And we are back!

After a week of roaming the southern states of Tamil Nadu and Kerala, we are all finally back in Bangalore. Our boss was in town, so we took the entire staff of WCOI (including those from our two other offices in India) down south with us to participate in a distribution and then a retreat, something we had been praying would happen for a long time now. This was an unprecedented event. Following the distribution in Tamil Nadu, we crossed state boundaries into the beautiful state of Kerala. We were there to take some time off together as a team and enjoy the beauty of the land. We were treated to some unparalled sights but the real beauty came in our sessions together as one big family. We have a very special team here at WCOI, and it showed. Leila again proved to everyone just how hardy she is as a traveler. In six months on earth, she has traveled more than most people do in a lifetime. I am a proud papa, but she is a tough cookie too. I must admit, though, that even Leila was glad to finally be home.

On the train again

Lining up to receive audio Scripture kits

Leila meeting Pastor Hallelujah at the Distribution

Retreat Time

The group out for some sight-seeing

Tea Plantations

This week back has been a long week. We’ve had board meetings and other official meet and greets. And of course, the phone line to our home got “cut” and took with it our DSL line. So needless to say, it took us more than four days to get the line patched up, modem hooked up, modem reset, modem exchanged, modem reset again, and other modem related oddities– BUT we are now up and running. That always makes me happy.

I am also setting another trend here. This is the first time I have typed up an entire blog on my iPod Touch. I make no apologies for being a geek. Got to love wifi!:).

A few weeks back, JP being a major GEEK with his "twin," Divya

Bangalore is beginning to cool down and the evening breezes make walks around the neighborhood absolutely delightful. Hard to believe we are only here for a few more days. Hope you are all well wherever in the world you find yourself tonight.

Porulkatchi

Last night I got a little carried away in reflective mode, and did not end up posting the original thoughts that I had been having about Tulip Time.  So, here we go– round two…

JP and I were happy to learn that this year our travel dates coincided with those of the Porulkatchi, or the fair.  I was able to go to the fair once a few years back, and I loved it.  It was the year that Teresa was living here, and so we went first with Teresa.  That year my mom and dad also came to visit and explore India, and we figured the fair was a pretty good way to explore some of the nitty gritty of Indian lifestyle.  The fair isn’t typically geared toward foreign guests, and hence is a perfect place to live large with the locals.  (Just don’t plan to blend in!!)  We have many fond memories from these two prior trips to the fair, and so it was with eagerness that we piled into the Tavera with Tata and Ava and drove the short distance to the Porulkatchi grounds.  Leila even got strapped in the Baby Bjorn for this one.

 

at the bazaar: bed sheets, table cloths, and the like

Upon entering the fairgrounds, you go through a large bazaar area where vendors are selling everything from washing machines to jewelry, from dried fruits and nuts to tortilla makers (used to make chapatis).  The bazaar area is probably my favorite part of the fair.  There is so much to see, and there are so many unique items at great discount prices.   Plus, there is this one guy who hands out the most amazing samples of spiced cashew nuts.  We definitely bought a packet of those!!  Once you make your way through all of the booths, you’ve reach the rides and the fair food, which is JP’s favorite part– the food, that is.  :)  This is what got me thinking about Tulip Time.  It is so fun to see all of the Indian fair food options.  At the top of our list of favorites is definitely the Chaat Stall.  Chaat comes in many varieties, and is usually a mixture of fresh chopped items like tomatoes, onions, and cilantro mixed with different kind of crunchy savory and spicy items.  Some chaats involve broth, some are more like buns with a spicy marinara sauce, some resemble chips and salsa with fresh pico, some are like rice krispies…  It is a long and delectable list.  Perhaps some day I will be able to write a more helpful chaat entry, but for now, hopefully a few photos will suffice.  

 

Pani Puri Chaat (this is what JP ordered)

Samosa Chaat (this is what I ordered)

After the chaat stall, we headed for the fresh sugar cane juice.  Sugar cane juice is sweet and also lime-y.  Very refreshing, and it is oh-so-enjoyable to watch the squeezing process.

 

Making Sugar Cane Juice

 

one for JP, one for mom, one for dad

So many kinds of goodies, just like 8th street and Tulip Time.  There were fried rice and noddle booths, cotton candy, spicy versions of our elephant ears, and bhajis, which are deep fried, batter-coated bananas, peppers, potaotes, and the like.  Check out our banana bhajis below.

 

Bhaji

The other thing that always happens when we go to the fair is that it rains just as we begin making our way through the food area, and we have to make a sprint toward home.  This year was no different.  My photo-taking and eating spree came to a quick close, but it was probably for the best as Leila was ready to head home for a nap.  Good times were had at the Porulkatchi this year.  If ever you get the chance to to meander through a Porulkatchi yourself, I highly recommend it.  And for those of you who enjoy Tulip Time, it just might seem familiar… minus the tulips, of course. 

 

a parting shot of the fairgrounds

JP’s Good Night/Day

Last night was arguably one of my favorite nights so far in Bangalore.   We did not have to go out to a fancy restaurant or an exotic locale here in India.   We actually stayed home.  My cricket team, the Bangalore Royal Challengers, were playing a team from Kolkata.   It is the shorter (3 hour game) and more entertaining form of cricket.   As I began to watch, my mom asked me if I’d like to eat dosas for dinner.  Now dosas are probably my most favorite food item here in India.  I cannot leave India without eating a dosa.  And while restaurants make AMAZING dosas for 15 rupees (a little more than 25 cents), nothing compares to my mom’s hot dosas.   She had an amazing chicken curry and yummy coconut chutney as accompaniments to these crispy rice crepes.   She just kept serving up dosas to Katy and me till we could have no more…  seriously… this is the life.   My night was complete right there but this was a special night because Bangalore won their game as well!   

 

A standard dosa (courtesy of the internet)

In honor of their victory, I wore their jersey today.   I had to drop Katy off downtown so she could buy some things.  On my way there, I stopped by a gas station to fill some petrol in the scooter.  As the gas station attendant was filling the vehicle, a few of his friends joined him.  I wasn’t sure why they were all there so I took my helmet off to hear what they were talking about.  While the vehicle was almost done filling, the man asked me in halting Kannada where I got my jersey.  Then realizing that I also spoke Tamil, he switched and wanted to know ALL about it.  So here I was, in a busy gas station, with a WHITE girl, and nobody even looked twice at Katy.  All they wanted to know was about my jersey!    Now… I am not trying to gloat, but even Katy had to admit, somedays, even JP gets to be the star!   

I am not going to get used to it… but it was fun while it lasted.

 

The sweet jersey!

One fine day in India

Most days, JP and I wake up at 6:30am. JP heads to the shower, and I wake Leila up for her first feeding. Leila and I often play on the bed for awhile, especially if JP has to iron a shirt. Then, the three of us head downstairs, and make our way “home,” which is just a hop, skip, and a jump across the campus to JP’s parent’s house. Leila usually goes for a short walk with Tata, and looks at the plants. She also has a nice good morning chat with Ava, who is usually cooking breakfast. Ava also brings JP and me two hot cups of sweet, milky Indian coffee, and then we know for sure that the day has begun. JP reads the newspaper, and I think about a plan for the day, drink my coffee, and head to the shower.

I am a Type-A personality. India is either Type-B, or in a category all its own… I’m note sure which. This incongruity is an on-again, off-again struggle for me, especially if my aforementioned plan for the day is too detailed. If I’m not careful, I end up feeling like I spin my wheels a lot in India. I’m constantly trying to make myself meet India in the middle. Perhaps what I need more to do, is skip the plan-for-the-day part of my day. That is what I did today (unintentionally, of course,) and it was a very superb day.

Let me tell you all about it.

Last week I ventured out to fabric and tailor shops. By Saturday, I had three brand new, neatly tailored “dresses” in hand. The only problem was that we had neglected to take the dupattas (scarves) to be finished, and so I could not really wear the outfits until Tuesday of this week. So today, my day happily began by wearing the second of my new salwars. I like it very much…

Next, timing things properly with Leila’s second feeding and nap time, JP and I went to the shopping district where it was our mission to buy 60 green scarves from “Dupatta House.” A friend from home asked if we would bring these for the purpose of decorating her wedding, and to hand out as gifts/favors. It was a worrisome venture for me, as I was having to choose from limited stock, dozens of greens scarves that may or not not actually match or be the correct style of material for the right cost. It took about 45 minutes to dredge the bottom of all the scarf seller’s piles, and even he said that no one else would be able to buy green scarves from him for awhile. I took a picture of our 20 lb. bag of scarves, but what I wish you could see would be a picture of JP and I riding the motorcycle back with this parcel between us! I am so relieved to have this project taken care of… at least until we have to Fed Ex them in Michigan.

it is bigger than it looks, I think...

DISCLAIMER: We will not be doing this again for obvious reasons!:)

One of the things I miss most when I’m in India is cooking and baking. As it turns out, there were some very ripe bananas at home that were just begging to be added to some bread. During the first weeks that we were in India, two things happened. First, we bought an oven for JP’s parents’ 32nd anniversary. It is like a very large toaster oven, and is actually an oven/toaster/grill, akin to the microwave/oven/grill that was here previously.

Oven on right, next to the microwave.

Next, I found a very decent looking recipe on a favorite cooking blog that I follow. I actually like to follow this particular blog because Ilva, the author, posts a lot of beautiful photos from Italy, where she lives, but I’ve never made one of her recipes. However, she posted a recipe for Gluten-free Chocolate Banana Bread, using Chickpea flour, and it jumped out at me because chickpea (or channa) flour is very readily available in India. So, this afternoon I was able to go to town on the banana bread. I was excited to use red bananas, as well as one mini-banana to fill things out. I even thew in some walnuts, as I’m newly converted to walnuts.

Leila is introduced to red bananas

The bread turned out quite well, especially considering my baking history here in India is less than perfect. (Many of you have heard “The Cake Story,” which nearly ruined my relationship with JP the first time that I came to India.) I’m grateful that things get slightly easier each time I bake here. For example, JP is always careful to buy unbroken eggs from the shop nearby. I’ve learned where the oil is. I know how to “powder” the sugar, which is very granular here. I even found something to sift the flour with this time! And, I especially enjoyed using this recipe because the measurements were in milliliters, (she also converts to American equivalents) and she listed the celsius temperature, which I usually have to convert with JP’s help. The only “oops” that I had, was forgetting to flip the switch that turns on the electrical power for the oven. (Outlets here often have an on/off switch next to them that you must turn on for the current to flow. That is the switch that I forgot to flip.) So, when I went to put my little loaves in the oven, it was still cold, and I had to wait another ten minutes. (Oops.) It was worth waiting for, thankfully, and we ended up with a nice warm loaf of bread to eat with our evening chai.

note my innovative cooling rack

Chocolate Banana Bread with walnuts

Just as the last loaf was finishing in the oven, I went upstairs to check on Leila and came upon the man who came to fix our water filter. The apartment has its own aqua guard filter, but it broke down about two weeks ago. It took about four days to get the guy to come look at it, and since then we’ve been hauling our water bottles up and downstairs, waiting for the correct parts to arrive for our 17-year old water filter. At long last, the parts came, the man came, the filter got fixed, and we have drinkable water again. Hooray!

Aquaguard-- all lights say go

For a day without a plan, I sure felt like a lot of things got accomplished.

…And now, for the ironic ending… I was having so much trouble with loading the pictures from the computer to the blog that I gave up and went to bed, and now I am posting this the following day!!

Leila being a little crabby, and chewing on Tony the crab.

Showing Off

One day after Leila turned 1/2 year old, our niece, Judith, turned one month old. In honor of the occasion, JP and I tried our hand at taking (me) and fine tuning (JP) baby portraits of Judith. It was a very fun project. We want to show off our handiwork, I suppose, but mostly we want to show off our cutie little niece. Enjoy!!

HI!:)

Voting!

I love voting in India.  I have only voted once before today.  That was five years ago in 2004.   Elections are a crazy affair here in India.  Forget the 2 or 3 parties vying for your votes…  here you have almost 20 parties (I am being conservative with the estimate)…  each one more ridiculous than the one before.   Still, I needed to vote to exercise my right as a citizen of this great country.

So this afternoon, my parents and I walked down to a nearby school where we could cast our ballots.   We braved the noon sun to get there and I am glad we waited till noon to go.  Most people vote early in the morning here.   As we headed to the school we saw makeshift benches set up along the way.  You could go there to make sure you were registered to vote.  The staff (mostly kids from the high schools) here would give you a coupon with details that the election officials would need.  If you did not have your name on this list, you might as well go home.   My dad looked and found his name.   My mom did too.   Unfortunately… John Paul Sundararajan was not there.   So, with a raised eyebrow, I scanned a picture book nearby and in spite of the poorly illuminated, badly pixelated screen shots, I found my picture next to “JAN PAUL.”   No wonder I was not listed under my real name.  Nevertheless, we cleared this confusion, and we continued on our walk.

Upon reaching the school, we were ushered into the hall where we could vote.  There were two sets of people.  One to check your credentials, and the other to confirm that it was indeed you.  I had indelible ink applied to my left forefinger.  I then stepped up to vote.  Basically, there is a big plastic machine which has many buttons.  Each button corresponds to a candidate.   You press it… there is a beep for all in the hall to hear and you are done.   For all the buildup to it, the pressing of the button to vote was a little anti-climatic.  Still… I got to vote and here is my proof!

The indelible ink!

one-two-three-four

Four Generations

I’ve been meaning to share this photo with you for about a week now. One of the more precious experiences that we had on our last trip out of town was introducing Leila to her great grandparents on JP’s mom’s side.  I think it is pretty amazing that Leila has four great grandparents!  Many of you will remember the four generations photo that we shared at Thanksgiving time of Leila with her great grandmother from my mom’s side.  Then there is this great grandma, and a great grandpa who didn’t make it into the picture.  And finally, there is another great grandpa who we plan to see sometime in May, on JP’s dad’s side.  WOW!  That is more great grandparents than either JP or I had growing up!  It is more than fun to see the joyful twinkle in the eye that comes from Tatas and Avas around the world seeing their grand baby, and even more so now, to see that extended to great grandparents!  These are photos and memories to cherish!

Grapefruit

As far as I know, grapefruit is not commonly found in India. It is currently tangerine season in India, and I have eaten oranges here on numerous occasions. Limes and lemons are probably the most prominent of the citrus fruits found in India. The limes/lemons (they seem to be interchangeable here) used here look very similar to the key limes found in the U.S. Grapefruit, however, is not something I have ever once seen in the markets, or in JP’s home, and if there is a fruit to be had in India, JP’s dad has brought it home to me and the rest of his foreign guests. It is one of the things we all love so much about JP’s dad… his ability to produce the best and the juiciest fruits in all of India for our eager and curious taste buds.

So here is the funny thing that happened…

Shortly after we arrived in March, a conversation was taking place between JP and his dad which I could not follow because of it being in Tamil. After some time, JP turned to me and told me that the word for grapefruit in Tamil is “Bumblimas.” We both giggled about the way this word sounded as it rolled off our tongues.

“Bum-bull-ee-mas”

try it out.. its fun!!

(Tee-hee)

Well, we then discovered that our darling daughter loved the sound of this word as well. If we said the word bumblimas to her, she would smile, and sometimes even giggle. It was quite adorable. Because of this, we began to call Leila ‘our little Bumblimas.’ It made us laugh, and it made her laugh.

Then we went out of town with the Sundstrom family. When Leila was crying in her car seat, or when we were lounging around, or when we wanted to tease her, we would playfully call her Bumblimas. It was really catching on!! In fact, it was catching on more than we realized. We visited a temple in Madurai, and it was a packed house due to the temple being newly painted and re-opened. We had meandered our way through the entire temple and were making our way out through the throngs of people when one of the workers at the temple looked at Leila in JP’s arms and called her a Bumblimas!! Ha! And, no, we did not mistake her words because she pulled a friend over, pointed at Leila, and once more called her Bumblimas.

Bumblimas.

(You know you want to say it again!)

Well, as it turns out, our cousin Sheeba informed us that people in South Tamil Nadu often refer to chubby babies as Bumblimas. They have no idea that there is a fruit out there that it also called Bumblimas. Haha! I do get it, though, with those nice round cheeks of Leila’s how someone might think them akin to the roundness of a grapefruit. I find all of this to be a hilarious and wonderful way of coming up with (and confirming) the cutest nickname ever.

Our little Bumblimas on her 6 month birthday, dressed up and attending her first Indian wedding. Pictured here with Ansu Auntie.

And just as a closing note…

They DO have bumblimas in India, at least they do in Bangalore. The reason I know this is because my poor sister-in-law, Anita, was craving bumblimas, and my poor father-in-law was scouring the city to find some for her. There have been several sightings recently, but none have arrived at home yet. Wouldn’t you know, now I’m starting to crave it too!

India Redux

Dissecting the culture

My dad and I dropped off the Sundstrom family at the airport in the wee hours of this morning.   It is always bitter-sweet to see a group go.  There is a certain intimacy that develops when people explore a new culture, especially one that is vastly different than the one you are used to.   The Sundstroms were no different.  We tried different foods, explored different modes of transport, fought the traffic in Bangalore, hiked up hills, laughed at monkeys, but most of all, we were family together.

So, this morning, after the goodbyes, as I shifted from second to third gear on my Chevy Tavera leaving the Bangalore International Airport, I suddenly felt like I was actually back in India.  What I mean is, I don’t have to play host for a while.  I get to live into India.  I get to eat off street vendors, venture out to new unexplored parts of the city on my motorcycle, but most of all, to grow deeper roots into this country that I love.  A county that my family loves.   I need this.   I need to feel rooted deeply.   I need to feel rooted deeply because that helps me be a better host for people who want to explore this rich country.

I am excited about this next chapter.  Katy, Leila and I will get to just BE in India.

Great grandma having a conversation with her girls