An Indian Family Dinner

Dr. Ram Boojh, the director of CEE (Center for Environmental Education) invited us to have dinner at his home last night. It was Sunday evening and the second-to-last day of the Durga Puja Festival. He sent his son to pick us up from the CEE office (which is actually a large house) where we are staying. His son spoke perfect english. He is in his first year of university studying Engineering. He helped us arrange a rick-shaw to his home which was near town. Another friend, Jabeer, would accompany us on the ride while the son rode his motor bike back with his friend. Unfortunately when rick-shaws were invented, they did not consider the fact that more than two people may want to ride at one time. Ryan and I have taken them before own our own, and had to be careful not to fall off the tiny bench seat, so you can immagine how uncomfortable it was with three of us. Ryan sat in the middle (because I, a woman, cannot sit next to a man that is not my husband), Jabeer sat on his left, and me on his right. "Sat" is really not the right word to describe what I was doing. There was enough space for the point of my left hip to make contact with the edge of the seat. I used that contact point to balance myself while Ryan kept me from teetering over the side. The seat was fashioned with a metal edge that made perfect contact with my tail-bone on every bump (and there were pleanty)! It was not a plesant ride. Not at all. You can immagine my relief when we finally made it to his house.

After that things got much better. Dr. Ram greeted us at the door and introduced us to his wife and his second son. His son sat and talked with us for a while. He is a Chemistry major in his third year of college. Very nice young man. His daughter served us cookies and tea and some very delicious pistacio treats. She was doing her post-graduate in Journalism. I was very impressed with his family. They were all so polite and friendly. They all spoke excellent English due to the fact that they had gone to an English school since they were young. I also noticed that this kind, well-educated family, who's fater has his PhD and a prestigious position at well-respected NGO, lived in very humble circumstances. The house was quite small. The floor was cement, the furniature, well-kept and clean, was old and mismatched. When we had dinner, only Ryan and I sat at the table since there was only enough room for the two of us. The daughter took excellent care of us. She talked with us through dinner and filled our plates with more and more delicious food. We had a sauted veggies (a variety only found here), seasoned aloo (soft potatoes), a spicy curry and chipati's (flat bread). For desert we had a baked, sweetened, grain-based concoction. It was so good. She was fun to talk with. She was open and candid and we had a very interesting conversation about different cultures. She recently took her first international trip to Stockholm. She said that she couldnt believe how empty the streets were (just like we think they are overflowing with people, animals and cars). She also said she didn't like the food. She is vegetarian, like much of India, and here it is no problem. Indian food is so good and flavorfull you don't really need meat. I haven't missed it at all. But in Stockholm she said she couldn't find anything besides plain bread and salad-which she doesen't like. She even tried McDonalds hoping they would have something vegetarian (like they do here) only to be disapointed.

She also took us into town for the festival. Its celebrated over nine days and devotees fast (milk and sometimes fruit is permitted) during that time. It is a Hindu festival honoring Rama who is an incarnation of Vishnu. He gave up his birthright to the throne in order to go off and conquer the devil-god (Ravana) who had stolen his wife, Sita. This festival is a essentially a celebration of good conquering evil. Anyway the town is decorated with lights and flowers and there are people everywhere! You walk from temple to temple where artists have put together these big depictions of the story. People come to the temples to pay their respects and leave flowers. Then they gather in groups outside and socialize. On the last day there is a ceremony where the devil-god, Ravana, is first drowned in the river and they set ablaze! It was really interesting. After visiting the third temple we received the tikka, which is a red dot that goes on your forehead, it's representative of a blessing.

We had a wonderful evening with the Boojh family. I hope to be able to spend some more time with them. I love to see the real lives of people when I am traveling. In my opinion it is the most rewarding part.