The smells and sounds of India never cease to surprise me. When David and I emerged from the subway system in Delhi we were blanketed by the smell of curried potatoes being deep fried and a sea of smog. Off balance form jet lag, we made our way safely to a nearby apartment to lie our heads down to rest.
As they say, Delhi never sleeps! Sounds of garbage trucks and banging metal continued through the night. In the morning, we hurried to the airport to escape the insanity of the chaotic city and find solace in the mountains.
The Himalayas greeted David and I with open arms and fresh air. The Ganga shined with her blue brilliance as we hurried to her shores to wash the filth of the city away. The children and staff at Ramana's Garden greeted us with open arms and clean, organic food and teas! We quickly began to feel in the groove.
The past few days have been spent learning and exploring the ins and outs of the campus. With such an energy intensive project as Ramana's Garden, many little things go unnoticed. For example, in one of the short kitchen sinks a drain pipe is missing. So, when the children (or me!) are washing their dishes water splashes on our feet. I have been noticing many acute problems throughout the campus that are easily fixable with a little bit of creativity, tools, and time. It is my intention to work with our group to help relieve some of the pressure on of the staff and fix many of these 'little things' that will make a big difference in the daily lives of the children and staff living here.
On top of our maintenance projects, we will also be installing a solar system with Tesla. They will arrive in the next couple of days and bring non-acidic batteries with them to install. Ramana's Garden will be the first place in all of Asia to test these batteries. We are excited for this project, and have prepared the space with a frame for the panels as well as a room for the solar brain and batteries.
Ramana's also received a donation for a wind turbine many years ago. The company they received it from began the installation and then disappeared. Years have gone by, and the wind turbine has not been in full function. Today, I tested the wind turbine with the help of a video call with Joshua (solar expert and good friend) and it is most certainly producing energy. We are in the process of troubleshooting their current set up and obtaining the correct material to activate the wind turbine! Helping our goal to bring Ramana's Garden 100% off grid.
When it come down to it, it is all about the children. I have had a blast interacting with them thus far and had the opportunity to play my Ukulele and sing with them this evening. I look forward to this week and will do my best to update our community on our progress.
Find us on Instagram and Facebook for updates!!
In Gratitude,
Michael Jaidev