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Merry
Christmas and a Happy Losar (New Years),
It is still not too late to come out here and trek with me next summer
on my remote Rupshu/Karnak trek in July. The Rupshu Trek is in a part of
Ladakh that is supposed to be spectacular. AND, horses carry the
majority of the camping gear and food. Two weeks ago, I went and had tea
with two ponymen and have secured the services of their 7 horses for
three weeks in July. (sealed the deals with 8 cups of tea!) So, I can
have up to about 10 trekkers on this hike. I have 2 so far. Please tell
any friends who like to hike.
During November, my main project was to put together a Christmas program
at the school for the 30th of that month. In the states, I like 6 weeks
for a program, and 3 for a sing-along. But, I was asked for a
full-fledged program complete with drama. So, I put together a
family-style drama set in a Ladakhi home for Christmas and in it told
the meaning of Christmas and the traditions found in America and Europe.
A choir of 50 kids sang the songs, and I had about 10 guitar players, as
well as 5 actors on stage. It actually went off very well. I was told
later that one 10-year old Muslim girl in the program later told her
parents that she wanted to become a Christian because they have gifts
and Christmas trees.
The program went so well, in fact, that the television and radio
stations heard about it and wanted us. We began rehearsals for that 5
days after vacation began, and rehearsed for a week. Instead of a drama,
we sang the same songs and added the Hindi and Ladakhi languages for
Silent Night and O Come All Ye Faithful. Using the same script from the
drama, I shifted it into a narrator form, and older students in grade 10
translated it into Ladakhi for the television and radio. We taped both
shows back to back on the same day. They were aired on the 23rd and
24th, respectively, and everyone had positives to say about the show and
the children. I was later told that this is the first time our school
has been on television. The kids were so poised and confident, and a
couple narrators did better than the TV announcer who introduced us.
About the same time as we began rehearsals, was the Muslim Eid holiday.
I went to two homes for that, after being given invitations, and had a
great time and a feast of food. I also got several of my questions about
how they sight a "new" moon marking the end of Ramadan, and other
things. All Christians and Buddhists visit Muslim homes during Eid. All
Muslims and Christians visit Buddhists during Losar (the Tibetan New
Years), and all Buddhists and Muslims visit Christian homes during
Christmas. A busy month.
Our Christmas holiday in Leh is a big celebration lasting 7 days. The
first three days (21, 22, 23) are spent Christmas caroling. In these
three days, we visit virtually every church family and sing. We are then
invited inside for prayer and food. And, these homes try to outdo the
other with their sweets and other food. In fact, the only advice given
to me beforehand was not to eat too much at the first house, no matter
how hungry I am. Because by the end of the evening, we have hurting
stomachs and are literally pushing plates away from the hostess as she
tries to offer us more food! The homes, themselves, are quite fancy.
They have mattresses 2 1/2 to 3 feet wide by 6 feet long. On these are
Tibetan style carpets. In front of these are tables that are about 1 1/2
feet high and either brightly painted or carved with varnish. I'm
bringing back two tables and carpets when I return and dumping my old
living room furniture!
On the 24th, we have a respite from the food. On this day, we had a
2-hour Christmas Eve church service with special music, an excellent
skit with a message by our children, and a message by pastor. Except for
the message (of course - this place is Buddhist and Muslim), the service
was taped and telecast by the Srinigar television station. A good time,
though. Afterwards, all of the singles had a potluck at our pastor's
home.
On Christmas Day, we had a short 30 minute worship service, and then all
the Christian families hurried off to their homes. On this day, the
beggars descend upon the church and are given rupees and sweets by the
congregation members. It is the only time I've ever seen them there.
And, most are from Bihar, not Ladakh! The rest of the day, all the
Christian homes are visited by the Buddhists and Muslims. As I was
alone, pastor Elijah had me stay at his house. He is very well known and
respected in the community, so it was amazing to see the people who
visited him. I met the head of the Hill Council in Leh (local council),
the first Ladakhi parliment member in Delhi who was there for 12 years,
two men who had climbed Everest, the head of the education department in
Ladakh, the principal from the Islamia school and the principal from the
SECMOL alternative school at the same time (that was an interesting
arguement I'm glad I didn't miss), several relatives of Elijahs
(including a cousin who is Muslim and another who is Buddhist), the
self-made man who is owner of the only filling station in town, the head
of the television and radio station, and at least two military generals!
Others I can't remember at this time. My only friend that I invited that
showed up was the guy who ran my favorite internet shop.
On December 26th, Kima (assistant pastor and my age) and I went visiting
homes. We went to virtually every home that we had been to here in Leh
caroling on those three nights. I kept track and had 17 cups of tea that
day - 14 cups of milk tea, and 3 of butter tea. This meant 17 homes.
Then for dinner, we were invited to Allison's house. Allison is a single
lady from Singapore that works with students at the school. Kima and I
didn't think when we accepted this invitation, though, and again had
aching stomachs.
Delhi airport was fogged in and closed for 9 hours on the 26th, so I
decided to fly on the 27th instead of the 28th just in case. Had I
stayed in Leh, I would have gone to the village of Shey (6 homes), Sabu
(2 homes) and Choglamsar (1 home) visiting and having tea and too much
food. But, better to come here and start getting used to avoiding scams
again in Delhi!
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I Love the Mountains |
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