A Juggler

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When I posted on FaceBook that I was headed to Ahmedabad, India, a friend from Dearborn/Chicago emailed that his daughter was also in Ahmedabad. What a coincidence! She has just finished a 10-day Vipassana meditation (S N Goenka), the one that we did in Australia in 1994...plus her dad grew up in Columbus, NE, just 25 miles from David City. Too many coincidences so we had to make her acquaintance. She told us that she is staying at the Gandhi Ashram, doing volunteer work, and was planning a juggling performance for the children Saturday afternoon.

We cut short quilting on Saturday for Mika's juggling for slum children. What fun!

After juggling for about 10 minutes to her music, Mika paused to explain that she has been practicing at least an hour a day for more than two years. The kids were delighted and so were the adults.

What not to enjoy?! Mika has that kind of passion and enthusiasm that I think only emerges in idealistic young people. I want to say, but you haven't yet experienced the real world, and when you do, you'll get as jaded as so many of us are. But, then, I chided myself and said, perhaps it will be different for Mika. I this it is, already.

The organizer started some Bollywood music and instantly about 200 children were singing and dancing! I have never seen anything quite like this, neither here nor in the States. The kids obviously have seen the films, learned the words, and the hand and hip movements. Bill made a video which we will show 2nd Saturday.

Yesterday, Mika emailed me something to this effect: "although I was expecting to leave Ahmedabad on Wednesday, I am so involved that I am staying longer, and actually, I don't know when I will leave."

Ahmedabad/India has that effect on people.

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Photos

Mika, the Juggler
Mika juggling for children at Gandhi Asram

Children dancing
Children starting to dance. Within minutes, about 200 kids were singing and dancing.