Khambalia

Today I went to a village called Khambalia. As usual, going in the field is becoming fun as I am starting to interact with the locals a lot more. I try and speak in Gujarati more, however at my own expense as usually people end up giggling at my poor gujarati. Nonetheless, the one thing that I am really observing in my interactions is the importance of physical positioning. As I was mentioning earlier I think, usually when I go into somebody's house, they insist I sit on a chair (if they sit on the floor) or they make a special space for me to physically sit. Today when I went to Khambalia, the house that we were in had a swing. They motioned for me to sit on the swing, and the men sat across from me on a chair. When the women started gathering, they came and sat behind me. So basically, it is men on one side, me in the middle on the swing and then the women on the other side. My back was towards the women. Now, everytime I turn back I see them looking just at me, staring and smiling and some even giggling. But I couldn't exactly start a convo in that position, and they wouldn't initiate a convo either, perhaps because I was sitting on the swing - a space I guess mostly for the men to sit on. So there was a clear power hiearchy type thing going on. Anyway, then I decided to go and sit on the floor with the women, and immediately all of them gathered around me and all of their focus was on me, trying to talk with me. Then I had to take my time and in my broken Gujarati tried to commmunicate with them. Interestingly, when the meeting actually started, they wanted me to once again go and sit beside the men on the chair. It's as if the power between the women and myself was constantly shifting based on how and where I was sitting. Anyway, that was my observation of the day. Enjoy the pics!

My First meal

I cooked today!! My first handmade meal in Keshod. It's Sunday today, and all i have done is lazed around, talked on the phone, watched tv, taken a nap and now writing a blog. I really appreciate that I have people to talk with, if not in person than at least on the phone.

Anyway, I cooked! Initially I had not intentions of doing that and had bought myself quite a bit of apples and bananas. But I realized I wanted my carb intake of the day. So I tried making a potato sabji (vegetables) and paratha (a type of bread). Well, the paratha turned out as crisp and hard as a papad and the potato was a little raw and i forgot to put salt in it. I was glad I was not feeding this food to anyone else but me. Obviously still long ways to go in cooking Indian food. Will learn will learn.

Other than that, I am kind of in a calm, quiteish, sluggish mood. So will keep this short. And as for mama's comment on God....hmm...let me think about that one.

The "Field"

It’s Saturday night and I finally have one night off. I am feeling kind of ok. Other than work and watch really horrible movies or Gujarati shows on TV, I don’t have much to do. I was talking with a friend in Ahmedabad and it seems everybody has their Saturday night plans but me :(. Well, my Saturday night plan so far has included taking a shower after spending 5 long hours in the field, getting drinking water filled in a large can from the office, buying 1 Kg apple and a dozen bananas as well as 1 bag of milk. My cook didn’t make me dinner and she won’t be coming tomorrow. Perfect opportunity for me to take a break from the oily, heavy food and go back to the basics of milk and fruits. I have never usually enjoyed apples, but after such a long time of eating just oily vegetables and bread, a change is more than welcome. The things I learn everyday. There is no fridge in the apartment that I am staying at currently. However, I can still take care of milk if I boil it at night, then I boil it again in the morning. So boiling it every 6-8 hours should keep it going for a day or two without it going bad. Hurrah, I know how to take care of milk without a fridge. I just realized how spoilt that makes me sound. But whatever.
I have been going in the field since the last three days now. The “field” consists of 4 sectors/talukas and within these 4 sectors, fall 83 villages with a min. Population of 1000 each. So far, I have been to 5 villages in 2 sectors in the last three days. Usually I go with someone as I am still being introduced to the field and I don’t know my way around. Yesterday was an exception however because the woman that I was supposed to go with forgot about “the concept of me”. So off she went into the field and I was left to fend for myself. There is a local train service from Keshod to the place I wanted to go to (Malia). It was scheduled for 12.00 pm and I reached there at 11.55 am, it had left by that time. The train was running early. Alright, second option, take the local bus. Got to the bus station to find out there are 2 busses headed for Malia, one at 11.30 and the other at 12.00. I reached the bus station at 12.15 and neither of the two busses had left the station yet. I was glad they were running late. Then it came to be 12.30 and one of the busses finally came by. Now, let me give you an idea of what these busses are like. Soon enough you’ll see a picture of it too. For the moment, I call them “Khatara busses”, i.e. broken buses. These buses are a million years old, and they certainly look that old. It took me 40 minutes to reach Malia and it feels like you are sitting in the middle of a construction zone with drilling machines on your head. Now imagine the noise level in that scenario and add an extremely bumpy ride moving along at a snail’s pace. That was my bus ride to Malia. On my way back from Malia, I had to take the local 6 pm train by myself and I couldn’t believe it. The ticket was Rs.4. Rs.40 = 1 CND. You do the math on that one. I couldn’t believe it. These are the local trains where there is crap on the floor, the seats are wooden planks painted blue, there are child vendors inside selling peanuts and goats on the train. It was a short enough train ride and I made it home safe. Not that bad actually. Today on the other hand, I was supposed to take the bus but by the time we reached the station, the bus had left (even though we were told it hadn’t). So we waited half an hour, then went and checked and were told the bus left an hour ago. Then we took a thing called a “jhagda”. Once again pics will be coming up soon enough. A jhagda is very difficult to describe in words, so I will wait for the pics. For that all i can say is, you better hold on to the rod above for dear life and your bum will get used to the soarness and the numbness eventually. It’s like, your legs become so numb that you stop feeling them entirely until a bump or pothole rattles up the whole jhagda and a kid falls in your lap. Again, wait for pictures for a more clear explanation. And on my way back, we did triples on a motor bike. What that means? Three people on a normal, smaller motor bike going on a highway without helmet. 
Now, as for the field work Hm....I don’t want to talk about the work, but more about my feelings. I have already mentioned the kinds of houses I have been to. These are houses with a small small door that opens up into a courtyard that has a few buffaloes in it, (animal) shit on the floor and walls, one room that houses the entire family of 6 and an outdoor bathroom type place. That’s one type of house, and the other are the style that I am more familiar with, the ones with a kitchen, a bathroom, actual floor (not mud floor) etc etc. So there is a substantial variety in the kinds of houses, and there is a whole spectrum within the same village of a 1000 people. But one thing that’s common is that no matter where I go, most people are extremely hospitable. You have no idea how many times I have to had to drink “Cha” (chai) and decline water. Every house that I went to, and I have been to quite a few households now, probably around 20ish, I am asked two questions. “which village”, and “which caste”. I have also been asked “do I believe in god” before being offered water/chai/food. To each of these questions I have had a mixed response. I am still trying to figure out a response for them coz I am going to get them asked everywhere. While village is taken care of by the people I go with, they introduce me as the “madam from Canada who has come here to study”. Which caste, I have resorted to saying my last name “Sharma”, implying I am not a Muslim, and am Brahmin. Usually that seems to suffice. I have had to lie however and say yes I do believe in god in the field. I had a feeling that were I to say, no I don’t, that might not have been taken too well. So in the field I said yes, i do. They don’t press further, at least not now. So I am not sure how my non-belief in god is going to play a role in my future interactions, but i have a suspicion people are def. Not used to meeting people who don’t believe in god. On the topic of god, ironically, I carry a small statue of Ganesh in my bag. I had kept it in my bag in Ahmedabad and it’s just been there since.
Other than God, another thing I am becoming acutely aware of is the power dynamics. I am a “madam from Canada”. Even though all the women can sit on the floor together, they insist I sit on a chair. Today we went for a community meeting and a person from my office said that I should sit at the head of the table, so that it gives the impression that someone important has come to take interest in their lives. As he said, “we are too normal now, nothing”. Something along those lines. I am not quite sure how to respond to that yet because I keep telling the people that I go with I have come to learn from them, not vice versa. And yet the tag of Canadian, being a Shastri intern, speaking English, having fair skin (in comparison to others) comes with a power tag, whether its wanted or not, it’s there. Now I just wonder if I can use this so called power in a productive manner. While I am talking about my power, I am definitely amazed by some of the people that I have met. These are the people on the ground, making things work, staying out in the sun for 10 hours on a daily basis, going house to house, these are the women/ and a few men, who know the community and the community knows them. It is their hard work that has taken the project where it is now. And I can’t help but feel guilty of having this unearned power and privilege. I had read about this theoretically, but am experiencing something like this for the first time. It’s bizarre. I try to “neutralize” it (wrong word, but can’t think of anything else right now) by talking with the women in my extremely extremely broken gujarati, or at least speaking in Hindi and trying to let them know that I realize how important their work is. I am curious to see how this power dynamic shapes up over the next few months as the community gets to see and hear more of me.
I am trying to mingle up in the office now, and so far I think I am doing fine. I am getting used to hearing Gujarati and now have even started speaking some. I am kind of worried I will pick up a gujju accent, that too the Kathvadia dialect one. The skin tan is already getting quite extremely. My legs are substantially fair than my hands and my face. My hair is getting rough like a mosquito net (which i need to buy) and my face is getting asdjfaldsjfasldjflsdjfds. I cannot figure out whether I am gaining weight or losing weight. You be the judge of that once I start clicking pics.
Till then, adios. Now I have to figure out what I want to do for the rest of the evening. Probably work?
Oh also, did I mention I tried ironing my suits today (Indian dresses, with top, pant and scarf), i did half a salwar (pant) and got tired. I think I will just send them in for ironing. Blah.

Keshod

My time in Ahmedabad was cut short when I found out on Saturday that I am leaving on Sunday night for Keshod. Apparently it had rained heavily enough in Gujarat for roads to collapse, dams to overfill, floods to occur and transportation services to be closed off. Part of me was desperately hoping that things would remain this way and I will get more time in Ahmedabad. But alas, that didn’t happen and I had to leave. I was very sad and definitely extremely nervous at the thought of finally hitting Keshod. I have never been in a “rural” area in India before, and definitely not alone. My family has been in Canada for 10 years now. Over these 10 years, I have been back 4 times, this being my 5th. Everytime, my trips would be so sheltered, protected, comfortable and i would get everything in hand. I would be exposed to the nice pleasantries of middle class life in India. So the thought of being on my alone for the very first time, and too in a tiny tiny place called Keshod was definitely making me nervous, but not nerve wracking. For those who knew about my nervousness, they suggested that I stay back a few more days, but I decided to leave on Sunday itself as my supervisor was leaving for Mumbai on Monday night for a week. So i thought it would actually be better if I take this week to settle in while she’s gone and get used to the place. Looking back, I think, definitely a good choice.
Mamaji (mom’s brother) came with me to Keshod to help me settle in. We came in around 6 am, it was still dark so I couldn’t see the surroundings very well. But when we got off, we got off at platform 2, and the exit was on platform 1. Usually, there is an overhead connecting bridge between the two platforms, but ah, not so at Keshod. So we picked our luggage and walked across the railway tracks  First clue that holy crap I am in a small place. Anyway, I am not sure where to start describing Keshod. It has poor infrastructure, there is dirt everywhere, cows, dogs, donkeys, camels, buffaloes, bulls, and birds on the roads along with vehicles with TERRIBLY LOUD horns. You have no idea how loud these things are. It is unbelievable that people here are not permanently deaf given the high volume of these blasted horns. And for those new to India, people here use their horns every few seconds, I am not exaggerating. It is a way of letting people know that you are coming by. Anyway, the street leading up to my supervisor’s apartment, hmmmmm.....were I in Ahmedabad, we would consider these areas to be one of those poor areas where our maids, and cooks and ironing guys live (yes, very classist). And this is supposedly the poshest area in Keshod. The apartment however is definitely quite nice. The thing that I have observed over my few days here is that on the exterior, things don’t seem good at all. There is chaos, dirt, you don’t even know if it is safe, you think it is dingy etc etc, bu then when you step inside, you understand that it has all the facilities. Basically, think of a dingy shack. Now imagine that you go inside this shack and then you are seeing computers, tvs, fridges, cellphones, electricity, running water and many more facilities. Advice number 1: don’t take things at face value, has already come true. Things are not what they seem from the outside. If you come to India and only look at the mess, the chaos, the “Apparent” poverty, you are not getting the whole point. You are not seeing that even my maid, the rickshaw driver, the person living in the poor looking shack has a cellphone plan hell of a LOT better than what you have  trust me on this one.
Anyway, currently I am enjoying living in my supervisor’s bare apartment alone. It is very close to the office, just walking distance 5 minutes. And I have a woman who comes and cooks here , washes my clothes, does the dishes and cleans up. Hurrah! And no, I am not “indulging” in luxuries of her services. Having maid servants is very common and having a cook here initially is definitely a good thing. I need to learn how to cook. Cook Indian style. Coz otherwise, the local food is soooooooo oily. Tonight i had a potato dish, by the time i finished, the plate was covered in yellow oil. It is just potato and oil and spices. I am thirsting for fruits and milk, I will go buy some tomorrow. Also, I have to be careful of drinking water outside, so instead when I go to people’s houses, or when am at office, I have taken to drinking chai. Now, this chai comes in tiny tiny cups. It is very strong, very flavourful, mostly milk based (rather than water based) and VERY sweet. I swear its like half cup milk and half cup sugar its so sweet. Anyway, I am having quite a few of those these days. Its better than drinking water outside, coz I know at least in chai, everything will be boiled.
Now as for work, hmm....I know most of you are wondering, “so what exactly are you doing Richa”??? Well dearies, give me a few more days before I can spill the beans on that one. At the moment, I am still getting introduced to the project here, the people who work on the ground on the 4 sectors (83 villages, with a min pop of 1000). These days, I am going around the 4 sectors or “the field”, and just observing, listening and not necessarily a lot of talking. Basically, Aga Khan Health Services, India have created a project called CHAAYA (community health action awareness by young adults) in a district called Junagadh, in the province of Gujarat. The 4 sectors come under this district. The mandate of the project is to reach women between the ages of 15-49 and address reproductive and child health issues. They conduct various activities, interventions and the network system is amazing. The projct has been in action for about 2 years now, and imagine, you go in the poorest of households, you may not find literate people there, but because of the work done by CHAAYA with the help of Aga Khan, these people are starting to know importance of immunizing their kids, basic hygiene care, ante/post natal care, women’s health issues (menstruation, menopause, pregnancies etc etc). I have just visited 2 sectors so far, and already I am absolutely amazed at the amount of work it must have taken into organizing and implementing this project at such a vast scale, i.e. a community based participatory project that’s aiming to reach at least 83,000 people. I will write more about the work, the field, the people and my experiences with people in the field later on. For now, I have had a long day, and will sleep. Imagine what a drastic change. Richa Sharma who couldn’t sleep till at least 3 or 4 int he morning, is feeling tired and sleepy at 11.07 PM. Hm......

Ahmedabad

My time in Ahmedabad was again short, I reached there late Wednesday night around 1.00 am and was there till Sunday night. For those of you who don’t know, Ahmedabad is my birth city. Over the years I have had quite a bit of a love hate relationship with this city for many reasons. But even then, I come back and I just feel, I am home. I don’t feel like a tourist or a foreigner in this city even though much of it is foreign to me. Standing on the balcony of my uncle’s house that overlooks a manmade lake, I just feel, I am home. It is actually a really nice feeling. Over these 4 days, literally all I did was meet family, friends, eat, and watch movies. I was too exhausted to get into work mode, so I enjoyed like hell. Going out with Komal (my best friend/sister since I was in grade 1), my lovely cousins and Mitesh. I ate my dabelis, chana chol garam, Munciple market’s Choice ice cream, chilli chicken, tandoori chicken, garlic chicken, naan etc etc etc. Needless to say, it was ridiculously lovely. In my other time here, I got an opportunity to talk with my friends and cousins and aunts and all of them say at least one thing in common. People don’t trust each other here anymore. People have hundreds of people to say hi hello to, lots of people to just hang out with and have fun, but very very few people they would actually trust. There is a motive behind every nice deed, be wary of every one, don’t take things at face value, be careful of “these people”, these are some examples of the advices I have received so far. Whenever they would share with me stories of how their own closed ones would betray their trust, it would strike me that I have never experienced that. My trust has never been betrayed by a loved one and I am told I am one of the lucky few. I wonder if I am lucky or just plain naive?

Delhi

Coming out of Delhi International Airport was amazingly quick, just half an hour to go through customs and pick up luggage. I was with the other two interns (who are now in Chennai, South India) and we had a meeting at the Shastri head office. Nonetheless, after the meeting at the office (yes, i am skipping the boring parts), a friend of mine , Pulin came by and picked me up. It was lovely seeing him and he was kind enough to drive me around to deliver off a package for another friend. The interesting thing about Pulin is that I have not actually met him face to face before this time, but we have a mutual friend and we have been talking for years. So it was finally great to see him, but it still felt so comfortable, it was as if seeing him face to face was just a formality.  Unfortunately, my time in Delhi was quite short this time and I had to catch an evening flight to Ahmedabad. Oh, and I almost forgot, while waiting in the car to deliver the package to my other friend, it suddenly started pouring like madness!! Within minutes, the water was at least ankle deep. It was amazing, considering I have been missing true Indian monsoon for so many years. Later on, I was told that such rain at the beginning of a journey is a good sign. It’s too soon to be the judge of that right now, but let’s see what happens :P

Hello to all

Dear friends and family,

Apologies for this mass emailing type mode of communication. I am in India now, have started up on my internship in Keshod, Gujarat. And I am lucky enough to have a looooooooooonngg list of friends and family who want to know how I am doing. So I thought it might be worth it to start a blog and send you guys its link. In case I don't respond to your emails right away, and you are curious of how I am doing, this is the place you want to come and check up on me.

I will be writing lots more later on. Right now, I am hungry and papa is about to call.

Till then,

Lots of love from Keshod,
Richa