Villages and...Redheads

Last week my workshop group (6 other girls) and I whirled around my tiny kitchen to make a delicious taco and tortilla dinner for my host family before we left for the train station, which is near my house. I actually slept pretty well in my bunk on the train! We arrived in Udaipur, the City of Lakes, the next morning. We freshened up and headed out in jeeps to Oghna, a small village about two hours away. We stayed with an incredible NGO that has organized and led so many initiatives- We visited a farm that is making organic compost, a lemon tree orchard, a women's Self-Help Group, a rehabilitation village for tribal people who were pushed from the forest, a female member of the local Panchayati Raj (local government), a health clinic, watershed development projects, gardens, and a kids' leadership club. I have really appreciated that SIT has given us amazing opportunities to experience development firsthand. It seems like we drive or walk through the middle of nowhere and find a whole community waiting for us under a tree, where we talk! Most days this week we had our lunch under a tree somewhere: in a mango grove, in a field, in a dry riverbed, by a lake.

I loved the fresh air and the chance to be out in nature again. The city can be overwhelming. But everyone in Oghna was so welcoming- the town is really small so we would stroll through and talk to people. The town made me think of the town in "100 Years of Solitude"...except...in India. Sometimes we would go for walks at dusk out through the countryside and we would meet people and talk with them cheerfully. There were little kids at the NGO's center that we would play with. The seven of us had so much fun- we laughed and laughed so much that my abs are still sore. When we got back to Udaipur, we bought some henna, which is red dye that you can make designs on your hands with. But you can also dye your hair with it...and it's supposed to be a great conditioner. So we bought and mixed up some henna and had one friend paste it all over our hair. We let it dry for about 2 hours...then began to wash it out...and much to our dismay, we all had bright. red. hair!!! We washed it several more times...and we still have red hair. Haha. It actually looks good on everyone, I think. For me it's more of a burgundy color. It will last about 3 weeks. But we laughed about how we don't need even more people looking at us when we walk down the street...and how we all look like Ariel from the Little Mermaid.
Also in Udaipur we explored the hilly, bustling Old City, a peaceful park, and the water's edge around the lakes. From a hill we watched the sunset slide over the lakes and behind a distant mountain... it was breathtaking.

Now we're back in Jaipur, trying not to stress out about all the upcoming assignments that are due. AND, tomorrow morning my mom will arrive in Jaipur!! It's strange to think about two worlds merging. I am very very excited to share my life here with her. :) She will stay until Wednesday, then head to Kerala, a beautiful state in South India, to be a Resident Advisor for graduate students at a college for two months. After I am done with my Independent Study Project in the Himalayas (YES!!!), I will be heading to Kerala to hang out until December 28th.

Diwali: The Festival of Lights

This week in Jaipur flew by with preparations for Diwali. As mentioned below, Diwali celebrates the victory of good over evil. According to the Ramayana, the fascinating Hindu epic, we celebrate the day when Rama and Sita return from their 14 year exile in the jungle after killing Ravana, the evil 10-headed demon. The festival consists of 5 days with different traditions, but Saturday is when most of the festivities take place. We lit diyas (candle wicks in oil and clay pots) and put them outside and around the house. MJ and PJ did "puja"- prayers to Ganesh, the god of wisdom, and Laxmi, the goddess of wealth. Fireworks continuously rumbled and lit up the sky as pretty much every neighborhood put on a spectacular show. My extended host family gathered together and from the balcony and rooftop we watched the shows. Some of the fireworks might qualify as bombs or nuclear warheads- my ears are still recovering. My host sister also let me borrow a maroon and gold sari, which was beautiful and exciting. We also have a lot of sweets, nuts, and dried fruit ready to welcome visitors to our home. Indian sweets are so delicious.

On Wednesday we will depart in different groups for a one-week workshop/internship. My group is going to Oghna, a rural village outside of Udaipur in Rajasthan. All my group knows is that we will be doing some farming. Yesss. Also, riding the train for the first time will be an adventure!

But this week I just wanted to share a reflection: A lot of my time here in India has pushed me to strive for deeper self-awareness. Not just to try and understand who I am and where I want to go, but how I can then understand other people. Whether it is the Greek aphorism "Know Thyself," or Mufasa in the Lion King rumbling from the clouds, "Remember...who you are," it seems like a pretty important journey. As a student I am just trying to open myself to as much diversity as possible, because only when I see how others live and what they value can I begin to use my life and work to understand and serve them. When I was reading Gandhi Ji's "The Story of My Life," I was struck by the following scene: Gandhi's wife is refusing to clean the chamber pot of an "untouchable," and they get into a big fight. Gandhi writes, "I forgot myself, and the spring of compassion dried up in me." Gasp. I hadn't thought about what happens when we forget ourselves!! Now my endeavor for self-knowledge has even more weight: I hope I never forget who I am. Or let situations push me from who I am, or make me act as another, because ultimately that is just not real. I have been thinking about how to respond to someone who is acting abrasively, and maybe this would be a good response: This isn't who you are- you're better than this. Reminding them of their humanity, their sense of self, is a way to build up instead of bring down. Gandhi's concept of Satyagraha, the term he coined for non-violent resistance, can be applied to all sorts of everyday situations. He writes, "Truth (satya) implies love, and firmness (agraha) brings about and therefore serves as a synonym for force." Firmness in love. It is a process of self-purification. His strategy also challenges us to "invite suffering on oneself for the sake of converting the opponent." This could lead to a whole other discussion, so back to Diwali: we light candles to signify the victory of good over evil within ourselves.

I invite any thoughts you have!!

Tigers and Pilgrimages

This week we visited Ranthambore National Park, the only park in Rajasthan with tigers. We rumbled around on muddy paths in a safari bus but unfortunately did not see any tigers. But the park was gorgeous and it felt great to pass through meadows, forests, and by a peaceful lakeside. We talked with Tiger Watch, an organization that works with the Moghiya community (a group that lives outside the park) to stop poaching, enable young boys to go to a good school, and provide employment opportunities for the women. Another NGO works with artificial insemination of cows that produce more milk and bio-gas systems that run on cow dung to decrease the pressures of overgrazing and fuel needs. When we returned, three of us led a synthesis session in which we debated the economic and social sustainability of ecotourism, how development struggles to address deeply embedded social and cultural norms, and how animal and human rights interact and if one can take precedence over the other or serve as a vehicle to uphold the other. We had a lot to think about.

Yesterday a group of us traveled on our own to see two sacred pilgrimage sites: one Hindu and Muslim. It was so interesting and I still haven't been able to fully process all of it. We spent most of the day in Pushkar, a town about three hours away from Jaipur that is also famous for its upcoming Camel Fair. Pushkar's beautiful lake was almost all dried up and muddy as a result of the drought, but some of the sacred bathing ghats still had water, including "Gandhi's ghat," where some of his ashes were sprinkled. Sky blue architecture surrounds the lake, which has wide steps leading down to it. We saw the famous Brahma temple, which was painted blue and orange and had all sorts of niches with shrines for different gods. Also in Pushkar I had a delicious lassi, the sweet yogurt drink that I order just about every time we eat out. It was a Makhania Lassi, with rose water, saffron, cardamon, and sprinkled on top: cashews, pomegranate, pistachio bits, and shaved coconut. Yum. We stopped in Ajmer on the way back to see the famous pilgrimage dargah for Muslims, which houses the tomb of a Sufi saint. Walking with the flowing crowd up to the dargah, we realized that all the men had caps and all the women had scarves and we needed something to cover our heads. We bought some white handkerchiefs and tied them up, laughing at each other because we looked like milkmaids. We took off our shoes and walked in. As we stood out so much, everyone stared at us. I felt so uncomfortable because perhaps we had intruded upon their sacred space. The mosque was green and white, and in the first courtyard there were two huge iron cauldrons with fires burning underneath them. Apparently donations can be made to fill them with porridge to feed the poor. Inside the next gate was the tomb itself, and hundreds of people were sitting, praying, and making offerings. Both experiences made me realize how little I know about their religions, and how much I want to learn.

As in this Internet cafe there are little kids watching cartoons in which the monsters seems to be fighting and making all sorts of terrible and truly laughable groans, I must leave. Pictures will come soon.

Oh! And my mom is coming to India at the end of October!! I am excited for her to meet my host family and see Jaipur before she heads south to stay longer.

Moonlight's Kheer

Here is one story that highlights why I love India:
Last night there was a full moon, and apparently it is quite auspicious to put kheer (the delicious rice pudding) outside so that it can soak up the moon's rays and flavor. So Papa Ji, Mami Ji and I went up on our roof with a blanket and just watched the sky, let the wind blow over us, and talked about family while we let the kheer sit out in the moonlight. Things just seemed simple, beautiful, and clear.
I have been thinking more about our excursion to the desert, and how the landscape seemed to act like a mirror. Maybe we just had so much time on the road to think, but I felt a lot of clarity in my thoughts and reflections. Listening to my iPod, certain songs carried me back to certain points in my life. I softly explored each one like a shell of a memory that used to fit so snugly...but now it doesn't quite fit anymore. I don't belong because I have grown so much since then.
Anywho, on Monday we celebrated Dussehra (the holiday on which an effigy of Ravan, the evil 10-headed demon, is burned). This particular effigy was packed with fireworks and thus caused huge explosions. Another evening this week, we had returned from visiting a school in a rural village, and some of our SIT staff had decorated our center for one of the girl's 21st birthday. We had a dance party on the balcony with lots of lights strung up, loudspeakers and a laptop for music, and lots of food. But at this rural school, I was talking with one young girl who said she wanted to become the President of India! I was thrilled and I won't forget her. They also danced for us and insisted that we dance and sing in return...we need to work on our routine... Otherwise I have been spending time with the other girls, hanging out and laughing a lot, and speaking more and more Hindi with Papa Ji and Mami Ji.
This week we turned in our rough ISP (Independent Study Project- November to December) Proposals-- it looks like I will probably be in the northern state of Uttaranchal studying solar power in the Himalayas! I'm so excited for the chance to be in the mountains...living with an organization that trains youth to install these solar panels, among other activities in the surrounding villages.
Tomorrow we head to Ranthambore National Park, which is famous for its TIGER preserve. I admire large cats, so I am excited. Unfortunately, as the demand for tiger skins, bones, and other parts is pretty high on the black market, poaching over the years has devastated the tiger population in India. At Ranthambore there may only be 15 cats left!! Also, speaking of other cats, several people here have confused "lion" with "loin," which makes it hard for me to keep a straight face.

Desert Travels

This week we traveled over 2,000 km on our road trip west of Jaipur. We stopped in Jodhpur, Jaisalmer (a desert city about 60 km from Pakistan), and Bikaner and our time was filled with visits to villages, schools, hospitals, and other NGOs, rooftop restaurants, fort explorations, sand dunes, camel rides, traditional music and dance, and of course, FOOD. I will try and put pictures up soon.
In Jodhpur we had dinner on the roof of a huge fort overlooking the city. Stepping up to the wall that was still hot from the sun and looking down on the sea of blue lights below (Jodhpur is known as the Blue City), I got so dizzy just thinking about all that life down there! It was really humbling and I felt an overwhelming sense of responsibility to use my one little life in a way that brings more love and peace to the world. We visited a community of Indian refugees from Pakistan, who are waiting in an endless line for citizenship...so currently they can't get jobs and have a pretty desperate situation. We also met with a group of ashas, or women who have been elected by their villages to receive health training at one center and spread awareness in their community once they come back. It was neat to experience women's empowerment in such a way, and they were really interested in our lives. Also in Jodhpur our hotel had a pool, and I relished the silence of swimming underwater. I love India's noises and hums but I was surprised by how magical that silence was.

In Jaisalmer we stayed in nice tents in the Thar Desert. The biggest adventure there was the camel ride. Being ontop of a camel while the camel is trying to stand up is one of the most hilarious things to watch and experience. It's a multi-step process with awkward leaning and jolts involved. My friend Elizabeth and I named our camel, Choti Moti Nashpati, which means, Little Fat Pear. Unfortunately we were behind a rather flatulent camel. We reached the sand dunes, which are so smooth and sculpted, and descended from our ungainly positions to hear some traditional Rajasthani (the princely state I am in) music and see some dance while the sun set. I wish I could have some paint samples of those sun set colors. At night I couldn't sleep so I lay out and stared at the billions of stars painted across the sky. I saw two shooting stars! The next morning some friends and I got up super early and explored the desert while the sun was getting ready to come up. We were hanging out in the sand dunes when the huge, lava-like sun heavily decided to wobble out. It was a great moment of exploration and surprise. Jaisalmer also has a fort with winding, narrow streets, and a multitude of small shops and restaurants hidden in niches. It felt like Aladdin.
In Bikaner we mostly just visited NGOs- we saw a dairy cooperative and I loved seeing all the steps for the processing of milk, as it is my beverage of choice. I have been enjoying the dairy in India, especially the yogurt drinks called lassis that often are made with fruit. We also went to a girls camp that brings in about 100 girls from very poor families to go to school for 7 months. These girls otherwise probably would not have any schooling, and this is really a transformative experience for them. They sang several songs and chants for us about girls fighting for their education- it was so moving to see them so determined, especially after we had talked about our frustrations with the male-dominated society and gender inequality and segregation. We also got a chance to talk with college students our age, and we talked about music (even both groups singing songs for the other), movies, food, presidents, India, and our thoughts about arranged marriage! Connecting with Indians our age was refreshing. We stand out wherever we go, as we are obviously foreigners, but it's always interesting to see the reactions of kids and other people when a group of 16 American girls comes in to their village or school or hospital to talk especially with them. They are shy, curious, bewildered, amused by small things, but they are always fascinated and happy to see us.

Now we are back in Jaipur, and today is a big holiday called Dussehra. Papa Ji and Mami Ji's daughter Nalini told me the story, which was spell-binding. The story (through Nalini now through me) goes that a king had three sons, and Ram was the oldest so he was the heir to the throne. However, one of his other wives demanded that her son, who was younger, become the king. She also insisted that Ram go into exile in the jungle for 14 years. Ram told his father he didn't need to become king and that he would go into exile. His father refused, but Ram insisted. Ram went into the jungle with his wife Sita, and the evil demon Ravan stole her. Ravan had asked for 10 heads from another god (?) so he would be invincible, so he was basically scary and unstoppable. Ram searched the jungle for Sita, and found out that Ravan had taken her. So Ram sought out Ravan and shot an arrow into his navel, which killed him. So Dussehra is celebrated today by burning an effigy of Ravan. It is the victory of good over evil. 14 years later, or 14 days symbolically later, Divali is celebrated- the day when Ram returned from the jungle and became king. Anyway, that's what I understood from Nalini.
I hope all is well back in the States and wherever you are reading this!

Adventures in Agra

Well, our trip to Agra to see the Taj Mahal was unforgettable for many reasons. First, seeing the Taj at sunrise was absolutely surreal. You walk through a big archway and gaze upon the perfect pools of water and the elegant gardens leading up to the Taj. It looked so unreal that we felt like it was a mural that we could walk up and touch. Only a few of us were up on the marble foundation at the base of the Taj right as the sun was stepping through a curtain of clouds and mist still hung on the river behind it- it felt like I was walking barefoot on a cloud in heaven. The Taj itself is magnificent- it has astoundingly intricate marble work, inscriptions, and gym cuttings- as the king, who built it in honor of his beloved wife, demanded perfection. He would apparently cut off a worker's hand if he messed up.
After this our "tour guide that SIT hired," or so we thought, who had taken us to the Taj, led us to a workshop where "ancestors of the Taj gem cutters," who were master craftsmen, produced beautiful marble and gem pieces such as table tops, vases, elephants, etc. After being paraded around and given detailed explanations on how much time and skill everything required, most of us bought a pretty expensive marble piece, something special from the Taj. It was when they took us into the second room with less expensive items that it dawned on us that this might be a scam. Our tour guide peaced out and we were left frustrated with ourselves for trusting our guide. Our hotel manager told us that Awadesh Ji, our SIT staff member who coordinated most of the trip for us, had hired the guide for us, and we trusted his word. When we got back to Jaipur, we learned that he had not been hired and really just hopped on our bus and probably got a cut from the marble/gem place. Azim Ji had warned us to be careful, so we felt bad that we had fallen into such a thing. But we're all OK, we learned a lot, and now we have a great story to laugh about. Agra is kind of an unpleasant city, and people were constantly bombarding us with trinkets to buy. We laughed when people offered us the following sequence: "Taj keychain? T-shirt? Postcards? Leather whip!?!" How random. On the way back from Agra we stopped at a lost city of sorts. It used to be some capital city, a fort with a vast stone courtyard that strategically straddled a high hill. We scaled the red steps, which were teeming with children, and walked around the courtyard as vendors followed us and tried to sell us things. It felt like a place from the Lord of the Rings- some aging vestige of the past. We were all happy to get back to Jaipur.
This week we had lectures on Gandhi, the caste system, and an overview on development in India. We visited a "basti," an area where the people have constructed concrete houses on government land, to observe and then discuss what we thought the most pressing development issue was. Then we talked with community members- women in colorful saris, curious children, our teachers, and 16 American girls all crowded into one room- and we realized that their priorities and needs were far different than our perceptions. We also visited a rural village that innovatively created a water harvesting system to irrigate fields, provide water and grass for their dairy cows and village use. They dug out squares of earth and created hills to maximize rainwater collection. We walked across the brittle, cracked earth under the scorching sun and talked with the village leaders under a tree. One night this week I went with Mami Ji to her temple. A long drum and an accordion were played while two women led singing, praying, and chanting. We all sat on the floor, and there was incense, flowers, and candles. Another memorable moment this week was when six of us piled into a rickshaw (probably not meant for more than 3 adults) and puttered and choked along at a pace slower than that of an ancient, arthritic turtle.
Tomorrow we depart on a week-long excursion to Jodhpur, Jaisalmer, and Bikaner, which are to the west of Jaipur, to visit some NGOs. Apparently there are scorpions in Jaisalmer. Yikes.

Jaipur

Namaste! (By the way, this means, "I salute the divine in you")
This week has been pretty busy- but here's the latest update. I am so happy with my host family- Papa Ji and Mami Ji (you add Ji for respect) are in their late 60s and they are so so sweet. MJ (I will abbreviate) hardly speaks any English, so by the end of the first full day with them, I was physically exhausted from pushing my brain through an obstacle course of speaking Hindi. PJ is very helpful and I have already learned so much! Learning another language is a thrill to me. PJ reminds me of the dad in My Big Fat Greek Wedding- he tells me to put Detol (a soap) on my bug bites and he LOVES to explain Indian culture. Here's an example of my average day: wake up at 5:55 (auspicious numbers and things are big here) and I go for a walk or run. I love seeing so many people out on the roads and there are always new things to experience: monkeys leaping around my house, a peacock strutting in someone's yard, or a camel loping down the road, pulling a cart. My neighborhood has a lot of the old "pink" (really an orange-pink) walls with white designs and soft trees hanging over them. I come back to the house, drink chai with PJ and MJ outside while they read the paper, then get ready for school. I walk to school with another girl, we have 2 1/2 hours of Hindi, with tea breaks, then a lecture for about an hour, then lunch. Lunch is always delicious and we sit on a wide balcony and eat. After lunch we are free to do work, explore the city, shop, see Bollywood movies, etc. I come home around 6-6:30, have tea, read or work on Hindi, watch bizarre TV shows, bathe, help MJ make dinner, eat, sleep by 10. About bathing- I have a bucket bath and a little scooper-I love it. I feel like a very large baby who can bathe herself. We should all try bucket baths- not only are they refreshing...BUT they also save a ton of water.
For future reference, we will be in Jaipur for about 2 months, with some excursions and workshops in there. In November we will embark upon our individual ISPs (Independent Study Projects) for one month. Right now I'm thinking about researching community alternative energy. An organization called the Barefoot College trains semi-literate and illiterate women to install solar home lighting systems intheir communities and beyond. They train and work during the day and go to school at night. What issues does this address? Women's literacy. Check. Rural employment. Check. Alternative, sustainable energy. Check. It's just exciting to consider the opportunities and freedoms that such a program creates...and to evaluate what it can offer as a development model for other communities.
Oh! By the way, today we are going to some place called...oh I forget...umm...oh WAIT...the TAJ. MAHAL.
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!