November 3

Early up this morning due to some minor tummy issues!! lol!! All dealt with, and went off to yoga by taxi. It was a great class as usual with Natasha. I will post a pic of her some time. I took a pic of the girl that sweeps the yoga studio, and Desai, the front desk guy, who is very friendly. Then walked to Charni Road station and found Vijay who was Tania's appointed navigator. Thank goodness that he helped me, as it is a very scary experience, albeit cheap train ride. The total trip was 40 minutes. I didn't take pics as I didn't want to draw more attention to myself in the mass of train passengers. These trains don't have doors, and the guys kinda hang out!! There are mostly coaches for men, and coaches for women. One guy brought a girlfriend onto our coach, but he hung onto her. It's kinda dangerous for women to travel alone in a male coach. I draw lots of interest everywhere I go of course. My big white Tilley hat is fascinating to most Indians. Some wanted to have their pics taken in my hat!! It got a bit crowded but not too bad, as we had seats!! We got off at Khar Station, and Vijay and I got into an auto rickshaw. I had never seen one of these three wheeler cars before....open to the sides. Traffic with cars, rickshaws, pedestrians was even more chaotic, as the rickshaws are smaller . We got to Khar Danda, and walked into the community for about 10 minutes. The streets were lined with vegetable vendors, and all manor of businesses....right in your face. Tania told me not to take pics, as we don't want to offend the locals. Piles of smelly garbage, and I did take a few pics......guys waking along with rebar to build with, a donkey with chips of rock on it's back...and some chips spilt as we went by. We need to be aware that we are so so so privileged to live in the society we do. These people have so little. I got to the school, and was shown around. It would probably shock you, but I am used to poverty in Africa. I taught a group of young kids probably K-3, and did my usual routines. The kids had fun, and responded well, singing well. I had a teacher aide, who translated instructions into Hindi for the kids. So cute! Compassion wells, but you have to realize that you can't fix all the woes of the world. One boy had open sores on his body, and a foot wrapped in gauzy bandage....no shoes of course. We played singing games, and they had fun. We took bathroom breaks. Comparison to our schools is not helpful. One girl had a weeping eye, and one boy had stomach issues, so didn't join in much. I feel that I contributed so little, and am amazed at how Tania has dedicated her life to these kids. She says she's more Indian than they are! She is fluent in Hindi. It is holidays, so the school operates to keep the kids off the streets where they would surely come to harm. They were watching the Harry Potter movie....the subject of our November concert, the equivalent to our Christmas concert. I have to find songs for them. The school is very very very small, and there were parents preparing food for the kids. Maybe the only food they would get. One parent was winnowing rice. So please accept my apologies for not posting pics. These are human beings with dignity, and so much the same as us. It would be amazing if the world leaders would spend money meaningfully to erase the kind of poverty that I saw. Lots of slums as the train passed by. Vikram was assigned to take me back, as I was a bit nervous alone. Just as well. We waited for three trains, as Vikram didn't want me to experience the crush of humanity, but I knew it was inevitable. We got on the train, or squeezed onto the train, in a huge tight crush of bodies. The guys at the door just hung out there. You couldn't move at all....you were permanently wedged in a sea of Indian males. It got better, and we got seats. Afterwards I took Vikram for orange juice and ice cream in the Indian restaurant. He came to see where my hotel was, as he picks me up there on Thursday. The last pic here is the entrance to the school. No teacher's desks here, just a small box for you to sit on.

 How I wish we could change the lives of these people. It is such a rich and ancient culture. BMWs drive by the ladies cooking meals on the sidewalk. Of course they sleep the entire night on the sidewalk. There are so many people sleeping everywhere. We Canadians are so blessed by our affluent society, but the world needs to share more, as there is a lot to share!