Slowly Breaking Through the Daylight

Tickling the Clouds

2009-07-01T05:10:00.000-07:00

It's a sunny day today. It almost feels like a summer's day in good, ole California but I won't go that far. Normally, it would seem like any other day in April or May, but the problem is that it's actually July 1st. The monsoon was supposed to come in about a month ago. Personally, I'm happy. I hate rain. It's depressing and makes things seem worse than they are. But going down to the village, you can see the despair on the farmer's faces who depend on the rain for their crops. The fields are sowed and ready to go. Sadly, though, the rains aren't only affecting the farmers and their pockets. The inevitability of a food shortage exists as well as an electricity and water shortage. In a country where all of these resources are already lacking, the effects will be disastrous. The Indian government hopes to change that with what else but technology, a method called cloud seeding. Spray the clouds with chemicals! The Government of India has provided funding to get the project underway and help bring rain to drought-prone areas.

As someone who is generally (but not strictly) against tilting the natural balance of things, I'm a bit ambivalent. I feel the pain of the farmers, as it is palpable while walking through Pabal village, but if nature happens to be late, then why mess with that? There is undoubtedly going to be water wars as nations start using the technology to help their own people (it's already done in a bunch of different countries). The environmental effects have yet to be understood but how environmentally friendly do you think spraying chemicals in clouds could be? This does not bode well.

Half-fast or Half-ass

2009-02-23T09:21:00.000-08:00

Today was Maha Shivratri which means that big boom boxes from every direction (literally) have been blasting music, prayer, speeches, or all three at sometime during the day. What is also means is that most religiously-inclined individuals decided to fast.

When I was growing up, I always saw my mom fast on certain day(s) of the week. She would abstain from eating food throughout the day, restricting herself to just water until very late at night, after the moon came out. I never truly understood it but respected it because I felt - and still do feel - that it takes a lot of discipline to put yourself through that. When I arrived in India though, the meaning of fasting took on a variety of meanings that I have yet to even slightly understand.

During my one month orientation back in August, another one of the fellows told me he was fasting throughout the day - all while we were both eating lunch. Later, I saw him at dinner and finally asked what the deal was with him eating while fasting. He told me some story that involved devotion and Lord Krishna but I felt it was more of an excuse than it was anything else (no offense to the person). Unfortunately, I don't fully remember the story but regardless, the point was that he was eating, quite well, when he was supposedly fasting.

Then I arrived in Pabal. Not to be at all offensive but fasting out here is just as odd as it was with my last encounter with the other fellow.

Today, all the students here ate breakfast because it was made of sorghum (called jowar in India). But over half of them canceled their lunch and dinner. I assumed the breakfast incident was perhaps something religious but it became more confusing as the day went on. Some staff members came up to me to let me know that they wouldn't be in my shop buying food - not that I really cared. Later, they were the major cash sales contributors for the day (considering our cash sales are mostly food on days where there are no visitors should tell you something).

The students were equally generous with buying food items from the shop as well. I gathered that they were allowed to eat some foods but no others. But it still made no sense because it seemed like they were indiscriminately picking food. Some of the boys went to the village to eat "Fasting Designated" food which was mostly dry bhel and other snack items. I was, and still am, utterly confused by what is meant by the term "fasting" out here.

To me, it looked like they gave into temptation halfway throughout the day and continued to half-ass their attempts at fasting.

Indicorps 2009

2009-01-31T22:56:00.000-08:00

"Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we've been waiting for. We are the change that we seek."
- US President Barack Obama

Indicorps announces over 30 competitive new projects for the August 2009 Indicorps Diaspora Fellowship. Indicorps seeks a few dozen dedicated young Indian leaders who are willing to challenge themselves and "be the change." Tackle real issues in education, microfinance, social entrepreneurship, environmental conservation, public health, urban infrastructure, and much more. Live simply and dig deep to learn about real India (and yourself); projects span from Kanpur to Pondicherry, Gujarat to Madhya Pradesh. To learn more, visit http://apply.indicorps.org.

In the spirit of Obama’s campaign to create "Change you can believe in," Indicorps is a real opportunity for CHANGE YOU MAKE HAPPEN. The August 2009 fellowship model will mobilize passionate, sincere fellows to become strong team players and leaders who will build sustainable new initiatives.

Applications are due 15 March 2009. Please email us at apply@indicorps.org if you have any questions or technical difficulties. JOIN US so that you can make change happen!

Visit the Indicorps website at http://www.indicorps.org to learn more about the fellowship and the Indicorps philosophy.
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You are also more than welcome to email me with any questions you have regarding the fellowship. Please feel free to spread the message to anyone who might be interested!

My Re-Emergence

2009-01-24T20:56:00.000-08:00

This past week, I felt as if I had re-emerged as part of Vigyan Ashram. I have been pretty social with all the students and staff, which has not usually been the case due to language and cultural barriers. But recently, things, for the most part, have been pretty enjoyable.

As part of my re-emergence, I was asked to give a talk about America (again). I gave a 40-slide presentation on America back in November, one that seemed to fill up all the seats (not that I’m bragging or anything). Even though I gave the presentation in English, and most do not understand English, I included many, many pictures to make it more understandable. And not to mention, I had a translator.

Nonetheless, I’ve come to realize most everyone did not give a hoot about it. So once again, I talked about America in a question-and-answer format to which my responses were received with shock and horror. Some examples of outrageous (and seemingly offensive) statements include:

The fact that most children move away from home to go to college and some do not move back home after graduation; if they do, it’s for less than 5 - 6 years

Picking a spouse is not done by parents but by the children themselves (i.e. we pick our own spouse)

Farming is not done by individuals and is mostly owned by corporations

Exams are not held after every grade (standard) and progress is based on grades earned (GPA)

Entrance into colleges is based on more than GPA and SAT scores, such as extracurricular activities and admissions essays

When parents get older, they are either placed in retirement homes, or move to areas that are inhabited by like-minded individuals, or are fully self-sufficient. Some do move in with their children but it's not common practice.

After answering every question, the group would start rumbling and discussing their disbelief that such a culture existed on the other side of the world. Some laughed, some shook their heads, some didn’t understand (once again, even though a translator was present).

The funny thing is that most of those facts, sans the educational related ones, are occurring in India's cities as well. It’s amazing to me that such a disconnect over cultures/traditions can occur within one country. But forget thinking on a country-wide scale - Pune (the nearest big city) is less than 50 miles away from here!

Lost In Ingraji

2009-01-14T08:35:00.000-08:00

I didn’t realize it until recently but I’m able to understand gritty English a lot better than I originally expected. For the past few months, I’ve become totally accustomed to the English that has been used around here. Obviously, grammar is not of concern (nor is it for me when I speak in Marathi). And sometimes words are said incorrectly or the right word cannot be found, but in all of it I’ve been able to completely understand anyone who speaks to me.

As of this week, the Vigyan Ashram became a temporary home to a woman from England. She is a staff member at the University of Sussex and seems to be deeply involved with the organization ‘Engineers Without Borders.’ It has been her lifelong dream to visit India and she thought that combining her dream with her passions would be an ideal supplement to her overall experience. And thus she has come to stay here at the Ashram for three weeks, working on a project of her choice. With a mechanical engineering background, she has a lot she can contribute to the Ashram. Anyway, I’m veering off-topic.

I was giving her a tour of the Ashram and she seemed to immediately fall in love with the place. But while I was talking, I noticed how I had grown accustomed to not only speaking slower but "dumbing down" my English, sometimes taking a few more seconds to think of an easier word. After a while, I realized I was doing it and stopped. Being one of the few people she could converse with, she ended up talking to me a lot for the next couple hours.

I went back to my room afterwards and talked to some of the students and staff who know English. My brain had to adjust considerably to understand what was being communicated. I’m still surprised with how my comprehension level has shifted so much within a few hours. It felt as if they were speaking a completely different language. Can I claim that I’ve learnt another language? Hmmm...

Maybe I can’t considering that I’ve heard some of my fellow fellows speaking in English to their NGO colleagues and, let me tell you, they pour on that heavy Indian accent along with the broken English in an attempt to imitate the what they hear which (seemingly) eases the line of communication. I’d probably try the same if I could hold in the laughter that would commence afterwards.

Labels Galore

2009-01-02T23:07:00.000-08:00

Below are some of the labels I have created for some of the Gift Shop products. These are for the hair and massage oil bottles. Give me your thoughts/comments/suggestions/opinions/critiques/compliments/etc.

Happy New Year!

2008-12-31T21:01:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year! 2009 is finally here. The staff here have made it their 'resolution' to speak as much English as they can - for the year. They've exhausted most of their vocabulary in the first 10 minutes of the day, so there is much to learn from here. It is too funny listening to them trying to talk - they're laughing, as well, along with the only staff-member who knows English. We'll see how long this lasts. I'm betting that by tomorrow it will be back to square one.

On the flip, the village did celebrate pretty loudly last night. I was a bit disappointed that none of my students were feeling festive enough to drag me to go down there. But I took comfort in the fact that the music was blasting and firecrackers were popping through the night.

The 1st also marks the opening of the gift shop I've been trying to start here at Vigyan Ashram. Students have been busy the past couple weeks making products to sell to the various visitors we get here on a daily basis. My office is now a half-office and half-gift shop. I made a small walkway with rocks on the side that leads into the gift shop (click on the pic at the left for a bigger view). I'll take more pictures once I collect and setup all the products today. Wish me luck!

Keep That 808 Bumpin'

2008-12-29T19:22:00.000-08:00

The first few days I arrived in Pabal were incredibly depressing, by far some of the worst days I've ever experienced in life. I had no way of communicating with anyone else - no cell phone, no internet, no common language with locals, no anything. With the monsoon season wanting to make a dramatic ending, I felt extremely lonely, unhappy, and cold. The only thing that kept me going was the music. It was loud and thunderous but felt slightly distant. Nonetheless, it gave me some comfort knowing there was music. As I later found out, it was coming from down below. The local village center seems to love celebrating any event by pulling out the 1000-watt speakers (running them on a generator, of course) and blasting anything from traditional Marathi bhajans to Bollywood music to some Sean Paul (Temperature - yeah, seriously).

Some mornings I wake up to the music that was playing the night before. It's pretty relaxing. Maybe it helps me feel like I'm really not in the middle of no where or that there are people who enjoy rhythmic music as much as I do but it sure is helpful. And with this being the wedding season and New Year's around the corner, the music will probably be running non-stop. Ohhh yeaahh!

Side note: To indicate how good the music is, the students have been banned from going to the village due to the sole reason that they might start dancing and end up staying through the night. You wouldn’t ban people from dancing to crappy music, would you?

Holy Crap.

2008-12-24T04:20:00.000-08:00

I got internet.

The Shower Question

2008-11-30T19:28:00.001-08:00

Last week, I was in Ahmedabad for an Indicorps workshop. It was nice seeing all the other Fellows after two months of being at our respective project sites. We each brought back with us the habits and customs of the villages we have been inhabiting. I noticed an interested trend during our morning rituals. In August, during orientation, everyone showered in the morning - it was a task that we had become so accustomed to back in America (or Canada or UK, for some). But now the litmus test for showering was qualified through questions such as "Did I sweat yesterday?" or "Was it cold outside?". This is, of course, coming from the guys side so I can't really say the girls were pulling the same stunts. Everything has become relative as well. We open up our collars and smell inside. I mean c'mon, we're surrounded by individuals who don't wear any deodorant and smell like they've doused themselves in their own BO.

Personally, I shower everyday assuming I get hot water. If hot water is not available, I still do a good job with the freezing cold water that comes out of the pipes.

What would you do?

Back At It

2008-11-30T08:32:00.000-08:00

I'm back!

Been a while, I know. It is almost December! That is too crazy to fathom. I'm so used to being out here now. I'm not sure if it's good that the time has been going by this quickly but I'm trying to take advantage of it. Since my emotions tend to change by the minute, I believe my actions are slowly starting to follow suit. That is, I'm going a bit wild and just letting loose. I feel a bit bipolar but I think if I'm ever going to act this way, this is my chance to do it. I don't know why I care so much about the things I do care about (i.e. speaking in Marathi, walking around with shorts [seriously], singing in public, etc). I started rapping the other day during our faux-anthakshari session - that was fun. No one understood a word - I'm sure half of you wouldn't understand what I was saying either. The children (I hate to call them that since all of them are 18+ and some even my age but whatever) loved it. It seems to be getting progressively crazier. It'll be fun times.

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To those who have been following the incidents in the nearby capital of the state I am currently residing in (Mumbai to the less-informed): the villages are largely disconnected to events occurring inside the city/outside of a 50 km range. India is far less unified than is portrayed in the media or otherwise. Urban life is a complete 180 to the village life (although that is slowly and awkwardly starting to change). So even though I know exactly what is going on in Mumbai and there is a relatively decent sized Muslim population in the village, both of these things have no effect on the daily activities or the dynamics that occur here. Basically, there are no intense discussions or debates here on where India should go next nor are there any uprisings based on religion, caste, creed, or nationality.

Pet Peeves

2008-10-15T22:27:00.000-07:00

In the past (i.e. 3 - 4 months ago), I was able to multi-task with relative ease. I could do research, some work, checkup on topics of interest on Wikipedia, and gChat - all at the same time. Being in India has changed that all. Let me segue into the topic of discussion for today.

Remember back in elementary/junior/high school when teachers or others would ask you what your pet peeves were? Yeah, I don't either but I'm assuming you were asked at some point in your lifetime. Well, I never really had an answer to that question. I simply never knew what my pet peeves were. Maybe I was just that tolerant or maybe I just didn't really care but I could never answer that question without thinking really hard. I think I am finally able to answer that question with relative ease. So, without further ado, here are my pet peeves I have discovered as of lately.

People rummaging through your personal belonging (and sometimes later telling you about it).

People staring at you during your various activities. This can be broken down into separate parts.

while eating.

while on the phone. (mostly because I talk in English)

while walking around. (in Pune or the village)

People looking over your back or sitting next to you while writing or on the computer (possibly chatting or typing up personal emails) or reading the newspaper. All of these never bothered me in the US but it seems to be really getting to me as of late.

So there you have it. My list of pet peeves. So if I am chatting with you on gChat and I seem somewhat distracted or non-responsive, it's most likely due to the fact that someone is watching what I am doing on my laptop or the internet has become disconnected (or both).

The good thing is that I'm at least learning some new things about myself here. I can't complain too much - I tend to laugh these things off at night.

"Fakta Timepass"

2008-10-13T03:42:00.000-07:00

Talking to the students here (I am able to do that somehow), I hear that line more than anything else. With my ever-expanding knowledge of the Marathi language, I am starting to understand the dynamics of village life and India in general - but specifically the Ashram I am situated at. Maybe you'd understand a little more when you see their daily schedule.

5:30A Wake-up
5:50 - 6:30 Prayer/Run/Morning Exercise/Yoga
6:30 - 9:00 Morning Routine/Free Time
9:00 Breakfast
9:30 - 10:30 Class (Theory)
10:30 - 1:00P Practicals (the Ashram promotes 'Learning By Doing')
1:00 - 2:00 Lunch
2:00 - 5:30 Practicals (Cont'd)
5:30 - 7:30 Free Time (usually students go to the village and chill)
7:30 - 9:00 Meditation/Discussion
9:00 Dinner
After dinner is free-time. I believe 'Lights Out' is at 11P but that doesn't seem to be enforced.

This is the schedule everyday with the exception of Saturday where everything is the same except for the absence of class and practicals.

As you can see, not only are their days very long but there is almost six hours of practicals. I'm not sure if you all fully understand what practicals are so I'll briefly explain the educational structure of the Ashram. Students come here for a one-year course in Basic Rural Technology (BRT) and receive an accredited diploma (DBRT) upon completion of the course. The program is aimed mostly at students from rural areas who are school dropouts (but have at least passed 8th standard) and who have a desire to start their own enterprise. There are four areas of study: 1) Engineering, 2) Energy & Environment, 3) Agriculture & Animal Husbandry, 4) Home & Health. There are 8 - 9 students in each area for 3 months and then they rotate afterwards.

Engineering and Agriculture seem to have the most work and generally keep the students busy from morning until the evening. The complete opposite is the case for the other two sections. How much can you teach about cooking (esp. when they don't get to really cook) or health (esp. when they can't really practically apply lessons except from time to time, if even). Energy & Environment really has no reason to be as free as they are - there seems to be a lot to teach but the teacher tends to be slightly lazy (most of them are). I've noticed a lot of these problems in the program but unfortunately I can't really do much yet since I don't speak Marathi and I've seen the director all of 6 or 7 times in the last month I've been here.

So I asked the students the other day in my broken Marathi, "What do you guys do all day?"

"Fakta timepass."

No need to flip through my "Learn Marathi in 30 Days" book to translate that.

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Let me end this on an exciting note. I've uploaded some pictures to Flickr. (I think if you click on that sentence, the link is there. This blog theme is ghetto. I'll change it soon.)

The Whimsical Weather of Pabal (Wabal?)

2008-10-07T19:53:00.000-07:00

There goes my sad attempt at alliteration.

Anyway, for the past few days, the weather in Pabal has followed an odd pattern. During the day there is bright sunlight with temperatures that border a hot summer day. But around 5PM, the clouds start to move in and the thunder begins to echo from miles away. A couple days ago, it rained so hard that our staff meeting had to be cancelled. And the weird thing about it (it's already weird that it's like that, so maybe the weirder thing about it) is that when you wake up in the morning, there is no indication that it rained that hard the night before, let alone at all. I still don't understand how this works. I'm under the impression that the government is controlling the weather patterns. Oh and the ironic part is that my room hasn't had any water for a couple days. Prior to the bizarre weather, I've had a relatively unlimited supply of water and it's been like summer up until these past few days. Meaning I would have assumed that water would have been scarce during those hot days instead of during a rainy patch. Right? Maybe my logic doesn't work out here.

Out of the Village (for a bit)

2008-10-01T09:01:00.000-07:00

I've been shuttling around a lot recently. I've been put on a new project - to bring internet to my village (I know, it's exciting!). To bring internet into my village requires me to talk to service providers who are located in Pune. Thus, I've been traveling back and forth from my village to Pune - and back again. It's been quite intense.

When I first arrived in Pune, I was elated. I saw people. Yes, my eyes were full of dirt, and probably my lungs as well, but I was temporarily in a state of happiness. It all quickly faded after I realized that I would have to wander around the city by myself. Up until that moment I had been with my director, so I had felt a relative sense of comfort since he knows Pune like this back of his hand and could negotiate with the unscrupulous rickshaw drivers. Roaming the city is crazy, to say the least. I'm in the area of the city which isn't as hip as one might think so most of the residents speak very little English - a situation I am becoming very used to. But it was a real eye-opener. I was glad that I was forced to do that.

I savor any chance I get on the internet. During this post, I updated myself with the horrid financial mess that is occurring in the States (I laugh everytime I hear the US referred to as the States, I dont know why). Hopefully it hasn't hit home for any of you. I will update later.

And it's out!

2008-09-25T05:02:00.001-07:00

The internet has been cut. As told in my last entry, I am connected
via a cell phone. It is fun.

I will write an update at a later time.

Hello from Pabal!

2008-09-20T23:30:00.000-07:00

Yes I know! I've finally started a blog. I'm not sure how long this will last though due to the fact that the Ashram I am at is at odds over the monthly subscription rate with the internet service provider. The director thinks the connection will be cut soon. To access the internet, we will be using a mobile (cellphone) which will act as a modem. I'm not sure how many of you know what I am talking about but suffice it to say that the connection is extremely slow, possibly slower than a dial-up (remember AOL back in the day?).

Anyway, I'm finally here! After a long and intense month of orientation, I made it out to my project site about a week ago. I'll update you all on my first month later - there is way too much to say about that time period. I've barely had any time to reflect on it. When I first arrived, the reality of the situation hit me really hard. I had no way of communicating with anyone including most of the people here. The students here (around 30 or so) come from different, mostly rural, parts of India and thus speak two to three words of English. The director spends three to four days of the week in Pune. The staff play hide and seek. It was a tough first few days here. I felt an amount of loneliness that I never thought was possible. Also, the week I came was the ending of the Ganapathi Chaturthi festival, a huge festival that is mostly celebrated in Maharashtra. The festival meant that everyone had the weekend off and thus I had no idea what to do. I tried interacting with the students but the communication barrier initially proved to be too much. The internet was out (something to do with the lease-line), my mobile had no yet been activated, there was power outtages (load-shedding) for the better part of the day, and the monsoon season decided to go out with a bang (the seasons are in transition from monsoon to winter - basically from cold and rainy to just cold and foggy). All of these factors made it really hard for me to adjust here.

As I was writing this, the internet was cut-off (seems like it was temporary - keep your fingers crossed!). But I will try to keep you all updated with my experiences here at the Vigyan Ashram. The students here are doing amazing things. Hopefully I'll be able to join them in some of their creations. If you have any ideas or inventions you think would be cool, feel free to holler because I can more than likely create it. We have a Fab Lab - once you figure out what that is, you'll wonder how they managed (and sustained) to keep one out here in rural India. It never ceases to amaze me!