One month in India

One month in India. I honestly do not know how to fully express the experience. Watching a day in India go by is like witnessing the full circle of life. The entire human experience rolls past within the short period of twenty-four hours. Life, death, abundance, poverty, education, ignorance, warmth, cold, sickness, and health are all in front of your eyes in overwhelming abundance. It is amazing to ponder that India contains, without doubt, some of the oldest, continuous human traditions. In India history is not a dead thing of the past, devoted solely to textbooks, lectures, and cinema screens. It is as living as the seemingly endless mass, and diversity, of people that call India home.

I must say that I love buying fresh produce from the markets. I know this is a simple thing, but honestly it is so much fun. There is something really satisfying about purchasing fresh produce from a guy sitting in a corrugated tin hut who determines his prices with weights and measures. I guess I enjoy the simple things of life here the most. Like knowing how to speak to an auto rickshaw driver, and finding my way through Delhi.

Speaking of markets. There are established markets with stores, and shops. Then there are the sprawling markets that come up and disappear within a day. They are honestly just stands, metal frameworks, carts, tables, and mats on the side of the road, but they are covered with the widest array of spices, nuts, vegetables, clothes, metal work, and trinkets. From every direction come shouts and cries of men trying to attract customers to their wares. Dogs, and motorcycles flirt between the oscillating throng of foot traffic. Then just as suddenly as they appear they are gone. Leaving nothing but quiet slum neighborhoods behind.

If you are ever in Delhi, make sure to visit Chandni Chowk. It is in the old city near the Red Fort and Jama Masjid. Both of which are worthwhile stops. Chandni Chowk is so far the best old-fashioned bazaar I have ever seen. You can find just about anything there. We stopped by on our first weekend excursion in Delhi. We tried visiting the Red Fort, which is gigantic fort built by one of the Mughal Emperors out of red stone, but it was closed that day. We for sure are going to head back. Jama Masjid is the largest mosque in Delhi and is really impressive. It cost 100 rupees to climb one of the south minarets but it was worth it.

My favorite so far has been the Gandhi memorial. From what I understanding it is the resting place of some of Gandhi’s ashes. Muhatma Gandhi is one of my heroes. It was actually a pretty moving, maybe even spiritual, experience for me.

However, my favorite sight so far been the sole elephant I saw through a car window. It was late at night and it suddenly materialized out of the darkness. It and its driver were plodding along next to the highway on their way to Delhi. Camel-drawn carts are my second favorite.

What can be said of the poverty here? It is unavoidable. It is of course not all that India is, but it is ever present. Having a child run up and hug your leg and beg for food is a deeply disturbing, and awakening, experience.

I try to reconcile having to turn away people who ask for money by trying to devote myself to work. The Maitri staff are a fantastically warm and welcoming group of people. They have been extremely helpful and patient with me, as I have bombarded them with questions. Brooke and I have been working on a training module on domestic violence, a literature review for Winne ma’am, data analysis on one of the last surveys, and a report on Maitri’s last conference on domestic violence. The conference was just last week and I feel it was really successful. There was a wide range of guests and speakers. Of special mention are those from the Military. From what I understanding this was the first time Maitri has been able to have Military personnel participate to such an extent so it was a big deal that they came. The speakers addressed topics including the physical and mental health implications of domestic violence, public health responses, legal framework, military and police responses to domestic violence within their ranks, and the neurological context of domestic violence.

Brooke mentioned some of our other adventures, like when we went to Vridavan, and covered them pretty well. We have some more planned that we will blog about later. All in all, life is good.