In Between Beaches

Went to Goa and back via 12 hour sleeper bus over the weekend.. Shirin and I Left Thursday night and spent the entire weekend on the sand. This photo of Palm trees and clear lagoons was taken just a short hike up from the commercialized beach, over the cliffs on the north side of Calangute, before reaching Anjuna. Calangute in feburary is packed with european vacationers, an entirely different feel from the last time I had stayed here, months earlier at the end of Monsoon, with the Golden Age group from the JCC.

The streets of Goa at this time of the year are even a bit more crowded and colorful, as Indians and tourists gather to celebrate Carnival in Goa. I missed most of the action, as it was in the nearby town on Panjim, but caught a couple of the floats on their way as they drove past my balcony mid morning on friday.

One day after finding my way back down from 'between the beaches', I picked up some shells near the waters edge, without realizing there were still teeny crabs inside! quickly dropped those ones back into the sea. Also helped some Goan fishermen push their boat back into deeper water before sunset. We worked while an elderly man watched the waves and yelled when a large ones were coming that would help us push the boat along. A group of Goan guys ( and me!) shoved the boat full of fishing nets and silvery fish on his command until it was no longer stuck...

The weekend away was refreshing, and even though I slept on the bus sunday night, rolling from side to side as the bus turned on the highway, I felt invigorated monday back at work in muggy Mumbai. This upcoming week will be busy, planning some upcoming community events and organizing volunteers for our own Purim carnival we'll be having in the center.

Birthday greetings

wishing a very happy birthday to my brother Sim and cousin Marc! Hope you guys have a wonderful day :) know I am thinking of you here in India!

I just enjoyed a mini birthday party at my office. We had 'zebra' birthday cake and kulfi (ice cream like treat made of condesned milk) -- and the first slice of cake was literally fed to me by my coworker and good friend here, Shirin. Apparently, feeding each other sweets on happy occasions is an Indian custom :)

Have a great day- I CaN'T believe how fast we are growing older- and hopefully wiser, na? Many Happy Returns, as they say here, and all the very very best.

small world...

Mr. Matteson, friend from home who made it to Mumabi on his world-wide musical trip....

flower walli

women here will tie these flowers into their plaits on special occasions

mumbai sunset

little ladies in first time sarees

 

Preeti and Vitti all dolled up in Sarees during the hindu womens' festival. Vitti and her younger brother live downstairs on the fourth floor and always bring me some of their prasat. Preeti, my next door neighboor ( in the green and red saree) asked me to 'remove' a photo for her from the camera so she could see herself dressed up. The three of us are now officially best friends.

Malida for EPJCC 7th anniversary

 Jostna, our kitchen staff head and expert chai brewer, goofs around with one of the ladies after we finished preparing the hundred and twenty Malida plates.The Malida for the JCC's seventh anniversary consisted of dates, bananas, apple slices, sweet limes, and the sweet Malida pounded-rice. Recipes coming soon!


The lovely Esther and her brother Amitav

the crowds waits for the start of the Malida and Eliyahoo Hanabi ceremony.

 Spot one of my favorite students, Libel, in the second row making a goofy face for the camera :)

neighboorhood scenes

Some snaps from an afternoon walk around Matunga's eastern and western sides...

Hindu Temples in Matunga



Pani puri stands on the sea shore- an essential Mumbai snacks- and a bit hard to describe. Pani Puri roughly translates to "fried crisp shells with water" and is made of a fried round puri ( which tastes like a thin  crisp pancake/potatolike chip) filled with a mixture of chopped onions, cooked potatoes, sweet and hot spices, and a greenish water with chiles. Once the pani-puris are assembled by the walla,  the entire puri is put into the mouth at once! My favorite version of this snack is dahi batata puri, which is essentially 'pani puri' leken (but) with made with dahi- yogurt and with batata potatoes, and topped with sev.  

Hot corn cooked to order anyone?

These guys grill corn over dark coals while you wait, smearing the toasted corn with a salt-lime mixture, then handing it over wrapped in a leaf. I had one while watching the sun set over the beach by Shivaji Park, and then gave the nearly- finished cob to a monkey, who grabbed it with both hands and walked off on his two hind legs to finish the treat!

Cantor's son at the Call Centre

Gideon, Ephriam Moses, Nissim, and other 20-something Bene Israel friends of mine here work at various itnernational Call Centers . It's a respecatble job, with highly lucrative pay, and semi-reasonable hours. Callcenter employees often go to work at the earluiest by 4 in the afternoon, and leaving work in early morning hours.

The Call Centre mentaity has in effect created a culture and lifestyle in various parts of India. The southern Indian city of Bangalore, for example, houses the largest amount of calling centres, and thus also supposedly has the high amount of young people, coffee shops, and cigarette smokers, as well as no night life during traditional party hours. Shops and bars close by 9 PM, as no one is on the streets at that point.

In Bombay I have gotten to know the other side of the ( often Indian) accented voice on the 1-800 customer serivce line. Gideon tells me stories of people calling in with whom he ends up having 15 minute conversations, and how the hours he is on the phone fly by. I find it incredible how interlinked ( and dependet?) american consumersim has beocme on the (low labor costs) of the east, and how this capitalist endovor has ended up connecting people in more lasting ways.

Effie, for example, has told me of more than one conversation he has had with customers regarding Indian Jews. When speaking to people from the States who tell him they cannot speak too long on a friday afternoon, and also cannot call him back the next day, he will baffle them by wishing them Shabbat Shalom. He practices his Hebrew with clients, tells them about the synagogues he goes to in Mumbai, how his father is teaching him to read the Torah. In this medium, the average Jew who calls regarding any given problem or question with software or a credit card, becomes much more informed- about a familiar way of life halfway around the world.

Khala Ghoda Arts Fest

images from a recent arts festival held in the downtown square of Khala Goda ( Black Horse).


The ubiquitous Rickshaw, painted and jazzed up Bollywood style

Prakash Govaradhan Bhatt's hand painted punjabi puppets.

I met Prakash himself at his stand and bought some of his smaller, beautifully painted elephants while his grandson showed me how to manipulate the marionettes. His card reads :

"Story Drama on Puppet Show for your Products and Companies Publicity." 

 " In your Happiness We Excel"

This artistic TV set was part of a series depicting popular Indian television charachters and shows. Yes, there really is an Indian Idol. Other familiar shows: "Who Wants to be a Millionaire" ( or rather a Crorepati)  and the reality dance competition called "Nacha Baliye". 

 

 

 Art on the street outside the festival- The walkway outside the Jengahir art gallery is a sidewalk gallery, full of local artists selling their works. During the festival prominent artists displayed work alongside the paintings of cstreet children who are involvoed with NGOs here in Bombay.

Across the Universe

Yesterday, before the Tu Bishvat Seder took place at the Bombay JCC, An Indian co-worker and myself put on a mix tape of pop songs of the 1960s and 1970s- in Hebrew. We hung up green streamers and danced around to Hebrew versions of " The Age of Aquarius" and " Obla di Obla da", placing the pink, yellow, blue and green Seder Hagadot (booklets) and leaf cut-outs on each of the tables. The sun shined in as we twisted the colorful papers around the room, decorated the tables, and put the finishing touches on a large cardboard tree which was to be used in a craft project following the Seder.

The Seder itself, like the funky Hebrew Beatles' songs, was also an adaptation of sorts. Instead of four cups madeof lighter and darker wine, we used lichi and pressed raisin juice. The fresh figs which we ate during the Seder came delivered by bicycle to the JCC wrapped in fig-leaves inside paper boxes. Older men stood up when saying the blessing of Borei Pri Hagefen over the raisin juice, beginning in their most cantorial voices, singing the first few words outloud, drawing outthe notes before the rest of the community joined in with their ancient tune.And an adorable two-year-old was also eager to grab the microphone and say blessings and "Ah-men!"

Women in Sarees read aloud about the four different mystical world. Families sang together Israeli and traditional songs inbetwen each reading. I managed to tune the old (and slightly warped) guitar in the office to accompany the children when they sang " The Almond Tree is Growing", and my Indian friend Lovena spoke about her experiences going on March of Living and her connection Hannah Senesh, Jewish paratrooper and an icon of courage from the time of WWII, who wrote a poetic prayer about nature. We sang Senesh's 'Eli, Eli' together: Oh Lord, My God, I pray that these never end/ The Sand and the Sea/The rush of the waters/ the crash of the Heavens/ the Prayer of the Heart.

What are my prayers for this community? How do we connect with trees and nature in this overcrowded city? One prayer is that the growth and nurturing of the children and youth here continues. That the community doesn't stop letting itself and the people within it grow, develop, and even change. That we continue planting the "carob trees" for the generations to come.

On a personal level, my prayers for my communities back home are the same. I hope that in all places we continue to foster grwoth and change, and that we value our connections with each other and with nature. Tu Bishvat here is a reminder of home, my Dad bringing baskets of fruits, Mom and Israeli songs about trees. I know that I have been able to grow here, branch out and survive here, because of these roots- my family and my friends- back home across the universe*.


*Lennon McCartney tune from the album Let It Be ( which is practically the motto of this country) 'Across the Universe' incidentally was composed in India during the Beatles visit to Rishikesh in UT.

Tu Bishvat set up

Giving Tree

Taking a break from working on an interactive mystical Tu Bishvat Seder.. Want to let people know that all is well in Bombay. Here's an Indian version of Tu Bishvat song:

The Banya tree is growing, A red-hot sun is glowing,
Black crows perch on every tree, Announcing Tu Bishvat with me..

Twenty-three... Two...One...

The countdown till my 23RD year on this planet begins. Twenty Two days left of being Twenty Two!