Shakti kids, picnics and shoes

Last minutes rushing and unable to get my head around what is instll.
It is so warm here and dry and sunny and I know Ireland in 2 days and the UK just after will be quite the opposite! Oh well it will be good when I get there.

Some of the things I have been squeezing into the last week- a pool party and picnic on our lawn at the hotel...a bit of a marketing programme, making a big fuss of having done exams at school and finishing another school year, about 5 of our big boys look to go to high school next year- our first high school kids so we are dropping hints of a celebration for their first day there and talking them up as Shakti heros for going on with school.
I am a little nervous as this is often the time boys stop school and start to work...and I am noticing the bigger ones are not at Shakti after school everyday as they have to go and help the family more often, still they DO go to school first...so we hope to help them keep the balance of the 2.


As you can see it was mainly littler ones that came for the picnic...

Our chef at the hotel Kaliyan kindly helped me make an "Ozzie picnic" - good bit of cultural education for the kids- we had dip and crackers, the 'sausage' sandwich- vegetarian, of cousres and chocolate cake, the bananas...the official verdict was YUM!!

and swimming. Girls and me first, privately of course, then the boys all in....lots of laughs Everyone arrived crowded into some tuktuks, a treat in itself. The tall girl is Mumtah, good student, good at bossing everyone around as well. She loves our hotel, keeps saying to me Fiona Didi [sister] it is so beautiful. I got Praveen to explain to her, that one day, if she studies gard at school, she might go to management college and become a manager of a place just like this or even work with us....what a smile when the penny dropped and what a glint in her eye....

I figure it is good to set seeds, Praveen and I will stick around a help water them... education gives our children - any children possibilities....

Had a vist to my local Mochi-wallah, shoes maker for a new pair for the trip---he stretches themto fit your foot,

they are just simple shoes, but comfortable and hard wearing- I love them

The lady behind him, is one of our Mums, her two youngest daughters go to school through Shakti, they are the youngest of 6 boys and 3 daughters...and the only ones to read and write and really hard working students with a very proud family behind them. The family are iron workers, making garden implements, they work there from about 7.00am until at about 7.00pm each day out in the heat and barely make enough money to feed themselves- yet will offer a cup of tea or if you are near their house try and drag you in and feed you chapatis- generous people.

Sweet and Sour Eggplant - Bengali style.

I love to cook, my boys have always called me an old hippy as I like organic, natural starting from scratch, exotic...
here in India is fantastic, so many new flavours to experience, everything in the market is fresh, and mostly local....
plus we run cooking classes at the hotel http://www.our-pukka-place.com/classes.html and a cooking tour in India http://www.creative-arts-safaris.com/ICSS.html but I think really it is just that cooking is relaxing and I have always had an appreciative audeinec of boys, friends and now my man.
A huge compliment to me is that my eldest son has become a chef, and is starting to make an impression in Sydney [ when he started in his first kitchen they were impressed with his palette and the wide experience he had of food, not something they saw in many apprentices]

Anyway my latest
Sweet and Sour Eggplant - Bengali style.
this would be great served as part of an India meal,
just as good or even excellent as an accompaniment to a classic lamb roast
and fantastic cold the next day with just a drop of balsamic vinegar swished through it.

250 gm small eggplant- chicken egg size[so you have lots of lovely skin to char just slightly]

chopped in 4 lengthwise and sprinkled with salt for 20 mins to get the bitter jiuces out- wash thouroughly and pat dry.

fry the eggplant off in a little olive oil, until soft and golden, set aside
in same pan
with a dash of oil splutter- 2 bay leaves
- big pinch hing or asafoetida
-1 t panch Poran [Indian 5 spice mix made of equal parts mustard , fennel, nigella, cumin, fenugreek seeds]
Add
1 T corriander powder
1/2 t red chilli powder
saute well, till the flavour hits your nose,
add 1/2 cwater and simmer few minutes
add aubergines
salt to taste and
1 t sugar
1 1/2 t tamarind paste- simmer until nice and thick

serve and enjoy!!

a hotel in Pushkar

It is now hot, hot, hot!
We had a festival last, sorry in the heat they all start to blur together,
It was for the change of season, leaf bud …people explained as if magically from that day things would change- it seemed a bit simple to me at the time.
Really though it was as if someone flicked a switch, the temperature jumped 5 degress a day and all the trees have suddenly burst into leaf.
So it is looking really pretty- if you have the energy to enjoy it.
The garden is just leaping up- I can see where the langur monkeys have sampled a few veg, they don’t seem to like them…so the may be Ok out in the back vegies garden, the front one is coming along but it needs so much water.

We have been hanging art work through out the place, here is a whole lot in the reception and in some rooms, notice behind the pic of me, one for the God's with its own flashing light show in the frame.

i have to be careful not to make any jokes about kitch...of course we have pictures for the God's but no gets the idea of kitch, especially in that context so I have to chuckle on the inside...

oh to be so blessed...

I am about to melt down...well it was at least 30'C at 9.00am this morning- but not so bad really as it is dry not humid heat...

there is so much to do- school, hotel, hang out with my man and prepare to be on the road for 4 months.

I am not complaining- I am extremely blessed everything are things I love to do...

1.teaching

-take a peak at the schedule http://www.fionawright.com/calendar.html- I find teaching really stimulating and get to see a lot more of the country at the same time- so wow!

2. tour to Andalusia and Morocco http://www.creative-arts-safaris.com/MDAM.html not sure what I am looking forward to the most- there are some gloriuos tapestries in the Palace of Seville...the Maze in the same Palace Gardens- I will have people to play with in it this time! love being a kid sometimes...mosaics everywhere, Museum of Berber Culture in Marrakesh -Maison Tiskiwin [one of those MUST visit places], Medina in Fez, Sahara sand dunes,....oohhh too much to decide

3. Praveen and I are checking out Syria- what fun days those will be in the office- so much exciting history to trip over, Dijanne Cevaal just reminded me of a fabulous textile retorer I have to go visit [look at her blog http://origidij.blogspot.com/ , it was ages ago she mentioned it...just look back- I always enjoy a read]

4. Then we are having a holiday- yes a HOLIDAY in south Vietnam with my boys, daughter-in-law and best friend. I am so excited- I have bubbles in my tummy just thinking about it.

5. Australia to touch base with friends

6. Fiji and lovely Workshops in Paradise http://www.dakuresort.com/ before I get home late August.

All absolutely gloriuous, just got to get ready to go-

1. pack up whole house because dust here is on a gigantic scale -after so many months would not be able to identify any funiture [when I am away Praveen waters our plants but stays at the hotel- it is too lonely at home without me]

2. sort all details for said itineraries [hmm not a small task!]

3.sort out websites and upcoming newsletter for Shakti http://www.shakti-streetkids-pushkar.org/ , new school year starts while I am away...

4. sort out etsy stuff for Praveen to look after http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=6685130

5. finish off our vegetable garden and make sure staff know how to look after things- wild monkeys and peacocks are taking a bit of an interest!

6. digesting my trip to Vietnam and all the lovely things I experienced and stitching a scoll/book type record of the journey...hope to have something to show one day soon...

Below are some interesting pics I was just sorting out.

Love this, this is the major flyover that crossed the lines at New Delhi Railway station- you know centre of town type place and a textile mill always has their washed cotton out to dry along the barriers- been fascinating me for years...

a scarf -all of our group got one hot off the loom- woven by a White Thai young lady not far from Mai Chou- lovely soft cotton. More pics of it at http://www.creative-arts-safaris.com/TTVN.html
My Piece de Resistance, re-cycled Flower H'mong skirts assembled into a throw- all cross stitched, some small appliced...I adore the workmanship...
and a silk scarf woven by White Thai I think...all to drool over but hard to focus on as new ideas are coming up and research for future projects also taking up my dream space...
ohh to be so lucky, I have such a feast it will take months to digest it all.
well this was a nice distraction, i must put the nose to the grind stone again...nameste [peace and love to all]
Fiona

A storm at Pushkar

A storm at Pushkar [ I am sure Praveen thinks there are often storms in Pushkar, even if he would not say it- but that is just me going off] this one involved rain not tears.
looking to the west and the Thar desert it approaches lots of wind, lightning and that wonderful scent of rain...

one of our embracing sacred hills with temple a top to the west

and to the east you can see the storm front as it passes...and another temple.
seeing what an arrow this storm follows I can see how drought and a good crop can live in two fields side by side when you cross the countryside. The grain harvest depends on water falling from the sky, if it misses your field you have no water....

Julie Stuart

Look what my mate has done!!
This is a painting Julie Stuart made for Praveen and I as a housewarming present, it looks even better in our hotel so I used it as imspiration for our colour scheme as will.
Julie has produced many inspirational cards and artworks over the years, this link takes you to her lateset offering. [link is at bottom of the posting- for some reason blogger won't let me arrange it anywhere else]
I so look forward to having it in my hands to look through when I am in Australia later in the year, and hear her bubbles of laughter as we chat. I love living here in Pushkar, but some days I do miss a cup of tea and laugh with my mates...the trouble with having good friends all over the place, you are not always with them , but it does really give you something to look forward to when you head off from home.
Ramsingh and I had a big morning yesterday, time to write a new newsletter for Shakti, lots of good things to report and some things difficult to frame into words. http://www.shakti-streetkids-pushkar.org/latestnews.html have a look.
Things here in India do work much, much differentlly to in the West, having to pay money as a sweetener to get things done is a way of life- it makes me SCREAM!! as I am sure it would many of our supporters but it is a reality of trying to do anything here, even run a charity...rocking the boat is not an option "they" will simply shut you down.
[we have been having huge winds this morning and I can actaully hear thunder and smell rain in the air not dust- excuse me while i run up to the roof to invesigate!!- back soon ohh it is gorgeous, pic later]
Anyway we have that under control, the next thing we realised we need to address is increasing parent support, many of our parents are happy their kids are at school but largely scared of the whole things as well, having no experience of school they don't get the importance of regular attendence, or the necessity of work needing to be done [it is wheat harvest time and a few bigger boys have disappeared to relative's farms for a week or two]
a few of our biggest boys could start high school next year, their grades are good enough- yet it will be a huge milestone and need a lot of talking on Ramsingh's part with families because at 12 that is when many are put into work.
we are thinking to make a special presentation to each at the end of their first day at high school- something other children will want, so want to go on...and prestige for families.
[kids are screaming outside-scared by the thunder]
We also recognise we need to get parents visiting the Centre- so they start to feel some ownship for their children's education and it is not so scary and foreign...thinking to aim for a performance [few songs and...?]celebration at Divali [Hindi Christmas] next year, a chance for them to stick their noses in and see, and the children to show off...should be a good start to keep children at school longer and parents more involved.
[RAIN is falling- filling up my living room- smells great- stopped by the time I moved furniture]
http://www.blurb.com/bookstore/invited/444489/4493981dbbdc0998087d6b90127cb64f493981dbbdc0998087d6b90127cb64f

Our Pukka Place and Durga Puja

We had very special visitors at our hotel yesterday [well yes everyone that comes through the door is a special visitor- but you know what I mean!]

It was a special day in the Hindu calendar, Durga Puja at the end of the 9 days of Navratan.

On this day it is traditional to invite 9 school age girls from your neighbourhood to your home, welcome them, wash their feet as they enter and then invite the to partake of a special treat- often keer[ rice pudding] and puri [special fried breads], water and a banana after blessing have been performed.

Of course I wanted to invite some of our girls from Shakti; Ramsingh and Surendra helped by ferrying then down on motorbikes [it is about a 15 minute walk through the market]- we had 9 of our girls and a little brother Rajkumar in all.

I was thinking of it as a special treat to have them visit, and had not realised it would be special for them as well, look at lovely Mumta in the pic above, she is a very inquisitive young lady, keen and interested in everything- she loved looking around the hotel, in every nook and crany actually and all she could say was "it is so beautiful" There are so many hotels in Pushkar yet this way of living is far out of her experience....

Everyone had their feet washed upon entering, then waited patiently for the rest,

we sat in the garden for our keer and puri, then poked all around the place.

School is drawing to a close for the year [ and I am off to teach and lead tours for a few months] it will be nice have a little celbration , we can have a picnic on the back lawn and half fill the swimming pool for a pool party- a lot of fun I am sure.


A friend of Praveen's Raju helped us organize everything and he kindly dropped the children home in his car [he is a tourist driver and his clients did not need his assistance ]

another first for many of the children!

Before the children arrived I was taking stock of our place...a lot has changed in 3 weeks, spring has sprung, all the watering and gardening we have beenvdoing is paying off - the lawn is looking green, the trees in the front yead are starting to top the fence and greening up, the flowers and lawn around the swimming pool are looking nice and we have tiles in the swimming pool, just need a ladder and we can fill it to use.

my only camels, Praveen- could find parking for these ones!



Out on the other side of the pool I have started a vegeatble garden, so far mint, curry trees, beans and ladies fingers are in....then we found out monkeys survey the yard regularly and like bean plants...We now have a cow watch on the front yard- keeping passing cows from eating our trees and a monkey watch on the back garden to keep monkeys away!! And one day when I was away Rabi came into the kitchen to find a Black Faced languer monkey sitting on top of the fridge! More monkeys to contend with- not some thing I have ever had to factor into things before.

Ok stop talking and back to office work....Fiona

Textile Tours and Vietnam

Running tours is a bit like agaony and exstacy for me.

There is the fun part of research, dreaming up the right balance for the itinerary and leading the tour...the agony of the office work, most of it I can do fairly efficiently I think, but DATES!! make me paranoid- I seem to be dyslexic with dates, double check everything twice, then read it out to Praveen.

He is not a great reader but if I list things to him, he can catch my mistakes- amazing, almost illiterate but it does not hold him back. On the odd occasion I have not had him to look things over for me I have made blunders which now adds to my tension over it!

Really should just get over it- shouldn't I?

Oh well, putting off office work I have been looking through my pics of the last tour to update the website...and here is a few I really like. This close up is of a second hand Black H'momg collar...can you see the rich layers in the work? It is onto hand-loomed, hand-dyed indigo hemp cloth [ no you can't actually see it it is completely covered with stitch., much of it half cross stitch in silken thread, then the red comes from small pices of cloth appliced to the surface to give height and then stitched again, the white is the finest feather stitch to pick things out. The new pieces have great lusture from the silk threads and a wonderful tactile quality from the richness and layers of stitching. New they are based on rich emerald green and grass green off set with red, white and black. all set into a beetle blue black burnished indigo cloth....drool, drool, drool....
Sleeves are cross stitched and waist wraps have the same treatment as the collars. We got to play dress-ups with the ladies.
It was funny when the ladies started our stitching class, they showed us a sleeve and just said copy it.[sorry blogger is not letting me move the text around below the next pics- you will have to put pics and words together as you like]- we all went into a flap- where is the pattern, how do you know where to put the stitches, when we started the stitching we went out of pattern.
Yet Pi and Mung went ahead with ease- One thing is they are so used to doing it, although the designs are all very similar there are always slight variations on the pattern- this allows the individual to show through but also takes the stress out of getting it "right".
Their way of reading a pattern is to look at an existing piece and see what is happening we are used to refering to a guide...
Trying to work in an H'mong fashion I think a big clue is that their designs always link together through the use groupings of 3 stitches to build them up. To get from looking, to be able to follow I had to do an intermediary step of drawing up a map...now I have relaxed and started to stitch I can see the relationships in the design and it is starting to flow off my needle, no map needed! soon I could be perched on a rock on the hillside, talking at the same time as concentrating on stitching and stitching at the same time!
I This is truely a magical area to visit...if you are heading to Vietnam with an interest in textiles - of course you could join one of my tours- http://www.creative-arts-safaris.com/ or our friends at Ethnic Travel http://www.ethnictravel.com.vn/ could help you, what ever way it is a place to visit whilst it is still relatively fresh...I can already notice changes.....

Since I put the cartoon on this blog the other day it has been in my mind a lot, truely most of the population of the world lives fairly simly and fairly locally, if we could all do a bit more of that, it would make a difference.

Inadvertantly I have done that- I don't want to sound like some goody-two-shoes, it is by circumstance not design.

Living in India, there are few pre-packaged foods, much that is available in the market is fairly loacaly produced, certainly from with in our country,

I live in Holy Pushkar, so am vegetarian when home [vegeatbles and milk products are all that are permissable], no red wine....

We don't have a car here, motorbike only and a bus to get over the mountain to the nearest big town- walking is mostly how we get around.

I do keep pointing out how enviromentally friendly it would be to use a camel but Praveen only laughs and says he is still looking for parking.

In the time I have been here I have lost about 15 kg- it just slipped away, and my clothes were too big, I am noticing I don't get the painful breasts with PMT and my blood sugar levels are staying on an even keel- I was seriously worried about diabetes....

These are accidental benefits I have noticed, thinking about it though, eating more vegatarian is good for health and less taxing on the enviroment, eating unprocessed foods is the same and eating locally produced, seasonal varieties ...you got it in the goodie, goodie basket as well.

Oh and no washing machine, so I wash the clothes in buckets by hand- free exercise, running up to the 3rd floor to check the water tank- free exercise.

I still live a very busy life, far to much to do...but that is me I realise as soon as I sit still I start to daydream and end up with another project to get stuck into. And thank the Gods for the internet and mobile phones I am not a complete Luddite, just realise the kiss principle is very handy to include in your life Keep It Simple Sweety!!

The joy of being back at school....and finding so many surprises, the girls visiting had lots of ideas to share with the children- Dinesh on the stairs behind a mobile made by the littlies

Nandu is a real keen worker, his first year at school and he has mastered the Hindi and English alphabet, at a tiny 6 he is also the oldest brother in his family and so responsible for other members. His little sister tagged along [she would be lucky to be 3] and was tired, so he was trying to get her off to sleep in his lap and keep on working at the same time.

The Girls had a finger knitting project going with the big kids, finger knitting was then plaited into strips and sewn togather as a mat- looks fantastic [we re-cycled old saris to make the thread] and it was then given to Ramsingh as a surprise. Potential there for our shop.

My man gave me some beautiful roses- I thought I would share them with you...
what is that old addage? "take time to smell the roses"
I admit I have been far to busy and not doing enough of that, yet when I got home to Pushkar, the scent of roses was there to greet me, all through town. Some procession or wedding or Holy day had seen red rose petals scattered all around and the rich scent was gorgeous, and strong it could overcome the open drain.
What a metaphor!!

Syrian Visa

Had to laugh when I saw this in an Indian newspaper, but really it is the reality for most of the world- what are the rest of us doing who have many lights, cars, etce, etc, etc at our disposal to use wisely?



31.1.09
Speeding along on the Shatabdi express, left Delhi at 6.00am after a few interesting days.
Praveen and I had lots of paper work to do- his tax time, setting up a company based in India…do they ever love paper work in triplicate!!
The view out the window is slightly tinted golden and a wonderful view of the rugged edges of the Arravalli Hills, little dusty villages and the winter wheat crop all golden and being cut- mostly by hand.
We will be buying bags of that wheat to store and use through out the year in our hotel and home.
Each week you take the amount you will need for the week to the miller and have it milled fresh- that is how the tastiest chapattis are made and the taste difference is really noticeable to shop bought flour milled weeks or months ago.
Praveen and I are planning a trip to Syria to finalise all the ideas for a textile tour there next year with Dijanne Cevaal.
I had talked to the Embassy on the phone about requirements and there seemed a lot of paperwork to present… so we arrived at the embassy expecting a lot of stuffy formalities and mucking around.
What a surprise, the man on the desk was smiling and helpful -after a few casual questions, a few phone calls to the powers that be above somewhere and me filling out the forms in triplicate [no carbon paper in sight!] he said pick up the passports tomorrow.
Stunned! Would be the only way to describe me- the easiest brush with pen pushers and burocrats ever and it bodes well for our trip.
I have been doing a lot of research on Syria, naturally, and have Dijanne’s tales to refer to, generally friendliness is a word that comes up in all descriptions, a helpful and welcoming people.
Looks good to me.
Ohh dear the A/C has just kicked in on the train and it has gone to pleasantly cool to freezing…I am going to need to find a cardigan….packed away in my suitcase as outside it is over 30’C.