So we haven't been posting for a few days. We came to the office today, but I think we'll only stay a short while so we can go sleep. I just read a frightening article today... don't know if anyone saw Bush's new executive order about seizing property from those who have obstructed the war on terror (protestors???)
http://www.rediff.com/news/2007/jul/23bush-eo.htm
Anyways, this combined with Michael Chertoff's "gut feeling" that we are going to have a terrorist attack in LA and San Francisco, as well as former senator Rick Santorum's feelings that we will have a terror attack, have me a little worried.
Beyond that, we are just waiting out our last week in India til we go to Germany. We went to the Taj Mahal the other day, so Kristin should be posting a blog about that shortly!
Peace!
Monday, July 23, 2007
Thursday, July 19, 2007
Catching up!
So… I think Kristin left off with the second day at Dehradun. I’ll try to get everyone up to speed with what’s going on after I recap some funny stuff.
When we ate lunch on the way to Dehradun… Kristin didn’t mention that I am a cow charmer. There was a baby calf that was extremely scared of people. It wouldn’t let anyone come near it. I boasted that I could calm the calf’s nerves. I walked over to it and sure enough it sat calmly and let me approach. It even approached me! Needless to say, I boasted about my unique cow charming abilities.
Kristin also forgot to mention my favorite part of the first few days at Dehradun… the actual farming. We made a home of the big gazebo. From the gazebo, there is a great view of the fields that are arranged a lot like rice paddies. There is a slight slope at the farm, sothat the water flows down a series of plateaus.
It monsooned overnight and in the early morning, so the conditions were perfect for “tilling” of the paddies. A farmer would have two cows pull him along on his till as he uprooted the wet soil. He would go back and forth in a pattern for many minutes until he’d stirred up all the soil. I kept telling Kristin that I wanted to ride on the till and smack the cows with the whip, but we both decided that it probably wouldn’t happen.
While the tilling happened, orange headed egrets (I think, I haven’t identified the species for certain yet) would wait for the cows to go by and then eat from the “wake.” This phenomenon is common in other parts of the world as well. Birds will form relationships with large grazing animals where they wait until a food source has been uncovered and then swoop in for an easy meal. The egrets had a competition with the crows for the best food, but the sheer numbers of egrets kept the crows at bay. Anyways, the semi-ecological interaction kept me amused for hours on end.
Then, as Kristin said, Dr. Shiva gave a brief talk about the farm, while making everyone sit on the floor as she taught haha.
After this, the great mango cookoff began. Sami (sp) is a cook from Kerala (a state in the south of India) who can make about 9 or 10 fabulous dishes out of mango. He came to Bija Vidyapeeth (the name of the farm) with Manu. Manu is also from Kerala. Anyways, Sami started cooking for the Italians and it was amazing. Kristin and I hovered around the counter tasting different foods for about two hours. Manu was busy helping prepare the food so Kristin started spoon feeding him samples.
After this extravaganza, everyone sort of wandered off to go see the orchard. We talked to one of the Italian students, Till, who turned out to be a German, about his gastronomical sciences program. After he described it, both Kristin and I decided that we too would become gastronomical scientists some day. It’s a costly program at about 20,000 euros a year, but they are constantly taking trips and learning about the food history and culture of the world. Later, another Italian student Filipo, told us about Italy. Till and Filipo argued about the World Cup much to my amusement. We talked to a lot of people throughout the night and made some friends. I got to spout off about political affairs within the United States and a lot of the Europeans were happy to hear an American being so cynical. We all agreed that Americans would get a better picture of the world if we traveled around more often instead of walling ourselves in.
The next morning, we got up and ate some yummy organic cereal. For the rest of the morning, we just rested in the gazebo and read while farming activities went on around us. In the afternoon, a crazy mango “expert” came to give a lecture on everything there is to know about the Indian mango. His wife sat next to him and looked pissed off the whole time. He constantly trashed her throughout his speech and told us how mean she was and how she never let him do anything. She sat there through the entire talk looking angry and never spoke a word.
After the talk, it was time for the mango tasting! Someone had arranged for a ton of different mangos to be delivered to the farm. The farm employees cut them up and we tasted for an hour or so. Kristin and I also managed to smuggle out some samples of full mangos to bring back to Tasnim in Delhi.
Kristin made some friends before the mango tasting and after she went to spend more time with them. A few young girls, who worked at the farm, had Kristin take pictures of them for a long time. She said that one of the girls was really aggressive and would push the others out of the way and hog the camera space. That girl looked like my friend Rigo, from Concordia, and he loved attention too, so I rationalized that they must be similar in nature.
At night there was a test about spices. Then we ate a yummy dinner. After dinner we spoke with Kathryn, an Austrian studying at the Italian school. She told us about great places to go in Italy and we got really excited. Later at night, we watched Gandhi.
Looking back, there isn’t a lot to report on over the last few days at the farm. It was refreshing to sort of do nothing and hang out with some westerners. We were temporarily free of tension and the awkward stares. The employees at the farm took great care of us and made tea whenever we needed it. The air was clean and smelled great. It rained a lot of the time we were there so the climate was mild. It was a great mini-vacation to break up time in Delhi…
We left the morning of the 15th in a car with Reetha to go back to Delhi. Along the way we drove through a beautiful subtropical forest. Although it was protected, people still lived inside of it and trash was abundant. We did get to see some sweet looking monkeys along the side of the road. Every few miles we’d see another group of monkeys, but we never stopped to look closely. Kristin and I tried to sleep along the journey, but it was really uncomfortable. We stopped and had lunch, but otherwise, it was a continuous car ride for 7 hours or so.
When we got close to Delhi, it monsooned with an intensity that I have never seen. In a matter of minutes, people were up to their knees in water on the side of the street. It rained so much that even ~15 degree inclines in the road were flooded with many inches of water. The city seemed to come to a standstill as people took refuge under bridges, but the event lasted only a few minutes. Within a few hours, it had already dried and there were few puddles.
After we got home, we saw Manu and he told that he and Sami were off to Dilli Haat for another cooking demonstration. We ran some errands and went to watch, but it got cancelled. So we did a bit of shopping and went back to Tasnim’s for din din. It was as good as it always is…
Over the last few days, we have just gone into the office. Nothing too exciting. Raja never showed up, so it looks like we won’t be going to Hyderabad and working on the farmer suicides. That kind of put a hitch in our getalong. Seizing on the opportunity, Dr. Shiva unloaded a gigantic assignment on us which I don’t think we can finish in two weeks time. I haven’t told her that yet… but we’ll try our best. If anyone is an expert on international wheat statistics, get a hold of me! I’ll need your help. I can’t wait to get back to more legal work!!!
Random thoughts about life in India:
Life in Delhi is tough. It’s fucking hot here… well over a hundred degrees and it doesn’t cool down at night. Our bed is hard and we have no mattress, so we both sleep only a few hours a night. I sleep mostly in the morning… but Kristin usually wakes me up because she gets lonely. Then she yells at me because she does all the chores in the morning… oops!
Today I ordered a suit for Jeff. The tailors were confused about some of the measurements so hopefully it turns out well! He’s going to need some sweet threads after he dominates the bar in a few weeks!
Right now someone is burning garbage outside so it smells terribly in the apartment.
I feel gross because I haven’t worked out in like two weeks. We get a little bit of exercise, but only from walking around so much. During the day, it’s hard to even consider working out because the heat is so intense. And at night, all our energy has been drained by the heat, so exercise doesn’t feel like an option. However, since we plan on living with out shirts off when we get to Italy (Kristin will probably wear a bikini top) we are now motivated to work out a bit more. Luckily for me, I don’t gain fat… I just lose muscle, so I just look like a wimp. I’ve probably lost ten or fifteen pounds since we’ve been here. When we get to Germany, I will gain it back in sausages! (If Kristin’s relatives in Germany are reading this, get in touch with us!!!!!!! My email is nick.caleb@gmail.com and Kristin’s is kris.gunderson@gmail.com. We need to speak directly with you!!!)
I have been hitting my head on everything and tripping over every bump in the road haha. When I’m sleep deprived, my motor functions are the first thing to go.
This post sounds a bit whiney at the end, so let me qualify it a bit. Kristin and I have thoroughly enjoyed our time in India and we will make the best out of the rest of our trip. It wouldn’t be honest to give a flowery account of our daily life, though. Something like finding computer access is a task and a half. I still have not found a wireless hub in the entire city of Delhi. We are definitely spoiled westerners, but even correcting for that, this place wears on you.
Anyways… we’re out do dinner for the time being. Tomorrow we go to the Taj Mahal so that will be great!!!! We’ll let you know how it goes!
When we ate lunch on the way to Dehradun… Kristin didn’t mention that I am a cow charmer. There was a baby calf that was extremely scared of people. It wouldn’t let anyone come near it. I boasted that I could calm the calf’s nerves. I walked over to it and sure enough it sat calmly and let me approach. It even approached me! Needless to say, I boasted about my unique cow charming abilities.
Kristin also forgot to mention my favorite part of the first few days at Dehradun… the actual farming. We made a home of the big gazebo. From the gazebo, there is a great view of the fields that are arranged a lot like rice paddies. There is a slight slope at the farm, sothat the water flows down a series of plateaus.
It monsooned overnight and in the early morning, so the conditions were perfect for “tilling” of the paddies. A farmer would have two cows pull him along on his till as he uprooted the wet soil. He would go back and forth in a pattern for many minutes until he’d stirred up all the soil. I kept telling Kristin that I wanted to ride on the till and smack the cows with the whip, but we both decided that it probably wouldn’t happen.
While the tilling happened, orange headed egrets (I think, I haven’t identified the species for certain yet) would wait for the cows to go by and then eat from the “wake.” This phenomenon is common in other parts of the world as well. Birds will form relationships with large grazing animals where they wait until a food source has been uncovered and then swoop in for an easy meal. The egrets had a competition with the crows for the best food, but the sheer numbers of egrets kept the crows at bay. Anyways, the semi-ecological interaction kept me amused for hours on end.
Then, as Kristin said, Dr. Shiva gave a brief talk about the farm, while making everyone sit on the floor as she taught haha.
After this, the great mango cookoff began. Sami (sp) is a cook from Kerala (a state in the south of India) who can make about 9 or 10 fabulous dishes out of mango. He came to Bija Vidyapeeth (the name of the farm) with Manu. Manu is also from Kerala. Anyways, Sami started cooking for the Italians and it was amazing. Kristin and I hovered around the counter tasting different foods for about two hours. Manu was busy helping prepare the food so Kristin started spoon feeding him samples.
After this extravaganza, everyone sort of wandered off to go see the orchard. We talked to one of the Italian students, Till, who turned out to be a German, about his gastronomical sciences program. After he described it, both Kristin and I decided that we too would become gastronomical scientists some day. It’s a costly program at about 20,000 euros a year, but they are constantly taking trips and learning about the food history and culture of the world. Later, another Italian student Filipo, told us about Italy. Till and Filipo argued about the World Cup much to my amusement. We talked to a lot of people throughout the night and made some friends. I got to spout off about political affairs within the United States and a lot of the Europeans were happy to hear an American being so cynical. We all agreed that Americans would get a better picture of the world if we traveled around more often instead of walling ourselves in.
The next morning, we got up and ate some yummy organic cereal. For the rest of the morning, we just rested in the gazebo and read while farming activities went on around us. In the afternoon, a crazy mango “expert” came to give a lecture on everything there is to know about the Indian mango. His wife sat next to him and looked pissed off the whole time. He constantly trashed her throughout his speech and told us how mean she was and how she never let him do anything. She sat there through the entire talk looking angry and never spoke a word.
After the talk, it was time for the mango tasting! Someone had arranged for a ton of different mangos to be delivered to the farm. The farm employees cut them up and we tasted for an hour or so. Kristin and I also managed to smuggle out some samples of full mangos to bring back to Tasnim in Delhi.
Kristin made some friends before the mango tasting and after she went to spend more time with them. A few young girls, who worked at the farm, had Kristin take pictures of them for a long time. She said that one of the girls was really aggressive and would push the others out of the way and hog the camera space. That girl looked like my friend Rigo, from Concordia, and he loved attention too, so I rationalized that they must be similar in nature.
At night there was a test about spices. Then we ate a yummy dinner. After dinner we spoke with Kathryn, an Austrian studying at the Italian school. She told us about great places to go in Italy and we got really excited. Later at night, we watched Gandhi.
Looking back, there isn’t a lot to report on over the last few days at the farm. It was refreshing to sort of do nothing and hang out with some westerners. We were temporarily free of tension and the awkward stares. The employees at the farm took great care of us and made tea whenever we needed it. The air was clean and smelled great. It rained a lot of the time we were there so the climate was mild. It was a great mini-vacation to break up time in Delhi…
We left the morning of the 15th in a car with Reetha to go back to Delhi. Along the way we drove through a beautiful subtropical forest. Although it was protected, people still lived inside of it and trash was abundant. We did get to see some sweet looking monkeys along the side of the road. Every few miles we’d see another group of monkeys, but we never stopped to look closely. Kristin and I tried to sleep along the journey, but it was really uncomfortable. We stopped and had lunch, but otherwise, it was a continuous car ride for 7 hours or so.
When we got close to Delhi, it monsooned with an intensity that I have never seen. In a matter of minutes, people were up to their knees in water on the side of the street. It rained so much that even ~15 degree inclines in the road were flooded with many inches of water. The city seemed to come to a standstill as people took refuge under bridges, but the event lasted only a few minutes. Within a few hours, it had already dried and there were few puddles.
After we got home, we saw Manu and he told that he and Sami were off to Dilli Haat for another cooking demonstration. We ran some errands and went to watch, but it got cancelled. So we did a bit of shopping and went back to Tasnim’s for din din. It was as good as it always is…
Over the last few days, we have just gone into the office. Nothing too exciting. Raja never showed up, so it looks like we won’t be going to Hyderabad and working on the farmer suicides. That kind of put a hitch in our getalong. Seizing on the opportunity, Dr. Shiva unloaded a gigantic assignment on us which I don’t think we can finish in two weeks time. I haven’t told her that yet… but we’ll try our best. If anyone is an expert on international wheat statistics, get a hold of me! I’ll need your help. I can’t wait to get back to more legal work!!!
Random thoughts about life in India:
Life in Delhi is tough. It’s fucking hot here… well over a hundred degrees and it doesn’t cool down at night. Our bed is hard and we have no mattress, so we both sleep only a few hours a night. I sleep mostly in the morning… but Kristin usually wakes me up because she gets lonely. Then she yells at me because she does all the chores in the morning… oops!
Today I ordered a suit for Jeff. The tailors were confused about some of the measurements so hopefully it turns out well! He’s going to need some sweet threads after he dominates the bar in a few weeks!
Right now someone is burning garbage outside so it smells terribly in the apartment.
I feel gross because I haven’t worked out in like two weeks. We get a little bit of exercise, but only from walking around so much. During the day, it’s hard to even consider working out because the heat is so intense. And at night, all our energy has been drained by the heat, so exercise doesn’t feel like an option. However, since we plan on living with out shirts off when we get to Italy (Kristin will probably wear a bikini top) we are now motivated to work out a bit more. Luckily for me, I don’t gain fat… I just lose muscle, so I just look like a wimp. I’ve probably lost ten or fifteen pounds since we’ve been here. When we get to Germany, I will gain it back in sausages! (If Kristin’s relatives in Germany are reading this, get in touch with us!!!!!!! My email is nick.caleb@gmail.com and Kristin’s is kris.gunderson@gmail.com. We need to speak directly with you!!!)
I have been hitting my head on everything and tripping over every bump in the road haha. When I’m sleep deprived, my motor functions are the first thing to go.
This post sounds a bit whiney at the end, so let me qualify it a bit. Kristin and I have thoroughly enjoyed our time in India and we will make the best out of the rest of our trip. It wouldn’t be honest to give a flowery account of our daily life, though. Something like finding computer access is a task and a half. I still have not found a wireless hub in the entire city of Delhi. We are definitely spoiled westerners, but even correcting for that, this place wears on you.
Anyways… we’re out do dinner for the time being. Tomorrow we go to the Taj Mahal so that will be great!!!! We’ll let you know how it goes!
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
More fun stories....
July 9, 2007
On Sunday night Nick and I went with Tasnim, Mukesh and Byson to a small little restaurant for dinner that was not too far away from where we live. To get there we took a regular city bus... our first experience with Indian public transport. It was not too bad at all. A man even came by and sold us some peanut on our way for 5 rupees! Of course as we got off the bus Mukesh said, "Public transportation is the worst!" When I asked why he said that just last week ten people were killed in a bus crash and that similar things happen all the time because the drivers are not certified to drive. Eeeek!
Before we ate Nick and I went with Tasnim to a near by market and bought some pasta for the following nights dinner. Then we went and sat down. Mukesh and Byson had already finished eating so they left. So Nick and I had a really nice dinner with Tasnim. We had beef curry and prawns. It was all very Yummy! On our way back home we got on the wrong bus so we got off and decided to walk home instead. On our way I noticed that every hundred feet or so the overwhelming smell of urine would overcome your senses.... Tasnim joked that whenever she travelled she would get off the plane to this smell and know she had made it home. It was kinda gross... but when you gotta go... you gotta go!
(as a side note... with all this talk of pee... I just went to the bathroom at Navdanya and a rat ran across my feet! The bathroom is filled with all sorts of papers, stacked from floor to ceiling all around. It's not the cleanest bathroom in the world... actually it is kinda gross... but it still surprised the hell out of me!)
As we walked we talked about all sorts of things and had a good time. When we got outside of Greenpark Village Tasnim stopped to buy some flowers. When she did Nick whispered to me that he shouldn't have eaten the food and that his stomach was messed up. I believed him because his face was all contorted with pain. Tasnim bargained for the flowers and we moved on. There was a little Mother Dairy ice cream cart on the side of the road. Mother Dairy is, at least this is what Manu says, run by the government. It is pretty much the only place we have found dairy products. Well, lots of shops sell ice cream... but other than that... not much. Tasnim wanted to treat us to good Indian ice cream. I think it is called Kulfie but I am not sure. So we stopped and she got us some. It was fantastic... Nick ate some too even though his stomach was giving him pains. We continued through Green Park and I asked Nick if he wanted to stop, he said no, his stomach was doing better! So we walked on. When we were about half a mile away from home nick handed me the bag of pasta and said he would meet us there and took off running toward home and the bathroom. Hahaha... poor guy! He is feeling much better now. Later the food messed my stomach up as well but not nearly as badly as it did Nick's.
July 12, 2007
Yesterday Nick and I were at work with very little to do so we left and headed over to Tasnim's house. She fed us lunch and took good care of us (as always) and then we headed out to go shopping because I really needed pants. The mosquito's are biting like crazy lately so my legs are paying the price. I must thank Sergei for the Malaria pills... they have been a real life saver!;o) We walked out of our village and most of the auto drivers already had passengers, but there was one that did not. He was sleeping in the back of his auto. So Tasnim went over and woke him up and scolded him for being lazy. Nick and I found this very amusing! After a few groggy complaints he realized she was right, splashed some water on his face and off we went.
As soon as we came to the first shop Tasnim put on her bargaining face. She bargained for a pair of pants that I liked. We got them for 100 rupees (2.50)... not a bad price at all. From there it was a whirl wind of shopping... with Nick wondering around behind us. Nicks disgruntled quote of the day, "it feels like we are right back at home shopping with your friends." Hahaha... but I think he ended up having fun.
After about an hour and a half of running in and out of small street shops we decided we had enough and went to look for shoes that Nick could wear with his suit. These were not so cheap. The most inexpensive ones he looked at were the equivalent of a little over 50 bucks so we decided to wait. We also saw some shoes for 250 rupees on the street but Tasnim said they were not of a very good quality and would fall apart quickly. So we didn't get any.
As we were walking around, Tasnim treated us to a yummy little treat called Momo's. It was a mixture of chicken and other stuff inside of a thin bread on the outside. They were kind of like won tons only they tasted way different.
On the way out of the market we were accosted by 4 or 5 children who wanted to sell us various items. Though I have to say that was mostly my fault. I was looking at the pretty necklaces and it made one of the children think that I was interested. After that... it was all over! The children are so desperate to sell you something that they will follow you around until you break. It makes me really sad and sometimes I'm tempted to just hand a little money over to each of them. Sometimes I do, but this time there were way to many of them all tugging on us to listen to their offers.
We then realized that we had not been to the shop where Tasnim needed to go to get the key to her locked cabinet (she lost her copy). She was not sure what shop she bought it in so we walked around for another 45 minutes before we found the right shop. I think Nick was now very tired but I was still having fun. Then we headed out of the market to look for a ride.
When were looking for an auto Tasnim had to make us stay far behind her so she did not get ripped of by the drivers. Even when she had bargained for a price she liked they would change their price as soon as we walked up.
Nick and Tasnim... coming home from shopping
We drove back home and took a shower before heading back down to Tasnim's for dinner. On our behalf she cooked us a pasta dinner. It was (like all of her cooking) AMAZING! Nick could not stop eating it! Manu and Mukesh were a little skeptical at first because pasta is not very common in India but by the end Mukesh was saying that we needed to meet a nice Italian girl and send her his way when we left (he has a girl friend... so he was only kidding:o).
After dinner we once again had ice cream and mangos and then called it a night. We have been eating LOTS of mangos because it is the end of the season and they tell us they will not be around for much longer.:o(
Tomorrow we will be leaving for Dehradun so don't expect any posts for several days! We will update you on how the trip went as soon as we return to Delhi!
On Sunday night Nick and I went with Tasnim, Mukesh and Byson to a small little restaurant for dinner that was not too far away from where we live. To get there we took a regular city bus... our first experience with Indian public transport. It was not too bad at all. A man even came by and sold us some peanut on our way for 5 rupees! Of course as we got off the bus Mukesh said, "Public transportation is the worst!" When I asked why he said that just last week ten people were killed in a bus crash and that similar things happen all the time because the drivers are not certified to drive. Eeeek!
Before we ate Nick and I went with Tasnim to a near by market and bought some pasta for the following nights dinner. Then we went and sat down. Mukesh and Byson had already finished eating so they left. So Nick and I had a really nice dinner with Tasnim. We had beef curry and prawns. It was all very Yummy! On our way back home we got on the wrong bus so we got off and decided to walk home instead. On our way I noticed that every hundred feet or so the overwhelming smell of urine would overcome your senses.... Tasnim joked that whenever she travelled she would get off the plane to this smell and know she had made it home. It was kinda gross... but when you gotta go... you gotta go!
(as a side note... with all this talk of pee... I just went to the bathroom at Navdanya and a rat ran across my feet! The bathroom is filled with all sorts of papers, stacked from floor to ceiling all around. It's not the cleanest bathroom in the world... actually it is kinda gross... but it still surprised the hell out of me!)
As we walked we talked about all sorts of things and had a good time. When we got outside of Greenpark Village Tasnim stopped to buy some flowers. When she did Nick whispered to me that he shouldn't have eaten the food and that his stomach was messed up. I believed him because his face was all contorted with pain. Tasnim bargained for the flowers and we moved on. There was a little Mother Dairy ice cream cart on the side of the road. Mother Dairy is, at least this is what Manu says, run by the government. It is pretty much the only place we have found dairy products. Well, lots of shops sell ice cream... but other than that... not much. Tasnim wanted to treat us to good Indian ice cream. I think it is called Kulfie but I am not sure. So we stopped and she got us some. It was fantastic... Nick ate some too even though his stomach was giving him pains. We continued through Green Park and I asked Nick if he wanted to stop, he said no, his stomach was doing better! So we walked on. When we were about half a mile away from home nick handed me the bag of pasta and said he would meet us there and took off running toward home and the bathroom. Hahaha... poor guy! He is feeling much better now. Later the food messed my stomach up as well but not nearly as badly as it did Nick's.
July 12, 2007
Yesterday Nick and I were at work with very little to do so we left and headed over to Tasnim's house. She fed us lunch and took good care of us (as always) and then we headed out to go shopping because I really needed pants. The mosquito's are biting like crazy lately so my legs are paying the price. I must thank Sergei for the Malaria pills... they have been a real life saver!;o) We walked out of our village and most of the auto drivers already had passengers, but there was one that did not. He was sleeping in the back of his auto. So Tasnim went over and woke him up and scolded him for being lazy. Nick and I found this very amusing! After a few groggy complaints he realized she was right, splashed some water on his face and off we went.
As soon as we came to the first shop Tasnim put on her bargaining face. She bargained for a pair of pants that I liked. We got them for 100 rupees (2.50)... not a bad price at all. From there it was a whirl wind of shopping... with Nick wondering around behind us. Nicks disgruntled quote of the day, "it feels like we are right back at home shopping with your friends." Hahaha... but I think he ended up having fun.
After about an hour and a half of running in and out of small street shops we decided we had enough and went to look for shoes that Nick could wear with his suit. These were not so cheap. The most inexpensive ones he looked at were the equivalent of a little over 50 bucks so we decided to wait. We also saw some shoes for 250 rupees on the street but Tasnim said they were not of a very good quality and would fall apart quickly. So we didn't get any.
As we were walking around, Tasnim treated us to a yummy little treat called Momo's. It was a mixture of chicken and other stuff inside of a thin bread on the outside. They were kind of like won tons only they tasted way different.
On the way out of the market we were accosted by 4 or 5 children who wanted to sell us various items. Though I have to say that was mostly my fault. I was looking at the pretty necklaces and it made one of the children think that I was interested. After that... it was all over! The children are so desperate to sell you something that they will follow you around until you break. It makes me really sad and sometimes I'm tempted to just hand a little money over to each of them. Sometimes I do, but this time there were way to many of them all tugging on us to listen to their offers.
We then realized that we had not been to the shop where Tasnim needed to go to get the key to her locked cabinet (she lost her copy). She was not sure what shop she bought it in so we walked around for another 45 minutes before we found the right shop. I think Nick was now very tired but I was still having fun. Then we headed out of the market to look for a ride.
When were looking for an auto Tasnim had to make us stay far behind her so she did not get ripped of by the drivers. Even when she had bargained for a price she liked they would change their price as soon as we walked up.
Nick and Tasnim... coming home from shoppingWe drove back home and took a shower before heading back down to Tasnim's for dinner. On our behalf she cooked us a pasta dinner. It was (like all of her cooking) AMAZING! Nick could not stop eating it! Manu and Mukesh were a little skeptical at first because pasta is not very common in India but by the end Mukesh was saying that we needed to meet a nice Italian girl and send her his way when we left (he has a girl friend... so he was only kidding:o).
After dinner we once again had ice cream and mangos and then called it a night. We have been eating LOTS of mangos because it is the end of the season and they tell us they will not be around for much longer.:o(
Tomorrow we will be leaving for Dehradun so don't expect any posts for several days! We will update you on how the trip went as soon as we return to Delhi!
Monday, July 9, 2007
A change of plans... of sorts
An update to our trip itinerary:
We were originally scheduled to leave India on August 16. That date has now been pushed up to August first and we will spend the remaining 18 days touring Europe. We want to visit Italy and Spain and of course Germany to visit with Kristin's family. Anyone with friends in these areas please contact us!
Aside from that, we travel to Dehradun to Navdanya's organic farm in two days. We'll be going with some Italians who are studying "Gastronomic Science"... so basically cooking. There will be a Mango festival!!! We also have professional responsibilities in assessing the school and its prospects for sending students there to learn various things... will update when we know more.
When we get back from that trip, we'll be heading off to Hyderabad in the State of Andhra Pradesh. We also have professional responsibilities on this trip. We'll be joined by Raja, who is a tech worker at Intel in the states. We will be visiting villages around Hyderabad interviewing people affected by campaigns by large US agrocompanies to sell genetically modified seeds to Indian Farmers. To those unfamiliar with this issue, what basically has happened over the last ten to fifteen years is that beneficial international trade laws, specifically portions of TRIPS (Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights), allowed for industrial giants like Monsanto to patent genes and life forms in India (and all over the world for that matter). These companies mount campaigns to get farmers to buy genetically modified seeds that are supposed to be resistant to a certain type of pest. The companies will use local fronts such as other farmers or Indians on the payroll to convince other farmers to buy the products. Demonstrations of success are accompanied with promises of amazing profits.
Unfortunately, the seeds rarely work and most of the time give far lower yields. Farmers are convinced to continually buy quick fix solutions like more seeds and pesticides to fix the problem. This happens continually until the farmers get into huge debt which they can never get out of. At this point, they either sell their farms or commit suicide. In fact over a hundred thousand farmers in India have committed suicide due to this phenomenon.
We will be involved in is assessing the feasibility of a tech-to-farmer campaign where tech workers who emigrated to the United States can send money back to Indian farmers to buy back land. In addition, we'll be setting the groundwork for a documentary and study on the issue, so lots of interviewing. Which reminds me, I might appear in a documentary talking to Dr. Shiva in her office looking like a tool haha.
Thoughts about the last few days:
So over the weekend, Kristin and I had some good experiences. On friday night we went to Khan Market which was way too posh. I did, however, pick up a book I'd been dying to read called Confessions of an Economic Hitman by John Perkins. I just finished it today. This book is a fantastic read and it explains a lot of the strategy of the "corporatocracy" over the last 60 years.
Out of college, Perkins was recruited by the NSA, but ultimately decided not to sign on. He instead joined the Peace Corps, went to South America and when he returned was recruited as an "Economic Hit Man" by a large engineering firm. His job was to make absurdly optimistic predictions about the possibilities of economic growth in developing nations. This would then justify loans from the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, which the nations couldn't and weren't expected to get out of. Then the countries would owe favors to the United States and also were forced to hand over no bid construction contracts to American firms like Bechtel and Halliburton. The book is about his adventures in Ecuador, Iran, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, Panama, and elsewhere. It explained a lot to me about the last 60 years of revolution and intervention by the United States in many parts of the world. Anyone interested in understanding the gory details about how the United States shaped its empire, from an insider perspective, read this book. I'm especially calling on Dan Golden, Pablo Galvan, and Brad Page to read this book.
As a few people close to me know, I've been a little depressed at parts of my trip here in India. One of the things contributing to that is the massive poverty in this country and the seemingly impossible task of correcting it. In fact, India, like the United States, seems hell bent on ignoring it all together and instead making the rich people richer. Anyways, just driving around in town and having 7 year old impoverished children working the streets begging for money just destroys my heart. I've had a hard time dealing with it... which seems absurd as I don't really have to deal with it all. I'm embarrassed to admit that my first reaction to the situation was to close my eyes as well and try to avoid any area where we might run into it. This just made me feel like a sell out and more depressed. Kristin and I had also been trying to different justifications for our increasingly dismissive attitude about the whole thing. Luckily the shock wore off this weekend and we are starting to embrace facts about life. I don't think that I will ever witness a world without poverty, but the difference between poverty in the 3rd world and poverty in the United States is staggering. The standard "get a job" cop out that we use in States will not pass here. There are no jobs. There's no clean water. And there is a growing lack of compassion from the upper classes as they pander to America's neoliberal economic wishes. The upper class wants to modernize so damn the realities.
I was reading a case the other day where the Supreme Court rejected a plea from slum dwellers that if their slums were demolished that they be given another plot of land to live. The Supreme Court said told them that giving them a plot of land would be like rewarding pickpocketers. In another case the Supreme Court said that desperation doesn't give a right to violate the law. The callous approach to the poor is astounding, but it probably only seems worse here because the poverty is worse. I think it really set in when I was watching a segment of the Colbert Report the other day where he reported that the number of High Income people in the world grew by 8 percent this year. The promise that America once offered to the world after WWII has all but disappeared. Crooks rule the world! This article by Richard C. Cook shows that the economic end might be on the way, despite the optimistic outlooks that the corporate media always delivers http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=6239
It's hard to be here and not be embarrassed to live in the United States. I still wouldn't want to live anywhere else, but everyone in the country is complicit in the state of the world we created, ignorant or not. So I guess I'm recharged with resentment instead of depression.
Anyways...
So on Saturday, Kristin and I first went to find the law library across from the Supreme Court. We found the advocates building where all the Supreme Court lawyers work. All you lawyers in the States be happy with your accomodations, no matter how modest they are. This place is a dump! We found the library, which was a bit nicer, but extremely small. Instead of staying, we left to see the rest of the city.
We next went to this giant market called Connaught Place. It's a giant circular monstrosity with a central park in the middle. The outer blocks are divided into seven large subdivisions. The main subdivisions were really expensive! It was almost like an American mall. So instead we went to the subdivision that is an underground bazaar. Everything was cheap! Kristin also got to hone her bargaining skills. I will have her expand on this part a little more.
After we left the bazaar, we walked around and found the Tibetan markets. A man saw me and dedicated the next 30 minutes to selling me a leather whip. I told him that I didn't want a whip for any reason except to use on Kristin if she got out of line. She didn't appreciate the quip. He said he would sell it for 900 rupees (~$22.50). I told him I didn't want a whip and walked off with Kristin so she could bargain for some bedding. For the next thirty minutes, he sat behind me pleading with me to bargain with him. I tried to ignore him as he kept lowering the price, bargaining with himself more than me. At one point he demonstrated the whip and almost whipped a dog! Eventually he said he would sell it to me for 100 rupees. At this point I turned around and bought the whip even though I had no desire for it. I respected the effort. Immediately he tried to sell me a wallet. I grabbed Kristin and we left.
On sunday, I was sick most of the day and kept fighting Kristin because she wanted to go out and I wanted to sleep. Tasnim made an amazing lunch. I ate 3 generous portions and fell asleep on her couch. They excused me to go sleep in our apartment. Then Kristin's nagging finally persuaded me to get up and do something. We went back to the Connaught Place area, but just held up in a coffee shop where Kristin continued the streak of kicking my ass in every card game that we play. It was a relatively uneventul weekend, but I will let Kristin expand on it when I pass the computer off to her!
Again, please register a blog name and leave comments. We love it! Kristin doesn't think anyone reads the blog even though I assure her that she's wrong!
We were originally scheduled to leave India on August 16. That date has now been pushed up to August first and we will spend the remaining 18 days touring Europe. We want to visit Italy and Spain and of course Germany to visit with Kristin's family. Anyone with friends in these areas please contact us!
Aside from that, we travel to Dehradun to Navdanya's organic farm in two days. We'll be going with some Italians who are studying "Gastronomic Science"... so basically cooking. There will be a Mango festival!!! We also have professional responsibilities in assessing the school and its prospects for sending students there to learn various things... will update when we know more.
When we get back from that trip, we'll be heading off to Hyderabad in the State of Andhra Pradesh. We also have professional responsibilities on this trip. We'll be joined by Raja, who is a tech worker at Intel in the states. We will be visiting villages around Hyderabad interviewing people affected by campaigns by large US agrocompanies to sell genetically modified seeds to Indian Farmers. To those unfamiliar with this issue, what basically has happened over the last ten to fifteen years is that beneficial international trade laws, specifically portions of TRIPS (Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights), allowed for industrial giants like Monsanto to patent genes and life forms in India (and all over the world for that matter). These companies mount campaigns to get farmers to buy genetically modified seeds that are supposed to be resistant to a certain type of pest. The companies will use local fronts such as other farmers or Indians on the payroll to convince other farmers to buy the products. Demonstrations of success are accompanied with promises of amazing profits.
Unfortunately, the seeds rarely work and most of the time give far lower yields. Farmers are convinced to continually buy quick fix solutions like more seeds and pesticides to fix the problem. This happens continually until the farmers get into huge debt which they can never get out of. At this point, they either sell their farms or commit suicide. In fact over a hundred thousand farmers in India have committed suicide due to this phenomenon.
We will be involved in is assessing the feasibility of a tech-to-farmer campaign where tech workers who emigrated to the United States can send money back to Indian farmers to buy back land. In addition, we'll be setting the groundwork for a documentary and study on the issue, so lots of interviewing. Which reminds me, I might appear in a documentary talking to Dr. Shiva in her office looking like a tool haha.
Thoughts about the last few days:
So over the weekend, Kristin and I had some good experiences. On friday night we went to Khan Market which was way too posh. I did, however, pick up a book I'd been dying to read called Confessions of an Economic Hitman by John Perkins. I just finished it today. This book is a fantastic read and it explains a lot of the strategy of the "corporatocracy" over the last 60 years.
Out of college, Perkins was recruited by the NSA, but ultimately decided not to sign on. He instead joined the Peace Corps, went to South America and when he returned was recruited as an "Economic Hit Man" by a large engineering firm. His job was to make absurdly optimistic predictions about the possibilities of economic growth in developing nations. This would then justify loans from the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, which the nations couldn't and weren't expected to get out of. Then the countries would owe favors to the United States and also were forced to hand over no bid construction contracts to American firms like Bechtel and Halliburton. The book is about his adventures in Ecuador, Iran, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, Panama, and elsewhere. It explained a lot to me about the last 60 years of revolution and intervention by the United States in many parts of the world. Anyone interested in understanding the gory details about how the United States shaped its empire, from an insider perspective, read this book. I'm especially calling on Dan Golden, Pablo Galvan, and Brad Page to read this book.
As a few people close to me know, I've been a little depressed at parts of my trip here in India. One of the things contributing to that is the massive poverty in this country and the seemingly impossible task of correcting it. In fact, India, like the United States, seems hell bent on ignoring it all together and instead making the rich people richer. Anyways, just driving around in town and having 7 year old impoverished children working the streets begging for money just destroys my heart. I've had a hard time dealing with it... which seems absurd as I don't really have to deal with it all. I'm embarrassed to admit that my first reaction to the situation was to close my eyes as well and try to avoid any area where we might run into it. This just made me feel like a sell out and more depressed. Kristin and I had also been trying to different justifications for our increasingly dismissive attitude about the whole thing. Luckily the shock wore off this weekend and we are starting to embrace facts about life. I don't think that I will ever witness a world without poverty, but the difference between poverty in the 3rd world and poverty in the United States is staggering. The standard "get a job" cop out that we use in States will not pass here. There are no jobs. There's no clean water. And there is a growing lack of compassion from the upper classes as they pander to America's neoliberal economic wishes. The upper class wants to modernize so damn the realities.
I was reading a case the other day where the Supreme Court rejected a plea from slum dwellers that if their slums were demolished that they be given another plot of land to live. The Supreme Court said told them that giving them a plot of land would be like rewarding pickpocketers. In another case the Supreme Court said that desperation doesn't give a right to violate the law. The callous approach to the poor is astounding, but it probably only seems worse here because the poverty is worse. I think it really set in when I was watching a segment of the Colbert Report the other day where he reported that the number of High Income people in the world grew by 8 percent this year. The promise that America once offered to the world after WWII has all but disappeared. Crooks rule the world! This article by Richard C. Cook shows that the economic end might be on the way, despite the optimistic outlooks that the corporate media always delivers http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=6239
It's hard to be here and not be embarrassed to live in the United States. I still wouldn't want to live anywhere else, but everyone in the country is complicit in the state of the world we created, ignorant or not. So I guess I'm recharged with resentment instead of depression.
Anyways...
So on Saturday, Kristin and I first went to find the law library across from the Supreme Court. We found the advocates building where all the Supreme Court lawyers work. All you lawyers in the States be happy with your accomodations, no matter how modest they are. This place is a dump! We found the library, which was a bit nicer, but extremely small. Instead of staying, we left to see the rest of the city.
We next went to this giant market called Connaught Place. It's a giant circular monstrosity with a central park in the middle. The outer blocks are divided into seven large subdivisions. The main subdivisions were really expensive! It was almost like an American mall. So instead we went to the subdivision that is an underground bazaar. Everything was cheap! Kristin also got to hone her bargaining skills. I will have her expand on this part a little more.
After we left the bazaar, we walked around and found the Tibetan markets. A man saw me and dedicated the next 30 minutes to selling me a leather whip. I told him that I didn't want a whip for any reason except to use on Kristin if she got out of line. She didn't appreciate the quip. He said he would sell it for 900 rupees (~$22.50). I told him I didn't want a whip and walked off with Kristin so she could bargain for some bedding. For the next thirty minutes, he sat behind me pleading with me to bargain with him. I tried to ignore him as he kept lowering the price, bargaining with himself more than me. At one point he demonstrated the whip and almost whipped a dog! Eventually he said he would sell it to me for 100 rupees. At this point I turned around and bought the whip even though I had no desire for it. I respected the effort. Immediately he tried to sell me a wallet. I grabbed Kristin and we left.
On sunday, I was sick most of the day and kept fighting Kristin because she wanted to go out and I wanted to sleep. Tasnim made an amazing lunch. I ate 3 generous portions and fell asleep on her couch. They excused me to go sleep in our apartment. Then Kristin's nagging finally persuaded me to get up and do something. We went back to the Connaught Place area, but just held up in a coffee shop where Kristin continued the streak of kicking my ass in every card game that we play. It was a relatively uneventul weekend, but I will let Kristin expand on it when I pass the computer off to her!
Again, please register a blog name and leave comments. We love it! Kristin doesn't think anyone reads the blog even though I assure her that she's wrong!
Thursday, July 5, 2007
Nick in a suit!
I never thought I would actually live to see the day that my sweat pant wearing boyfriend stepped into a suit. But... I did! Last night was the big try on night for Nick with his tailored suit. He was fitted for the suit a few days ago and every day since he has promptly reminded me every morning, "3 days till I try on my suit... 2 days... 1 day... Today I try on my suit!" Hahaha... what a funny boy!
So, we went to the tailors at 8 o'clock last night. The man who stitched the suit had to bring it from somewhere so we waited 20 or 30 mins before he arrived. While we were waiting we talked to the shop owner and a younger man who were interested in where we were from and why we were visiting Delhi, but more interested in selling us more items.
Finally the man arrived and Nick could barely hold his excitement in:) He handed Nick the suit to try on and Nick looked around for a place to do so. He saw a small room in the back and headed in that direction. He got there and realized he did not fit in the small cramped room so he just changed right out in the open. I could tell the men were slightly embarrassed but it was hilarious!
Nick put the suit on and we both agreed that the tailor did a FANTASTIC job! We will go pick up the finished product on Saturday. Boys, check it out and get us your measurements if you like it!
So, we went to the tailors at 8 o'clock last night. The man who stitched the suit had to bring it from somewhere so we waited 20 or 30 mins before he arrived. While we were waiting we talked to the shop owner and a younger man who were interested in where we were from and why we were visiting Delhi, but more interested in selling us more items.
Finally the man arrived and Nick could barely hold his excitement in:) He handed Nick the suit to try on and Nick looked around for a place to do so. He saw a small room in the back and headed in that direction. He got there and realized he did not fit in the small cramped room so he just changed right out in the open. I could tell the men were slightly embarrassed but it was hilarious!
Nick put the suit on and we both agreed that the tailor did a FANTASTIC job! We will go pick up the finished product on Saturday. Boys, check it out and get us your measurements if you like it!
After the tailors we went back to our favorite restaurant. So good! They always have live music and all of the people who work there are so nice!
Not the greatest picture... those are the people who were singing
Then we headed home to read for a bit before calling it a night!
Not the greatest picture... those are the people who were singingThen we headed home to read for a bit before calling it a night!
Wednesday, July 4, 2007
On my slow India connection...
I still got to watch this!
One thing that I'm learning over here is to take the promise of America much more seriously. The disparity of quality of life between the United States and India is astounding. If nothing else, Americans should get out of the country just to see what is so worth protecting. And it's really true. I've gained more of an appreciation for those things that I take for granted and even more hostility, disdain, and hatred for those who try to subvert it.
Anyone that we talk to in India who has been through a court proceeding doubts the legitimacy of the outcome. There are always allegations of bribing officials, judges, etc. We choose to ignore those things because they can never happen in America. Unfortunately, that's how the world works if people don't protect their freedoms. And there are mountains of evidence to suggest that our system shaping up the same way. The only difference is that we refuse to acknowledge its occurrence and our willful ignorance only allows for more corruption.
Next time you think, "that can't happen here, it's America," ask yourself why that makes any sense at all... when there are no checks and balances, it does happen in America.
One thing that I'm learning over here is to take the promise of America much more seriously. The disparity of quality of life between the United States and India is astounding. If nothing else, Americans should get out of the country just to see what is so worth protecting. And it's really true. I've gained more of an appreciation for those things that I take for granted and even more hostility, disdain, and hatred for those who try to subvert it.
Anyone that we talk to in India who has been through a court proceeding doubts the legitimacy of the outcome. There are always allegations of bribing officials, judges, etc. We choose to ignore those things because they can never happen in America. Unfortunately, that's how the world works if people don't protect their freedoms. And there are mountains of evidence to suggest that our system shaping up the same way. The only difference is that we refuse to acknowledge its occurrence and our willful ignorance only allows for more corruption.
Next time you think, "that can't happen here, it's America," ask yourself why that makes any sense at all... when there are no checks and balances, it does happen in America.
Oh, the excitement...
I'll be honest with you all. The last week and a half or so has not been the most exciting time of my life so there is not a ton to tell you about. Nick and I both got a little sick (some might call it Delhi Belly), we have been working a lot and not doing much else (except eating the yummy food). Even with the lack of excitement it is still really interesting to experience daily life in a culture that is so different from our own.
Me being a geek in our lovely apartment
Nick being a geek while leaving our apartment
We have been to several markets, those are always fun! I love the bargaining and everything is really inexpensive! Nick and I got a really pretty handmade tea set for about ten bucks! It came with 6 cups and 6 saucers, a tea pot, a little sugar jar and a milk boat. We both loved it! Hopefully we can get it home without breaking it! Hehehe... knowing the way we are... it is unlikely.
Dilli Haat market
Aside from the markets we mainly just hang out with our neighbors. Tasnim is back from her travels down south so she has been cooking for us again. Manu took on that job while she was gone... every time he set a dish on the table he would say, "this will not be good at all... this will really be terrible... I'm not a good cook.." and every time it was fantastic! I don't think he believed us when we told him that (especially because Nick likes everything:o) but it was true. We are hoping to cook pasta for them one night... finding the supplies might prove to be difficult. Noodles and feta are not very common around here.
Even with life being uneventful we have been having a great time (for the most part... small bouts of home sickness every now and again). The other day Nick and I sat out in the park/ruins that are right next door to our apartment. It was really nice and quiet until the kids came out to play. Nick and I had a blast watching them! Cricket is a really popular game over here... actually as far as I can tell it is the ONLY popular game over here... It is a lot like baseball only with a flat wooden bat and the pitcher bounces the ball to the hitter. Well... along with some other really weird rules... but it looks like fun! So we sat and watched the boys play and read our books at the same time. Then more and more boys came... suddenly the nice game of cricket turned in to, "who can pelt who harder with the tennis ball." One poor little boy got hit time after time by the bigger boys... I'm sure he had tons of welts on his back! But he never stopped smiling and seemed to be having a great time! Then when he would get the ball he would try to throw it at the other boys but he was too weak and they would just catch it and hit him again. It was all hilarious. Then some teenage boys walked out and all the boys aimed at them in stead.
The little boy that later was picked on playing cricket
The men that gather in the park every night
We have been leading a very low key life over here (soon to change with our upcoming travels) but I have enjoyed it. We have gotten to know a few people in our little community. Not many, but a few. Every morning Nick and I go and get a cup of tea from a small market around the corner for 5 rupees each. It is not the best tea we have had but the owners are so nice! Then there is Carmonie(sp?). She is the woman that comes to clean our apartment 3-4 times a week. She does not speak much English but she smiles widely and waves everytime we see her. She has two adorable little kids, one boy and one girl, and lives just around the corner from where we stay. Another man we have come to know in our little village of Hauz Khas is the man who works at the small street market. Before we switched to the big bottles we would always go to him for water. Unlike most people he never tried to rip us off and now waves and smiles every time we pass by. I can't leave out one of my favorite villagers. He also waves and smiles at us whenever we pass him. I don't know his name, but it is a little boy, probably about 4 years old, and he always has the sweetest demeanor! Then of course there is Manu, MukeshTasnim. They are slowly teaching us how to survive in this crazy world we have entered into. Every day that we are around them we learn something new that will help us in our future adventures. Sometimes very simple things like the price of a coconut sometimes about larger issues, like things that are rude in Indian culture that we may have never thought of before. We haven't been doing the whole tourist thing very much, instead we just settled in and began to live life, and slowly (very slowly, we still get a LOT of stares but not as many within Hauz Khas Village) our community is accepting us.
Haha... another thing we are finding entertaining are the Bollywood movies! Nick wrote about Rocky the Rebel the other day... he has yet to stop talking about it! Jeff... you will LOVE this one! So of course we had to go get another one. We had been eyeing a cricket movie called Lagaan for some time and finally purchased it. Anyone who is interested in sing an awesome Bollywood movie contact us when we get back because it is coming home with us! Nick and I have both agreed that our favorite part about the Bollywood movies is the dancing! There will be a tense moment and then randomly someone will just breakout in song and dance with the rest of the cast to follow. So funny!
I have had a few requests to explain a few of the details of everyday life to people and how we get certain tasks done. So here ya go...
Laundry: As for the laundry, Carmonie, the woman I mentioned above, does it for us. Washing machines are very few and far between so she does it by hand and then hangs it our on the line on our balcony. Along with the laundry she cleans the whole apartment. She also cleans Manu and Mukeshs' apartment and Tasnim's as well. Carmine comes 3-4 times a week and we pay her 600 rupees a month (about 15.00). So not to bad at all. She does a really good job... I guess I didn't have to pack enough underwear for every day of the trip after all... hahahaha!!
Showers: Showers are always cold unless it is really hot and then the water is naturally heated. Most of the time this is fine... but it always works out that we get cold water when it is cold out and hot water when it is hot out. Plus, Nick and I have been so heavily warned about the water so it is always a challenge to not get any water in your mouth while showering.
Toilet Paper: Well... toilet paper is quite expensive over here. I'm not exactly sure what they do (I haven't had the guts to ask), but I don't think many people use it. That is probably why it is a little expensive (comparably). I see why the "never touch your food with your left hand" rule when eating is still enforced!
Hmmmm.... I don't know what else to write about at the moment, I'll write it if I think of anything. If anyone has any questions, even if they seem stupid, please ask! We didn't know what to expect when we came so most of you back home probably have some questions as well.
Some other pictures...
This picture is of a bird that we saw while walking out of the office on a really hot evening. The bird was just chillin on the roof like this... we were not sure that it was even alive because it was not moving. So weird! I had never seen a bird lay like that before! Sergei, any ideas what he was doing?
Nick was impressed by this little electric car... pretty neat-o!
Hahaha... here are a few more pictures for you Mariah!
Me being a geek in our lovely apartment
Nick being a geek while leaving our apartmentWe have been to several markets, those are always fun! I love the bargaining and everything is really inexpensive! Nick and I got a really pretty handmade tea set for about ten bucks! It came with 6 cups and 6 saucers, a tea pot, a little sugar jar and a milk boat. We both loved it! Hopefully we can get it home without breaking it! Hehehe... knowing the way we are... it is unlikely.
Dilli Haat marketAside from the markets we mainly just hang out with our neighbors. Tasnim is back from her travels down south so she has been cooking for us again. Manu took on that job while she was gone... every time he set a dish on the table he would say, "this will not be good at all... this will really be terrible... I'm not a good cook.." and every time it was fantastic! I don't think he believed us when we told him that (especially because Nick likes everything:o) but it was true. We are hoping to cook pasta for them one night... finding the supplies might prove to be difficult. Noodles and feta are not very common around here.
Even with life being uneventful we have been having a great time (for the most part... small bouts of home sickness every now and again). The other day Nick and I sat out in the park/ruins that are right next door to our apartment. It was really nice and quiet until the kids came out to play. Nick and I had a blast watching them! Cricket is a really popular game over here... actually as far as I can tell it is the ONLY popular game over here... It is a lot like baseball only with a flat wooden bat and the pitcher bounces the ball to the hitter. Well... along with some other really weird rules... but it looks like fun! So we sat and watched the boys play and read our books at the same time. Then more and more boys came... suddenly the nice game of cricket turned in to, "who can pelt who harder with the tennis ball." One poor little boy got hit time after time by the bigger boys... I'm sure he had tons of welts on his back! But he never stopped smiling and seemed to be having a great time! Then when he would get the ball he would try to throw it at the other boys but he was too weak and they would just catch it and hit him again. It was all hilarious. Then some teenage boys walked out and all the boys aimed at them in stead.
The little boy that later was picked on playing cricket
The men that gather in the park every nightHaha... another thing we are finding entertaining are the Bollywood movies! Nick wrote about Rocky the Rebel the other day... he has yet to stop talking about it! Jeff... you will LOVE this one! So of course we had to go get another one. We had been eyeing a cricket movie called Lagaan for some time and finally purchased it. Anyone who is interested in sing an awesome Bollywood movie contact us when we get back because it is coming home with us! Nick and I have both agreed that our favorite part about the Bollywood movies is the dancing! There will be a tense moment and then randomly someone will just breakout in song and dance with the rest of the cast to follow. So funny!
I have had a few requests to explain a few of the details of everyday life to people and how we get certain tasks done. So here ya go...
Laundry: As for the laundry, Carmonie, the woman I mentioned above, does it for us. Washing machines are very few and far between so she does it by hand and then hangs it our on the line on our balcony. Along with the laundry she cleans the whole apartment. She also cleans Manu and Mukeshs' apartment and Tasnim's as well. Carmine comes 3-4 times a week and we pay her 600 rupees a month (about 15.00). So not to bad at all. She does a really good job... I guess I didn't have to pack enough underwear for every day of the trip after all... hahahaha!!
Showers: Showers are always cold unless it is really hot and then the water is naturally heated. Most of the time this is fine... but it always works out that we get cold water when it is cold out and hot water when it is hot out. Plus, Nick and I have been so heavily warned about the water so it is always a challenge to not get any water in your mouth while showering.
Toilet Paper: Well... toilet paper is quite expensive over here. I'm not exactly sure what they do (I haven't had the guts to ask), but I don't think many people use it. That is probably why it is a little expensive (comparably). I see why the "never touch your food with your left hand" rule when eating is still enforced!
Hmmmm.... I don't know what else to write about at the moment, I'll write it if I think of anything. If anyone has any questions, even if they seem stupid, please ask! We didn't know what to expect when we came so most of you back home probably have some questions as well.
Some other pictures...
This picture is of a bird that we saw while walking out of the office on a really hot evening. The bird was just chillin on the roof like this... we were not sure that it was even alive because it was not moving. So weird! I had never seen a bird lay like that before! Sergei, any ideas what he was doing?
Nick was impressed by this little electric car... pretty neat-o!Hahaha... here are a few more pictures for you Mariah!
This cow was trying to lick the bird... what a weirdo!
Three cows just chillin on the side of the road
Three cows just chillin on the side of the road
Ok... one last note. We have been working our butts off to try to keep this up for everyone at home but we aren't so sure that people are actually reading it. If you are and you see something you want to comment about or have any questions about our trip feel free to leave us a note! We love getting them and it lets us know that we aren't wasting our time on the blog.
Hahaha... and I hope you all don't mind Nick's political rants... at times he just can't help himself... most of the time he has pretty cool stuff to say too! :o)
Hahaha... and I hope you all don't mind Nick's political rants... at times he just can't help himself... most of the time he has pretty cool stuff to say too! :o)
Saturday, June 30, 2007
Voter Fraud in the States - Pay Attention!!!!
Ok, this isn't about India. This is about our fucked up voting system and the fraud that goes on. I've forwarded this information to a lot of people already, so I figure why not post it here as well. Take a few minutes and introduce yourself to the issues surrounding voter fraud if you haven't already.
http://goleft.tv/viewer.asp?v=96
http://blog.pdamerica.org/?p=1161#more-1161
http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/10432334/was_the_2004_election_stolen
Forward this material on and raise hell!!!
Oh yeah, and we are doing fine over in India! I'm having a quality suit tailored for me over here for very cheap. Luis/Brad get a hold of me if you're interested!
In the meantime, I'm trusting all of you in the states to fix up the country so it's actually a democracy by the time I get back. Ask your local new stations and newspapers why they haven't carried stories about voter fraud, vote caging, and the investigations! Educate yourselves! No matter what your political views, tampering with the voting system cannot be tolerated. Voting is the foundation of democracy.
Thursday, June 28, 2007
The last few days...
So, Kristin and I have been working our butts off at Navdanya. I am working on food safety laws and a bunch of other stuff and Kristin has a project with global food movements. We have fallen into a bit of a daily routine with our morning 5 rupee coffee and walk to work.
Tuesday we went to work and came home. Nothing too exciting. However, at night, there were fantastic lightning storms! I will try to post some of these movies so people can see, but I'm not so sure that they turned out well. The lightning storm was intense eerie because there was no sound of thunder. Plus, lightning was nearly constant for the hour that we watched. It rained a bit too so I fell asleep on a chair on the deck.
Wednesday was hot! We went to work, spent all day there and then walked home really sweaty. In the evening, we went for a run around the lake near our house. It was muggy, so neither of us stopped sweating for about an hour afterwards.
We decided that we wanted to eat out, so we went to the Park Baluchi restaurant in Hauz Khas. Park Baluchi means "deer park" and I have, to date, seen no deer in the park. The sign outside of the restaurant claims that it was voted the best restaurant in India by the tourism department. If this is the case, the tourism department needs to be disbanded. The set up was really nice, but the food was actually pretty terrible considering the price. Plus, the service was really slow. It was cool inside, though, so not all bad. After that, I watched Billy Madison with the guys and Kristin went to bed.
On thursday, we got up, showered, had coffee, and started walking to work. On the way there, we saw a mongoose cross the street! We made it to work, kicked ass there, and then stopped to get some sweets on the way home. We worked out and went to Tasnim's place for some dinner.
Then... the greatest movie of all time came on the tv. It's called "Rocky - the Rebel" and it is the best movie I have ever seen by far. It starts with this tough, pretty boy guy named Rocky singing and dancing on the top of a tall building, "Rocky... Rocks the world!" and then the next twenty minutes are about him slapping people around, getting mad, fighting with his dad, getting arrested, opening a cyber cafe, fighting goons, etc... he meets a girl and falls in love, then she gets killed by the mob, so Rocky's parents take him to London. Rocky gets a new girlfriend in one day, though, even though he is emotionally shattered. So he's completely depressed and all these scenes are about how sad he is... then right in the middle of this, there is a huge theatrical dance and song with hip hop dancing and upbeat music... right afterwards it goes back to being sad. hahahahaha. This movie is truly the greatest thing I have ever seen. Everyone needs to watch it. I predict that it will become a cult classic.
Beyond that, we are just getting ready for the weekend. We might go shopping tonight at a new market or maybe go to a Hindi movie with Manu and Mukesh.
Tuesday we went to work and came home. Nothing too exciting. However, at night, there were fantastic lightning storms! I will try to post some of these movies so people can see, but I'm not so sure that they turned out well. The lightning storm was intense eerie because there was no sound of thunder. Plus, lightning was nearly constant for the hour that we watched. It rained a bit too so I fell asleep on a chair on the deck.
Wednesday was hot! We went to work, spent all day there and then walked home really sweaty. In the evening, we went for a run around the lake near our house. It was muggy, so neither of us stopped sweating for about an hour afterwards.
We decided that we wanted to eat out, so we went to the Park Baluchi restaurant in Hauz Khas. Park Baluchi means "deer park" and I have, to date, seen no deer in the park. The sign outside of the restaurant claims that it was voted the best restaurant in India by the tourism department. If this is the case, the tourism department needs to be disbanded. The set up was really nice, but the food was actually pretty terrible considering the price. Plus, the service was really slow. It was cool inside, though, so not all bad. After that, I watched Billy Madison with the guys and Kristin went to bed.
On thursday, we got up, showered, had coffee, and started walking to work. On the way there, we saw a mongoose cross the street! We made it to work, kicked ass there, and then stopped to get some sweets on the way home. We worked out and went to Tasnim's place for some dinner.
Then... the greatest movie of all time came on the tv. It's called "Rocky - the Rebel" and it is the best movie I have ever seen by far. It starts with this tough, pretty boy guy named Rocky singing and dancing on the top of a tall building, "Rocky... Rocks the world!" and then the next twenty minutes are about him slapping people around, getting mad, fighting with his dad, getting arrested, opening a cyber cafe, fighting goons, etc... he meets a girl and falls in love, then she gets killed by the mob, so Rocky's parents take him to London. Rocky gets a new girlfriend in one day, though, even though he is emotionally shattered. So he's completely depressed and all these scenes are about how sad he is... then right in the middle of this, there is a huge theatrical dance and song with hip hop dancing and upbeat music... right afterwards it goes back to being sad. hahahahaha. This movie is truly the greatest thing I have ever seen. Everyone needs to watch it. I predict that it will become a cult classic.
Beyond that, we are just getting ready for the weekend. We might go shopping tonight at a new market or maybe go to a Hindi movie with Manu and Mukesh.
Monday, June 25, 2007
On our way to work...
I'm sure you are all getting tired of reading about what we have been doing so this time I am going to show you. I thought it might be fun to post pictures of what our daily walk to and from work is like... Some of the pictures are a bit hazy because I took them in a rush as we walked... so bare with me!
I think Nick wanted to sleep a bit longer... :o)
Exiting our ally... right next to the huge ruins
The little village of Hauz Khas
An old Jeep that we see every day when exiting our village
The sign that tells about our village, Hauz Khas.
The boys... Manu, Nick and Mukesh
Two women with baskets of veggies on their heads
The Hindu Temple
Some one lives there
This one is for you Mariah!
A few of the random ruins along the way
Some cool looking pots.
Another home
Street vendors
If you look closely you will see that it says J.H. Caleb... Nick was excited about that...
he wants to go meet the reverend!
Traffic, traffic, traffic!
The "Believers" Church
A New Delhi Ambulance
The gate to a rich persons home
A used car shop
Public drinking water
Where we get our mango's from... YUMM!!
We finally made it! Navdanya is right upstairs!
I think Nick wanted to sleep a bit longer... :o)
Exiting our ally... right next to the huge ruins
The little village of Hauz KhasAn old Jeep that we see every day when exiting our village
The sign that tells about our village, Hauz Khas.
The boys... Manu, Nick and Mukesh
Two women with baskets of veggies on their heads
The Hindu Temple
Some one lives thereThis one is for you Mariah!
A few of the random ruins along the waySome cool looking pots.
Another home
Street vendors
If you look closely you will see that it says J.H. Caleb... Nick was excited about that...he wants to go meet the reverend!
Traffic, traffic, traffic!
The "Believers" Church
A New Delhi Ambulance
The gate to a rich persons home
A used car shop
Public drinking water
Where we get our mango's from... YUMM!!
We finally made it! Navdanya is right upstairs!
The weekend... That means Sunday!
Back at work on Monday has a very different feel here. I think it is because they don’t allow enough time to really recoup from the previous week given that they work on Saturday and only take Sunday off (guess we are just spoiled in the US)... still here we are back at it. It is now Monday afternoon so we have plenty of fun stuff to tell you about once again!!
Nick and Manu walking to Navdanya
Saturday, June 23, 2007
We woke up a bit early and showered and got ready for work. We then headed down to Manu’s apartment because we normally walk with him to work (Mukesh walks with us too but he was in South India visiting his family). When we knocked on his door two guys that we had never seen before opened the door and acted like they had never heard of Manu. A bit confused we headed off to work without him. We were a bit early and Nick was really missing his coffee so we walked through Green Park Market to get him some coffee. Green Park is a really expensive Americanized area of town. Manu refers to it as being “quite posh.” In this market they have a Costa Coffee that is very modernized. We feel a little guilty every time we go there but some times it is a necessity.
It is a bit of a sad reality but the Costa Coffee shop is one of the few places where Nick and I feel comfortable in public because it is SO Americanized that it’s the ONLY place (that we have been to so far) where only half the people stare at us rather than all of them.
After Nick drank his coffee we headed back into the real world and off to work. It was a really uneventful day at work. There were not many people in the office on Saturday so it was fairly quiet. The air conditioning was still busted so those of us that did make it in were tired and grumpy from the awful heat. Manu left a little early from work to go to a wedding reception and Nick and I followed shortly after (at 4:30 or so). We then walked back to our apartment.
By the time we got there we were both exhausted from the heat and hung out under the fans for a little while. Around 5:30 the heat started to die down and we decided to go out and wonder around. First we went to the Green Park market and shopped around. We decided that it wasn’t a place that we wanted to buy anything because it was all really expensive. Well… expensive by Indian standards but normal price for American standards. We then headed down the street to another market. In Delhi it seems like around every corner you find another market… lots of shopping… lots of fun! We really needed to get a bed sheet so we shopped around the market looking at all the shops. These was our first real shopping experience so we were a bit timid to start off and were shy about the idea of bargaining.
As we shopped around we got more and more comfortable with it and ended up enjoying our selves. We bought a few large pieces of cloth that were meant to be saris… though I probably will use them for decorative purposes when we get home. The sari looks beautiful on Indian women but I’m not so sure it is my style;o). We then headed back to the first place we looked at sheets and bought one from the nice old man. He was the only one that didn’t jack the price way up on us because we were Americans and he was willing to bargain.
In one of the shopsThen as we were walking down the street we saw our first one elephant!! Unfortunately Nick was so stunned by the sight that he was a little slow with the camera and we didn't get a picture. Hopefully we will see another one. Manu says it is really strange that we saw one here in Delhi because you normally don't see them around here. He said that it is really common for rich people (they are REALLY expensive to feed!) down south (where he is from) to own them so you see them much more often down there.
Hard to see... but there is an elephant there!
After a little bit of shopping we headed a little closer to home for dinner. We ate at the same place that I mentioned before (where I spilled my water down my front). It was once again really great food. This time they also had a live Indian band playing and it set a really fun mood. No mishaps with my water this time… though the same waiter was there and gave me a recognizing grin when I walked in. We ate and then left to go home.
On our way we stopped at the same mango stand that we do every day on our way home from work. The man that was there recognized us as we came up and greeted us with a smile. Nick asked the price of the mango’s just to make sure it was the same and before the man could answer the man next to him shouted out, “50 RUPEES!!!” Nick and I gave him the Delhi disappointed face (we are getting quite good at it) and told him that we were just by the other day and they were only thirty-five. The first looked very embarrassed but the other insisted that these were larger and of far better quality. The first man snapped at him in what I assumed is Hindi and offered us our usual price. We bought a kilogram of mango's and headed home.
As we were passing Green Park, Nick wanted to go see if we could find any DVDs so we walked back though the market. Finding nothing that really struck him as a must see we then left and really headed home finally making it there around 10 o'clock.
Shortly after Manu got back from the wedding and came to visit. We all decided that showers were necessary so we decided to shower and then play some cards. Nick and I taught Manu how to play a fantastic game called pitch the night before (I think he is already obsessed as well… Amy would love him… he is a close second to her in competitiveness). After showers we headed down to Manu’s place and played cards until mid night. We then called it a night and headed to bed!
At Manu's place
Sunday, June 24, 2007
Finally the Weekend!! We had a lazy morning and rolled out of bed around 9. every morning we wake up completely drenched in sweat… actually every time we are out of the shower for more than five minutes we are completely drenched in sweat... so much humidity... many showers are necessary! The thing about the shower is that only the cold knob works. When it is hot outside hot water comes out and when it is much cooler out cold water comes out. It seems like a huge tease because what ever it is you want at the moment you can’t have it.
Anyway… we showered up and headed down to Manu’s place. We sat around and talked for a while and then around noon we headed out to get some lunch. Manu took us to a fantastic little restaurant that was right in Hauz Kaus Village. We made him order the different meals because we still have no idea what is good and what is not. So far it has all been good so we aren’t feeling too timid about trying new things.
Anyway… we showered up and headed down to Manu’s place. We sat around and talked for a while and then around noon we headed out to get some lunch. Manu took us to a fantastic little restaurant that was right in Hauz Kaus Village. We made him order the different meals because we still have no idea what is good and what is not. So far it has all been good so we aren’t feeling too timid about trying new things.
Artwork at the restaurant
We ate, it was great and then we headed back home. Not many people stay outside during the afternoon hours because it is far too hot! Once back at the apartment we played another game of pitch. I then headed up stairs to take a nap while the boys watched a movie about Dr. Vandana Shiva called Bullshit.
After a relaxing afternoon we headed we decided a bit of shopping would be fun. We jumped in a tut-tut and headed to a place called Dilly Haat. Dilly Haat is a really nice little market. It is in an enclosed area that you have to pay to go into (15 rupees each… about 35 cents).
We walked around for a little bit just browsing at the many interesting items. Very few items have a price tag on them so it is all up for bargaining. At first I really sucked at it. My first purchase was for two pairs of earrings. The were beautiful shell earrings. The man asked 75 rupees for them. So I offered 50. We ended up settling at 55. I didn’t think I had done too poorly but Manu said I should have made my first offer for less. We then moved on and found the Navdanya store/ restaurant. We ate some food and bought some hand crafted journals. After our bellies were once again full we headed off to do more shopping.
Every shop that we walked by people tried to coax us in. Finally one was persuasive enough. It was a man selling silk scarves. I walked over and he started showing me all the pretty colors. I asked him how much… he said 150 rupees. I gave him the Delhi disappointed face but didn’t say anything… I looked around a few more and offered him 75 rupees for one. He laughed at me and said something to Manu in Hindi. He said 120. It was the lowest he would go. I stuck with 75. He laughed at me again so I said sorry, then I wanted none, and we left. Once we were a few feet away I heard the man calling me back. So I headed back over. The man wanted to make me an offer. He said 10 at 80 Rupees. I told him I didn’t want 10 I only wanted 2. He then said 5 at 80… some how this is what ended up happening. Manu only laughed and asked if I would do his bargaining from then on. I guess I had done an all right job.
High on bargaining confidence I headed off to the next shop and got another great deal! 2 pairs of leather shoes for 120 rupees (3$) a piece. And they are cute too! Way too fun!! I think I am going to like this style of shopping. We then headed off to get Manu’s favorite drink, fruit beer (it has no beer in it though… it is more like a soda). As we were about to leave Nick decided he wanted to take a stab at the whole bargaining thing so we found a shop with men’s shirts. Manu helped him get a good price on three shirts and we left.
We took a tut-tut back home. Once there we showered and then headed down to Manu’s place. We sat around and talked for a bit and then went over to Tasnim’s for dinner. Tasnim is still away visiting family but she lets us sue her stove and her air conditioning. A few of Manu’s friends came over and prepared dinner for us… fantastic food once again!! His friends were really funny, nice guys. We ate and then had dessert and then headed off to bad at midnight.
Every shop that we walked by people tried to coax us in. Finally one was persuasive enough. It was a man selling silk scarves. I walked over and he started showing me all the pretty colors. I asked him how much… he said 150 rupees. I gave him the Delhi disappointed face but didn’t say anything… I looked around a few more and offered him 75 rupees for one. He laughed at me and said something to Manu in Hindi. He said 120. It was the lowest he would go. I stuck with 75. He laughed at me again so I said sorry, then I wanted none, and we left. Once we were a few feet away I heard the man calling me back. So I headed back over. The man wanted to make me an offer. He said 10 at 80 Rupees. I told him I didn’t want 10 I only wanted 2. He then said 5 at 80… some how this is what ended up happening. Manu only laughed and asked if I would do his bargaining from then on. I guess I had done an all right job.
High on bargaining confidence I headed off to the next shop and got another great deal! 2 pairs of leather shoes for 120 rupees (3$) a piece. And they are cute too! Way too fun!! I think I am going to like this style of shopping. We then headed off to get Manu’s favorite drink, fruit beer (it has no beer in it though… it is more like a soda). As we were about to leave Nick decided he wanted to take a stab at the whole bargaining thing so we found a shop with men’s shirts. Manu helped him get a good price on three shirts and we left.
We took a tut-tut back home. Once there we showered and then headed down to Manu’s place. We sat around and talked for a bit and then went over to Tasnim’s for dinner. Tasnim is still away visiting family but she lets us sue her stove and her air conditioning. A few of Manu’s friends came over and prepared dinner for us… fantastic food once again!! His friends were really funny, nice guys. We ate and then had dessert and then headed off to bad at midnight.
In the Tut-tut... traffic was CRAZY!
Monday, June 25, 2007
This morning we woke up feeling a bit groggy. One reason I will be excited to get back to the states is for the 2 day weekend! One day just leaves you wanting so much more!! Nick and I are currently absolutely roasting in Delhi! This morning at 7 it was already 92 degrees!! Now at 10:15, I'm sure it is 100+ and 60% humidity! With no A/C yet (it is supposed to be fixed today!! But Manu says that every time they fix it works for a day or two and then breaks again!)! It doesn't bother me so much but Nick hates the heat! Same old stuff at work. Dr. Shiva is back. It has been a little awkward for us because she didn’t even acknowledge that we were here! We were sitting on the couch finishing up the assignment that she gave us and she walked by a few times without saying a word. Nick decided that we would go talk to her if she doesn’t talk to us today. Back to work now… he he he … long break!
Friday, June 22, 2007
Google Map of Where we live
http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=28.55331,77.193756&spn=0.001692,0.003535&t=h&z=18&om=1&msa=0&msid=116143200733975973292.000001135722cdc385edc
This is where we are at from the satellite
This is where we are at from the satellite
When you've got a ruins in your back yard
Well, Kristin and I finally started to investigate the “park” about one block from our house. What we thought was a modest sized one-room temple, like those scattered around Delhi, turned out to be the ruins of a large fort! Beyond that, there is a wetland with a walking path below it. Check out some pictures and videos of this.
It was right at dusk when we went out, so not much time to investigate for the night. However, what we did see was quite beautiful. The Mynah birds run the grass next to the wetlands. There are ducks in the water and another white bird that I haven’t been able to identify yet. In the distance, the loud squawk of the peacocks is audible. It’s a paradise in our back yard! Kristin and I will likely be spending a lot of time in the coming weeks exploring the temple and preserve outside.
We are also going to open a youtube account so we can embed streaming videos of some things here! So check for that!
What we are doing!
Edwin requested that I post a bit more about what we are doing at Navdanya. Right now, Kristin and I are collaborating on a research project to describe how hygiene laws are used to shut down vendors and the effect that food safety laws in general are having on the population. Basically, large agricultural, petrochemical, and retail companies want into India and as a result the government is passing laws taking away rights from small scale food producers and vendors... this is what we have (About 2/3rds of a first draft, minus suggestions for what kind of food laws should be adopted)
A. Policies Aimed at Protecting Foreign Corporations at the Expense of India
On February 15, 2007, the Supreme Court of India upheld a notice by Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) banning all vendors and hawkers from cooking in the streets, citing reasons of hygiene, public health, fire safety, and beautification. On March 17, 2007, the Supreme Court clarified its ruling, ordering the MCD to designate areas for food courts and also removing the ban from tea and coffee vendors (as long as it is served in disposable cups). In Maharashtra Ekta Hawkers Union & ANR v. Municipal Corporation, Greater Mumbai and ORS (2002) the Court observed that hawkers have a qualified fundamental right under Article 19(g) of the Constitution of India to carry on their trade or business as long as it is not causing “nuisance, annoyance, or inconvenience to the other members of the public.” (pg. #?) The recent Supreme Court case allows for even further reduction in the rights of street vendors and hawkers by rubber-stamping the MCD’s orders.
Recent actions by local and national government entities in India, such as the leveling of slums and the mass sealing (similar to condemnation) of small, local retail outlets in Delhi, signal a drastic change in the enforcement of neoliberal economic policy. Providing education and economic opportunities to the lower economic classes has proven too difficult for the government. Instead, an easier policy is to use various methods of persuasion, ranging from legal pressure to outright violence, to push these undesirable elements out of the city to make way for foreign companies to invade India’s cities. Indeed, the Master Plan for Delhi – 2021 makes it very clear that Delhi will be zoned into sectors where only the “correct” elements will be allowed.
Unfortunately for the city planners and their elitist supporters, such a scheme cannot be implemented while multitudes of poor still live in and work the streets. That is why legal pretexts have been created and enforced to destroy the homes, jobs, and livelihoods of the poor in Delhi.
In 2005, the Food Safety and Standards Bill (FSSB) passed through Parliament, replacing 70 years of national food acts and orders. The bill passed primarily because of the prevailing idea that it is necessary to reshape food health and safety laws to prepare for the coming “modernization” of India. However, as Dr. Shiva noted in Seed Dictatorship and Food Fascism, “[c]onsumer health, nutrition, and food culture are not even mentioned as objectives of the integrated food law” (39). The FSSB is heavily biased against the traditional Indian agricultural methods for cultivating and preparing food. Instead, the FSSB favors western, industrial ideas of health and wellness, despite plentiful evidence that the adverse health effects caused by industrial production are far more dangerous, potentially and realized, than the risks involved in traditional production and preparation of food. In addition, health problems caused by industry are harmful on a much larger scale than any caused by traditional food production methods. The exponential increases in rates of birth defects and cancer across the world due to industrial pollution, as well as industrial accidents such as the infamous Bhopal incident, should leave no doubt to the truth of such an assertion.
And yet, the national government is bending over backward to meet foreign investors’ demands for deregulation. Special Economic Zones (SEZ), authorized by the Indian government, are popping up around the country. These zones essentially create tiny, sovereign manufacturing countries inside India’s borders with absolutely no regulation and no taxes for 10 out of the first 15 years. These SEZs are intended to stimulate economic growth through unimpeded manufacturing and production of goods. Unfortunately, deregulation spells low quality for the consumer as companies cut corners to minimize expenditures and maximize profit margin. In addition, the legal borders surrounding SEZs will not protect the Indian people from the mass industrial pollution that comes from unregulated industry. SEZs are not supposed to be used for agriculture, but proposed handouts of prime agricultural land to high bidding petrochemical companies suggest that this restriction will not last for long, or will be ignored all together. The potential of these tiny corporate sub-nations is very scary. If the foreign companies do not even have trouble polluting their “home” countries, the prospects for India’s environmental future are very bleak.
B. An Example of Using Food Hygiene Laws to get rid of “Undesirables”: Sudhir Madan and others v. Municipal Corporation of Delhi and others (2007).
Food laws such as the FSSB and the MCD’s prohibition on street cooked foods not only favor large-scale industry in the area of production, but are also used to quell competition, whether it is small-scale, community-based agriculture in rural areas or local vendors and hawkers in the cities. The unwarranted attack on street vendors in Delhi is an example of such pro-industry, pseudo-hygiene law, used as a pretext to push an already marginalized and struggling class of people out of the city. If trends continue, large foreign retailers, such as Wal-Mart, will soon enter the city as replacements for the open niche left by the forced eviction of small retailers, slum dwellers, street vendors, and hawkers.
In 2000, when the Supreme Court ordered the Delhi government to remove slums and unauthorized colonies from public land, the slum dwellers appealed. The Supreme Court told them “desperation does not give you a right to violate the law.” In 2007, the Supreme Court took the same callous and unrealistic approach to street vendors that it previously took towards slum dwellers. The law should never be used as an excuse to further abuse the downtrodden. If laws and regulations are to be valid, they should at least survive logical scrutiny, protect minority rights, and promote sound public policy. The Supreme Court’s justifications for enforcement of the MCD’s ban on cooking street food (i.e. public health and hygiene, fire safety, and beautification) fail on all accounts and thus should be seen as more of a pretext for gentrification than unbiased enforcement of reasonable law.
Public Health and Hygiene
There is no question that the best possible public health and hygiene are important and worthwhile goals. However, the logic behind the MCD’s findings, taken in conjunction with the FSSB, suggests that individual personal health is at most only a secondary concern.
Although the Court bans the cooking of food in the streets, it allows for food to be cooked at home, “properly packaged”, and brought to the place of business to sell. Presumably, the harm of cooking on site would be bacterial growth brought on by unsanitary conditions. However, this procedure adds many layers of complexity to the goal of preventing the spread of disease. By requiring that the goods now be packaged there is a much greater risk of bacterial growth on the food. The precooked foods would now have to sit out for far too long in the hot sun and would become a breeding ground for many kinds of bacteria and other pathogens.
Instead of solving problems, the Court has just created more. How will the conditions of food packaging be regulated? How will consumers know how long the food has been sitting out? Also, how are poor individuals expected to take the time and the money to package this food? Neither the Court nor the MCD analyzes these questions because public health is not taken seriously as a concern. When put in the context with other recent government actions, it looks very much like a pretext to put economic pressure on those that do not fit into the Master Plan.
Rakesh Gupta is quoted in The Tribune’s article, Food For Thought as saying, "[m]y family lives back home in Meerut. For me, the staple diet of chole-bhature and dal-roti cooked right here in front of my eyes is my idea of good and fresh food. I would not be comfortable with packed food and I cannot afford restaurants everyday." Rakesh’s instincts about food safety are absolutely correct. Food cooked at high temperatures and eaten soon after is very safe, as most bacteria cannot survive such conditions. As noted before, packaging the food in substandard conditions and leaving it out in the hot Delhi weather is a recipe for increased risk of bacterial infection.
If the MCD and the Court were truly serious about promoting health, there are plenty of other measures that could be taken. For example, the MCD could start a program to improve Delhi’s sanitation and make it easier for street vendors to work in more sterile conditions. MCD could also start an educational initiative aimed at reaching out to street vendors and showing simple ways that they could improve health conditions. The city could provide plastic gloves and surgical masks to those directly handling food and require that they be used during preparation. The point is that the new regulations merely provide obstacles and inconveniences to street vendors. The MCD’s requirement of packaging pre-cooked food does absolutely nothing to guarantee food safety.
Fire Safety
Fire safety is another concern that was brought up when considering the pros and cons of street vendors. Any time that heat is involved in the preparation of food a fire is a possibility. By that standard, concern for causing fire should be applied to all heated food, including home and restaurant preparation. There is nothing to suggest that the risk of fire is higher for the street vendors than with any other place where fire is used to cook. In fact, the risk might be less as small scale cooking equipment does not carry the same danger as do higher-powered stoves and ovens.
The second reason the argument of fire safety does not withstand when common sense and reasoning are used is because they are still allowing the use of fire; not for food preparation alone. This is based on the assumption that the poor street vendors of Delhi will not have access to microwaves and cappuccino machines. The MCD is still allowing the preparation of beverages on the streets as long as they are served in disposable cups.
Beautification of the City
(END)
Dr. Shiva doesn't come back until monday so hopefully we are doing the right thing. Anyways, we have been doing a lot of reading about globalization and changing policies related to the government's desire to bring in unregulated industry. It is very intellectually stimulating. Kristin and I are learning a ton at work. Plus we are absorbing facts about India at a very high rate. Neither of us knew much about Indian culture before coming, so it is all first hand impression. We have to learn some things the hard way, but I think overall that this is the best way to learn about a culture!
On another note, I know more about what Brad, Luis, and Pablo are talking about when they tell me that I don't understand what it is like to be a minority. Well, I think I am starting to learn! It's really strange not being able to act naturally with most people. As we make friends, we can start to loosen up with them, but any new interaction is usually uncomfortable.
For instance, Kristin and I went to the store to buy water yesterday. When we walked in, the 6 people or so in the store stopped what they were doing and just looked at us. We thought we were waiting to be helped, but apparently just standing there was strange. The store owner had his young daughter come help us probably because he didn't speak good English. The girl was probably about 15 years old or something. She was really scared! She looked nervous and was stuttering the whole time as she asked "What do you want?!" We said we were looking for some water and she dug through the cooler to get it and then basically thrust it at us. Everyone else in the store looked pretty uncomfortable as well. We paid and left. Today we went back and got a much better response. So upon repeated interaction, people aren't so afraid, but we still see thousands of new people each day when we walk to work, so we still get the entire city staring at us daily.
Another thing that is pretty funny is Indian TV. We have been watching the news and music channels and Tasmin's house the last few nights. The news is not bad. It's similar to the BBC or something like that. Better than American news, but still very biased in what it presents.
The pop music is god awful... and I hope I don't offend anyone when I say that. It's really funny because there are a lot of groups that try to emulate the American tough guy pop/rap music, but they just can't pull it off over here. Also, the love songs are so melodramatic. It's actually really funny. The music channels actually have just commercials for hours on end. It's like teasing the consumer into buying the music.
I want to bring back some DVDs because in EVERY SINGLE movie there is a large dance scene with choreography and such.
I am also learning a lot about how the government works here. There are two main national parties, the Congress Party and the BJP. The BJP is the far right party. Then there are tons of regional parties around India. The Communist party actually rules three states and has considerable influence in the country. However, even Communist controlled States are caving to Special Economic Zones because of the false promises of modernization...
It's a really strange time in India right now... right at the crossroads between traditional India and westernization. I don't know much about it, but it seems like the multinational corporations are going to push into India without much resistance as much of the young population welcomes western culture. I just hope it doesn't trample the traditional culture, because it is very rich. Also, they have the best food in the world!
Anyways... we are on our way out of Navdanya. It is freaking hot today and the air conditioning is broken! Leave us some comments! We love reading them!!!
Gentrification Through Food: How the Indian Government is Using Hygiene Laws to Forcibly Zone Delhi.
Nick Caleb and Kristin Gunderson
Visiting Interns
Navdanya
Visiting Interns
Navdanya
A. Policies Aimed at Protecting Foreign Corporations at the Expense of India
On February 15, 2007, the Supreme Court of India upheld a notice by Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) banning all vendors and hawkers from cooking in the streets, citing reasons of hygiene, public health, fire safety, and beautification. On March 17, 2007, the Supreme Court clarified its ruling, ordering the MCD to designate areas for food courts and also removing the ban from tea and coffee vendors (as long as it is served in disposable cups). In Maharashtra Ekta Hawkers Union & ANR v. Municipal Corporation, Greater Mumbai and ORS (2002) the Court observed that hawkers have a qualified fundamental right under Article 19(g) of the Constitution of India to carry on their trade or business as long as it is not causing “nuisance, annoyance, or inconvenience to the other members of the public.” (pg. #?) The recent Supreme Court case allows for even further reduction in the rights of street vendors and hawkers by rubber-stamping the MCD’s orders.
Recent actions by local and national government entities in India, such as the leveling of slums and the mass sealing (similar to condemnation) of small, local retail outlets in Delhi, signal a drastic change in the enforcement of neoliberal economic policy. Providing education and economic opportunities to the lower economic classes has proven too difficult for the government. Instead, an easier policy is to use various methods of persuasion, ranging from legal pressure to outright violence, to push these undesirable elements out of the city to make way for foreign companies to invade India’s cities. Indeed, the Master Plan for Delhi – 2021 makes it very clear that Delhi will be zoned into sectors where only the “correct” elements will be allowed.
Unfortunately for the city planners and their elitist supporters, such a scheme cannot be implemented while multitudes of poor still live in and work the streets. That is why legal pretexts have been created and enforced to destroy the homes, jobs, and livelihoods of the poor in Delhi.
In 2005, the Food Safety and Standards Bill (FSSB) passed through Parliament, replacing 70 years of national food acts and orders. The bill passed primarily because of the prevailing idea that it is necessary to reshape food health and safety laws to prepare for the coming “modernization” of India. However, as Dr. Shiva noted in Seed Dictatorship and Food Fascism, “[c]onsumer health, nutrition, and food culture are not even mentioned as objectives of the integrated food law” (39). The FSSB is heavily biased against the traditional Indian agricultural methods for cultivating and preparing food. Instead, the FSSB favors western, industrial ideas of health and wellness, despite plentiful evidence that the adverse health effects caused by industrial production are far more dangerous, potentially and realized, than the risks involved in traditional production and preparation of food. In addition, health problems caused by industry are harmful on a much larger scale than any caused by traditional food production methods. The exponential increases in rates of birth defects and cancer across the world due to industrial pollution, as well as industrial accidents such as the infamous Bhopal incident, should leave no doubt to the truth of such an assertion.
And yet, the national government is bending over backward to meet foreign investors’ demands for deregulation. Special Economic Zones (SEZ), authorized by the Indian government, are popping up around the country. These zones essentially create tiny, sovereign manufacturing countries inside India’s borders with absolutely no regulation and no taxes for 10 out of the first 15 years. These SEZs are intended to stimulate economic growth through unimpeded manufacturing and production of goods. Unfortunately, deregulation spells low quality for the consumer as companies cut corners to minimize expenditures and maximize profit margin. In addition, the legal borders surrounding SEZs will not protect the Indian people from the mass industrial pollution that comes from unregulated industry. SEZs are not supposed to be used for agriculture, but proposed handouts of prime agricultural land to high bidding petrochemical companies suggest that this restriction will not last for long, or will be ignored all together. The potential of these tiny corporate sub-nations is very scary. If the foreign companies do not even have trouble polluting their “home” countries, the prospects for India’s environmental future are very bleak.
B. An Example of Using Food Hygiene Laws to get rid of “Undesirables”: Sudhir Madan and others v. Municipal Corporation of Delhi and others (2007).
Food laws such as the FSSB and the MCD’s prohibition on street cooked foods not only favor large-scale industry in the area of production, but are also used to quell competition, whether it is small-scale, community-based agriculture in rural areas or local vendors and hawkers in the cities. The unwarranted attack on street vendors in Delhi is an example of such pro-industry, pseudo-hygiene law, used as a pretext to push an already marginalized and struggling class of people out of the city. If trends continue, large foreign retailers, such as Wal-Mart, will soon enter the city as replacements for the open niche left by the forced eviction of small retailers, slum dwellers, street vendors, and hawkers.
In 2000, when the Supreme Court ordered the Delhi government to remove slums and unauthorized colonies from public land, the slum dwellers appealed. The Supreme Court told them “desperation does not give you a right to violate the law.” In 2007, the Supreme Court took the same callous and unrealistic approach to street vendors that it previously took towards slum dwellers. The law should never be used as an excuse to further abuse the downtrodden. If laws and regulations are to be valid, they should at least survive logical scrutiny, protect minority rights, and promote sound public policy. The Supreme Court’s justifications for enforcement of the MCD’s ban on cooking street food (i.e. public health and hygiene, fire safety, and beautification) fail on all accounts and thus should be seen as more of a pretext for gentrification than unbiased enforcement of reasonable law.
Public Health and Hygiene
There is no question that the best possible public health and hygiene are important and worthwhile goals. However, the logic behind the MCD’s findings, taken in conjunction with the FSSB, suggests that individual personal health is at most only a secondary concern.
Although the Court bans the cooking of food in the streets, it allows for food to be cooked at home, “properly packaged”, and brought to the place of business to sell. Presumably, the harm of cooking on site would be bacterial growth brought on by unsanitary conditions. However, this procedure adds many layers of complexity to the goal of preventing the spread of disease. By requiring that the goods now be packaged there is a much greater risk of bacterial growth on the food. The precooked foods would now have to sit out for far too long in the hot sun and would become a breeding ground for many kinds of bacteria and other pathogens.
Instead of solving problems, the Court has just created more. How will the conditions of food packaging be regulated? How will consumers know how long the food has been sitting out? Also, how are poor individuals expected to take the time and the money to package this food? Neither the Court nor the MCD analyzes these questions because public health is not taken seriously as a concern. When put in the context with other recent government actions, it looks very much like a pretext to put economic pressure on those that do not fit into the Master Plan.
Rakesh Gupta is quoted in The Tribune’s article, Food For Thought as saying, "[m]y family lives back home in Meerut. For me, the staple diet of chole-bhature and dal-roti cooked right here in front of my eyes is my idea of good and fresh food. I would not be comfortable with packed food and I cannot afford restaurants everyday." Rakesh’s instincts about food safety are absolutely correct. Food cooked at high temperatures and eaten soon after is very safe, as most bacteria cannot survive such conditions. As noted before, packaging the food in substandard conditions and leaving it out in the hot Delhi weather is a recipe for increased risk of bacterial infection.
If the MCD and the Court were truly serious about promoting health, there are plenty of other measures that could be taken. For example, the MCD could start a program to improve Delhi’s sanitation and make it easier for street vendors to work in more sterile conditions. MCD could also start an educational initiative aimed at reaching out to street vendors and showing simple ways that they could improve health conditions. The city could provide plastic gloves and surgical masks to those directly handling food and require that they be used during preparation. The point is that the new regulations merely provide obstacles and inconveniences to street vendors. The MCD’s requirement of packaging pre-cooked food does absolutely nothing to guarantee food safety.
Fire Safety
Fire safety is another concern that was brought up when considering the pros and cons of street vendors. Any time that heat is involved in the preparation of food a fire is a possibility. By that standard, concern for causing fire should be applied to all heated food, including home and restaurant preparation. There is nothing to suggest that the risk of fire is higher for the street vendors than with any other place where fire is used to cook. In fact, the risk might be less as small scale cooking equipment does not carry the same danger as do higher-powered stoves and ovens.
The second reason the argument of fire safety does not withstand when common sense and reasoning are used is because they are still allowing the use of fire; not for food preparation alone. This is based on the assumption that the poor street vendors of Delhi will not have access to microwaves and cappuccino machines. The MCD is still allowing the preparation of beverages on the streets as long as they are served in disposable cups.
Beautification of the City
(END)
Dr. Shiva doesn't come back until monday so hopefully we are doing the right thing. Anyways, we have been doing a lot of reading about globalization and changing policies related to the government's desire to bring in unregulated industry. It is very intellectually stimulating. Kristin and I are learning a ton at work. Plus we are absorbing facts about India at a very high rate. Neither of us knew much about Indian culture before coming, so it is all first hand impression. We have to learn some things the hard way, but I think overall that this is the best way to learn about a culture!
On another note, I know more about what Brad, Luis, and Pablo are talking about when they tell me that I don't understand what it is like to be a minority. Well, I think I am starting to learn! It's really strange not being able to act naturally with most people. As we make friends, we can start to loosen up with them, but any new interaction is usually uncomfortable.
For instance, Kristin and I went to the store to buy water yesterday. When we walked in, the 6 people or so in the store stopped what they were doing and just looked at us. We thought we were waiting to be helped, but apparently just standing there was strange. The store owner had his young daughter come help us probably because he didn't speak good English. The girl was probably about 15 years old or something. She was really scared! She looked nervous and was stuttering the whole time as she asked "What do you want?!" We said we were looking for some water and she dug through the cooler to get it and then basically thrust it at us. Everyone else in the store looked pretty uncomfortable as well. We paid and left. Today we went back and got a much better response. So upon repeated interaction, people aren't so afraid, but we still see thousands of new people each day when we walk to work, so we still get the entire city staring at us daily.
Another thing that is pretty funny is Indian TV. We have been watching the news and music channels and Tasmin's house the last few nights. The news is not bad. It's similar to the BBC or something like that. Better than American news, but still very biased in what it presents.
The pop music is god awful... and I hope I don't offend anyone when I say that. It's really funny because there are a lot of groups that try to emulate the American tough guy pop/rap music, but they just can't pull it off over here. Also, the love songs are so melodramatic. It's actually really funny. The music channels actually have just commercials for hours on end. It's like teasing the consumer into buying the music.
I want to bring back some DVDs because in EVERY SINGLE movie there is a large dance scene with choreography and such.
I am also learning a lot about how the government works here. There are two main national parties, the Congress Party and the BJP. The BJP is the far right party. Then there are tons of regional parties around India. The Communist party actually rules three states and has considerable influence in the country. However, even Communist controlled States are caving to Special Economic Zones because of the false promises of modernization...
It's a really strange time in India right now... right at the crossroads between traditional India and westernization. I don't know much about it, but it seems like the multinational corporations are going to push into India without much resistance as much of the young population welcomes western culture. I just hope it doesn't trample the traditional culture, because it is very rich. Also, they have the best food in the world!
Anyways... we are on our way out of Navdanya. It is freaking hot today and the air conditioning is broken! Leave us some comments! We love reading them!!!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)