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Ceremony is very important in India. The only comparision I can think of in America might be a roast ceremony --or a
funeral! It was touching and overwhelming to be the focus of such attention. I tried to describe it below.
Today I was officially welcomed to the United Missionary Girls High School in Kolkata, India. The Mistress of Ceremony
was Mrs. Nandi's friend, Tapasi Biswas, head of the English Department. Hundreds of girls sat in even rows on the floor of
the meeting room, the size of a small chapel. The teachers sat in the back of the room on chairs and the principal, Mrs. Chakrabarty
and I sat on the wooden stage. The entire group sang hymns for about 10 minutes, a former student of the school accompanied
on the piano. Then a small child placed lovely garland of red roses and white tube roses around my neck. I had read that I
should remove them as a gesture of appreciation but humility and I did. I was then presented a flower sculpture of bamboo,
palm leaves and yellow carnations, followed by a combination red and yellow flowers collected by the school's esteemed
gardener. A red and green stole was places on my shoulders and I was given a box of traditional Indian sweets and two handmade
cards-- one from the teachers with a beautifully caligraphied welcome and one from the Grade 11 girls and one from the teachers.
Speeches were made and portions of the introductory letter written by my principal Mrs. Salisbury were read aloud. Mrs.
Chakrabarty and I then joined the teachers at the back of the Room as the performances began. These included singing, poetry
recitations and dances by girls dressed in traditional Indian costume. It was beautiful.
At the
conclusion of the performance Mrs. Chakrabarty and I were asked to speak. (I was glad I had traveled to Japan and had an idea
that this might happen!) Mrs. Chakrabarty spoke warmly in English and Bengali, then all eyes were on me. None of you
would be surprised that I had a hard time talking for a few minutes. Then I presented a book to the school and read it aloud.
It lyrically spoke about the universal gentleness, strength and talent of girls. I felt the words fit the situation well.
I was moved and delightfully entertained by the warm, friendly welcome.
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