Kendra in India: Mumuksha's celebration

Yesterday was a big day. Mumuksha had his first rice feeding. Normally those from his family caste (they are limited to dish washers) don't do certain ceremonies like this one but as Dr. Nuckolls explained...Krishnayya has been influencing them to incorporate some of these higher caste practices. After our telugu lesson we all piled in two cars (AC!) and headed to the temple on the hill (Simhachalam). It was abouta  20-30 min drive away. When we got there we found a place to take off our shoes (which is always done at a temple) and met up with a 

(From left to right: Durga, Mumuksha, Razu, Siddhu)

traditional medicine doctor who is actually a doctor to the King of the region. With his influence he was able to take us into the inner part of the temple. Normally this would cost a couple hundred american dollars to do. We watched a little ceremony for one of the incarnations of Vishnu and then headed out. We then went to a decorated column which we were suppose to hug and then have a cord wrapped around us as we made a wish...this was suppose to guarantee us  to have many children. 

After we were able to do the first rice feeding. It started out with the family sitting down and while a priest chanted. After a while (in the heat it felt at least 15 min.) they laid out a blanket with a

picture of a god and tons of items (flowers, fruit, money, book, and knife) the then set the chubby baby (so CHUBBY!) down and had him crawl towards the items. Mumuksha crawled towards them paused and looked at each and then had put one hand on the money. This meant his future would involve wealth. Next he choose the book (knowledge) and the flowers (appreciation of beauty). The last one I'm pretty sure he just was crawling towards his mom but the other ones he was truly interested in the objects. It was pretty fun to watch. Dr. Krishnayya pulled out is camera and took pictures of the ceremony but the rest of us had turned in our cameras because we were told that we'd have them confiscated if they were seen in the temple. Oh well. 

After Dr. Nuckolls took us to lunch at a nice hotel. It was really good food and we had a chance to eat with a spoon, which was refreshing. I'm pretty sure I eat more with a spoon but Dr. Nuckolls said we should always eat with our hands at the house to embrace the culture. 

The rest of the day we sat a round a little bit, bought fabric for a sari and walked to the beach. Everyone kept saying that we were crazy to walk to the beach because it was so far away. Lizzie and Oliver however run there everyday so everyone else figured it couldn't be that far away...it wasn't. Only about a 10-15 min. walk. Given the Indians  walk a lot slower than us so that might have been the reason behind their caution. The beach was dirty but it was nice to here and watch the waves. There also was a large park (kind of like central park) with some play grounds, a track, a roller skating rink, and tons of paths. It was beautiful and refreshing from the city life. 

It's crazy. I feel like I have been spending so much money (1,000 of rupees) however it really isn't that much for all that I have. Total I''ve exchanges about 6,000 rupees which is just over 100 dollars. I still have a couple thousand left but I've been able to get six kurtas, two leggings, fabric for a sari (four different cloths), tailored the Kurtas, put money on my phone, paid for rides to get downtown (for church and shopping), and a few other things. Really it's not that bad but when it's really hard for me to spend $20 in the US it's even harder to spend 500 rupees here.

So David asked about the whole showering from buckets thing. It's true we are in a nicer place then most people.

We have ceiling fans, beds on the floor, mirrors, shelving, large living room and two separate bedrooms. It may not sound like much but we are in one of the nicest neighborhoods and it's a lot when we have a family across the street who hung up a tarp from an unfinished building to make their home. Anyways, our bathrooms though have a small plumbing problem so we use buckets instead for everything, including using the bathroom. We then just shower on the bathroom that has a drain. I'll see if anyone has a picture of that and attach it. 

Well that's it for now.

Love,

Kendra

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