The last two days have been some of my favorite days here in India. We were invited to eat lunch at Geeta Bhojwani's house and our landlord's house Neena and Manu. Geeta is a local resident here in Pune that has been selling unique items from around India for a long time. She knew quite a few teachers that we know back in Denver and only had very fond memories of them. Our first visit to her house was last Saturday night where she insisted that we not buy anything that night, but put our items in a backpack and come back to have lunch so we can make sure these are the things we really cannot live without.
Thursday was the day we had planned to have lunch and her driver would pick us up. At 12:30 Dana and I went down to see if the car was there just about 5 minutes after the waiting time and he was there! It's not that I do not think anything is on time here, it is just that we have really been noticing that things run on Indian time. He drives us to Geeta's where she is having some work done on her house. New tiles have been put in, windows are being refinished, and paint will soon follow. It is such a nice space, cool white tiles, a breeze blowing in, and mouth watering smells coming from the kitchen. We sit down after the workers take a break and she starts putting food on the table. Cauliflower and Potatoes with tumeric and onions. Fenugreek Puri's. Twice fried potatoes with mango powder and salt. Yogurt. Rice. Black Eyed Peas in a tomato sauce that was incredible. I could not believe she brought out those Peas. I knew this was our lucky day.
After lunch we go out to her shop and she turns on the air, gets us some chai, and we check out what we picked last time. I only put one thing back. Dana was so funny, she loves to buy presents and it was a wonderful thing to watch. She was thinking thoughtfully of who would like what. During our time in the shop, Geeta would come out periodically and tell us stories that always seemed to have a similar ending. The message was clear, love is what makes the world go round. We are already going back again tomorrow. Not just for the shopping, but for the stories and that food.
We had lunch at Neena's yesterday and the meal could not have been more different. We began with fresh squeezed lemonade. Food from her husbands native country Pakistan, fresh corn and beet salad, brown rice, squash riata, spicy potato nuggets, and two kinds of chutneys. We finished with an ice cream of carrots, raisins, and almonds. Chai and coffee to follow. We talked with Neena, Manu, and Jill from Australia for almost 4 hours. Neena was carefully tending to the new Beagle puppy, Geo. Her other 6 year old Beagle, Mojo was not all that sad to not be in that room with all the scolding of the puppy. The topic came up of what is a Guru. Neena began to tell us the story of how she met Mom, who is the Guru at the Hari Krishna temple across the street. The house that we are staying in was actually built in the early 60's because they are devotees of the temple. She spoke of how Mom has welcomed her into from the very beginning. She has never cared once what cast she is in, what riches she might possess, or even her gender. Again, the story was about Love. All encompassing love.
This visit to India has taught me a lot about myself. I am judgemental. I am afraid of things I cannot see. I am push my feelings of anger and resentment on others. When I return back to the states I hope I will be more forgiving, more attentive to the ones I love, and most of all be more open to new experiences. You never know who you will meet or what they will teach you:-)
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