After a full day of carrying sand and stones up the hill to the village pipal tree, our Japanese students postponed their bath and dinner to climb the hill once more for bhajans with our local ladies. The only word to describe the Batwadi Bhajan Band is “ecstatic”. They love any excuse to sing and […]
Today is Sunday. On Sunday children around the world usually like to enjoy their day off from school and relax…but not the children of Batwadi Sonar. As soon as the Japanese students showed up to do seva this morning, all the village kids were waiting for them. Most of the kids got to help a […]
Today was the Japanese students’ first full day of seva in Uttarakhand and the task of the day was getting rocks and sand from the riverbed up to the village of Batwadi Sonar in preparation for building them a community hall. Sand and rocks are some of the main raw materials used for building new […]
The single road in Chandrapuri is crowded on a normal day. Add three bus loads of Japanese students, every school age child, banners, drums, trumpets, garlands, and you have true chaos. Soon the local children started to slip through a narrow lane between buildings. The parade began, up the steep path to the secondary school. […]
Last night the Japanese student volunteers arrived in India after a long flight from Tokyo. After a few hours rest in the Delhi Amrita Vidyalayam, began their long journey to Uttarakhand. As soon as they stepped off the train in Dehra Dun they met by the City Magistrate Mr. Girishji, honored as official state guests […]
Although we have already done a large groundbreaking puja for this house, another simple puja with just the workers is done before the brick masons begin. Om Lokah Samastah Sukhino Bhavantu three times, prasad for everyone, and the walls start to rise. – Scotti
When you live near water, hearing its sound becomes part of your life. A fisherman living in a coastal village will hear the tides of the ocean like his own breath. Someone living along the banks of the Ganga will hear its never-ending flow like their own heartbeat. These sounds are usually a constant and […]
Lest we forget how fragile the transportation is in the flood areas of Uttarakhand, this hole has opened in the main highway just 100 yards from our ashram. Within the past 24 hours, with no rainfall, the last foot of pavement has fallen away. The road is so narrow that the rear wheels of every […]
Preparing for the Japanese students, we are all doing extra tasks. I got to do my first full day of real construction work. Even though I made many mistakes, it felt so good to be actually building someones home. This is called the market site as it is just behind the main business area of […]