Tuesday, 31 March 2009
Relaxing Weekend
Eating good food with friends, sari shopping, then heading to a hilltop fort for a view of Jaipur and the sunset...
Friday, 27 March 2009
The Rules of the Road
I should start this post with an apology, as the title is deliberately misleading... I'm sure that everyone will have seen the famous photos and videos of Indian roads, and already have (very correctly) assumed that the principal rule of the road is simply there are no rules.
In general, the approach towards driving is similar to the approach towards many things here; "every man for himself". If India had a motto, this would be it, however on the roads it could easily be extended to; "every man, dog, camel, horse and (occassionally) elephant for themselves".
Whilst always entertaining it's safe to say that in a country of 1.4 billion people, this isn't necessarily the healthiest attitude to take - all jokes aside traffic accidents are one of the biggest causes of mortality in India. Yet, in fairness on many roads that I see here the chaos does seem to be the only option. Many very busy roads are quite simply too small to deal with the volume of traffic that needs to use them, and without widespread and heavy investment in widening them and improving the surfaces, it's not easy to see any alternative to some good old fashioned crazy driving.
As for the driving itself - in common with most things in India, the keywords are enterprise and innovation. There's no such thing as "dangerous driving", just the ability to make creative use of space - thus it's never unusual to see some brave fellow cycling down the wrong side of a 5-lane road , normally with his wife perched side-saddle on the back. To help everyone drive crazily together there seem to be some general guidelines, the most useful of which I've listed below;
Medium beeps - "Get out of my way" (with varyng degrees of annoyance)
Long beep - "Please try not to crash into me as I speed along the wrong side of the road" (mainly used by truck drivers)
Having said all that, I'll confess to secretly loving traveling by road here - before I arrived I saw train travel as the epitome of any trip in India, but after only a few bus journeys I absolutely love the sights to be seen when traveling by road (some pictures here). Often it's the only time when you can get a good look at Indian daily life, while remaining relatively unobserved - for anyone traveling in India I definitely recommend jumping on a bus in the daytime to see what you can see...
In general, the approach towards driving is similar to the approach towards many things here; "every man for himself". If India had a motto, this would be it, however on the roads it could easily be extended to; "every man, dog, camel, horse and (occassionally) elephant for themselves".
Whilst always entertaining it's safe to say that in a country of 1.4 billion people, this isn't necessarily the healthiest attitude to take - all jokes aside traffic accidents are one of the biggest causes of mortality in India. Yet, in fairness on many roads that I see here the chaos does seem to be the only option. Many very busy roads are quite simply too small to deal with the volume of traffic that needs to use them, and without widespread and heavy investment in widening them and improving the surfaces, it's not easy to see any alternative to some good old fashioned crazy driving.
As for the driving itself - in common with most things in India, the keywords are enterprise and innovation. There's no such thing as "dangerous driving", just the ability to make creative use of space - thus it's never unusual to see some brave fellow cycling down the wrong side of a 5-lane road , normally with his wife perched side-saddle on the back. To help everyone drive crazily together there seem to be some general guidelines, the most useful of which I've listed below;
- Drive on the left (optional)
- Lane markings, wing mirrors, indicators and traffic lights are for decorative purposes only
- Use of full beam headlights at night is compulsory (anyone flashing their lights as they pass really likes your motorbike. Stud.)
- If you're lucky enough to find a pavement low enough to drive on, it would be a sin not to use it
- Use of indicators and checking of blind spots are inconvenient, and designed for sissies and girls
- So are seatbelts and motorcycle helmets
- So is insurance
- Your primary means of communication is the horn - the louder the better. If it breaks, you're done for - a short beeping translation note...
Medium beeps - "Get out of my way" (with varyng degrees of annoyance)
Long beep - "Please try not to crash into me as I speed along the wrong side of the road" (mainly used by truck drivers)
Having said all that, I'll confess to secretly loving traveling by road here - before I arrived I saw train travel as the epitome of any trip in India, but after only a few bus journeys I absolutely love the sights to be seen when traveling by road (some pictures here). Often it's the only time when you can get a good look at Indian daily life, while remaining relatively unobserved - for anyone traveling in India I definitely recommend jumping on a bus in the daytime to see what you can see...
Coolest day!
Last Friday myself and my new colleagues (some students from the US) spent the day on a field visit, way away from our office, in the Chaksu district of Rajasthan. One of the microfinance organisations I've been studying was holding it's 4th Annual General Meeting, so we went along to see some of the actual impact of the organisation on it's members. Not knowing what to expect, I ended up having one of my best days here so far - the entire event was incredible.
There were over 550 women from rural villages attending - they in turn represented 145 autonomous Self-Help Groups who actually make up this particular microfinance organisation. The picture below is of me with the president of the organisation, who absolutely kicks ass - she's been in the organisation since it started 15 years ago, knows and is trusted implicitly by seemingly all of the women in the organisation (around 1,600), runs everything and everyone like clockwork and has had such a huge impact on the lives of women across the district that a few years ago she was flown to the White House to meet the President.
There were over 550 women from rural villages attending - they in turn represented 145 autonomous Self-Help Groups who actually make up this particular microfinance organisation. The picture below is of me with the president of the organisation, who absolutely kicks ass - she's been in the organisation since it started 15 years ago, knows and is trusted implicitly by seemingly all of the women in the organisation (around 1,600), runs everything and everyone like clockwork and has had such a huge impact on the lives of women across the district that a few years ago she was flown to the White House to meet the President.
We arrived early morning in the middle of a downpour - which didn't do much to dampen the atmosphere - and got to light the ceremonial lamp to mark the start of the meeting! The event was a really nice way to see what a huge difference the organisation has made in the area. The basic operation involves establishing small, local self help groups of women who save money together, and allowing them to borrow small sums of money (providing the only alternative that doesn't involve an extortionately high-interest lender; needless to say in rural areas the majority don't possess the kind of capital required for a traditional bank loan), that they can use to fund income-generating activities such as handicrafts or agricultural work. This model has been well tested (and proven) throughout Asia and the rest of the world as a way to substantially improve the quality of life of rural families - because they work with, and effectively borrow from their neighbours people are very committed to the self help groups. The loan default rate is around 1%.
I'd argue though that the economic benefits are actually topped by the social impact that's come from economically empowering the women (and it is only for women - again and again this has been shown to be the most effective way to ensure repayment, and ensure the money goes into families). Rajasthan is famously very traditional in outlook - whilst it's amazing to see such an old culture being well preserved and blended in with modern life, it often means that in rural areas opportunities for women and girls are all too few. The ongoing dowry system financially cripples families, who thus devote few other resources to females (sadly more advanced pre-natal screening also means that there is an increasingly high incidence of female foeti being electively and sometimes forcibly aborted). There is a low literacy rate amongst rural females, who are often married early and without any means of earning are entirely dependent on their husbands or families. Some families still practice purdah, whereby married women are required to veil their whole face in the presence of men other than their husband - as several parts of the same family often live together this can mean that even at home a woman has to cover up, to avoid her father-in-law or brothers-in-law seeing her face. This is much more common in rural areas but even in Jaipur the practice exists, although it's difficult to see how widespread it is as obviously the women rarely venture outdoors.
Therefore giving the women here the opportunity to make a small independent income is only the tip of the iceberg - contributing to the household generally automatically improves their standing and treatment, as well as allowing investment in things like education for their families. Needless to say it's also a huge self-confidence booster, particularly as the organisation regularly run skills-building workshops teaching the women basic leadership skills, and the knowledge needed to run small enterprises. Finally, because there are so many members involved in the organisation (1,600) they've started to exercise increasing levels of influence with local government and policy makers, people that individually the members wouldn't ever have a chance of accessing.
In short, the day was completely inspirational. It was also special as I haven't had much of a change to interact with Indian women other than the women I live with, which is a real shame. Women mainly stay at home, so it's easy to look down a street here without seeing a single female face (which can feel eerily lonely), and even if I do by chance meet women, unless they're from the educated middle class it's quite rare for them to have much English. I'll definitely remember it as one of my favourite days of the whole trip - more photos of voting and dancing below!
Wednesday, 25 March 2009
Wednesday, 18 March 2009
One of the many mysteries of life...
Before arriving in Jaipur (had the thought ever crossed my mind at all), I would have considered it impossible that somebody could be born in a city, grow up in the city, and in adult years drive people around that city for a living, yet not know where a single thing was.
Which, it turns out was extremely naive of me - the rickshaw drivers of Jaipur have perfected this to such an extent that you could call it a fine art ... Having been here less than three weeks, I now find myself routinely giving directions to people who have lived here all their lives. And there I was assuming that I hadn't broken the "no assumptions" rule - oops...
Which, it turns out was extremely naive of me - the rickshaw drivers of Jaipur have perfected this to such an extent that you could call it a fine art ... Having been here less than three weeks, I now find myself routinely giving directions to people who have lived here all their lives. And there I was assuming that I hadn't broken the "no assumptions" rule - oops...
Saturday, 14 March 2009
Mad, colourful week!
Am finally getting settled into work after a busy weekend and two days off for the Holi festival!
I spent last weekend with friends, visiting the huge Royal Observatory and the Albert Hall, a huge peaceful old museum with exhibits from all around Asia and the Middle East. Sunday afternoon was spent zipping around in rickshaws seeing first an old Palace in the middle of a lake, then heading up to the hills to see the Monkey Temple which, as the name suggests, is overrun by monkeys. It had an amazing view of Jaipur and we had a great time wandering around making friends with the tame monkeys.
I had my first day of work on Monday, and an eventful journey out to the NGO on a public bus which was crowded enough to make me feel all dreamy and nostalgic for the Northern Line at 8am… The NGO I’m working for Cecoedecon is huge, with offices all over Rajasthan and policy clout at national and international levels. They run several initiatives aimed at helping the rural poor in Rajasthan. I’m working in quite a small team focused on micro-finance, which is part of a larger €1.8 million rural development programme. Over the coming weeks I’ll be conducting field research into the various microfinance initiatives that they run, before reporting back on their success (mini-dissertation style) and using the information to compile sales resources that they can use for sponsorship proposals. I’m currently trying to absorb as much microfinance info as possible and am finding it increasingly interesting, so anyone who knows about the area or can suggest good sources of info all suggestions will be gratefully received!
Tuesday and Wednesday were off as the whole of India was out celebrating the festival Holi. I spent Tuesday afternoon at an elephant festival in Jaipur. It's very much for tourists and has been running for quite a while. All of the local elephant handlers paint and decorate their elephants all day, before parading them around a huge stadium, where prizes are given for the best decorated elephants. The event itself had a really nice atmosphere, with an even spread of tourists and locals – the pitch got a bit swamped with people who wanted close-up pictures, and decided they weren’t afraid of a little elephant trampling so it was difficult to see some of the festivities but overall the atmosphere was relaxed and happy, a nice way to spend the afternoon. I lucked out at the end and was hauled up onto the back of an elephant to play Holi (pictures to follow)! As the next day was a holiday there was a party in the evening and we spent the night sprawled over cushions on a rooftop, enjoying the breezy night, relaxing and chatting well into the next morning.
Holi itself was on Wednesday, and it’s described as the festival of colour. Everyone gets the day off work, and spends from morning until early afternoon showering each other in brightly coloured powders – it’s very beautiful and a lot of fun, although best celebrated with friends high up on a rooftop somewhere to avoid being drenched in the streets! All of the trainees in Jaipur got together with some AIESECers and alumni and everyone was very thoroughly pasted with colour – much of it permanent. By the time afternoon came everyone was soaked and dyed bright pink all over with coloured water, and additional powder had been caked and baked into our skin by the sun just for good measure. Exhausted and hungry we sat around eating pizza, before sleeping for most of the rest of the day! After making it home I only ventured out with Shoko, the other trainee in my house for some fresh naan to eat with our dinner. The special water dyes we were all using at Holi are specially designed to stay put for a good few days, which adds much hilarity to the proceedings…at the time. However, 3 days on and I am still very very pink, particularly on my hands and around the ears and face. My parting is bright magenta. It’s not all bad though – I’d never have guessed it but it seems that turning up at a new job looking as if you’ve been dipped into a giant vat of Ribena and left to soak for a week is actually a marvellous ice-breaker.
I spent last weekend with friends, visiting the huge Royal Observatory and the Albert Hall, a huge peaceful old museum with exhibits from all around Asia and the Middle East. Sunday afternoon was spent zipping around in rickshaws seeing first an old Palace in the middle of a lake, then heading up to the hills to see the Monkey Temple which, as the name suggests, is overrun by monkeys. It had an amazing view of Jaipur and we had a great time wandering around making friends with the tame monkeys.
I had my first day of work on Monday, and an eventful journey out to the NGO on a public bus which was crowded enough to make me feel all dreamy and nostalgic for the Northern Line at 8am… The NGO I’m working for Cecoedecon is huge, with offices all over Rajasthan and policy clout at national and international levels. They run several initiatives aimed at helping the rural poor in Rajasthan. I’m working in quite a small team focused on micro-finance, which is part of a larger €1.8 million rural development programme. Over the coming weeks I’ll be conducting field research into the various microfinance initiatives that they run, before reporting back on their success (mini-dissertation style) and using the information to compile sales resources that they can use for sponsorship proposals. I’m currently trying to absorb as much microfinance info as possible and am finding it increasingly interesting, so anyone who knows about the area or can suggest good sources of info all suggestions will be gratefully received!
Tuesday and Wednesday were off as the whole of India was out celebrating the festival Holi. I spent Tuesday afternoon at an elephant festival in Jaipur. It's very much for tourists and has been running for quite a while. All of the local elephant handlers paint and decorate their elephants all day, before parading them around a huge stadium, where prizes are given for the best decorated elephants. The event itself had a really nice atmosphere, with an even spread of tourists and locals – the pitch got a bit swamped with people who wanted close-up pictures, and decided they weren’t afraid of a little elephant trampling so it was difficult to see some of the festivities but overall the atmosphere was relaxed and happy, a nice way to spend the afternoon. I lucked out at the end and was hauled up onto the back of an elephant to play Holi (pictures to follow)! As the next day was a holiday there was a party in the evening and we spent the night sprawled over cushions on a rooftop, enjoying the breezy night, relaxing and chatting well into the next morning.
Holi itself was on Wednesday, and it’s described as the festival of colour. Everyone gets the day off work, and spends from morning until early afternoon showering each other in brightly coloured powders – it’s very beautiful and a lot of fun, although best celebrated with friends high up on a rooftop somewhere to avoid being drenched in the streets! All of the trainees in Jaipur got together with some AIESECers and alumni and everyone was very thoroughly pasted with colour – much of it permanent. By the time afternoon came everyone was soaked and dyed bright pink all over with coloured water, and additional powder had been caked and baked into our skin by the sun just for good measure. Exhausted and hungry we sat around eating pizza, before sleeping for most of the rest of the day! After making it home I only ventured out with Shoko, the other trainee in my house for some fresh naan to eat with our dinner. The special water dyes we were all using at Holi are specially designed to stay put for a good few days, which adds much hilarity to the proceedings…at the time. However, 3 days on and I am still very very pink, particularly on my hands and around the ears and face. My parting is bright magenta. It’s not all bad though – I’d never have guessed it but it seems that turning up at a new job looking as if you’ve been dipped into a giant vat of Ribena and left to soak for a week is actually a marvellous ice-breaker.
Got more going on this weekend then hopefully can spend next week at work nailing my research visits!
Monday, 9 March 2009
Close Encounters of the Six-Legged Kind
I've actually enjoyed a relatively insect-free time in India so far, however I was intrigued (read horrified) yesterday when I found a ginormous insect in the bathroom. I've no idea what it was, however it seemed to resemble a bee, in the kind of way that an elephant resembles a wooly mammoth; the prehistoric daddy-o kind of way. I've not seen it since, but fortunately its size makes the chances of accidentally eating it in my sleep very slim...
Saturday, 7 March 2009
First week
Well, to start off I can't believe it's only been a week - in a good way! It seems like so much more time has passed here, even though I've yet to start work due to a delay in the NGO I'll be working with.
Not keen to let a golden opportunity pass me by, once I found out on Sunday that I wouldn't start work until later in the week I hopped onto an overnight bus to see Agra, or
more specifically the Taj Mahal. I arrived an hour too early for the Taj at 5am and passed a pleasant hour in the (unopened) restaurant of a nearby hotel, reading a book and drinking chai, before running along the park to see the Taj in the morning mist. It was worth all of the effort to get there and I spent a healthy 7 hours wandering around taking in the surroundings - tranquil despite the number of visitors, before catching a bus to my next destination, Pushkar.
Pushkar is one of India's holiest sites, containing a lake which is said to have sprung from the petals of a lotus flower dropped to the desert by the God Brahma. It is also firmly in place on the well-trodden tourist trail of India. This means that the city centre as well as containing thousands of temples is also in many parts a grand bazaar, and made taking in the sights a little tiring. Despite this though the temples were enchanting - very serene despite the chaos outside.
I spent a magical afternoon trekking into the mountains on horseback, on a gorgeous Indian horse which was very sweet and full of spirit! This was when I really managed to feel the magic of Pushkar, watching herds of animals running around and passing by tiny villages and schools on the way - it was well worth the aching muscles afterwards! In the evening I wandered around the town some more, and back at my hotel an Ayurvedic therapist advised me to stop eating bananas and chocolate for the sake of my blood circulation, and also told me that eating paper fried in butter every day would cure my myopia. Oddly enough my optician told me exactly the same thing the last time I visited. Optical Express are becoming really unorthodox....
So, this weekend is to be spent doing touristy stuff in Jaipur, and I will finally start work on Monday! I've already met some of the people I'll be working with, and can't wait to get started. Until then....
Not keen to let a golden opportunity pass me by, once I found out on Sunday that I wouldn't start work until later in the week I hopped onto an overnight bus to see Agra, or
more specifically the Taj Mahal. I arrived an hour too early for the Taj at 5am and passed a pleasant hour in the (unopened) restaurant of a nearby hotel, reading a book and drinking chai, before running along the park to see the Taj in the morning mist. It was worth all of the effort to get there and I spent a healthy 7 hours wandering around taking in the surroundings - tranquil despite the number of visitors, before catching a bus to my next destination, Pushkar.Pushkar is one of India's holiest sites, containing a lake which is said to have sprung from the petals of a lotus flower dropped to the desert by the God Brahma. It is also firmly in place on the well-trodden tourist trail of India. This means that the city centre as well as containing thousands of temples is also in many parts a grand bazaar, and made taking in the sights a little tiring. Despite this though the temples were enchanting - very serene despite the chaos outside.
I spent a magical afternoon trekking into the mountains on horseback, on a gorgeous Indian horse which was very sweet and full of spirit! This was when I really managed to feel the magic of Pushkar, watching herds of animals running around and passing by tiny villages and schools on the way - it was well worth the aching muscles afterwards! In the evening I wandered around the town some more, and back at my hotel an Ayurvedic therapist advised me to stop eating bananas and chocolate for the sake of my blood circulation, and also told me that eating paper fried in butter every day would cure my myopia. Oddly enough my optician told me exactly the same thing the last time I visited. Optical Express are becoming really unorthodox....So, this weekend is to be spent doing touristy stuff in Jaipur, and I will finally start work on Monday! I've already met some of the people I'll be working with, and can't wait to get started. Until then....
Monday, 2 March 2009
Since last time...
I moved into my trainee house, only to find out that it was the home of a friend I know from AIESEC - Abishek was on AIESEC International during my term on the UK MC so was very random to run into him! Such a small world - his mum runs a trainee house so there's currently me and a Japanese girl, Shoko there.
Have spent some more time hanging out with the AIESECers who are very cool and very motivated, as well as one evening playing poker and winning then subsequently losing all my chips! I've been out to the markets to try my hand at a bit of "negotiation", and been trying to learn some basic Hindi.
I still need to find a SIM card but once I do should be pretty much set for the next couple of months. The only slight hitch is that the place I'm working at told me at the last minute that they've had urgent meetings come up, so instead of starting today I'll need to start on Friday - cue me spending today rushing around trying to organise a last-minute trip - with any luck I'll manage to get on a train to Agra tonight and spend the next few days taking in the Taj Mahal, so it's certainly no disaster!!
Will keep you posted, and hopefully be able to upload some photos soon...
Have spent some more time hanging out with the AIESECers who are very cool and very motivated, as well as one evening playing poker and winning then subsequently losing all my chips! I've been out to the markets to try my hand at a bit of "negotiation", and been trying to learn some basic Hindi.
I still need to find a SIM card but once I do should be pretty much set for the next couple of months. The only slight hitch is that the place I'm working at told me at the last minute that they've had urgent meetings come up, so instead of starting today I'll need to start on Friday - cue me spending today rushing around trying to organise a last-minute trip - with any luck I'll manage to get on a train to Agra tonight and spend the next few days taking in the Taj Mahal, so it's certainly no disaster!!
Will keep you posted, and hopefully be able to upload some photos soon...
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