1/1 New Year Picnic

To celebrate the New Year we all had a picnic today!  About twenty kids pitched in and made kitchardi (?), a daal and lentil soup.  They set up the fire, brought all the water, cut the vegetables and still managed to play soccer;)  As the soup was simmering, Bhola did a little mowing of the grass Indian style which means setting a random fire and letting it just go.  The first time I saw this I was sure there was going to be a massive wild fire.  However, each time the fire stayed surprisingly docile clearing a small piece of the land.  The Indian lawnmower, inexpensive and efficient - who would have known;)? I have some great videos that I will upload in a few weeks.  I was still feeling a little bad and was trying to follow the BRATT (Banana, Rice, Apples, Teas and Toast) regime - I suspect Siddarth kept telling Suman to sneak those raw banana's into my kitchardi but with a little lime it was delicious.  I also found that grated apple, lime, and ginger is wonderful when you need to take care of your tummy!  The night ended chatting with Neera and hearing her stories about teaching teenagers in Delhi.  She likes to treat them as "live bombs" - I love it.  It's pretty amazing to talk to someone who lights up like a child when she talks about a career that she has had for over thirty years - there is hope for me yet;)