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Back in Pune after 3 weeks of travelling, it was such a great feeling! In a way it felt like coming home. Sangam was so quite, only 5 or 6 people still there. But it didn't matter and we were happy to be there for what was going to be only a few days but turned into nearly 2 weeks. Unfortuently we all got sick, don't know if it was the water somewhere or some food or just exhaustion but we all went to the drs and Liv to hospital so our plans to go onto Mumbai changed. In a way it was nice to be able to stay at Sangam longer and I'm so glad that everyone there was able to look after us instead or be in some tiny hotel room. Anyway we all got better so no need to worry!!
Aside from that we had a great time and still managed to do some of the stuff we had wanted to. After breakfast we spent the morning chilling in the air-con!! Then went shopping and brought stuff with money donnated by Mum's work for Deep Griha. It was really fun and we brought toys, stationary and soap for the creches and classes.
That evening we went to Hard Rock Cafe for dinner and the food was awesome! There was just so much, so the roller skating waiter had to parcel it! On the way back we were walking down the road and in this huge events venue (car park with massive tent thing in) we could hear music and see hundreds of women dressed in beautiful saris. Thinking it was a wedding reception wewandered across the road to get a better look. One of the geusts saw us and invited us in. It was the father of the husband the ceromany was for. It wasn't however a wedding. In India when you have your first child (and any others if you can afford the party) a huge celebration is held at the 7 month stage. All the family are invited and the women all give the mother to be saris. Seriously she cleaned up!! There were sacks full of gifts. The thought behind this is that babies sick all down saris and ruin them and also since they don't wear nappies women need plenty of changes of clothes so they get loads of gifts at once 'to last them a lifetime'!
Anyway we were invited into the ceromany and treated as honoured geusts!! They insisted that we eat although we were already full to bursting but the food was incredible and the family was lovely. We stayed for hours talking and taking photos with everyone. I felt bad because I felt like we were stealing the couples thunder a bit, but they didn't mind at all. After a long night we left them to continue their celebrations as we headed back to Sangam. Even though we had felt completly out of place in our scruffy backpacker clothes with heaps of plastic bags full of toys that everyone was amazed to hear weren't for English children but Indian. We all felt incredibly honoured and lucky to have been able to help them celebrate their baby to be! It really was a special night. What a welcome back to Pune!
On our last day as a 3 it was time to return to work for the morning. Elly and I went back to deep Griha whilst Liv went to her creche. Going back was amazing and I wish I could have stayed for longer. We turned up as a suprise and it was so good to see everyone. They were like "what are you doing back here?" and "it's so good to see you!" They loved the donation we had brought them and I would have loved to help give it out but time was not on our side. I think the moment i'll carry with me most from that day was the look on Ganir and the other creche kids faces as the turned around and saw me. Their eyes lit up and they all had the hugest grins on their faces as they ran over to hug me! It brought tears to my eyes as they were all like "Charlotte Dee Dee" I knew that they'd remember me but I thought it would be as 'the 2 purple girls that did really fun stuff with us' but no they remembered our names and asked if we were staying and where was Adri. It was so lovely and even though I was only there for an hour or so it meant the world to me. Upstairs Prajelli heard all the noise and came down to see us. It was great as i'd not got the chance to say goodbye to her properly. She was so happy and told us how much her family had missed us, even her Mum who had only met us a few times. She took us upstairs to the summer kids club to meet the others. We did not know them and Prajelli was super happy to introduce me as "Charlotte my friend who used to work here."
It came to time to say goodbye and of course I was sad to leave but so glad that i'd been able to visit with promises to visit again in the future. :)
Our next stop was lunch at Malaka street with the girls. We had a lovely meal and it was great to have a final thing before we went back to Sangam and it was time for Liv to leave. That afternoon flew by as we knew it would. Final trips to the post office had been made and bags were finally packed. After finding some great torches and tolietaries from the community bizarre it was time to say goodbye. It goes without saying that it was really sad and after we'd waved Liv off it was wierd being in Inida without her! The next morning it was my time to leave and unlike leaving the first time to travel, this time I cried!! As everyone started to sing 'Go well and safely' tears welled up in my eyes and i cried the whole journey in the rickshaw to the airport. I pulled myself together until I got on the plane, where I welled up again. I think maybe the people next to me thought I was scarred of flying but as I read the beautiful words that my friends had wrote in my sangam book I couldn't help but smile and cry with tears of joy at the wonderful memories I had.
That said I was also excited to be flying to Varanasi to meet Bron before I went onto Delhi and then Mumbai.
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