The Similarities in Our Differences

Hi Aiya,

I'm so sorry I haven't blogged in a long time. I can't say I have been busy this entire time, but what I can say is my mind has been occupied. That is not an excuse, but a reason for my lack of blogging. I have been missing your responses... That being said:

When meeting a new person, usually we try to align our similarities. How am I like you? How are you like me? This is usually how people make friends. People with many commonalities tend be "better" friends. I've met people from a different race/religion/culture as me, and we're able to find similarities. I always wonder about these similarities. How can two people that come from opposite ends of the world, that are raised in two completely different cultures have similarities on such granular levels? It make me wonder about the human fabric and lines that divide us. These lines are imaginary yet very real. There are borders between all countries, that have little to do with the people. People are usually similar. We have dreams, imaginations, loves, hates, desires, safety, peace.  A lot of the time people want the same things. It doesn't really matter if you're from a big city in the United States or a small village in Bihar, India. A small boy of Kenyan descent apparently has just as much chance to rule one of the world's most powerful countries, as a privileged Caucasian.

As you know the world changed on Tuesday, November 4th, 2008. America voted an African American as the next President of the country.  The world is going to pushed into the future by this great leader/visionary. I'm so excited!  All my thoughts are leading me back the pure excitement that this great man is President of the United States. How is India reacting to this moment?

The "Right" of Passage

There is an entire concept in the US called a rite of passage. A rite of passage is about experiencing the world and discovering yourself in order to become a man. The concept, I feel, applies more to men than to women. For many Americans this rite of passage is living in New York City. Every year hundreds of thousands of young college graduates move to this beautiful city to discover who they are. I'm back in this amazing city for a couple of days... work conference. I find it so easy to get "lost" in this massive city. It's ironic that most people come here to find themselves. My perspective leans me towards small towns as better place to figure out who you are. It's much harder to hide your true nature in a place where people know you. I've been walking up and down the streets of this city forgetting who I am and what my goals are... No one knows me here, I can be anyone I want to be.

The Sound of God

I'm in Huntsville again, which means my days are full of meetings listening to people talk, and my evenings are very quiet. Every evening I make plans to do something new, just to keep myself busy. Last night I drove for hours in my boredom. The roads in Huntsville are very different from the ones in California. They remind me of the open roads to Gangauli; two lane roads with fields of wheat surrounding you on both sides. The weather this week has been unusually pleasant... hot but not humid. More like California's summers. I was driving down these empty quiet roads with my window rolled down. After awhile I heard a very loud sound, I thought it was my engine, so I pulled over and turned off my car. The sound got louder when I turned my car off. It was the sound of thousands of crickets singing in the brush that surrounded me. Aiya, the music of the crickets was so loud it was deafening. I was moved by the shear beauty of it. I thought for a moment this is what God sounds like. As a scientist you understand more about the world around you than most people. What most people consider miracles can easily be explained with simple science. I know in the science community religion is very prominent. That element of the unknown always leads us to believe in a higher power. The sound of the millions of crickets singing could easily be explained as a typical summer night in Alabama... It was the force of the sound that moved me. I felt like I was standing in the center of of an orchestra. I could actually feel the music in my heart.
I know in my past blogs I have spoken about the virtue of silence... today I'm thinking the power of noise.

Home Is Where the Heart Is

Aiya, 

I'm sorry I haven't written in a long time. I have spent a large part of the past month traveling for work. Some of it was very exciting, I got to stand inside the space shuttle! A lot of my travels were pure work. I do not get sent to glamorous locations, unless you consider Huntsville, Alabama glamorous. Huntsville is a small town, with a lot of engineers and scientists. There is something very nice about small town America. People are much simpler and the world is much quieter. I long for this, I've noticed: simple and quiet.

I don't think it's possible to go to new places and not meet new people. I don't think it's possible to meet new people and not fall in love with the new places. People are the souls of their town. I leave a little piece of my heart in every place I go. I've left a little piece of my heart in Nand Nagar in Varanasi as well.

I have been going to Huntsville about every other week. I've noticed when I'm there, I want to be in California, when I'm in California I want to be there. I don't have any friends there. In fact I eat all my meals alone when I'm there. I am just in love with the serenity of Alabama. I realize that any place where your heart is is your home. Most of the time your heart resides with people, every now and then it resides with a place...

A Tribute to My Mothers

As you know, I am not mother. I'm still single and looking :)

My two closest friends are mother's of two children, and one of my sisters is the mother of an almost one year old. I have watched all three of these amazing women raise their children, each in their own way. My sister quit her engineering job and after three months of working. She couldn't bare to be away from her daughter. She hated the separation and missing the new achievements her daughters was getting through daily. She now works on her photography business from home, and spends every minute with her daughter. She recently brought her daughter in for a routine checkup, her pediatrician was amazed at her daughters advancements in speech and interactions. She doesn't speak in words yet, but she sure does try to communicate with you. She can say book, duck, button, eye, and if you say nose she'll point to her nose :) 

One of my friends has two sons. She chose to continue working after having her first son. She lives in a very fortunate arrangement, with her parents. While she works part time her parents take care of her children. Her children are also far advanced. I can have full conversations with her five year old son. In fact I recently had a thought that in a few years he will surpass me in intelligence. His mind is quick and detail oriented. At four years old he pointed out to me that I laughed at him about something, and it hurt his feelings. He constantly reminds me that children are intelligent thoughtful beings, never to be underestimated.

My other friend also has two children and her first is a girl. My friend quit her job and became a full time mom when her daughter was born. She had a very particular way she wanted to raise her children and she has accomplished this. Her daughter, age four, speaks english and telugu. She loves to dance, and dress up like a girl. She refuses to leave the house without a bindhi and some bangles.  I'm hoping to give her her first bharatnatyam lessons.

These are all mothers and children I am close to. They are each raising their children in different manners, yet all their children are above average in most categories. The only commonality I have seen in all homes is a safe loving environment for children. Princess Diana once said, "All children need is a little tender loving care." I truly believe this statement. This is why babysitters fail in most cases. They may look after the children, and provide them with everything they need, but in most cases they do not love the child. A mother's love is irreplaceable.

Aiya, I was initially going to post about my great adventures last week, until I read your comment. I agree most children that do well have amazing parents in their life, that guide them along. Mothers are truly unsung heroes. My post is a tribute to the great mothers I know. Thank you for reminding me!

Aiya,
I'm currently on work travel. This past week I was at Kennedy Space Center for the launch. I'm on the structural stress analysis team for the shuttle, so I had a chance to view the launch, and go inside the shuttles. I will be sending you pictures when I get back to California. I'll be on travel for another week!
I'm missing your comments!
Anita

On Fables and Myths

I've always admired my father. There have definitely been points in my life when I have hated him, every child goes through this. You feel your parents have wronged you for various reasons... but my father has this one quality which I have never been able to de-fable. He's fearless. He's truly fearless. He's conquered the most ridiculous odds purely on his ability to face anything that has come up against him, and not backdown. 

Growing up I never looked up to superheroes, because my father was one in my eyes.  When I was 10 I went for a walk with my father. This was 1987 and California didn't have any rules against walking your dog without a leash. As we passed by this house three or four dogs came charging at us. I was terrified of dogs, especially the ones that bark and charge at you. I was frozen in fear, I could not move. I was watching those dogs, baring their teeth, come closer and closer. From the corner of my eye, I noticed my father running towards the dogs. Between us and the dogs there was a stick lying on the ground... he was amazingly running towards the stick. He picked it up and started warding the dogs away from us. At one point there were 4 dogs jumping all over him.  I will never forget his face, he wasn't scared. Superheroes were nothing compared to him.

I think about that moment from time to time. The fact that he saw the stick in this situation is what puzzled me the most, but there were other factors that I think about. See the odds that he would get to the stick before the dogs was slim... too slim. Even if he got the stick, did he really think he could fight off four huge dogs with one stick? There is a "fight or flight" mechanism built into each of us. In that situation I know for me it was flight... no question. For my father it was fight. It is always fight with him. He has never once backed down from a challenge. I notice it even today in his Alzheimers. I go for a walk with my father once a week. I try to jog his memory and make him laugh as much as I can. I will always try to get him to sing his favorite Dev Anand songs. Today I challenged him with "I bet I know more songs than you do." He took on the challenge. He doesn't remember any of the songs from the movies, so he made up songs. He made up a new song for every film song I sang. At the end I had to let him win, because I just memorized some songs, he made up about 20 songs in 30 minutes. It was brilliant.

I'm not sure if my future children will ever know my father, but they will definitely know the fables and myths that surround his existence.

The Color Brown

As an artist I love colors. I love everything about them.  All of God's beauty can be found in a simple rainbow. I have taken on an internship with my sister as an assistant photographer for weddings. Most of my sister's clients are Indian, therefore most of the weddings are Indian weddings.  As you already know Aiya, Indian weddings are the most beautiful spectacle of colors. Red lehnghas, orange marigolds, blue saris, white dhothis, saffron colored sweets, it's just amazing.  Interlaced in all the brilliance is the color that God chose for the Indian race... the color brown. I think the color brown could possibly be the most hated color in India. I recently read an article about how the Indian population spends billions of dollars a year on complexion lightening creams. I wonder about this phenomenon. 

In my household my father focused so hard on education with his children we never heard about our skin color. The first time I realized I had dark skin was when someone pointed it out (Gujarati guy in college). It was never a point of concern for me. As a mature adult I see how thoroughly skin color matters in the Indian community. Matrimonial ads list education, profession, height, and skin color. Why does it matter so much?

I wonder if the whole issue began with the British rule in India. It is being propagated by Bollywood. The fair skinned, light eyed actresses are role models for beauty in a country where 100's of million of people are dark skinned, brown eyed.  I'm just confused by the whole topic.

In retrospect Americans spend billions of dollars a year on tanning creams, so maybe it's just about not being satisfied with what you have... 

Love, Betrayal, and Karma

I had a friend once that fearlessly loved.  She loved a man of a different race, religion, creed. Their differences brought them together. She enjoyed his views on life, he enjoyed her Indian ways. I remember the first time I saw her "in love." Her face had changed, the sun seemed to be inside her eyes. Every ounce of her being was glowing with this love. I had not met this boy that had brought such happiness to my friend, but I wondered if his face glowed too. 

Over the next three years I watched my friend through this love. Their love affair was tumultuous to say the least. Their differences that had once brought them together, now tore them apart, he knew he couldn't marry someone of a different religion. She was willing to sacrifice all she had for one lifetime with him. I did eventually meet this boy, deep into the relationship. I met him after watching my friend drown in love for three years. Her face no longer glowed with love, it was now desperate. She lived in a constant fear that he would leave her. Leave her all by herself. His face did not glow. He could not meet my eyes, during that dinner. His entire energy was ashamed and embarrassed of the betrayal he was sure to commit. 

They say that all great love stories end in tragedy. This one ended in marriage and a broken heart. He eventually chose his family and his religion over his love. He married a girl that his parents had arranged for him. My friend and her broken heart lost hope.

Over the years I watched her spiral out of control into her misery. I tried to help, but I just couldn't. The weight of her grief was too heavy for me to carry. After three years of consoling her, and standing by her side, I had to cut her off.  She was taking me down with her. 

It's been two years since I talked to my friend, and I always wonder what has become of her. Yesterday as I was waiting to cross the street I noticed the man in the car at the stoplight staring at me. Our eyes met, there was recognition... and there he was: married, with his wife, and his newborn child. He had the look of quiet desperation in his eyes.  I realized something that I had never thought of before. Maybe his life was the more tragic. My friend has a chance to find her new love, to move on. He was sitting in that car staring at me remembering her. And I saw it in his eyes. 

Gandhi once said, "A coward is incapable of exhibiting love; it is the prerogative of the brave." My friend was very brave...

Alzheimer's = Age - Time

Every Sunday my family meets up at my parent's house; three generations of Prasad's eating, laughing, and enjoying life. As I watch our family interact, I can't help but notice how similar my aging father acts to my nine month old niece. His condition is Alzheimer's, hers is youth. Anyone that has been around Alzheimer's knows about the degeneration of the inflicted' mind, and childlike behavior that ensues. I go for walks with my father, and I answer the same question 20 times during the 30 minute walk. "Anita when are you getting married?" Soon Dad. I babysit Rekha, and I tell her not to put the remote control in her mouth 20 times. The same amount of patience, attention, and love is required in both settings. 

In my parent's home, I'm constantly reminded of time.  In this world, time is the only constant, everything else is changing. Time continues to move forward into the infinite, there is no stopping or rewinding it. We all age in the same increments, one year at a time. Though I think age has the ability to come full circle. A 65 year old, can behave like a nine month old.  I'm beginning to understand that the only place that time has the ability to fast forward into the future, or rewind into the past is in our heads. I'm watching my Father revert to his village Hindi, a language he hasn't spoken in over 50 years, and I can see that he has gone back in time, to live in a different point in his life. I have heard of cases in Alzheimer's where the patient thinks he/she is 18 again, and decides to behave in that manner. Maybe there such a thing as time travel.

Though scientifically there is no method of physically going back in time, or jumping into the future, I have learned that you can make time stand still. When you are living in the moment, time will stand still...

The Virtue of Silence

Silence has always been the most honest sound to me. I grew up in a household of nine people. There was always lots of excitement, laughter, voices, noise, music... silence was almost impossible to find.  But I would always find it, right before I went to sleep... fifteen to twenty minutes of utter silence. In those precious minutes before I went to sleep I would really know who was. It's very easy to lose yourself in the sounds the surround you. Your family's chatter can easily be mistaken as your own. When there is no sound, the only chatter that you hear is what's inside your head and your heart. You can be very true to yourself. Your honesty can get lost in your social obligations. 

I remember in kindergarten my teacher taught me to be kind to others, always say nice things, and never lie. As I get older I realize that the lies that we tell people are colorless compared to the lies we tell ourselves. It's very important to be honest to yourself.  I don't believe being honest is always right. Most of the time people do not want to hear your truths. They are more comfortable with your neutral white lies. Therefore it's most important to be honest with yourself in your moments of silence. These moments of truth will define who you are and what you stand for... 

The Dreams of our Fathers

A Father is an integral part of any family. In my family, my Father was my hero and the authoritative force in the household. He had rules and regulations that were never broken, in fears of punishment. His rule was with an iron fist. When I was young I was so enamored by his stories of India and over coming poverty, I remember thinking there was no one as great as him. He really pushed education very strongly on all of his children. "Without a good education you will be now where" was his daily lecture to us. There was always room to be "better." My father never told me he was proud of me, or good job Anu... just a lot of "Why didn't you do better?" I was always scared of him, and I never felt any love.

When I was a young adult, I didn't understand, how or why he expected so much out of me. Nothing was ever good enough. He would always tell me, how he would be concerned of where his next meal was coming from, where he would sleep that night, and he still got top marks... why couldn't I? I always thought it was an unfair comparison. I remember when I graduated from engineering my Father stood up and cheered. Through all the thousands of people standing in the crowd, I could see my Father standing and screaming. It was on the greatest moments in my life. 

I'm thirty now, my Father has Alzheimers. His mental illness has him on a medication that allows him to lower his inhibitions.  He never talks about us achieving more, just how much he loves us.  I finally see that all the punishment was love, all the expectations was love, all "do better" was love. I am very grateful to have had him as a figure in my life. I can see that by standing on my own two feet and becoming an engineer, I am fulfilling his dream for his children. 

My youngest brother is twelve years younger than me. My Father's mental degeneration had started after his birth. My brother has had no father figure in his life. No direction, no punishment, no "do better", but lots of love... from him and all of us. I can see that the tough love that my Father gave me growing up kept me in line. The lack of it has allowed my brother to stray. We constantly have told him how much we loved him, but it has come to my attention, by not punishing him, or pushing him to do better, he feels we don't care. I want him to realize the dreams of our Father. He will, but it'll take him a little longer than it took us. He never knew the man that we knew...

Random Acts of Kindness

On my flight home from Huntsville, Alabama last week the man sitting next to me asked me, "Do you practice random acts of kindness? Have you ever bought the person behind you at Starbucks their coffee? Do you ever pay the next car's toll on the bridge? Etc." I was taken aback. That night when I went to laid down for sleep it occurred to me that I really don't practice random acts of kindness. I have been doing some humanitarian work in India, but as far as little things here in the US, I have done very little to none. 

I made a decision the next day I would be randomly kind to people around me. Now random acts of kindness can run the entire spectrum of kindness, from smiling at strangers to feeding people at homeless shelters. I've always wanted to get myself up at a very early hour on a Sunday morning, and head over to the homeless shelter and help out, but Sundays are my day off.  So I decided to start at the smaller end of the spectrum: smiling. I would smile at every person that I encountered.  

As I began my day, I smiled at the man that held the door open for me at my local Starbucks... and he smiled back and said, "Hello. How are you?" Then I smiled at the lady behind the counter. And the person that held the door open for me as I left the coffee shop. I smiled at the guards at the front gate at work. My coworkers, the man that I ran across during my jog, etc. I spent the entire day smiling. I noticed even when I was alone I was smiling.  I just felt generally happier. My general mood was elevated, and it is quite possible that I elevated someone else's mood by smiling at them. I had no idea a smile could be so enlightening.

I am a quiet person, that keeps to myself. I don't usually make an effort to talk to people I don't know. After my little experiment I have noticed I am more open to smiling at strangers. I think if all the people could just practice these small free acts on a daily basis our communities would be a happier safer place for everyone. 

Hello Aiya,

Vineeta tells me you still read my blog. I will keep updating this site for you. My stories will now be of life here in the US! Looking forward to your comments.

Anita

Another Article!!!

Aiya I made another newspaper!!!!!

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1080204/jsp/nation/story_8858481.jsp

Katihar Health Camp

After Kamalpur we were going to Katihar. This was second most anticipated part of the trip after Kamalpur for me. I was very interested in revisiting the schools from my last trip, and to see their progress. Vineeta accompanied me to hold a little health camp for the children. When I showed her pictures of the children I had met on my last trip, she mentioned the children were malnourished, and could probably use a health screening. The health camp really spiraled into something that I wasn't expecting... neither was Vineeta. A woman that has started a local charity hospital in the center of town offered her hospital for the health camp. The people of Jyotirgamaya put up banners all over town. Approximately 500 people showed up for the health camp... I was expecting about 100.

Vineeta gave me a quick 30 second training on how to do an eye exam and test motor skills and I was off to work. The biggest hurdle with testing the children was illiteracy. Many of the children couldn't read, so the eye test was difficult for them. Most of the Jyotirgamaya children didn't show up for the health camp. The camp was held in the town center, the Jyotirgamaya children had no means of transportation. On our drive over to the center, Vineeta and I stuffed about 30 children in the ambulance with us. We wanted them to get tested. Most of the ailments Vineeta found were worms, scabies, lice, etc. Some were more serious: TB, neurological problems, thyroid issues. I found a couple of children that could use a pair of glasses...

I noticed that the free health camp drew people of all walks of life. Most of these people were middle class if not upper middle class. Not too many desperately poor people showed up to the camp. I don't know if this was poor advertising, or if they, like the students of Jyotirgamaya, didn't have transportation to this site. A lot of the parents were very pushy. If I didn't write 20/20 on their eye chart they asked me to change the number... :) 

The way the health camp was set up, I got to see the patients first, then I would send them to Vineeta. At any given time I had about 200 people standing in front of me asking me to take their child next... I realized I don't usually work with people on such a grand scale. I work in a team at work, I am more use to one on one or one on two conversations. At the end of this day I was mentally and emotionally exhausted like I have never been before.

That night when I went to sleep I was haunted by the images of the parents waiting to get their child tested. Some waited so patiently, some were so aggressively pushing their way. Writing the eye "score" reminded me so much of getting a report card in school. The parents were waiting for their child's good "grades." In some cases, with the really pushy parents, I was hesitant to give the child a less than 20/20 score. I knew that child would go home and get in trouble for their poor "score." The ignorant parent would scold the child for his/her myopia. One boy who had failing vision looked at me with a plea in his near-sighted eyes... I couldn't lie on his chart, I knew the glasses would change his life. 

Kamalpur - Paradise Lost

It's taken me a couple of days to try and write about Kamalpur, my Dad's village. We decided to go visit his village, because I want to build a school there and it seemed to be a great location for Rural Self Reliance. The roads to Kamalpur were surprisingly well paved and smooth. All of us were expecting the opposite. My uncle and cousin joined us for the trip. We had estimated Kamalpur to be 70 km from Patna... it ended up being more like 170 km. I felt like we drove to the ends of Earth. The scenery got more rural and more beautiful by the kilometer. When the car finally stopped, I know I had never seen a more beautiful place in my life. This place had been untouched by time for centuries. The fields were the greenest green I had ever seen. The backdrop of the village was mountain scape that I remember from my Dad's stories. The entire place was covered with palm trees. This place looked like God's paradise. Even Vineeta was wondering where we were? The village was a whole other story...

Villages in India are efficient, and they recycle everything... they are usually clean. The air quality is better, people keep their respective areas pretty tidy. The first thing I noticed about Kamalpur was how unclean it was. There seemed to be no "order" in the village. Walking through, the people looked haunted... Everyone followed us to my Dad's house. I remember this from my childhood. You're immediately famous for being "foreign." Our house was so small. When I was 10 this house was so big to me; we would run around hiding in the rooms. I looked at the sitting area of the house, it was no bigger than 10 ft X 10 ft... tiny! Half the village crowded in to this small space to see me. 

I was meeting with my family members, while Vineeta was talking to potential students, and Vineeta's father was looking for champions. There was something about the people in this village. It seemed almost as though they had suffered an extreme tragedy. I couldn't put my finger on it. Everyone looked as if the life had been sucked out of them.

I felt a very strong urge to run... I think half the village felt the same as well. Get out of this paradise. We knew that this area of Bihar was infested with Naxalites (a localized form of terrorism), so we had goals to get out of there before nightfall. I only sat and visited for about an hour, but it felt like days before I got up to leave. 

How could some place so beautiful have such an aura of sadness... we escaped about an hour later... the drive back to Patna was silent. All of us were taken aback by the depression of the village...

Patna - Super30

After our two day stay in Gangauli we drove to the capital of Bihar, Patna. After seeing some major cities in India, I can tell Patna is a bit on the lower end of the city spectrum. Millions of people, less organization, and quite filthy. There were more billboards here than anywhere else I went. India takes the whole billboard phenomena to a new level. There are billboards on houses, company windows, cars, and on other billboards... The city skyline is a mass hysteria of advertisement.

We were in Patna to visit some government officials that we wanted to talk to about schools and education. The meeting was cancelled on the first night, so we made some other plans. Back in the US Vineeta and I had met Anand Kumar. Anand has dedicated his life to training some of the poorest highschool students of Bihar to pass the IIT entrance exam. He picks out 30 students (his organization is called Super30) and his students have a 98% pass rate. Absolutely amazing. These students come from families where the yearly income is about 7000INR  (184USD). After meeting him in the Bay Area we decided to go visit his school. I was really interested in meeting his Super 30.

I didn't realize that Anand Kumar also held a class for about ~1000 students.  I think this class was for anyone that could get a seat. I was amazed by the number of people sitting under this tin roof. It wasn't even a classroom... just a large space covered by a tin roof. Some long benches that students were piled onto, knees dug into the person in front's back. 

I gave a quick speech to all thousand students :) in my very broken Hindi. The audience was very receptive, they had many many questions about NASA. It was nice, I hope I inspired them. I told them my Father's story of escaping poverty...

By the way, this moment made many of the major newspapers in India :)

http://bihartimes.com/newsbihar/2008/Feb/newsbihar03feb2.html 

Of sleep and the Winter

I have never been camping... growing up I would always tell people, if I wanted to camp I would just go on a vacation to India. No running water, no electricity, bugs, etc. The difference is in India you will experience these conditions in homes. In Gangauli Vineeta's family has a home. A nice village home, but there is no electricity, a water pump, and a floor toilet. All of these things were small compared to the temperature drop at night time, and the "bed" we slept on. The temperature was easily about 30 F... inside the brick walls of the home about 25 F. The way the rooms are kept warm is with a pot of burning coal by the bed. You sleep under heavy blankets and I guess just hope to make it through the night. It's nothing major for a young person, that's only doing it for the sake of adventure. I can't imagine how the older people and the babies survive winters in rural India.

The nights are so dark in India... You can actually feel darkness. It's heavy and thick. The air smells like burning wood/coal, and the only noises are random cows and birds. There's an element of peace in the dark night. I just felt like the whole world was asleep in those two nights... I've never felt that way in the US.  Someone sleeps, someone rises, there is always work to be done 24/7. In rural India, when the sun sets work time is over. Night time is for sleep. 

The smells and the sights of rural India are haunting. I can't believe people still live in these conditions. I can't believe millions of people live in these conditions...

Gangauli was my first village experience in India... on this trip. Gangauli is a large village (approx. 10,000 people) in the Buxar district of Bihar. We road tripped from Varanasi to this village, driving time about 5 hours. The roads in Bihar have significantly improved since my last trip. The government is making a serious effort in improving them. Roads are either smooth or in the process of being improved.

There is a certain amount of peace in a village... it would be equivalent of what a city dweller finds in a suburb I guess. Really quiet and a sense of community. People live in harmony with animals and nature. Vineeta's house is a large modest house in the village. We went directly to visit the girls school, which is held in the courtyard of the house. February 1st was the annual function, so the girls were deep in the middle of their practice. The school function is like any other school function held anywhere else in the world, except this one wouldn't have existed if Vineeta and her family hadn't started this school two years ago.

The school function was crowded. I would say 500 people showed up to watch the girls. It was amazing. I was sitting on the floor in front of the stage so I could video tape the occasion. I got mobbed by the children. They were absolutely amazed by the video camera. Too cute. The girls did really well. They had a comedy sequence that really showcased some great talent. Lots of singing and dancing...

Back from Bihar

Vineeta and I made it back from Bihar today... I was so happy to see Uncle standing at the platform. I don't have words to describe it. I'm sorry I haven't been able to blog... we had little to no internet connection most of our Bihar trip. 

I'll update my blog tomorrow with the many villages we visited... right now some well deserved rest.  I'm really missing California.

Just a quick note: people keep mistaking me for a teenager!!! How great is that!?!? The Buddhist priest thought I was Vineeta's students. Ha! Next time I'm not going to correct them... yes i'm 16 :)

January 29, 2008

We left Dehli today... off to Benaras. Benaras is a holy city for Hindus. Apparently Benaras is the world's oldest living city. I haven't been to the holy Hindu sites yet, but I did go to Saranath. Saranath is where Buddha gave his first sermon after enlightenment... so it's a holy site for Buddhists. We met the head Buddhist priest for the monastery. Buddhists are so peaceful, this man seemed like he's never been angry a day in his life. The priest is from a village in Sri Lanka where each family gives away one of their children to the Buddhist temple. He left his home when he was 8 years old. 

The priest gave us a tour of the temple, then took us to the front altar. We stood in front of the filled temple and were blessed by the priest. The priest introduced us the room (~150 people) devotees. I was so honored and so not deserving of this type of introduction. I wasn't sure what to do... the room was full of Sri Lankans that were on a pilgrimage to Saranath to listen to this priest. The people sitting on the floor looked so poor, I wonder how they travelled that long distance. This was one of those moments I will always talk about.

Benaras is full of tourists by the way. In Saranath we saw many Japanese, Tibetans, and Chinese people. In the main areas you see people of all nationalities... world's oldest living city. Everyone is trying to make sense of the madness. There are so many people, and they are all on the go... I just wonder where they are going...

On another note: I'm currently sick :( and trying to recover quickly. We are going to the Bihar in two days. I need to have my health up and ready fast!!!!

January 28th, 2008

We spent all of yesterday roadtripping back to Dehli. The traffic can get pretty bad on parts of the road. I do not have much to add, because I slept almost the entire time! I must say the people that I have met at this conference are the most amazing people. They are so accomplished and humble... that's a rare combination. I was actually sad saying bye to them. Hopefully we will keep in touch. We had a photographer with us on the entire journey... I hope I get digital images of the photos so I can download them here. I have been pretty unsuccessful at downloading photos on this blog, hopefully things will change when I get constant internet connection.
At the end of the night, four of us were having dinner at a restaurant in the hotel, and we ran into Rev. Jesse Jackson :) What are the chances? He's here to give a speech for Gandhi's death anniversary!
So the real work begins today! We'll be heading over to Varanasi in about two hours...

The Elephant and the Camel

Today we toured Jaipur, the Pink City. In the Jaipur/Rajasthani culture pink is the color for riches. The Maharaja at the time painted the entire city pink for this reason. When India won Independence the government took over the palaces, so the Maharaja emptied these massive palaces right before independence day. These palaces are pretty amazing. They remind me a lot of the Alhambra in Spain and the Red Fort in Agra. Very similar. You know how palaces go, you see one, you've seen them all :)

At some point the Maharaja wanted to build a summer home for his family, so he dug out a lake and built a little palace that's over the water. This lake was built 200 years ago, it puts Lake Elizabeth to shame... I guess most lakes put Lake Elizabeth to shame... but really!! This lake is massive. I can't imagine the amount of man power it took. No machinery, hundreds of men and women with shovels...

The Pink City probably shouldn't be pink, I must say. The poverty here is pretty bad. I haven't seen anyone that looks even semi-middle class. The city is really dusty and old. All the people have dusty hair and such ominous stares. It's actually a spooky place. The city is hundreds of years old, you can feel the age here. It smells very very old. There are 2 million people that live in this small city... I wonder what they all do. There are parts of this city that remind me of Bihar, so out of touch from the rest of the world. When we were driving over here, there was an elephant on the road next to our bus... that's never happened to me in California :)

Speaking of elephants... Did you know the Siwan district of Bihar is where most of the elephants of Jaipur came from... most of the elephant drivers are also from there... I took an elephant ride up to the Amber Fort. The driver filled me in on the who's who of elephants...

The Jaipur Tour is part of the NRI society event... I've met the coolest people through this event. It's great to meet Indian people from all the continents of the world.

Oh I also took a camel ride today :) The order of the day was: camel ride, elephant ride, palace #1, palace #2, and dinner with the governor. Can't say I ever had a day like that in California...

Vineeta next to the Jaipur dolls.

Day 2

Today was a very exciting day. In the morning we got to see the India Republic Day Parade. This parade was the most spectacular event I have ever seen. I guess you guys are reading about how Nicolas Swarkowsky was in India for the event... one-fourth of France's people followed him out here. In the section we were sitting in there were more French people than Indian people. I didn't see Swarkowsky, but I did see his Mercedes limo pass through in the parade. 

There was a float for all the states of India. These floats were AMAZING! Bihar's had a Buddhist theme. The parade was also a display of India's army's strength. They had tanks, missiles launchers, fighter jets, and lots of army personnel. That part of the parade was interesting. Vineeta and I were trying to think of the American equivalent... I don't think America has something like this? The helicopters that flew overhead shot marigolds on the crowd. There were also elephants in the parade!!!! Sorry folks, no cameras allowed. I didn't get a single picture of the amazing ceremony. 

There were thousands and thousands of people at this event. Walking back to our tourist bus was an experience. Imagine the India Day Parade in Fremont for miles and miles: that's India. The sheer amount of people everywhere is mind boggling. I'm amazed at how small Indians from India are. They are the tiniest people. At one point I was walking next to a group of women. All of the women were wearing saris and sweaters, and had their head covered. They had really parched skin and very large nose rings. I was trying to eavesdrop on their conversation. I just wanted to know what was happening in their day, today. I saw a couple of them double take at me. One of them said I was "foreign"... :)

Right now I'm in Jaipur. We're going to be sightseeing for the next two days. I'm getting ready to pass out, here!

I'll have pics tomorrow, when I can take my camera. I was so excited to videotape the parade... The amount of army personnel roaming around Dehli is actually scary. There are army guards on every corner standing with huge rifles. It doesn't really make you feel safe... 

Day 1

So we just finished Day 1. I gotta say travelling to India is... taxing. You spend about 24 hours in airports/airplanes... and as we all have experienced sitting on a plane for 10 hour stretches is exhausting. Getting through customs at the airport was another "fun" moment: 1 hour. Catching a a prepaid taxi was another ordeal: another hour... We got to the Ashoka Hotel at 4:30 AM... Safe and not sound.

Vineeta won the Hind Rattan Award from the NRI Welfare Society - 27th International Congress of NRIs. She won the award for her outstanding services, achievements and contributions in Neurology. 

This NRI event is actually a pretty big deal, I was not expecting that. There are about 400 NRI's from all over the world. It is amazing. We've met people from everywhere. Vineeta gave a great speech about Rural Self Reliance. She talked about her school as the model. The speech generated a lot of interest. People were coming up to us the entire night, asking questions.

I should mention that I feel asleep during some of the boring speeches. hahaah! That is so me. It was the jet lag ;)

So tomorrow is the India Day Parade and road tripping to Jaipur. 

My pictures are not downloading. I'll upload to my picasa!

I'm leaving for India in a couple of hours. I'm a little nervous, but mostly excited. I can't believe the amount of clothing and gift people have given me to give away. I am carrying two suitcases worth of gifts! That's amazing. Next year I will think about doing a clothing drive before I leave. In my personal suitcase I am bringing: five salwaar kameezes, two saris, and a pair of pants. This is going to be interesting :)

This blog will be about my 2008 India trip. The trip will cover visiting schools and holding a health camp in different areas of Bihar. I'll be traveling with Vineeta Singh. I will try my best to update this blog daily with pictures and stories.

Cheers!