Bricks and Jaggery

A Sunday Afternoon

This past Sunday we were invited by our friends from Servant’s Heart International, Suresh and Preety, to take a drive to see some land they are looking to buy for their ministry. We started out around noon and stopped along the way for lunch. The restaurant we chose is frequented by Punjabi drivers who take their meals sitting on cots. So there were literally beds in the open-air establishment. This proved beneficial for us as Max was napping when we arrived. Our waiter pulled a bed up right next to our table. The lunch was delicious and Anna was enthralled with the tiny kitten that apparently lives at the restaurant. Once we were back on the road, Chris noticed several places where bricks were being made. His curiosity was rewarded and this is his account of his experience. The bricks are made using a mixture of water sifted clay/red dirt and straw. It is mixed in a tub on the ground that is made out of clay. The mixture is then packed into molds that have replaceable numbers so they know what batch they made and how long they need to wait for them to dry and bake. Once molded, the bricks are laid out in the sun to dry. Once dry they are stacked very neatly in rows. Every few rows they pack in charcoal and some straw. The bottom has skip rows that only have charcoal in them so the wind can blow the air into the middle and provide oxygen to the fire. They stack the bricks using this method into a very large stack that has chambers of charcoal throughout. They seal the outside with mud so the heat stays in, then they do a ritual for the gods before they light fire to the mound and bake it for at least eight days. The stacks are a true work of art with rows and rows of straw and charcoal labyrinths. There are hours and hours of work in each stack. If the process is not done correctly and the fire gets too hot, the bricks will literally melt. If it is not hot enough, the bricks do not cure and you essentially have dirt bricks that crumble when moved. It is an amazing skill that requires very hard work and patience. They sell each large brick for 5 rupees, or about 12¢. They were very happy to show us how it was done and they were very excited to have their pictures taken. They did not speak English, so I was glad to have Suresh as a translator. After they explained the entire process there was a moment of silence; it was then that I realized it was my turn to tell them how we make bricks in the US. I did not have a clue and I felt bad, so I offered to purchase a brick as a souvenir. They spent about five minutes searching for the perfect brick and found two of them so I took them both and they insisted I take them without paying. After looking at three parcels of land, we stopped at a place where jaggery was being made. Jaggery is a traditional unrefined sugar made by condensing sugarcane juice into a brown paste. The process is extremely hot and quite dangerous, but the samples we had were delicious. Our last stop of the day was at the Pandita Ramabai Mukti Mission. This mission provides Christ centered homes where destitute women and children are accepted, cared for, transformed and empowered, irrespective of their background. It is truly amazing to see people give so much of themselves for others. On our way home we passed a family of five on a motorcycle, which is not uncommon here in India. We thought you might enjoy the picture. The day was long, but enjoyable even with the heat. We are now making plans for our Australia trip next week. Keep us in your prayers and we’ll share that experience when we return. Take care!

Vacation Pictures

Our Trip East

May 1st was Maharashtra Day, the day in 1960 when the state we live in obtained statehood. Chris had a rare day off and this allowed us to travel east to visit Chris’s friend Ramanan whom he met at a class late last year. We flew from Pune to Chennai on Wednesday afternoon and drove about thirty-five miles south to Mamallapuram where our friend’s family owns the Mamalla Beach Resort. It’s a nice place on the Bay of Bengal. We checked in and had a delicious dinner before retiring for the night. The next morning we had breakfast and went for a swim in the pool. After lunch we headed out for some very hot (108°F) sightseeing. Our first stop was the Crocodile Bank where about 5,000 crocodiles are kept in their natural surroundings in open pools. We also saw many turtles and a really interesting iguana. From there we went to the Five Rathas, which are monolith, Indian rock-cut structures dating from the late seventh century. Each shrine was carved from a single large piece of stone, pretty amazing. The next stop was Arjuna’s Penance, an open air bas-relief measuring ninety-six feet long by forty-three feet high. We also saw Krishna’s Butterball, a giant natural rock perched on a hillside. It may sound like a strange thing to check out while sightseeing, but it was Anna’s favorite thing after the Crocodile Bank. There was a smooth area under the rock that allowed kids to slide down. It was great fun! The following day we headed south to the former French colony of Pondicherry. On the way we stopped at Auroville, an experimental township whose stated purpose is to realize human unity in diversity. It was a lovely place that Chris described as the closest thing to a commune that he’s ever seen. Later that evening, we checked out a famous temple that had a huge elephant hanging around outside. Anna was quite taken with the elephant and actually sat on it for a few minutes. While in Pondicherry we stayed at the Dumas Guest House which is located about one hundred yards from the beach. It had cozy rooms and an open air balcony on the top floor. Chris could have spent our entire stay up on the balcony. The morning we left Chris and Anna went for a ride in an actual rickshaw, not like the auto rickshaws we have here in Pune. This one was powered by a very small Indian man on a bicycle. It was truly a sight to behold. We also visited the Sri Aburobindo Ashram, an institution that provides charitable benefits to the area, including free medical facilities. We spent our last day of the trip back at our friend’s resort searching for seashells and being knocked around by the large ocean waves. We returned to Pune Sunday afternoon and spent the remainder of the day resting up for the coming week. Please check out the pictures, it really was a beautiful trip. We had a small celebration for my birthday yesterday and Chris and I actually managed a night out. Our next big event is our trip to Australia in June. Keep your eyes open for more details. Take care and we hope to hear from you all soon!