Two favorites.

   India has introduced me to a multitude of people. I know it's not nice to pick favorites, but I have two people whom I would like to tell you about...
  Yashoda is my yoga professor. She is the most beautiful women I have ever seen. She stands, moves, sits, and talks with grace I can only dream of achieving. As corny as this may sound, she radiates goodness. RADIATES IT. She has taught me so much about life and I have only known her for 2 months. A few weeks ago I went to a Hindu temple, which was having a music and dance festival. Yashoda is a professional dancer and was performing. I have NEVER seen anything so intriguing. There is nothing back in America I could ever compare it to. I didn't take my camera, so I am mooching off of my peers' pictures and recordings of the event. The following are links to videos of the dances. *Yashoda is in the purple*
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=asbavEPTZx0
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AOsL331r8S4&feature=related
    The whole experience was amazing. Today, Yashoda explained the place of the female dancer in the Hindu temples. Before colonial rule, Hindu Temples had two main people: a male priest and a female dancer, called the Devandasi. The Devandasi danced and sung to the gods throughout the day. When the British took over, they thought it was wrong for a woman to be dancing in a temple, so they banned it.  The Devandasis were then put out to the streets and due to the lack of another trade or option to marry, were forced into prostitution. The word Devandasi is sometimes meant as prostitute/prostitution now. Yashoda said she had 'personally experienced this [idea}'. Today, there is only one temple in the world that has temple dancers..... and I saw it. :)

Yashoda and I after her performance. (Photo by: Emily Winters)

   
   Bhavani is my Hindi professor. She is astonishing. She has a three year old daughter, named Tanvi, is the principle of the migrant school down the street (http://hcumigrantschool.wordpress.com/), teaches college courses from noon-5 pm, and partially lives in Tagore to take care of all of the international students. Tanvi is as adorable as her mother and a very spoiled little girl. She knows THREE languages. Bhavani told me she corrects her teacher at school! Again, she is three years old!!!!! She is the smartest child I have ever seen.

Tanvi

Showing off her henna, done by her mother.

Bhavani doing henna on my hand :)

   I'm not sure what Bhavani's family situation is, as she and Tanvi sometimes live in Tagore and sometimes in their apartment off campus. Sometimes in class, you can see Bhavani's tiredness in her face. She works so hard for so many people, all the time. She would do anything for anyone. I wish I could give her a vacation, she deserves it.
   I'm sure I will meet many more wonderful people here, but I am confident that these two women will have a lasting affect on how I live my life.