A Side Note (Shalini)

The trouble with writing a blog, and being so open to the world, is that one's ignorance is so easily conveyed. We very much intend for this blog to explain how much we both want to learn from India. That said, we also know that we have been so privileged in our lives, that there is also a lot that we can do in India. The former reason is why we left our homes and places of comfort for the summer, and ventured off into a country that is very foreign to both of us. The latter, however, is why we decided to embark on this journey with Asha.

The other day while we were driving back to the office from Maya Puri, Cait and I had a discussion about cultural relativism: understanding the ways of other cultures and not judging these practices according to one's own cultural ways, and how it applies to our experience in India.

There are a few things that we would like to establish before we continue on with this blog.

It was never our intention to come to India and teach English. However, thus far, it has been an incredible experience, and we love what we do every day. We were both very much interested in the health component of Asha, but we have come to learn the importance of teaching English to the children. It is a sad truth that in order to get jobs, and to be elevated in contemporary Indian society, it is necessary to learn English. As such, we are doing our very best to both learn from the students and teach them, as we try our best overcome the language barrier. We understand that English is the "language of the colonisers", and thus we understand some of the criticism we've been getting, yet, because it is impossible to change the past, we must change the future to one of equality for the marginalized slum-dwellers in Delhi.

The second thing that we would like to discuss is the use of the word "slum" throughout our blog. Before we came to India, we would have to say that we very much agreed with you--this word just emphasized the socioeconomic difference and in doing so, made it more prevalent and classist. However, there are two reasons why we will continue to use this word, and we sincerely hope that you don't mind. The first reason is because this is what Asha, an organization created by one of the most magnificent woman I have ever met (and an Indian at that!), calls the areas. Furthermore, "slum" is how the people themselves refer to where they live. This emphasizes my second reason for using the word slum. When we go out into Delhi, into the more affluent areas, and we tell people where we work, they shush us at even mentioning that there's another side to this country besides its beauty. "Slum" is thus a very political word that, when hidden, also attempts to hide the side of India that politicians and those with money choose to forget in every day life. We think that it is very important as an initial step, for us to recognize our problems in order to find solutions.

Please let us know how you feel!