My first (and probably only) Indian dance performace

I finished off my last blog stating I was headed to a Bollywood dance class that night. Well, for the last several weeks my life has partially centered around Indian Classical dances instead. Deep within the mazes of the Hyderabadi streets lies a beautiful home that has become a place of happiness for me. These classes take place during the weekend and sometimes during the week. Getting to know the teacher, I found she holds a Ph.D in dance and filled me in greatly over just how symbolic many of these dances are for the Hindu religion as well as the culture. Every movement I learned came to mean something, including my finger positions. Basically, the class consists of body movements, facial expressions and sign language. Fast-forward three weeks and I've just performed in my first Indian dance show on stage! I guess this was a larger performance than I thought it would be and my group and I made the paper the next day. I went ahead and attached the photos. The girls I danced with were relatively young, but I had an absolute ball with them. They had me giggling at so many moments of class with weird facial expressions we'd exchange or with the times we messed up moves. I often felt as though I was a young girl again (since I'm so old). 

          With the rainy season having settled itself in comfortably, the mosquitoes have come in overwhelming swarms. Let me tell you, I have turned into an itching/scratching machine. I haven't really needed my mosquito net yet, but now, along with mosquito coils, I couldn't be more grateful for the thing. Since I last posted I've also made two field visits for several days to more of the tribal areas and Aranya's Permaculture farm. We planted a little over 30 mango trees with rain pouring all around us. Following the principles of Permaculture, we insert the small plant into the ground and then go on to pruning the trees and bushes around the forest (moringa trees, leucaena leucocephala, etc.) and surround the little tree with this foliage. These plants will go on to decompose and increase microbial activity that acts as both a mulch and fertilizer. Plants such as the curry leaf tree are planted nearby which also function as natural pesticides preventing any harmful pests from destroying the mango tree. Again, this practice absolutely astonishes me in how simple-seeming Permaculture is, but then how incredibly effective the results are. I had a wonderful time escaping the city for a while and being surrounded by monkeys, chai tea and the forest.

          I leave in two weeks, but already I'm really so grateful to be here and to have had this opportunity in the first place. Every once in a while I find a voice in my head merely stating, 'I'm in India,' which kind of slaps me in the face in a really kind way. I don't have a cell phone and I love it for the time being. I also have limited access to chocolate so at times making the journey to obtain a chocolate ice-cream cone is not only so worth it, but also a major highlight of my day. When going for dinner I'm often greeted by my neighborhood friend- a little girl with Princess Leia style hair buns. All she says to me is "Hi aka!" (sister) and goes along on her bike. I call her my friend because someone asked her one time, 'why don't you ever say anything to me?' and she responded in Telugu that we knew each other and were really good friends. Besides the fact that we have never done anything more than smile and greet each other, I'll gladly take it. These are the small things that make me happy which leads me to share what I recently read in Paulo Coehlo's Like the Flowing River. The following excerpt really hits home...wherever "home" is:

         

          'A man asked my friend Jaime Cohen: 'What is the human being's funniest characteristic?'

          Cohen said: 'Our contradictoriness. We are in such a hurry to grow up, and then we long for our lost childhood. We make ourselves ill earning money, and then spend all our money on getting well again. We think so much about the future that we neglect the present, and thus experience neither the present nor the future. We live as if we were never going to die, and die as if we had never lived.''

         

          Philosopher Daniela over here, but I like how this reminds me to be where I am, appreciate it and just go with it. One last thing, if you have not tried a custard apple, put it on your bucket list NOW! It is heaven encapsulated within a fruit.

Back into the swing of things

I recently returned from a one-week vacation in Kerala, India with my mother. Honestly, I can't describe how refreshing it was to spend time with her and explore this part of India. Let me just say that Kerala is absolutely amazing. Although it is the rainy season, we came to find out that this time of year is peak season for Ayurveda treatments and the time of "cleansing". We took long drives along the misty tea plantations that made the mountains look like lush, textured paintings. Kerala is also the spice capitol of India so you can bet your bottom rupee that I bought my share of saffron, cardamom, bay leaves, etc, etc! I also got to experience the sheer pleasure of staying overnight on a houseboat in the backwaters of Allepey. I recently read The God of Small Things which is set in Kerala (a book my EdGE mentor recommended and that I now recommend) and the black and white font of the book was suddenly introduced to dimension and color due to my actually witnessing it. The people who live in these backwater canals have their ENTIRE lives revolving around the canals and moods of the water. It really is the Venice of India with the streets being narrow straits of land surrounded by water. For the children who attend school, instead of hopping on a bus they jump into a large boat that will take them to their school- also on the water. On our last day, my mother and I decided to visit the Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple which from what locals were telling us is about 5000 years old and only recently several billion dollars worth of gold was discovered beneath it. I was floored by this because I have never before seen anything that old. Here is a New York Times article detailing the discovery: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/09/world/asia/09temple.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0 Unfortunately, non-Hindus are not allowed to enter (aka foreigners, trust me, I tried to pull the Hindu card) so what lies inside will remain a mystery to us both. I'm back in Hyderabad and have finished the Tribal Permaculture Project half-year report and am now going to help Padma prepare for a presentation in mid-July. Maybe this is part of maturing, but I'm seeing that when the "Send" button is pushed it really means only one chapter has been completed; next comes the beginning of documenting the next half-year report.
The 4th of July made me a bit homesick for my summers spent in the U.S. and appreciate the people I have in my life there. Here too. At that time I was making field visits to some of the Tribal Development Fund villages where the trees planted there a year ago have already made so much progress. The rainy season really seems to lift everyone's spirits. My life in the city has become pretty routine with Marie biscuits and milk tea, but tonight I am attending a Bollywood dance class which adds some flavor to my weekend. And here are some more charcoal pieces:

One month baby!

The mark of a little over one-month has arrived! One month anniversary with the country and things are going well. It's pretty baffling to think that time has already flown by this quickly. Today I was supposed to embark to Adilibad where the other project office is to do some field-work in the villages, but due to other factors I am staying in the city instead. Not wanting to stay cooped up inside all day, I wrapped my face and head with a scarf to explore around in the heat of the afternoon. Bad idea. My body turned into a radiating furnace. On the plus side, I came across relics of a centuries-old pool that was built for a former king of the area. What is crazy about this, is that this pool looks like some former (emphasis on "former") garden of Eden but it's hidden among the tangles and mazes of the slums! I sat at the temple overlooking this site for a good while and I'm pretty certain the heat got me into a really intense daze over it. The clashes/contrasts of old and new and the poverty and wealth cease to amaze me around here. Many of my days have been filled with writing a half-yearly progress report of the Tribal Permaculture Project, updating a new brochure, and still celebrating for having finished the UNEP Seed Initiative Application. Whether AAA is selected as a winner or not, I'm glad to have it done.
I'm starting to see that there will be some modifications to my diet when I get back to the states. For one, I am going to start eating yogurt everyday and maybe incorporate a little bit more chili into some dishes ;) Yessiree, my palate is getting more bold and daring by the day. I also have picked up drawing with charcoal. The other day I was in a stationary store with my friend Sneha and with 3 charcoal pencils for a dollar I thought, 'eh, why not?'. I've completed two pieces now....and I am super hooked. I think I'll start a series named 'The Many Faces of India'.
Just as every parent can usually remember their child's first words, mine in Telegu have been "jutu" (hair) and "toku" (peel, as in fruit peel). If you're thinking these are absolutely unnecessary words...you're right. But I do get way overexcited when I hear a hair company advertising shampoo. And with the word peel, haven't gotten to hear that one yet! Since then, I've picked up a few phrases and am starting to comprehend more and more. Oh, and one of the most exciting updates yet: I get to see mother in 4 days! It has been a year since I saw her last and I am thanking all 330 million Hindu deities that she is meeting me here!!

^Me playing an ektar

India thus far

It has been about a month since I left the states and have been in India. First and foremost, I will begin by saying that I really love what I've seen thus far. And I state that with the notion of including both the positive and negative aspects of my current experience. The poverty, wealth, colors, trash, beauty and food are always in your presence here, constantly reminding you of the many facets to life. The culture is honest, and it is that attribute which makes me appreciate it. Currently, I am stationed in Hyderabad which is quite the urban jungle full of horns, music and people yelling to sell their "CHAII" (the yelling has been my rooster in waking me up every morning). Only part of my week is spent in the city however. I haven't had very reliable internet when staying at different project offices which has thus allotted me much time to read (I've only been reading their books so my mind is full of water management reports, third world pesticides and the language of plants). So far, I've been helping edit reports and grants which contrary to what I believed before, can be very exhausting. These last several days I visited several villages to record their update on their Permaculture farms of Mango and Amla trees.The villagers were so friendly and astonished me with their ways of creativity. The children made these toy cars that successfully roll along the ground using sticks, bottles and their caps. The temperatures have been grueling hitting 116 degrees some days and without A/C your daily bath is SUCH a highlight! Squat toilets are a new thing, but I'm not too bothered by it because if they can do it everyday I don't see why I can't too haha! : p
Not only is it mango season, but marriage season as well. The streets have been full of horns and celebrations for the many marriages going on. I eat so healthy here and am almost force-fed mangoes due to my host family having a Permaculture farm that has a current surplus of them. It's great! Yesterday, out in a different project site called Adilibad, I saw a variety of animals crossing the road- several that induced some squealing from myself. Monkeys with babies the size of mangoes (is this my comparison standard now?), boars, dogs, chickens and humans constantly had us putting on the brakes.
The NGO (Aranya Agricultural Alternatives) is so inspiring with all that it achieves and genuinely helps out with. One project the NGO is in collabortaion with, the Water Sector Improvement Project, is being sponsored by the World Bank to improve irrigation systems that will in turn increase agricultural yields. Aranya will be working with the social and environmental component of this project ensuring that lands are not being encroached on and that the living conditions are in good shape. I will be helping document this as well as other reports which I am very excited about. The days I spend in the farms are wonderful too and it's so amazing to see Permaculture in practice first hand. It really is the most sustainable way to go concerning agriculture. And now, I am working hard in applying for a SEED award through the UNEP and so badly want it for them! I will write more colorful posts later. I have pictures up currently on my facebook if you'd like to get a visual image of the blog!