A Father's Gift to His Daughter

Dear Daughter,

In a couple of days, Papa will be back home.

This has been a long Time away from you, and I have thought of you every day. I kept this blog for you so that you would know how much I thought about you and so that you could share for the time being the things that I will share in person with you when I return to Belgium.

Sometimes in life, we need to be away from what is familiar in order to become more familiar with ourselves. Sometimes we have to be away from what is closest to us to find out what that really is. That sounds like funny “Papa Talk,” but it is true, and it is something that you may find to be very important in your own life one day.

I hope that when I am back, we can go through these blogs together and I can tell you all about the stories in detail, and that at night, before you go to bed, we can do many, many “Buglette Chronicles” with pictures and stories about what Papa did in India and what you have been doing in Belgium.

And, we will eat sour sticks together again.

I Love you,

Papa

Papa Drives a Tuk-Tuk

Dear Daughter,

It was good to talk to you yesterday and hear about your good Halloween experience. Here in Indian they don't celebrate Halloween much, but it has been Diwali for the past week and that is a very special holiday in India, filled with colors, lights, and fireworks and many costumes as well.

Today, Papa went to see where the Buddha began his teachings in a place called the Mirgadava, which means the Deer Park, because there used to be many deer here when the Buddha was alive.

On the way back, Hapiz, my Tuk-Tuk driver (the call the rickshaws that here, remember Tak-Tak in Madurai?), asked if I wanted to drive the Tuk-Tuk! Of course, you know Papa, and I said yes. So, on one of the back roads, he let me drive, though he kept his foot on the brake pedal, just in case. It was quite fun and many people were staring at me, but we just smiled back at them.

I Love You,

Papa

A Different Kind of Cow

Dear Daughter,

Like the rickshaws, there are different kinds of cows in India as well. I have seen a different kind here in the North that I did not see in the South. Although they look like Cape Buffaloes, they are not, because the Cape Buffalo can be quite mean when it is not feeling well. These cows are very docile like the ones in Madurai.

It will be weird not to see cows walking in the streets every day, just as it would be funny for you to see one walking down the street in Antwerp!

Here are a couple of pictures of the urban cows I saw near the Taj Mahal in Agra.

I Love You,

Papa

Rickshaws of a Different Color

Dear Daughter,

Papa was in Kerala the other day, which is the state next to Tamil Nadu. In India, each of the states have different colored rickshaws. If you remember, the pictures I sent of ones in Tamil Nadu, they are mostly yellow. In Kerala, they are mostly black like the ones below. Right now, I am in Uttar Pradesh and the rickshaws here are green and yellow. So, if you are ever lost, just check to see what color the rickshaws are!

I Love You,

Papa

The Flying Bishop

Dear Daughter,

This past weekend we finished filming our movie.

In one of the scenes, I had to be carried in a chair because the character of the Bishop that I am playing was too sick to walk.

But, here is Papa acting silly as the Flying Bishop.

I hope this makes you laugh.

I love you,

Doing my best Leonard DiCaprio

Papa

Touching the Feet

Dear Daughter,

One of the things in India that is different from Belgium and America is that here, people will touch the feet of elders and respected people as a sign of humility and respect. Just like parents will touch the feet of their child out of love and wonder, I know I did with your feet!  Although this is more of a trait in Northern India where I soon will be, in the South, they revere the feet of the statues as well.

In the Meenakshi Temple, there are many statues with flowers and fruit placed at their feet as signs of reverence and devotion. Also, people in the Temple will smear colored paste on the feet as well as a symbol of purification, or pooja.

Here is a picture of a statue with three figures, all of them with their feet adorned with flowers and colors. Isn't it beautiful?

I Love You,

Papa

Saying Good-Bye and Hello

Dear Daughter,

Papa saw the picture of you and the chalk calendar that you made to mark the days until I come back to Belgium and see you!

I am very excited to tell you all about the things that I have done, the people that I have met, and the places I have seen.

India is an amazing place in so many ways, and I know that we will have many, many hours together to talk about all of these things.

I was sad to begin saying good-bye to my friends and students here, but when we say good-bye, it usually means that we next get to say "hello" to someone else. So, although I will be saying "good-bye" to many people, it means that each time I do it is closer to saying "hello" again to you!

Papa loves you very much, and will also be counting the days now.

I Love you,

Papa

Monsoon!

Dear Daughter,

Remember the new word that Papa taught you?

Monsoon?

The Monsoon season in Tamil Nadu has finally begun with regularity. Usually this area gets the rains in late September, but this year, the Monsoons came late.

The Monsoon is a daily, heavy rain that lasts for many weeks, filling up the lakes and rivers and rice paddies all around the area.

When we were filming this weekend in a small village, the monsoon hit for the first time this year there. All of the village children came running out into the large dirt courtyard in front of the church we were filming in and played in the rain. They were all very happy and did not care that they were soaking wet. It was a wonderful sight to see them all playing and laughing in the rain.

Here is a picture that my friend Handel took of them playing after it had stopped raining.

Photo by Handel Reginald

Because of all of the rains, there are millions and millions of palm trees and banana trees all over! My friend Handel told me that there are over 400 kinds of bananas in India, can you believe that?

I Love You,

Papa

PS Here is a picture of all of the kids who were watching me get my make-up done for the movie! I have quite an entourage. 

Photo by Handel Reginald

Indian Kings and Palaces

Dear Daughter,

Papa went to the Palace here in Madurai called the Thirumalai Nayak Palace. Thirumalai was a king who lived here over four hundred years ago and this was his palace. His family dynasty was the Nayaks and they ruled Madurai and the area around here for two hundred years.

Thirumalai was said to be a very good king and he loved music and Sanskrit poetry and would have music every night in his courtyard.

Also, the Temple that Papa has gone to several times and I have sent you pictures was the center of town and Thirumalai made sure that it was really special. You know how you are learning about castles and dragons in school? Well, they built a really big moat all around the Temple so that if you could see it from above, it would look like a giant lotus flower in the middle of a pond. Isn’t that cool?

Later, the moats were filled in by the British who were in India for a while, so you cannot see them any longer.

However, the four streets around the Temple are stilled called “velis,” which means a moat or watery place in Tamil to remind everyone what they once were.

Here are a few pictures of what the palace looked like at night with the special lights on it. It was very beautiful.

I Love You,

Papa

Strange Creatures

Dear Daughter,

Papa went back to the Meenakshi Temple again last night with some friends and each time I go, I see more and more fabulous things.

I saw the elephant again and there were several musicians and lights and incense and chanting and many people there to pay devotion to the gods.

I found this column that is a popular creature in Tamil Nadu. It is something like a mix of a lion, dragon and an elephant! You can see the trunk, but it is standing on its hind legs that look like a lion.

What do you think it is??

I Love You,

Papa

A Night of A Hundred Sitars

Dear Daughter,

Last Friday, Papa went to the Meenakshi temple and there were musicians there inside the temple with over 100 sitars! The sitar is a stringed instrument like our guitars, but you play them sitting down and across your lap. There were also some Tabla players, which are the small, Indian drums that you like to listen to. It was an amazing experience.

Here are some pictures, and when I get back, I will show you the videos I made so that you can also hear them!

I love you,

Papa

Ganesha and his Friends

Dear Daughter,

Papa went back to the Meenakshi Temple on Friday evening in Madurai to see the lights for the Pooja celebration.

It was very colorful and there were many, many lights all around the temple with lots of music and flowers and incense, so it was a very beautiful evening.

I saw this set of lights with Ganesha and his little friends and thought that you would like to see them.

I love you,

Papa

Elephant Tales

Dear Daughter,

Papa went to Kerala this week for a school trip and he saw lots of things there.

While we were driving one night, guess what we saw? Elephants again, this time on the side of the road. There were three big elephants and they were carrying an entire palm tree in each of their trunks, can you believe that? For every elephant, there was a man riding on top and one walking with alongside to keep them off of the road.

But, what was really funny is that each one of the elephants had reflective tape on their tails so that the cars could see them. And, they all had huge ankle bracelets with bells on them so we could hear them too. So, even the elephants need help being seen even though they are so big.

I love you,

Papa

Happy Birthday, Gandhi

Dear Daughter,

Today is the birthday of a very important and courageous man named Gandhi. He is considered the father of India and his birthday was celebrated all over India today.

Gandhi believed in something from Sanskrit called ahimsã, which means non-violence. Gandhi believed that it was wrong to hurt any creature with violence. This is also true of people who try to follow the example of the Buddha as well who thought it was wrong to harm any creature.

Gandhi wanted India to be independent from Britain, but did not want there to be a war, so he started a movement based on non-violence called "Quit India" so that India would be governed by the Indians again. Because of Gandhi, India showed the world that war is not always the answer.

Today is known as International Non-Violence because of him. He proved that we can solve our differences, no matter how big they are peacefully if we really try. He was a model for all of us to try and follow I believe.

I love you,

Papa

Celebrating Pooja

Dear Daughter,

There is a big Hindu holiday beginning this week in India called Pooja. Hinduism is the dominant religion in Indian and has many, many gods, including Ganesha and Shiva that I have told you about. Pooja is a purification celebration and one of the main goddesses whom is highlighted here is Saraswati, or the goddess of wisdom.

When I was at Tamil class yesterday, Pandian, my teacher, asked if I wanted to see how some people celebrate Pooja. He said that many people put up a collection of “dolls” on display.

We went next door to his neighbor’s house and I was expecting a dozen or so “dolls” in the images of the gods and goddesses, but there were nearly 1,000 of them! The entire front room had been transformed into a shrine to display the dolls with Christmas-type lights, flower garlands, and incense to add to the scene. It was amazing and so colorful.

Unfortunately Papa did not have his camera, so I hope that they will still be up when I go back for my lesson next week and I can take a picture for you. The little old lady whose house it was has been collecting these dolls all her life from around India, so she is like grandma who also like to collect things like Kachina dolls and sculptures.

I love you,

Papa