18 may-last day at work

Today was my last official day in the Arghyam office. Time passes so quickly! Almost no one was in office today from the Grants Team. Amrtha is studying for exams, others are traveling or just home for the day so there wasn't much of a 'goodbye' feel in the air. I finished up my report, but haven't done the timeline yet. It details the various government schemes on a national level relevant to rural water and sanitation. The second half of the report focuses on schemes implemented at the state level in Gujarat for similar purposes.

I am actually amazed at how much I have learned. When I go home and tell people about this internship, it'll be a neat one-liner "a group focused on clean rural drinking water and sanitation" but there is so much that is involved in everything in this world. By the end of this experience I was understanding the presentations I sat in on at a much deeper level. I knew what questions I should be asking and I knew where to look for the information I needed. I love that type of learning- the quiet kind that sneaks up on you when you're having fun! crazy!

It was very sad to be on the bike for the very last time. We took a different route home and Srikanta gave me a card. I will miss the bike rides a lot! How can driving be exciting after this? 

17 may-tiny corners of happiness

It was back to the bike today, to my relief! We took a slightly different route home, just to mix things up, and got a glimpse of different tangential plotlines running their course in Bangalore. I always want to just stop and be a fly on the wall of one of the alleys we wheel through. Although the neighborhoods are poorer, they're just more beautiful. The light is softer and the noise is nonexistent. The colours are muted and inviting, and everything feels like family.

The late nights are doing me in (another thing that's coming full circle is my aching need to sleep!) and I could not bring myself to go to the last poetry reading! I was in such a funk. So, I stayed home and worked on my report and Jo took Gayan to Urban Solace.

When Jo returned, we had our second long, honest, soul baring talk of the trip, where we talked about our purposes while travelling, and discussed the difficulties and the memories thus far. It was a great talk that wrapped up with some quality episodes from our good friend Dr. House. Lots of little joys today!

16 may- coming full circle

We're now approaching our week of lasts in Bangalore, and it has been strange how things have come full circle...

I took an auto home from work today and for some reason that was when it hit me that I'm leaving soon! Going from 360 stimulus on a bike to the narrowed world view from an auto is like being a horse with blinders put on. I felt more removed from everything and I didn't like it.

Other things that have come full circle: we've started craving American food again, and the TV is broken so as at the beginning of the trip, we are once more without the tube. Nani's in the market though!

My phone is rapidly running out of currency, so it could be that I end the trip once more without a mobile...

15 may-last sunday in bangalore

Nani, Joanna and I headed to Malleswaram to do some jewelry shopping. It's yet another neighborhood I'm entering for the first time. There is still so much of Bangalore we haven't had a chance to explore in 2 months and it makes me think maybe people like Dominique have a point. It'll take lifetimes to explore just one city in one country, so why go sojourning all over the grand old world? Still, I'm not turned off travel yet.

Nani wanted to buy jewellery for my mother and various other relatives, the objective of our outing. She told me she sought "one gram gold jewellery" and visions of ornate and expensive pieces swam before my eyes. I was very skeptical that this was a good idea.

We stepped out of the auto and Nani ducked into a store selling religious items to ask for directions. We were headed for Kushal's, a store we apparently frequent on our visits to Bengaluru, but which I don't remember. It was blazing hot, but the streets were full of determined shoppers. Stopping first at a jewellery store below ground (down a flight of steps), I realized my mistake. It turns out in India, one gram gold jewellery is used to refer to a particular type of high quality gold-plated jewellery- fake and affordable!

In a shop very much like a department store, we browsed the jewellery counter. Much of the selection looked cheap or tacky. I've never been one for matching my jewellery to the exact shade of my clothing, so I wasn't keen on finding the right blue earrings to match my blue outfit for the wedding.

We fended off overly helpful salespeople and Joanna found a nice watch that looked fantastic, especially given its great price. After leaving the store, we almost immediately found Kushal's, located conveniently right across from a watch repair store! So Joanna got her watch resized immediately, and then the three of us spent a happy hour browsing all of the adornment displays. We walked out with a treasure trove of earrings and necklaces for friends, family and ourselves.

Before heading home, Nani wanted to pick up a few vegetables. The vegetable market area was a narrow street packed with buyers and sellers. One woman was doing her shopping as a sort of 'drive-thru' on her scooter, just buzzing from stall to stall and loading up her bike with veggies before speeding off. Joanna and I decided we would do the same, if we had bikes of our own.

There was a man selling cheap drums, and he began to pester Joanna and I. I actually did want a little drum, so I haggled him down from 400 to 100 and bought one, as did Joanna. He wouldn't stop following us though, urging us to buy another one for more money, and he became quite aggressive so I actually walked away to stand elsewhere while Nani finished shopping.

We headed home with our goods, and then Joanna set off again. At the orphanage where she has been working, a theatre troupe is staging a play featuring all of the children. She headed over to their apartment to help them make costumes for the show. I stayed home, drank chai and hung out with Nani for a while.

When I went outside to grab an auto, I turned left and walked up to the cluster of three parked on the corner to find Peer Khan and Azathmullah reclining inside an auto, chatting with a third driver I didn't recognize. Azathmullah asked me why I hadn't been driving with him to work, and I was afraid he'd be upset but he was very gracious about it! Peer Khan told the third driver to take me, and he ended up being a very nice man who helped me find the apartment complex with great patience.

I had to cross the heavily trafficked street to get to the complex, and even after almost two months it is a trying, heart-wrenching ordeal. Relieved that I made it, I sat and waited on the front steps until Joanna came and got me. The actual apartment was back through a few dark twisty streets and I certainly would not have found it on my own!

Inside the apartment, I immediately settled down with Joanna against a wall to help sew gauzy strips onto fairy wings. While seated, I met some of the members of this group, although forgive me, I cannot remember many of their names! There was an Indian woman named Shubra, who said a quick hello and then dashed out of the apartment.

The troupe is staging Peter Pan, and apparently two of the boys slated to play main characters were going to have to miss the show for school. Shubra wanted to inform the children that the roles would be recast in person, so she left for the orphanage immediately. That's an impressive commitment!

Apparently the apartment belongs to Shubra's parents, and they've let the troupe stay there for the duration of their project. I can't tell how many people are staying there, but there are odd mattresses in random spots on the floor. One wall has pictures of all of the kids from the orphanage and their names.

I met Karl, the American in the troupe who Jo went to dinner with the other night. He's jovial and talkative and was very friendly. Actually, I really enjoyed sewing the strips onto the wings. It was busy work but just the sort my hands wanted, and I like sewing! I chatted with Gaz for a while, the Englishman responsible for costumes, about theatre and our respective families. It was really nice to meet people with a new, fresh and unique perspective on Bangalore and India.

They're having such a different trip than we are! Here for a purpose, they haven't travelled or seen much, but they've had a zillion tiny adventures scouting for costume props and negotiating with locals just in the neighborhood where they are staying. It reminds me that every second is an experience in India, and that even without attending a cultural event, the air is always alive and everything is memorable.

We spent the entire evening leisurely working, talking, and eating delicious pizza. The toppings (Domino's!) are so different than in the US and the veggie pizza tasted just decidedly Indian. I loved it.

Jo and I watched a short film one of the troupe members was making about their trip in India, at the moment just a hodgepodge of footage set to music but somehow still compelling. We lost track of time entirely and at 10:30, panicked and headed out to find an auto!

Standing on the street corner by a swelling flood of traffic, I was nervous about finding an auto willing to take us back late for a decent fare. There was a sketchy man who went to stand near Jo when I crossed the street to try the other side, but luckily she found an auto just then and we made it safely home! An adventurous last Sunday night...

14 may-ghagra and movies

I woke up so late today! Joanna decided not to go shopping for wedding clothes yet, so Nani and I headed off to Jayanagar 4th block. I knew I wanted a ghagra choli (it's a North Indian outfit with a long skirt and short top) for the wedding, so we went straight to that section of the store. The man behind the counter (as usual) whipped out several different options, piling them on top of each other in a dizzying display of colour and sequins. Ghagra salespeople have this interesting way of letting you 'try on' an outfit without actually putting it on.

If you just try it on, you end up horribly disappointed and confused, because they are sold sort of 'one size fits all' and it is expected that you will tailor it to your own body. So instead, they pull out a black elastic band and enlist a few different helpers. One stands behind you and holds the top to our torso, the elastic band holds the skirt to your waist and another helper arranges the dupatta/sash picturesquely across your frame, all in front of a flattering full length mirror.

I wasn't loving any of the Jayanagar ghagras, which were much too showy for my taste. So we headed off again, this time to MG road. The moment we arrived it began to pour and we retreated under an awning. Looking over the entire street, I saw similar scenes. People just packed under awnings and in storefronts, waiting helplessly for the rain to stop. No one was braving it, and no one had umbrellas except for a few lucky foreigners strolling pleasantly from store to store.

Finally, Nani and I decided to make a 'run' for it and we dashed across the street. We slunk into the first dress store we found, and headed to the ghagra section. This time, a woman whipped out a picture book of wedding ghagras and urged me to choose some. North Indian brides wear ghagras, and I suppose she thought I wanted one for my wedding. Which I did not.

I ended up buying a blue and russet ghagra, which we left in the store to be tailored. To head home, we had to try a few different autos. The first few wanted to charge us double the fare because it was raining, but as Nani correctly informed the driver, we could not actually help the fact that it was raining. So we ended up finding a man who charged by the meter and headed home.

Joanna and I spent the rest of this lazy Saturday talking and reading and watching movies.

13 may-great food and fast bikes

Today was the last day Amrtha will be in the office while I'm here! We went out to eat in honour of the occasion. She introduced me to a restaurant on a rooftop (my favourite places in Bangalore have all been on rooftops- like Mocha and High Note) in Indiranagar called Herbs & Spice. Again, it was awesome decor and awesome food.

We split a pasta dish, and just chatted. We decided to do dessert elsewhere, especially because Herbs & Spice seemed to be out of all of their desserts! So we walked back to work. Later in the day, we went to Ben & Jerry's for ice cream! The serving sizes were perfect, a nice change from the super-sized US.

Amrtha explained to me the significance of the giraffe coaching signs that have been mystifying me everywhere! Have I mentioned these? Joanna and I keep stumbling upon these signs on people's driveway gates that say things like "NO PARKING: Giraffe Coaching, Call Us!". Well apparently it is not, as I had hoped, a coaching service for giraffes. It is just a regular coaching service, like tutors for academic subjects. No, but more interesting was the explanation of these signs to begin with. Apparently companies figured out it was the best way to advertise, to put these signs on people's driveway gates. Because the gates are private property, the city couldn't remove them. By including the 'no parking', the companies create an incentive for the homeowners to leave the signs up. And then (at least to me) it looks like the homeowners are personally endorsing the services of said company. Win win win win win.

I had an interview for a program on Skype at 6:30 India time, and planned to stay at work late to conduct the interview from the office. This plan made sense because Srikanta was going to leave early, or so I thought. Anyways, it turns out I no longer had enough money for an auto (having spent it all on ice cream) and Srikanta had not left early, so I opted to ride home with him once more.

I was not at all sure we would make it to Jayanagar in time for me to do the interview from home, but Srikanta took the mission to heart and raced me home. This was the first bike ride since the beginning where I really felt compelled to HOLD ON.

We whizzed through large puddles from yesterday's rain, had a number of close calls, and sped, wove, jumped all over the place until miraculously, there I was in front of the flat with 20 minutes to spare. So I sat in the back room and reveled in the rare use of skype, eating jalebi and dhokla and chatting wtih people all the way across the ocean at Dartmouth, who had no idea how adventurous my ride home had been.

rain and dhokla

I've been racing through A Bend in the River, the V.S. Naipaul book that Amrtha lent me! I want to return it before my last day in office. It's an amazing depiction of Africa post-independence, narrated by an Indian-Muslim shopkeeper in a village in the interior.

While at office, it rained heavily! I debated taking an auto home, but wanted to try a motorbike in the rain and felt bad leaving Srikanta to go it alone. So, we braved the rain and it was so much fun! I got soaking wet, but I love how the city changes in the rain. No one carries umbrellas here, but there are a lot of cloths and bags and newspapers held over heads. I used my green dupatta to cover my head/hair because the rain does sting somewhat when on a bike.

The roads were a little difficult- there was some flooding on our route home and through certain unavoidable puddles, I had to actually bring my knees up to avoid getting soaked to my thighs. At home, I changed from my rain-soaked garb and Jo and I stuffed our faces with the delicious dhokla Nani had bought! I worked on my final report for a few hours, and then we watched more of the OC.