Off to India

I'm off to India. On the plane from Albuquerque to Chicago I plowed through the "Southern India" Lonely Planet. It reiterated what those who have been to India have told me, "India is an invigorating assault on all of the senses, an experience that is impossible to define....[because] ultimately, it's about surrendering yourself to the unknown...its' very essence - its' elusive soul - lies in its mystery." This is what I signed up for. When I choose India as my top pick for the IREX TEA fellowship I wanted the transcendental, Siddhartha-esque experience.

Last November when all the US and International fellows got to meet at Purdue, I was blown away by the kindness and immanence of our Indian counterparts. While Devika (unbeknown to me then my partner teacher) and I were chatting after a meal she subtly suggested her reservations about the Indian youth's preoccupation with all things western. I suggested to her that many westerns, including myself, look to the eastern cultures for a deeper sense of spirituality. Later our Indian counterparts treated us to some beautiful traditional songs. After a quick explanation of one of the songs, Devika turned to me and said "Now Jay, there is your spirituality!" She was absolutely right, that moment hit me at so many levels, that I can only explain it by saying that I had never felt so good knowing that I know so little.

Although I'm not ready to be away from my wife and daughter, I'm ready for what I don't know.

I wrote a single blog post prior to this which is linked here. Also if you care to look at the working website for the lessons and professional presentation that I'm organizing you can visit them here.

Hopefully after Mr. Rajagopal picks me up at the airport in Chennai, I'll be able to find working wi-fi to continue my journal/blog. That of course is pending my computer works, its only crashed once today.