Ahmedabad, Gandhi and Pigeons

We are now in Ahmedabad, which has  more of a desert climate and lots of camels.  There is much less traffic than in Bangalore.  Nevertheless, when travelling last evening in an auto rickshaw, our driver missed his turn, and he then turned 180 degrees, going back to the previous intersection – in the wrong lane, against the flow of traffic.   

Sometimes in India, I feel that I’m in a miniature train display – the kind where the trains race headlong toward one another and then divert just at the last instant, so that a collision is avoided.

We visited the Gandhi Ashram where he built the non-violent movement that influenced many throughout the world.  We purchased a copy of his letter to Hitler (will post to the blog space shortly). The atmosphere at the ashram is simple, along a placid river (where Gandhi’s ashes were scattered following his assassination).  Everything here seems to be named either for Gandhi or Patel.

Food here tastes very good.  In India people refer to green peppers as ‘capsicum.’  I find them to have a sweet and more aromatic taste than in U.S.  Everything has some spice, which feels good on the tummy in the midst of hot days.  I do miss my avocadoes though.

Ran is lecturing at IIT-Gandhinagar on mass media.  There is a new branch here of the foremost technological institute in India, led by a visionary from Cal Tech who is committed to interdisciplinary and student-centered approaches to learning.

Again pigeons, this time nesting in the fan on the kitchen window of the guest house we are staying in.  Pigeons make a great deal of noise when laying and hatching eggs!

Next to Udaipur and then on to Kolkata.