Apr

Kathputli: Traditions of Fire, Puppets, and Magic

by Meredith Mullins on April 17, 2017

A handmade puppet dances for her puppeteer inside a Kathputli Colony jhuggi.
© Meredith Mullins

Cultural Encounters in the Slums of India

The labyrinthine streets lead from one palette of wild color to another—from carnival reds and yellows to candy pinks and lavenders to soothing blue and green pastels.

The stripes and flowers and polka dots of the freshly washed clothes that hang in every possible open space make the colors of the buildings even more festive.

Colorful buildings and hanging wash in the Kathputli Colony of Delhi, showing cultural encounters in the slums of India. (Image © Meredith Mullins.)

The Kathputli Colony in living color
© Meredith Mullins

Smells of curry and turmeric drift in the dusty air. And sounds of daily life and laughter create an uninterrupted soundtrack.

Cultural encounters in the Kathputli Colony in the Shadipur Depot area of west Delhi are filled with “Oh, I see” moments.

Girls of the Kathputli Colony in Delhi, showing cultural encounters in the slums of India. (Image © Meredith Mullins.)

A community filled with smiles
© Meredith Mullins

The Slum Truth

I thought I had a hint of what life is like in the slums of India—Delhi, Kolkata, and Mumbai. After all, I’ve seen films like Slumdog Millionaire and Lion and read books such as Behind the Beautiful Forevers and Midnight’s Children.

But, it was not until I had walked through the cramped alleys of Kathputli; shared tea in a puppeteer family’s one-room, dirt-and-concrete floor home; stepped gingerly over the rivulets of sewage and tangles of electrical wires; and played with the local children that I began to understand.

Colorful alley in the Kathputli Colony in Delhi, showing cultural encounters in the slums of India. (Image © Meredith Mullins.)

Electrical wires abound, but electricity is sporadic.
© Meredith Mullins

Oh I see. This is home . . . although it is not an easy existence. Electricity is sporadic, water must be carried from a distance, and the streets are littered with more trash than they should be.

Even with this backdrop of poverty, families are relatively happy here. There are plenty of smiles and laughter. There is artistry through almost every open door.

This is life. There is pride of place . . . and a spirit of family and community.

A home in the Kathputli Colony, with mother, son, and dog, showing cultural encounters in the slums of India. (Image © Meredith Mullins.)

Colorful, open-air homes
© Meredith Mullins

A Community of Street Artists

Two things make the Kathputli Colony unique—the past and the future.

This particular neighborhood has a long tradition as a home for street performers. Started in the 1950s by puppeteers from Rajasthan, the colony now has more than 3,000 families of magicians, fire breathers, snake charmers, musicians, acrobats, singers, dancers, rope walkers, and jugglers.

Men play cards in the street of the Kathputli Colony, showing cultural encounters in the slums of India. (Image © Meredith Mullins.)

Life in the streets
© Meredith Mullins

Outdoor life is common in India. At Kathputli, the residents work and play in the open courtyards and wider alleys, as well as and in their makeshift homes pieced together with wood, tin, tarp, mud, and brick.

They go out to perform, by day or by night, and return to the camaraderie of their families and friends and their colorful home life.

Fire breather in the Kathputli Colony, showing cultural encounters in the slums of India. (Image © Chester Ng.)

A fire breather at the colony
© Chester Ng 2016 (stylishpix@yahoo.com)

The community is friendly and welcoming. Even the children have a wonderful theatrical quality—in their poses, their colorful American brand-name hand-me-downs, their trendy hair styles, and their connection to visitors.

The time I spent wandering the Kathputli alleys was a traveler’s treasure (and a photographer’s dream).

Three children of the Kathputli Colony in the street, showing cultural encounters in the slums of India. (Image © Meredith Mullins.)

Setting trends in many ways
© Meredith Mullins

An Uncertain Future

This spirit of community made it even sadder to learn that the Kathputli families are being displaced from this colony.

As “progress” would have it, the land they have lived on for the past 60 years is now becoming prime real estate. At the same time, the government has pledged to eliminate slums.

A group of Kathputli Colony dwellers, showing cultural encounters in the slums of India. (Image © Meredith Mullins.)

The evolution of a camp
© Meredith Mullins

The original residents built a community out of a jungle on the edge of the city. They started with a camp and slowly made improvements to produce the village of jhuggis (makeshift dwellings) today.

However, as Delhi expanded, Kathputli became more central and is now even on a major metro line.

The government has given a contract to developers to develop the land, including commercial buildings as well as new homes in apartment blocks for the colony families.

The families will be relocated—first to a transit camp while new homes are constructed in multi-story buildings and ultimately to these new living units.

Two rows of transit camp units for the Kathputli Colony, showing how cultural encounters in the slums of India have led to displacement. (Image © Sanjuko Basu.)

The transit camp does not lend itself to the spirit of the Kathputli Colony.
© Sanjukta Basu

The colony is rightfully skeptical. Some have refused to leave their homes until they are promised the new homes via a court contract and are given some specific timelines for the new development.

Currently, it is unclear how long they must live in the transit camp, which seems more like a military camp than the colorful community of Kathputli.

The developers can’t begin the new construction until all the families have relocated to the transit camp. But those holding out have no faith that they will get a new house, and they want to be sure that the new housing works with their artistic lifestyle—with places to store their materials and performance areas to practice and share their arts.

Two girls hold hands at the Kathputli Colony in Delhi, showing cultural encounters in the slums of India. (Image © Meredith Mullins.)

A nostalgia for the ancestral homes
© Meredith Mullins

A Nostalgia for Traditions

While the redevelopment plan may be a good start to solving the issue of slum dwelling, there will be a lingering nostalgia when the colorful alleys and cultural encounters of Kathputli have become a sea of high-rise apartment buildings, and when the puppeteers and fire breathers are no longer gathering spontaneously in the streets to share their proud history of artistry.

Sometimes the path to “progress” leaves much to be desired.

A boy poses amidst the rubble of the Kathputli Colony, showing cultural encounters in the slums of India. (Image © Meredith Mullins.)

Kathputli style
© Meredith Mullins

For more information about the current Kathputli Colony relocation issues, read this article by independent journalist Sanjukta Basu in The First Post. OIC also thanks Ms. Basu for permission to use her photograph of the transit camp. Please also visit her website.

Comment on this post below, or inspire insight with your own OIC Moment here.

Meredith Mullins 4 Comments

Cultural Encounters/India

Apr

Idyllic, Yet Never Idle

by Joyce McGreevy on April 3, 2017

The Chora, the original capital of Serifos inspires wanderlust to visit this tiny Greek island in the Cyclades. (Image © Joyce McGreevy)

Parts of the original Chora, the hilltop capital of Serifos, date back to 3 BCE.
© Joyce McGreevy

When Wanderlust Leads to Serifos

I’m on Serifos—and the side effects are wonderful. What sounds like a lyrical Big-Pharma trade name is actually a tiny Greek island, part of the Cyclades southeast of mainland Greece. Wanderlust has led me here. Around 225 of Greece’s 6,000 islands are inhabited. Their populations quadruple with tourists every summer.

But I’m traveling in January to the bafflement of friends. Why Serifos? Why now? One high-powered chum tells me, “Wait till summer, go to Hydra, Mykonos, or Santorini. There’s a fantastic party scene and I’ll introduce you to a TON of contacts.”

And there’s your answer, folks. Because I don’t want to do “the scene,” exchange business cards over cocktails, sign up for “kick-ass Pilates classes,” have my aura read, my spine realigned, or my roots touched up.

I want to just be.

A boat in the harbor at Serifos symbolizes the author's wanderlust to visit this tiny Greek island in the Cyclades. (Image © Joyce McGreevy)

Serifos in winter: I saw more traffic in the water than on the road.
© Joyce McGreevy

“The Journey Is the Thing”—Homer’s Odyssey

A crewman on the ferry at Serifos makes work into art on a tiny Greek island in the Cyclades. (Image © Joyce McGreevy)

Ferryside Theatre?
© Joyce McGreevy

I make the five-hour journey by ferry from Piraeus, Athens’ main port, to the Cyclades with laptop in tow. The plan is to divide my time between meeting deadlines and exploring the 30-mile square island.

As the ferry nudges the shore, crewmen stride the descending ramp, nimbly riding its metal edge to the pier and tossing the ropes. Inky night and the Aegean Sea surround us. The darkness is deep, the stars spectacular.

Christos, my host, is there to greet me. His family has traveled from Thessaloniki to make ready what will be my home for the next month.

The house is newly built but traditionally designed, gleaming white with blue trim. Inside, stone walls have been sculpted into counters, shelves, and bedside tables.

On a rain-swept winter’s night, this is heaven. As I unpack, there’s a knock at the door: Athina, Christos’ mother, brings supper on a tray. It’s a good omen when the namesake of the Goddess of Wisdom visits.

A house on the tiny Greek island of Serifos in the Cyclades evokes both wanderlust and a sense of home. (Image © Joyce McGreevy)

In tiny Serifos, Christos’ Seaview Modern needs no address, its road no name.
Mail sent to “American lady who talks to cats” would have reached me.
© Joyce McGreevy

Mythology and the Everyday Epic

I settle into pleasant routine, dividing my day between work, walks, and classes. The classes are online: Greek history, language, mythology. According to myth, wing-footed Perseus washed up on Serifos as a baby locked in a wooden chest. Years later, the island’s king sent him on a suicide mission to slay the Medusa. But Perseus returned, using Medusa’s head to turn the king—and Serifos—into stone.

As I gaze up at the commanding heights of stone peaks, the presence of Perseus and other immortals seems completely plausible. In this setting, it’s thrilling to read Homer’s Odyssey, as the hero’s longing for home plays tug-of-war with wanderlust. I read, then head off on rambles of my own.

Hikers on a stone path in Serifos understand the wanderlust to visit this tiny Greek island in the Cyclades. (Image © Joyce McGreevy)

Springtime in Serifos: a walk with Athina and Aleka.
© Joyce McGreevy

Oh, I see: On an island, everyday moments become epic:

Skirting seasonal ponds by navigating through neighbors’ gardens, a delightful workaround
Savoring the only sound at night, the whispering of the sea
Witnessing the gradual approach of spring, like a ship on the horizon, as tender grasses and wildflowers re-emerge and trees become “birdful” again.

A garden on the tiny Greek island of Serifos in the Cyclades invites those with wanderlust to wander through. (Image © Joyce McGreevy)

On Serifos, a rain-blocked road is an opportunity, not an obstacle.
© Joyce McGreevy

Low-tech in Paradise

When Homer’s Odyssey takes our hero to Scheria, he finds a magical land with self-steering ships and self-harvesting crops, yet women still do laundry by hand. On Serifos in the off-season, I have superfast wifi, but my washing machine is a bucket. When I ask a local what time the town’s laundromat opens, she replies Aprílios—“April.”

Christos offers to have someone do my laundry, but neither I nor my minimalist wardrobe warrant the fuss. Better to take a leaf from the Scherian women. Hanging laundry outside becomes my favorite ritual, a meditation on the elements—sea, sky, sun, and the mineral richness that speckles this green and rocky earth.

Laundry on a patio in Serifos, a tiny Greek island in the Cyclades, evokes the simple pleasures that come from wanderlust. (Image © Joyce McGreevy)

You won’t find this at a laundromat.
© Joyce McGreevy

No Stereotypes on Serifos

The winter population of Serifos hovers around 1,200, excluding small herds of friendly cats. The people are friendly, too, infinitely patient with my child’s-level Greek. I study every evening before bed, letting the words percolate into my dreams. As Homer’s Odyssey says, “There is a time for many words, there is also a time for sleep.”

A leaping cat in Serifos, a tiny Greek island in the Cyclades, shows that wanderlust isn't limited to humans. (Image © Joyce McGreevy)

The colors of sea & sky, sand & stone are everywhere on Serifos.
© Joyce McGreevy

Sigá-sigá (“step by step”), says Christina, a local shopkeeper. She, Athina, and others help me gather a living glossary from this small, rich universe—words for sky and clouds, wildflowers and windmills, honey and olive oil. At one taverna, the staff is fluent in English yet take the time to coach me in Greek. The syllables taste as satisfying in the mouth as the exquisite roast chickpea soup with garlic and oregano.

A bowl of revithia, or chickpeas soup, in the tiny Greek island of Serifos in the Cyclades, is one of the rewards of wanderlust. (Image © Joyce McGreevy)

Revithia sto fourno, a traditional Greek soup made with roasted
chickpeas, oregano, lemon, olive oil—and magic.
© Joyce McGreevy

If this were a movie, Hollywood would reinvent the locals as a Colorful Cast of Loveable Eccentrics. But quaint stereotypes don’t match the reality. People of Serifos travel the world, access 24-hour news, work at a range of professions. Among these thoughtful and serious-minded people, the only oddball I know of is myself.

A well-stocked shop in Serifos shows that even a tiny Greek island in the Cyclades, can satisfy any appetite, including wanderlust. (Image © Joyce McGreevy)

Think you can’t find gluten-free or other speciality foods in
the hilltop village of a tiny island? Guess again.
© Joyce McGreevy

McGreevy’s Odyssey

One night there’s true misadventure. Whatever gods I’ve inadvertently offended exact revenge on my laptop. Suddenly, I’m not so complacent. Up against deadline, I have two choices:

travel all the way back to Athens, hastily book a room, sort out the laptop, invest in a second one for backup (the cost of doing business while traveling full time), and meet that deadline with minutes to spare; or
curse my fate. As Homer’s Odyssey says, “These mortals are so quick to blame the gods.”

I opt for the journey.

“To Long for the Sight of Home”—Homer’s Odyssey

A ferry pulling into Serifos, a tiny Greek island in the Cyclades, symbolizes the tug-of-war between wanderlust and love of home. (Image © Joyce McGreevy)

Back in port.
© Joyce McGreevy

When I return to the Cyclades, my sea legs are steady but my land legs not so much. Disembarking, I walk a few paces, then stumble. Immediately, arms reach out to lift me up. There are no strangers on Serifos, only neighbors.

Next morning, as I hang the laundry, the scent of wild rosemary and the thrum of hedgerow bees deliver a message to my senses—spring has landed! Soon it will be Kathari Deftera (“Clean Monday”), a day when children fly kites, bakeries offer unleavened lagana bread, and festivities mark the eve of Lent.

Lagana, a traditional bread found on many a tiny Greek island in the Cyclades, is tasty enough to inspire wanderlust. (Image © Joyce McGreevy)

Lagana bread: The name, which is also the origin of the
word lasagna, comes from a Greco-Roman pastry dough.
© Joyce McGreevy

Settling into work, I switch on the new laptop. The QWERTY keyboard includes a few Cyrillic letters. Since my software is set for American English, it makes no difference on a practical level, but on a heart level it means something that fills me with joy.

Then it hits me: wanderlust has led full circle. I feel at home on a tiny Greek island in the Cyclades. As Homer said, “Even a fool learns something once it hits him.” Dear Christos, I type, I’d like to stay on Serifos for another month.

A cat, Chora steps, and a weathered urn on Serifos, a tiny Greek island in the Cyclades, create the kind of tableau that inspires wanderlust. (Image © Joyce McGreevy)

Whether you’ve got nine lives or just one,
Serifos is a good place to be.
© Joyce McGreevy

Access superb online courses in Greek Mythology (University of Pennsylvania) here and
Ancient Greek History (Wesleyan University) here.

Comment on this post below, or inspire insight with your own OIC Moment here.

Joyce McGreevy 4 Comments

Art of Travel/Crossing Cultures/Greece

Mar

A Trunk Full of Travel Adventures

by Meredith Mullins on March 27, 2017

Elephants in procession for travel adventures in Rajasthan, India. (Image © Meredith Mullins.)

A regal procession in Rajasthan, India
© Meredith Mullins

The Elegance of Elephants

I have been thinking a lot about elephants lately. (That’s not often an opening line for a story about travel adventures, is it?)

In fact, I’ve been thinking about elephants for a long time—ever since Dumbo mustered the courage to fly, ever since Manfred the wooly mammoth survived the Ice Age, and ever since Horton heard his Who.

Elephants (and elephant characters) have enriched our lives for many years. They are evolved creatures worth studying and worth getting to know in an “up close and personal” way.

We can learn much from our elephant friends, especially where human/elephant contact is offered in a safe and healthy way for the elephants.

Elephants in Amboseli national park, an opportunity for travel adventures in the wild. (Image © Tatiana Morozova/iStock.)

Elephants in Amboseli National Park in Kenya
© Tatiana Morozova/iStock

Elephants in the News

Recent news events have again brought elephants into the headlines.

Last year, Ringling Brothers vowed to phase out their elephant acts due to animal rights issues. Then, this year, they announced the ultimate closing of the circus because of declining audience numbers due, in part, they said, to the removal of the elephant acts and to general concern for the treatment of the animals.

Elephant's foot tied to a metal chain suggesting dangers to elephants in captivity and to travel adventures in the wild. (Image © Tuomas Lehtinen/iStock.)

Elephant captivity can be brutally cruel.
© Tuomas Lehtinen/iStock

Also in the headlines of the moment is the danger to elephants from the ivory trade. China pledged to ban all domestic ivory trade by this end of this year, joining many nations in the environmental pledge to protect elephants from ivory poachers.

Illegal haul of elephant ivory, a danger to elephants and travel adventures in the wild. (Image © Stockbyte.)

The ivory trade is still a real threat to elephants in the wild.
© Stockbyte

These are solid steps toward protecting the threatened elephant population and treating elephants with the respect they deserve.

Elephant Enlightenment

My meetings with elephants over the past six months spanned the globe and the gamut of elephant life.

Elephants at the Amber Fort in Jaipur, India,, offering travel adventures for visiting tourists. (Image © Meredith Mullins.)

The first elephants to cross my recent path were in Jaipur, India. Almost every tourist visiting the Amber Fort (called Amer Fort locally) travels the steep path to the fort on a festively decorated elephant.

The four-legged, trunk-waving taxis plod slowly and purposefully up the hill, defining perfectly the meaning of the word “lumber.”

Elephants climbing the hill to the Amber Fort in Jaipur, India, offering travel adventures to visiting tourists. (Image © Meredith Mullins.)

This transportation is how the visitors of the 16^th and 17^th centuries most likely arrived at the palace. Now, it is the ultimate tourist experience. However, the treatment of these “domesticated” elephants is controversial . . . and worthy of scrutiny.

Oh, I see. Sometimes our “bucket-list” travel adventures need a deeper look at behind-the-scenes realities.

The marketing material claims each elephant makes only 5 trips a day—all in the morning—and takes only two people on the Howdah (the carriage on the elephant’s back).

The working conditions were different in the past, as the elephants worked all day in the scorching heat and carried many more people.

Elephant resting against a wall in Jaipur, India, offering travel adventures to tourists at the Amber Fort. (Image © Meredith Mullins.)

Although the conditions have improved over time, it still seems that the elephants are under stress.

Animal welfare advocates allege that these elephants often do not get adequate food and water, the uneven pavement on the road to the fort damages their feet, and their off-duty housing is often less than desirable and is certainly a far cry from jungle life.

Even to be prepared for their jobs transporting humans, they are made to be submissive via often brutal techniques called “crushing.” Their spirits are broken. And no one lives well with a broken spirit.

Seated elephant with painted trunk at a sanctuary for elephants in Jaipur, India, offering travel adventures for tourists. (Image © Meredith Mullins.)

Seeking Sanctuary

A better way to interact with elephants is to visit some of the elephant villages or sanctuaries. I visited one of these in Jaipur, called Eleday.

At this particular sanctuary, you can get to know your elephant, feed her, wash her, and apply some decorative designs to her body, akin to temporary tattoos or inventive face painting.

Perhaps she feels as if it’s a day of pampering at the skin and nail salon (although it’s hard to tell how the elephants really feel about being painted).

Smiling Lauren Gezurian paints her elephant at Eleday in Jaipur, India, a sanctuary for elephants offering travel adventures for tourists. (Image © Meredith Mullins.)

What we do know is that the elephant’s skin is very sensitive, even though it’s at least an inch thick. She definitely knows she is being touched.

Feeding elephants at Eleday in Jaipur, India, travel adventures for tourists. (Image © Anne Hobbs.)

An elephant can eat up to 500 pounds of food a day.
The few bananas we fed them were vacuumed up in a flash.
© Anne Hobbs

The Relephant Facts

In these more ecologically oriented sanctuaries, I learned some interesting facts about the species. Here are ten of my favorite.

There are three surviving elephant species, all either threatened or endangered: the Asian elephant, the African savanna elephant, and the African forest elephant.

Elephants at a watering hole in Pinnewala, Sri Lanka, offering travel adventures in the wild. (Image © Nyira Gongo/iStock.)

How do you tell the difference between Asian and African elephants? African savanna elephants have large ears shaped like the continent of Africa. African forest elephants have large oval ears. Asian elephants have smaller ears. Asian elephants have rounded backs and relatively smooth skin, while African elephants have a sway back and very wrinkled skin.

Elephants have more than 40,000 muscles in their trunks, making these massive noses very strong, sensitive, and flexible. It is said that an elephant can smell water from up to 12 miles away.

The strength of their trunks comes in handy to forage for food and to lift things up to around 750 pounds. Here, a mother lifts her baby, who was stuck in the mud.

If video does not display, watch it here.

They use their trunks for affectionate greetings also. They intertwine their trunks to say hello, like a handshake or a hug.

Elephants love food and water. They can eat from 300 to 500 pounds of food a day. (They are herbivores). They can also suck up 15 liters of water in a single sip with their trunk.
A moment of affection
© Nancy Haggarty/iStock
Elephants are intelligent, social animals. Multiple families live together in the herd. They have been shown to be emotionally complex, compassionate, and caring. They show clear empathy for the sick, dying, and dead.

Elephants can hear sound waves outside of our human hearing capabilities. They can detect sub-sonic rumblings through vibrations in the ground. They use their feet and their trunks to sense these messages, often from other elephants far away.

No Air Jordans for the elephant. They are the only mammal that can’t jump. Perhaps that’s because they are the largest land animals in the world, weighing up to 24,000 pounds.

Of course we can’t forget the elephant’s memory. We should all have such a gift.

Baby elephant as part of amazing travel adventures with elephants. (Image © Mahouts/iStock.)

A baby elephant can weigh 200–250 pounds when born . . . and has a fuzzy head only a mother (and the world!) could love.
© Mahouts/iStock

The Circus

After seeing elephants in the more natural settings of Asia and Africa, it is increasingly difficult to imagine their life in a circus.

However, the famous Cirque d’Hiver is one of my Paris passions and, this year, they featured elephants along with their traditional white horses.

Elephant taking a bow at the Cirque d'Hiver in Paris, France, showing elephants in performance and entertaining travel adventures. (Image © Meredith Mullins.)

Even though this kind of entertainment brings smiles to the audience and a certain appreciation for the intelligence of the elephants, when you go behind the scenes, the “Oh, I see” moments can be painful.

It is especially difficult to know that circus elephants, no matter how well they are cared for, have been “broken” and perhaps live each performance in fear of the trainers that prompt them to do what is required.

Circus elephant sending acrobat into the air at the Cirque d'Hiver in France, offering travel adventures for tourists. (Image © Meredith Mullins.)

Elephant note to self: “If I just put a little more weight on the balance, I could send him into the stratosphere. But I won’t, because I’m a professional . . . and that guy in the fancy jacket has a whip.”
© Meredith Mullins

What We Know

What we do know is that elephants are intelligent, compassionate beings.

We know that they do not do well in captivity and that they are often treated cruelly at the expense of tourism and entertainment.

We know that they are a threatened species.

And we know that, if we want to continue with travel adventures of the elegant elephant kind—human/elephant interaction that does not compromise the elephant’s health and safety—we should do what we can to protect these amazing animals.

Two elephants, mother and baby, showing why travel adventures in the wild are rewarding. (Image © Mohamed Shahid Sulaiman/Hemera.)