Dasara in Mysore

So we are in festival time people. October brings Dasara, next month Diwali. Dasara is different all over India, in fact its not even called Dasara everywhere, but since I'm in Karantaka and that's what they call the 10 day 9 night festival, lets go with it.

Dasara celebrates the triumph of truth over evil and the marriage of Laxmi to Visnhu as my family has told me. They also told me other things, but the names they were saying were very long and I couldn't process it fully. Dasara celebrations vary all over India but in Karnataka Mysore is the place you want to be and that's where me and 5 other Americans were!

We stayed with my cousin Padma her two sons and my uncle. They were amazing to us and showed us around Mysore-the Princely State. Celebrations for Dasara started in Mysore around the 15th Century, so its safe to say that its a time honored tradition. The palace is lighted for all 9 nights and is truly a spectacular sight. The last day ends in a huge parade that draws 1000s of people. 1000s and 1000s. A lot of people. We saw the parade away from the downtown area which was much safer! All in all, despite some delhi belli, it was a wonderful trip! My family is amazing and I'm gald some of my friends got to meet them!

Village Visit

Today I went on my first real site visit. I visited three different villages and met several SHGs (Self Help Groups) and met with one VFC (Village Forest Committee). SHGs are groups of mainly women who pool their savings together and then are assisted by SPS in obtaining low-interest loans to buy things such a sheep, cows, bulls, or other livlihood items. The VFC is the next level of organizing. Members of a VFC participate in community control over their natural resources. So they ensure that common lands, in this case forests, remain accesible to village residents for food, fuel, and fodder.

Things at work....

Are staring to pick up slowly. One of the field workers (Pulli) will now be based out of the Dharwad office which is great! It means that I can help him with grant reports, collecting of data, reporting and in turn I get to go to the field. It is what they call in the US a win-win (I had to say this, people at work use it all the time). Which brings me to some funny phrases in English that I've heard at work:

• Put down the glass meaning Roll down the window


• I really banged him meaning I yelled at him severely


• She/he is a crack person meaning That person is not nice


• Shaking of the head from sided to side meaning yes, no, or maybe
  

Back to work. My favorite part of the day is lunch. I eat with the accountant and the office assistant. We all bring dubbas (lunch boxes) open them up and share. Now I don't know much Kannada but I do know the words for food, plus I can eat rice with my hands, this has earned me mucho brownie points. The first time the sharing happened I was confused because they piled the food into my tiffin, and then didn't take any of mine, until this week. This week people took food from my dubba. Its not much but I'm counting it as a victory.