lorad
Sunday, August 21, 2011
Sunday, July 24, 2011
Pictures from my trip!
Turn on captions for a quick blurb (button on bottom left of slideshow screen that looks like a thought bubble).
Thursday, July 14, 2011
Unfinished business
I visited India after almost 20 years. As I stated on my way here, over 3 weeks ago, this was a monumental trip for me. Not only was I coming over to visit my parents in their new home after moving back from the US for the first time, but I was also coming to visit--in many ways, for the first time--a land, a people, and a culture to which I claim an identity and which defines me in many ways.
It's been a fantastic trip. On this blog, I have not dwelled on the negative aspects of India, save a few instances. I think there are plenty of sources that capture India's negatives: immense poverty, illiteracy, high infant mortality, low health outcomes, discriminatory caste-ridden values, corruption, filth, unhygienic conditions, along with its fractured or nonexistent infrastructure. Indeed, Wikipedia says: "Poverty is widespread in India, with the nation estimated to have a third of the world's poor. According to a 2005 World Bank estimate, 41.6% of the total Indian population falls below the international poverty line of US$ 1.25 a day."
It's too easy to stop at these very conspicuous problems. Hence, I have attempted to highlight the positives that bring out the color of what can otherwise be a depressing environment, depending on where you are.
On the contrary, I have had a very warm and pleasant experience in the midst of a culture that endures immense struggles. I have had the opportunity to see firsthand the faces of extreme poverty and marvel at the smiles that emerge from within along with the adaptability and tenacity of the people despite their dire situations. At the same time, I have experienced a truly emerging and growing economic force that is dead set to improve its conditions through hard work and laser-like focus on higher education. I have lived a fine five-star quality life, enjoying the highly diverse ethnic delicacies at the dinner table.
The bottom line, really, is that the past 3.5 weeks have been a marvelous time to see, smell, taste, hear, and live the culture that defines me when I answer "India" to the perennial question regarding my ancestry.
However, I leave with unfinished business. Due to unforeseen circumstances, I was not able to travel much outside of Ahmedabad, which means that I was not able to see a lot of my extended family and friends, as well as my great grandfather's land. Perhaps that was fortuitous, granted by the mysticism that guides life here, for it implies another visit sooner rather than later :) Stay tuned for Part II.
I am now off to London to visit with more family (ah, the irony of colonialism).
Thanks for reading.
It's been a fantastic trip. On this blog, I have not dwelled on the negative aspects of India, save a few instances. I think there are plenty of sources that capture India's negatives: immense poverty, illiteracy, high infant mortality, low health outcomes, discriminatory caste-ridden values, corruption, filth, unhygienic conditions, along with its fractured or nonexistent infrastructure. Indeed, Wikipedia says: "Poverty is widespread in India, with the nation estimated to have a third of the world's poor. According to a 2005 World Bank estimate, 41.6% of the total Indian population falls below the international poverty line of US$ 1.25 a day."
It's too easy to stop at these very conspicuous problems. Hence, I have attempted to highlight the positives that bring out the color of what can otherwise be a depressing environment, depending on where you are.
On the contrary, I have had a very warm and pleasant experience in the midst of a culture that endures immense struggles. I have had the opportunity to see firsthand the faces of extreme poverty and marvel at the smiles that emerge from within along with the adaptability and tenacity of the people despite their dire situations. At the same time, I have experienced a truly emerging and growing economic force that is dead set to improve its conditions through hard work and laser-like focus on higher education. I have lived a fine five-star quality life, enjoying the highly diverse ethnic delicacies at the dinner table.
The bottom line, really, is that the past 3.5 weeks have been a marvelous time to see, smell, taste, hear, and live the culture that defines me when I answer "India" to the perennial question regarding my ancestry.
However, I leave with unfinished business. Due to unforeseen circumstances, I was not able to travel much outside of Ahmedabad, which means that I was not able to see a lot of my extended family and friends, as well as my great grandfather's land. Perhaps that was fortuitous, granted by the mysticism that guides life here, for it implies another visit sooner rather than later :) Stay tuned for Part II.
I am now off to London to visit with more family (ah, the irony of colonialism).
Thanks for reading.
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
Are you stressed?
CNN reports the finding of a study by Nielsen Company that asks: Where do the world's most stressed women live? Any guesses? I'll tell you and maybe it will surprise you (at least at first) just as it surprises me: India.
The Women of Tomorrow Study, which examined 6,500 women across 21 different nations from February through April 2011, found that an overwhelming 87% of Indian women said they felt stressed most of the time, with 82% claiming they had no time to relax.
(The US is 12th with 53% of women saying they are stressed most of the time).
So, what explains this? The article says: "...companies and workplaces have developed whilst society has remained static, meaning that women must juggle a modern career and busy home life as well as conforming to traditional standards." It doesn't seem that different than in parts of the US; my guess is that we have better stress management education and mechanisms, which is also ironic given that yoga and meditation--fantastic stress relief activities--have evolved from here.
The Women of Tomorrow Study, which examined 6,500 women across 21 different nations from February through April 2011, found that an overwhelming 87% of Indian women said they felt stressed most of the time, with 82% claiming they had no time to relax.
(The US is 12th with 53% of women saying they are stressed most of the time).
So, what explains this? The article says: "...companies and workplaces have developed whilst society has remained static, meaning that women must juggle a modern career and busy home life as well as conforming to traditional standards." It doesn't seem that different than in parts of the US; my guess is that we have better stress management education and mechanisms, which is also ironic given that yoga and meditation--fantastic stress relief activities--have evolved from here.
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
Monday, July 11, 2011
More of the same
It's been raining quite a bit over the past several days. This is a good thing for many reasons, including the fact that it's cooled down substantially, a welcome relief from the immense heat.
However, due to the rain I haven't been able to explore the city with my camera as much as I had planned to do. Driving is somewhat of a difficult exercise as it's difficult to judge the location, depth and potency of potholes. Walking is also a messy (read muddy) activity with pools of water between the 'pavement' and road. In short, there's nothing too new. I'm synthesizing and internalizing my thoughts about the place and hope to give an overview soon.
However, due to the rain I haven't been able to explore the city with my camera as much as I had planned to do. Driving is somewhat of a difficult exercise as it's difficult to judge the location, depth and potency of potholes. Walking is also a messy (read muddy) activity with pools of water between the 'pavement' and road. In short, there's nothing too new. I'm synthesizing and internalizing my thoughts about the place and hope to give an overview soon.
Friday, July 8, 2011
Food, quirks
I have less than a week to go before I return home :)
Over the next few days, I'll try to take my camera with me and take as many pictures of the streets as possible. It's easy to take for granted what you see everyday or if you're familiar with an otherwise extraordinary situation.
The other problem is that my pictures are all in very high quality and therefore are very large (in byte size). I usually just upload them from my camera and it takes a long time (15-20 mins) to upload more than 5 at a time to the blog. Once I get home, however, I'll have some time to compress them and post plenty more. So, keep checking in!
Something that Melanie alerted me to is that I haven't really mentioned food much. Doh! That's because I probably take it for granted. You may know that I have a two-tiered system whereby I believe that there's Indian food and then there's everything else.
The meals at home (always delicious, colorful, rich, filling, mouth-watering, and delicate) consist of the following: 1 or 2 shaks, rotli, dal or kadhi, and rice. I've also had chicken though it's not common in this state. By the way, if you want chicken here, you call some dude who brings it raw to your home in 15 minutes.
So, the traditional Gujarati food consists of a vegetable (e.g. eggplant with potatoes cooked in appropriate herbs/spices, aka shak along with rotli, a naan like bread made of wheat. There are frequently 2 shaks, as well as a soup (though eaten during the meal or at the end with rice, not before). The soup or dal is made from lentils, for example. There are variations too and my favorite is kadhi, made from gram flour. During the summer, mangoes are a big deal, so we've been having a mango puree called rus. Otherwise, dessert is usually... ice cream :)
The best part of Indian cuisine, though, comes throughout the day in small snacks (generally extremely unhealthy for you), though I have tried to moderate my diet to avoid these.
A funny quirk or two that you may enjoy.
You may already know that many Indians take off their shoes before going into their homes; it's more than that though here. People take off their shoes when going into boutique stores (e.g. sari or kurti stores or even when visiting the doctor's office, and most certainly when going to someone else's home. Of course, you don't have to if you aren't comfortable doing so, but it's the cultural norm. It actually has a lot of advantages, primarily being that it keeps the already mopped floors clean throughout the day. By the way, many of the floors here are swept and mopped everyday.
The Indian culture is also intricately intertwined with the Hindu religion. As such, most people believe in some form of a deity and have profound respect for the divine. So, while walking down the street, you'll frequently find a small shrine or temple built to a particular deity. When they reconstruct roads or plan urban projects, I've been told that they generally try to avoid touching these landmarks and will build around them. Indeed, it's very true. I have frequently seen small (2 feet x 1 foot) temples on the median that no one will break. It'll also almost always be 'active' - someone will regularly light a candle, etc, there.
Another funny thing: if you ever think you'll land here and find your way to place x because you have the address, good luck! Unless you know exactly where major landmarks are located, it's virtually impossible. Addresses here are as follows:
123 (apt number) Condo Complex (name of building)
Opposite Big Major Landmark / Next to Big 4 lane road on ABC road
Neighborhood
City, State
So unless you know where "Big Major Landmark" or "Big 4 lane road" is/are located on ABC road, there's no way to know exactly where on the road it's located, and you'll have to ask someone. Rickshaws, by the way, are the cheapest way to travel. They cost about Rs. 10-50 (20 cents to $1) for most moderate distances.
Finally, as I've mentioned before, the roads are completely chaotic though I like to think of it paradoxically as organized chaos. Regardless, one of the reasons this is the case is that there are no traffic signs. There are few traffic/red lights but unless there's a cop or two to enforce these, no one ever cares for them. Now, that's what a completely free society looks like! Just joking. So, when you approach a 4 (or 5 or 6) way intersection, proceed very slowly and cautiously while honking constantly. And fear not if several 'two-wheelers' zip right in front of you as though their riders are immortal. It's really terrible. The remedy to all the distressing traffic problems is to start with putting up some traffic signs and then severely increase the penalties upon infringement. The funny thing is that given the chaos, you'd expect the number of accidents to be sky high. However, I haven't seen any. It's part of the mystery that I have found here. Alas, with traffic rules and regulations, this land wouldn't be India!
Below are pictures from my meal last night:
Dhokla, a snack.
Rotli
Tomato shak
Squash shak
Paan, a mint that's had after the meal. It consists of a variety of herbs, spices, dried fruit, jelly-like sweetners, etc, on a leaf. And yes, it really is very minty and it tastes a lot better than it looks.
Over the next few days, I'll try to take my camera with me and take as many pictures of the streets as possible. It's easy to take for granted what you see everyday or if you're familiar with an otherwise extraordinary situation.
The other problem is that my pictures are all in very high quality and therefore are very large (in byte size). I usually just upload them from my camera and it takes a long time (15-20 mins) to upload more than 5 at a time to the blog. Once I get home, however, I'll have some time to compress them and post plenty more. So, keep checking in!
Something that Melanie alerted me to is that I haven't really mentioned food much. Doh! That's because I probably take it for granted. You may know that I have a two-tiered system whereby I believe that there's Indian food and then there's everything else.
The meals at home (always delicious, colorful, rich, filling, mouth-watering, and delicate) consist of the following: 1 or 2 shaks, rotli, dal or kadhi, and rice. I've also had chicken though it's not common in this state. By the way, if you want chicken here, you call some dude who brings it raw to your home in 15 minutes.
So, the traditional Gujarati food consists of a vegetable (e.g. eggplant with potatoes cooked in appropriate herbs/spices, aka shak along with rotli, a naan like bread made of wheat. There are frequently 2 shaks, as well as a soup (though eaten during the meal or at the end with rice, not before). The soup or dal is made from lentils, for example. There are variations too and my favorite is kadhi, made from gram flour. During the summer, mangoes are a big deal, so we've been having a mango puree called rus. Otherwise, dessert is usually... ice cream :)
The best part of Indian cuisine, though, comes throughout the day in small snacks (generally extremely unhealthy for you), though I have tried to moderate my diet to avoid these.
A funny quirk or two that you may enjoy.
You may already know that many Indians take off their shoes before going into their homes; it's more than that though here. People take off their shoes when going into boutique stores (e.g. sari or kurti stores or even when visiting the doctor's office, and most certainly when going to someone else's home. Of course, you don't have to if you aren't comfortable doing so, but it's the cultural norm. It actually has a lot of advantages, primarily being that it keeps the already mopped floors clean throughout the day. By the way, many of the floors here are swept and mopped everyday.
The Indian culture is also intricately intertwined with the Hindu religion. As such, most people believe in some form of a deity and have profound respect for the divine. So, while walking down the street, you'll frequently find a small shrine or temple built to a particular deity. When they reconstruct roads or plan urban projects, I've been told that they generally try to avoid touching these landmarks and will build around them. Indeed, it's very true. I have frequently seen small (2 feet x 1 foot) temples on the median that no one will break. It'll also almost always be 'active' - someone will regularly light a candle, etc, there.
Another funny thing: if you ever think you'll land here and find your way to place x because you have the address, good luck! Unless you know exactly where major landmarks are located, it's virtually impossible. Addresses here are as follows:
123 (apt number) Condo Complex (name of building)
Opposite Big Major Landmark / Next to Big 4 lane road on ABC road
Neighborhood
City, State
So unless you know where "Big Major Landmark" or "Big 4 lane road" is/are located on ABC road, there's no way to know exactly where on the road it's located, and you'll have to ask someone. Rickshaws, by the way, are the cheapest way to travel. They cost about Rs. 10-50 (20 cents to $1) for most moderate distances.
Finally, as I've mentioned before, the roads are completely chaotic though I like to think of it paradoxically as organized chaos. Regardless, one of the reasons this is the case is that there are no traffic signs. There are few traffic/red lights but unless there's a cop or two to enforce these, no one ever cares for them. Now, that's what a completely free society looks like! Just joking. So, when you approach a 4 (or 5 or 6) way intersection, proceed very slowly and cautiously while honking constantly. And fear not if several 'two-wheelers' zip right in front of you as though their riders are immortal. It's really terrible. The remedy to all the distressing traffic problems is to start with putting up some traffic signs and then severely increase the penalties upon infringement. The funny thing is that given the chaos, you'd expect the number of accidents to be sky high. However, I haven't seen any. It's part of the mystery that I have found here. Alas, with traffic rules and regulations, this land wouldn't be India!
Below are pictures from my meal last night:
Dhokla, a snack.
Rotli
Tomato shak
Squash shak
Paan, a mint that's had after the meal. It consists of a variety of herbs, spices, dried fruit, jelly-like sweetners, etc, on a leaf. And yes, it really is very minty and it tastes a lot better than it looks.
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