Work at Asha (Cait)

Week of July 5

We finally met Dr. Martin, the founder of Asha this week, as she'd been out of the country since our arrival. She took Shalini, Sam, and I to lunch at Barista and talked with us about ourselves, Asha, and our experience here so far. She also told us what she had in mind for us for the next couple weeks. Since this year has been a huge milestone for the slums in terms of students accepted to college, she wanted the three of us to put together a workshop to prepare the university-bound students for college life. She also asked us to help out with putting together the annual report for Asha. We agreed and headed back to the office to start working. We hope that this will be a good opportunity to get to know the full scope of the organization better.

On Thursday, we got to meet Mr. Chidambaram, India's current Home Minister and former Minister of Finance. We were very privileged to have this opportunity, as the Home Minister is the most important and powerful person in the country after the Prime Minister. Mr. Chidambaram is a special friend of Asha's since he backed a scheme during his term as Finance Minister that provided slum dwellers with access to low-interest loans through Indian banks. This was revolutionary, as most slum dwellers at the time didn't even have a bank account and had no knowledge of basic financial services. Any time they needed to borrow money to invest in their business or pay for medical bills, they were forced to turn to money lenders who charged exorbitant interest rates. The microfinance scheme designed by Asha and Mr. Chindambaram changed all this.

We went to his office with Dr. Martin, Sam, and two slum dwellers who were recently accepted to college. Because he's so very busy and important, we had to keep our visit relatively short, but Mr. Chindambaram talked with us very graciously for about 20 minutes and allowed us to ask questions. He was very thoughtful and well-spoken, and we enjoyed the visit immensely. We feel lucky to have had so many wonderful experiences over the past weeks.

Jaipur (Cait)

Our trip to Jaipur was our first taste of the Indian bus system. To our surprise, we found our AC Volvo bus (the top-of-the-line in transportation, we were assured) to be more comfortable than the train, which is the opposite of what we usually find at home. We got in without a hitch and went to our hotel, the Umaid Bhawan, which was a very traditional restored heritage hotel with decor to match.

The next day we hired an auto through our hotel to take us around the city. First we hit the Amber Fort, which our fort guru Paul told us was a must-see. From the bottom of the hill we had to take a jeep up the steep, bumpy roads to the ancient fort itself. We spent about an hour walking around and got some great photos. Then, hot, tired, and sweaty, we considered our cultural duty done for the day. As we were exiting the fort, our eyes caught a bit of red glittering through the haze of heat and dust. Could it be? Was it only a mirage brought on by excessive sun exposure and dehydration? We ventured closer. It was! In the most unlikely of places, a Cafe Coffee Day (CCD to those in the know) had appeared in our hour of need.

A brief aside on the importance of CCD in our lives:

There is a CCD about a five minute walk from our little home in Vasant Kunj. Whenever we need a brief respite from the 116 degree heat, have been bamboozled by autos who don't know where they're going, have spent an afternoon scouring four different parts of the city in search of a tailor that is open on Tuesdays, or feel particularly drained or frustrated for any other reason, we go to CCD and the world is made right again. Their drinks, which are described on the menu as akin to "drowning the crimson glory of the blazing sun" and "a drink for the gods- or as we like to call them, our guests," have put smiles on our faces and joy in our hearts many a time. CCD, we love you.

To continue:

We had an enjoyable rest at CCD before heading back down the hill to where our auto was waiting. We drove back into the city, and saw a beautiful palace in the middle of a lake. Jaipur, the "Pink City," is truly gorgeous. We also stopped to ride a camel! So much fun, though when the camel stands or sits, a strange jerky, rolling motion, you almost see your life flash before your eyes.

We then went to the hug bazaar in the middle of the old city shopped to our heart's desire, which wasn't too long given the heat. Later that evening, we went to Choki Dani, which is supposed to be a recreation of traditional village life but which is really just a fake posh tourist trap that somewhat resembles a village. Don't get me wrong though...we thoroughly enjoyed our time at the fake village. We rode an elephant, watched the dancers, and ate a traditional Rajastani thali dinner. Maybe not actually representative of village life, but highly entertaining nonetheless.

The following afternoon before boarding a bus back to Delhi, Shal and I looked through the Lonely Planet to find the perfect restaurant to have our last meal in Jaipur. We alighted upon a description of a restaurant at the top of the Om Hotel which revolved. Kitschy? Maybe. A perfect end to our weekend? Definitely. Decision made.

The restaurant was on the 14th floor, which is higher than pretty much anything else in the city, so we got some great views. The actual rotating of the room was so slow as to be barely perceptible, but during the course of our meal we made a full rotation and got to see all 360 degrees of Jaipur. We saw that there was a Revolving Thali Special on the menu and thought "when in Rome," and completed the experience with the Revolving Sundae. Dizzyingly delicious.

Week Of June 28th (Shalini)

Sarojini Nagar Market... where we bought a lot of your gifts..

Mr. Martin helping us celebrate the mango festival in Delhi!

We are in the office all the time now that the children are back at school. It's sad actually, and I really miss them. I found that work a lot more rewarding. We worked on a grant proposal all week, that was for 2 mobile health vans from the Japanese Embassy. We learned A LOT about what it is to both work in India, and work for an NGO. Ask us about it sometime.

We also went out a couple of times during the week. On Thursday, we went to Reggae night, which was awesome. A lot of fun. When K'naan's Wavin' Flag came on, the entire club erupted. It was really something cool to be there, surrounded by Europeans, during the World Cup.

Home from Varanasi (Shalini)

I am so proud of the awesome pictures my little camera took! It's almost impossible to capture how beautiful this boat tour was. It is something we will never forget.

The next day was a hot one in the Holy city.

We decided to relax and take advantage of the spa, which was highly recommended by our Lonely Travel guidebook. We got massages, which were really quite different to any other massage ever partaken in at home. We also swam and met other travellers. All around a good day. Until...

It was time to leave. We get to the train station, half an hour on time, because we're still silly and punctual, even though nothing is on time in this country. Our train was upwards of two hours late. We waited on the platform in the Varanasi heat for what seemed like forever, and then boarded the train. Everyone pushes! I yelled at a man for pushing me as I was waiting for a woman with two children to board. We then arrived (finally) at our seats. We were riding 3AC which seemed right away, to be a whole different world from the 2AC that we arrived in. We were lucky enough, however, to be sharing out section with 3 Sri Lankan religious pilgrams: a family of two sisters and a husband. One of the women lived in Melbourne.

This was all fine, and we were getting comfortable, until it came time for us to search for blankets. Jon and I went to the back of the train where there was some sort of strange and panicked money exchange occurring. It was really bizarre and we had no idea what to take of it. We decided that maybe they would drop blankets off to us? How wrong we were. Later that night, Cait and Jon went in search of the blankets, and found that they were all being hoarded by a group of Sikh men, who refused even Cait's offers of money for a few blankets. An hour or so later, when the conductor came to check our tickets, I enquired, and his response was, get this: "There are 85 blankets on this train, only." Why?! why in the world were there 85 blankets. Ridiculous. We were really cold that night, as we wrapped ourselves in scarves.

Jonathan, however, had a bunk buddy. The Sri Lankans decided that the top two berths should be occupied by their massive suitcases (they were only travelling for 2 weeks, but people in this part of the world, to generalize, do NOT seem to pack light, and are all amazed by our backpacks). That left 4 berths and 6 people. We were awoken in the middle of the night to "Nononono" as the Sri Lankan man refused Jon's request to move the suitcases and for Jon to sleep there himself. The man had woken Jon up by moving his feet over so that he could sleep on the same berth. Retrospectively, it was really quite funny.

The train was 4 hours late in arriving. We thought it would never get there. But then finally we arrived way north in Delhi. We took the metro and then an auto for the 1.5 hour trip home. The metro is a sight to be seen. It's so urban and cool. However, in typical Indian travelling style, people pile up against the doors, as if they will shut right away- the car of the metro isn't even half full, and they're all pushing against the doors and windows to get out!! As soon as the doors open, people fall and are sprawled across the platform, and basically walked over.

But we finally got home, hungry, tired, and probably smelling terrible. But it was a great experience of a weekend all in all, and I wouldn't have traded it for anything, I just never wish it upon anyone haha.

" The Ghats You Ghatta See" -Shalini (Cait)

We took the train to Varanasi on Friday night without any difficulties. Shalini and I were in 2AC class, which meant that we were in a compartment with 2-tiered bunks and excessive air conditioning. The train itself was quite an experience. At every stop, venders would get on and walk through the train selling snacks and beverages. Thus, there was a constant chorus of "chai chai chai chai" and "cofi cofi cofi cofi" throughout the journey. Jonathon, Shalini, and I played cards to pass the time, especially Egyptian Ratscrew, a fast-paced game which the object is to be the first to slap the pile of cards. I assure you that what it lacks in intellectual sophistication, we made up for in enthusiasm (or in Shalini's case, outright violence).The train, which was supposed to be 12 hours, was mercifully only an hour late...all in all, enormously successful by Indian standards.

After we checking into our hotel, we freshened up and headed into Varanasi. We walked around the town and saw the ghats, but due to the blistering heat, which at about 120 F even put Delhi to shame, soon headed to the restaurant where we had arranged to met Felix. After a much-needed refreshment of lassis and mango juice, Shalini and I said good-bye to the boys and headed back to our hotel for some R&R. They met up with us later for a dip in the pool before Felix caught a train back to Delhi.

That evening, Jon, Shal, and I took a night tour of the Ganges. This involved going out in a little boat with our guide Raju, who explained all the ins and outs of the river, like who could be cremated on the banks and what all the buildings we passed were. There were several cremations going on at this time, and we also saw a dead body floating in the water, which made the final decision for us as to whether we were going to take a dip in the water (fun fact: for water to be "safe," the concentration of a certain kind of bacteria should be <50/ mL; in the Ganges, it is more than 1 million). We rowed to the main ghat downstream where the evening ceremonies, involving a colorful display of lights and costumes and drums and chanting, were taking place. We watched them from the water, along with many other boats, and each lit an offering of lotus flowers in small wooden dishes, and set them out on the river. The whole spectacle was truly spectacular.

Chillin in Delhi (Cait)

Shalini and Jonathon eating questionable fried train food en route to Varanasi

Our buddy Felix...no, a different Felix

The man, the legend: Paul Frey.

Tuesday afternoon we arrived back in good old Vasant Kunj. During our absence, a new roommate had turned up! Lisa is a 22-yr old med student at Newcastle Univ., though she's from Northern Ireland. The shadowing she'll be doing over the summer is part of her medical training; she'll be doing one month here and then another month back in Ireland. She seems very sweet, and we LOVE her accent. She even offers to get us something from the store while she's out. The beginning of a beautifuuul friendship.

When we get to the office Wednesday morning, we are surprised to hear that we won't be going to the slum this week. Instead, we'll be working in the office writing a grant proposal for Asha. Asha is applying for money from the Japanese embassy to buy two mobile health clinic vans, which will allow them to provide health services to 4-5 new slum areas throughout the city. So for the next few days, Shalini and I look through old proposals and annual reports and talk to different staff members to collect the information needed to explain the practical dimensions of the project, Asha as an organization, and the expected benefits to the slum communities. It's really interesting and a nice break from the usual routine, and we love hanging out with Felix and Paul, two of Asha's staff who work in the office with us; we're pretty sure we keep them from actually getting work done though, because will interrupt them all the time with "If you could go anywhere in India for a weekend trip, where would you go?" and "Paul, can you call the bus station for us to see if they have tickets left on the bus to Jaipur, pretty pleaseeee?" all the time. They put up with us remarkably well.

We also make plans to go to Varanasi with a big group, but Sam, Sean, and Michelle's train ticket's are inexplicably cancelled at the last minute and everything else is sold out, so in the end only Shalini, Jonathon, and I are going. We're disappointed about the others but excited to see the oldest and holiest city in India!! If only the train wasn't 13 hours long...

Wedding: Monday (Shalini)

Monday was the day of all of the main wedding ceremonies. We began preparing earlier today, learning from yesterday how long it would take us to get ready. Again, Mrs. Khandelwal was amazing and so helpful, lending us jewelry and telling me in particular, how to look more Indian. I wore lipstick for my first time haha. We then watched as the groom's family all arrived and we helped greet them with flowers. We were so included in this entire process! The bride's brother urged us to help out, and we were so happy to do so. We put flower bracelets on the female members of the groom's family. The groom himself arrived on a horse that was decked out in rich, colorful trappings. The entire thing was such an awesome spectacle.

Cait and I then watched the entire wedding ceremony. This must have been 3 hours long, but we were so intrigued by it all! The bride enters under this veil that was held up by male members of her family. She looked absolutely beautiful, and Cait and I are now convinced that a wedding is not a wedding, unless it is an Indian wedding. The coolest part was when they light the fire and the couple walks around it seven times.

After this, we waited in line to congratulate the new couple, after witnessing an Indian wedding tradition in which the bride's family steals the groom's shoes during the ceremony, which he then has to buy back from them. The whole thing involves a lot of good-natured bargaining, so fun to watch! We then saw the ceremony where the bride's family says goodbye. This was quite sad and emotional, and it was truly emblematic of how close-knit Indian families are. Getting to experience such a personal event as a wedding during our time here was truly an unforgettable experience, and we feel incredibly fortunate to have been welcomed so warmly by this wonderful family.