Saraswati Puja: 24 January 2015

Chalk decoration at the end of the main driveway

After he did some work on his field trials this morning, my colleague SD and I went to the Saraswati Puja at BAU: as he explained it, it’s a celebration of education and the one day of the year on which students aren’t expected to study! 

The completed palace for Saraswati

Two of the ceremony’s organisers are at the front right

We turned up a little after ceremonies had commenced: it’s a drop in celebration – people turn up for a little while throughout the day, as their interest and other commitments permit.  The small palace I’d seen being built all week was now complete, including a small room with a platform on which the now-uncovered statue of Saraswati stood.  As we arrived the goddess was being adorned with jewellery and wreaths, accompanied by a chanted commemoration of her achievements.  A small plate of fire was offered up before her.  We stood outside the room, which was pretty crowded with students; plenty of people were mingling and chatting outside too.  After the ceremony the plate of fire was taken through the crowd, to spread the goddess’ blessings. 

Honouring Saraswati

All the students had dressed up in their finest clothes (the staff who were present stood out for being in everyday clothes) – the men wore brightly coloured kurtas (tunics to the knee or mid shin); the most spectacular I saw was a purple and black paisley brocade kurta with large faux-diamond buttons down the chest, but there were many others in impressive colours, often with glitter threads woven in.  The women wore a sari, a shalwar kameez suit or a more formal, similar, suit which had a long dress, generally with a floaty chiffon overdress, instead of the shalwar.  Everyone looked very elegant: there were lots of spangles, gold and glitter and a fabulous array of colours!  The organising committee (who are in their final semester at BAU) had large rosettes pinned to their kurtas, shalwars or saris; they were still working hard and had done an impressive job organising the event.

Students inside the goddess’ room

Students inside the goddess’ room

After the ceremony was completed SD and I went into the small room to see the goddess up close.  This was a time for people to pay their respects to the goddess in person, and have their photo taken with her.  Saraswati is portrayed with a swan, the animal she rides.  After the ceremony her statue will taken to the river and floated away (metaphorically, I think), to symbolise her return (on a swan) to the heavens.

Saraswati with swan

When we left the room Prasad (a gift of sweet food from the goddess) was being distributed.  SD, a really decent guy, shared his box with one of the grounds staff at the guesthouse, while I was very interested to see what mine contained.

Prasad box from BAU

Inside were a range of sweet foods: puffed rice; slices of carrot, nashi pear and apple; grapes; cashews; raisins; green fruit the size of a small plum which has a firm, slightly astringent taste and apparently no English name (very pleasant); a small banana; a caramelised date (this is a taste sensation which should be much more widely known than it seems to be!!!  I wonder how difficult it is to caramelise a date?  I think I’ll be doing some experiments to find out when I'm home...); a round ball of cooked milk curd soaked in sugar syrup; a packet of puffed rice soaked in saffron syrup; and a brown sweetmeat with cashews – this was not as sweet as the other cakes, and I really enjoyed it.

Prasad from BAU

SD and I spent about 30 minutes at the ceremony; it didn’t seem custom to remain there for long (though I think it’s a social event for students, so they stay longer). 

In the afternoon as I worked on the guesthouse verandah groups of students wandered the grounds, taking photos of themselves in their finery - much as students do in Australia on graduation day!

Saraswati Puja at the BAU hamlet

In the early evening I went for a  walk around the agricultural campus: down to the field trials and back to the guesthouse through the hamlet where live, I think, the domestic staff and field trial technicians who work at BAU.  Walking through the hamlet I discovered another, very modest, Saraswati Puja underway!  Here a smaller statue of the goddess was housed in a much smaller room: this one, rather than a flashing LED gateway had a harpy’s face at the front, with flashing red eyes and a large mouth of gnashing teeth through which Saraswati could be seen.  There were a few strands of lights outside, under which children were playing.  I stopped to take a photo (sorry about the poor light) and was given Prasad: this time a small bag in which were a piece of banana; slices of carrot and apple; puffed rice; and chickpea-based nibbles.

Prasad from hamlet

   

After sunset I went back to the celebrations at BAU academic campus: there more people out and about, enjoying the lights and paying their respects to Saraswati.  Mostly I think everyone had changed into warmer, more casual clothes for the evening...the wraps were back in action too!

 I was asked to be part of many people’s photos.  I always wonder what the attraction of having a random stranger in your photos of a festival day is – mostly people just want the photo, they don’t really want to know my name, where I'm from, or why I'm here.  It seems strange...I don’t really enjoy being a tourist attraction (it’s one of the reasons I try not to take photos of people unless I can ask their permission first) but it would be churlish to refuse – particularly with my lack of Hindi and thus inability to explain – so in the end I got the photographers to take some on my phone, too...

I was offered Prasad again (the students are very friendly and welcoming), but it seemed to me three lots in one day would just be greedy!  

(and probably very bad for my karma)

There was a really relaxed, friendly party atmosphere – it was a great day!!

BAU Part II: Guesthouse

The BAU VIP guesthouse is in an older building in well-tended grounds. I am very comfortable here: I have a spacious room with three pale mauve walls and one fuchsia contrast wall with orange lights.  There is turquoise lighting up near the cornice on another wall, and phosphorescent strips glow dimly at night along the bed head and along the AC unit.  My room doesn’t have a window but there is a sizeable gap under the door, so I know when it’s daylight.  I am very thankful that I have been given a small but effective heater: it’s less necessary now but was very welcome when I first arrived.

I have an en suite bathroom with two types of lavatory, a shower with electric water heater, and very good plumbing: It is luxurious!  I am still figuring out the idiosyncrasies of the water heater: it definitely needs time to warm up, but I think yesterday’s plan of turning it on and leaving it while I went for a walk and had breakfast backfired – maybe there is a timer in the unit?  I only got a small trickle of lukewarm water.  Today I waited about 20m and was back to glorious hot.  My next challenge is to figure out how to get hot and cold water together for more than 90 seconds J  I am notoriously inept at shower water heaters, and have consequently had a lot of unnecessarily cold showers, which is much easier to take in 30^O+ heat than when it’s 10^O.

There is a marble floor in my bathroom, but that’s not to say it’s in any way fancy: there’s marble and then there’s marble.  I think this was used as a easy-clean, non-slip surface which rots less readily when wet than concrete does.  It is extremely bracing underfoot in the mornings: I am really glad of my bathroom thongs!

VIP guesthouse (red) and second guesthouse behind

The VIP guesthouse is flanked by another guesthouse, several accommodation buildings for staff, and a small canteen, where I have my meals.  After walking to the canteen and back thrice a day for four days I realised that the bushes flanking a gate on the path have been sculpted into possibly the world’s least effective topiary: I only noticed it because I thought how odd it was for a round bush to have a square-ish section coming off it.  Turns out that square-ish section is actually an elephant’s ear!

Elephant(ish): trunk is on the left

There are an army of staff who tend the grounds – the flowerbeds are completely free of anything but weeds; it’s very impressive but the bare earth looks unusual if you’re used to garden beds covered by mulch or grass to reduce evaporation and erosion. 

 The staff are also do maintenance jobs and bring me chai: at any time I request it or, they have decided, daily at 6.30am.  This is a three stage process: someone thumps on my door and rattles the lock till I open the door, he confirms I want chai; ten minutes later there is another series of thumps and door rattles till I get up to admit the chai; and finally there is a third series of thumps 20m after that when the cup is reclaimed.  It’s a very effective alarm clock! This (particularly today, which is a Saturday) is one of the times I most feel my lack of Hindi.  The chai is excellent, though, and I am always glad to have a cup.

I'm not sure what the protocol is re tipping for chai: it doesn't seem expected, but is welcomed when it happens so I'm trying to tip randomly (because the minimum I can give is a Rs 10 note, which is a lot) but evenly.  I need to work on my morning tipping: I'm not very quick-thinking (nor a natural tipper) pre-chai!  I think because of the tipping the staff are very happy to help me in other ways: sadly my lack of Hindi means it's hard for them to actually know how to help.  One kind man now brings me water; unfortunately it's not new, sealed bottles of water, it's refilled bottles, which is what all my Indian colleagues drink.  I can't explain the sort of water I want to drink so I've been draining the unreliable water down the sink and putting the additional empty bottles in the rubbish bin with the others I have drunk from.  This man is also one of the ones who takes away my rubbish: it must look to him like I have imminent diabetes (and a highly effective urinary tract)! 

Preparing for Saraswati Puja

Festive main drive by daylight

24 Jan is Saraswati Puja, the festival which honours Saraswati, goddess of education and knowledge.  I gather the festival is particularly well celebrated at universities: at BAU preparations have been going on all week.  On about Monday or Tuesday there were a series of small divots at regular intervals along the drive; these turned into fairly deep holes; next came bamboo poles, inserted and painted orange-white-and-green.  Next were flags, and a higher set of poles which support flashing LED lights.  The main building and the fountains, trees, shrubs and bushes lining the drive have all been draped in lights as well.  The effect is festive in the day time and dazzlingly spectacular (in a slightly migraine-inducing way) at night! 

The main building, fountains and canopy of lights

A tunnel of flashing lights!

Work has also been underway all week on a covered stage; I believe it is to hold the statue of Saraswati.  The goddess herself is under wraps until tomorrow: it's bad luck to uncover her until just before the festivities begin.

  

The LED gateway and the covered stage for the goddess Saraswati

Working on the stage

Goddess Saraswati: masked and wrapped until 24 Jan

I have been formally and informally invited (several times – people are very friendly) to attend Saraswati Puja.  I understand the celebration is mostly conducted by the students; staff attend to watch and enjoy the celebration, but take a back seat role.  I'm looking forward to the festivities...and after Saraswati Puja we look forward to the 26 Jan celebrations for Republic Day!

My invitation to Saraswati Puja

BAU part I: Academic campus

I'm staying at the BAU guesthouse, which is in a walled campus with residential facilities for many staff and students, large field trials, and a small village where, I think, live the domestic employees for the residences and kitchens, as well as technical support staff for the field trials. 

To get from the guesthouse to the building I'm working in I walk out the gates, across some train tracks and a main road.  The train tracks have the usual boom gates, but it is perfectly acceptable, even expected, to walk across the tracks at any time that a train isn’t actually present.  The boom gates seem more about keeping the tracks clear of large obstacles (cars, motorcycles) and ensuring the train isn’t impeded than keeping people safe.  It’s also true that the gates are lowered very early: it’s easily a three or four minute wait after they’re down before the train arrives; and then an even longer wait while the train - they are all very long - passes.  I do (because I am impatient) walk across the tracks while the gates are down, but I feel surprisingly rebellious doing it, particularly when the train is visible – those safety messages are more ingrained than I realised!  People in cars or on bikes often switch off their engines, walk around and chat at the crossings while they wait for the train to pass and the gates to rise.

BAU main building and drive

  

Once across the train tracks and road I walk in through the academic campus gates, up the main drive and around the principal building to a smaller research building.  The university was founded about 2008; it had been an agricultural college for over a century before that; the main building dates from the early C20th. 

New building at BAU: marble staircase in place!

There is a lot of construction underway: the VC has a vision and is expanding the campus facilities greatly.  One building, which is intended to mirror the grandeur of the original agricultural college building, has progressed from when I last saw it in September.  Unusually, the marble steps which will form part of the front entrance have been installed while the building itself is still an unsealed shell behind.

The building in which KB and I are working

  

I'm working in a new building; my colleague, KB, has very kindly shared her office with me.  KB has a lot of lab work and isn’t in her office very much, but the building has a cleaner who seems fascinated by me.  She often comes up to me to tell me things I suspect I don’t much want to hear (that I should go off for lunch right at that minute; that she has many children (and thus needs baksheesh); that I am generally In Her Way); fortunately my lack of Hindi means we are completely unable to communicate.  She’ll also often just pop into KB’s office, pull up a chair and stare at me.  This is as disconcerting as it sounds.  Today apparently at least some of the novelty had worn off: I bored her to sleep!

I gave a seminar this afternoon to introduce myself and my work to the faculty.  As part of my official welcome I received flowers (they do flowers well here) and a lovely wrap: it’s very large (maybe 3.5 x 1.5m) cream silk with gold bands woven near the edges.  It’s lovely and warm, drapes well, and I feel like I'm channelling Lawrence of Arabia in it J

The dreamers of the day are dangerous men...

I am in the land of wraps

BRRR!!!  Bihar is cold in January!  And foggy!  The air feels cleaner here than in Delhi.  For a climatologist I am fairly ill-prepared for a north-Indian winter: in my defence we seem to have had colder weather than suggested by the long range forecast I checked before I packed.  And I'm hoping that the first two weeks of my 8+ trip away will be the only really cold ones: I will need my warm weather clothes soon!

Earlier this week was very foggy, and when it’s foggy it’s cold: we’re not far from the Ganga and I think we get some river mist too.  Everyone here is wearing scarves, shawls, pashminas, quilts (probably); wraps of all descriptions.  It seems to be de rigueur for men to wear one round the head, turban fashion (hats are uncommon), women wear one more loosely draped around the head; everyone wears another round the shoulders and an outer all-embracing one (or more) over the head and torso.  As a keen wrap-er I feel right at home (although not as elegant: I need more practice!). Monday through Wednesday were three-wrap days: this number was only limited by my poor preparation in not packing more wraps (actually I only brought two: fortunately I succumbed to temptation in Delhi and bought a warm woollen one!  Proof, if it were needed, that shopping is good for you J)

Three-wrap day

Thursday and today have been considerably warmer (though I'm warned spring will not be here for another 9-10 days.  The weather here seems to have a much stricter calendar than in Australia).  

The advantage of wrapping a scarf round your head, rather than wearing a hat, seems to be that when it gets too hot you can tie it round your torso to keep it clean and close to hand.  Additionally they are multi-use items and it's there, ready for any other purpose.

I, and some staff and other visitors, return to the guesthouse for lunch: after lunch lots of us have enjoyed the guesthouse gardens in the sunshine before returning to work.  It certainly feels much more civilised than a quick sandwich at my desk: I will have to practise this back home!

Goats in Coats: Delhi to Bihar, 17 January 2015

I was driven to Delhi airport in thick fog around 9.30 am.  Indian cars, like most Australian ones, don’t have fog lights: hazard lights are used instead, here.  It was a surreal experience driving slowly along a crowded five lane highway, with ghostly cars all flashing their emergency lights!

On my Air India flight the (more everyday than elegant) stewardesses, who would not have been out of place managing teaching a primary school class, wore saris and sandals with rather mundane (but entirely understandable) thick black socks.  They served the whole plane a vegetarian lunch: apparently on the weekend AI only provides one meal option, and the default is veg!  Very civilised and inclusive!

I was met at Bagdogra by my colleague, SD.  Previously he had written me a very diplomatic email to find out when I was actually arriving:

Dear Madam,

I have been assigned to receive you at Bagdogra Airport on January 17, 2015. It shall be of great help if you kindly confirm your arrival at the airport.

With regards

Bagdogra is in West Bengal, the state which in my limited geography seems to be everywhere: it’s the state through which I made land crossings into both Bangladesh and Nepal, it’s the state in which I land to get to Bihar: I suspect it has good infrastructure and that’s why I'm always passing through it.  Kolkata, the largest city in WB, was the capital of British India for much of the occupation (until the locals got too restless and the British scarpered to Delhi; it’s also one of the areas in which the independence movement was formed) so it has well established connections and networks.

Tea plantations

Our five hour drive to BAU Sabour, just outside Bhagalpur, took us past tea plantations and then lots of farmland.  Rabi (dry) season crops are in: there was some maize and wheat, a bit of rice, and lots of chickpea, lentil and mustard. 

It’s winter and the weather is cool – I doubt it frosts often, but it’s certainly very cold, particularly when there’s fog (and there seems to have been a lot of fog).  Many farmers are keeping their cattle and buffalo warm by draping them, horse-blanket style, in hessian sacks, or the occasional bedspread for the larger animals (sadly no photos; we drove past too fast).  I was thrilled to go past a small family of goats in coats – it looked like the goats were wearing a family’s collection of old sari blouses: the nannies had ladies’ blouses while the kids had smaller versions, in a range of bright colours.  I'm not sure how much warmth a short cotton blouse actually gives, but the effect was charming.

We didn’t get to the Ganga (Ganges) crossing until after dark, which is a shame: it’s an awesomely large river to cross.

SD and I arrived back at BAU in time for a cup of chai and dinner.  He and SK have been enormously helpful ensuring I'm well looked after at the guesthouse.

Army day: an excellent parade

15 January turns out to be Army Day in India, when soldiers’ contributions to the Republic are commemorated.  The key event is televised and I was lucky enough to turn on the TV at just the right moment.  The ceremony began with an Inspection of the Troops, followed by the Remembrance of Fallen Comrades, Presentation of Gallantry Awards, a Parade in front of the Chief of Army, and Manoeuvres.

Thick fog blanketed the parade ground, so, rather than seeing the farther-away action of the Troop Inspection for ourselves, we received regular updates on progress from the slightly desperate commentators, “Ladies and gentlemen, the inspection which is going on on the other side of the parade ground is not visible.  Be assured the XXth tank unit is now passing.”  It made surprisingly riveting television, interspersed with shots of the near grandstand, in which superior army types, relatives and keen friends huddled into their coats, trying not to shiver too visibly.

The Fallen Comrades were remembered in a photo montage accompanied by an electronic-synthesiser version of Auld Lang Sine.  It was a striking effect.

The recipients of the Gallantry awards were from all ranks; most seemed to have served in Jammu & Kashmir, and to have rescued (or tried to rescue) other (sometimes fallen) comrades (it was a neat segue from the previous event).  All awardees had been well drilled: they saluted crisply with bright white gloved hands, marched in very straight lines, and turned perfect right-angle corners, complete with knee high jumps at the turn.  A couple of women (?not soldiers) receiving awards were not in uniform – they were each accompanied by a soldier who did the saluting and jumping for them.

The Parade began with units marching past: each was fantastically well synchronised, with high kicking, shoulder-high arm swinging and as-one head turns to face the Chief of Army.  There was a wide range of head gear on display: the expected berets, peaked caps and lemon squeezers were joined by many different styles of turbans, including several which had impressive fan-like finishes.  Each unit had a motto; these were reminiscent (in their English translations) of Tennyson (“theirs but to do or die”), Dumas (“one for all and all for one”), etc.

Human pyramid: the men sticking out at the bottom are revolving around their ankles; the man at the top is revolving around his waist

The best part of the Parade was the acrobats-on-motorcycles unit with which it concluded.  These started small, with a few men (say five) making a small pyramid, but rapidly got more spectacular: my favourite were the men-on-poles who stuck out from a central man and who rotated gradually (presumably they are in demand in all situations where travel sickness may be a problem).  The finale was a giant (?32 man) pyramid jointly riding on nine motorbikes: I think the men linking the motorbikes have the hardest job.

Giant human pyramid

The Manoeuvres began with rocket-launcher tanks pulling up and soldiers jumping out and rapidly into action.  Largely unnecessary (the fog was still with us) smoke screen bombs were deployed and hills-hoist type arrangements with camouflage netting across the top were set up with a director’s chair underneath next to each tank for the commanding bigwig.  The next step involved small groups of four or five men stealthily (but well tracked by the TV crew) making their way across the cricket oval in the middle of the parade ground, taking cover from unlikely objects like massed flower displays.  There were even simulated fatalities as part of the exercise, which mustn’t have been a whole lot of fun to train for.

Taking cover

Just as my chocolate supply gave out the entertainment was over and it was time to get back to work.

Delhi breakfasts

The hotel had excellent breakfasts: I alternated between idli with a coconut chutney + veggies  and uttapam with chutney and veggies.

Idli are south Indian steamed dumplings: in my experience they can get awfully heavy awfully fast, if not well cooked.  These were light and fluffy and yet satisfyingly filling.

Idli + veg + chutneys

Uttapam were a revelation to me – I don’t think I’ve ever had them before.  They’re a savoury pikelet with curd and spring onions in them.   Again, I think done poorly they would be rubbery and unpleasant but these were light and delicious!

Uttapam + veggies & chutney

The hotel had decent coffee and little packets of drinking yoghurt, from which I got my “daily boost of immunity” (who needs a multivitamin?!?!) before heading out to brave the world.

Delhi 15-16 January 2015

Delhi was chilly and foggy; the fog felt like normal fog but after two days I was developing a chesty cough and glad to move on.  It must be trying to live in!  My hotel was very pleasant (due to a mistake on their part about the airport transfer I was upgraded to a suite which is about the same size as my apartment at home!  I love heated tile floors!): it was easy to get to my meetings from and very near a metro station.

India Gate, closed off for Republic Day celebrations

After one of my meetings I was driven past the India Gate (a ?Edwardian monument) and the Parliament buildings.  Because of the upcoming Republic Day celebrations (26 Jan), this year to be graced by Barak Obama, security was tight and my driver was unable to get very close.  That, combined with the fog, didn’t lead to very good pictures.

Parliament building

I saw a small flock of hawks (I think: definitely Birds of Prey of some sort) – they were grazing on a pavement as pigeons do in other cities.  Impressive!

On both Thursday and Friday evenings I met up with my friend, D: it was great to see her again and to see a little bit of her city.  D loves to shop and is an expert on where to find good things to buy.  She is on a shopping diet at the moment (possibly something I should consider too!) but she very kindly took me to two markets.  The first has vendors from all over India: they have stalls for two weeks at a time.  There were also regional dancers and food from all over India.  The chai was served in little terracotta pots and was delicious.  There were a lot of shawls, kurtas (tunics), and household linens as well as leather goods, stone tableware, lamps, paper goods, bags, brass – all kinds of amazing treasures!

Rajastani dancers – one woman is dancing with FIVE pots on her head!

The second night we went to a more upmarket shopping area: from the street there didn’t appear to be many shops: most of them were upstairs, you have to know which doorways to open!  It was lovely pottering around a whole range of treasures: lovely-smelling ayuvedic skin products, jewellery, paper goods, book shops, Indian-style clothes (jewel-bright kurtas and kurtees (short tunics) and beautiful saris of all colours – I wish I had more need for them, and more skill draping them!), and restaurants, all tucked away!