Ahmedabad- Gandi and Madhavi's home

The 18hr train ride there was sweetened by this salad wala selling tomatoes and a wierd, fuzzy, Indian cucumber with ground spices and lemon for 5rp.
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When we went to the wedding in Rajasthan with Madhavi (Katha's neighbor) her family said that we'd have to come see them in their home, Ahmedabad, Gujarat, before we left this summer. We said of course we would but didn't really know if we'd have time.

But, here we are at the end of March and there was a weekend that worked for all of us. So, Katha, Madhavi, and I went to the Old Delhi train station to catch our 18hr train ride to Ahmedabad. It sounds daunting at first, but you never realize how much time you can just spend looking out the window watching the world pass by. Especially on the trains this is easy because you get to watch the contryside pass by which is a side of India we don't often see living here in Delhi.

Some of the ladies of Madhavi's family in her living room.
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The train left at 3pm. We spent the afternoon reading, talking, looking out the windows, and listenin to music. We were in the sleeper car, so around 10pm we all settled into our gently swaying bunk beds for the night. The train arrived in Gujarat the next morning around 8am where Madhavi's Dad met us at the station.

Upon arriving at her house we saw many familiar faces from the wedding. Her older sister who has only been married for a few weeks was there with her new husband and they both looked very happy and amazingly comfortable for two people who realistically barely know each other. Relatives slowly trickled in while we sat in the front room to come see the families strange visitors. So, we all took turns showering, had a bit to eat, and had the official tour of the house before headin out with her dad to see a bit of the city.

Madhavi and I on the roof checking out the view. (Didn't last long...too hot.)
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The biggest thing that Ahmedabad is famous for is the Ashram of Ghandi. There is a very nice museum chronicling his life and works and the actual home he lived in there preserved that you can go through. He lived a VERY simple life for the "Father of the Nation." But, that was a big part of his message, for Indians to shed the influence of the British and support themselves in their buying, production, and lifestyle.

We had a great lunch at a Gujarati restaurant where you just sit down and the empty dishes for the thali (platter) are already sitting in front of you. As soon as you sit down several men, each with one or two items, come around and fill the 10 or so tiny bown sitting on your plate. As soon as one is empty they come around again with refills. Each state and region in India had distinct specialities and trends in their food just like the different areas of the U.S. From what I tasted in Gujarat it seems that one of their distinctions is that everything is slightly sweet. Especially the dal (lentils.)

The fruits of the tree behind Madhavi and I in the photo. there is a pink fruit surrounding some kind of nut on the inside.
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Late afternoon 11 of us (madhavi, her dad, mom, two brothers,two sisters, sister's husand, katha, and I) piled into a jeep like car with the 5 of us girls sitting in the hatch back luggage area on little benches for the 6hr ride to the temple near Udaipur. The ride actually wasn't that bad. I even read my book for a good part of the way and had a good nap.

We found a hotel room in a new place near the temple they wanted to go worship at the next morning. Katha and i thought they said we should be ready at 5am. So, we went to bed at 10 and were up promptly at 4:45am. By 5am we realized noone else was even awake yet. I think we finally ended up leaving around 7am between fits of sleep and knocks on the door.

More of the family...dad, younger sister, two brothers, older sister, and her husband, etc. Full house.
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I"m not sure exactly where the temple was. About 30 miles outside of Udaipur is my best guess. But, it was a HUGE Shive temple and Katha and I were the only non-Indians there. When you first walk in there are pictures lining the wall showing the daily routine of the god. Wake up at 5:00am, shower, eat fruit, etc. So, at the temple, at each of these times of day, these actions are preformed and you can go see the god (or statue of him) at each of these intervals. There is a woman's area and a man's area. The men are allowed in first then the women.

Gandi's actual room in his ashram in Ahmedabad where he lead his peacful resistance for the freedom on India as an independant nation.
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The point of going to the temple is "darsan" to see/be seen by the god. Which is one of the reasons that the eyes on Hindu gods are so big. In Hinduism it's believed that god is present in everything, but especially in statues and pictures made of them. So, by going to the temple you see them, but they also see and bless you.

The temple and the small city around it are an amazing system. People bring/buy massive amount of fresh flowers, milk, water, sugar, and coconuts to offer to the gods. When we toured the temple ther was a room with bushels of fruit being cut up to offer to Shiva at his 4pm fruit eating time. (The fruit is given to the temple workers and worshippers after Shiva gets a shot at it.) The milk for instance is offered to Shiva and is then considered blessed. So, they make the blessed milk and sugar into sweets that are given to worshippers and passed on their friends and familys. Its an amazing system.

A painting of Ghandi making his famous home-spun cloth to stop the import of foreign made fabrics.
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After temple we grabbed lunch and some fruits from street vendors then we were off to Udaipur....