Social Media in India

One of the things I learned yesterday during my discussion with the students on blogging is that Orkut is used a lot more than Facebook here. Most of them were on it. Also, keeping a blog updated is a challenge. I found that comforting!

New Dehli Wake-Up Call

Today I awoke to mooing mixed in with the constant honking of a nearby road. At first I thought I was imagining it but then I remembered where I was and that cows are perfectly at home in the city, though sometimes they look a little confused. Then there was honking, mooing, and call to prayer music. Then there was honking, mooing, call to prayer and an owl hooting. Jose had informed me at the Taj Mahal where I first heard an Indian owl, that it is good luck to hear an owl in the morning. So I decided it was time to get up.

Tom spent the night awake and sick so our touring plans for the day were cancelled. We still plan to visit Ghandi sites this afternoon; hopefully Tom will feel well enough to accompany us. We came fortified with many meds; now we'll test the effectiveness of at least one. I am actually glad for the time to work on this blog and have added a number of pictures to past posts.

Despite the good luck owl hoot, I also woke up in bad shape today: with a migraine. I think it was triggered by the heavy smog in the Dehli metropolitan area. There is a great deal of dust in the air from all the construction and heavily travelled dirt roads. It is hot, hazy and the air is "close." The air smells terrible at times and was particularly strong early this morning. It reminds me of Gary, Indiana years ago. The plug-in mosquito repellent contributes to the bad smells so we turned that off. We wear mosquito repellent to bed and faithfully take our Malarone pills.

Did I mention the food is wonderful?! We have acclimated to the varieties of very different dishes and their "pungent" nature. Especially here at the NISCORT "hostel" we have become quite spoiled. Sr. Amelia (I am delighted we share names) serves a scrumptious meal and encourages us to eat far more than we should. Also, I have taken to drinking tea steeped in hot milk (rather than water as at home) and sweetened with the delightful granular sugar they use here. It is a good thing these Indian clothes I am wearing have drawstring closures and baggy pants!

Which reminds me: I love the scarves Indian women wear, even adorning Western styles. But I have definite scarf management issues. Today I asked a couple of women how they keep from losing their scarves off their shoulders and received a welcome lesson. A gentleman in on the conversation added to my enlightenment on this issue. As I suspected, it involves life-long practice. Poise and posture are clearly also factors, and occasionally pins with heavier fabrics.

Taj Majal and NISCORT

We arrived back in Delhi safely last night after a morning of sightseeing in Agra, visiting the incredible Taj Mahal at sunrise. My first view of it, misty in the early morning haze, made me think of the images of heaven in Revelation.

In New Delhi we are staying at NISCORT: the National Institute of Social Communications. The vision of NISCORT is "to serve as an effective communication think-tank and as a centre for advanced learning, training and research in matters related to the communication revolution, which is sweeping practically every aspect of the life of the people of India, and give to the mass media of the nation specific thrust, which will promote and uphold the cherished media values and morality." NISCORT is owned and run by the Catholic Bishos Conference of India.

Our fellow traveler, Dr. Frances Plude is the main speaker for today's presentations to journal

ism students on digital culture.

Tom gave a presentation on "Peace Journalism" which included creative discussion among the students about current conflicts in India and how they might practice Peace Journalism vs. War Journalism.

As an example of non-professional journalism and public media, one of Dr. Plude's topics for the day, I gave a presentation on blogs. I invited students to post on my blog so hopefully that will happen. They were so attentive and kind to us.

During the day, students took photos and ran camera as part of their training. Pictured is Fr. Thisai Gerry, an experienced producer who is attending NISCORT to receive a Masters in Broadcast Journalism. In the evening Gerry drove Tom and I, along with the student pictured behind him, to visit Swaminarayan Akshardham, an elaborate and huge new Hindu temple and educational/entertainment complex.

Road Trip

Fr. Jose had planned a two-day program for us to lead in Delhi immediately upon arrival. As it turned out, the program was not possible which was at first a disappointment as we were eager to begin teaching biblical storytelling, but on the other hand we were grateful to be able to sleep in after two days of travel with minimal rest. And the alternative plan Fr. Jose arranged turned out to be an incredible 3-day road trip visiting the cities of Jairpur and Agra which I will never forget. It gave us a chance to see India past and present close up.

We also experienced the amazing anarchy of Indian roads. We spent 5-8 hours each day on these roads with a driver who would certainly win the Indy 500. Only a video could tell the tale of this experience, which I'll produce at home. Until then, this photo of the donkey-drawn cart tailgated by a colorful bus will have to do. At least they were approaching us on their side of the road, which was not always the case!

At the end of our first long day of driving and touring we enjoyed traditional Indian music and dancing at a Jaipur restaurant. I got a lesson in dance--much fun!

Unfortunately I hadn't yet learned how to crop photos correctly in iPhoto and I messed up my favorite picture without having the sense to save an original. Painful lesson.

The flower lei was given to me in the ancient Hindu temple to the goddess Shilla we visited today.

Our first day in Delhi we met with Fr. George Plathottam, SDB (far left) who is the executive Secretary of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of India (CBCI) and Fr. M.D. Thomas who is the Director of Commission for Religious Harmony for the CBCI.

The new logo pictured here shows symbols that represent the many religions of people who live in India.

I learned that "Hindu" is more a geographic designation than a religious one and that there are many varieties of Hinduism.

Arrived!

We arrived safely in Delhi after a long (12 hours) but happily uneventful flight from Newark NY to Delhi. Our host here in India, Fr. Joseph Palakeel met us at the airport and got us settled in our hotel near the new New Dehli train station. Our introduction to India was the ride to the hotel, 10 at night, with the streets jammed with small cars wedged between the temporary walls set up on both sides for a massive construction project: new train from the airport to major centers in the city. With buildings going up all around as well. All this in preparation for the upcoming Asian Commonwealth Games.

Along with all the cars and all the construction I noticed vendors pushing or cycling carts, many dogs on the streets, and many people sleeping on the sidewalks. The dress is both western and traditional Indian. The trees are lush and tall. The temperature is comfortably warm--very welcome as we left Ohio turning cold.

Today we are visiting Fr. George Plathottam, SDB, Executive Secretary of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of India Commission for Social Communications. In his office I have access to the Internet so am glad to be able to update this blog.

I have taken pictures with my new iPhone and hope soon to share them, but I have to learn how to get them from the iPhone to a PC. Ah, the fun and challenge of technology.

So...we leave in the morning. Went to dinner in the best steak place in Dayton--the Pine Club--on advice that it might be our last chance to have beef for awhile. Anyway, it was a good excuse to go out and get a break from packing. I wanted to take a picture of something related to the trip. Decided luggage was pretty dull, so my daughter suggested one of Ganesha, the Hindu god with a sense of humor, also the god of safe travel. Here she is with her miniscule token Ganesha atop a miniscule container of river from the River Ganges brought home by her sister several years ago.