Thursday, New Year’s Day. Today was a free day so we luxuriated in slothfulness (with some planning for tomorrow). There were two high points for me. One was a shopping expedition, and the other a mass.
The shopping trip was for a Buddha to add to my collection. One of St. Xavier’s teachers, Purvey Desai, volunteered to take me shopping to find them. We started out in a shop in the modern side of Ahmedabad where I showed her what I wanted. We exchanged some dollars into rupees at a bank, then hopped aboard a motorized rickshaw and headed for the “walled city,” the ancient fort that has been turned into street after street of wholesale shopping. It was a place of my dreams – swirls of humanity, vehicles and vendors covering the entire area. Just about anything one might want was available, along with one of the greatest traffic jams I’ve ever seen (except that it really wasn't a jam -- everyone was moving with each vehicle within inches of each other and pedestrians cutting through at sudden angles -- it was just a mass of humanity and vehicles). Exhilarating and exciting. This is what I’ve come to India for.
Soon we found the street of metals (each street was devoted to one kind of product. It might be shoes, textiles, produce. This one was merchant after merchant selling metal products, wonderful copper bowls that my wife would love, but were too big to bring home on a plane. We headed into a shop where I looked at its collection of brass Buddhas. They ranged from about two feet high and about 40 pounds to about four inches high and just a couple. I found one I liked (about eight inches and, just guessing, five pounds), and the bargaining started. The price was about $50 U.S. Finally, I bought it for a thousand rupees, just a bit over $20. While there, Purvey picked up two brass Hindu goddesses for fifteen hundred rupees. She had done the bargaining for me, since it was conducted in Gujarati, the local language.
During the trip I learned much more about Ahmedabad and the Indian education system from my guide, who had volunteered her time today. She teaches economics at St. Xavier and at another college, and told me a lot about the city and the school. I loved the hustle and bustle of the market. I will go back there before we leave.
In the evening we were invited to join in the final vows of two Jesuit priests at an Indian mass with music sung beautifully in English, Hindi, and Gujarati. The ceremony was beautiful and touching even though I’m not Catholic. The vows are serious -- vows of chastity, poverty, and obedience -- and I’ve gotten a great deal of respect for the priests with whom I’ve been living this week. Tonight's ceremony has added some richness to my visit.
Keep the news coming! I am having my vicarious India experience through your and Carole's blogs (is Bill doing one, too?).
ReplyDeleteSounds as though you have a bit more time to explore and visit than we did last year. A remarkable place, indeed.