Wednesday, September 19, 2012
9:00am: Today we drove to another village called Jatta-wala to 1.) visit a government run-school so we could see how it functions in comparison to a NGO-run school and 2.) to speak with the local panchayat leader of Jatta-wala. (A panchayat is an elected governmental position (like a mayor) that represents the members of a village.) Their responsibility is to work with the federal government and make use of it’s funds and delineate them to provide resources for the village (which is difficult in itself because of the bureaucratic distance between the federal government and local governments.) What is interesting about Jatta-wala is that the panchayat there is a woman, which is very rare in India because the political system is severely male dominated (like all other facets of Indian society.) This woman was extremely inspiring. Asking our questions through our academic director, Tara-ji and the fieldwork coordinator, Trilochan-ji, who translated between Hindi and English for us, we learned about what her duties were and talked about the challenges of being a woman and having a high-power position in a patriarchal system. She told us that during her term as panchayat (4 years) she’s been able to get electricity for the village, pave roads, construct wells, and set up schools for children. What is significant about her position is that she represents the women’s perspectives about the needs of the village. While a male panchayat leader may say that the most important thing his village needs is more roads (to provide transportation to and from the village for economic trade,) a woman panchayat leader may say that more adequate water sources (wells) are most important. This is reflective of the gendered priorities- men ten to focus on economics, women tend to focus on the household. This woman panchayat leader sheds light on women’s concerns that are usually swept under the rug. She is a strong role model for the women in the village who don’t really have much personal autonomy or sense of empowerment in their own lives.
Members of a vocational sewing school set up by RLEK for women and girls. They showed us samples of their work.
Later in the afternoon, we were given an hour to explore the village on our own. I walked down a side path with one of my friends and got pulled into a house by one of the children that was following us. The man who I assumed was the father (a well-dressed man wearing a Western shirt and khakis) pulled up two chairs and patted them, so my friend and I looked at each other and sat down apprehensively. About 5 children stood around us, and a pretty woman, who I assumed was the man’s wife sat down with a baby on her lap. *SIDE NOTE*: It’s totally normal for babies to wear....eyeliner. When I first saw this, I was a little freaked out, but I guess it’s the equivalent of dressing your baby girl in a cute outfit or giving her a new hairstyle. This baby’s eyes were thickly rimmed with black liner, it reminded me of my middle school years...good times. Anywho, we tried to use our remedial Hindi skills and asked questions like “How many children do you have?” or “Your dress is pretty.” When I stuggled to say “Your house is beautiful,” she cocked her head and said, “Toilet?” .....I really need to study more.
6:00pm: Back at the RLEK house, a group of us decided to roam around the streets to find a restaurant for dinner. After 3 weeks of consistent Indian food, we were craving something cheesy and processed. Enter Pizza Hut. As my family knows, I’m not keen on chain restaurants at all...and Pizza Hut is pretty far down on my list as far as quality goes. The only times I remember going there were usually out of desperation for any sustenance on long road trips. HOWEVER, Pizza Hut in India has much higher standards. We were greeted by well-dressed, English-speaking staff members and led to a nicely set table with large menus. The ambiance was quite nice, aside from the children’s birthday party going on next to us with 5 year olds running around popping balloons. For 140 rupees, I got a lime soda (very popular over here,) garlic bread, a small pizza, and CHEESECAKE for....140 rupees (= $3!) Needless to say, it was much different from the time in the states when I found a huge blonde hair in my personal pan pizza....maybe I’ll give it another shot when I get back.
Thursday, September 20, 2012
9.00am- We drove 15 minutes to visit the Forest Research Initiative, a governmental organization that works to manage the country’s natural resources and protect its forests. We sat through a very interesting lecture on the history of the political acts and laws that have been put in place since India’s independence in 1947. Being such a large country with many geographical features with a rich natural resource base that supports a vast number of livelihoods, the FRI’s job is very difficult.
We were led on a tour of the FRI’s museums about their research. It was all very interesting, but the place looked like it had last been updated in 1950. One of the displays was about “Things you can make from Sal Wood" (a very valuable wood grown in parts of the country) : The list included cannons, rocking chairs, and arrows.) Never the less, the place was fascinating. Our tour guide had been obviously been working there for a long time because he spoke at the pace of an auctioneer (with a heavy accent) and led us around at speed-walking pace. He also had the habit of reiterating information to us in a funny way like: “This spore sample was taken in 1972 ........19.......72.”
Friday, September 21, 2012
9:00am: We packed up our things to depart for Rishakesh, known as the “yoga capital of the world” for a relaxing overnight before we headed back to Jaipur on Saturday. *SIDE NOTE:* The night before, on our way back from dinner, I wanted to stop at a department store to find some teacups to buy for the RLEK house because every time we had chai, they ran out of cups (and people had to resort to using metal bowls...not so fun.) I picked up 6 china cups and each of our group signed the box. It was a small gesture to thank them for their generosity.
11:00am: We arrived in Rishakesh (after miles..excuse me...kilometers...of steep roads sprinkled with signs that said “Elephant Crossing” with an image of an Elephant crushing a bus with it’s foot. Wonderful. The town itself looked like a clumping of hotels-and guest-houses plopped in the middle of a pristine jungle. As we were driving into the heart of the town, we decided to play “Spot the White People” game. We got to 6. It was probably more than we’d seen throughout our trip put together.
6:00pm- After a few hours of lounging and drinking lime soda in a few of the local restaurants, myself and 7 other friends crammed into a rickshaw to go to the Ganges River to see the daily ceremony in honor of Lord Krishna on the ghats (stone steps leading down into the water.) It was absolutely beautiful. A traditional song played through loudspeakers and people clapped and swayed as they looked at a big Krishna statue in the middle of a bridge-structure with the Ganges running around it. Apparently the only two places along the Ganges that preform this ceremony daily are in Rishakesh and Varnasi.
I’m so fortunate to have been a part of it.
As we left we walked through isles of brightly-lit stalls filled with souvenirs ranging from “OM” tee shirts to sandalwood pieces. Cows roamed the crowded streets and monkeys screamed at each other from above. Sensory overload for sure. We took a pit-stop to touch the water...key word: “touch.” The Ganges water is notoriously known for being polluted from years and years of waste dumping, people defecating in it, people offering various personal items to it, and dropping family member’s ashes in it. It was murky and flowing with garbage, which made me wonder what the condition of the river is like down in Bay of Bengal where the river pours into Bengal Delta.
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In the past 28 days, I’ve seen more, felt more, smelled more than I ever planned to. I am beginning to understand the value of studying in a foreign place because it expands your horizons to things you would have never known existed before. I’m very happy I’ve come here.
View from our guest house is Rishakesh.
Photojournalism as a side job? Love this.
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