We Attack a 13th-Century Fortress

Our upper-grade school excursion took us to Gingee Fort. It was a very energy-consuming day, but so worthwhile for history buffs. This fort is just soaked in history, having been built during the the 13th century Chola Dynasty. It was besieged and possessed by every ruling faction through the centuries, including the French and English. Read more about it by searching "Gingee" on Wikipedia.


The objective, 800 feet up and nearly impregnable. One Mughal army lay siege for 7 years before they finally took the place.


We begin the adventure, supposing that a journey of 2,000 steps begins with the first one.


Up we go on ancient stairs past ageless trees. Who knows what people and passages were witnessed by these granite sentinels?


Some of the local citizens take time for grooming. They showed no fear and seemed to wonder what we were doing traipsing through their living room.


I have this same photo at BaDaLing on the Great Wall of China.


We went through several passageways in the various walled areas as we made our way up. You see a guard tower to the left.


Vickie helps a student from another school navigate the very steep steps. I can't imagine that soldiers went up and down these too often. If they did they would have been in great shape.


Two of our kids tempting gravity at the top of the citadel. It really is a spectacular view.


Looking from the top guard window across to the Ranigiri, or queen's fort, atop a neighboring hill.


Most of the students and teachers squeeze together at the very top. Whew!


What goes up must come down. Vickie and Vijayalakshmi help each other down the steps after a very long and tiring climb. Vickie was the only adult female in our group to make it to the top.


We completed our morning with a nice roadside picnic, courtesy of the Rising Star cooks. Feeding folks outdoors is so easy when everyone eats with their hands. It was a good day.

Jailbreak! We Venture a School Excursion

We took the lower grades, LKG-III Standard, to the Vandalur Zoo for their annual excursion. Eight adults and 120 kids, but somehow we survived. The older grades will visit an historical fort in a couple of weeks. I never get tired of visiting zoos, although I have a growing concern with their captive nature.


All aboard! We had a difficult time squeezing everyone in four vehicles, but we finally did it.


The universal buddy system. We actually returned with everyone that started with us.


"Stay with your class please." Our marvelous II Standard teacher keeps 'em movin' while Vickie Aunty checks for stragglers.


Who's watching whom? Apparently climbing higher equals being closer.


If you think royal peacocks are beautiful--and they are--check out this white one. Not an albino, just another species. Very striking.


Barking deer? What's up with that?


An aquarium that looks like a shark. Very interesting.


We brought a good meal for everyone. Indians usually sit on the floor and use their right hands to eat. We had lemon rice, white rice with vegetables, and biscuits (cookies) for a treat.


A little Indian Engrish. Plate of fresh nodules, anyone?


Tired, but well fed and happy. Time for the sleepy 2-hour ride back to Rising Star.

A Hindu Wedding Reception

We attended the pre-wedding reception of Nithya, one of my village English class students, and Sureshkumar, an up and coming employee of Hyundai Motors. As is often the case, the reception was held the day before the actual wedding. Weddings are held at auspicious times, as determined by an astrologer, so they can be scheduled for times like 4:00 a.m. It was more workable for us to attend this function on the evening of Valentine's Day with two RSO volunteers, Matt and Sara Hughes Zabowa.


We were met at the entrance to the marriage hall and each woman was given beautiful flowers for her hair. Have I mentioned how much I love this custom? Indian women wear beautiful flowers in the hair most of the time. Of course, it helps that they are readily available year round.


The first order of business was to go to the dining hall for tiffin, or a light meal (always my favorite part). Unfortunately, we had eaten a huge lunch at our school principal's home and we were already overfull. Courtesy required that we eat something, so we did the best we could. The man in the foreground is Jayakumar, our excellent driver.


Two beautiful ladies in their saris. We were taken to one small room to visit with the bride and a separate room to see the groom before they both entered the main hall together.


Was there ever a more beautiful bride? I find the Tamil people generally to be very attractive. The beauty of Nithya's jewelry and her exquisite sari were difficult to capture with our little camera.


Much of the evening was used for photos of various relatives and friends with the happy couple. Is this a wedding or a funeral? For some reason people in India will not smile for official photos. Check out those gorgeous wedding garlands, the fanciest we've seen. These were made with individual rose petals. An oft-quoted Indian saying holds that "the beauty of the Indian man is in the mustache."


These two revered holy men blessed the event and all went as it should.


A few days later the newlyweds walked from the village to Rising Star with a few relatives to thank us for attending the reception. Another hopeful young couple launches onto the sea of life. Bon voyage!

Scenes From Daily Life

The fish man delivers. Twice each week he brings ocean fish in a gunny sack on his motor bike, scales them, cleans them, and cuts them up for our kitchen staff.


Washing the family buffalo. Some farmers use oxen and some use water buffaloes for their work. Interestingly, buffalo milk is preferred over cow's milk (6% milkfat - so delicious, but oh so laden with calories). Village farmers provide buffalo milk to Rising Star twice daily, obtained from animals purchased through our microcredit program.


Vickie visited an historical cemetery across the road from the Walajabad leprosy colony. These are graves of British colonials who died in one of India's recurring cholera epidemics. We can only imagine what is was like to pack up a family and move from England to India in the days of primitive medicine. Time to read "The Secret Garden" again?


Vickie teaching a leprosy patient to care for himself. Our medical outreach team instituted a program to help the leprosy-affected take more responsibility for their own care. Vickie has become indispensable to Rising Star medical; they are wondering what they will do when she leaves.


Vickie and I on the steps of the tank of a large Hindu temple. The tanks are used for ritual washing on holy days. This one even has a few fishies in it.


Village day laborers plant rice in the Rising Star paddies. For some reason rice planting is always done by women; they just tuck up their sarees and off they go. We also raise chili peppers, tomatoes, lady finger (okra), bottle gourd, and watermelon, along with coconuts, mangoes, and bananas. Our older students are learning to plant, irrigate, cultivate, and harvest for our use and for sale to local vegetable shops.


Rising Star's older girls help by stripping leaves to be used in the next day's meals. Greenleaf is used in most of the vegetable dishes served by our cooks.


Workers use natural materials to build housing for the workers who will construct our school addition, kitchen/dining hall, and hostel. Big contractors often import labor from other states because they are more likely to stay on the job instead of going home each day and forgetting to return to work. The workers will live here for about a year.


Vickie lays a foundation brick at the pooja (Hindu blessing ceremony) for the groundbreaking of the new school addition. Our contractors happen to be Christian but they honor the beliefs and traditions of their predominantly Hindu workers. It was a wonderful start to the this much needed project.

Happy Pongal!

Pongal is the major harvest festival and takes place over four days in mid-January. The first day is Bhogi and this day is used to get rid of the old and bring in the new, such as sleeping mats, earthen cookware, and clothing. The second day is Pongal, which is celebrated by making Rangoli art work on the entryway of houses, using kolam, or colored powder. The third day is Matthu or Cow Pongal, when thanksgiving is offered for the animals that help the farmers do their work and bring about the harvest. The last day is Kaanum Pongal, or the day for families to sightsee, go to movies, visit the beach, and so on. Here are some images from our local village celebration.


Sugar cane is the big treat for children during Pongal. Here you see it stacked at one of the street stands. The purple cane is used for eating, while green cane is harvested for making sugar. A generous volunteer bought 40 stalks and had it cut up so that everyone at Rising Star received one piece.


Two of our housemothers did the Rangoli artwork at the hostels this year. You see the traditional geometric design and a holiday wish for everyone.


This view shows two stalks of sugar cane and the boiling pot of pongal, made of rice and milk. The pongal is allowed to boil over as a symbol of the hope for prosperity during the coming year.


We attended the village Matthu Pongal celebration on the evening of the third day. The farmers wash their cows, paint their horns, and generally prepare them for the big showing in the village square. Looks like balloons have become part of the modern event.


Offerings of abundance are presented and blessed by the local brahmin during the evening. The offerings are prepared and presented by the village wives.


All the handsome men showed up, some with cows and some without. The man on the right happens to be the husband of one of our cleaning ladies. The whole evening was joyous for kids and adults alike, and the pampered livestock seemed to take it all in stride.


Following the festivities we received several invitations to visit people's homes. Here we are in front of the connected homes of Komethy and Sulochena, sisters-in-law that both work at Rising Star. We then visited the village leader's home and one other family before we called it a night. We drank so much boiled milk at the various homes that we thought we were going to burst. Altogether it was a fascinating evening.

Vickie Gets Blessed by an Elephant

We took some new volunteers to see the temples in Kanchipuram one Saturday. At one of the temples they keep two resident temple elephants who are trained to give "blessings" to the visitors. Vickie bravely held out a rupee coin and this elephant promptly gave her the blessing before depositing the coin with his handler. Was there ever a more blessed woman?

Visit a Colony With Us

Chettipuniyam colony was started many years ago by 28 leprosy-affected families who were looking for a place to live in peace. They found this land and built their little village to raise their children and grandchildren. Only grandparents and a few older parents have leprosy, and of course the hope is that the disease will be eradicated in the next generation or so. Several of our students come from this colony. Come along with us as we visit the village.


Vickie and our school administrative assistant/housemother Swathy stand at the end of the one and only street. Swathy was raised here and visits her parents, grandmother, brother, and sister at least once per month. The little colony is so shady and peaceful, a fit environment for people who are happy, humble, and without guile.


You know I enjoy all kids, and this one no less than others. Swathy's mother is using a Rising Star microcredit loan to raise goats for sale and this is one of the new ones. The little critter was so docile and its hair is as soft as a kitten. The man in the background is a business associate of the American visitor that went to the colony with us. He and his wife are financial supporters of the microcredit program and also sponsor two of our students.


The man on the ground is Swathy's father. The men are building a wall on the front of the house to support a roofed shed for their goat-raising project. The men wear the traditional loong gi, or man skirt as I call them. I can tell you from personal experience that they are the most comfortable thing to wear in this climate. A nice fashion touch for those of us with great legs.


This sweet lady is slicing a radish for her family's meal. She has no fingers on her right hand, yet she somehow contrives to hold the knife and use it very dextrously. You can see her small fireplace to the side wherein she tended a wood fire to boil her water. Those are tomatoes in the pan behind her waiting to be prepared.


This beautiful girl loved all the attention we could give her. Her mother is one of Swathy's best friends. Children and grandchildren continue to live with their parents or grandparents in the colony if they have nowhere else to live. The danger of leprosy is small. Those who do contract it are easily cured by medication provided free of charge by the World Health Organization. Our medical outreach team visits this colony regularly.