Bilaspur has, in the words of a schoolteacher we met on the bus, "no activities for adventurous youth." This means no dance clubs, music spots, or even pubs (there are *bars* which we haven't entered, but they seem to be dives catering to working and lower class alcoholics), so one of our leisure time activities is watching Indian TV. At any given time, Bollywood's most popular actor Shahrukh Khan, is probably on TV on 15 of the 70 channels. Imagine Russell Crowe, Brad Pitt, Tom Hanks, Leonardo DiCaprio, Justin Timberlake, Jay-Z, the "Can You Hear Me" guy, and the Geico Gekko wrapped into one omnipresent personality, and you have Shah Rukh. He is primarily a movie star, and is in many of the top movies, and as a movie star, his mere presence makes a movie a top movie. In addition, music videos here don't belong to an artist/album, thet are associated with the movie for which they were produced, and the video stars not the musicians/singers, but the stars of the movie. He also is a very popular pitchman in ads of all kinds, TV and print. The top woman, Karina Kapur, is all over the place, but is not as ubiquitous as Shahrukh. She has been on top for only a few years, and he has been #1 for about 15. Women in Bollywood, as in Hollywood, have a shorter peak than men, and in India they tend to stop acting when they get married, or at least slow way down.
7/20/2009
Follow up on the last post... maybe it was a one day flurry of activity, and its a coincidence, but Dolly's grotesque wax monument of mangled ants seems to have done the trick. Except for a small area of activity in the kitchen, the ants in our house are now few and far between.
Today we ate lunch with Jacob's agricultural assistant, Homprakash, who was going to be showing us how they do the direct seeding (weather permitting). Weather did not permit, but we learned that he had worked with Binayak Sen before coming to JSS to work with Jacob. Coincidentally, as we were waiting for the Jeeps to leave, we started speaking to a woman who was also waiting for a ride, and found out that she was writing a book and preparing on film a documentary about Dr. Sen.
For those who don't know, Dr. Binayak Sen was just recently released from jail after being held without bail or trial (or even proper charges) for just over two years. The offical pretense was that he was aiding Naxalite rebels, but the real reason is that he was speaking out against human rights violations comitted by government sponsored militias fighting the Naxalites. Both sides are engaged in guerilla warfare, mass killings and other atrocities. Dr. Sen served as an advisor to JSS (not sure the whole story), and I believe he was a classmate of some of the JSS doctors as well.
Totally unrelated, Dolly has suddenly transformed into an excellent cook. She has always been good, though generally reluctant, and her bhindi and eggplant on consecutive nights were both among the best dishes she has ever prepared. I don't know if the vegetables are tastier, the spices are fresher or better mixed, or if its just a matter of an Indian girl being possessed by the spirits of her native lands, but I am willing to surrender cooking duties and stick to washing the dishes.
Today we ate lunch with Jacob's agricultural assistant, Homprakash, who was going to be showing us how they do the direct seeding (weather permitting). Weather did not permit, but we learned that he had worked with Binayak Sen before coming to JSS to work with Jacob. Coincidentally, as we were waiting for the Jeeps to leave, we started speaking to a woman who was also waiting for a ride, and found out that she was writing a book and preparing on film a documentary about Dr. Sen.
For those who don't know, Dr. Binayak Sen was just recently released from jail after being held without bail or trial (or even proper charges) for just over two years. The offical pretense was that he was aiding Naxalite rebels, but the real reason is that he was speaking out against human rights violations comitted by government sponsored militias fighting the Naxalites. Both sides are engaged in guerilla warfare, mass killings and other atrocities. Dr. Sen served as an advisor to JSS (not sure the whole story), and I believe he was a classmate of some of the JSS doctors as well.
Totally unrelated, Dolly has suddenly transformed into an excellent cook. She has always been good, though generally reluctant, and her bhindi and eggplant on consecutive nights were both among the best dishes she has ever prepared. I don't know if the vegetables are tastier, the spices are fresher or better mixed, or if its just a matter of an Indian girl being possessed by the spirits of her native lands, but I am willing to surrender cooking duties and stick to washing the dishes.
7/19/2009
In the last few days we have been at war with nature...
The first incident occurred at the hotel, when Dolly came out of the shower. She opened her suitcase to get her clothes, and then screamed and jumped on the bed. She had seen a mouse. I dragged the suitcase into the hallway, and started emptying it, and when it was mostly open a small mouse jumped out and scurried into the room next to ours.
Later that evening we were playing cards on the bed, when Dolly screamed again. She had seen the mouse run under the bed. I looked under the bed and at first didn't see it, but after looking closely, I found it was hiding between the bedpost and the wall. I went to the other end of the bed and gave it a sharp shove... then called the front desk to get rid of the dead mouse.
Yesterday we had two chipaki incidents. The first happened when we got home and Dolly found a small one on the bathroom bucket. I lifted up to the bathroom window, where it jumped out. Later that evening another chipkali went running on the wall in the living room. I went to chase it out the front door with a broom, but it ran all over the house until eventually I got it out the back door.
Today brought a plague of ants. We had seen some in the apartment, but not enough to really worry about. Today, however, they appeared in great numbers from their holes by the door frames. We tried killing them with detergent and bathroom cleaners, and that got rid of them for a while. Then they came back. We tried killing them by thwacking them with the stiff broom. That killed many of them... but soon they were back. Right now Dolly is buring them with a candle and dripping wax on them. It started as an attempt to seal off their holes, but that didn't quite work and it turned into just killing them out of spite. Tomorrow someone from the office will come look, and/or we'll get some proper pesticides, never mind that we're trying to promote organic farming and save the world from the dangers of those same pesticides. We can't live in an anthill.
The first incident occurred at the hotel, when Dolly came out of the shower. She opened her suitcase to get her clothes, and then screamed and jumped on the bed. She had seen a mouse. I dragged the suitcase into the hallway, and started emptying it, and when it was mostly open a small mouse jumped out and scurried into the room next to ours.
Later that evening we were playing cards on the bed, when Dolly screamed again. She had seen the mouse run under the bed. I looked under the bed and at first didn't see it, but after looking closely, I found it was hiding between the bedpost and the wall. I went to the other end of the bed and gave it a sharp shove... then called the front desk to get rid of the dead mouse.
Yesterday we had two chipaki incidents. The first happened when we got home and Dolly found a small one on the bathroom bucket. I lifted up to the bathroom window, where it jumped out. Later that evening another chipkali went running on the wall in the living room. I went to chase it out the front door with a broom, but it ran all over the house until eventually I got it out the back door.
Today brought a plague of ants. We had seen some in the apartment, but not enough to really worry about. Today, however, they appeared in great numbers from their holes by the door frames. We tried killing them with detergent and bathroom cleaners, and that got rid of them for a while. Then they came back. We tried killing them by thwacking them with the stiff broom. That killed many of them... but soon they were back. Right now Dolly is buring them with a candle and dripping wax on them. It started as an attempt to seal off their holes, but that didn't quite work and it turned into just killing them out of spite. Tomorrow someone from the office will come look, and/or we'll get some proper pesticides, never mind that we're trying to promote organic farming and save the world from the dangers of those same pesticides. We can't live in an anthill.
7/16/2009
We aren't in our permanent home yet, but we made a big step into more comfortable circumstances. Until we find an apartment we are staying in a guest apartment in the same colony as the doctors. This means, among other things, that we now have a kitchen and we can leave for work half an hour later.
This first morning we left for work, however, the jeep got stuck in the mud less than a km down the road. A crowd gathered and offered advice on how to get it out. We placed stones under the tires, people helped push, but the jeep just sunk deeper and deeper. Eventually, we gave it up and the doctors hopped on a bus and Dolly and I walked home to work from there (and try to get the internet working).
I would now like to purge my system by venting about Hotel Sharda. First, when we first arrived, it was nice. Clean and air-conditioned, and more than what I expected for 650 rupees (about $13) a night, and some of my frustrations were undoubtably a result of the total of about 2 weeks of hotel living. But the small things do stop being small and start growing in size. The doorbell for the room made an absolutely horribly buzzing sound, a noise appropriate to be used as additional negative reinforcement during electroshock therapy. Every time we ordered something from room service, it was rang probably four times... once to deliver the food, once to pick up the dishes, once to bring the bill, and finally one last time to bring the change. Many of these times were in the later evenings or early mornings, when those kinds of noises are especially unwelcome. And sometimes they would ring it just to see if we wanted anything... but at least they mostly stopped that after a few days and us explaining that if we wanted anything we would call.
The food at the hotel was the most convienient dinner option, as we could call them up and they would bring it to the room. Often we would get home at 7 or 8, and were tired and preferred to stay in. The problem was that the food was pretty mediocre and only vegetarian, so every night it was a question of whether to go out and get something better, or stay in the room and relax while we waited for the food to come.
But now, thats all over, and we're getting settled nicely. We can once again eat home cooked food, and make our tea and coffee the way we like it. And now, our doorbell is a pleasant sound of birds chirping.
This first morning we left for work, however, the jeep got stuck in the mud less than a km down the road. A crowd gathered and offered advice on how to get it out. We placed stones under the tires, people helped push, but the jeep just sunk deeper and deeper. Eventually, we gave it up and the doctors hopped on a bus and Dolly and I walked home to work from there (and try to get the internet working).
I would now like to purge my system by venting about Hotel Sharda. First, when we first arrived, it was nice. Clean and air-conditioned, and more than what I expected for 650 rupees (about $13) a night, and some of my frustrations were undoubtably a result of the total of about 2 weeks of hotel living. But the small things do stop being small and start growing in size. The doorbell for the room made an absolutely horribly buzzing sound, a noise appropriate to be used as additional negative reinforcement during electroshock therapy. Every time we ordered something from room service, it was rang probably four times... once to deliver the food, once to pick up the dishes, once to bring the bill, and finally one last time to bring the change. Many of these times were in the later evenings or early mornings, when those kinds of noises are especially unwelcome. And sometimes they would ring it just to see if we wanted anything... but at least they mostly stopped that after a few days and us explaining that if we wanted anything we would call.
The food at the hotel was the most convienient dinner option, as we could call them up and they would bring it to the room. Often we would get home at 7 or 8, and were tired and preferred to stay in. The problem was that the food was pretty mediocre and only vegetarian, so every night it was a question of whether to go out and get something better, or stay in the room and relax while we waited for the food to come.
But now, thats all over, and we're getting settled nicely. We can once again eat home cooked food, and make our tea and coffee the way we like it. And now, our doorbell is a pleasant sound of birds chirping.
7/15/2009
The monsoon which has been late in coming has finally arrived. Since our first week here there have been scattered showers, but they have not brought much water. Rainfall, which is essential for the crops, is off 40% or more all over India, but it is possible for that shortage to be made up if the rest of the season brings heavy rains.
We got heavy rains yesterday, starting with some short but furious thunderstorms overnight. We went to work in a torrential downpour, and had to lift a fallen low-tension pole to allow the jeep to get through. The afternoon brought some sun, and then in the evening, it poured even harder. On the ride home, the streets were flooded. When we got into the city, the motorcyles parked on the side of the road were submerged 3/4 of the way up their wheels. We saw a woman walking through the puddles on the side of the street fall into what appeared to be a waist-deep pothole. Many parts of the road had water deep enough to come up to the bottom of vehicles. Still, people rode about on their bicycles and motorcycles, and the some of rickshaw operators kept pedaling, getting soaked to the bone.
Evening rains are a part of the monsoon pattern, we are told. The doctors run some clinics in remote regions, and some people will leave early because they must cross rivers before they flood from the evening rain. As it is, the doctors will sometimes have to cross a river by foot with the gear on their heads and walk the last 2km... sometimes the last 8km if
Side note: one of the passengers making the ride back to the city with us was a man with severly elevated blood pressure (220/150) in the beginning stages of having a stroke. He was from another part of the country, and in the area for a wedding. The condition may have been caused by not taking his medecines, alcohol use, and/or chronic malnutrition - either way he was being taken to the emergency room. You could see the veins bulging in his head and the start of some asymmetries in his face. Most of the work the doctors do is done behind closed doors where we don't go, and we are only left to see the patients calmly waiting, but sometimes we get sobering reminders like this about what kind of work is being done JSS and what the doctors face daily.
We got heavy rains yesterday, starting with some short but furious thunderstorms overnight. We went to work in a torrential downpour, and had to lift a fallen low-tension pole to allow the jeep to get through. The afternoon brought some sun, and then in the evening, it poured even harder. On the ride home, the streets were flooded. When we got into the city, the motorcyles parked on the side of the road were submerged 3/4 of the way up their wheels. We saw a woman walking through the puddles on the side of the street fall into what appeared to be a waist-deep pothole. Many parts of the road had water deep enough to come up to the bottom of vehicles. Still, people rode about on their bicycles and motorcycles, and the some of rickshaw operators kept pedaling, getting soaked to the bone.
Evening rains are a part of the monsoon pattern, we are told. The doctors run some clinics in remote regions, and some people will leave early because they must cross rivers before they flood from the evening rain. As it is, the doctors will sometimes have to cross a river by foot with the gear on their heads and walk the last 2km... sometimes the last 8km if
Side note: one of the passengers making the ride back to the city with us was a man with severly elevated blood pressure (220/150) in the beginning stages of having a stroke. He was from another part of the country, and in the area for a wedding. The condition may have been caused by not taking his medecines, alcohol use, and/or chronic malnutrition - either way he was being taken to the emergency room. You could see the veins bulging in his head and the start of some asymmetries in his face. Most of the work the doctors do is done behind closed doors where we don't go, and we are only left to see the patients calmly waiting, but sometimes we get sobering reminders like this about what kind of work is being done JSS and what the doctors face daily.
7/13/2009
I have never been the best dresser and I tend to wear casual clothes that I don't have to think much about, and in America, I rarely felt self-consious due to my attire. Here, even beggars are often better dressed than I am. I think part of it is just cultural norms, part of it is the quailty of fabrics available, and part of it is the availability of cheap labor for tailoring and emroidery. All but the poorest of the poor, who literally wear rags, wear nicer clothes (though they may only have one outfit). I am speaking about the men here... all women here dress even nicer, in colorful salwar kameez and sarees, even the women who live in the medians under the flyovers (again, it is probably their only outfit).
7/10/2009
We had one last day of meetings in Bubaneshwar, and once again we found ourselves unexpectedly in front of a large crowd. We had been given the contact info for CWS, an organization involved in SRI in Orissa. They were having a meeting with some other organizations across the street from where we were staying, so we made plans to stop by to talk to them. The meeting turned out to be more of a conference, and we barged into a meeting room in the middle of a PowerPoint presentation. After the
presentation we were invited up front to talk, but ended up just speaking with two people at the front of the room, and we left to scattered and unneccessary applause after holding up the proceeding for about half an hour.
Our trip back was pretty uneventful. A professor of English was able to tell Dolly was from AP by her pattern of stresses in the English language, and I was cursed by a hijjra (eunuch/transvestite) who was demanding money and was upset that I had already given away my small change. A young girl, about three years old saw me and started crying and screaming as if she had seen a monster. Many adults stare, sometimes turning to watch as I go past, but they seldom do more. The most interesting reactions to my foreignness are from children. One boy in a temple came up and with hand extended, and introduced himself with good English. Later, his friend came to do the same. One boy in a village was coming up the road, and when he saw me, he turned tail and ran until he was out of sight, not looking back once.
But anyway, we are back at Hotel Sharda until accomodations are found.
presentation we were invited up front to talk, but ended up just speaking with two people at the front of the room, and we left to scattered and unneccessary applause after holding up the proceeding for about half an hour.
Our trip back was pretty uneventful. A professor of English was able to tell Dolly was from AP by her pattern of stresses in the English language, and I was cursed by a hijjra (eunuch/transvestite) who was demanding money and was upset that I had already given away my small change. A young girl, about three years old saw me and started crying and screaming as if she had seen a monster. Many adults stare, sometimes turning to watch as I go past, but they seldom do more. The most interesting reactions to my foreignness are from children. One boy in a temple came up and with hand extended, and introduced himself with good English. Later, his friend came to do the same. One boy in a village was coming up the road, and when he saw me, he turned tail and ran until he was out of sight, not looking back once.
But anyway, we are back at Hotel Sharda until accomodations are found.
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