Back in the US

WHEW! It’s been a whirlwind and I’ve left my story with India hanging a bit.. the rumors are true I’m back in the US.. and yes earlier than expected. Too make an overly long story short I could not get my visa extended and had to come on home. There were people saying I got kicked out of India (not true.. but would have been very Hyderbadass). I did not get to finish my internship with Navdanya though I hope to be involved there again in the future. I actually went back to Hyderabad mainly for some important exit documents but my time there also served as a bookend for my trip. I returned back to the place where I fell in love with India and spent a few weeks in solitude with a few good friends. It seemed through all the difficulties I ran into with my visa and plans that the universe was telling me it was time to come home. But, my story with India is still left hanging..  It’s in my soul now and I couldn’t shake India if I tried! Shanti, Shanti, Shanti until next time!!

H-Bad vs. Dilli

Sometimes I feel like I left home when I left Hyderabad but on the other hand I am so excited to get close to and comfortable with Delhi. Nostalgically I compiled a list of all things Southern that I miss.. as well as expectantly compiled one of my new found favorites in the North. We’ll see, but I may just be a Southern girl at heart..

Things I miss about South India..

1. My friends that are like family

2. Dosas and Hyderabadi biriyani

3. UoH campus

4. wildly decorated auto-rickshaws, full of tassels and flashing lights

5. Telugu script 

6. Women with shaved heads

Awesome Things about the North..

1. So close to the Himalayas

2. Navdanya is here

3. Better driving, plus a Metro

4. Lovely henna work

5. Roti and Naan galore

6. My great new neighborhood

The Beautiful Hampi

My friend Brian came from the States to visit me and see India for two weeks! Our first destination was Hampi, which is a town in Karnataka that is full of ancient ruins from old kingdoms.. My favorite was definitely the underground Shiva temple that had a pool of water that you walked through to go see the idol (Shiva lingam)  in the middle. I rode a moped all over of the countryside of Hampi taking in the sites and the sun. Brian and I next went on a village tour in Telangana visiting four of my friend’s homes. Currently we are in Delhi after a mere 29 hour train ride.. So far I’m liking the city that will be my home for the next few months! Here are some pics of Hampi..

 

Dr. Ambedkar’s Birthday and a.. Speech!

A few weeks ago was Dr. B R Ambedkar’s birthday. My close group of Indian friends particularly idolize him so this was a very important day for us. He is most famous for being the framer of the Indian constitution as well as an activist for Dalit rights. Ambedkar himself was born into the Untouchable caste but despite this achieved higher education and status as one of India’s most loved  and respected figures.

I came into my room and all of my friends were there. Hari asked me if I would like to give a speech that same day at Ambedkar’s birthday celebration at Osmania University! I agreed and we worked on it for a bit, a mere two hours later we were on train to Osmania. I did not realize how big the crowd would be.. it was a huge event! I went on stage with Hari there to translate my words into Telegu and delivered my speech. I got cheers from the crowd when I talked about the Telangana state struggle and ended with the phrases “Jai Bhim, Jai Telangana” which translates into “Victory to Ambedkar, Victory to Telangana!”

Phule, Ambedkar, Me and Hari

Hyderabad Summers

Weather for Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh

Current: Haze Wind: N at 0 km/h Humidity: 23% Wed 45°C | 26°C Yep, that equals out to 113° F!

Fire, Earth, and Water

A Still from Water

If you are looking for films about India with some depth, other than the popular Slumdog Millionaire, I recommend Deepa Mehta’s Element Trilogy. She is such a talented and controversial film maker whose work has consistently warranted her death threats in India. There are important critics of religion, politics, and patriarchy throughout all the films. You know you are doing something right if it incites such a response.

There are three films in the series; Earth, Fire, and Water. Earth is about the formation of Pakistan and the violence surrounding the Partition in India. Fire deals with issues surrounding arranged marriages and homosexuality in modern India through a romance between two female characters (this film is actually banned, lots of censorship here). Water is focused on the harsh mistreatment of widows during pre-independennce, Gandhi-era India. The films are easy to get a hold of in the States and totally worth a watch!

The Haircut

Before

After

Got a bit of a haircut the other day! I was thinking about shaving my head lately and voiced this to some people. I got a lot of verbal opposition from men here. Hair is a symbol of “correct” femininity in many places but very strongly so in India. Beauty standards are a strict form of oppression for women. Shaving my head is my personal protest to expectations put on women. As Noami Wolf said in “The Beauty Myth”, “The more legal and material hindrances women have broken through, the more strictly and heavily and cruelly images of female beauty have come to weigh upon us…”

Indian Remedies

Just a fair warning if you have a low tolerance for talking about body functions do not read on.. haha. This story begins on a trip to Secunderabad, the twin city to Hyderabad. I went with my Hindi teacher, Bhavani, and a bunch of girls from my hostel to Big Bazaar. Which is exactly what it sounds like, a big bazaar, really a labyrinth of tiny streets full of stores and stalls selling bindis, bangles, and sarees. We were serious shoppers for hours and scored some great deals on sarees, thanks to Bhavani! Then we went to lunch and continued shopping.  All of a sudden I felt so dizzy, nausea and really hot (mind you it is over 100 degrees here daily). I told everyone that I just had to get home and found the nearest autorickshaw and hopped in.

My driver was so concerned because I looked incredibly pale and he pulled over to get me a soda drink. A huge wave of nausea came over me and right there by the soda man’s cart I barfed! My driver rushed over with an Indian lime soda which is spicy and salty (yum right?) and advised me over and over to “Drink Slow”, followed by the repeatvitive phrase “Energy”. This spicy citrus soda was not the best with a still queasy stomach. We pulled away to continue our 45-min trek back to campus. Only a few minutes later I knew I needed to barf again and before I could even verbalize it I had my head out the side of the auto throwing up as we were driving full speed through the city.

He pulled  over again and I continued getting sick. Oh yeah, I forgot to mention everytime while I was throwing up he would cover my ears with his hands and then press my temples, weird I thought usually in the US we would rub the sick person’s back. This time an older Hindu women ran up to help me. After I expelled all of my tomato curry she threw the remainder of the soda in my face! Then my driver got a water bottle and they both threw tons of water in my face and all over my head. They made keep my eyes open and flushed them out with water. Then she prayed over me and we continued on our way. I stumbled back into my hostel with my wet head and went to sleep for a few hours just as my driver had advised me to. When all the water was getting dumped on me and he got me the soda and water, even though I felt so sick, I had to laugh it was just.. so Indian. I felt so comforted by these stranger’s concern and little more at home in India!

A funny side note about the story, when I told my American friends they were dying laughing about it. Then I told my Indian friend Dhanunjay and he was not surprised at all. He said of course they threw water on you and held your ears.. apparently these are the healing practices for sick people to expel heat from the body and help their head not to hurt. For me it was such a crazy experience but to him it was just an everyday remedy! Gotta love living in another culture!

Jai Telangana!

The other weekend my friends, Rosemary, Allison, Melody and I went with our friends Dhanunjay, Hari, and Gopi to visit their homes. They are from the Telangana region which is known as one of the most downtrodden or “backwards” regions of India. We stayed with Dhanunjay’s aunt and uncle the first night. They were the best hosts! His aunt even let me borrow a beautiful sari when we visited his home village. There we walked all over, met many neighbors and family, played hop scotch and  got to see what a true community looks like. Dhanunjay’s mother is the head of over 60 women’s groups that campaign for different causes as well as create support among the people. Although she has little formal education and can not read she is far more “educated” than many people that have a Ph.D!

The next night we spent in Hari’s town with his family. They were a beautiful family including his mother, father, aunt and sweet little sister called Baby. They were incredibly welcoming.  And I promise his mom and Dhanunjay’s aunt are the best cooks in India! We visited neighbors, all dressed in saris, did henna on each other, went to his father’s fruit juice stand, played with games with children that lived near by and slept on the roof under the stars!

The village community we visited is made up of people from the lowest caste in Indian, they are called Dalits. I do no think I even understood until I got here how pervasive the caste system of Hinduism still is. There are many injustices to be fought against. My friends Dhanunjay, Hari and Gopi devote so much of their time towards the true abolition of caste and also the Telangana Movement. The goal of this movement is to create a separate state for the Telangana region to lessen the exploitation of its people and land by the current state government. There is so much I learned from my Indian friends and their families about the harsh realities here as well as about a true sense of community. This was the most meaningful trip to me thus far!

Just taking a tour of the village

Dhanunjay at his home

Sari time at Hari's home!

At the family fruit stand

Happy International Women’s Day!

All around the world on March 8th women were celebrated! My friend Benny and I went to town and got flower garlands that Indian women wear in their hair. I passed them out to the beautiful and wonderful women in my dorm! Hope every woman felt loved on their day!

In India this day holds a special significance because of the severe injustices women still suffer. Here women met and talked a lot about the current issue of the Women’s Reservation Bill. Last night, I actually got to go to a lecture by a Telugu women’s activist that included this subject. It is a 1/3 reservation for women in Parliament and State Assemblies. If the bill is passed India will be the first country to have seats reserved for women in the law! Some may offer critiques of this bill as unequal treatment and preference but in a society where there are 5o million girls missing because of infanticide and abortion of female fetuses and literacy rates for women are far below men, leveling the playing field is a necessity. As the speaker said last night “Women will step up if we make a space for them. Let the women speak.”

Mothers and daughters celebrating in Nanjing, India