"Happy Holi" and greetings from the Education Tour!
It's hard to believe we are nearing the end of an amazing week in India - a land of immense contrast and a land which challenges not only our senses but also at times, some of the foundations of our Western upbringings.
There has been so much to visually digest and absorb, especially in this frenetic, teeming city of 15 million people, not to mention the uncounted millions eking out a life on the dusty roadsides or in evacuated building sites.
We've had a mix of visiting historical sights including the stunning Taj Mahal and some more modern ones such as the beautiful Bahai temple, remniscent of the Sydney Opera House and designed to resemble a lotus flower. And far more importantly, we've also been visiting the producers of our products. Many long bus rides in the "Bone shaker" bus have been needed and these long trips have been a great way to absorb the richness of what's going on out of the window. No one can quite imagine how Delhi hosted the Commonwealth games. It simply defies logic.
Visiting the producer groups is wonderful and to see their appreciation for all the opportuniites this work gives them makes you realise how very important it is to their livelihoods. These many individuals and families would otherwise have little or no choice regarding their own future or that of their children.
Their hospitality is so generous when they have so little and we have been treated as honoured guests and long lost friends. It's also wonderful to meet artisans who have been featured in previous Trade Aid stories and hear about their life some years on from when Trade Aid last visited. And as Helen said, the stories of our producers have "touched us to tears".
Over the last few days we have visited very poor slum areas and had a couple of "body guards" with us - some of the hefty blokes from the TARA projects office! The level of poverty is almost beyond comprehension.
It's currently the middle of a festival called Holi - the Festival of Colours and it's rather wild where everyone daubs each other with coloured dye powders, or even worse water bombs filled with the dyes. There is a generally riotous feel about everything and the workers in some of the
projects had great delight in doing so to their Kiwi guests! This was
followed by spontaneous frenzied dancing, laughter and hilarity - with a sense of unbridled joy in the midst of abject poverty.
It's such a privilege to engage with the people in this way - so far beyond a regular tourist experience.
We are very much a novelty as we dine with locals in local restaurants. We have eaten like kings and with help from the locals, have tried many new and exciting dishes.
Today, Sunday is the festival day of the Holi Festival - a holiday here and nothing is open. The advice from the TARA staff is that the festival activites are so wild that we have been advised not to go outside. So it has been a compulsory rest day before heading off to Thailand on Monday.
So far, we are all enjoying a change of pace and a chance to catch up on ourselves.
From the Trade Aid Education tour group 2011!
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