Happy Halloween......India Style!

 I'm not sure anyone wants to be visited by the Grim Reaper the morning after their birthday, but that is what happened to George this morning.

Fortunately, it was just Halloween and some students, little kids at heart, accepted the invitation to come to class in costume.

Akershit was chosen by the class to win the grand prize.

Gaurav looked like he was still tired.

Sameer was a big, pink Kung Fu Panda--and Shrey was Shrey.

What can you say about Priyanka?

And Razia?

Karan and Vishal didn't look quite as dazzling but the accessories seemed to suit.  

George posed with the girls including Simran, Ravneet and Vaishnavi.  He is dressed as a UFV student and so was I.  We found that being  UFV students is really very EASY and we might want to do that full time.

Tejeshewar, Jyotbir, Abhaynoor and Harman were dressed appropriately for the lecture on  Power and Influence in the Workplace.  Too bad they didn't get to hear it.

Maybe it just takes a little magic to pass Business 203!

The best costumes of the day were worn by The Three Musketeers aka The Kids aka The  Three Interns aka our roommates, Kathryn, Adam and Stacy.

Actually, the brass statues are at Mainland China (the restaurant) where George finally did the appropriate birthday thing and bought us lunch.  (We do eat well here!)

This wilted flower is what I felt like after two days of celebrations!

Happy Birthday, George......India Style!

What a day of celebration!

It began with birthday greetings sung by our grandkiddies, Kira, Deja and Carson on Voxer from Abbotsford.

When we got to the university, Arpit arrived with the chocolate cake he had promised to bake for George.  Taksh was already at school.

Later in the day, George cut that cake and Arpit did the customary first bite.

The class today was Business 100, and  Tarundeep presented a beautiful bouquet on behalf of the class.

Akshat and Armaan brought the cake.

The class actually had their regular lecture--after all the photos.

A great tribute from a great group of students!

Here are a few of the individual congratulations.

           Pukhraj  and Supreet

Sumanpreet

            Gurpreet and Chahat

Shubham

                  Ishpreet

Anmol

and there are many more photos that would fill a book!

Then, off we went with some of the UFV Team for lunch at the Willow Cafe.  In true Indian fashion, George should have bought this lunch but.......

Pryanka and Sapna delivered a beautiful card.

 And then the intrigue began........

While Gurneet whisked George away to run some errands, we all hurried over to the home of Consul General Scott Slessor for the surprise event.

I don't think this took quite as much planning as is needed for visiting dignitaries, but it came pretty close.

Mushtaq got into the spirit of the evening.

 George thought he and Gurneet were stopping at Scott's house for a dinner meeting, but was surprised to find us all there.

The dazzling Dilmeet had the special birthday cake.  Now this was cake number 3!

The candle was quite amazing.  It flamed up, opened out like a lotus flower and then played music.

Angry bird, Gurneet, had done it again.  Amid all the preparation for the busy weeks ahead, he and his staff had managed this surprise party.

They presented George with a boxful of very useful gifts including a stand for his glasses, sudoku toilet paper, a credit card/pen drive and a double ended thermos bottle.

I went to one of my favourite shops, Fabindia, to get him some suitable clothing for Diwali.

Adi, Dilmeet, Jeevika and Simlee

along with Adi (how did he get in yet another photo?) and Mushtaq...

along with Adam, Kathryn and Stacy

 enjoyed an evening with Scott.

To top it off, our Chandigarh family was treated to a delicious meal prepared by Scott's chef and served by his very gracious Deepak.

Thank you Scott, the UFV Team and all the students for making this a truly memorable birthday for George!

I'm thinking of coming back here for mine!

Tidbits from A Broad.........

"Good moo-rning," said the cow as we made our way to the park for our morning jog.

This was a quiet day in Chandigarh.  It was another holiday except for the staff at UFV.  They were busy preparing for the many important visitors and important events that are upcoming.

My favourite photo subject!  This lady was happy to pose for a picture as she carried her load down the street.

The two gentlemen on the right had to stop us on our second or third loop around Terraced Garden to settle a debate they were having.  How old are we?  The fellow in the centre was pleased with himself.  He had guessed George's age exactly--well, only until tomorrow!

The gentleman on the left happened to be walking by, and when he saw that a photo was being taken, he quickly jumped in.

This didn't happen at the park but in a parking lot a few days ago.  Gurneet demonstrated what you do if, in a crowded parking lot, someone parks behind you and blocks you in.  You just push their car out of the way!  Considerate drivers leave their cars in neutral to make this possible.

A Birthday, An Earthquake in BC and A Visit to the Khalsa Heritage Centre

First, Happy Birthday to my brother, Bruce, in Victoria, BC!  I don't think his event caused the 7.7 magnitude earthquake off the coast of British Columbia, but that event is a big reminder to those of us who live on the west coast of Canada.

Back here in India, we had another interesting day.

The Anand family invited us to join them for the 80 km journey north to Anandpur Sahib and a visit to the Khalsa Heritage Centre.

Along the route, we stopped at a Gurdwara that is visited by many Sikh travellers.

(Gurneet, Ninni, Satbir and Ishpreet)

Anandpur Sahib is important in the Sikh faith.  It is here that in 1699, the tenth Guru, Gobind Singh, initiated the Khalsa, the nation of Sikhs, and began the modern Sikh faith.

This beautiful Gurdwara sits atop a hill overlooking the small village of about 13,000 people.

It is visited by many Sikhs and is considered to be a very holy place.

The wall is inscribed with the names of the first Khalsa members.

I believe the Gurdwara and surrounding buildings were built as a fort to protect the Sikhs.  This is one of five Gurdwaras in India which hold special significance, the Golden Temple in Amritsar being another.  It is a goal of many Sikhs to visit all five.

We joined the Sikh faithful inside to listen to music and readings.

It was another beautiful sunny day in the Punjab!

The boys are always willing to pose for a photo.

Mom and Dad Anand have raised two very fine sons, and family outings like this are important in their lives.  We were pleased to be a part of this one.

A portrait of Guru Gobind Singh overlooks the Langar (and the big pot of dal) where we joined hundreds of people for lunch.  

George is contemplating how he will eat the dal with his roti without dropping any on his trousers.

 From the Gurdwara we could see our next stop, the modern buildings housing the Khalsa Heritage Centre.  The project was designed by Moshe Safdie, an Israeli/Canadian Architect, and the unique shapes are representative of the Himalaya Mountains.

The centre took twelve years to complete and  was opened just one year ago.

 Photography is not allowed within the walls.  The displays are beautiful and very unique.  They depict the 500 year history of the Sikh religion, the 300 year history of the Khalsa, and the daily life of people in the Punjab.

This is done through three dimensional murals that are several storeys high and are viewed from a circular ramp, as well as paintings and very intricate embroidery work on fabric.

As you can see, the sun was setting before we finished exploring this amazing facility.