3 hours away from Chennai, to teach at a two-day training program organized by the Pondicherry Apologetics Club. Had a wonderful time with the participants of the program despite my tiredness.

On the way there, while we all dozed off, we were suddenly awakened by a sudden screech of the brakes –we nearly hit a cow that was standing in the middle of the road. It didn’t look like it knew what it was doing. So, just like how we drive around animals that roam the rural roads of India, we drove round him. Crazy but true!
Pondicherry is an interesting town – reminded me of San Juan in Puerto Rico. Very old European. It used to be a French colony and the French’s influence is still very much evident. Quaint little town. We stayed one night here and left Sunday evening back to Chennai.

Third stop: Traumatic Kolkata
My flight to Kolkata was at 5:50 in the morning. This meant I had to be at the airport by 4 am! Didn’t get much sleep that night. The flight in was short – two hours. However, when we touched down, the captain announced that it will be another “bad” day in Kolkata. Apparently, it hadn’t stopped raining for a few days and the city is flooded!

Well, I didn’t think it was going to be that bad until we drove into the city…By the time I arrived at my hotel at 10:30 am, the water level at the entrance was slightly above the ankle. Nonetheless, I was able to squeeze in two meetings in this city – one at a small bible college and another in the evening. We were not too optimistic about the evening meeting since many people’s houses were flooded and earlier, when we drove by the venue of the meeting, YMCA, the water was at calf level. However, when we arrived at YMCA at 5 pm, the water had somehow subsided and we were able to walk on dry ground into the building.

To our surprise, almost 30 people turned up for my talk on “The Problem of Suffering”. Some of Kolkata’s church and Christian leaders turned up. When the meeting was over by 7:30pm, the water level had again risen up to above our knees! I had to roll up my pants to get to the car. Thankfully, the organizer of the program rented an SUV as these were the only vehicles that work in such circumstances. By the time I arrived at my hotel, the lobby was already flooded. I was praying that the rain would ease during the night so that the flood would subside to enable me to get to the airport for my flight out.

Well, by morning, the floodwater had gone down at most parts of the city but a stretch of road on the way to the airport was still flooded – waist-high! I was praying so hard that my taxi would not stall like the many vehicles abandoned on the side of the road but make it to the flyover just before the airport. It did! And I was able to make it to my flight on time.

Kolkata is a fascinating city – despite the flood, life seemed to go on as usual. In fact, the night when I was there was when India triumphed over Pakistan in cricket and though the city was flooded up to the waist, I could hear men out in the streets reveling and rejoicing! Though poor, the people of this city appear to have a certain resilience to struggles of life. I’ve got to say that though I only spent a little over 24 hours in this city, it had to be my favorite Indian city so far until…

Last stop: Shillong
My flight touched down at Guwahati but from there, I had to travel another five hours on land (winding roads with major pot holes!) to get to Shillong. This picturesque town is on the northeastern part of India – the area which borders Bangladesh, Burma (I want to refer to this country as Burma and not according to the name the present evil government gave it as a statement that I do not recognize this “illegal” junta!) and Bhutan. Shillong is touted as the “Scotland of the East” and rightly so as it is absolutely breathtaking there! In fact, the first golf course ever in Asia is found here. The colonial Brits used to spend their summers here in this town as it’s at least 5,000 feet above sea level and the climate is mild. (See pixs below)

I spent three nights here speaking at two meetings – one at an all-women meeting and another at the North Eastern Hill University. The organizers of the two meetings were pleased with the outcome, so I am glad. The women’s meeting was interesting as the Khasi people group here is matrilineal. This means children take the mother’s last name instead of the father’s. Also, men would move in with their wife’s family after marriage. However, this feature is not to be mistaken to be matriarchal as men are pretty much still the ones “in-charge”!

Then, after 12 days away from home, I laid over at Kolkata for six hours before flying back to the arms of my yearning husband. There is still a lot more to be said about my trip but I want to get this posted as soon as possible and I’m not sure if you were interested in the details! If I remember anything significant, I’ll remember to post it here. Cheers…