Today was our day to see the commissioner of education (similar to deputy minister) and to go to Pipli to select our gift from the local teachers’ association. We were promptly downstairs at 10:15 waiting for our driver. After a good while of waiting, we decided to call to see where he was. Turns out we were now being picked up at 12:15, as the meeting had been moved later.
At 12:30 two cars arrived and we were off to the All Utkal Primary Teachers’ Federation office. We met Ram Pal Singh there and had tea. While we were having tea, they told us that the ministry of education was planning to paint all 70,000 elementry schools in the state the same colour scheme, so they could easily be identified. They had a binder of pictures with different colour schemes and asked Deborah to pick the scheme they should suggest to the minster – no pressure! Deb tried to pass the ball back to them and in the end I think she and Murray chose the colours. So, next time you are driving the Orissa countryside, looks for the schools coloured by Murray and Deb!
At 1:00ish we headed for the ministry of education building. We had to check in first and receive passes to see her. We then had to take a ministry sanctioned car to the building where she worked. We then got to sit in a small waiting room and finally got to see her. We had an excellent meeting. This was an important meeting to help raise the status of the teachers in the state and we were glad to do our part to help our colleagues. She talked to us about the initiatives the state was engaged in such as repainting all schools, ensuring that teaching and learning materials are available and the 20 days a year teachers are given for professional development. I think we may want to bring her to Saskatchewan! She seemed to be a very action oriented person. She was certainly very articulate. Here we are in her office:
Following the meeting we headed back to our hotel for lunch (it was now about 3:00). After lunch (it was now about 4:00) our host Kumlau took us to Pipli to pick up our gifts. We stopped at his house on the way. The house is under extensive renovations and is beautiful. It has three or four storeys and houses his family and that of his four brothers. About 50 people live there. We met about 15 of them today. Somehow our driver from yesterday got his wires crossed and took us straight out of town. We were to actually spend the day with Kumlau and be received by his family. He had the entire day planned out and it didn’t get to happen. Both he and we were very disappointed. He is an incredibly gracious man and worked very hard to ensure we were well taken care of. Here is a shot of the house and some of the ladies of the family:
After a brief visit with Kumlau’s family we headed to Pipli to pick up our gifts. We then dropped Kumlau off at his office and ended our brief visit to the commissioner and a trip to Pipli at 7:00 p.m. It was all fascinating and fun and just another day in India!
After that, we found Tish and she, Deb and I went off to a department store so they could shop (they were having a sale) and buy an extra bag to take home. When we got back we had our last supper together as a team of four. Murray and Deb will be going on to Assam and Tish and I begin the journey home tomorrow.
Now for the fun news – Murray has decided to continue the blog during his time in Assam! So, please stay tuned for more great stories and photos from India over the next two weeks!
Thanks to all of you for reading and sharing in my part of the adventure. I have lots of stories and photos that couldn’t fit in the blog to share. See you all soon!
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