Varanasi is the city of Shiva. Everywhere I went there were images, statues, temples to Shiva. While statistics show that Vaishnavites outnumber Shivaites throughout India, I have to believe that most Hindus in Varanasi are Shivaites. For an outsider like me, I can tell a person is a Shivaite if they have three horizontal lines …
520. Varanasi, the Ganga River, and Death
View of Ghats from Above Varanasi. The ghats on the Ganges River. Visitors are pulled to this city and these ghats. Husband and Wife For probably five miles, there are numerous ghats, stone steps which enable the thousands of Hindu worshipers to reach the river. Because the Ganges is at flood stage, Carl and I …
519. Anger and Wonder in Varanasi
Varanasi Sunrise Behind Men in Boat I long to visit Varanasi. Einar, one of my DePauw college roommates, studied at Banaras Hindu University and returned to DePauw a changed man. How else could I explain his wearing sandals during a January snowstorm? During a1896 world tour, Mark Twain wrote: “Banaras is older than history, older …
518. Kolkata’s House of Dying and Mother Theresa
In Kolkata, Subodh Mondal, our host, take us to an amazing array of places and enable us to meet fascinating individuals, Hindus and Christians. The highlight is our visiting Mother Teresa at her Mother House. Memorable. We also visit the House of the Dying, Nirmal Hriday which means “the Home of the Pure Heart.” Carl …
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517. Kolkata’s Kalighat
Carl Griffin and I are visiting Kolkata. Rev. Subodh Mondohl, a United Methodist minister, acts as our host in Kolkata. One afternoon, he and his friends Probal Dutta and Rev. Mohan Lal take Carl and me to the Kali Temple. Statues and photos of Kali show a fierce feminine deity. She has swords in her …
514. Visiting Professor Thomas Thangaraj: Tamil Nadu Christians
Upon receiving notice of my acceptance in the Fulbright seminar, I know that I want to meet Emory's Professor Thomas Thangaraj. Although my doctoral degree is from Emory, I had not met him during my years of course work. Graciously meeting me, he invites me to visit him in his hometown of Madurai since he'll …
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513. What Not to Do at a Classical Dance
We have a free night! Despite being exhausted, we see that there is a classical dance performance not far from our Madras hotel. Several of us decide to attend! We enter the small auditorium. We are directed to sit on the front row of the auditorium. Unfailingly kind, the ushers wanted these American visitors (us) …
512. Rural India
Before the formal Fulbright seminar begins in Madras (Chennai), we learn about rural India. In our particular seminar “The Geography and Culture of India”, one of the major goals is to familiarize its participants with the people and the land of the host country. While we all have stereotypes of Indian cities and slums, we …
511. Family Life in India
Learning about India is not confined to the hours of lectures. We learn from the lecturers, but we also learn from their younger graduate assistants. As a result, we get to know Uma and Shuba, the two women graduate students who spend hours each day with us. Through them, we sense some of the aspects …
510. Early Morning Walks
Garbage Beneath Build A Healthier India What does one do at 5AM? I know that it will be hot as the day goes along; I know that the group schedule will leave little free time. I go for my walks. In Delhi, the morning after our arrival, I leave our hotel around 7 or 8 …
Journeys: Explorations in Body, Mind, and Spirit 