This weekend our class took a field trip to Pushkar (a Hindu
pilgrimage site) and the Barefoot
College.
Pushkar is famous for having one of the few temples dedicated to Brahma, the creator god. Brahma is not commonly worshipped, and there are many stories about why this is the case. In one story, he cheated in his contest with Vishnu (another god) to prove who was the greater god, and was therefore cursed by Shiva (the god judging the contest). In another story, he was cursed by his first wife for taking a second wife. Another story says Shiva cursed him for lusting after a goddess he had created, i.e., for desiring to commit incest. Yet another story says he ignored the sage Bhrigu when he came to visit him and so cursed Bhrigu cursed him for his pride. Philosophical explanations include the idea that creation isn’t finished yet, that not worshipping Brahma is actually a way of showing his superiority, and that Brahma is embodied in the Vedas.
My favorite explanation was this, posted by someone named Naguru on Yahoo! answers: “Brahma is in charge of creation. India is already having over population. The people must have wisely thought that having more temples of Brahma will increase creation of our population. That is why they must have desisted from further construction of temples for Brahma. It is my feeling.”
Pushkar is centered around a lake, which is believed to have sprung up from a lotus flower (pushpa) dropped by the hand (kar) of Brahma. It has 52 ghats (series of steps leading down to a body of holy water, in which pilgrims bathe), including one where Mahatma Gandhi’s ashes were immersed in the lake.
The Barefoot College was amazing. For all the pessimists out there, this is a real concrete example of change and hope. The college was built by and for the rural illiterate poor. It trains villagers to provide basic services and solutions to problems in their communities, with the aim of making them self-sufficient and sustainable. Its key values are equality, collective decision making, decentralization, self-reliance, and austerity.
It focuses especially on women’s empowerment, training them in solar engineering, rain water harvesting, health care, handicrafts, advocacy, etc. They also train teachers to teach at night schools, where children who have to work in the fields during the day can receive basic education that is relevant to village life. The college emphasizes local and traditional knowledge, but also challenges caste and gender discrimination. The college is now supported in part by the United Nations and the government of India.
We visited the current class of solar engineering. It had 40 students from 10 different countries (Tanzania, Columbia, Fiji, Malaysia, Madagascar, Zimbabwe, Guatemala, Micronesia, Liberia, and Senegal). The Indian government helps pay for these women from other countries to come and be trained in this six month course. Most of them don’t speak Hindi or English, so instruction is mostly done visually. (There was a separate class for Indian women in Hindi.) Here's a story about the program: India Barefoot College Lights Up the World.
All in all, it was a wonderful, inspiring weekend trip.
 |
| View of Pushkar |
Pushkar is famous for having one of the few temples dedicated to Brahma, the creator god. Brahma is not commonly worshipped, and there are many stories about why this is the case. In one story, he cheated in his contest with Vishnu (another god) to prove who was the greater god, and was therefore cursed by Shiva (the god judging the contest). In another story, he was cursed by his first wife for taking a second wife. Another story says Shiva cursed him for lusting after a goddess he had created, i.e., for desiring to commit incest. Yet another story says he ignored the sage Bhrigu when he came to visit him and so cursed Bhrigu cursed him for his pride. Philosophical explanations include the idea that creation isn’t finished yet, that not worshipping Brahma is actually a way of showing his superiority, and that Brahma is embodied in the Vedas.
My favorite explanation was this, posted by someone named Naguru on Yahoo! answers: “Brahma is in charge of creation. India is already having over population. The people must have wisely thought that having more temples of Brahma will increase creation of our population. That is why they must have desisted from further construction of temples for Brahma. It is my feeling.”
Pushkar is centered around a lake, which is believed to have sprung up from a lotus flower (pushpa) dropped by the hand (kar) of Brahma. It has 52 ghats (series of steps leading down to a body of holy water, in which pilgrims bathe), including one where Mahatma Gandhi’s ashes were immersed in the lake.
 |
| A ghat at Pushkar Lake |
The Barefoot College was amazing. For all the pessimists out there, this is a real concrete example of change and hope. The college was built by and for the rural illiterate poor. It trains villagers to provide basic services and solutions to problems in their communities, with the aim of making them self-sufficient and sustainable. Its key values are equality, collective decision making, decentralization, self-reliance, and austerity.
 |
| Puppets for educational programs in villages. |
It focuses especially on women’s empowerment, training them in solar engineering, rain water harvesting, health care, handicrafts, advocacy, etc. They also train teachers to teach at night schools, where children who have to work in the fields during the day can receive basic education that is relevant to village life. The college emphasizes local and traditional knowledge, but also challenges caste and gender discrimination. The college is now supported in part by the United Nations and the government of India.
 |
| Women making sanitary pads out of cotton and paper, so they can be burned after they've been used. |
 |
| Sawing pipes for rain-water harvesting systems. |
We visited the current class of solar engineering. It had 40 students from 10 different countries (Tanzania, Columbia, Fiji, Malaysia, Madagascar, Zimbabwe, Guatemala, Micronesia, Liberia, and Senegal). The Indian government helps pay for these women from other countries to come and be trained in this six month course. Most of them don’t speak Hindi or English, so instruction is mostly done visually. (There was a separate class for Indian women in Hindi.) Here's a story about the program: India Barefoot College Lights Up the World.
 |
| Women in the Solar Engineering training course. |
 |
| A book with detailed visuals helps the students learn. |
All in all, it was a wonderful, inspiring weekend trip.
 |
| Our fantastic teachers! |
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