chimeki ganthan

In Satara

2010-01-12T11:57:00.000-08:00

7th june 2009
Chloe and I went to satara today. We wanted to take some cash out and buy some clothes. Since we could not do either of the things in Mhaswad we decided to go to Satara. (We can buy clothes in Mhaswad but Chloe wanted trousers and tshirts which we could not find in Mhaswad so we had to go to Satara). At breakfast Prabhat gave us direction to the bus station and also the bus schedule. He also told us about places we could go to in Satara. So we left house at around 10:30, found our way to the bus station and took a bus to Satara at around 11. We found two seats at the end of the bus and thus began our journey for the day. It took us almost three hours to get there. It was a long and tiring bus ride to Satara which was made worse by the obstruction at Gondawali. When we got to Satara we went to the closest ATM which was 10 minutes walk from bus station and withdrew money. Chloe could not make her card work at that ATM so we had to find another ATM. We asked a man at the ATM for another ATM nearby and he showed it to us across the road. We went there through bustling traffic and struggling our way at the crossroads. She finally made her card work at the ATM. I found a calling place nearby the ATM, so I called my dad. We talked for sometime while Chloe smoked. She was having a hard time to pacify her needs for smoke as women in rural India don’t smoke as openly as in cities.
We found a place to eat and despite Tinki’s warning of the possible bad effects of food from outside we did not hesitate to take our chance by eating there. Chloe had paneer makhanwala and butter roti while I had masala dosa and chai. It was a good meal, different from what we usually have at home. People were staring as Chloe and they seemed pleased to have a white guest eating at their place. We spent almost one hour there before heading out to find clothes for Chloe. It was really hard to find a shop for ladies outwear let alone western clothes. We found a shopping center with modern clothes so we went there. Lights were turned on as soon as we entered and two attendants were more than happy to find us there. They started displaying all the varieties of jeans they had despite Chloe’s protest that she wanted a trouser not jeans. The women were really disappointed when we left without buying anything. We went around for a while but in vain. So we decided to stop looking for clothes and started cigarette hunt for Chloe. We did manage to find a store with Chloe’s cigarettes and ecstatic on having found her brand Chloe bought 5 packs. I also bought two packets of amla pachak. It was around 4 when we decided to head back to Mhaswad. We had to wait for more than 30 minutes for the bus. And when the bus did come we could not find our way in. People were literally fighting to get in and the small doorway to the bus seemed like a battle field of Mahabharata era. I stayed quietly on the side waiting for the war to end while Chloe tried to get in imitating some of the women who were also trying to get in. Once we got in, a gentleman offered a seat at his side to Chloe. He had put his handkerchief on the seat. Chloe and I decided to share the seat and so there were three of us in a seat for two. After about 2 and a half hours we reached Mhaswad. It was really dark when we got there. And we walked fast back home in dark. The day was quite an adventure. When we got there dinner was already ready and I was never as happy to see dinner as I was then in my entire life. I was starving and the long bus ride had made me really tired. We chatted about Mumbai and its dirty business for a while before I passed out in my bed.

Pandarpur and Mumbai

2010-01-12T11:52:00.001-08:00

I had gone to a local festival in Pandarpur the day I took off to Bombay. Pandarpur is a small town 50 kms away from Mhaswad, the place where I am working this summer. It took us almost two hours to get there. Had it not been for gentlemen who offered their seats to me, chris and Tizzi, it would have been a very arduous journey. So we started our journey to this holy temple whose name none of us knew, from the bus stand in Mhaswad. We were told that there would be a big fair in Pandarpur on the day and that many people would walk more than 100 kms with their ‘palke’ to the temple in the town. We had very little idea on what the festival was about. Nevertheless we continued our journey to the holy pilgrimage along with other people. It took us almost an hour to reach the main temple staggering our away amidst the crowd of hundreds of people who were constantly pushing us from the bus stand in Pandarpur. Being accompanied by the only white people present in mass of more than hundred thousand people was also a very different and exhilarating experience. There were times when people would just point at our direction and stare at us, or the press guys who would follow us just to take our picture and local hooligans who would laugh at us and call us by names. However most of the people were nice and friendly. They would come to us and ask me for my village and my friends for their country. When my friends would say America, a name very familiar to almost everyone in India, they would smile and do the Indian head wiggle as a sign of appreciation. After a few distance walk we learned how to merge with the mass and walk in the crowd, which made the walk a bit easier. There were stalls of food, jewellery, colors, crystals and many other items along the way. People were busy making special prices and buying goods. We could see a great number of security officers all around. Streets were colorful, vibrant. People in groups who had come there with their ‘palke’ were enchanting prayers loudly.
The main temple was huge and beautiful. There was a long line of pilgrims waiting to get into the temple. We just went around the temple and then took the same way that we took before back to bus station. It was moving to see how so many people motivated by their faith had travelled many kilometers just to come here, many on foot, wait for hours to get into the temple and worship their god. As we emerged out of the crowd I felt saved, accomplished and alive.
Chris and I wanted to pee really badly but we could not find a restroom. Many people were using open ground as latrine, but it was not a good idea for us since we were wearing pants. We waited for more than 45 minutes for the bus back to Mhaswad. It was a big battle to get into the bus. Travelling with white people always has an advantage and likewise, people gladly offered us space to sit in the crowded bus that was carrying people beyond its capacity. As soon as I came back from Pandarpur, I took a long shower, had my dinner and then I left for Bombay with Leena and Joel.
So I went to Bombay last weekend. It was a terrific experience. We took an overnight bus to Bombay and we reached there at 4 in the morning. Since it was still dark outside we decided to wait at the Bombay central station for a while until it gets brighter outside. It seemed like the sun never rises in Bombay and we had to wait for more than an hour before it started getting some morning light outside. We then took a cab to gateway. It was a little wet outside and seemed like it had just started to drizzle. When we reached gateway of India we were the only tourist there. There ware high tides in the sea and gateway monument looked really interesting and beautiful in the early windy rainy morning. After gateway we wanted to get a room at Salvation Army and then get breakfast somewhere. When we went to Salvation Army hostel, the guy at the hostel told us to come at 9 when people usually check out. So we went to get breakfast. It was 6:30 in the morning and nothing was opened. We wondered around Colaba area for a while and went to this café called Mondegar which was supposed to open at 7. We literally waited outside the café till it was ready to open and then went inside. We were their first customer for the day. I had pancake with banana split and honey and black coffee for breakfast. It was a pleasant break from chapatti and halwa that we usually had for breakfast in Mhaswad. We also met a guy from Darjeeling who worked in the café. When I told him that I was from Kathmandu he seemed really interested in talking to us. He was an interesting guy and he served us a good breakfast. He suggested us places we could go in Mumbai and also talked about the Mumbai attack and how he survived it while some of his friends were dead. He told us that we should go to the Leopold café where there were still bullet marks of the shooting. I was really excited to go to the Loepold since it was where most of the interesting conversation in Shantaram took place. I had told my friends that I would go there when I go to Mumbai. Now that I was in Mumbai I could go there and talk about it with them. So we went there. The place was pretty cool and hip. There were lots of foreigners each with lonely planet guide book. Waiters at the café seemed engaged in talking to foreigners. It seemed like a pretty happening place at 10 in the morning. I ordered chocolate milkshake while Leena had a brownie and cappuccino and Joel had an icecream. My milkshake was bad and we were all in a bad mood after being driven out of the Salvation Army hostel. To make the mood worse none of the waiters in the café were keen to talk with three brown tourists. I wanted to feel the way Shantaram had felt in the book when he was at Leopold’s. I was not able to bring out the same mood which was pathetic, for I could not live his life in Mumbai, not even in Leopold’s café.
The man in Salvation Army was very rude. Joel hadn’t brought his passport with visa with him and the people in Salvation Army did not allow us to stay there even without hearing our explanation. We then went to this place called Residency hotel which was pretty welcoming and nicer than the earlier place. Coincidently the owner of the hotel was also a South Indian and he liked our group since Leena and Joel’s family was also from South India.
It was really fun going around in Colaba even though it poured heavy all day. We had good seafood at Mahesh’s for lunch and then we went to Colaba market in rain.Finally we went to see a Bollywood movie called New York at Regal cinema. The movie was a total crap. It was in no way a typical Bollywood movie which is usually full of colors, music and dance. I almost slept through most part of the movie. Joel and Leena were mocking the film for it was set in New York and it had distorted many facts about the city. Nevertheless it was a warm hideout in Mumbai rain. We then took a taxi to go to Taj Presidency to get dinner. The cab driver apparently did not know the hotel and took us around the theatre to bring back to the place where we had started and charged 20 bucks for leaving us stranded in the rain again. We went to Lavazza to get some hot coffee (I ordered their special frappe though). We went back to our hotel room, took a warm shower, cuddle into our warm blankets and ordered food through room service. We started watching movie in the hotel TV. Joel passed out after eating delicious dinner of chicken tikka and tandoori. I and Leena watched a movie and I felt asleep somewhere in the middle of the movie. I slept like a log in a soft mattress and warm blanket which was a pleasant change from a hard mattress in Mhaswad.
Next day we went to Victoria Terminus station from where we walked to the Crawford market. Most of the shops in the market were closed since it was a Sunday and so we went to the Badshah cafe' for mango lassi. We then took a cab to marine drive from Crawford market. We walked through the marine drive to Chowpaty beach. There were people along the sidewalk watching the sea and very much enjoying the scenery. Wind would bring tide upto them at times and they would all jump with joy. It was disgustingly dirty water that brought smiles to many people sitting there. Once we reached Chowpaty beach we walked over the soaked beach, stared at the sea for a while then went to the Italiano gelato place that was right across the street. It was yummie and I was really glad that I skipped breakfast that day just to fill my stomach with lassi and gelato. We also had bhelpuri at one of the stalls in the beach. Though bhelpuri itself was not that good, it was a good experience. I and Joel also tried the fruit icebar, chuski. We were like two kids too small for our age eating the icebar. From chowpaty beach we took a taxi to Hajiali mosque.
Hajiali is another place in Shantaram where most of the underworld planning takes place. The place was very romanticized in the book and I could not wait to be there. Once we got there we found out that the walkway to the mosque was covered by water from the rain of the day before. So we could not walk up to the mosque. We watched the mosque from the street. It was in its ruins, not with much of an aesthetic pleasure for eyes. But it was romantic indeed. Built in the middle of the sea water with only a narrow walkway joining it to the land, the place was breath taking, very moving. After watching the mosque for a while and capturing it in the memory card of my camera, we head off to mahalaxmi dhobighat. It is one of the biggest hand wash laundry in the world. It was huge. There were stalls filled with water and the hundreds of lines with colorful clothes drying in them. It was incredible. From the dhobighat we went to the taj presidency for lunch. Apparently they were serving only Sunday brunch in the Italian restaurant. we went in to have the brunch at 2 in the afternoon. It was good Italian food whose names I don’t remember now. Leena is an Italian major, and she had translated the names of all those Italian food to me before I ate it. It was a good place. We hung around there till 4 pm, using the bathroom for at least twice so that we could get full value of our money. It was crazy but in a nice way. We walked back to gateway, walked in to the Taj hotel and window shopped through the expensive brandname stores. It was one of the main targets during Mumbai attack. It seemed they had recovered well from the attack as it was the happening place for business tourist in Mumbai. We stayed at gateway for a while before we entered café mondegar again this time to have some beer and end our day in a good note.

24th june 2009

2010-01-12T11:50:00.000-08:00

I am in Mhaswad for 21 days already. Time flies so fast. It seemed only yesterday that I was here. When I think about the things that I have accomplished since I came here I don’t find anything substantial. Well the experience in Mhaswad itself is worth all this time, but I had expected to learn more by working in Mann Deshi. May be I have learnt things here that I am still unaware of. May be I have learned nothing worthwhile. I can’t tell. I spent my three weeks in Mann deshi preparing surveys, taking interviews, meeting people, talking about stuffs that supposedly matter a lot and very little travelling. So far I have interviewed only 13 people. Each person I met was different and special in their own ways. Getting people’s opinion in rural india is really hard. I guess people from this part of the world really want to please other people and do not want to offend them. It is not just with rural people. It is hard for me too to have a discreet opinion on anything. It must be some sort of cultural thing. I don’t really blame people.
I went to Pune last weekend. It was so much fun. Me, chris and chloe’ went with Lizzi. We stayed at her apartment in Pune. It was amazing. Lizzi’s boyfriend and his friend had also come from Mumbai. We went to Sheesha place which was really good. We ate lots of good food, went around Pune, did some shopping. It was incredible. Pune is so much like Kathmandu. The rain in Pune reminded me of my hometown. And they had momos in shopping center. Unbelievable!!! When chloe, chris and I were going back to Lizzi’s place from Laxmi road in autorickshaw we almost got lost. The auto rickshaw driver was from Allahabad and he was a nice guy. Since he was not a native of Maharastra himself, he though that it was his duty to drive foreigners back to their place. But non of us knew the way back. We kept on saying Samarthnagar and apparently the driver didn’t know that too. So he kept on driving us to unknown street and highways. We had to call Lizzi and ask her boyfriend to give directions to the driver. He was still confused and by asking random people in street we finally found our way back home. Then it was time for sizzler in bounty restaurant. We met Lizzi’s friend from Pune for dinner. The food was good but I still liked the Indian food from Marakesh we had the night before better. It was almost 12:30 when we were done eating. Two of my friends rode on the bike with Lizzi’s friend. And we were offered ride by some strange in his private car for 50 bucks. I love the randomness in India which you rarely find anywhere else. You never know what is in store for you and who you might meet. Chati then made Mexican mojito for all of us. We spent all night talking and drinking. It was time to come back to Mhaswad next day. We ordered biryani, naan and butter chicken for the way back since we would not be able to eat meat in mhaswad. Food was amazing. And the ride back home in state bus was an adventure of a kind. We took seat at the end of the bus and it was no better than a horse ride, jumping at each turning and bumps. I love these state buses. Conductors are cool. They have uniforms and they go to each seat with a puncher and tickets. They make tic tic sound by hitting the metalic holding pole with their punching tool. They don’t talk a lot and try to act rude and they still look cool. I also like the red color of those buses. I plan to travel around Maharastra in these state buses. I was telling Keyur how I love these state buses. He thought it was funny and told me that if I rode a lot in these buses I will get old really early. India for me is special also because of these state buses. I cannot imagine an India without them.
Despite all those love-hate relationships with people from India I still like India a lot. I want to go around, meet people, see things, and see life some day.

Things that fly

2009-07-29T03:29:00.000-07:00

Sunday was kite flying festival in Mhaswad. We had arranged to meet with our little friend Chetna at 4 in the evening to go to the river together and fly our kites. When we went there at sharp 4, very few people had shown up. It seems we got there earlier than we were supposed to, and we hadn’t heard from Chetna either. We then thought of visiting the nearby temple rather than hanging out in the river. So we went to the nearby Siddheswor temple. It was nag panchami, the day of Snake God. There were more people in the temple than usual. All the women were dressed in colorful clothes. In the temple, the priest offered to put tika on our forehead. While I was used to this in Nepal; Kris, Alexis and Tizi were fascinated. We went around the temple, observed the statues of various gods, and watched people who had come there motivated by their faith. We then went to meet Chetna and Leena who had called us eventually. We bought kites and thread before we head off to the river. There were more people in the river now. Boys were flying colorful kites and little girls in pretty clothes were hanging out with their parents or friends. It was fun flying our own kite. Alexis was a pro Californian who knew how to fly kite really well. She again had her little friends, who were hanging around her and teaching her what needs to be done when you fly kite in Mhaswad. Some of the kids were really funny. They were trying to hit on us (mostly on my friend), asking if we were married, if we had boyfriends, what our phone number was, etc..Some kid from the crowd suddenly shouted, “I love you”. We couldn’t help but burst into laughter. I wonder if these 12-13 years old kids knew what all these meant. It’s funny to see how you can put their westerner’s image within a frame of these few questions. There were also other little girls who wanted me to take their pictures and were kind enough to tell us that we were fun and we should come to their village again. They thought those guys were crazy and had nothing else to do but to say stupid stuffs. It was hilarious. These cute little girls, crazy young boys, our kites, colorful dresses, beautiful Indian women, food stalls, nothing could have made our time better. We then met Babulal, one of the helpers in the house, when it was almost time to stop. We decided to walk over to the house with him. He bought us pineapple slices on the way back. The same night we decided to watch “the kite runner”. It was mere coincidence that we were watching the movie the same day we had learnt the techniques of flying kite. Though our kite fight was not as intense as that of the movie, it was still a lot of fun.

henna and palm reading

2009-07-24T10:24:00.000-07:00

We had mehendi time today after office. We went to little Chetna’s house for putting henna on our palm. (The chair of the bank I am interning at is also Chetna. So we call this friend of ours little Chetna.)

As soon as we reached her house her mom served us hot chai. After having chai we were invited to one of Chetna's friend’s house. We went there and then had another cup of chai. It’s fun being offered chai everywhere we go in those tiny china cups.

It was then time for fortune telling. Chetna’s mom would read our hand and predict our future husband and future kids. Apparently, I would have two boys and I would constantly fight with my husband. Not a good sign, though it does support my argument for not getting married, even more. I don’t want a nagging husband and I am still not sure about two boys. Having lived with girls all my life including my two sisters and friends at school (which is an all girl’s college), living with guys might be little hard. I don’t know.

But I didn’t tell her anything. I just laughed at the prospect of chaotic married life with two boys and constantly fighting husband and got ready for the henna.

Identity dilemma

2009-07-21T23:09:00.000-07:00

My typical day in Mhaswad starts at 9 in the morning. We usually get up at 9, wash ourselves, have breakfast that Tinki prepares for us every day and then head to the bank at around 10:30. It is usually a relaxed morning. We don’t have anything else to do in the morning and it is usually hot outside, so we sleep in the artificial coolness that our ceiling fan provides. Chloe`, Chris, Rama and I walk to the bank together. It is about 5 minutes walk but the scorching heat of mid June sun makes it worse. I was complaining about my exposed skin to Chris today. It has gone darker than it was before. It is not a tan as I am already dark enough, but with this heat my skin is getting reddish dark which makes my complexion look worse. Once we get to office we settle down in our marked territory. Chloe` and I usually sit in the conference room since it has inverter and we can use electricity even when power is down.

Electric power goes off for more than 12 hours every day in Mhaswad. I have not yet thought of a way to react to this phenomenon. I cannot complain for I know in my country they don’t have electric power for more than 18 hours daily, that also in capital city. How could I complain for not getting electricity when Mhaswad is supposed to be a very rural part of Maharashtra state in India and we have the luxury of using inverter whenever power is off? However, I have not lived in Nepal for two years and I came here directly from New York. That does make me partially American if not fully giving me an excuse to talk about it as my other American and European friends do.

Sometimes I find myself in a very awkward position. I find myself struggling between two opposing ideas, two different cultures, and two different ways of life. We get to eat authentic Marathi food for each meal here. That includes chapatti, rice, dal, kadi, curd, fresh mangoes, pickles, spicy curry and other delicacies I was craving for when I was away from home for two years. But now when I get to eat it every day, I crave for chocolates, chips, wraps (that I used to hate with all my guts), French fries (something I would avoid for the fear of gaining weight) and coffee. It is a strange world.

Then there is the issue of nationality and color. I am usually accompanied by fellow interns who are mostly white. People here love their color. Kids never fail to say hello whenever we pass. It reminds me of the time when we used to do the same as kids if we saw any white foreigner in our vicinity. It was considered to be cool among our group of friends if the foreigner replied to our hello. Hello would be followed by ‘how are you?’ and there was very less possibility that the foreigner would ever answer.

Shopkeepers love talking to us and offering help. People tend to be super nice. I would not have expected to get similar treatment if I were alone. My skin tone passes me for an Indian. And whenever I go around the village on my own people first try to talk in Marathi and then Hindi. When I fail to answer in Marathi and start my broken Hindi, they would ask me where I came from. I would give them the magic word “America”. They love it. If I say Nepal, I would be just another South Asian there who is expected to know Hindi and much about India. And why not, I grew up watching Indian movies and eating Indian brands of food most of my life. But the word USA puts me at a higher stand. People start liking me as well. It does hurt my national pride. I guess I have to lose something to gain the same respect a westerner would otherwise get. I am a foreigner in brown disguise and they still like me. It is a great thing to be liked and not be despised.

The other thing that stands as a proof of my deviation from my origin is toilet paper. I spent 19 wonderful years of my life without using it. It was great and I was totally fine with it like any ordinary Nepali kid. In US it took me months to adjust to the habit of using it. In the beginning I used to feel gross and dirty. To me it was also a waste of resources. And as my friend once told me, ‘why should we waste trees when we have abundant water available that can be recycled again and again’. It was true. But I did get use to it. Two years of toilet paper use was enough for me to be one of the users myself. Now that I am in India and do not have the privilege to use toilet papers, I find it unusual and strange. I have brought my own roll of toilet papers. But there is a notice pasted on toilet door requesting not to use it. I feel dirty if I don’t use it. I now realize that toilet paper has become integral part of my life for two years and I find it hard to let go of the habit now.

There are many other small yet important things that challenge my identity. I am proud to be a Nepali. Things I learnt for the 19 years of my life are as dear to me as anything else. I am what I am now because of the culture I was brought up in. But the exposure to the modern world and different ways of living sometimes puts me in a threshold of ideas where I find it hard to choose either of them.

Mid Project Self Evaluation

2009-07-20T09:08:00.000-07:00

Today at office I thought of filling the mid project self evaluation form which I was supposed to fill few weeks earlier. Here is an excerpt from my self evaluation.

-Why are you doing this internship?
To see how micro finance works and to gain experience in non-profit world.

-What do you like most so far about the experience?
Meeting clients and observing how bank’s services have affected their lives.

-What is most challenging?
Getting things done promptly, communicating with people who know only Marathi, having clients express their opinion on certain things which, trust me, is really hard.

-List several people with whom you have networked (informally or formally).
Bank’s CEO, other staffs, other interns who are far more experienced than I am.

-Who would you like to have more contact with or what area would you like to know more about?
I would like to know more about research works in development sector.

-What are you getting out of this experience?
A lot of things including firsthand experience of working in a microfinance institute in rural India, opportunity to see social and cultural settings of rural India, and meet people who are motivated to make a difference in other people’s lives.

-Is it what you anticipated?
Not quite. I expected the program itself to be more organized and formal. But it’s still a very good life experience for a starter.

-Are you learning more or less than you imagined?
More in a very different way, without having anyone as a mentor (it’s more like self learning).

-Look at your initial learning goals and see if you are meeting or exceeding your personal and or professional goals.
Now, I have got an insight of working in rural settings. I have realized the fact that everyone is not equally privileged. This for me is very important lesson. I am doing impact assessment out of classroom now and it’s actually being used. So the purpose of my work has shifted from getting good grades to making it useful in real world.

-What changes can you make to your within or outside of your position to improve your satisfaction with your summer experience?
Not much. I will finish what I have started, prepare my final report and try to make some policy suggestions.

Lonely weekend

2009-07-18T08:49:00.000-07:00

I am all by myself for the first time in Mhaswad. Some of my friends have gone to Mumbai for some office work and others have gone away for weekend. There were as many as 9 people in this flat once and now there is not a single person. It looks pretty empty and deserted. I find awkward not to have anyone to talk to. My friends left at around 4 yesterday. So I was alone yesterday night too. Last night I watched a movie called Juno that keyur had transferred to my flash drive. It was a good movie. I loved it. I have been watching some heavy movies from Keyur’s list these days. Into the wild is my favorite so far. I might write something about the movie some other day. But for now let me tell you how sad it is to be alone in a village in middle of nowhere on weekend.
I sometimes go to Archana’s shop to give her English lessons. But our class has been discontinued for some time since she is really busy in her business. So I don’t go there regularly these days and I didn’t go there today either. I sometimes hang out with Babulal’s kids. However as I came back from work today I was too exhausted to do that. I didn’t want to go for a walk alone either. So I was left with nothing to do but read my book today after office. And let me remind you, it’s a Saturday.
So I got up at around 10 in the morning (I went to bed at 2 last night), had light breakfast and went to office. I worked on my data analysis for a while. It was strange to be alone in office where there used to be at least 4 or 5 interns at other normal days. By 3, I was exhausted staring at the spreadsheets and stata results and figuring out patterns of different numbers. So I went downstairs to get my regular dose of frooti. (I have developed this compulsive habit of drinking frooti everyday from Leena. In fact everyone in office loves frooti now. It is our favorite junk diet after bada pau.)
I left office earlier than usual. Once I reached home I passed out in my bed. It’s cooler outside after some showers this afternoon. But I don’t feel like going outside. There are mosquitoes and they have started attacking me recently. Before I was the only one immune to their bites. It seems I have turned sweeter these days.
I went through few pages of Kafka on the shore; I have been trying to read that book for a long time. I just can’t get into it. I don’t feel like reading now. I have another movie to watch, Thank you for smoking. I am wondering, what after movie? I have whole day on my own tomorrow. 6 days week have made me tired and I need to rest. But it’s no fun to be alone all day in Mhaswad.

When I arrived in India

2009-07-17T12:10:00.000-07:00

I had almost forgotten to post my experience on arriving to India. It's actually worth a read. Enjoy!!!

The first day in India has been an amazing experience. Amazing is not the right word. But right now I don’t have a perfect word to describe it. It is a mixture of enthrall and some unexpected events. I landed on the Mumbai airport at 3:25 in the morning. Airport customs and immigration stuffs were much easier than expected. The immigrant officer took me for an Indian and was shocked when I showed him my Nepali passport. He was a congenial and happy person and only laughed at the matter, a laugh with good intentions. I thought I had brought enough dollars with me but once I was in money exchange counter I realized that I had not drawn enough money from ATM in America. This was the result of my very last minute planning of everything. I then called Suzanne to let her know about my arrival in India. It was quire early and I was feeling sorry for waking her up so early. I took a prepaid taxi to Mumbai central to catch a bus to Satara. On my way to Mumbai central I could see kilometers of slum settlement. People were sleeping on pavements like some brown logs thrown in the street. It was early morning and there were lines of people defecating in the open area. I had heard of the slum and slum dwellers in Mumbai. But I had not expected to be welcomed by them at least on my first day. I was welcomed by the tragedy of Mumbai and it did send some chill through my spines. Then there were the sky scrapers of one of the busiest cities in the world. It was sad that Mumbai couldn’t hide its tragedy and its duality becomes quite evident to whoever visits there for the first time. Getting on to a bus to Satara was supposed to be an easy task and little in my mind had I expected Mumbai central to be so overwhelming. The security in the station told me that I could not get a bus to Satara there and that I had to go to Dadar to catch the bus. I then took a local train to Dadar. So I was in a local train in Mumbai in a general compartment where I was the only girl. I was carrying a big suitcase and there was this bewildered expression on my face anyone could easily read. It was kind of awkward and scary. I was praying throughout the time that I would not be kidnapped or robbed in the train like in some Bollywood movie. A gentleman guided me to the Dadar station and after some hassle I went to the right bus station. I then took a bus to Satara. The bus conductor was shockingly very nice to me. My smile and little flirtatious gestures must have done the wonder. Then it was a very long ride to Satara. Along the way I saw a very different India and I liked it. I liked the landscape, winding roads along some hill station, rural people who had just learned some traits of modern world, some cities, co riders and everything. It was pretty nice. Once I reached Satara I had to call Suzanne again to call the car that was hired for me. The driver who picked me up went for lunch and then there was a new one. Satara to Mhaswad was about one and a half hour ride in car. It would take longer in bus, Suzanne told me when I reached Mann Deshi. With a random chat along the way with the driver I reached Mann Deshi finally where I was welcomed by my colleagues and mentors. It felt nice though I was exhausted to the state of passing out. I came to the house of Chetna Maam, the founder of Mann Deshi, where other interns were also staying. I took a shower and slept for almost five hours before dinner. After dinner I again went to sleep. It was a long and tiring but exciting journey to India. I expect there are more interesting things stored along the way for me. I hope tomorrow is going to be another great day of my journey.

First day in office

2009-07-17T11:59:00.000-07:00

June 4th 2009
Today was my first day at office. I could not sleep till late this morning as I had been sleeping for more than 12 hours since I came here yesterday. I got up early and read through few pages of Shantaram. I like this book. It makes me optimistic about everything in India. It is true that it guides some of my perceptions about Indian cities and Indian, but I won’t be able to make any judgment until I see enough of India on my own. At around 9 we had a breakfast of fried rice, curd, mangoes, banana and some kind of Marathi pudding. It was a good meal. I had Indian mangoes after almost two years and I loved it. I then headed to Mann Deshi’s office with other interns at around 10:15. I took a spot close to other volunteers and started observing the office. There were awards and certificates hung all over the walls that were given to the founder of the organization. Some people had already arrived while others were still to come. We were served tea as soon as we got there. Everything seemed so relaxed as Suzanne had written earlier. I was then scheduled to meet Chetna madam to discuss my interest and then I was told I would be assigned a project. I was talking to Rama, one of the interns from Delhi who was there since February, and he had told me to be aggressive and persistent on my interest. I only had faintest idea of what I wanted to do.
I told them that I wanted to continue on the impact assessment project that previous intern had done in 2006. It is a tough decision. I will be responsible for everything from designing the survey to interviewing people and analyzing the data on my own. I don’t know how I will make through it. I am very impulsive and that at times puts me at stake. I just don’t want to change my decision again.

from airport

2009-07-17T11:09:00.000-07:00

I wrote this piece when I was in airport at New York before my flight took off to India. Though I have been in India for more than a month now, I feel nothing can be a better start to this blog than the article itself. I'll of course try to keep this updated with more recent information.

The day is finally here. I am now on my way to rural India to follow my “passions”. I am waiting to be boarded in my plane to India at the JFK airport in New York. I am very excited, a little bit nervous, somewhat uncertain and very little scared. I am going to a place where I have never been before. I have heard things of it, some good, some alright and some very scary. I am not sure what I should be expecting of my journey to India. I had always wanted to go to India since I was a kid. My grandmother from my mom side is from India, and she sometimes talks about her childhood, though it’s more about her family and village than India itself. I have watched Indian movies and Indian TV shows all my life. I know Indian movies by heart and have some favorites too. But when it comes to meeting the real Indian people I am kind of reluctant like most of the Nepalese. I don’t really hate them. I think it is more like a national thing. In fact I have some very good Indian friends now. They are terrific people. And I assume only my friends are the nicest Indian. I am well aware of my ignorance. But it is really hard to be an exception to the national feeling. So here I am, in my odyssey to see India, rural India in fact, meet real Indians, and make friends and as my friend once told me, seek the true meaning of happiness. I am starting this journey to have the time of life, see different world, and do something meaningful and exciting. This is the beginning of an exciting journey; I don’t where it leads or how ends.