Pyrotechnic Fun (Diwali in Bangalore)

Two weeks ago I went to Bangalore to celebrate Diwali with Angela, a friend from Pondicherry University and hang out with Pema, a friend from Thimphu, Bhutan. The whole weekend was awesome, and Diwali was amazing. We lit fireworks on Angie's roof while watching a 360-degree show of fireworks, both in the air and on the streets. Photos and videos can express this spectacle better than my words:

special fireworks booth set up for Diwali in Angela's neighborhood

fireworks on the street and in the air, viewed from Angela's roof


Angela and I play with sparklers

Angela lighting "flowerpot" fireworks

[video unable to upload]

360-view of fireworks (note: this video does not do the scene justice! unfortunately I was not videotaping during the best parts)


(I will add more pictures to my Picasa page soon.)

And of course we ate lots and lots of sweets, which is what one does on Diwali.

The day after Diwali I hung out with Pema, who is studying and working in Bangalore. He works at a call center overnight and gets home from work at 5am. Painful. We went to Lal Bagh, a big park with botanical gardens, and hung out in a giant tree (Pema said it was the biggest tree he'd ever seen, if you discount banyan trees):

super awkward sitting-in-a-tree picture. I almost want to submit this awkwardness to awkwardfamilyphotos.com, even though we aren't family. I swear our day wasn't as awkward as this picture may suggest.

Tomorrow morning I'm going to Kullu and Manali in the Himalayas for the long weekend (we have Monday off for the birthday of Guru Nanak, the founder of Sikhism). I am psyched for hiking, mountain vistas, cold temperatures (-5 degrees C at night) and, most importantly, CLEAN AIR!!

...I'm only getting more and more behind on my blog.

Oh, and I must end this post with the greatest picture of all:

the best masala dosa in all of India, in Hotel Janatha in Malleshwaram

"You look like shit today."

"You look like shit today."

"Wow, you look awful!"

"Why do you look dead?"

These were actual comments I got at work today. The only difference between today and all other days was that I wore my hair down, because it was finally cool enough to do so. Will told me my hair looked "unkempt," but really I had just let it air-dry and it looked the same as it always does when it's down. I guess Indians aren't used to seeing a little frizz?

The comments stopped when I put my hair up in a ponytail.

This is the opposite of what happens back in the US, where everyone encourages me to let my hair down!

I fail at updating my blog.

But I promise to update soon. Three posts you can look forward to, eventually:

- Diwali in Bangalore
- the details of my new Kerala project
- weekend in Agra (Taj Mahal) and Pushkar (camel fair)

...not necessarily in that order. Though that is chronological.

(This post also serves as a reminder to myself to actually write about these things.)

emilyindelhiandtrivandrum

Solution to the problem in the last post: I am going to split my time between Delhi and Trivandrum. I will go down to Kerala a lot and stay for significant periods of time, but I will keep returning to Delhi. I'm hoping my schedule will be like one month in Delhi, one month in Kerala, one month in Delhi, one month in Kerala, etc. but I do not know yet. So I am officially moving part-time to Trivandrum! More information to come soon.

And don't worry, I'm not actually going to change the URL of this blog. That name is just too long to type. (Actually, if I were to use Trivandrum's full name, it would be even longer: emilyindelhiandthiruvananthapuram)

emilyintrivandrum?

I was intending to use this time to write about my amazing weekend in Bangalore, but something insane happened today. So you'll just have to wait to hear about my pyrotechnic adventures (gotta love Diwali!).

To give some background first: I'm not happy with my current project and in my current "area," to use TERI lingo (basically my department), so I've been talking to other areas about their projects. Today I met with the "Area Convener" (department head) of another area, because he said he had a great project for me. A new project is starting up that requires a ton of time doing field work in villages, and he said that, as the only person interested in social issues with a technical background, I would be able to play a major role and contribute a lot of meaningful work (unlike now; I'm pretty much an editing bitch in my current department. I understand the need for editing and wouldn't have a problem with it if they actually gave me other work to do too!).

The catch? I would have to relocate to Trivandrum, Kerala. For the entire year. Moving in two or three weeks. (Trivandrum is at the southern tip of India. Check a map here.)

I actually like Delhi now. I feel settled. I have a routine, a great apartment, and a small group of friends. Plus you can't beat Delhi's location for easy weekend trips; a huge variety of amazing locations are just a train or bus ride away. And, maybe this seems like an odd thing to say, but my favorite thing about Delhi is that I can practice Hindi. I really love learning Hindi. Unfortunately, Malayalam (the language of Kerala) is notoriously the most difficult language to learn in India, if not one of the toughest in the entire world. Let's just say that even Angela, who speaks more languages than any other person I know, including three Dravidian languages (Malayalam is Dravidian as well), thinks Malayam is difficult!! Even with a tutor I would not be able to pick up much. The Indian colleagues who would join me in Kerala (2 from the Delhi office and 2 from the Bangalore office) aren't even going to try.

So I don't know what to do. I don't want to leave Delhi, but I hate work right now and this opportunity seems really great. I'm going to ask if it would be possible to split up my time between Delhi and Kerala. But if it's not, I really don't know what I'm going to do...

(I am fully aware I did not describe the project to you. It kinda requires a long explanation and I was lazy. If I decide to work on this project, I will tell you more about it.)

FAQ

People keep asking me the same questions, so now I'm going to answer them.

How is work?
Let's just say there is a reason I haven't discussed work on my blog: some of my coworkers have discovered it. I have been unhappy with the project I'm assigned to for a variety of reasons I really shouldn't post online. However, I had a good meeting with my boss today and I think things are going to improve. When they do, I'll blog about work.

How is your roommate?
Sam (short for Samantha) is awesome. She's from Berkeley, graduated Princeton in 2008 and spent this past year getting a masters in War Studies at King's College in London. She studied insurgencies and terrorism (yup, she's pretty badass). She is in Delhi to work for the Center for Policy Research and is looking at Lashkar-e-Taiba, the Pakistani terrorist group that carried out the attacks on Mumbai last November. Her father is Mexican, mom Jewish. It's pretty funny that we're both Jewish, and we hope to host some Friday night Shabbos dinners. Someone should send us matzah ball mix! And she is ridiculously tall: 5'10" (we look pretty silly standing next to each other). Is that enough information for you?

We get along really great, or at least I think so. She has never been to India before, and I have been really impressed with how well she's handled the culture shock (much better than I did my first time, for sure). I love that she is super open to learning everything she can about India, even though she came here knowing relatively little (or so she claims). I think we're going to have a fun time living together!

Is your Hindi improving?
My auto Hindi is pretty good. I can bargain completely in Hindi with an autowallah. However, that is about the only Hindi I get to practice and otherwise it hasn't improved much. Yesterday, I started Hindi lessons. I now have two-hour lessons three times a week (twice at 7am before work, which means waking up at 6! but I think it's worth it).

What is your daily routine?
8:00am: Alarm goes off. Hit snooze.
8:05am: Hit snooze.
8:10am: Hit snooze.
8:15am: Drag myself out of bed. Take a shower and get ready for work.
9:10am: Get an auto. My regular autowallah disappeared, but there is still a minimal exchange of words. Katrina, another American who works at TERI and lives in Jangpura, often shares the auto with me. The autowallahs recognize us.
9:25am: Arrive at work. (The workday starts at 9:30am).
9:28-9:45am: Check email.
9:45am-1:00pm: "Work." Often involves a trip to the first floor (I'm on the second floor) to chat with Will, Anand, or Joel (the Canadian) and gchatting with both American friends and coworkers (everyone is on gchat all the time. It's really bad). Plus some actual work in between.
1:00pm-1:40pm: Lunch time. It's really only supposed to be until 1:30pm, but most people take a little longer. I often go to a place in the market behind the India Habitat Center (IHC, where TERI is located) with Katrina. The dal there is incredible. Or I can order a tiffin to be delivered to TERI and eat with a bunch of coworkers in the office.
1:40pm-5:30pm: "Work." See above.
On some days, at some point during the "work" time, I take a tea break with some of my coworkers, usually Will, Anand, and Jay. But I have yet to actually drink tea because I keep forgetting to bring a mug to work. So I just hang out or bring my water bottle and get made fun of for not drinking tea.
5:37pm: Leave building. Go to the street to get an auto. This can take anywhere from 2 to 45 minutes. I'm usually home by 6:30pm.

My nights vary a lot. I spend some parked in front of the TV watching Friends, going out with Sareeta, on Skype, or going to a cultural event (Ramlila during Navratri, for example, or to a show, such as classical Indian music, at the IHC). But I probably spend most nights at home. I like to do absolutely nothing after work.

What do you eat? Do you cook?
Unfortunately, no, I still don't cook. But I really want to learn! I have been eating a lot of bread and peanut butter, crackers and cheese, and cereal. Some nights I order Indian food to be delivered, because almost every restaurant will deliver to your door free of charge. I bought dosa batter and hope to cook masala dosa one day soon.

Is the pollution really that bad?
Yes. Delhi is dirty--pollution and dust to the extreme. I often find it difficult to breathe, and I can feel that my skin is coated in a layer of grime. My face has turned into a strawberry with ginormous blackheads, and I often break out into coughing fits. My mom sent me a carbon-filter mask for pollution, and I wear that in an auto (as I think I mentioned in a previous post, when you are sitting in traffic the open sides provide zero protection against the pollution). I think it helps a little bit, but unclear how useful it really is.

What about the poverty? Is it totally in your face?
Yes and no. The poverty doesn't feel as in-my-face as in other places in India. But there are beggars everywhere. With malnourished, possibly-dying babies or purposely-mutilated children. Coming up to my auto and sticking their hands into the vehicle. The most difficult part of my day is taking the auto home from work and concentrating on the back of the autowallah’s head so as not to turn around to acknowledge the beggar—because it’s too painful to look at their emaciated bodies, unwashed hair, dirty clothes, and worst of all, sick babies. It really pains me to know I’m forcing myself to become immune to them and their suffering, like I did my first time in India. It makes me feel so inhuman. But I don’t think I could go on living my life in India without going insane if I dwelled on it. Do I ever give them money? No, because what you saw in Slumdog Millionaire is often true: many beggars give their money to gangs, and that would only perpetuate the problem. If you want to help, give your money to an appropriate NGO instead. One time I did give a woman with a malnourished baby a bottle of water, and another time I gave a granola bar. I think giving food is ok, but I do not give money. But more often than not I try my hardest to ignore them (or at least act as if I’m ignoring them so they go away). Honestly, though, I don't think the poverty is as bad in South Delhi as in other parts of Delhi (South Delhi is mostly a very nice area), or as bad in Delhi as in other parts of India.

Any traveling?
I went to Orchha and Gwalior for Gandhi's birthday weekend (see previous posts). I'm heading to Bangalore this weekend to celebrate Diwali with Angela and hang out with Pema, a friend from Bhutan. Next weekend I'm taking PiA is paying for me to take their first gap-year student (between high school and college) to Agra (can you say free trip to the Taj?). The following weekend I have Monday off for Guru Nanak's birthday, so I'm trying to go somewhere in the Himalayas for the three-day weekend. After that, I have no concrete plans. At some point I will visit Prashanth in the village he's working in (he works for an NGO in a village near Indore, Madhya Pradesh) and meet up with Angela again, this time in her original hometown of Hyderabad. In December or January I might go to Chennai for the annual music/dance festival and to meet up with some Pondy Uni friends. So, even though I have zero vacation time for the first six months, I am managing to fill up some weekends with travel.

Can I visit?
YES!! Please do! (Ok, I made up this FAQ. No one has asked me that. But you really should!)

I hope I have answered all the questions. Keep 'em coming!

Gwalior

Ok, this is going to be a short post because I'm feeling lazy and there isn't that much to say. I went to a fort and walked around Old Town. The fort was cool because it was on a big rocky hill above the town, so there are great views of the entire town from the fort. And, since it was above the town, I could breathe (almost) fresh air up there!! On the walk up to the fort, you pass some interesting Jain carvings. The palace inside the fort has yellow rubber duckies painted on the side, so that was pretty funny. Most of the buildings have a spooky abandoned-warehouse feel. There were even bats! A lot of local Gwalior residents utilize the fort as a park. I talked to a few high school students who say they go up there every weekend to hang out and climb all over the abandoned buildings.

Though there wasn't much to see in Old Town, I enjoyed walking around. For some reason it reminded me of all the reasons I love India, so that made me really happy.

If you want to see pictures of Gwalior, go to my Picasa page: http://picasaweb.google.com/egorbaty/Gwalior#