All Kinds of Community

Over the past few days, I’ve been thinking a lot about what a community means.  The way that people come together, support each other, and carry out traditions is different in every place you go; however, the essence of togetherness and support for one another is exactly the same.  This past weekend showed me plenty of examples of community.

When Emily and I returned to Yuvajyothi from our excursion, Fr. Harry informed us that we’d be able to attend a mass on Saturday morning at St. Charles Seminary in Nagpur.  We were both very excited because we hadn’t seen the Dominican Seminary as of yet and were eager to go.  Upon our arrival, we discovered that we were in for much more than the average Saturday morning mass.  There were people all over the place, including priests, brothers, and new seminarians.  Turns out that this mass was the 2013 inauguration mass for the start of a new school year (classes started on Monday).  The friars were receiving new students and welcoming back returning ones, and the archbishop was the celebrant for the day.  The mass was very long, but luckily, it was in English, so Emily and I could follow along.  It felt wonderful to witness this rejuvenation of a community of Dominicans who were all friends and to see them welcome new prospective friars.  There were even some sisters from surrounding parishes and centers.  We met SO many people that day and they were all very happy to meet us and ask about both our stay in India and life in America and at Providence College.

Sunday morning, Emily and I attended mass at 7:30 am at the same place I had gone to a few weeks before (Fr. Harry serves mass in a small chapel at a home for retired/disabled persons.  It is run by sisters who are part of the Missionaries of Charity, the Catholic congregation started by Mother Teresa).  I always enjoy my trips there just because of the welcoming and warm nature held by the people there.  Everybody wants to shake your hand and say hello, and everybody wants you to feel at home.  All of these people, whether they were residents or visitors, all took part in the mass in some way.  Some of the women in the chapel were not even baptized and could not receive communion, but they still participated and prayed just as hard as the rest of us. 

It was also a big day because Emily and I finally got our sarees (saris? I give up) back from the tailor and we got to wear them to church!

...we were a little overdressed...

That night, we returned to the seminary to join the Dominicans for Sunday evening prayers and dinner.  Prayers was a little awkward at first, as there is so much ritual involved that the friars have done a million times and Emily and I have never done at all.  It’d be like taking two twenty-year-olds who had never set foot inside of a church to a mass proper.  There’s a lot to remember (I still forget sometimes when I’m supposed to kneel and when I should stand, and I’ve been going to mass for 21 years…)

Dinner was wonderful, and we got to see some old friends (reunited with Brother James and Brother Joseph!) and make some new ones.  The friars were so wonderful to talk to and asked us all about our trip, our school, the weather in America, what we think of India, etc., etc.  It was a pretty interesting night, since the brothers made dinner themselves.  Their usual cook has recently left, so they all have been taking turns cooking meals.  Whoever cooked that night might have overestimated their spice quota just a tiny bit…when we took our first bite of rice and chicken, Emily and I even saw some of the friars’ eyes watering! We’re usually the only ones who suffer from the spice, so we definitely knew something was up. It was so funny to see these born-and-bred Indian priests guzzling down water like their lives depended on it!

Monday was a very big day for us! Father George and Father Albert (another Dominican, of course) took Emily, me, and three other students who are friends of the friars to the Bapu Kuti Sevagram Ashram near Wardha town.  It is one of the main ashrams where Mahatma Gandhi (also known as “Bapu”) lived.  Upon arriving in Nagpur, Fr. Harry told Emily and me that the Gandhi Ashram was one of the best local sights.  Therefore, we both assumed that it would be a small, local spot, somewhere within the city.  However, by the time that Father George had been driving on the highway for well over a half hour and we were clear out of Nagpur, it dawned on us that this sight wasn’t nearly as “local” as we had thought.

On the way there, we ran into a whole different kind of community! As if driving in India wasn’t crazy enough, an huge herd of cows appeared in the middle of the road, and they were all running pell-mell to get out of the way.  I had to take some pictures, but I assure all my readers that no cows were harmed in the taking of these photos:

Oh hey guys. No don't mind us, you just do your thing.

Run like the wind, Bullseye!

We arrived at our destination after driving for about two hours.  Of course, admission was free, and, of course, we had to remove our shoes before walking into any of the structures.  It was really surreal to walk into the small homes where Gandhi, his wife, and their friends all lived.  The people who lived among them were called “ashramites”, and the place is really kind of like a village where everyone has equal responsibilities and are considered family.  In the film Gandhi, an ashram is described as, “a community. It could be a small village, or the whole world”.

Just casually hanging out at Gandhi's house.

Afterwards, we went to the Gandhi museum across the street and took a lot of pictures that we probably weren’t supposed to.  Turns out, Fr. George is quite the tourist, and insisted on a lot of cheesy pics!

Me, Emily, the girls, Fr. Albert (left), and Fr. George (right)

Those are Gandhi's real glasses, I swear it. Also, this probably wasn't allowed.

This DEFINITELY wasn't allowed.

Speak no evil, see no evil, hear no evil.

Our last event of the day was going back to the students’ house for lunch and having their mothers make us the best home-made meal ever.  We even had ice cream for dessert, which tasted fantastic after having almost no sweets for a few weeks!

Us and the wonderful family with whom we shared lunch!

Basically, what I learned this weekend is that communities come in all shapes an sizes.  Some are connected by blood, some by a common faith, and some just by a really good meal.  I had a unique experience amongst every single group with which I shared time, but that feeling of welcoming and safety was always the same.  Emily and I both agreed that these past few days have been amongst our best in India thus far.