Teacher's Day & Family Puja Ceremony

Travelers know that time spent in exotic lands can be so richly abundant in experience, that weeks of living seems packed into a single day… Today was one of those days!

We began at 5am with the girls waking up… hungry! They are still working on their jet lag, and are close to adjusting to the new time zone. After 2 hours of feeding, packing up, dressing, and heavy duty counseling and cheerleading for one nervous school girl, we were off on our daily 25 minute rickshaw ride to school. Eliza and Sylvie were well prepared, at least on the surface. New daypacks, math and English textbooks, freshly purchased school uniforms (even down to the standard 2 braids with red hair ribbons), water bottles, etc… None of us, however, were prepared for the astounding “teacher day” celebrations! It begins, as does every day at KVMEG, with the morning assembly, but today the teachers took over and led the program that is usually student-run. We teachers led the school pledge, school oath, national anthem, etc… Then they asked Karen and I to sing a special American song… we ran through our collective brains and pulled off a John Denver classic. Then there was a “name that tune” contest, a “stump the teachers” quiz show, a sing-off contest, and I even got to participate in “pin the trunk on the elephant!”

The role reversals continue as the 11th and 12th Class students are assigned to teach all the classes today, covering math, physics, English, biology, Hindi, etc. The young ladies looked beautiful, dressed in their exquisite multicolored saris, while many of the guys wore nice shirts and neckties for the occasion.

Throughout this extended assembly time, and all through the day, student of all ages were constantly approaching to shake hands, wish me “happy teachers day,” and give gifts of flowers, candies, or cards. So revered and respected are teachers in India, that many students even bent down to touch my feet! While walking down the halls, I was constantly swarmed with students, pushing and pressing forward… to get my autograph! “Please sir please sir, sign sign!!!” I felt like a rock star, signing hundreds and hundreds of student notebooks, and forcing myself to move on down the hallway leaving disappointed crowds in my wake. It was all pretty overwhelming and humbling.

Speaking of overwhelming, our daughters also had a major role reversal on their first full day of school. Eliza, who had been dreading today like it was the end of the world, writhing and weeping frequently for days of gut-wrenching self-induced stress, had a splendid day. We had her placed in a specific class, sitting next to the principal’s daughter “Sweetie,” who instantly became her wonderful friend and protector. Sweet Sylvie, possibly as a counter-balance to her stressed-out older sister, was pretty casual and relaxed about the whole “first day” situation. She said, “well, I actually am a little bit scared, but not as much as Eliza, and I’ll try to have fun!” Poor Sylvie had a really rough day, mostly due to the language barrier… I purposefully moved her up to 2nd Class instead of 1st, trusting that the older kids would have more solid English skills. Unfortunately today, being teacher’s day, was quite unstructured and chaotic. The student-teachers, while kind and well-meaning, were not well versed in class management or group dynamics… We had paired Sylvie with a sweet friend “Tania,” but even so, she lamented, “they only spoke Hindi, and I couldn’t talk to anyone today!” We are sure that things will improve day by day, but it was so sad to see her casual confidence get crushed today…

While the teachers all gathered for an after-school meeting and delicious spicy lunch, our kids played outside with “Sweetie,” the principal’s daughter. They climbed trees, played basketball, chased lizards, and stalked green parrots around the school grounds…

Then it was ‘rickshaw time’ to head over to Mr. Nagaraj’s house for tea. His wife Asha is also a teacher, and had several great books and puzzles for the kids to play with. Four year old Siddarth awoke from his nap, and played a vigorous game of “biting snake” jumprope with Lupin. We enjoyed a nice long visit, and then gathered up our things to go to the next event… just as the clouds opened up! We ran to a rickshaw without enough umbrellas, hopping from shallow puddle to puddle, trying to avoid the flowing creeks that 10 minutes ago were dry streets. Packed tightly on laps, and zooming through the soaking traffic, we held our umbrellas against the open rickshaw doors to keep the majority of the water outside….

Ranging from moist (me), to dripping (Sylvie), we arrived safely at sunset at Mr. Prem’s house to attend his “home and family puja.” Prem, and his brilliant son Karan, have shared wonderful conversations with me many mornings before school, and invited our family to join them tonight. This type of puja (prayer ceremony) is performed annually by many Hindu families to ensure health, success, prosperity and spiritual merit. Prem explained that this event would be a very special, traditional, and “rare” version of the event… and he was so right!

As we entered the home, an exquisite colorful geometric mandala was being created on the floor, right next to a brick-lined firepit built in the center of the living room. Three robed priests were carefully making preparations and gathering materials for the incredibly complex series of rituals we were about to witness. Several other family members, friends, and neighbors sat with us on the floor, and the ceremony began. We expected an hour-long event, but what ensued was more than 3 hours of mesmerizing chanting, prayers, offerings, and the combustion of a fascinating assortment of objects. Holy water was sprinkled on attendees, saffron rice was tossed on statues of various gods, incense was burned, butter was drizzled, red and yellow tikas were applied to everyone’s foreheads… I was in awe of these priests, chanting for hours in Sanskrit, and somehow remembering the precise order of events that included the careful placement and ritualized presentation of coconuts, dried grass, apples, bananas, ghee, green grass, lotus blossoms, marigolds and other flowers, colored pastes and powders, grains of rice, steaming cooked rice, special coins, butter lamps, milk, incense sticks, honey, mustard seeds (both black and yellow), and on and on and on….

Our girls were alert and fascinated… for about an hour, and then, one by one, they started to doze on our laps. We carried them into another room to sleep on a bed. It was just about the right time, because then the burning began! The priests began loading sticks into the ring of bricks, and right there in the living room (tile floors), they started up a big fire. The rituals continued, with the fire itself the center and focus of the offerings. Much ghee (clarified butter) was drizzled into the flames, both as offering and to keep the flames dancing. Many of the other items were also consumed by the flames, as we stood up and sat down, tossed rice, sipped sacred water, and watched Prem and his wife offer countless prayers and prostrations for family, friends, health, prosperity, success, and happiness. Even with all the windows open, the smoke was pretty thick. I could handle it just fine while sitting on the floor, but after standing up, I had to retreat to the cool night outside for some fresh air. Other friends and neighbors were doing the same; heading inside for 20 or 30 minutes, then moving outside to chat and visit. Our girls were now snoring on a dry outdoor couch, under the overhang, among piles of shoes, umbrellas, and other kids… Eliza had her head resting on the father-in-law’s lap.

Finally the elaborate ceremony concluded, and Mr. Prem came outside to explain many of the details to us… and invite us back inside for dinner! “Shall we wake your daughters now for eating?” Please no! Karen and I, along with Nagaraj and Siddarth, enjoyed a deliciously spicy home cooked meal, served on the bedroom floor on a banana leaf, and eaten with our right hand. Absolutely wonderful conclusion to the evening!

Several kind folks helped lift and haul our sleeping lumps of daughter (still in their school uniforms), and stack them in a rickshaw… The rain had stopped, but we were carrying plastic bags filled with wet umbrellas and soaking socks and shoes as a momento of its fury. We hugged, waved, and shook hands goodbye to everyone in the dark. As we pulled away, Karen and I looked at each other in the back of the rickshaw, and just began laughing out loud. What a day! WHAT A DAY!!!