A return visit, 4 decades later
After visiting India as a 16-year-old exchange student, JoRenee Motko never expected to return.
That's why the retired teacher calls her recent visit “a 43-year old dream come true.”
“It was a thrill to be there with my friends and family,” said Motko, who first visited India in 1968 through the American Field Service intercultural program.
Her most recent trip ran from Dec. 30 to Jan. 8.
The trip celebrated the marriage of Motko's nephew, Sean Tackett, to Supriya Munshaw, whose family hosted Motko and 11 other American guests for three wedding receptions.
Indian weddings are bright, lavish affairs that typically last several days.
December and January are traditional wedding months in India, said Carter Tackett of Gibsonia, Motko's brother and the father of the groom.
“Those are the months that aren't extremely warm,” Tackett said, adding temperatures were in the 70s or 80s. “In the summertime, in the city where (Munshaw) is from, it's not unusual for it to be in excess of 100 degrees.”
Tackett and Munshaw were married May 22 in Pittsburgh and reside in Baltimore, but Munshaw's family is based in Ahmedabad, India.
Because the couple was already married, the bride's family chose to host the receptions.
“India is one of the unique places to visit,” said Munshaw, who enjoyed sharing her hometown with her husband's family. “The history is rich, the people are warm, the food is spicy and the culture is colorful.”
The 15-hour flight from Chicago to Delhi went smoothly, but Motko ran into problems before the domestic flight from Delhi to Mumbai.Her boarding pass mistakenly listed her first name as Jo Ann instead of JoRenee, and thus didn't match the correct name printed on her other documents.“They really were not going to put me on the airplane,” Motko said. “I was really nervous and apprehensive.”Her brother, Jim Tackett, spent several hours talking to supervisors and the airline eventually conceded, allowing Motko to board the 5 a.m. flight in the nick of time.After landing in Mumbai, the language barrier posed another problem.They planned to give the driver written information, but differences in the English and Hindi alphabets rendered that idea useless.Unable to communicate, the drivers tried to unload Motko's party first at a hospital and then a swim club.The group had to stop someone on the street to translate their requests from English to Hindi, Motko said.After two hours, the travelers arrived at their planned destination, a condominium where they'd spend one night before flying to Ahmadabad.In Mumbai, the travelers were hosted by some of Munshaw's relatives.The next day, the group went through tight security to have lunch at the luxurious Taj Mahal Hotel, which reopened in August after sustaining damage during the 2008 terrorist attacks on Mumbai.In addition to Indian fare, the menu included English food like fish and chips, Motko said, which is typically available only at large hotels or train stations.They next took a guided tour of Dharavi, Mumbai, one of the world's largest slums with between 600,000 and one million inhabitants living in abject poverty.“It is a dichotomy,” Carter Tackett said. “Some places are spectacular, some places are just destitute.”No photography was permitted inside and vendors sold picture postcards to benefit the charity Reality Gives, Motko said.“I really wasn't sure if I wanted to do that tour, but how else would you have an understanding of what the country was like?” Motko said.Since her 1968 trip, the plight of lower-caste people has not much improved, she said.“I was a little saddened to see that more progress hadn't been made,” Motko admitted.
The next day, the group flew to Ahmedabad and met Munshaw's parents at the airport.“The best part about hosting them in Ahmedabad was that they got to meet my family and friends and got a glimpse of where I grew up and what my life is like when I go back to India every year,” Munshaw said.The families had been acquainted before when about 44 of Munshaw's relatives visited the United States last year for the wedding.“When they came here for the wedding, my brother took care of them,” Motko said.The travelers headed to a brand-new Marriott Hotel, where beautiful custom-made Indian clothing was laid out upon their beds.Munshaw's family gifted the traditional clothing to their American guests, Motko said.The family also provided them with cell phones programmed with each other's numbers and the numbers of local relatives, just in case.“The details were just amazing,” Motko said.The bride's family also arranged optional activities for the American visitors, including a tour of the Calico Textile Museum.One of Ahmedabad's most popular tourist attractions, the museum's collection of fabrics illustrates more than five centuries of India's textile industry.Next, they visited Munshaw's parents for tea before returning to the hotel, where they prepared for the first of the three receptions.More than 150 guests were invited to a relative's country house for a cocktail party, which included laser lights and rhythmic Hindi music, Motko said.The guests were familiar with the mix of Hindi and American music, Motko said.“We danced their dances,” Motko said. “They danced our dances when they were here.”The next day, the group toured Gandhi Ashram, a site honoring Mahatma Gandhi that has been made a national monument, before having lunch at the home of the bride's aunt and uncle.“It was out in their beautiful, lovely grounds,” she said, adding that it's customary for extended family to be included in this way.They returned to the hotel, where the American guests dressed in the Indian clothing given to them by their hosts, who even provided the women with a servant to wrap them into their bright, colorful saris. The men wore simple sandals, pants and kirtas — long, loose tunics in a rainbow of jewel tones.That evening, the second reception was attended by 350 guests in the courtyard of Hutheesing Haveli, a restored palace.“It was enormous, it was very ornate,” she said. “It was kind of like sitting in a king's castle.”Henna artists drew complex temporary designs on the hands of female guests while colorfully-costumed dancers performed a Gujarati native dance, bending sideways and making sweeping movements, before leading the Americans to the dance floor.“We didn't know they were going to bring us out,” Motko said. “They came over and grabbed all of the Americans and we danced along with them.”
The next morning, they embarked on a walking tour, visiting the Hutheesing Temple, several Hindu temples and Muslim mosques.“We just walked along the Indian population,” she said. “They were not slums, but they were very rundown, primitive homes.”Motko said there were dogs, cattle, buffalo and camels running loose on the streets. She also noticed people filling buckets of water at shared faucets, noting that the government only turns on the water for two hours daily.“It's a whole different culture, a whole different world,” she said.That day, another of the bride's uncles invited everyone to his farmhouse for lunch.Considerate of his American guests, he brought in several cooks to prepare Italian food like ravioli and pizza, in addition to Indian cuisine.The third and final reception was held that night with 800 guests descending upon the bride's uncle's home.“At the reception, they greeted each of the 800 people who came in,” said Motko, noting that the bride's mother welcomed every guest by name.Though many of the guests wore American clothing, Motko donned a blue sari she received about two years ago at Christmas from Tackett and Munshaw.“I said to them, ‘I'll wear this on your wedding day!'” said Motko.The next day, the Americans returned to Delhi to visit the Taj Mahal.The Taj Mahal was completed around 1653 by emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his wife, who died in childbirth.One of the most recognized buildings worldwide, Motko said, it serves as a symbol of eternal love.The next day, a guide showed them the Red Fort, a 17th century complex used by the British military until India's independence.They also visited the Lotus Temple, a Bahá'í House of Worship open to all regardless of religion.Before returning home, the travelers went around the table at the airport and shared their favorite memories of the trip.“The most memorable for me was when we touched down in the country,” Motko said. “I never thought I'd be there again.”
Sharing her snapshots is JoRenee Motko.A retired schoolteacher, Motko taught second grade in the South Butler School District.She lives in Butler Township with her husband David, also a retired teacher.Joining Motko were her brother Carter Tackett and his wife Connie of Gibsonia and their son Justin, her brother Jim Tackett and his wife Penny of Chicago, and family friends John and Carla Patarini of Moon Township and their niece, Kaitlyn Wetzel of Saxonburg and John and Charlene Friel of Wexford and their son John Patrick.Motko traveled to India to celebrate the marriage of her nephew, Sean Tackett, son of Carter and Connie Tackett.
