Namaste from the Ecumenical Christian Center!
It strikes me as a substantial paradox that we’re based just outside of Bangalore, the “Silicon Valley” of India, and yet we still have fairly limited Internet access. Most of us, myself included, experienced email/facebook/skype withdrawal symptoms, but have pulled through and will survive. Thank goodness.
In all seriousness, I think it’s actually a really good experience for us to not be constantly connected to technology. The ECC feels a lot like summer camp, with an air of quiet peace that is a welcome break from the constant rhythm of both Cairo and Mumbai. It’s officially a Christian-founded retreat center about an hour from Bangalore that hosts groups with the vision of promoting a progressive, alternative understanding of Christianity and spirituality. We’ve fallen into a comforting routine, losing track of time and days. Halloween is tomorrow and we’re all scrambling to throw costumes together. A typical day at the ECC involves two classes lasting two hours each day, with a morning and afternoon tea break. We’ve been learning about the numerous religious traditions in India along with their history and contemporary context. India is an incredibly diverse society, and I’m fascinated to know more about how multiculturalism contributes to both harmony and conflict. Hindus, Muslims, and Christians have coexisted peacefully for centuries, and yet there is still occasional tension between them.
One of my favorite classes so far has been a lecture about various Hindu festivals and their traditions. We celebrated Diwali, one of the biggest Hindu holidays in India. The name Diwali comes from the Sanskrit words “deepa+avali”, meaning “row of lights” and commemorates the victory of good over evil and light over dark. People celebrate by buying new clothes, visiting family and friends, cleaning and decorating homes, and pyrotechnics. For us, it was an opportunity not to be missed to wear our new saris! After dark, we set off fireworks and sparklers before enjoying a special Diwali feast.
The past few days, we’ve been traveling around southeastern India, bonding over 9 hour bumpy bus rides on what I’ve dubbed “The Magical Ashram Experience Tour.” Ashrams grew out of the Hindu practice of following gurus, people believed to be divinely inspired by the gods. Interestingly enough, both Jesus and Muhammad are revered as divine figures in this tradition. We visited several ashrams, and shared a meal with some of the devotees at the Yogi Ramsuratkumar ashram in Tiruvannamalai. In India, there is a saying about food – first, it must be touched and felt with your fingers; then, you need to smell the aromas before finally, the flavors can be tasted. Which means that in order to properly “eat like an Indian,” you need to use your hands…no fork or spoon necessary. It’s all in the thumb.
*Catherine O’Connor ’13 is on Global for first semester and J-term. She majors in Asian Studies with a concentration in Chinese.