Surajkund Crafts Mela

One of the biggest arts & Crafts festivals in India, over 400 stalls of National and State award-winning  craftsmen (and women) from all over India, as well as from other countries, lots of food, several stages with dancing…just a random smattering of the sights here: jevene jevene jevene jevene jevene summers jevene summers

why, yes, that does look like a woman in a sari, carrying a baby in a santa suit…

watched this guy walk UP a steep incline in these stilts

Dancers in the Assam area of the Mela/Fair (which was HUGE by the way..walked and looked for over 4 hours, saw about HALF of what was there).

At another stage, dancers getting ready to go on…didn’t get to see this dance, Wesley wasn’t happy standing still, had to keep moving

Garima Kathpalia entertains the aforementioned Wesley while Papa Charlie and Momma Erin finish lunch

Since we went on a Monday (clinic closed that day) it was apparently school field trip day, HORDES of them in their uniforms…this creative young woman got in the spirit by painting herself as Vishnu/Lakshmi (most Hindu deities appear as a male form with a female companion form: Rama & Sita, Shiva & Shakti…I am guessing Vishnu because he is often blue, but it could also be Krishna, who is one manifestation of Vishnu…but then Rama is blue too…)

these guys were holding the coconut in one BARE hand, then cutting the top off in one “whack” with a VERY sharp knife…I didn’t look closely, but they all appeared to have all of their fingers..reminds me of the guys who shuck oysters at Crisfields, lightening fast, with a super sharp knife, half the time not even looking at what they are doing.

paper lanterns, in many places the booths were too close together, and the crowd too dense to get pictures of the crafts…this was an easy shot!

Blog Fail

To the one or two people who have subscribed, or been following my so-called-blog…humble apologies for the long silence.  I would like to blame it on just being busy with work, which I have truly been, since we open the REAL clinic Tuesday 7.Feb.2012…but, as with all things in my life, it is more complicated than that.  First, I was away on vacation for 2 weeks (back in the US – more on that later)…but mostly I have been battling a bit of malaise (read “depression”), partly due to work related stress, partly recent – unexpected – end of my relationship, and last, but by no means least…I suffer from seasonal affective disorder. Having been born and raised closer to the equator, have never adjusted to the shorter days of winter, and ALWAYS suffer a bit of “everything sucks” this time of year. Delhi is far enough north that it still affected me…fortunatley we are headed into the longer days, more sunlight now, and warmer weather! Finally, despite living in DC for over 20 years, I still HATE winter, and as it turns out – it gets DAMNED COLD  in Delhi. The houses are built to be cool (high ceilings, stone floors, NO central heat), and it is a damp cold….again, fortunately it is getting warmer now.

People always ask what India is like…it is big and diverse, complex and contradictory.  India is a very modern country with deeply ingrained traditions…. a few Indians have confirmed to me that my observations are correct: The very wealthiest people in India come from ultra wealthy families that have been wealthy for several generations; these are people who have not cleaned their own houses, done their own laundry or cooked their own food FOR GENERATIONS. {Ed. note: see photos below} I got into an unusually candid conversation with one Indian (they are NOT often direct in their speech, more indirect and circumspect), who said that about 10 to 12 families control India…and these families largely control the country, thru control of industry and influence in the political system (corruption is rampant here).

Millions of people live in extreme poverty, while a small number live in luxury. The dichotomy is stark. The very wealthy live in large houses on 1 to 3 acres of land, right in the heart of Delhi, they have gated compounds, with security guards…and some of these people may not set foot outside their own property for days. Food, and all other necessities are delivered. One woman told me that her doctor came to her house, as well as the jeweller, and the tailor come to her house with the cloth samples, then would return with the custom made kurti or saree.

So, what does all this have to do with me? In an effort to promote this new venture, and attract the wealthier clientele to the clinic, I was asked  to work quite a bit of overtime doing treatment of VIP’s from mid October through November. They were all very nice people, but there was quite a bit of last-minute “you must see this person now”.  It was frustrating to my colleague and I, because it also took time away from our teaching/mentoring time; and i came here to TRAIN Indian PT’s, not to replace them…but there is such a poor public opinion of PT here, that the only way many people would come try it was when they heard we were from the US. [this was the work stress part]

On the bright side, I earned enough overtime that I planned a 2 week vacation over the winter holidays with earned “comp time”. …so I was pretty exhausted and emotionally tapped out when the boyfriend that I was going home to see informed me that he had been seeing someone else for the past 2 weeks (would have been nice if he had mentioned that he was planning on ending the relationship when we skyped just 3 weeks earlier ?no?).  I had a great trip anyway: went to AZ and spent time with family and friends, then to DC to get winter clothes out of my attic…and stock up on snacks!  Crazy as it may sound to Americans, you can get KFC, McDonald’s and Subway here…but you CANNOT find anything that resembles a Clif Bar/Balance Bar/Zone Bar etc. Given the physical nature of my job, and my tendency towards low blood sugar, I absolutely need to keep one of these at hand…I average about 2 or 3 a week. Half of one suitcase was filled with “snacks” on my return to India! (Thank you Laura Storey for the trip to Costco!)

So there you have a 5 paragraph excuse for blog fail….plan to get back to more regular photo taking and exploring, so stay tuned.

NOW. Photos: The gigantic KFC in Mumbai, they are also in Delhi, along with Pizza Hut, McDonalds and Subway…is it any wonder that the rest of the world has such a poor opinion of America when THIS is what we export!

not much to see here, but this is what you see as you drive down many streets in Delhi where the rich people live:

here is another

and, on the other extreme, this is a slum not far from the American Embassy, across the street from the British school. People here go through the trash, by hand, to find things to re-use, sell, wear or eat. There is an entire mound of trash bags in one part of the enclosed slum.

for the lower class “working poor” and lower end of middle class (employed-but-not wealthy), living quarters are often small and crowded, and much of life is lived in public, outside the home. This is the local barber, he is a few blocks from the clinic…this is his spot on the sidewalk, I seem him here every time I pass.

Not far from the Barber, the tailor (when was the last time you saw someone sew with a foot peddle sewing machine?)

This is the local bicycle mechanic, with all his tools spread out on the sidewalk. I am shy about taking pictures of people in general, because I don’t want them to think that I am taking their picture because I think they are strange/odd, or that I am judging them. I think of it more as “documentary”, I don’t have a judgement, just an observer of things that are outside the normal experience of most Americans. I am especially conscious of this when taking photos of poor people…of course the other reason is that they are likely to demand “Rupee!Rupee!, Rupee!” if they see me take their picture, which wouldn’t be bad if it was only one person, but could quickly become a crowd of poor woman and children. Oh, and BTW, that bike is what ALL the bikes in Delhi look like…haven’t seen anything that looks like it was made in the last 25 years.

Laundry drying on the fence of a public park in a middle class neighborhood in downtown Delhi (NOT a rare sight)

Random Thoughts, Random Photos

As noted in the post “Driving Miss Summers”, I see ALL sorts of things out my car window. Most of the time I am going too fast to get a decent picture, or don’t have the camera at hand, but have wanted to start an ongoing portfolio of “things carried on bicycles” because the variety is mind boggling. Missing from this (meaning I saw it, but have no photo, so you’ll just have to take my word for it): a guy riding a bike with 2 monkeys on the back. A refrigerator in  a little cart behind the bike…a regular full-sized ‘fridge. large potted palms, a mountain of laundry so large/tall that, from behind, you couldn’t see the rather tall person riding the bike….

Editorial note: I have a small, old/slow, pocket digital camera, so apologies for the poor quality of photos.  Jevene summers jevene summers jevene summers jevene summers jevene summers

construction material

Vegetable merchant…a common sight, also fruit sellers (again, sorry for the fuzzy photo really must get a new camera)

blocks of ice…pretty common sight, not sure if it is for use in old-fashioned “ice boxes” or what.

propane tanks, each weighing 30 to 32 kilos (about 65 pounds each). The majority of all cooking, even in the homes of wealthy people, is done on little countertop 2  burner propane stoves (the wealthy people have 3 or 4 burner stoves). The bicycle delivery is common site.

this guy managed to get FOUR of them on the bike.

This guy looks like he is gesturing to his baskets, but he was in the process of sprinkling them with water from the bottle in his other hand (like he was blessing them)

The other “portfolio” I want to start is of people carrying things on their heads…another common site…and usually without using their hands to stabilize the load on their head. And again, I have seen more than I have been able to photograph.

OK, so, she is using her hand to help. But, man that is some stack of fire wood. I didn’t want to get to close because i thought it was rude

Driving Miss Summers

When I interviewed for this job initially, and my potential new employers were selling me on what would be part of the “package” I was told that I would be provided a furnished apt and a car and a driver. Regarding the latter, I said “that won’t be necessary”…but then it was explained to me that one doesn’t drive oneself in Delhi if it can be avoided, unless you were the sort of kid that really LIKED bumper cars, and still view driving as an extreme competitive sport. Delhi is a big, modern city. but there is a large population that still lives in poverty, and the major form of transport for them is bicycle. For the better off in the “poor” category and the lower end of middle class, the motorcycle is the preferred method…for the whole family. Then there are the 3-wheeled auto-rickshaws, the buses, the taxis, the stray dogs…

Add to this the fact that lane markings are really just a suggestion, as is the solid yellow line separating traffic travelling in the opposite direction.

Oh, and did I mention that being a former British colony, they drive to the left side of the road (driver sits on right side of car)….so if you want to pass the car in front, and can’t pass on the left, just cross over that solid yellow line and into oncoming traffic and pass on the right. Be sure to flash your lights, just in case that oncoming car hasn’t noticed you!

TODAY I actually saw 2 guys riding camels down the street, sorry, no pictures (damn it, the ONE day I forgot my camera); previously saw an elephant crossing the street – but that doesn’t “count” because it was on the outskirts, and again had camera, but couldn’t get it out in time…. This is unusual in the part of the city where I live, since the Commonwealth games, the central part of Delhi has been pretty cleaned up, you really don’t see cows (or camels, or elephants) on the streets like you do on the outskirts of town, nor do you see ox-carts, though I have had people tell me that it was not long ago that these were common  in the city.

There is a sample of my daily commute on youtube; actually culled over a 4 to 5 day period (Thanks to Charles Dill at Neptune Beach Media for making something out of nothing) can’t get the video to embed here, so check out the video on youtube. note the constant horn honking.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LrotiQrg4G4

RULES FOR DRIVING IN DELHI

1. If the vehicle in front of you isn’t going fast enough, HONK YOUR HORN

2. If you want to pass the vehicle in front of you, HONK YOUR HORN

3.  If you are passing someone, HONK YOUR HORN

4. Once you have passed someone, if you want to get back in front of them, HONK YOUR HORN

5. If you want to change lanes, and the other cars won’t let you, HONK YOUR HORN

6. Just start moving slowly into the lane you want to be in, whether the other cars let you or not, but remember to HONK YOUR HORN

7. If someone changes lanes in front of you HONK YOUR HORN

8. If the person in front of you has slowed down or stopped to make a turn, and has indicated so using a turn signal, HONK YOUR HORN just to show your displeasure with this inconvenience.

9. If you are turning, slow down, use your turn signal, and HONK YOUR HORN

10. In all other instances and cases not covered above, it is generally recommended that the best course of action, in any situation, is to HONK YOUR HORN

NO, I won’t be driving while I am here. So the task has been contracted by my employer to a nice company called Saini Tours, that has about a dozen drivers on staff. I have had more than half of them: Hari, Amrik, Bhardwaz,  Multan, Sanjay, Delip, Deepak,  Rajul, and “mumble-mumble” (name I could not understand).  All of them have been very polite to me, and remain relatively calm while driving…though some  are more aggressive than others, some drive a little slower and more conservatively. Only once in over 2 months have I heard one of them raise their voice and yell at another driver (and it was justified when it happened).

But they do honk their horns. ALOT.

Addendum to Clean and dripping

so, for starters, apologies to those who think any reference to bodily functions – even if obliquely – is “TMI”….just skip the last part of the post, ok?

I haven’t posted in awhile because I have just come off a 21 day stint of working, with only one day off during that time (and I had to work for 2 hours on that day).

Part of the work was travelling to Mumbai (aka Bombay) the last 2 weeks to treat VERY, VERY IMPORTANT PEOPLE. I would love to drop names but they would be meaningless to all my American and Canadian and European friends, and it would be a violation of patient confidentiality, since some of my Indian patients have found my blog (one of them stopped me in the clinic to tell me how much she enjoyed my writing). So let’s just say that I am treating some big name Bollywood stars, and some BIG national athletes. as well as billionaire industrialists.

BUT, I digress.

So, I went to Bombay and went out to eat in a nice restaurant, and got THE WORST case of food poisoning I have EVER had (yes I have had several). Without too much graphic detail, I was REALLY, REALLY miserable for about 4 hours. and came to appreciate VERY MUCH the little spray nozzle thingie previously discussed (in “clean and dripping”) – which my friend Greg Wallis referred to as a “bum washer”.

AND THAT, as Forrest Gump would say, is all I am going to say about that.

It took about 3 days, but I am perfectly fine now.

(Let’s not) Talk About the Weather

About 2 weeks ago, the weather started to turn cooler over night, so that there was a little nip in the air in the morning. Still in the mid to high 80’s (Fahrenheit) during the day, but cool enough overnight that there is dew on the grass in the morning, and on a few mornings recently there was fog, but it “burned off” (as they say in the SF Bay area, where I once lived) to bright blue skies.

Then last week the “fog” looked pretty thick, and it didn’t “burn off’, and my eyes were watering, and my sinuses were burning. I looked at the weather on the internet because I was going out for the whole day, into the evening and wondered how cool it would be. The weather for last Thursday was “SMOKE”.

Not “HAZY”

Not “CLOUDY” or “PARTLY CLOUDY”…..SMOKE!

It lasted for 5 days. Several patients commented on how “it gets foggy this time of year due to the cooler weather”. I apparently was the only person who noticed that the Emperor was not wearing clothes.

In the front garden at building we use for temporary clinic, 3:45 PM (no filters were used to take this photo looking directly at the sun).

Finally, at work one day, I walked into the front office at 4:00 in the afternoon, gestured out the window and tried not to sound disgusted as I exclaimed “Just how long does this usually last?”.

Himani (front office/reception girl) “What”

Me: “this air pollution”

Niharika (other front office/reception girl): “oh this is just fog, it happens because it is cooler this time of year” [remember, it was 4:00 PM and it was about 85 at the time]

Me: “no, it’s air pollution”

Himani: “How do you know?”

Me: “Can’t you smell it? My eyes are burning and watering, and my sinuses are burning”

Himani: “Oh, yeah…you know I was just saying (to Niharika) that something smelled like horse shit around here and I was wondering what it was”

Me: “that would be the air you are breathing”

Niharika: “yes, now that you mention it, my eyes are burning”

Funny how people can convince themselves of anything. I never did get an answer about how long it would last, but it was actually relatively clear for the past 2 days.

you say Diwali, I say Divali, let’s call the whole thing Deepavali

Divali was wed 26.oct. One of the more important holidays in India, marked by cleaning the entire house, then decorating with Rangoli on the floor of entry ways and courtyards. These are meant as “welcome mats” for the deities, and are made with colored powder, sand, paint, flower petals. The designs are traditional and vary from region to region. jevene summers jevene summers jevene summers jevene summers jevene summers jevene summers

The other major part of Divali is hanging decorative lights (like Christmas lights) outside the house, and rows of oil burning lamps along walkways outside the house as well as interior hallways….Divali is a contraction of Deepavalli, “meaning row of lamps”. here, paper lanterns hung in a tree (the night shot didn’t turn out so well).

In many ways, this holiday is India’s Christmas. The holiday is celebrated by Hindus, Sikhs and Jains. has different significance for each, but basically is the celebration of the triumph of good over evil, and the bestowing of the seven wealths by the goddess Lakshmi (health, compassion, wisdom…I don’t remember all)…The “good over evil” is also “light over dark” so LIGHTS are a big part of this holiday. The giving of oil lamps is traditional gift, as well as SWEETS!…again the parallel to Christmas, people typically give Indian and western style candy, pastries and cookies, dried fruits, and nuts…but as India has pulled itself out of “third world” status into developing, and with the rise of the middle class, Divali seems in recent years to be about BUYING STUFF, and giving it to other people…the newspaper adverts (for jewelery, TV’s, stereos, iPads, clothing…you name it)  and decorations in stores are reminiscent of Christmas (a bit unsettling to me…to see the commercialization).

Divali is actually a 5 day long celebration, beginning with Dhanteras, ( 2 days before actual Divali). On Dhanteras Hindus consider it auspicious to purchase gold or silver articles or at least one or two new utensils. It is believed that new “Dhan” or some form of precious metal is a sign of good luck. The lighting of lanterns begins on Dhanteras, and continues each day until the eve of actual Divali.  The actual day of Divali is the day of worship of Lakshmi. Most people say prayers with their family and follow certain rituals in their home. I was invited to a puja at someone’s home that had several parts, and went on for 2 hours; there was almost continuous chanting of MANY chants during that time, blessing of water, honey and milk that were used in the ceremony; ritually laying things on the altar, including throwing handfuls of rose petals at the Shiva linga. This was the altar at the end of the puja

under the pile of rose petals is the Shiva linga, a bronze cobra is wrapped around its base, and the cobra’s head comes up over the top of the linga…that is what is holding up the garland of marigolds.

A real charmer

The date was sunday 4.september, location Pandara Road Market. This guy was sitting on the ground in a public plaza, not heavily travelled by tourists, just hangin’, not many people around…when he saw us, he motioned me over uncovered one basket, with the cobra, and started to play. Just before I started to video, he kept patting the ground next to him, trying to get me to come and sit there…I demured. I love the long held single note…kind of an audio “UHHHH, hold on  juuust a minute…”

Mehndi, Mehendi, Henna Tattoo

The tradition of decoration of hands, arms and feet (and sometimes legs) of women in India is ancient; by some accounts it occurs in Vedic texts. (in the neighborhood of 1000 BCE). Many in the west think  of it as the “peel and stick” temporary tattoos that have become popular in the west for purely decorative purposes. Some people know that it is traditionally used to decorate the bride before a wedding, but it is also used throughout the year for other significant holidays and rituals, such as Karva Chauth, and almost always has a spiritual meaning or purpose. I was invited to the Jain home recently to join in a “mehndi party” in advance of Diwali.

[side note: This coming Wednesday, 26.october.2011 on the Gregorian calendar is the beginning of Diwali, Divali or Deepavali, one of the most important holidays in the Hindu calendar (a lunar calendar). The holiday is actually 5 days long, with each day having a different name and significance.]

GUIDELINES IN PREPARATION FOR MEHNDI:

1. The whole process takes quite a bit of time, so it is best to have the company of friends, because there isn’t much you can do once the henna paste is applied to your hands, except sit around and chat, listen to music, watch TV etc…nothing using your hands for several hours

2. eat first, or have someone ready to feed you.

3. go to bathroom first (or have a REALLY good friend ready to help you!)

4. don’t have nice clothes on

5. if you want something to drink, have straws ready.

6. If you wear contacts that you cannot sleep in, take them out first (I learned this the hard way!)

The henna paste comes pre-mixed in little pastry-cone type applicator with very fine tips, the artists do it all freestyle, no pre-planned designs. I was last to get it applied, and it was obvious that they were tired and ready to be dome (5 other women before me), so my hands weren’t as delicately and intricately done as the others, but nevermind, still beautiful). First arms are scrubbed, dried, oil is applied, then the henna…then wait til it dries, then apply lemon juice mixed with sugar. When the lemon juice is dry, a trip to the kitchen, hold the involved body part over a pan on the stove that is filled with cloves, that have been heated until they smoke, ‘smoke’ your hands and arms well…not sure if this is done with feet. Now, you are ready for bed: wrap in paper or plastic, and go to bed. wash it all off in the morning. VIOLA!

second step, henna application (note how shiny my arm is from the oil):

Charles King feeding Erin King as her mehndi dries

end product, next day at work

Banking, Time and Salt

I can’t get my bank account opened here because my signature doesn’t look like the signature on my passport. REALLY. I have just signed my name 15 times in front of a bank representative, and there are MINOR differences…so they won’t accept it. the harder I tried to get it to look like my passport, the more fake it looked. I “effing” sign my name a dozen times a day (on chart notes), ain’t no one else’s writing look like mine, but it NEVER looks identically the same. jevene summers jevene summers jevene summers jevene summers

It might seem a derogatory phrase, except thatI first heard it from several Indian people referring to “Indian stretch time” as a way to describe the interesting relationship that Indians have with time…hence I found this sign amusing…and wondered what the Hindi said.

This is how the salt and pepper are stored and served. It is monsoon season, and so humid (hovering in the 85 to 90% range) that the salt just turned itself into soup…note how shiny/glistening it is compared to the other 2.