Ranakpur Jain Temple

Traveling outside of Udaipur (the main city) as foreigner that speaks little Hindi can be a daunting task which can also limit the amount of sites you're able to see. However  the group of students I was with was always down for an adventure which made it easy to get out an explore. One member of our group had her host family arrange a van for us one Sunday so we all chipped in to pay for the van and set out for an excursion to Ranakpur & Kumbhalgarh. Upon getting in the van I really was unaware of where we were going I just knew that one was a temple and the other was a fort. Nevertheless I was open for the experience (as I was with most of my excursions in India).

Upon arriving to the first destination (Ranakpur Jain Temple) my eyes were greeted with beautiful green shrubbery, monkeys, and of course the usual stares from various local people. Ranakpur Jain Temple is famous for its excellent sculptures and architecture. Surrounded by the Aravali hills and located on the banks of 'Magai' river this grand & gigantic four facet structures was erected in the 14th Century. The Temple is three storied, 102 ft. high and its spread over an area of 48000 sq. ft. The present structure of the temple came into being after 50 years of work by various artisans & sculptors. The land of this temple which situated at the foot hill of 'Madri hills' was gifted by Maharana Kumbha of Mewar. Along with this temple a small town, about 2 kms. from the temple also came into existence. this town got its name from 'Rana' & was named 'Ranpur' which later came to be known as 'Ranakpur'. The temple is dedicated to the first Jain Teerthkar 'Lord Adinath'. it is built on high platform, which has about nine basement. it has 84 idols of gods and demi gods., 1444 pillars elaborately and beautifully decorated along with 4 'Megh Mandaps'. surrounding the main temple there are small shrines of Lord 'Parshwanath','Neminath'& 'Surya Narayan'. 

 The pictures do this temple no justice! Initially I wasn't going to blog about this because I wanted to keep some of my experiences personal and scared. However, after visiting a second time when my father came I decided to share. Bliss and awe are the only two words I can use to describe my experience in the temple my first visit to the temple my group of friends and I were greeted by a Jain priest and offered a tour of the temple in which he offered an explanation Jainism and the overall significance of various sculptures in the temple. Once our tour concluded we were offered to meditate with the head priest of the temple. That experience was one of the most serene feelings I ever felt after leaving the Jain temple that day I was truly in the moment and at peace with all things in my life.

Due to the amazing experience I had the first time I went visiting the Ranakpur Jain temple it was something I had to share with my Dad when he came to visit and thats exactly what we did! My Dad was in as much awe and wonder as I was when I was there my first time. Once we entered the temple we had the walk around again with a different priest although we did not meditate. We went our separate ways and took in the massive beauty of the temple in its surroundings. I can always tell when my Dad is amazed by something because he becomes very quite and observant. I was so happy to share the temple with my Dad as an experience to add to our memories. 

This blog about Ranakpur truly does not do it any justice! If you ever find yourself in Udaipur I highly recommend going to this temple to see it with your own eyes!

Sidenote: The temple provides housing accommodations and food for a very cheap price (if your backpacking or like staying in local accommodations. The temple also provides daily lunch for a small fee as well I don't remember the times, but it was pretty good and you get to sit with local priest and community members its a great way to immerse yourself in the culture.

*sources: http://www.ranakpurhillresort.com/ranakpur-jain-temple.htm

The Beauty of Technology...

My Dad says "Technology is a great thing until it stops working" he said it best. This trip has brought forth many technological issues since the beginning. I'll just give you a quick rundown.

1.) I left my camera charger in the USA so I couldn't take pictures on my professional camera for about 6wks till my dad brought the charger.

2.) The wire to my iPhone 5 charger shorts out leaving me to try to find another charger so I can at least take photos on my iPhone. Since I have an iPhone 5 the wire is a tad bit harder to acquire especially in a city that doesn't have an apple store.

3.) The teacher at the school I work in helps me locate an iPhone 5 charger for a reasonable price and within 2days it won't charge the phone at all. Leaving me to wait 5days till my dad can bring me another charger.

4.) My Dad finally gets here and all of my technology is charged synced and ready to go! I'm taking great shots of my environment uploading them to my computer all is right with the world until I get to Agra ( the city where the Taj Mahal is) my MacBook had been acting rather slow leaving me no other choice than to force power it down (holding the power button for 10seconds it's not the best way to shut down the computer) once I turn it on it stays on the apple loading page for about 45mins instantly I knew something was wrong! After about 3 hours of troubleshooting on my iPhone and Dads iPad I discover its a hard drive issue. I instantly go into panic mode! All my work, photos, videos, calendars are on my MacBook! Just my luck I didn't set up TimeMachine nor do I have an external hardrive. Therefore there's a chance that all might be gone. I literally was in the verge of tears.

I threw my hands up and decided to roam around the beautiful hotel my father had booked for us in Agra. During my walk I did some meditation and brainstorming. After doing that I came to a few conclusions. 

1) I realized how dependent I am on technology and how much of my life relies on it. Maybe this is Gods way of  slowing me down and finding alternative methods to finishing my work here.

2.) If my biggest problem right now is that my MacBook isn't working then I need to  really be grateful for all that I have (I'm not saying I'm not but sometimes I can admit I loose sight of how truly blessed I am).

3.) I leave Udaipur in 19days I'm surrounded by a great support system who are willing to help me finish my project here!

After that meditation I was still a little flustered at thought of loosing my photos and work but I was calm, grateful and grounded. I'm just going to wait till I return home to get my computer fixed and look at this as an opportunity to write more in my journal, meditate, and explore my neighborhood rather than staying glued to my laptop. I write about this experience not to complain but to share my experience I could've easily continued to stay frustrated about something that I no longer could control but instead I did something that would calm me and help me regain my focus. "This too shall pass" words I hold near and dear to me I hope next time you're  in a frustrating experience you can stop, breathe, refocus and find the silver lining in the situation. Namaste.

Sidenote: I also wrote this blog for those of you who are traveling or plan to for extended periods of time. Always bring a back up chargers! Especially those with apple products and you're traveling to a country that doesn't have an Apple store. It's like they're made to break!

2nd Sidenote: Due to the fact that I'm without computer I will be writing the remainder of my blogs and posting them when I arrive home and get my computer fixed because I want to post photos along with my blogs and many of my best photos are captured on my camera. 

But stay tuned I might surprise you and post a few short ones from my phone ;-)

Apna Jatan

For those of you who don't know the purpose of my trip here to India was to create a sustainable development project with a local NGO ( Non governmental organization) as my time in Udaipur is winding down my project is picking up. Udaipur has many NGOs that do amazing work with the community and neighboring villages but this summer I've had the pleasure of working with Jatan Sansthan which is a grassroots NGO working with the rural population of the districts of Rajsamand, Udaipur and Bhilwada, within the state of Rajasthan. Jatan covers 250 villages across various blocks including Railmagra, Amet, Mawli and Gangapur. In the last 9 years, Jatan has worked on programs ranging from women empowerment and youth development to migration. Its scope of association has covered various existing and emerging drawbacks in rural communities occurring due to lack of basic resources, health care, education and employment. My first work week with Jatan I was completely unaware of what project I was going to take on that was until I visited Apna Jatan centers provide educational opportunities and overall support to the children from poor and undeveloped areas of Udaipur. Therefore alternative non-formal education and support in developing life skills for children up to the age of 14 as well as pre-school education. After my first visit to the center I instantly fell in love with the kids and the community and had to work there. At Apna Jatan I teach English and basic arithmetic and they teach me Hindi, games, and lots of patience.

 My first week there I realized that the center is equipped with many shelves but very few text books and picture books. This observation sparked my project to begin an in classroom library for my kids. After sharing my project with my supervisor and director I got the green light to start the library and they also added the task of obtaining a computer for the children. I developed a work plan, budget, and have arranged a training for the teachers on classroom management and technology implementation. In order to purchase the computer for the children I need to fundraise half the cost and money for software (the other half will be met by my organization) this computer will be the first one many these children have had access to. It will provide these children with a different learning outlet as well as give the teachers a way to monitor the library through a catalog system. Your donation will be very helpful and all donations are tax deductible. By clicking this link you can read more about the project as well as donate http://www.fsdinternational.org/donate/projects/taylor .These children have touched my heart in the short time I've been here and my goal before I depart is to leave them with something that will not only educate them but impact their lives as well. Namaste

Bindi

Many people of India, especially those who follow the Hindu religion, wear colored markings on their foreheads and other parts of their bodies. In general, forehead markings identify a person's third eye, or what Hindus believe is the center of a person's nervous system, the area in which a person can see spiritual truths. The practice of marking the body, especially the forehead, with these symbols dates back to ancient people who lived in southern Asia around 2500 B.C.E.

The modern forehead markings worn by Indian people and those of Indian descent have different names, depending on the type of marking and what the marking is made of. Red dots are called bindi or pottu. They are usually made of a paste called kumkum, which is made of turmeric powder, a yellow spice, which is common in India. The yellow turmeric is mixed with lime juice, which turns it bright red. Many Hindus believe that people have a "third eye," which sees spiritual truths, and that this third eye is located on the forehead above and between the eyes. Many Hindu temples keep kumkum paste at the entrance, and all who visit place a dot of it on their foreheads.

The second type of forehead marking is the bindi, or dot, worn over the third eye by many Indian women, which shows whether they are married. Young, unmarried women wear a black bindi, and married women wear a bright red bindi. Widows, whose husbands have died, either wear no bindi, or wear a white dot made of ash.  Women began to use bindi of different decorative shapes and even use gemstones, like rhinestones and pearls, for a glamorous look.

I have only worn Bindi after leaving a temple. However I wanted to learn more about it because I had seen so many women with different kinds. I'd thought I should share my findings with you! Namaste.

P.S. I wrote this blog when my computer was working but strangely it never posted.

"Let Them Eat Cake!"

Although traditions can vary widely, annual birthday celebrations are pretty common around the world. Historically only Kings and other royalty were thought to be important enough to have birthday celebrations. They believed that evil spirits searched for people on their birthday, so friends and family would gather to protect the birthday person from the evil spirits. Singing songs and using noise makers was thought to scare the spirits away and gifts were given for good luck. Today birthday celebrations vary depending on age, religion, culture, or beliefs however, one of the highlights is the cake and the tradition of serving birthday cake comes from Ancient Rome. Originally, cakes were much like bread, the only difference being that cakes were sweeter. With culinary advancements in the 17th century, cakes began to look more like their contemporary counterparts. At the time, they were a privilege of the wealthy and not until the industrial revolution were the materials and tools affordable and widely available enough for commoners to have birthday cakes too. Although candles originated in China around 200 BC, it was the Europeans who popularized decorative candles. Candles made their way onto birthday cakes around the 18th century in Germany. Many cultures put enough candles on the cake to equal the age of the person, some cultures adding one more for good luck. However today many people (especially women older than 25) only put a few candles just for significance.

Since being here I have celebrated a total of 5 birthdays some were parties, and others were just small get togethers where people come and eat cake. Although each persons birthday celebration may have been different there is one common denominator of birthday celebration here in India, that is the feeding and smearing of cake! The birthday boy/girl goes around feeding people a piece of cake and then someone feeds them and smears cake on his/her face (for my friends and family at home reading this do not get any ideas). Sometimes its very small smears of cake other times the cake smearing can turn brutal and everyone ends up with cake everywhere either way it is a tradition that remains the same for any age range.

On Monday, we celebrated Aunty Ji's (a term of respect and endearment also what I call my host mom) birthday! We had an amazing butterscotch cake from Le Cakery (the best bakery in Udaipur) and since it was her birthday of course she didnt cook! My host brother picked up dinner which consisted of everyones favorites mine; Pav Bhaji hers; vegetable manchurian ( mixed vegetable steamed formed into dumplings deep fried and cooked in a tangy sauce), my host brothers; chilli paneer ( a spicy-yummy dish made out of soft cheese that is fried with Indian spices along with soy sauce and vinegar. Taste just like chilli chicken). My host father didn't partake in this meal because its too oily for him however, my host brother Rachit and I thoroughly enjoyed our favorites!

Aunty Ji on Skype Ruchika (my host sister) who lives in Delhi with her husband

Aunty Ji on Skype with Rohit (my other host brother) who lives in Dubai.

Pav Bhaji, Manchurian, Chilli Paneer

(Source: http://brokensecrets.com/2010/11/19/birthdays-were-not-always-celebrations)

Millets of Mewar

This blog was inspired by a close friend of mine Jana who blogs about various restaurants and recipes she has encountered! She has taught me the importance of taking pictures of my food so I can share it with others! Check out http://thegourmetspork.blogspot.com (her blog) for recipes and great restaurant suggestions!

My first week in India (before I moved with my host family) we ate at many delicious restaurants. These restaurants served many dishes that are very rich and saucy (Foods served in restaurants are different than the daily food I eat with my host family)and although I thoroughly enjoyed them they sometimes did not sit well to an adjusting stomach. Towards the end of my first week our program director (Roma Ji) informed us we would be having a light lunch at a restaurant in Old City all the other interns and myself were more than delighted to hear the words light and lunch together in the same sentence. As we pile into an Auto Rickshaw towards Old City we end up at our destination, Millets of Mewar.

Millets of Mewar is Udaipur’s first dedicated health food restaurant. It opened in November 2011 and has since developed a regular and enthusiastic following. The restaurant is the shared vision of a group of like-minded friends—Surendra (Sunny) Gandharva, Anoop Singh Poonia, and Manoj and Nirmal Prajapat—who believe in the power of food to inspire good health, good conversation, and environmental consciousness. Just four months after opening, Millets of Mewar was ranked the #1 restaurant in Udaipur on Trip Advisor. Manoj and Sunny, Millets’ master chefs, began experimenting with health food in 2007 after receiving training at the Health Awareness Centre in Mumbai. Back in their hometown of Udaipur, they started creating recipes that highlighted local grains, vegetables, and spices. Encouraged by the overwhelmingly positive response to their food, Manoj and Sunny started providing catering for events, attending food festivals, and running a food cart in the city twice a week. Soon after Millets of Mewar was born! Their methods are creative, authentic, and sustainable. Their ingredients are local, raw, vegan, gluten-free, and organic. Their food is unique, healthy, energizing, and made with love.

carrot, beat, coconut, and raisin salad

garlic, onion, capsicum, and cheese pizza

Nutella Pancake w/ Bananas

This restaurant is located in the Old City overlooking Lake Pichola. Millets of Mewar offers clean, wholesome, delicious food, as well as a ideal location to just hang out with friends or make new friends. I decided to Blog about this restaurant because every time I go I always thoroughly enjoy myself and as someone who enjoys a good salad (which Udaipur severely lacks) and healthy food I find solace in coming to Millets for those reasons. If you ever find yourself in Udaipur I strongly suggest you visit this restaurant and try anything on the menu they will not disappoint.

Namaste

(Source: http://milletsofmewar.com/about-us/)

Threading

Coming to India I knew that my usual self-maintainence routine would be altered. Getting a mani/pedi wouldn't be apart of my monthly plans with my mom nor would getting my hair done  (Udaipur does have many beauty parlors that offer these services however its not in my summer budget). However coming to India I knew that my eyebrows would not go without proper upkeep due to the fact that all beauty parlors provide the service of threading (which originated in India and is my favorite choice in facial hair epilation).

Eyebrow threading is a depilation technique which originated in India, although it is also widely practiced in the Middle East. The hair removal technique is not just for the eyebrows: threading can be used to remove other facial and body hair as well. Eyebrow threading involves twisting a piece of thread, usually cotton, into a double strand. This double stranded thread is used to pick up a line of hair and then remove it, creating a very clean, precise hairline. Eyebrow threading is a preferred hair removal technique for a number of reasons. Unlike tweezing or plucking, eyebrow threading removes one clean line of hair all at once, making it much quicker and easier to shape the brows. For women who would like to pursue a more natural beauty regimen, eyebrow threading is a good choice, since it does not use harmful products and will not harm the skin like wax and some depilatory creams can.

In the United States I pay anywhere from 8-14 dollars for this service today I payed 50 rupees (.84 cents) Yes! I payed less than $1 for my eyebrows and there are other places throughout Udaipur where its way cheaper than 50 rupees. I must say that I am satisfied with outcome as well, I always say that getting your eyebrows done can always give you that extra boost of confidence you need! I defiantly got that as well as a great deal that I could never get outside of India! Namaste.

(Todays information came from: http://eleganteyebrows.weebly.com/history-of-threading.html)