A fellow fellows wedding

Here are some pictures from the fabulous Jaipur wedding!

Sevagram

So I’ve just returned from a 3-day conference at Sevagram. Sevagram is located in the middle of the country (in Maharasthra, nearest town in Wharda, nearest city Nagpur), and is where the Gandhi Ashram is located. Well where one of them is located. Anyway it is the site of many important meetings that happened between Gandhi and Nehru during the freedom movement so said the many signs posted there.

The conference was run by IFA (Indian Friends Association) and their partners, It was truly inspirational and it came at the right time for me. I’ve definitely been asking, ‘What am I doing here?” and this conference helped me answer that.

But first, what was this conference about? The topics discussed were broad and included things such as: the history of development perspective in India, present development models and livelihoods of poor people, community control over natural resources, and changing role of the states and fighting corruption using existing government policies, and state, corporate and other repression-the use of violence and crime for economic, political, and social ends. Some big topics right? The people who attended the conference are at the forefront of their field and have been doing this work for years, so I was extremely lucky to be there.
The conference addressed these topics but also was developing action items. One of the major goals was to bring these experts together so they can learn from each other but also so they can support one another. The other unique aspect to this conference was discussion about funding and what the relationship has been between the funder and the NGO.

Just some anonymous quotes I would like to share:

• Organizations are working in project mode, very few are working in mission mode
• A lot of our ills are due to the funds we receive
• The flow of funding decides the flow of concern
• Corruption is a disease in this country
• Weapons are for those without courage
• Nature can never be managed well unless the people closest to it are involved in its management and a healthy relationship is established between nature, society and culture.
• How do we recognize and fight a shift to corporate governance?

So, “Why am I here?” I’m here to learn.

Panchayat What?

Sorry I haven’t posted in awhile, but my internet access isn’t what is used to be! So I’ve officially been in India for 3 months. It feels like I’ve been here for a year. Sometimes I can’t believe I have SEVEN months left. I’m not miserable but exhausted. India can be extremely overwhelming, the act of buying an apple can wipe me out. I also think things I used to love are now just annoying. Food is the number one thing. I really miss American Food, primarily breakfast. Breakfast in India is like any other meal, I often have chapatti or rice in the morning when what I crave is cereal. And brunch, hmm French toast, waffles, etc. I also really miss having friends and a social life. It would be unheard of here to be out after 9:00pm.

On the bright side work is definitely getting better. I almost have a project! I’m going to study and document how one village accesses local government services through public participation. The government at this level is called the Panchayat Raj. I don’t fully understand the system yet, but the legislation was enacted in the 1970a and has very Ghandian influences. Each Panchayat has elected members and has money to allocate to village needs. I like to think of the Panchayat as a Community Board except with more power since the Panchayat has money to allocate. However just like Community Boards, there are good Panchayats and bad.

Thanks for reading, miss all of you!

Being from Two Worlds

My parent were recently in India, which was amazing. Some of you know that I cam to India on more of a personal journey. To learn the language (need to get cracking on that!), get to know my family, and learn about the Indian in me. As difficult as I'm finding this to be,its much harder for my parents. They were born in India but left to come to the US when they were around my age-so they have lied in the US longer than they lived in India. So where is there home? They have changed dramatically in the 30 years since they left India, but India has also changed! They have a harder time relating to their relatives and vice versa. At least with my relatives they know I'm from a different country. With my parents its different, they are almost two different people-not that these two versions don't have similarities. My Mom still has little patience and is the best dressed and my Dad is still every one's favorite!

Seeing them was great, the only drawback it made me miss them more than I already do. But it was amazing to see them and I hope they come again!

Diwali!

Sorry I haven't posted in some time, but I'm having some Internet access issues. When my access gets better i promise to put up more pictures. So back to Diwali, the festival of lights winds down the festival season in India. I'm not sure the exact meaning of Diwali, but I'm sure you can look it up! My dad told me it celebrates the triumph of good over evil, which implies he doesn't know what it means either. However celebrating the triumph of good over evil is a great reason for a Holiday to me! Although celebrating in India can have different meanings-like getting up at 5:30am on the morning of Diwali to do Puja in your best attire! Despite the bad morning breath, Diwali is a very beautiful holiday. Everyone decorates the outside of their home with oil candles (deepas) and does Rangoli in front of the house. Plus all the stores have sales and that as we know is the best part of any holiday!

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.