Non Violence and Double Helpings of Kheer
Sasriyakaal!
This is the greeting used amongst the folks in the Punjab (pronounced "PUN jab" rather than "POON jab" as Amit continues to remind all of us. Punj means 'five' and Ab means 'river,' so we are in the 'Land of Five Rivers!')
A Sikh man enjoys an evening bath in the waters surrounding the Golden Temple
We're safely through our first overnight train ride and exploring the Golden Temple here in Amritsar. We've eaten delicious food at the Langar, or community kitchen, where anyone can come to take a meal, and visited Jallianwala Bagh - now the site of a beautiful garden, but once the site of an epic massacre by British Generals on a peaceful gathering of Muslim, Sikh, and Hindu folks in protest of the jailing of revolutionary leaders in the movement against British occupation in 1919.
Also a favorite piece of this semester program for me, we all contributed to a thoughtful conversation about non-violence and how we would define such terms. This theme will follow us along the way as we are hosted by the Tibetan community in Exile, as well as our wonderful Jain hosts in Jaipur. The students are digging deep about what these concepts mean to them and how they affect their own lives.
I'm continually inspired by their willingness to open up and say what is on their minds, only to deepen their own and other's experiences. I'm feeling quite privileged to spend time with this group for the coming two months.
Amit and I just ate dinner in the Langar with Natalie, Sandy, and Kate. I would like to share this story for the benefit of Global LAB Alumni who remember my love of the kheer that is served on Sundays at the Langar here - (Kheer is a sweet rice pudding made from milk, cardamom, raisins, and chunks of coconut, and it's totally yummy!) We sat down and immediately got a big plate full of kheer, salty dal, and the man came by with chapatis. I looked up at him, held both of my hands out to have the bread dropped into them, and I caught him searching through the basket, picking out the softest ones before handing them over to me and AmitI. We thanked him. Amit and I chatted through dinner and then waited for the girls to finish up. (A funny side note - people eat incredibly quickly in the Langar, maybe in order to make space for the next 1,000 that will come through the door needing to be fed, but we US Americans seem to linger over our food, chatting away, and most people vacate their places on the mat before we are even finished with our first chapati) So, there we were. Our friend came back to ask why we were not going - Amit jokingly said, "We're waiting for our second helping of kheer!" The man smiled, walked away, and then appeared from behind the gate with a huge bucket full of it. He told us to clean out our bowls, and dished both of us a huge second helping (probably more food than I had eaten during dinner itself)! We motioned toward the students, and they got their second helpings too. We all sat in bliss while eating the sweet desert, so thankful for the chapati man and his willingness to see us smile.
We got up to clean our plates - I looked for him to say another 'thank you' but I couldn't make his face out in the crowds of other folks willingly grabbing buckets full of food and walking down the long aisles to feed the newcomers into the Langar. I walked out the door looking back over my shoulder, grateful for his kindness.
That's all for now from the inspiring pilgrimage site of the Golden Temple here in Amritsar. We'll head up the hill to McLeod Ganj tomorrow and get our bearings as we settle in for a month on the rain-kissed south-facing slopes of the Himalaya.
Wahe Guru ji da Khalsa
Wahe Guru ji de Fateh,
Tracy
Comments
Again, for the parents and friends who can't be there with our Global LABradors...
A virtual tour of the Golden Temple:
Golden Temple (by day) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HQkPiVM-XgI (2 min)
Golden Temple (Festival of Lights) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c33V9aeDNCc (1min)
(and if you are curious aboutthe NAZ Foundation in Delhi...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ju3iyXutC2M (5 min)
Posted by: Bill Wood | October 19, 2008 07:25 PM
Oh you are making me so hungry. I found a Kheer recipe. Here it is, for the benefit of the other 'folks at home' who want to sample a sweet taste of India.
Ingredients
3 - 4 cups of whole milk, diluted with 1 - 2 cups of water (The proportion of water will determine the thickness of the Kheer.)
1 cup rice (it is best to use an Indian variety like basmati rice)
1 cup condensed milk
1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon raisins
1 tablespoon of dry roasted cashew nut pieces. (Cashew nuts can be substituted with almonds or pistachio)
1 teaspoon finely powdered elaichi (cardamom) seeds
Method
- Boil the rice in the milk on a medium flame until the rice is cooked.
- Make sure you stir frequently; otherwise your milk may burn at the bottom of the vessel.
- Add the condensed milk, sugar, raisins, and nuts. Stir till the sugar dissolves and the mixture thickens.
- Add the cardamom and serve hot.
(I found it on the web at
http://foodsofindia.blogspot.com/2005/08/recipe-kheer.html)
Posted by: Sue Wood | October 20, 2008 02:20 AM
Bill and Sue!
Thank you so much for your comments - they are incredibly informative, and for sure, help the loyal blog readers experience that much more right along with us! I wish we had faster internet capabilities on a more consistent basis in order to load our own videos and images more quickly.
Doesn't the kheer sound amazing? Do let us know how you like it if you do a test run in the coming days.
It's a pleasure to see all the comments, it's quite encouraging for us bloggers to keep writing as we know you are reading.
Take care!
Tracy
Posted by: Tracy | October 21, 2008 10:34 AM