Yesterday we went to Raipur with Jacob for a conference on ICT (Information and Communication Technology) in Agriculture. He had been invited the day before to come as a speaker, and they had agreed to pay for taxi fare, so he took us with him to meet some people at SIND (State Institute of Rural Development) where the conference was being held.
Its about a 3 hour ride to go around 120km, so we left before 7AM, and took Chattisgargh's main highway, which reminds me of a rural county that has not been maintained. Trucks rumble along slowly, and there is enough room to pass them if no one is coming the other way, so its a game of zooming around the trucks and then swerving back into your lane when a truck or car is coming the other way.
When we got to Raipur, we could feel that it was a bigger city than Bilaspur. The buildings were a little bigger and little fancier. The streets were a little wider and more bustling. The stores were trendier and less run down. It was a reminder, after being away from Hyderbad for almost 10 weeks and Boston for 3 months, of the appeals of the city. We also saw an elephant and camel being led down the street.
We had breakfast at the Indian Coffee House, which I had thought was a generic name for the countless places which serve coffee and simple snacks, but which I now realize is the proper name for a chain of restaurants. The restaurants are a cooperative, owned by the employees, and I think this is the reason Jacob frequents them.
The meeting was about information and communication technology, but Jacob had been invited on very short notice, and only had a presentation we had prepared for him that was intended to be used to advocate SRI to the state government. However, this audience was only interested in the use of IT to promote agriculture, and there were no slides on that topic, and really, it boils down to "there's some stuff on the Web, and some booklets, maybe some videos". Jacob was also introduced as "Dr. Jacob" and then he explained that he is not a PhD, and is in fact a University drop-out.
We met that afternoon with the director of SIND, who has some interest in producing an SRI video, which Dolly and I are looking to work on. We then left and went to the Pradan Raipur office to meet their head. The office was very nice, on the third floor of a new building in an rapidly developing upper-middle class neighborhood. The stairs were marble, and the furniture was all new. The chairs were still wrapped in plastic. Pradan is working with 10,000 farmers in Chattisgargh to promote SRI, and also partnering with other organizations to promote it further. So despite the swankiness of the offices, they appear to have a high ratio of usefulness to expense, and have been very effective in the Orissa/Jharkund/Chattisgargh area.
Jacob stayed behind for a meeting with the Agricultural Minster the next day. He met his friend who was arranging the meeting at (again) the Indian Coffee House.
On the way home, we stopped at a "dhaba" which basically means "roadhouse", and is meant for a place for traveler's to stop and eat. This was a "dhaba" and not a proper dhaba, the way there are "diners" and diners in the us. At a "diner", you get served by a college student and pay $7.99 for eggs, hash browns, and bacon (coffee extra). At a diner, you get served by an older woman and/or meth addict who calls you "hon" and you pay $3.99 for you breakfast, including the coffee. I would call this a "dhaba" because it was just outside of Bilaspur, had a landscaped garden in the back, generally appeared clean, and the prices were normal for a decent Bilaspur restaurant. A dhaba might feature a tarp roof and/or dirt floor, running water optional. I trusted it enough to try the chicken masala, which was nice and spicy, and so far has not made me sick. (The kitchen was also an open kitchen, so you can see them make your food, which is usually a good indicator of cleanliness and general hygiene).
Its about a 3 hour ride to go around 120km, so we left before 7AM, and took Chattisgargh's main highway, which reminds me of a rural county that has not been maintained. Trucks rumble along slowly, and there is enough room to pass them if no one is coming the other way, so its a game of zooming around the trucks and then swerving back into your lane when a truck or car is coming the other way.
When we got to Raipur, we could feel that it was a bigger city than Bilaspur. The buildings were a little bigger and little fancier. The streets were a little wider and more bustling. The stores were trendier and less run down. It was a reminder, after being away from Hyderbad for almost 10 weeks and Boston for 3 months, of the appeals of the city. We also saw an elephant and camel being led down the street.
We had breakfast at the Indian Coffee House, which I had thought was a generic name for the countless places which serve coffee and simple snacks, but which I now realize is the proper name for a chain of restaurants. The restaurants are a cooperative, owned by the employees, and I think this is the reason Jacob frequents them.
The meeting was about information and communication technology, but Jacob had been invited on very short notice, and only had a presentation we had prepared for him that was intended to be used to advocate SRI to the state government. However, this audience was only interested in the use of IT to promote agriculture, and there were no slides on that topic, and really, it boils down to "there's some stuff on the Web, and some booklets, maybe some videos". Jacob was also introduced as "Dr. Jacob" and then he explained that he is not a PhD, and is in fact a University drop-out.
We met that afternoon with the director of SIND, who has some interest in producing an SRI video, which Dolly and I are looking to work on. We then left and went to the Pradan Raipur office to meet their head. The office was very nice, on the third floor of a new building in an rapidly developing upper-middle class neighborhood. The stairs were marble, and the furniture was all new. The chairs were still wrapped in plastic. Pradan is working with 10,000 farmers in Chattisgargh to promote SRI, and also partnering with other organizations to promote it further. So despite the swankiness of the offices, they appear to have a high ratio of usefulness to expense, and have been very effective in the Orissa/Jharkund/Chattisgargh area.
Jacob stayed behind for a meeting with the Agricultural Minster the next day. He met his friend who was arranging the meeting at (again) the Indian Coffee House.
On the way home, we stopped at a "dhaba" which basically means "roadhouse", and is meant for a place for traveler's to stop and eat. This was a "dhaba" and not a proper dhaba, the way there are "diners" and diners in the us. At a "diner", you get served by a college student and pay $7.99 for eggs, hash browns, and bacon (coffee extra). At a diner, you get served by an older woman and/or meth addict who calls you "hon" and you pay $3.99 for you breakfast, including the coffee. I would call this a "dhaba" because it was just outside of Bilaspur, had a landscaped garden in the back, generally appeared clean, and the prices were normal for a decent Bilaspur restaurant. A dhaba might feature a tarp roof and/or dirt floor, running water optional. I trusted it enough to try the chicken masala, which was nice and spicy, and so far has not made me sick. (The kitchen was also an open kitchen, so you can see them make your food, which is usually a good indicator of cleanliness and general hygiene).
Please explain what is SRI? :)