While we pulled into the train station at Gwalior, we stood in the aisles and waited to hurry off. Somehow, I was the first of our group out of the car. I looked ahead to find a familiar face in the crowd. There was Sunil Sardar, the director of Truthseekers, dressed in his impressively bright teal kurta and round, flat hat that looked a little like a one-layer cake perched on his head, in only the most dignified way, of course. The commotion of the crowd was layered with undertones of drum beats. Feeling stared at, I dodged strangers to catch up with Sunil.
As I approached him, short men with beards dressed in bright orange clothes and turbins, greeted Sunil emphatically, decorating him with garlands. When a man would add another garland, Sunil would return it, honoring him instead. The garland would go back and forth until someone accepted it humbly. I stood a few feet back, apprehensive and wondering if the others were behind me. The men in orange greeted me next. Out of reflex and knowing no other response, I looked into one man's joy-filled eyes as he laid a garland around my neck and gave me a bit of his enthusiasm.
The men moved on to greet the others, not far behind me. We clumped together better to walk to the lobby of the train station. As we walked, the drums grew louder. I noticed a man in a uniform with a gun flanked Sunil. Is that a good sign or a bad sign? . The crowd opened up and watched as we went by. Our energy was high. I couldn't feel the concrete beneath my feet. I felt like I was floating along, being held up by some invisible force.
Through the lobby, the drums echoed loudly and followed us outside. In the street we were herded around jeeps and corralled into the back seats. "Get in, get in!" someone shouted. So, I got in. Not knowing where we were going or who was driving, I used my best split-second decision making skills and jumped in the back of a jeep that had a man from our group already in it. Three girls followed me. I didn't know where Molly, my designated buddy was, so I just hoped she was in another jeep (she was). We four girls crammed in the very back, where two small bench seats faced each other. Knees bumping, sweating bullets in the close, enclosed quarters, we laughed about how crazy the honored greeting was and admired the orange, red, yellow, white flowers on our garlands.
The jeeps peeled away and trucked down the road. A little outside Gwalior, we stopped at a white building. It was cool inside. Minutes later, we went to another room where we drank soda and met the people who were hosting the event that day -- the men in orange and some college students from the area who had recently become involved with Truthseekers.
Soon enough, we were off again. Back into the cramped jeeps. This time, I heard Sunil say that every car should have at least one man. I sat in the middle row, between Boaz and a young Indian woman. Boaz talked with Noel about all sorts of the issues of the country. I don't remember exactly what now, but at the time, it was very enlightening.
On the way we made various stops for unknown reasons, each time we thought it might be time to get out and eat lunch. We were wrong. It was never lunch time that day. Good thing Boaz gave us some granola bars.
We bumped and jostled around, windows down and dust blowing, for at least two hours out into the country. We passed straw huts, saw many water buffalo (and round, dung patties, which Boaz said he has made before). We passed sugar mills and brick factories, which Boaz said are the types of places that use child slaves. During one stretch, the car for Sunil and his armed escort rang a siren. Later, we learned the area was bandit territory, and the sirens signified military escort. I guess that warns the bandits...
Eventually, we reached our destination. *They brought us to a room with a bed in it first and told us to sit down and relax. All 15 of us crowded in, some on the bed, some standing. We regrouped and talked briefly about who would speak at the foot-washing ceremony, which came sooner than we anticipated.
Minutes later, we filed out of the room and walked down the road. It felt like a parade. Chains of people walked on the outside of the streets while we walked down the center. It was hot out. Soft, sticky tar filled the cracks in the pavement. I stepped in some, leaving a print of the bottom of my Keen sandals on the road.
We walked up a dirt drive way to a big white tent, like the kind at out-door wedding receptions. We went onto the stage to sit. The gathering was large, the biggest ceremony of the week. People crowded in. We crowded on the stage with the musicians and some of the hosts. I sat cross-legged. The tar from the road that was stuck on my sandals stuck on my cream-colored, breezy pants. Bummer.
As the Sunil spoke, Boaz kept chatting. I felt a little less guilty about spacing out in Introduction to the Bible on occasion... He showed me how to write my name in Hindi, then asked me for the rest of the team's names so he could write them out.
It grew hotter and hotter. Tarps on either side of the stage blocked any breeze. Everything felt close.
After Sunil preached and people shared testimonies, the foot-washing began. First, women were invited up. We Western women kneeled to wash their feet. We prayed over them as we washed. A young man translated for me as I spoke. The women wore rings on their toes. One had pink dye on the soles of her feet. It rubbed off onto my hands. When I was finished, the women stood, we bowed saying "Namaste" and then hugged.
There were many more Indian men present than women, and fewer Western men than women, making the foot-washing for the men last long. I sat towards the back of the stage with some other girls. Men nearby stared at us while we ate chocolate "energy" bars and ketchup flavored potato chips. We played a little with an adorable little boy. He had huge brown eyes and a sweet smile. I gave him my garland and some cookies. I think the older men were jealous of the attention we gave him.
And suddenly, it was time to go.
*It's very blurry to me when this part actually happened. It could have been part of the other building, but I can't seem to find exactly where it fits.
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