Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India

So, we arrived here on Sunday without any delays and I have to say that so far, this city has given me some pleasant surprises.  Since Sunday is our day off, most of the group was anxious to make immediate plans once we got settled in at the hotel.    We went to the Calico Museum and were lucky that they had a tour for 3:00 p.m.  What a gem of a place. The museum is located in an old home with an incredible yard filled with macaws, peacocks and a pond with giant lotus flowers.  It was my romantic vision of India.  Inside the old house were these incredible textile and bronze treasures that were being preserved by the people at the museum.  STUNNING!  We were quietly tiptoeing around this house in the sultry Indian weather while the guide told us the story of some of the unique textiles she chose to show us. The irony is that as beautiful as the things were that we saw, we weren’t allowed to take pictures.  Here's a link to information on the museum:

Calico, Museum

                              

The lady with the green polka dots is a farmer who received a loan from SEWA and she's explaining everything she went through in order to have a place in the marketplace.

After we left the market, we were walking through the streets and saw some elephants, so we followed them.  They elephants were being prepared for the big, religious celebration taking place in Ahmedabad.  Their trunks were being painted.

                                              

Then, after we left the elephants, we stop to see these elaborately painted carts that will carry the idols from the Hindu temple through the town.  Well, there was a local new team there and a couple of us got interviewed for the evening news show.  Below is a picture of Terri  Dye, a principal from Salinas, California getting interviewed.  Then they interviewed me!!!  Of course…LOL!  But we went to dinner at a special Gujarati restaurant and couldn't watch the newscast.

After this we went to a havali, that's the name of old homes in Gujarat that were made from wood.  There we met more ladies that were helped by SEWA.  They were working with textiles making blouses, purses, and jewelry.

This is Linda Mondol, my roommate in Delhi.

In the evening, we had a traditional Gujarati dinner, called thayli.  It was at this restaurant with an incredible concept.  There was this enormous tent that you enter first.  There you have some refreshments.  Gujarat is a "dry" state.  Then there are some shows.  After that you are seated in a smaller tent and you eat on the floor using a concrete slab as your table.  It was very beautiful and different.  Here are a couple of pictures so you can see some of what we saw.

Puppet Show

The aim is not to drop the red pots while you do a variety of activities!

What a day!!!