August 2013

August 2013

My way back from Lata was quite an adventure. I considered going straight back because I was spending so much time waiting along the way. There were two landslides which I did not hear about until I had left Joshimath. The biggest one was near Karinprayag, and it added about four hours to my trip. Luckily, I had planned to spend the night in Srinagar in order to meet two of my Fulbright friends. Therefore, I made it before dark. It was nice to have them show me the town and take me to dinner at their favorite restaurant. The next morning, I woke up early and caught the bus to Dehradun. I reached just in time for lunch.

The road block coming from Lata. An audience always helps the process move quicker.

I spent the next few days in Dehradun catching up on what I had learned in Lata. It was fun because some of my friends from Lakamandal were in Dehradun for their annual teacher training. My friend Sharmila is my favorite. We went shopping one day in the bazaar and always had our meals together. She is so sweet and fun to be with. I cannot describe it, but we click.

Sharmila and me. Sharmila is dressed up as Pi for the teachers' skit based on the movie The Life of Pi.

Here is where I sit in the office at RLEK doing my work. The chai helps keep me going!

Besides catching up on my research, I also made a scouting trip to Matli to plan where we would be installing the water chlorinators with WaterStep and also went to see my adviser in Gujarat. It was a bit scary to see Matli at this time because the monsoon was not quite over. I came with a man sent by WaterStep from Bihar. I think that he was totally unprepared for mountain living. It is much different and more difficult than living in the plains. Besides the steep hills, the roads were not in good shape at all. After bringing him here, we both made the recommendation to WaterStep that we wait until the monsoon is over before sending anyone to install chlorinators. We did not want to create anymore problems by bringing outsiders into this disaster-prone area.

Visiting a potential water tank location in Dilsoar village.

The road (or lack of road) back from Uttarkashi.

I did not do anything exciting in Gujarat. I spent lots of time working on my research and searching the good databases at the Institute of Rural Management Anand. It is a nice campus although all the buildings look alike. We had pretty good weather - it was not too hot being the monsoon. Anand is the milk capital of India because India's biggest milk company is based here. This meant that the chai is especially good, and we had the option of eating ice cream at every meal. Gujarati food is the same type of vegetables and dal which I see throughout the rest of India. However, there is one important difference. They add sugar to every dish. I am not a fan! We did have a very nice dinner of all different kinds of Gujarati food at a restaurant in Ahmedabad. Still, I think I had way too much sugar in this one meal!

After Gujarat, I came back to Dehradun for more work and then went to Sabli for a few days to see some of my friends there. It was nice to catch up with them. I also got to visit some surrounding villages and get more information about the World Bank's SWAJAL project through which many household and community water taps were installed.

From Sabli, I went to Mussoorie to celebrate the first anniversary of the Landour Lecture Series. It was a huge success. Surbhi invited a group of three Garhwali muscians - including a bagpiper. I danced the nice away!

The next day, Surbhi and I took the bus to Lakamandal to wrap up some of my research, do some of her work, and visit some of my friends - including Sharmila, pictured above. We had a great time, and I completed many interviews!

Surbhi and me at the Lakamandal temple.

On the way back to Mussoorie, we made two stops. First, we went to Virod to see the Masu Devta festival. The god was carried up to Virod village by car and on a palanquin. During the day, we went to a ceremony in which both a local man and woman went into a trance - dancing for the god. It was like nothing I have ever experienced. Our friends got us to the front of the crowd by telling everyone we were with the media. (Surbhi had a big camera, so I guess this excuse worked.) That night we attended a dance performed by both the women and men. They danced in a circle and sang. Then everyone went to enjoy dinner. You could eat at anyone's house that you wanted.

Virod temple

The funny thing about going to Virod was that I knew that I had been near there before back in December. When I arrived, I had deja vu. It turned out I went to one of the neighboring villages. One of the young girls - who also knew Surbhi - recognized me. Also, RLEK has one of its schools in the village next door. I was standing outside and ran into one of RLEK's teachers (I stay with RLEK in Dehradun). It is becoming unbelievable how small of a world it is. He came up and said hi to me. I looked at him and said - "I recognize you." However, I could not place him until he told me that he was a teacher at RLEK's school. Surbhi and I ate at his beautiful wooden house for dinner. We had at least three offers, but I am so happy we took him up on his offer. Every house in the village made excessive quantities of food. His was especially good! It was obvious that he gave us something special because we ate last and had way more food than everyone else. I could also taste a hint of ghee in the dal which meant they dropped in there for us as a special treat. (The food in these villages in incredible because it is all local!)

Unfortunately, Virod has an enormous water scarcity problem. Therefore, Surbhi and I felt we should leave as soon as possible. The only water sourc is a handpump on the road (a ten minute walk) which dries up in the summer. (The hillside has been totally deforested.) In the summer, the government sends in tanker trucks of water twice a day. People wait in line until their number comes, and then they can collect their water (which is not clean). People explain what a big problem the water supply is here because of deforestation. It is clear that their crops are not producing as they could be because water is such a problem. Many people are migrating out of Virod as result of the water problem.

Surbhi and my second stop was at SIDH - near Kempty falls in Mussoorie. We enjoyed some nice walks at night. We also visited the home of a Canadian who moved to India, married a Garhwali, and started a school. It was strange being in India and having this taste of Western culture in an Indian home. However, she was very nice, and I really enjoyed learning about what she is doing there.