Buddha and a Bailiff

I must remember every day how lucky we are to be together as a family.  Anjali is so full of excitement and joy that her parents came to get her and she is so pleased to be with us every moment, and we are so lucky to have this precious child choose us to be her parents.  We will get through this and get home...we will.

We visited Bodh Gaya on the weekend before our September 21st court date and I am so glad we did.  There were so many lovely temples and having the opportunity to sit under the bodhi tree was far more special than I imagined it would be.  The two and a half hour train ride wasn't as pleasant as we had hoped.  It was crowded and the windows were small and unfortunately we weren't next to one, but it was quick.  Anjali enjoyed the trip, but it didn't hold quite the excitement of going on an airplane.  We then took a 35 minute tuk tuk ride from Gaya to Bodh Gaya which was pleasant once we got out of the town of Gaya.

We stayed at the Tara Guesthouse which was a few minutes outside of Gaya.  The guesthouse is run by a really sweet family and proceeds from the guesthouse support a school for children in the village.  There were several little children including another Anjali who was about 5 years old.  Although, the children wanted to play with Anjali, she still didn't feel ready to play with the children.  Exploring all the temples, though was something she really enjoyed.  Running around in the entrance ways up to the temples was fun for her, but once she took her juttas off and entered a temple she respected the silence and reverence of each one.   She definitely knew who buddha was and even knelt down and prayed at the Japanese Temple.  There isn't much else to Bodh Gaya besides temples, monasteries and places for people to stay and eat..and of course, the 80 foot Buddha.  My favorite temples were the Royal Bhutanese temple and Karma temple.  Both had incredible, intricately painted colorful walls.  The most popular time to visit is from November to April. It was the low season and surprisingly hot.   Many of the restaurants were closed.  We stuck to an Asian theme as a break from Indian food and because Anjali is simply crazy for chow mein and fried rice.  We ate at an amazing Thai food restaurant called Siam Thai on Friday evening which was the highlight (some of the best thai food I have ever tasted), had fried rice at a Japanese joint called Fujira for lunch Saturday and then had momos (tibetan dumplings), chow mein and egg rolls at another restaurant on Saturday evening.  We also got to go for brunch on Sunday before we headed out at Hari Om's cafe.  I had really yummy banana honey pancakes and Anjali and Adam had omelets, plus we had delightful fresh sweet lime juice and coffee! 

The amazing part about our visit was the Mahabodi Temple and the bodhi tree.  This is the spot where  buddha attained enlightenment and it is such a peaceful, beautiful place.  We first visited Saturday afternoon.  No cell phones were allowed inside the temple grounds, which are our cameras as well, so no pictures, but it was really unforgettable.  One of the most spiritual places I have ever been.  It is clear that people from all over the world come here to try and find their own enlightenment.  Different rituals and chants were being performed by monks.  Inside the temple is a beautiful blue-haired Buddha with a shiny gold floral gown that is captivating.  You have to walk around to the back side to see the bodhi tree which is supposedly the 7th generation from the original. It is a special tree.  Wider than it is tall, the tree seems both seductive and wise.  You can't help but take a seat underneath its wide reach and soak up it's essence.  Adam, Anjali and I sat close to the base for a while.  After a few minutes, I picked up Anjali, in search of  a fallen leaf.  I walked around to the other side of the tree and then a gust of wind picked up and the leaves rustled.  A single leaf floated down next to the donation box.  I looked around to see if anyone else was going to lay claim to it and then walked over and picked it up, so pleased to find this auspicious sign for our family.  We moved a little further out from the trunk of the tree and sat for close to a half an hour.  We decided to return early the following morning.  In the morning when it was cooler we were able to walk around the entire perimeter of the temple grounds.  The north side contains a long row of prayer wheels and Anjali enjoyed making them all spin.  We then settled underneath the bodhi tree and enjoyed some chanting done by an elderly man and woman, sitting separately, but chanting in unison and watched a school group perform various rituals as they went through an early morning service.

Getting back to Patna was easy and I wondered why we hadn't gotten there sooner.  It put us in a good state of mind for our next court date that I really believed would be our last.  Well, I am sad to report it was not.  We got there with plenty of time to spare, everyone was there who we thought was supposed to be there.  We also had a friend come to help us make sense of what was going on and give us his take on the proceedings.  The proceedings lasted all of 10 minutes.  They had folks from Nalanda testify, and asked Sister Meera if she had any objections to the adoption.  We were also asked to stand up and state our names.  From all accounts, the judge seems to have no objections to the adoption, but the bailiff was another story.  I am not quite sure if bailiff is the best word, but that is what our friend calls him.  He is the clerk that sits underneath the judge.  He is responsible for handling all of the files, scheduling hearings, marking all documents as exhibits, and preparing the court order which is the most important document we need from him.  Apparently, he dictates the pace of hearings and it was clear that he did not have time on this day to hear us out.  We were not allowed to testify nor was Sister Meera.  He said that would have to be put off until the next hearing.  When the judge asked how long the court order would take for him to prepare if he approved the case today, Adam was asked when he needed to go back to the U.S. Adam stated October 15th and the bailiff remarked that he had better extend his stay.  And that's where we stand. We left feeling bewildered, defeated, and in utter disbelief.  Our advocate has again promised that the next hearing will be our last.  Adam was visibly upset at the end of the proceeding and demanded to know how long this was going to take.  Then the senior advocate said with a chuckle and a look that said be patient, "You are getting a daughter."  And as much as that comment made us feel really small and I felt so angry at that moment, he is right.  We are getting a daughter.  We have a daughter.  She is ours and we are hers and that's all that really matters.  We will continue to fight to pull this case through, and it will happen...it will.

We followed up our court hearing with a visit with another advocate and also a visit to the SARA office.  Our caseworker emailed CARA with our description of what is taking place and asked that they intervene by calling our advocate to have him make the court aware of the CARA guidelines and specifically the clause that states the case should be disposed within 2 months and asked that the Bailiff be provided with examples of court orders.  And that's all we can do...we will see what the next hearing brings.