Alice B. McGinty

Final Post

aliceb — Fri, 02 Mar 2012 19:52:42 +0000

After almost 40 hours of traveling, including a packed 15 hour flight across the ocean, I’m back at home. Still catching up on sleep, and probably will be for a while! In this last post I’ll fill you in on our last few days in India and share a few final thoughts about this amazing trip.

I think I owe you a report on the day we drove the route of the salt march. It began at 6 a.m., meeting the historian and our driver (bearing omelets cooked by his wife) at our hotel.

I’ve got to say I was discouraged at first. I’d expected to drive the whole route of the march and instead we hit the superhighway. “Can’t we visit Aslali,” I asked. That was the first town on the route. “How about Dabhan?”

“No,” was the answer from up front.

The historian’s English wasn’t very good so communication was a problem, and I worried that the day would be a wash. But I’ve learned to expect the unexpected.

During the drive, I learned that the historian had three relatives who marched the salt march with Gandhi, and that his grandparents, weavers, were mentioned in Gandhi’s autobiography. He gave me a copy with the paragraph highlighted. He also told us that one of his relatives (a marcher with Gandhi) was a Harijan, an Untouchable. I could sense his gratitude to Gandhi for fighting for the rights of his people.

Here we were in a car, driving down the highway with a Muslim and the descendant of Hindu Untouchables in the front seat, chattering away with each other in Gujurati. Wow, I thought. The historian invited me to walk the salt march with them the next time they went. They repeat the march every year. Maybe I will.

And when we stopped for tea, he got on his cell phone and set up a few appointments. The next thing I knew, I was on the phone with Gandhi’s great grandson, who lived in Mumbai, setting up a time to see him before we left.

We got off the highway in Navsari, one of the stops on the march’s route, and saw the station where Gandhi’s train stopped on his frequent trips to Bombay.

The historian at the train station

Then we got onto Rt. 228, the path the marchers marched. There, under a canopy of trees, we followed the historic route until we stopped at the site where Gandhi had picked up the salt from the sea. There was no sea there anymore, and we’d soon find out why.

The home near the sea where Gandhi had spent the night had been turned into a museum. After looking around for a while, the historian came in with an older man, who spoke English quite well. He’d lived in the village of Dandi for his whole life, had known villagers who were there when the marchers were there, and had written a book in Gujurati about the event. He told us that the village had experienced flooding after the march was over and had to build mud dams to move the beach a whole kilometer seaward. There were many more stories about the march itself, things that weren’t in any of the books I’d read.

After cool drinks at this man’s home (he also ran a school to teach students using Gandhian values), we continued on. Next stop was another school, where educators had devoted their lives to teach the deaf and dumb children of migrant Indians. The school followed Gandhian values too and taught these children to learn sign language and crafts so they could be self-sufficient as adults. They also housed and fed salt marchers on their route, and they gave us a terrific lunch and sent us on our way.

Next stop, the sea. Lots of photos there, which I’ve been sending to Tom Gonzalez, the illustrator for Gandhi: A March to the Sea. It’s worked out well to answer some of the questions he’s had about details in the illustrations, such as the timing of the cotton harvest in relation to the salt march.

We ended the day at about 9:30 at night after fighting traffic in Bombay. Our driver (not at all afraid to stop and ask directions, as most American men are) wasn’t sure of the exact location of the hotel and finally hired a taxi to lead us the rest of the way there. A brilliant move, I thought.

The next morning we visited the Gandhi home and museum in Bombay and I sat on the third floor balcony where he often delivered speeches to the people below. I wondered if he ever felt scared or unsure there, so many people expecting so much from him.

We spent the afternoon as tourists, enjoying the modern, bustling city of Bombay – a different experience from the other cities we’d seen. The next day, after a morning of shopping and sightseeing, we ended our stay by having tea with Tushar Gandhi. He had plenty of stories to tell about his great grandparents and was interested in writing a children’s book himself. We agreed to keep in touch.

That’s probably more than you wanted to know, but it’s still only a small part of this big experience. I’m so grateful to have had the chance to see India and go on this search for Gandhi. I’ve seen his homes and lots of artifacts (including his two front teeth!), felt his presence in the Ashram, and seen how he’s being kept alive in modern India. I’m not sure yet how all of this will come into play in the book I’ll write, but I have some good ideas. I’ve been writing notes and thoughts every day and now that I’m back, I’m eager to get started writing to see where it leads.

As for my personal journey, it’s hard to say exactly how this trip has impacted me, but I know that it has – in big ways. I feel more at peace, ready to write again, and full of hope for the future. After all, anyone who can climb 3,300 steps up to a temple in the blazing afternoon sun can accomplish whatever they want, right?

The view from the top of 3,300 steps at Palitana

Thanks to all of you for taking this journey with me.

Lots of love,

Alice

More Photos

aliceb — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 04:59:53 +0000

And here are some of those photos I promised!

A smooth ride!

A few photos from the safaris at Susan Gir Wildlife Sanctuary:

On our morning safari we spotted this large deer, lots of monkeys, peacocks, but no lions

Since this is the only place in the world where asiatic lions are found we were really hoping to see one. On our afternoon safari, we did!

Then two males…

One was awake and the other was taking a nap.

Until the ranger made some noise and woke him up.

He's looking just a bit grumpy!

Catching Up

aliceb — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 12:55:11 +0000

I know it’s been a while since last posting. The days have been packed from morning til night. So many experiences, I can’t begin to get it all in in a post or two, but I’ll try to give a recap here and maybe “word-paint” a few scenes for you.

Here are some of the places we’ve been during the past week:

Ahmedabad – a good, long day at Satyagraha Ashram which ended with a prayer service at the grounds where Gandhi regularly led the residents of the Ashram in prayer. A group of young children in their school uniforms sang the Hindu chants. It was lovely…until I triedto stand up after sitting lotus style and found that one foot had completely fallen asleep. Hobble. Hobble.

Rajkot – a visit to Rajtriyaashala – a school that teaches students using Gandhian values. This historic building, where Gandhi held one of his fasts, has both an elementary school for students from a disadvantaged part of town and a design school for college aged students. How interesting to talk with the principal and founder and hear how these values are being put into practice in teaching and design.

Visits to Gandhi’s home in Rajkot and then a drive to Porbandar to visit the home where he was born. Trying to get a feel for what things were like for Gandhi there wasn’t easy – both homes, which had had large grounds around them, are now surrounded by honking horns and busy city streets. Still, plenty of things to see inside and plenty of insights and information.

An afternoon drive to Dwarka, a sacred Hindu temple overlooking the sea. After suddenly finding ourselves packed into a clapping, chanting, crowd of Indians (we were the only foreigners there) who were pushing and squeezing to get closer to the center of the temple where men were beating drums, we managed to extricate ourselves. Escaped to a quiet beach nearby. Watched the sunset. Add to list of experiences. Check.

Rode a camel on the beach at Porbandar. Will post photo soon.

A drive to Susan Gir Wildlife Sanctuary in the southern tip of Gujurat, the Indian state we’re in. And what a change of pace – from the craziness of one city after another (even Porbander, which I thought would be smaller, was over 4 million people) to the silence of mango trees and farmland and savannah. Two “jungle drives” in gypsies at the wildlife sanctuary were dusty and bouncy, but great successes as far as sightings. Will post photos soon.

A couple days later, heading back from the southern tip of Gujurat, we drove (well, our driver drove us – we’d have long ago been lost causes trying to drive ourselves!) the back roads through villages, past farmland and small towns. Loved having this peek at rural life in India. Seems less broken than life in the cities – farm workers harvesting cotton, big carts hauling sugar cane, pulled by camels, people selling goods in the villages, smell in the air of chiles growing.

We’re the only white people around, magnets for stares (in the cities too), and not much English spoken here. “Where from?” everyone wants to know. “America. Chicago,” we say. They nod and smile and shake our hands. I don’t think they see many light skinned people here.

Car time broken up with a stop at Palitana (pol-EE-tan-ah), a Jain temple on the top of a mountain. Climbed 3,300 steps up in the hot afternoon sun, then 3,300 steps down. Thought going down would be easy. It wasn’t. Bare feet rubbed raw. Ready to reinsert into waiting berkie’s. But berkies were gone upon return. Well, my new podiatrist recently told me he didn’t want me wearing them anymore, so I suppose this will significantly reduce the temptation to do so.

Writing now from Mumbai, after having been deposited here late last night. Yesterday, we drove the route of the salt march – a day with so much packed in it deserves its own post. Anyhow, by now you’re probably tired of reading. So I’ll stop here and continue later.

Progress being made on both personal and Gandhi book quests also.

Sending best of wishes from India.

Scenes from India

aliceb — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 02:05:26 +0000

Often, pictures speak louder than words. Today I’m sharing some scenes from the cities we’ve visited. This country is both broken and beautiful.

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More Photos

aliceb — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 13:59:51 +0000

Alice in the memorial garden at the India International CenterAlice signing autograph after talking with school children in Delhi. A great group!

We share the streets with cows, monkeys, dogs, camels, horses, and a few elephants

I'd have been given an F if they were grading me on spinning, but I was thrilled to try it.

Every day brings new experiences and insights. More to come!

Some Photos

aliceb — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 13:36:46 +0000

Thank you to Jyoti and Tanya for hosting, and to Jyoti's son Dhruv for entertaining

Searching for Gandhi

aliceb — Sun, 19 Feb 2012 16:17:55 +0000

I’m writing this from a train at 7:30 in the morning, rolling past plowed fields of orange dirt, scrubby bushes, and occasional shacks, which are an all too common sight in India.

We were supposed to be in Ahmedabad (pronounced HAHM-ne-bad) by now, but the train was 5 hours late (welcome to India). So, after seeing the glorious Taj Mahal yesterday morning (it really is awe inspiring), we spent all afternoon in the Agra train station.

The train provided a good night’s sleep, though, with its rocking and rumble, and I hope to have a full afternoon in the Sabermati Ashram near Ahmedabad today, to see where Gandhi spent many years of his life.

This will be the next step in my search for Gandhi. Here are some of the questions I’m asking myself as I search: Who is Gandhi? And with all the slums and inequalities and craziness in the cities, where is Gandhi in modern India? Are the things he stood for out of date, or is there still a reason for kids today to want to know about him and connect with him?

According to Suhas Borker, an activist and documentary film maker who met with us on Wednesday night (a contact made through Rajmohan Gandhi), modern India in many ways has lost sight of Gandhi, with its corrupt government and many problems.

Suhas and some others started a program called Taking Children to Gandhi. High schoolers take a vow to follow some of Gandhi’s most important ideals, such as tolerance and inclusiveness. They also go to see speakers to commemorate important days, including hearing a man who was in prison with Nelson Mandela to commemorate Mandela’s birthday.

So, they’re trying to bring kids back to Gandhi, knowing that (as Gandhi said) they’re the hope of the future.

And on Friday morning, I found Gandhi in modern India when I spoke with a class of school children. That was a special morning. I asked the students – 5th graders – what they would share with American kids about Gandhi if they could, and what Gandhi might be proud of in modern India, what he would want to change, and what they themselves carry with them of Gandhi.

“Do your own work,” said one boy (to a giggle from the class).

Tell the truth – always,” said another.

“Help others.”

“Don’t want for more than you need.”

The answers were mature and honest, and I felt their sense of responsibility and told them I thought that Gandhi would be proud of them.

That’s it for now – plenty more to share later, and hopefully some photos next time too. Been taking plenty!

Greetings From India

aliceb — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 04:59:55 +0000

Greetings from Delhi, India. Though it’s only been one full day, I feel as if I’ve been here for weeks. By the time our 16 days here are over, I may feel I’ve been here for a full year. Already, we’ve seen much of Delhi, with its colors and cows and chaos!

It’s a land of juxtapositions. The serenity of temples and gardens only steps away from the craziness of the streets - a symphony of beeps and horn blasts, bikes and scooters and people and anything goes. Who ever heard of lane lines? Turbans and saris, culture and color and religion, juxtaposed with road rage and desperate poverty.

I’m asking a lot of India over these next two weeks. I’m hoping to come away with an approach for this book about Gandhi, which I would like to write for 3-5^th graders (thank you again SCBWI for the grant!).

And personally, I’m asking India to help make me whole again, this writer who had such personal upheaval that she hasn’t written in over 4 months. India can’t bring back the husband who left, but can she help this crushed heart and shattered soul begin to grow anew. That’s a mighty tall order. But there’s something magic in this land of color and spice, so we’ll see what happens.

Before I go – The Rupees Arrive

aliceb — Sun, 12 Feb 2012 00:52:14 +0000

I’ve already had a surprise, and I haven’t even left home yet. The Indian Rupees I ordered arrived the other day and Gandhi’s picture is on each one of them, every denomination. This is how important this man is in India!

Thank You, Jake

aliceb — Sun, 12 Feb 2012 00:19:59 +0000

Thanks to my wonderful son Jake, who set up both this website and blog, and has developed great patience and a calm bed-side manner in trying to teach his very un-computer savvy mother how to manage them.