American in Ahmedabad
I'm back from visiting Suresh and his family in Ahmedabad (in the state of Gujarat). It was a good time and a relaxing break from what I had been doing back in Auroville. Upon arrival Suresh and his daughter Seema took me to the most famous Jain Temple in the city. It was pretty quiet when I got there as it was mid-afternoon and nobody was praying. Following this, Suresh took me on a tour of the city, showing me the different places where he works (he teaches business management training and english courses to business-folk). He introduced me to everyone as "my American friend!". It was good to see what his life was like in India as I only knew him from camp. On the first day in Ahmedabad I could tell that it was a polluted city.....there was lots of smog, more trash on the ground than I was used to (there is trash everywhere in all cities in India), and more homeless and illegal squatters than I had seen in the other cities I have visited. I learned later that Ahmedabad is the 10th most polluted city in the world! After the city-tour we had dinner......Seema prepared pizza and pasta because she didn't know if the American could handle spicy food. I told her no more western food and to bring on the heat. She did exactly that for the rest of the meals (I got cooking lessons from her too!!).
Saturday morning Seema took me to a few boutiques and then we had a huge Thali lunch followed by a well-neded siesta. That evening I went to the Law College Night Market with Suresh's grandaughters Shana and Shania. They helped me bargain and I came out with a bag full of items varying from wooden puppets to a Gujarati hand made wall hanging.
Saturday evening also consisted of me being taken for ice cream, to Crossword (Ahmedabad's Barnes and Noble), and to Mocha, an upper-class/tourist coffee shop follwed by a trip to Shana's friends' "farm", which really turned out to be a second house that was located outside of the city, in the "country", and thus called a "farm".
On Sunday I visited the Ghandi Ashram. It was an amazing experience to see his home and the place that he based the Indian independence movement from.....it's hard to put into words what it was like being there....
Sorry this entry is kind of spacey, but I need to go eat because I am really hungry...thus, I am typing fast and not thinking too much!
Seema, Myself, and Suresh
Saturday morning Seema took me to a few boutiques and then we had a huge Thali lunch followed by a well-neded siesta. That evening I went to the Law College Night Market with Suresh's grandaughters Shana and Shania. They helped me bargain and I came out with a bag full of items varying from wooden puppets to a Gujarati hand made wall hanging.
Saturday evening also consisted of me being taken for ice cream, to Crossword (Ahmedabad's Barnes and Noble), and to Mocha, an upper-class/tourist coffee shop follwed by a trip to Shana's friends' "farm", which really turned out to be a second house that was located outside of the city, in the "country", and thus called a "farm".
On Sunday I visited the Ghandi Ashram. It was an amazing experience to see his home and the place that he based the Indian independence movement from.....it's hard to put into words what it was like being there....
Sorry this entry is kind of spacey, but I need to go eat because I am really hungry...thus, I am typing fast and not thinking too much!
Jain Temple
Ghandi's Room at his Ashram
Seema, Myself, and Suresh
Picture from village I work in
Picture from village I work in
posted by Jon at 02:10
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