Another Indian Christmas
Has it really been a month since my last blog? Whoa! Sorry for the lack of communication.
I went to Bangalore at the beginning of December to begin my Christmas celebrating at UTC again this year. It is a great and busy time there as the students finish their exams and are eager to relax, anticipate going home, and in general have a good time together. Since HMI is so mixed with people from different religions, I got my ‘fix’ of some Christian fellowship with all the theologians at UTC. I also got to do some other important traditions like singing carols and decorating while at UTC. Mostly, I relaxed while everyone else was running around preparing for the different special events of the weekend. But I did get some good time to catch up with friends amidst their frenzied schedules. By the time the final evening celebration was finished, I was definitely in the Christmas spirit. (pictures soon to come)
I came back to HMI all ready to prepare our Christmas celebration. The students were in charge of the program, but my job was to coordinate them (and the rest of the community members involved). But just after returning, I got hit with another illness. This time it was a fever due to some new infection. I was in bed for a solid two days (besides my 3 hour journeys to the city to see the doctor and have tests done). Being sick here is NOT fun. You might think that my concerns are about getting proper health care, but actually I have had wonderful experiences with the doctors, labs, or clinics where I have been. It’s getting to the doctor, lab or pharmacy… it’s the fact that I feel SO much worse here from simple infections (fever and exhaustion and longer recovery time)… and it’s needing to rely on others in a different way than at home.
I got back to work just in time to pull together the Christmas program, which was destined to only be planned at the last minute regardless if I had been pushing earlier or not. All sorts of HMI related folks are invited (bank people, board members, guest lecturers or workshop facilitators, etc) for the program and dinner. As with everything at HMI, the crowd is interfaith, so you can’t take it for granted that people know what Christmas is all about. I hoped for meaningful and fun, organized but relaxed (figuring out where to be on the formal/informal scale for me is tough – especially at HMI), and I wanted to involve as many people as possible.
The students did a fabulous job on their modern day nativity story as Mary and Joseph came to HMI. The camel was the biggest hit (good costumes seem to make a great impact!) The small group I had worked with to sing a carol in 4 parts didn’t do quite as well, but we had fun putting it together, so that was OK. My friends, Moses and Basy from UTC were home for Christmas break and came to share in the evening with me, which made it very special. I had a pretty big let down after it was all over, but recovered from that pretty quickly.
The woman I am replacing in this job (Shobha) came through town for two days on her way home for Christmas break. She is studying in the UK these two years. We caught up on life personally and did some work together as well as shopping a bit. She helped me to get into the Christmas spirit by ensuring that I bought a few decorations and suggesting that we get Dominos pizza one night. YUM! It tasted just like home!
Then, on Christmas Eve I connected with my friend Moses and then went to my co-worker, Shashi’s place for her family’s party. Their family is very musical, so the night was filled with singing… and of course good food again. (Here is Shashi playing guitar and singing with her sister)
For Christmas Day, I spent most of the day with a Pastor/Professor’s family I met last year when I first came to Hyderabad, but who is also connected to HMI. It was perhaps the w
ildest holiday gathering I have ever been a part of! With 7 wacky siblings and their families together, there was not a dull moment. They are an ‘artsy’ family – actors, musicians, graphic designers, and other artists. We had a magic show (where the magician had a raw egg thrown at him as a sign of protest), lots of dancing (here is Vasanth Rao on the left dancing with his brother), and we even all took part in putting together a home movie of the nativity story. With each person trying to out-do and out-talk one another, the whole gathering was out of control. All I can say is that it definitely kept me from dwelling on the fact that I was unable to connect with my own family even by phone throughout the holiday. 
I went to Bangalore at the beginning of December to begin my Christmas celebrating at UTC again this year. It is a great and busy time there as the students finish their exams and are eager to relax, anticipate going home, and in general have a good time together. Since HMI is so mixed with people from different religions, I got my ‘fix’ of some Christian fellowship with all the theologians at UTC. I also got to do some other important traditions like singing carols and decorating while at UTC. Mostly, I relaxed while everyone else was running around preparing for the different special events of the weekend. But I did get some good time to catch up with friends amidst their frenzied schedules. By the time the final evening celebration was finished, I was definitely in the Christmas spirit. (pictures soon to come)
I came back to HMI all ready to prepare our Christmas celebration. The students were in charge of the program, but my job was to coordinate them (and the rest of the community members involved). But just after returning, I got hit with another illness. This time it was a fever due to some new infection. I was in bed for a solid two days (besides my 3 hour journeys to the city to see the doctor and have tests done). Being sick here is NOT fun. You might think that my concerns are about getting proper health care, but actually I have had wonderful experiences with the doctors, labs, or clinics where I have been. It’s getting to the doctor, lab or pharmacy… it’s the fact that I feel SO much worse here from simple infections (fever and exhaustion and longer recovery time)… and it’s needing to rely on others in a different way than at home.
I got back to work just in time to pull together the Christmas program, which was destined to only be planned at the last minute regardless if I had been pushing earlier or not. All sorts of HMI related folks are invited (bank people, board members, guest lecturers or workshop facilitators, etc) for the program and dinner. As with everything at HMI, the crowd is interfaith, so you can’t take it for granted that people know what Christmas is all about. I hoped for meaningful and fun, organized but relaxed (figuring out where to be on the formal/informal scale for me is tough – especially at HMI), and I wanted to involve as many people as possible.
The students did a fabulous job on their modern day nativity story as Mary and Joseph came to HMI. The camel was the biggest hit (good costumes seem to make a great impact!) The small group I had worked with to sing a carol in 4 parts didn’t do quite as well, but we had fun putting it together, so that was OK. My friends, Moses and Basy from UTC were home for Christmas break and came to share in the evening with me, which made it very special. I had a pretty big let down after it was all over, but recovered from that pretty quickly.
The woman I am replacing in this job (Shobha) came through town for two days on her way home for Christmas break. She is studying in the UK these two years. We caught up on life personally and did some work together as well as shopping a bit. She helped me to get into the Christmas spirit by ensuring that I bought a few decorations and suggesting that we get Dominos pizza one night. YUM! It tasted just like home!
Then, on Christmas Eve I connected with my friend Moses and then went to my co-worker, Shashi’s place for her family’s party. Their family is very musical, so the night was filled with singing… and of course good food again. (Here is Shashi playing guitar and singing with her sister)
For Christmas Day, I spent most of the day with a Pastor/Professor’s family I met last year when I first came to Hyderabad, but who is also connected to HMI. It was perhaps the w
ildest holiday gathering I have ever been a part of! With 7 wacky siblings and their families together, there was not a dull moment. They are an ‘artsy’ family – actors, musicians, graphic designers, and other artists. We had a magic show (where the magician had a raw egg thrown at him as a sign of protest), lots of dancing (here is Vasanth Rao on the left dancing with his brother), and we even all took part in putting together a home movie of the nativity story. With each person trying to out-do and out-talk one another, the whole gathering was out of control. All I can say is that it definitely kept me from dwelling on the fact that I was unable to connect with my own family even by phone throughout the holiday. 
Overlapping the Christmas celebrations, my friends Shanna and Shraven were having their Indian wedding (they 
had already married in the States). Shraven comes from a Hindu family and they wished to do at least an abbreviated version of the Hindu rituals of marriage. About 10 of Shanna’s friends and family members came from the States to take part. First, it was mahindi ceremony. The picture here is of Shanna’s hands being decorated with henna (mahindi). The next night was a dance party, and the third night was the wedding (see another photo of THE marriage moment - like the exchange of rings/vows at weddings I’m familiar with). It was far to elaborate with rituals for me to really explain very well, so I won’t even try, but it really was great to be a part of it.
I think that’s enough for now. I won’t let it go so long before putting up the next blog. I didn’t do a Christmas letter or cards this year, so here is my “Merry Christmas” wish for you (from the UTC Christmas benediction):
had already married in the States). Shraven comes from a Hindu family and they wished to do at least an abbreviated version of the Hindu rituals of marriage. About 10 of Shanna’s friends and family members came from the States to take part. First, it was mahindi ceremony. The picture here is of Shanna’s hands being decorated with henna (mahindi). The next night was a dance party, and the third night was the wedding (see another photo of THE marriage moment - like the exchange of rings/vows at weddings I’m familiar with). It was far to elaborate with rituals for me to really explain very well, so I won’t even try, but it really was great to be a part of it.I think that’s enough for now. I won’t let it go so long before putting up the next blog. I didn’t do a Christmas letter or cards this year, so here is my “Merry Christmas” wish for you (from the UTC Christmas benediction):
May you be filled with the wonder of Mary,
the obedience of Joseph,
the joy of the angels,
the eagerness of the shepherds,
the determination of the wise men,
and the peace of the child, Jesus.
May the door of hate be closed and the door of love be opened all over the world.
posted by Namasday | 10:43 AM
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