Friday, June 21, 2013

Last night the Heat was on, winning another championship, my mother's friends Juana and Udine both woke up around 12:30 AM thinking of her, knowing about her illness. I was by her side, holding her hand. She fell asleep, then stopped breathing, at just about thirty minutes after midnight.

Her health had been gradually deteriorating for the past six months, and finally she was no longer able to stand, so I made made the call for her to go to the hospital. A week later she was in hospice care at the hospital, and a week after that, she was at home, where she wanted to be. During her stay in hospital I was tormented by the thought that I could miss her ultimate leave-taking because I would be in India. Meanwhile she was worried about her illness disturbing my life....I reassured her over and over that everything was fine. At a certain point she woke up, looked me right in the eyes, and in her sweet, soft, utterly lucid voice, whispered, "I think you should go to India." Her love melted away all my fears in that moment.

She had many friends and acquaintances who were touched by her warm heart in many different ways. In the last few years, I began to open up to her, talking about my life, and she did what so few people really know how to do: she listened, without judgement, and without loads of well-meaning but cumbersome advice. She just listened. She is in my heart, and will be forever, throughout future existences; she is a Buddha who left this life with warm hands and an incredibly strong spirit to make up for her failing heart. Just before she died she had several long sips of water, and then left with dignity. I love you, mum.



Wednesday, June 12, 2013

News From India

The TGC-India cohort has a Facebook page, where we have all been posting articles, videos and information. I just want to share some of those items here. The following article came to me through the Zite app, which collects news according to user-specified preferences. It's about a huge coal company in India planning to install solar panels at its facilities, and also to build a solar power plant.

The World's Biggest Coal Company is Turning to Solar Power to Lower its Bill




This one is more whimsical: about ear-cleaners on the street in Mumbai.

On a more serious note, the following story from The Times of India claims that Andhra Pradesh, the state of which Hyderabad, my main destination, is the capital, is "one of the most notorious states for women trafficking in the country." Thousands of women and girls disappear every year. Some are found, but apparently most are not. 


This issue ties in with one of the essential questions that I am bringing with me: How does education in India, and specifically Hyderabad, address gender inequality? I am curious to learn how widely this issue is addressed, and whether curriculum addresses it.