Adventures!

See…I thought I had done it…successfully integrated myself into life here so that I can carry on my days of working, eating, and sleeping.  I have learned some of language, eat properly with my hands, and even throw on a kurta now and then (traditional Indian shirts).  But how fooled I was.  It turns out that a white, tall American in the middle of rural India can attract some attention.

Me with some of my coworkers in Bokarwadi, a village of about 
500 people.  We're standing at the base of a dam which floods 
hundreds of acres of land during the winter months.

For the last two weeks, the NGO has been running a Gender Equity Campaign in the next “county” over.  Through 25 villages, a select group of staff and outside support had devised a skit, various songs, and discussions for the villages in order to promote the place of women in society.  For communities that don’t get much entertainment, and whom mostly cannot afford televisions (although camera phones seemed to be extremely prevalent), a night of activities can bring out a fair number of people.  And the campaign was dealing with some really important issues: child marriages (encouraging marriage after the age of 18), sex-selective abortion (currently illegal in India but widely practiced), and domestic violence.

A rally through the streets of Akkolkot during the final day of the 
Campaign.  About 150 people were a part of the rally at this point.

For a few days, I went along with the campaign to help out/video tape the work.  The size of the villages varied, anywhere from 500 people to 2500.  But the reactions were…similar. Turns out, an American showing up can be pretty exciting for…well…almost everyone in the community.  If I had a nickel for the number of times my hand was shaken, autograph asked for, or tea drank I would be a very rich man right now.  For me, it was amazing to be taken in by these communities and really shown the heart of Indian hospitality.  For my coworkers, I could tell that some were frustrated that my presence sometimes caused excess disruption. 

But overall, I came away with an deep appreciation for the work that my NGO is doing.  In the US we often take for granted that people can choose whom they want to marry and that cases of domestic violence can be swiftly reported.  In India (and especially in rural communities), options aren’t as easy for women. I can’t speak from experience, but from what I’ve seen husbands and mother-in-laws can be brutal to a woman (upon marriage, a woman goes to live with her husband’s family).  Domestic violence is common, and cases are usually resolved in having the family come back together rather than through options of divorce or criminal proceedings.  Through this campaign, my NGO was not only combating outdated social norms, but helping to empower women in all aspects of village life.

The women audience from one village watching the program.

So, my NGO would enter a villages and hold rallies through the streets with children shouting slogans like “Eksaman Eksaman Moulga Moulgi Eksamam” (Equality Equality Boys and Girls are Equal).  This would then be followed by a public performance of songs and speeches about the importance of women.  Finally, a serious and humorous skit to show the reality of the situation.  They then brought in the community by holding a discussion with everyone present about what the village can realistically do to encourage equality between men and women. People spoke up, both men and women, emphatically declaring that they would stop such practices and work towards are more equal community. I was motivated by the seemingly empowering work of the NGO.  But I was also left questioning: yes this work is great, but what happens when we pack up and leave.  Are there any real changes made in the community?  Will these lessons be taken to heart?  I guess only time will tell.

A children's rally through the streets of Dershegao.

A snapshot of the skit.  At this point the the mother-in-law (in the middle)
 is beating the new bride (on the right) because of unclean plates.

On another note, winter has officially set in.  Precisely on December 1, the weather changed, turning nice, breezy 70/80 degree weather in the day to bone-chilling 50 degree weather at night.  I can definitely tell that the infrastructure here was made for hot summers – that includes the people who bundle up under loads of extra layers during the nights.  So needless to say the one sweatshirt I brought has been getting a lot of use the past few days.

In terms of work, my NGO held a ceremony a few weeks back to culminate an Essay Competition that was held back in September.  The Competition is a part of the Rural Science Center, one aspect of the NGO which provides science education to local schools that lack modern science tools and equipment.  To complement their work, they hold an essay competition every September for grades 7, 9, and 11.  This year, almost 1000 students participated.  The themes for the essays dealt with topics like HIV/AIDS solutions and village health infrastructure.  It was a great ceremony, and it was exciting to see the enthusiasm of the students as they received their awards.

At the awards ceremony.  About 200 students were packed in 
this hall.

Other than work trips, I’ve been able to take another venture away from the village of Andur.  For a weekend, I dared the crossing into another state, Karnataka, which borders Maharashtra to the south.  Destination: Bidar.  A small, quiet town boasting some historic sights and GREAT chicken biryani (I was more than happy to indulge).  The reason, my boss’ son needed to go to his college to grab a transcript.  So I packed my bag and left for an excursion. It was nice to get away, but one little snag: in Karnataka they speak Kannada, a language completely different from Marathi.  So I was again forced to be the out-of-place foreigner.. I think that’s going to be a theme of my time here.  Some activities of the weekend:

Bidar is famous for its local artwork, Bidari.  Objects (including 
plates, figurines, chotchkies, etc.) made of iron ore are burned so 
that they become black.  Then, pure silver is hammered into the 
pliable metal in intricate designs.  The plate above is a work in
 progress.  They even let me, with absolutely no hand-eye 
coordination, give it a try.  But don't worry, I bought a few 
things to bring home.

The Bidar Fort.  Pretty cool.  Built in the 1600s.

Posing in front of a Gurdwara, a temple for people of 
the Sikh community (the community that typically 
wears turbans - hence why my head is covered).  
This is the 3rd holiest Gurdwara of the Sikh faith.

In case some of you forgot (or didn’t know), it was Hannukah this past week.  Fortunately, I had a staff of dedicated individuals to help me light the candles and say the prayers each of the 8 nights.  I transliterated the prayers from Hebrew into Marathi (actually a pretty difficult task) so that the students of the Nursing School who live here could follow along.  They were extremely interested in learning about my heritage, making me tremendously proud of being able to share a piece of my culture with them.  They had never heard of Jewish people or Judaism, so I was able to really start from the beginning.  I likened Hannukah, the Jewish festival of lights, to Diwali (celebrated at the beginning of November), the Hindi festival of lights. 

Celebrating the second night.  As you can tell, people were really excited. 

By the eighth night, we had a crowd going.  I'm really 
happy that I got to share a piece of my culture with 
everyone.

Coincidentally enough, the last day of Hannukah marked the beginning of a Hindi holiday (wait, another holiday…yep).  This one is for the goddess Lakshmi, goddess of wealth.  A pooja (prayer) is said on the evening of December 8 and then another pooja is said 8 days later – are you seeing the same similarities I am?  So, as my holiday ended, theirs began.  It’s like it was meant to be!

One student giving pooja to Lakshmi.  After this photo, 
EVERYONE wanted a picture giving pooja.  
This turned into a 30 minute photo shoot.  

A picture with some colleagues during the 
above said photo shoot.  Apparently no one
 else got the cue to smile...

Well, I’m off.  The great Rahul Barwani and Joshua Brown are coming to join me in India for a fantastic adventure!  I bid you adieu and hope that I come back in one piece (you never know these two). 

 Andrew

Did I forget to mention...puppies! (Ok, they kind of look like rats, 
but they're adorable in person.) Yes, those dogs which continue
 to incessantly bark at 6:30am every morning have given birth
 to a  set of 6 puppies.  These guys are about 4 days old -- haven't 
even opened their eyes yet.

The Many Faces of India

Well, as the title suggests and as can easily be assumed, India is not a one-sided coin and presents a mirage of different experiences, places, peoples, cultures....you name it.  However, in the past few weeks I have been witness to some of the starkest extremes in Indian living: megacity and rural village.  I was able to do some traveling give the Diwali holiday (read below), and conducted some field visits for work in the visits around my NGO.   The differences between the two showed me how people living in the same country can lead completely different lives.

November 5 marked Diwalli – basically the most awesome celebration in all of India.  I’m not sure of the religious significance (and neither are most of my companions here), but it is the Indian New Year and the “Festival of Lights”.  For me, that means 5 glorious days off from work and the opportunity to explore!  So, I packed my bags and made my way to Pune and Mumbai, crashing at the apartments of my fellow “fellows” with almost the entire group of us meeting up in Mumbai to celebrate the holiday.

Pune

I got to spend 3 days in this city, and boy was it a treat!  Pune is definitely a middle-class city that lives up to its reputation as a cosmopolitan hub.  The streets are wide and clean, the people are generally metropolitan, and the culture is very lively and upbeat.  And, not to mention, there were WHITE PEOPLE.  Now, I can’t express to you my surprise when I realized that I was in fact NOT the only foreigner in India.  I think my seclusion in the depths of Anadur had caused me to forget this little fact.  To tell you the truth I couldn’t help but stare.  It took a few days for the awe to wear off....

Pune isn’t the most historic of places, but had a good selection of restaurants, tree-lined college streets, and coffee shops.  Plus I got to spend time with three fellows whom I hadn't seen in over a month.  It was a nice, relaxing break.  To tell my story through pictures…

A view of the Pune skyline.  Notice anything different?  
No, because it looks like any other American city.

Akash Devies: These are sold on the streets during 
Diwali season.  They're hung outside the home 
with a lit candle inside.  Thus, the Festival of Lights!

Shaniwar Wada, the one historic place in India. 
This is a small fort in the middle of the city 
dating back to the 1600s.  We attempted
 to get in at the Indian cost (5 Rupees as opposed to
 100 for foreigners), but were quickly spotted 
as...well...not Indian.  So, we had to shell out 
the 100 Rupees.  What a shame....

The three other "fellows" that met up 
in Pune.  Seth, on the left, lives in Pune and we 
are so grateful for him allowing us to crash his floor!

Mumbai

Well, let’s get it straight.  This is a BIG city, and the description of my 2 day visit will not do it justice. As the second most populous city in the world with over 14 million people, Mumbai is a collage of globalization, poverty, and consumerism.  Mumbai is home to the third largest slum in the world, as well as upper-class neighborhoods that could rival any Bel Air has to offer.  Our friends lived closer to the latter of those options, which is also were we spend the majority of our weekend.  But the squatter slums are easily seen from the local train (the heartbeat of the city).  However, I was there when our President was there! We did lunch….

But let me just explain to you.  I arrived in Mumbai on November 5, the day of Diwali.  The favorite pastime of all Indians during this holiday is to: light fireworks.  Not the harmless sparklers that we think of, but the explosives that one could illegally buy in Chinatown: firepower that sounds like bombs, huge fireworks Independence Day-style, bottle rockets, etc.  And not to mention that these are lit at all hours of the day.  Meaning that explosions could be heard at 2 am, 4 am, 6 am…. I hope you get my point.  But there was an upside: sitting on the roof of a friend-of-a-friend’s apartment at night and being able to watch the whole city light up.  It was beautiful.

Some kids preparing to set off a firework... 
This one in particular made my ears ring for about 
3 minutes afterwards.

Chowpatty Beach.  A family friendly place to 
gather at sunset.  Not necessarily safe for swimming (sewage can 
be seen spilling into it), but pretty nonetheless.

A street in Bandera, an upper-class neighborhood
 in Mumbai.  Further up this street is the...BAGEL 
shop (no, i didn't type that wrong)!  Yes, there is a bagel
 shop in India.  Unfortunately I don't have pictures (of the shop
 or the 2 bagels that I ate).  Next time...

The train station at Bandera.  The local trains are the heart of this 
huge city.   Think of it like the New York City subway, but only much 
more intense.  The train passes through some of the largest 
slums of the city, giving me some great perspective of where I am.

Yep, a tribute to Mr. Obama.  I think someone might have forgot
 to check their grammar though....

WADA PAV! (also known as the Bombay Hamburger...no meat though). 
The most popular snack food in Mumbai.   It is basically a ball of 
mashed potatoes that is deep fried and served in a bun 
with tamarind sauce.  Yum Yum!

Field Visits

Now let me provide some contrast to the above experience.  This week, as a part of my work, I had the opportunity to do some field visits to seven surrounding villages.  The main reason for my visit was to analyze the work of the Women’s Microfinance Groups.  (for those of you unfamiliar, a microfinance group is a small group of 10-15 ...usually women... who save small amounts of money each month and are able to take out loans at low interest rates.  In our case, 2% interest).  So I was able to sit in small groups to discuss their work, and the efforts they had made to help empower women within the village to tackle larger issues in their communities.  What I didn’t expect was the warmth and openness with which these women received me – candidly telling me their stories, worries, and actions in order to help me better understand their plight.  It was….eye-opening.  I heard stories of domestic violence, one in which a woman braved her abusive husband who would lock in her room for days on end without food and beat her for no apparent reason – other than the alcohol he spent all the family’s money on.  Or the discussion among women of one village who were complaining about the deleterious effects of alcohol (and it’s subsequent abuse) and their plan to rally the rest of the women in the village to stop the illegal sale of it in the village. I was amazed by the confidence these women had in tackling the issues of the community.  And I hear it’s partly thanks to the work that my NGO has been doing here over the past 10-20 years.  Apparently before, these women would be timid to speak in front of (male) visitors, and were unwilling/unable to discuss village issues on a group level.  But now, not only are they confident, but they are ready to take a stand for these issues and help transform the lives of themselves and futures for their children.  Needless to say, I left extremely impressed.

Speaking with the women of a microfinance gorup in Hipparga, 
population 4000.  

The central "square" of Hipparga.  Ahead on the right is the primary 
school for the village.

Representatives of a microfinance group in Bhatagali.  We're sitting 
in the courtyard of one woman's home.  The floor is made of a special 
material which helps to conserve heat: dried cow dung.

A women's microfinace group in Keshegaon, population 6000.

Food
And of course I know you're interested in what I'm eating.  Thus, I was able to snap a picture of a typical meal.  Here we have, staring counter-clockwise from the top: sambar (liquid lentils with spices), green bell peppers cooked with chillis, chappatti, and rice.  This type of meal is served almost every lunch and dinner with only the vegetable changing.  For some reason, I still haven't tired of it....

Directions on how to eat: using ONLY your right hand, you tear a piece of the chappatti and scoop up some of the vegetable.  If you feel like it, you may dip in the sambar (in the bowl).  Once chappatti and vegetable are finished, you pour the remaining sambar over the rice and eat, again ONLY with your right hand.

Hope you all enjoyed!  Have a fantastic Thanksgiving!

Andrew

A little bit of culture...

So, I thought that this blog around I’d give you all some useful tips about living India.  I’m going to start with the basics – not because I don’t think you can’t handle it all – but because I don’t want to scare you off too quickly.

Tip 1: Crossing the Street

Now, I want you to imagine that old arcade game Frogger (the one where a little frog has to jump back and forth between open spaces to get to the other side of the screen) Well, add in a few motorcycles and a cow or two and then you might have an illustration of the streets of India.  I’m not going to lie, the streets here are a bit dangerous.  You have to walk straight into on-coming traffic searching for empty spots between rickshaws, motorcycles, and cars to continue your journey to the other side – all the while being careful not to run into a cow, a herd of cows, or some cow dung (I’ve had a few missteps with the last of those).  Instead of fearing for my life, I try to just take a deep breath and jump into the action.  Fortunately, rural streets are not this terrible and it’s only in cities that you have to deal with this onslaught.

One of the traffic circles in Solapur.   It looks calm right now, 
but you have no idea how fierce it can get.  This picture doesn't 
do justice to the cow population of the city.

Speaking of which, I’d like to add a little description of Solapur, the closest city to where I’m living.  It’s about 40km away from my NGO campus, or about a 1 hour bus ride (more on this later).  Although Solapur is the 3^rd or 4^th largest city in Maharashtra (the state I’m in), I think “rural city” is its best description.  I have heard that this was once a booming, prosperous city with a large textile industry, but given the advent of globalization and cheaper products elsewhere (cough…China…) its economy has dwindled.  With a population of about 1.4 million people, the city is a large collection of universities, restaurants, and shops.  Fortunately for me, it is the home of non-vegetarian food and accessible routes to other large cities throughout India.  I’ve been back and forth for work (we have an office there), and explored the city a bit on weekends. 

Navipeth Street: the main market of Solapur.  This place is 
CROWDED on Sundays (this picture is taken on a Sunday), 
especially because at this time people are preparing
 for Diwali - the Indian New Year on November 5.

I also took a trip to Tuljapur, the “capital” of the “county” that I live in.  I say capital, only because it is that in name only.  Tuljapur is a small city of about 400,000 that is famous for a temple (mandir) that people make pilgrimage to during the holiday of Dasserah (read back to previous post).  People will walk anywhere from 30 to 100 km to this temple during the holiday season.  This temple is for the deity Jaya Bauwani.  Now, I didn’t go for religious reasons, but rather because the nursing students at my NGO were participating in a Polio Eradication Program in Tuljapur giving Polio Immunization to children.  (Quick Note: Polio has a vaccine and has been completely eradicated in the “Western” world.  However, India and many developing countries continue to struggle to universally provide the vaccine and continues to have incidences of the disease – last year 39 cases in India.  The international health community wants Polio gone from the planet).  So, I was able to check out another rural town, another great temple, and another chance for non-veg food.

Some of the nursing students giving out the Polio vaccine at the 
temple.

A view of the temple.  No pictures were allowed inside, 
but this place had everything from vending 
stalls to baths.  It's not only just a place to pray.

Tip 2: Taking the Bus

Now, the form of transportation between Anadur and Solapur is by public bus.  Let me tell you, never has an hour felt so long.  Once the bus pulls up to the station, there is a frantic rush as people run toward the small door.  Pushing and shoving, you make room as the bus empties out and then battle your way inside to find a seat.  Sometimes the bus isn’t that crowded and a seat is easily found.  Other days, a bus that should seat maybe 50 can be packed with anywhere up to 100 people, requiring most people to stand in cramped conditions for anywhere from 30 minutes to 2 hours.  Not the most ideal conditions. Add to this the stress of being stuck between a crying baby and someone who might not have showered recently, and you’ll have not so quite a happy camper by the end of the ride. 

The bus stand in Solapur.  Imagine all these people
 running and pushing (women and children included) 
to get onto the bus.  It's brutal.

But aside from that, I really have been learning a lot here.  I’d love to share every conversation/ tidbit that I’ve learned, but I realize you all have normal lives to get to…so I’ll try to be succinct.  Maybe because the community here at the NGO is more educated, or that the standard in India is much higher, but I’ve found my present company to be very educated about their country.  From state and national politics, to economics and culture, there are very few questions that I can throw at my colleagues without receiving some kind of response.  And there is definitely a sense of national pride, with most answers starting with “In our India…”.  Interesting topics that I’ve been able to discuss are:

1. Relations with China.. definitely on the rocks.  Imagine global powers battling it out.  Not that strong yet, but there are tensions.
2. Cricket – life or death. Either you love it, or you die loving it.  Cricket games can last anywhere from 1 to 5 days depending on the type.  
3. Joint Families: Newly married women move into their husband’s home (who currently and will continue to live in his parent’s home). Now comes the interesting part: the mother-in-law.  This family figure holds a VERY esteemed position in a very patriarchal society and has a ferocious grip over the lives of this couple.  I’ve heard stories: a mother-in-law who after her daughter-in-law gave birth to her first child (a boy) forcing the doctor to sterilize the daughter (without the daughter’s knowledge and consent).  Medical ethics aside, I think this is a step too far.  Who ever though family politics could be so daunting. (For those of you interested, a good book which fictionally looks at this is: The Spaces Between Us by Thrity Umrigar). 

Now, me asking all these questions requires a bit of quid pro quo.  I’ve been asked my fair share in return.  And I do my best to answer questions about American life.  I can get by on most pop-culture and political related questions (the recent election in the US has given me so fodder to talk about).   But there are a few that have really have left me dumbfounded… and I am usually not someone who cannot provide an answer.  Some of the more difficult ones:

1)      What does a mushroom taste like? – Mushrooms aren’t used too much here in rural Maharahstra. Any advice on describing the umami flavor?

2)      How many hectacres of corn are grown in the US?  -- I don’t think these people realize that I have never been to a farm before

3)      How much does 1 kg of ground nuts cost?  -- First, I don’t know.  Second, what’s a ground nut? 

a.       Turns out, through later investigation, a “ground nut” is actually a peanut.  Once I explained that they were asking me about peanuts, a fierce debate ensued in which I was told that no, “peas” were not “nuts” and that they were referring to “ground nuts”.  I tried my best to explain that a “peanut” and a “pea” were different in American English.  I think it may be a lost cause.

The sugarcane farm behind my NGO.  One day a few coworkers 
and I decided to take a walk back here.   Here, a friend is 
grabbing a piece of grown sugarcane.  We later stripped and ate 
the raw sugarcane.  I had a "WTF? moment as I realized 
I really was living in rural India.

The main street of Anadur.  Sorry not the greatest 
picture, but it  was sunset and it was the best I could get.  
More to come.

Auntie: the cook in the mess.  Here she is posing in 
front of Ladu (a sweet eaten year-round), which is 
being made specifically for the upcoming Diwali holiday.

Tip 3: Yes…or No.  The Indian Bobble Head           

I fully blame the Barwani family for not educating me around this bit of Indian culture before arriving in India.  For those of you watching “Outsourced”, you may be familiar with this.  For everyone else, I’ll do my best to explain.  The Indian Bobble Head is a facial gesture to any question that requires a yes/no answer (or anything in between).  Now, it looks like a “no” head nod from side-to-side, but in fact requires a soft “figure 8” movement of the chin.  In effect, it makes one look like their head is similar to that of a bobble head doll.  The meaning of such movements:  Well, I had originally learned that it meant a solid “Yes” (which is confusing given the side-to-side motion similar to our “No”).  However, my time here in Anadur has shown me that this simple head gesture is far more complex.  It can be interpreted to mean anything from a simple “Yes” to an “I Understand” or an Indian “Yes” (which means that I might know the answer, just not exactly to the question you’re asking), to a “Maybe”.  I have not yet seen it mean a solid “No”, but I’m not holding that out as an option.  So, in other words, I have to do my best to interpret this head gesture ON TOP of the whole new language thing.  I guess it never ends.

I think that may be enough cultural immersion for now.  But next update, be prepared.  Diwali is coming November 5 (the Indian version of Christmas/Hanukah) and I have a trip to Pune and Mumbai planned!  Definite excursions ahead.

Andrew

And just in case you forgot how your far-away 
friend looked.  Here's me posing in front of the 
Fort in Solapur.

One Month in....

Welcome Back!

I’ve officially completed my fourth week here in Anadur, India.  And to tell you the truth, I’m loving it.  Now, I can’t say that I don’t miss the conveniences that city life brings – especially one in the US.  But it has been fantastic to get away and become more in tune to life without things I often take for granted: TV, air conditioning, forks...  You know.

I’ve finally gotten settled, got together a bit of a routine, and have started to make this little campus my home.

I'll start you off with a beautiful picture taken from
 the balcony at work.  This looks onto the front "lawn" of my NGO.

My Daily Schedule

-- 6:30am: The natural alarm clock of 3 barking dogs RIGHT outside my window begin.  If only other things in my life could be so constant.  I attempt to fall back asleep.

-- 7:30am: My electronic alarm clock goes off. 

-- 7:45am: I finish hitting the snooze button. 

-- 7:45 – 9:00am: Wake up, throw on some clothes, and run to the hot water tap with my two buckets: one for shower and one for laundry.  Cross my fingers that we have hot water today.

-- 9:00am SHARP: Whether I want to or not, I will get a fierce knocking on my door forcing me to breakfast.  It doesn’t matter that I’m in the middle of a Skype conversation, or need another five minutes to finish my shower, breakfast is currently being served and I need to be there.

Breakfast!  This dish is sushila, a puffed rice dish cooked 
with onions, chilis, peanuts, and turmeric.  Some lime on the side.  

-- 9:30am-ish – 1:00pm: Work.  I say 9:30 ish only because…by the time I get downstairs to the office and people actually start to show up.  What’s the difference, 9:30/10:00.  The Indian working environment is DEFINITELY different from the high-pressure, high-stress American one.  I have never felt so relaxed and at ease (the most stressed I’ve been is when I accidently misplaced my phone).  Some days are more productive than others.  Other days you might find me catching a few ZZZs in a corner chair.

The office!  As you can see, it's crowded at 10:00am.

-- 1:00pm: LUNCH…which I’m usually starving for.  And I have recently discovered probably the most ingenious thing: the afternoon nap.  By 1:30, I am sprawled on my bed, fast asleep for a nice 30 minute snooze.

-- 2:00 – 5:30pm: Let’s finish up this day!  Chit chat with the colleagues, get some work done. All in a day’s work.

-- 5:30pm: TEA TIME. A great afternoon break. 

-- 6:00 – 8:00pm: Relax from the day.  Usually I’ll hang around the campus, go for a walk, grab some personal internet time, or relax with my new friends on the campus.

-- 8:00pm: Dinner.  Same rules for breakfast apply here.  If I’m not at the mess by 8:00pm, someone’s coming for me.

-- 9:00pm: Back to my room, unwind, and get ready for bed.  Many of you have utilized this time to pester me with your Skype calls (actually, keep at it.  It might be the only thing keeping me sane).  I’ll grab a book, get some reading in, and just relax from the day.

-- 11:00 – 12:00am: Put up the mosquito net.  Turn on the electronic mosquito repellant coils.  Take my malaria pills. (Do I sound paranoid yet).  And sleep.

And it all starts over again.  Monday through Saturday, you’ll find me with the above routine.

My work

So I’m sure you are all very interested in learning what I’m actually doing here in India.  Well, I’ve just recently figured that one out myself (whew…) and I’m really looking forward to it.  My task (at least right now): to create a data management system so that my NGO can accurately/reliably track one of its programs.  In layman’s terms: create a monster excel spreadsheet that can store a lot of info.  In professional jargon, create a Management Information System (MIS).  The program I’m currently working on is a health/microfinance program, called “Women’s Empowerment”.  The idea is that women’s microfinance groups within villages can help empower women to better take charge of their health, local governance, domestic violence, etc. 

So, in order to learn more about current MIS systems in place, I traveled to Solapur (the closest city – 40 km away) to shadow coworkers in a project that works in the city’s slums.  The project encourages women’s microfinance groups within the slum to “adopt” pregnant women and ensure that they get proper prenatal and postnatal care.  I have to say, this has been one of the most sobering and fascinating experiences in my life.  Every person I met was happy to see/meet me and proud to show me the work that they had been doing.  Aside from the conditions of their homes or the depth of their bank accounts (which wasn't much), I felt a genuine sense of warmth from the community.  

Now, I want you to forget Slumdog Millionaire.  This isn’t Mumbai. The slums that I went to were not as destitute as the ones you are thinking of.  Many of Mumbai slums are illegal communities that spring up around the city.  Solapur's slums are legal (oxymoronic...I know).  And maybe it was because Solapur isn’t as poor (maybe?) or that I wasn’t taken to those slums specifically.  Most homes were concrete, or were mostly concrete with some corrugated metal roof/walls.  Main features were that: people were poor.  And people were lower caste.  I didn’t realize it, but caste is SUCH a major player here in India.  In one slum, the entire slum community was dalit (or community below the entire caste structure).  Interesting tidbit, they were mostly Buddhist.  Why?  My guess is that back in the 1950s, a very famous Dalit leader Dr. Ambedkar (who actually wrote the Indian Constitution) converted to Buddhism.  This prompted a lot of dalit communities to convert as well, hoping to leave the caste system behind.  Unfortunately, it didn’t work, and a lot of dalits still find themselves poor and excluded from most social/public roles.


I went with coworkers, meeting the contact people within the slums, and doing some home visits to pregnant women and recently delivered mothers.

A "candid" photo with members of the Ragwarda slum in Solapur.  
These women are a part of the local women's microfinance group. 

Grabbing some tea at a community volunteer's house in 
the Municipal Corporation slum before heading off to another 
Bachat Gat, or microfinance meeting.

A microfinance meeting at the Municipal Corporation slum. 
 Here, they are showing me how they explain to pregnant mothers
 about the need for good nutrition during pregnancy.  
As you can see, these meetings become a family affair.

Drinking some tea at the home of a recently delivered 
mother who had been "adopted" by the local microfinance 
group.    In this house, about 4 families live together.  
I think this stop was my 7th cup of tea for the afternoon.  
Each house would offer me a glass of water (which I would politely 
refuse - gotta play safe) and then boil me up some tea.  
I had to accept, otherwise it would have been impolite.

At another slum, a majority of the women generate income 
by making biddis, which are homemade cigarettes.  
A woman can make approximately 80 Rupees a day in such activities, 
approximately $1.60 USD.  Definitely not enough to cover the 
expenses of a home and family.  But this is one of the only 
professions limited to members of the community. 

Language

Well, I can carry on a simple conversation: ask about the village, your farm, questions about your marriage and kids.  I would consider this a HUGE success on my part, especially because I’m not receiving any real formal training in the language.  In the official NGO office, no one speaks fluent English.  So I need to learn Marathi out of necessity.  Fortunately, what I’ve found with Marathi (and I think this runs with Hindi too), is that about 5-10% of words are actually English crossovers (i.e. office, tension, project, etc).  So this makes things A LOT simpler. 

Last week, I went to a monthly meeting in Lohara (a neighboring county) with leaders of women’s microfinance groups of about 15 surrounding villages.  I went with the NGO’s accountant, who does speak English.  The meeting was in a city about 40km away.  However, it took over 2 hours to get there – by way of 2 buses and a stop for tea.  We arrived at the meeting site.  I gave my “Namaste”s around the room and sat on the floor.  During the course of the meeting, I mainly sat aside and watched as women discussed (in Marathi) issues in their villages with regards to local governing bodies, a health insurance scheme run by the NGO, microfinance issues, etc.  The accountant occasionally turned to me and translated so I understood the gist of what was going on.  As the meeting wound to a close and financial matters were being taken care of, the accountant looked at me and said “It’s your turn.”  I looked at him, “For what?”   “To speak.”  I think as punishment for being silent during the meeting, I was forced to speak to the group of 20 women before me…in Marathi.  Well, here I go.

The group of women village leaders during the meeting.  

So now, everyone in the Lohara area knows I come from America, am not married (I use my age as an excuse…but that usually doesn’t fly with most people. Marriage is early here), have an older brother who works in IT (sorry, closest I could get to what you actually do) and is also NOT married (a big shocker here), a father in IT, and a teacher mother who is now retired.  Yes, the Adelman life history has spread all across the Anadur/Lohara region.  And this is actually the course of most conversation I have, so I wouldn’t be surprised if all of Maharashtra knows by now.

And so the trip back to Anadur, I must share, took approximately 3 hours by way of 3 forms of transportation: shared jeep, shared rickshaw, private rickshaw.  Shared vehicles attempt to pack as many living bodies (notice I say living bodies and not people) into one transportation device as possible.  In the shared jeep we took, which should comfortably fit about 10 people, we had squeezed 19 people (4 of them being children), 5 crates of eggs, and a sack of potatoes.  On other vehicles I had seen goats and chickens as well.  I WISH I had a picture to share with you, put seeing as I had one leg out the back of the car and half a butt-cheek on a seat, I wasn’t able to reach my camera.  But I thought the mental picture might be enough.

Holidays

And just in case you were wondering, we’ve just finished celebrating two holidays here in India: Navratri and Dasserha.  Now, Navratri is actually a really really fun holiday filled with huge dance parties late into the night for 9 days straight.  However, it’s celebrated mainly in Gujarat (the state I had my orientation in) and major cities.  So, I wasn’t celebrated out here in rural Anadur. 

We did celebrate Dasserah, which is the same 9 days of Navratri plus one – 10 days total.  Now, I didn’t understand too much of why it’s celebrated, but most/some women fast for the 10 days.  On the 10^th day, everyone exchanges a certain kind of leaf and exchanges a Hindi greeting “Gold and Silver,” meaning our relationship will be like gold and silver (I think).  And on the 10^th day we ate some sweeter than usual food.  Here's a link to the Wikipedia post for more info if you're interested...

A Dassera Pooja, or place for prayer, in the home of a 
community volunteer at Municipal Corporation slum.

And so I’m sure you’ve read enough by now.  So I’ll cut it here.  But thanks for reading!  Some final pictures to leave you with...

I really do see some gorgeous sunsets here.  On my evening walk.

A picturesque view of the sky and farms.

Andrew

I thought I'd leave you with this happy picture.  
Sons of some of the volunteers of the Ragwarda 
slum. On the left, Abizek aged 8 and on the right 
Saheb aged 6.  It was Saheb's birthday!