Hampi, Madurai, Pondicherry, and NGOs

Namaste! I am currently in the city of Puducherry (formerly Pondicherry), which is in the union territory of Pondicherry, which is ruled directly by national governance instead of the states of india, which are substantially autonomous. It was a French colony until 1954 I believe, even though India had been independent from the British since 1947. There are many sections of the city that are clearly remnants of colonial France, exemplified in residential buildings, churches, and city infrastructure like sanitation and road planning. Other than that, it still feels a lot like India with the markets everywhere, and a side street with a Hindu temple that has an elephant who blesses people just outside.

There is a terrific beach called Auroville beach, that has white sand and warm water! It is 8 km away from the international commune called Auroville, which claims it is an experiment for the unity of humanity. There are many nations represented there who basically are non-political peace lovers who seek to achieve unity within diversity. Many work on projects of sustainable living, and most (if not all) practise yoga as a means of peace and unity. The Matrimandir is a large golden dome within the commune which people can meditate and perform yoga in when they choose. "The Mother" is a woman who started the whole thing, and today is actually the celebration of her ideals, one of which was the non-existance of constitutionalized marriage.

Last night, there was live music in the middle of Nehru Street in Puducherry, consisting of a stage full of electric drums, tablas, male and female singers, and a keyboard. Then, down the road, there was a brightly lit statue of a deity on a float rolling through the same road, powered by a generator behind it. There were many shopkeepers and townspeople coming to offer gifts, and 3 brahmins dressed in white lungis (man skirts, of which I own and happily wear 3) accepted the offerings. The gifts consisted of strings of flowers, shawls from clothing venders, and fruits. Most of which would be put in a metal pan and burned, giving off an aromatic smoke.

Madurai was a pretty awesome town, with the normal hustle and bustle of a normal Indian town, but with an incredible temple called the Minakshi Temple. Minakshi (or Parvati) is the consort to Sundeswerar (or Shiva), so the temple also had dedications to Shiva. There were a number of gopurams (towers) and many halls, each including ancient decorative pillars. It is the custom to have markets, or bazaars infront of temples for people to sell their wares, so there is a large one in Madurai. One night, my friend John and I met a guy about our age who took us on a city bus to the other end of town to another temple out on the water. He wanted to take us on a boat, but it was dark, there were no other boats around, and he had an engraving on his arm from a knife carving. The scar constisted of four letters which he was unable to truthfully explain (he told us a few different answers). So we figured he was part of a gang or at least super sketchy due to the situation, so we took a rickshaw back to town. Altogether a good time. We also visited the Gandhi Museum in Madurai, which told an extended account of the liberation of India (from the Brits) and Gandhi's life and works aside from that. The facility was created by Nehru, suitingly, as they were good friends and colleagues throughout the birth of the nation. The day after visiting the temple and the museum, we visited 3 NGOs around Madurai. The first was a Mercy Home, which took abandoned girl babies and abandoned elderly and gave them a place to live (for the babies, they also helped arrange foster parents). The second was a movement to empower women by education (of both women and men) and rights awareness. The third was called DHAN (development of human action) which basically facilitated micro-credit loans all over the country for small self-governing groups of people. All have had tremendous success and serve a vital part of Indian social society.

The weekend before Madurai, we went to Hampi, which is an area in nothern Karnataka which has many really old archealogical sites. There were so many temples that I couldn't really count them. Many were Hindu, some were Moslem, and some of the ruins simply consisted of religious baths, and simple city infrastructure like roads, waterways, and tunnels. One morning we climbed a small mountain (more of a large hill- it took about an hour) to watch the sunrise- absolutely breathtaking from up there! It was neat because we had just seen all the sights the day before, but now we got a bird's eye view.

In between all these places, we have been taking night trains, which has become quite an enjoyable experience. I have gotten good sleeps and met some really cool people. And of course, the most memorable phrases are repeated mercilessly by sellers (namely, "Chai" and "Coffee"). A little Indian girl named Sita kept coming to speak English to us (numbers 1 to 10 and nursery rhymes like "twinkle twinkle little star"), which was priceless. I think she had a crush on me. Well, off to supper. Something French.... maybe baguettes and pasta?

Hospitals

Asha Kirana is an HIV/AIDS hospital that is next door to our hostel, and they arranged an education presentation to a nearby police training facility in which I tagged along. The police sent a bus with bars over the windows (clearly for transporting criminals!) which picked us up and drove us across the city. When we got there, we were brought to a room with about 200 constables wearing tan colored uniforms and matching hats. They reminded me of "man in the yellow hat" in curious George... but with tan hats. I got some pretty hilarious photos of some officers posing on their motorbikes afterwards. The talk itself was in Kannada (the language of Karnataka), but the presentation was in English, so I understood most of it. I feel it is actually fairly strategic to inform the policeman who will be enforcing prostitution laws (for example) how HIV can and cannot be transmitted, as it will help their judgment and keep them from propagating social stigmas. But can you believe that men who have trained and educated for 12 years in the police force have never heard of the basics of HIV/AIDS? How much do uneducated know about it? It's scary to know that a very conservative figure of 5 million HIV positive people live in India. Who knows how high the liberal number reaches? With little education, lots of stigma, and not universally organized system of ARV distribution, this country may see the ravages of HIV/AIDS similar to the likes of South Africa or worse.

On a lighter note, we visited the "Hospital in the Forest", which is an NGO that operates about half an hour away from Mysore. It serves tribals of the area, but also provides schooling and sanitation. It is an organization that operates very well, and shines as a model for other NGOs that want to do similar work in other areas of India.

Now I gotta study, I have 3 tests and 2 papers due in a few days, so phir melege (see you later)!

Banana leaves and exhaust

Last night, six of us took two rickshaws to a restaurant in downtown Mysore. The drivers were friends, so naturally, they were playfully passing each other as they drove, allowing us to yell at our friends as we raced. These were among the more souped-up rickies (which means they could probably drive 80 km/h downhill (about 20 km/h uphill!), pretty impressive for glorified 3 wheeled motorbikes). The best part of those little motors is that you shouldn't feel safe in them, even though you do, so its an adventure every time.

The food at the restaurant was served on banana leaves as plates. It was mostly scoops of vegetable chutneys, a mountain of white rice, and bowls of soupy curries (accompanied with a 7-up). It was hilarious because our server was a 10 year old boy, and they didn't have most of what was on the menu that particular night. However, his little face lit up when we ordered something they did have, and he would bob it side to side excitedly (that's how indians nod- it means yes, or an approval, or I like to think it means "of course, you idiot"). I asked "do you have fish curry?" (a disappointed "no") , and "do you have fish fry" ("no"), and because someone had already ordered it, I said "but what I REALLY want is the chicken masala," and he was ecstatic!

However, after thinking about it, it settles well with me that they didn't have a lot of what was on the menu. It simply means that they didn't buy any fish that afternoon. In Canada, we buy a quarter chicken from Swiss Chalet, and of course it's available! They just go get it from the freezer where it has been for that last month. In Canada, everything is available all the time. Here, fruits are available in season, and products based on demand.

Back to the automobiles idea, the Tata Nano is a car that has been put on the market, and sells for around Rs. 100 000. It is the most affordable car ever in India, and people are expected to buy it like hotcakes. For the Tata car company, and workers everywhere who have been waiting for a cheap form of transportation and westernization like this, this is a godsend! From my humble point of view, the congestion is already reaching its limits on many roads. And with global climate change being a pressing issue these days, making a car available to hundreds of millions of salivating consumers is a slippery slope. But its