We've come to Delhi to escape Mussoorie's cold for a few days. It's by no means warm in Delhi, but warmth is a relative thing...
The overnight train trip from Dehradun was delightful! We traveled 2nd class "3-tier sleeper", where sleeping berths are stacked three deep. The total fare for both of us for the 340 km journey was Rs. 230--the equivalent of only $3.95. It helps that we now travel Indian Railways as "senior citizens". Men over the age of 60 get a 40% discount. Women who are 58 and older get 50% off!
This morning, just outside the gate of "our" Hotel Kabli, we experienced some wonderful street entertainment. While we thoroughly enjoyed the performance, it was also thought provoking. Most 8 year olds go to school, play with friends, and then maybe help with family chores. But here we watched an 8 year old girl working with an older brother and sister to earn family income. The creativity, practiced skill, teamwork, and entrepreneurial spirit are admirable!
[Please note: I (Paul) am doing well. I'm not sick. There's just something in my lungs that needs to be dealt with--probably something I contracted while chemo had compromised my immune system earlier this year. There is definitely no cause for alarm. We just want to share about the fabulous medical care available to us.]
After a chilly early morning motorbike ride down the mountain from Landour to Deheradun, the first thing Lynn and I noticed when we entered Max Hospitalwas thewonderful central heating. Central heating is extremely rare here, but it's symbolic of the high quality of care we've received at Max.
Max is a truly beautiful new medical facility, and it offers high quality care at an affordable price. I first went to Max on Monday because my doctors in Canada had asked me to have a follow up CT scan in mid-December. Monday's scan at Max was expertly done with the best equipment. On Monday, I also consulted with 2 radiologists and 2 oncologists. The total bill for Monday was the equivalent of $65 (US).
We went back to Max again today so I could have a needle biopsy to determine the nature of a possible infection in my lungs. This biopsy had been attempted unsuccessfully in Canada in September. Today's attempt was also unsuccessful, but we were impressed by the way the attempt was undertaken. There were 4 specialists in the room during the procedure, available for any contingency. I was kept at the hospital for observation for several hours afterward. Much of that time was spent in the attractive cafe that serves as cafeteria. (The second shot below shows the lovely outdoor "garden" seating for the cafeteria.)
Amazingly, since the procedure was unsuccessful, we were not billed anything for the testing and care we received today! There were several informal consultations to help us determine how to proceed next. We'll be sharing those recommendations with our doctors in Canada, and soliciting their perspectives, before proceeding.
We are truly blessed by the quality of medical care that is readily available to us. As a parting shot, here's a photo of our red Honda Unicorn among friends in the bike parking lot at Max...
Last Saturday, we had some business in Dehradun. We decided to leave early, and drive down the mountain at the time of day when traffic is at it's lightest. Since that put us into Dehradun long before the opening hour for shops, we took a drive out the Delhi road to the Siwalik Hills. We found and followed an old forest road where we had a memorable family adventure 25 years ago when our children were young.
Here's a slideshow with a little commentary to share some of our Saturday experience.
On Tuesday and Wednesday, Lynn and I enjoyed wonderful hospitality in Sainji village as the guests of Kunwar and Lori Chauhan--founders, facilitators and teachers of GEMS School. On Wednesday, they drove us by jeep to visit two other villages--Saurav and Kandi--on the opposite side of the Aglar River. Children come from both villages and board in Sainji so they can attend GEMS. Everywhere we went, we were welcomed warmly. It is clear that Kunwar and Lori are much appreciated for their work.
Here's a slideshow that shows just a little of the natural beauty, the amazing colors of Garhwali life, and the gracious hospitality we enjoyed on Tuesday and Wednesday.
The impetus for our invitation to Sainji this week was the celebration of Garhwali Diwali. This occurs approximately one month after the Diwali that is celebrated in most other parts of India. Local traditions are uniquely colorful. For example, in villages with sufficient population, a special rope is created and used in a tug of war in which almost the entire village participates. The Diwali celebrations occurred after dark, so we were unable to get pictures.
I'm sharing one brief video clip that gives at least a taste of the Diwali celebration in Sainji. It shows a delightful Garhwali dance. The only musical accompaniment is from a couple of drums and the singing of the dancers. Notice how the men and the women sing in response to each other.
On December 1st, Garwhal English Medium School (GEMS) was four years old, and on Saturday GEMS threw a marvellous birthday bash. Parents were invited, and the children put on a delightful program for them. Students, teachers and parents alike were deservedly proud, not just of what they shared on Saturday, but of their school and all it has come to mean to their community.
Lynn and I were privileged to be part of the celebration. Lynn took literally hundreds of photos, and I shot video clips. We're sharing just a small portion of what our cameras captured. The pictures and images speak for themselves, and they're worth far more than anything else we might write. So, please enjoy and celebrate with GEMS!
Slide Show
(Please be sure to view the slide show in full screen mode!)
We've been keeping pretty busy recently. In addition to what we'd already been doing, Lynn and I have begun an hour a day of Hindi language study, and I've made several day-long trips to Dehradun--for dental appointments, motorcycle servicing, and such. Since I've been away so much, I promised Lynn I would spend today on an outing with her, and that I'd be happy to go wherever she suggested.
Lynn's suggestion was perfect. She said she'd like us to explore the far side of Mussoorie, which we've seldom visited in the past. So we drove our bike to the far side of Mussoorie and had a wonderful time. One highlight was our first visit ever to the crumbling remains of the "George Everest House".
Sir George worked as a surveyor in India from 1818, and as the Surveyor General of India from 1830 to 1843. His home and "laboratory" was at a remote spot on the far side of Mussoorie. It was situated atop a ridge, with magnificent views. The views were clearly more important to Everest than proximity to neighbors because his home would have been a significant distance from town and from his closest neighbors. (It was the Royal Geographical Society that named the world's highest peak in Everest's honor in 1865. Apparently, Sir George was not entirely onside.)
Here's another slide snow to share a little of what we enjoyed today.
This afternoon, our trusty Honda Unicorn took us 10 km to a place called Suakholi where we each enjoyed a cup of chai. Our indulgence cost us a total of Rs. 20, or about 33 cents. Suakholi was a fairly frequent chai stop for Paul when he was a boy in the 1960's, and for both us when we lived here in the 1980's.
In both the 60's and the 80's, there was only one shop in Suakholi where chai could be had--in an aging mud plastered building. The situation has changed dramatically since we left India in 1990, and the new Suakholi at the junction of two roads, boasts at least a dozen shops where chai and other refreshment are available. This change reflects other significant changes that have occurred in the state of Uttarakhand.
Hundreds of kilometres of new roads have been built, connecting villages to towns and major centres. The vast majority of villagers still can't afford their own vehicles, but jeep-taxis, motorbikes and buses have proliferated. Villagers who formerly had to walk, can now travel great distances with relative ease, and for minimal cost. As well, the emergence of an Indian middle class, now more than 300 million strong, has led to exponential growth in the Indian tourist industry. The mountains of Uttarakhand are a huge draw.
There is still far too much desperate poverty, but on the surface it seems to us that standard of living and quality of life have improved considerably for most people here in Uttarakhand.
Just for fun, here's a set of slides showing the range of watering holes available in the new Suakholi.
This week Paul has been back to GEMS, the school where he has the delightful privilege of helping out. He has now set up 4 laptops with special software that enable the children to listen to what they write. They can even listen in a special Indian English voice.
Today, the 4 laptops with the special text-to-speech software were introduced to classes 6 and 7. The children in both classes are working on stories about their mothers, and the children are taking turns using the computers to write final drafts. They can listen to their work to help edit what they have written.
It is evident that the students of GEMS love their mothers very much. They are completely engaged in this project, and producing great work. Paul will visit the students' villages to take pictures of the moms, so the photos can be included with the stories. The finished stories will be shared online, and perhaps published on paper. Stay tuned...
Paul travels 23 km each way on his
motorbike to get to end from GEMS. Here are a few pictures taken along the way
to and from school today.
This past week we enjoyed a marvelous opportunity to explore some of the spectacularly beautiful 'Garhwal Himalaya'. A major highlight was a hike beyond the tree line to the summit of Chandrashila, above the Tungnath Temple. Chandrashila is at an elevation of 4090 metres (13,419 feet), and the panoramic view from the summit was awesome in the truest sense of the word.
The "trail head" for Chandrashila is the village of Chopta, which is the beginning of a major rock-paved walking road that has been built for Hindu pilgrims.The ancient temple is situated about a kilometre below the Chandrashila summit. Although there's an elevation gain of nearly 1,400 metres (4,600 feet) between Chopta and Chandrashila, the hike did not seem overly strenuous. The scenic payoff would have been worth far greater effort. We've included just a few pictures in the slide show below to give you an idea of the tremendous beauty we experienced--along the trail and on the summit. (You may need to view the slide show in full screen mode to see the captions, especially on a handheld device.)
The two minute video below shows just some of the panoramic view from the summit of Chandrashila. We were delighted to learn that the Youtube video editor allowed me to slow down my rather rapid video pan!
We're living in an apartment at Oaklands Cottage in the small community of Landour, which is just above larger city of Mussoorie. Oaklands Cottage is situated almost at the highest point in Mussoorie, at an elevation of over 7,000' (2,100 metres), We are right on the top of the ridge, and the views from our yard, to the north and to the south are spectacular. This morning dawned crystal clear, and we took some pictures before breakfast.
Looking south and down to Dehradun and the Doon Valley at 2200' or 670 metres.
Mussoorie's bazaars along the top of the Mussoorie Ridge.
Looking north and up to Bandarpunch ("Tail of the Monkey") at an elevation of 20,722' (6316 meters). Bandarpunch is a defining landmark, and we get a marvelous view from our yard when the air is clear. We've used an image of Bandarpunch we took on an earlier visit to Landour in the header of our blog. Here are three more photos of this beautiful mountain that we took from our yard this morning.
This final shot, showing Bandarpunch in its context, was taken from the road just below Oaklands Cottage.
GEMS is an aptly named school. It's truly a gem of a school in the Indian Himalayas. Over 200 village children are receiving a high quality education. Today was Paul's first opportunity to visit this special school, and he was impressed. He's more than delighted that he'll have a chance to help out here while we're in India!
GEMS stands for Garhwal English Medium School. The school was founded 4 years ago by Lori and Kunwar Chauhan in order to "...offer a world class education so [the children of their area] might pull themselves out of poverty, and in turn help their communities...". The challenges are daunting, but GEMS is already making a significant difference in the lives of the children and families it serves.
As illustrated by these images taken yesterday morning, the children of GEMS are beautiful, and they are without doubt engaged and enthusiastic learners!
Here are the children of GEMS singing the Indian national anthem, and then a verse of the English hymn 'Amazing Grace' during opening exercises.
Paul has always felt as though he's come "home" upon arriving in India. Almost everything feels, sounds, smells and tastes somehow "better". Much has changed in the 23 years since we last lived here, but It still feels like home! There's a big part of Lynn's heart that is at home here, too. We've been back "home" for a little over a week now, and it's been a very full week!
Getting to India from Canada went smoothly, but the trip was not without adventure. After a delightful few days with Paul's parents and the rest of his Ontario family, we boarded a Jet Airways flight from Toronto to Delhi on Oct. 28th. It was 18 hours from the time we took off in Toronto until we landed in Delhi, but there was a brief stop in Brussels. That's what led to our little adventure. We were required to go through Brussels Airport security, and Paul neglected to return his laptop to his computer bag after the security check!
It was a bit of a shock to discover there was no laptop when Paul opened his computer bag in Delhi. Thanks to the brilliant efforts of Jet Airways staff, the missing laptop was located in Brussels Airport security's lost-and-found, put on a flight to Delhi, and then on another flight to Dehradun, where Paul picked it up. Jet Airways could not have done a better job for us!
After 3 busy days taking care of business in Delhi--changing money, establishing new cell phone connections, shopping to set up our apartment, etc.--we hired a car to drive us and our piles of luggage to Mussoorie. In the clips below, we share typical traffic conditions along the road between Delhi and Mussoorie--in a small town, and then in the country.
Since arriving in Mussoorie, we've spent time connecting with longtime friends and establishing connections with new friends. We've made a start on cleaning and setting up our apartment. We've also picked up our new motorbike. Tomorrow, we'll have our first major bike challenge as we navigate traffic to visit friends in Selaqui, which is about 50 km from where we're staying.
Today, Paul will do some final preparation of laptops that will be delivered soon to GEMS, the nearby school where he will spend some time be helping out.
The new chapter has begun. We're literally in the air, and headed for India. We'll land in Toronto shortly, and spend 3 days with our Ontario family before catching a fight to Delhi on Saturday... But the journey has begun, and we're on our way. We've left the Comox Valley!
The dreaming, planning and preparing are behind us at last.
The leaving was not as anticipated, and ultimately more enjoyable than we could have imagined! Our flight from the Comox Airport was cancelled yesterday morning because of heavy fog, but that's when things went from bad to wonderful.
The excellent people of Westjet put us on a bus that crossed the strait to the Mainland via BC Ferries, and then delivered us to the airport in Vancouver. Westjet then put us in a lovely room at the posh Fairmont Hotel, which is conveniently situated right in the airport! Westjet even gave us $80 to cover dinner and breakfast! The era of fabulous airline service is NOT behind us, at least not for Calgary-based Westjet!
The icing on the cake of our unplanned Vancouver visit was a brief meet-up with our daughter Anjali. She got herself up early enough to catch the Skytrain and meet us at about 6:30, before we went through security for our 8 o'clock flight. An extra special send off, and another unexpected gift!
As the adventure begins, we suspect this is just the first of countless delightful unanticipated detours we'll experience...
Because we'll be in India for six months, we're going to be away for Christmas. We'll also miss birthdays and other special family events. So this past weekend, the whole clan gathered on Mt Washington, at the chalet of friend and colleague Karen West. It was marvelous that everyone could make it--Aaron, Isaac, Annika, Anjali, Nathan, Emma, Paul and Lynn. By far the best thing was the chance to spend time together. Annika and Isaac seemed to especially enjoy getting to know their "brand new" Uncle Nathan. There was grandma Lynn's fabulous turkey dinner in celebration of family and all our special occasions. Since Anjali's birthday will be this Saturday, we celebrated that with leftover wedding cake--from another big family event three weeks earlier. We made delightful new memories with games, hikes, stories, time in the hot tub, and more. The slideshow offers a peek into a very special family weekend.
The Greek philosopher Heraclitus observed something as obvious 2,500 years ago as it is today... Change is the only constant in life. It seems we have been "in transition" for a rather long time. Our current season of transition has involved some major changes. This spring, Lynn facilitated the sale of her parents' home and completed the Herculean task of winding up their estate. At the end of June, Paul "retired" from his position of ten years as an assistive technology consultant with SET-BC. July saw the completion of 8 cycles of chemo that successfully dealt with Paul's lymphoma. In September, our daughter Anjali was married to Nathan Sihlis. So many significant changes, so many gifts and opportunities! Now it's October, and we're on our way... back to India for six months. On the 22nd, we'll fly from Comox to Toronto for a brief visit with Paul's family in Ontario. On the 26th, we'll board a Jet Airways flight from Toronto to New Delhi. On the 31st, we'll travel by taxi from Delhi to Mussoorie. For the next 6 months, we'll be based in the beautiful Himalayan community of Mussoorie. This is a wonderful gift in too many ways to list--especially the chance to reconnect with a country and community that we both love, as well as opportunities to use some of our gifts. Paul looks forward to helping out at GEMS, a special school in Sainji. Lynn doesn't know yet exactly how her time will be occupied, but she knows there are numerous options awaiting her.
A few Mussoorie images taken during a brief 2010 visit...
