Notice to mariners, this will be a long entry, but also quite special, I hope you can find a place to read.
This story begins on an overnight train journey from Varanasi (also known as Benares), were in the third of the Five classes are available, so that we had a luxury of bed, blankets and everything. At dawn a neighbor compartment Ninh approached to chat, move as many others here arouses curiosity abroad. When we asked what his country seemed to us he said "India is very special," and she interrupted us by saying "do not say that, my country is a huge trash can," ... leave me dry. That boy of 13 anhos just finding a truth like a temple, and we can not ignore the evidence. There are fantastic beauty, we have said, but many roads, towns, and especially the cities, sometimes drown in piles of debris. Sometimes we tend to minimize the details less "romantic" but let us call things by their name.
Since then, we try to find another explanation that the apparent lack of resources. The most surprised us was the following: trash is considered unclean, both physically and spiritually, only the lower castes are assigned the task of cleaning, the rest simply get rid of it as soon as possible, thrown to the floor or out the window car. It is not easy to fight this.
These ramblings were, when we reached Varanasi. A city is born, lives and dies around the "great mother", the Ganges, the sacred river. An awesome place. Strolling through the ghats (a sequence of steps that descend to the river) is an experience that allows us to envision, Scenes from the more mundane to the most spiritual. Although in reality, in India there is nothing mundane, everything is imbued with a strong religious and spiritual.
is fascinating to almost unhealthy dedication to grooming, thrown into the river to the waist, or at the foot of the stairs, to rub every inch of body awareness-building and gargle for mouth clean finish with a stick. Sometimes you never know if you are banho or praying, as everything seems to be part of a ritual. Every night ceremonies are performed pretty flowers, fire and incense, which is just praying to river.
ghats The most striking are the cremation. In one, the funeral pyres burn for 24 hours a day. People from all over India come here to cremate their dead. Piles of wood, different types and prices (only the Maharajas can afford the sandalwood), crowd around the funeral pyres, the scene is totally overwhelming.
To make matters worse, a whole regiment of the most colorful characters of color brings to the bank of the river, Ninh playing cricket, street vendors, begging sadhus, priests offering blessings, buffaloes and cows wandering ... each manhana, stairs are filled with a colorful tapestry of clothes drying in the sun and people banging on the washing to the river stones.
However, my favorite picture of Varanasi is the city from the river in a boat. Well at dawn when the mist gives an air of mystery, or at sunset with the sun setting over the rooftops of houses.
Despite these beautiful images recorded on the retina, I have to say, perhaps because the expectations I had, or have been only a couple of days, or by some skepticism about the spiritual side of things and a marked sensitivity hygienic, the unquestionable beauty of Varanasi no plastic was sufficient reason to forget about another reality. The main artery of the sacred river, is a sink that pulls heavy metals and fecal bacteria at a rate that makes it dangerous, and not for consumption but for banho. And, unfortunately, when the human being becomes contaminated, the gods have lost the battle.
Abandoned Varanasi, we finished our tour of northern India, returning to Delhi. This time, 25 days after the first, because we were not surprised automobile chaos, noise and pollution of this great city that is home to nearly thirteen million people. spent some days in the lively neighborhood Main Bazaar Paharganj, haggling prices tuctucs drivers to visit some of the main attractions of the city. Among them, the Red Fort, which now belong to the army installations, and has some beautiful, though not very well preserved palaces. And the tomb of Humayun, a real haven of peace that holds a beautiful building, precursor of the Taj Mahal but in red and white.
Where we were in Delhi, we always met with funny college visits. Authentic scrum of kids who came running, as an exhalation flowing everywhere, and they disappeared at the same speed. Surround but not before, shake hands and ask for some photos. Here you have a group of uniformed Ninh going crazy to get out on the photo to nudge clean.
From here, our journey took an important turn. Someone told me recently that India's want and hate, and I do, because they are both based on the day. At that point we were already a little overwhelmed with so much haggling, so much dirt, and the sights that they could see us only as an inexhaustible source of Rs. And then we went to the south.
landed in Bangalore and from there took a train to Anantapur, this time in fifth class, apinhados with a good bunch of Indians who do not see tourists every day, quite an experience. had come to this place so far from India in the state of Andhra Pradesh, with the original intention of visiting the gift for the wedding, about anhos, brother and John Cunha. The financing of a school built by the Fundacion Vicente Ferrer. But what we saw was much more than that.
Everyone, I think, have heard of Vincent Ferrer, a former Jesuit who embarked on a crusade to help one of the poorest people on earth: the untouchables, the lowest caste in Hinduism (the other Hindus do not dare to touch them because they are impure). And he did it in the most depressed he found where to spend long monsoon. Geologists predicted desertification and neglect of the region when I get past 40 anhos Vicente. It was not so. 'd think that this is one more than the thousands of NGOs that are in the world, and it may be true. But at least this, we bear witness to what we've seen. The doors are open to anyone who wants to verify in situ the different projects we invest aid received.
Our first visit was Bathalapalli hospital where everyone, without exception, receive medical attention, thousands of cards occupy the shelves of the check. Blue sari women are nurses, midwives of green sari. Of these, many have barely been to school, but have been given the necessary training to help women give birth at home, which is how they prefer. Not far from there is the unity of AIDS patients, where they treat and even care for many patients who previously were shunned by society.
Something very interesting projects we have seen is the idea of \u200b\u200binclusiveness, attempting to tackle the problems from beginning to end. This is the case of wastewater treatment in hospitals, a problem from the ecological point of view about the possible leaks to the adjacent fields. We visited the project of "Wetlands" with his manager, Harvey, a volunteer madrilenho we explain a process which I will summarize and basically consists of: moving all the water residual of the hospital for a special field of plants (yes, plants, flowers) whose roots purify water in just over a week, finally get a water suitable for irrigation, a luxury in an area so dry. A special visit was the family planning center, where they sterilized women who want it after her second delivery. There, while they are nursing mothers, grandmothers caring for creatures Ninh. The banho time, twice a day, is an event that nobody wants to lose. This is a wash in pure Indian style massage and rub with the kids with such intensity that most cry like ripped. Sometimes it seems that the poor are going to break what the stretch and shrink. At the end all wanted to be photographed with their grandchildren, and that there were many, the black spots of the face are to ward off envy and evil eye, and to differentiate the Ninh Ninh.
We take our time to visit the two Ninh sponsored by John's mother. Saw the first one in his village, after an hour and a peak jumping between the bumps and rocks on the road.
The arrival in town was like a party, everybody expected us to Nirmala's house. We got flowers and coconuts and we will carry gifts. The feeling is quite overwhelming, because acclaim you as if you were the benefactor of the people. All you want to shake hands, everyone tells you, and you think that, obviously, is not nobody to deserve that. From all this, I prefer the look of infinite gratitude of parents, sincere and carinho. I think that really these people's lives improved thanks to these initiatives. 
monthly money contributed by the sponsors is not only the Ninh, but extends to the whole family and extends to the community, avoiding inequalities. We liked the idea so much that the result is this: we have sponsored this beautiful boy of two anhitos, called Swapna, which means "suenho" in Telugu (the language of the area), had much genius and there was no way he was made a picture for your card, normal, with two anhos you just want to be in the arms of his mother. 
A second Ninh, Lakshmi, the knowledge within the foundation, with his family, exchange of flowers, fruit and gifts. The stone mother leaves us with a speech on their efforts as head of community development, and cooperative business Pequenho created using a kind of microcredit program called "woman to woman." We are impressed by the strength in the eyes and the determination of this rural, illiterate, they just needed a push to succeed Pequenho herself, her community and family. The last and most intense of our visits was the famous school that comment at first. The school "Jano" in Atmakur. Here if we feel like the king and queen of an official visit. They gave us flowers and fruits, we were introduced to community leaders who snapped before us, we sang, we danced and overwhelmed us with some samples of excessive carinho we try to give back as much as possible (yes, John made me dance muinheira and ended a two Rianxeira singing, we like them, at least they laughed).
The school, though simple, is quite a show of color and vibrancy of India. Formed by a single large classroom with two large blackboards, no desks, but full of beautiful murals of the solar system, the human body, the alphabet ... And once again, full of smiles Ninh, of gratitude and pride of the teacher and the people responsible.
The list is very long, colleges / internal integration for disabled persons, industrial schools of various trades, wells and irrigation systems, dams, houses and a long list that is better than can visit in person, but on the web where they detail all their projects.
http://www.fundacionvicenteferrer.org
But if you come, try to will cross with Vicente wandering around the campus and waving to everyone who is in his way. The "father", as they call it here, that under its aspect of abuelete entranhable, risuenho and even mischievous, holds a personality that dazzles, at least to me, with his soft-spoken and clear look. Some believe it is a saint, a couple asked him to touch a cloth to take it to a sick woman who wanted to play something that had touched, Vincent did not really understand the issue and a little confused said "but it'll take me not it. " This is a nondenominational organization and Vicente, though a believer, do not hesitate to say, laughingly, that having created, would have made a better world. Maybe it's true.
to those who have come down here, thank you and quickly return to the load. A kiss.
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