With the rain gods threatening not to come and to come they keep the people guessing. In the entire North of India the rains have failed causing drought. At the same time in some parts of Bengal and in neighbouring Bangaladesh people have nowhere to go because of the rains. While this is becoming more common there is one particular people who are particularly of major concern.
They live in thin plastic sheets which are supported by plastic boughs that form an arch. This is the entrance to their house. if you are 5 feet tall, beware you cant stand erect in your own house, your head is sure to hit the roof. The flooring is a plastic sheet laid over earth. Remember it is red earth. When the wind blows all those who sit outside the house will turn red. In fact almost all of them remain red. The hair especially is noteworthy. They have all be converted into red heads with little cosmetic efforts.
On the plastic sheet that forms a door outside their house is a small flap. it holds tooth brushes, tooth paste and other accessories. Since it is also exposed, it turns red.
All these days the sun was blazing hot and winds were blowing dry. Suddenly the rumbling skies brought out the much feared rains. They hoped against their hope that they would go back home before this moment. but they remain here.
The red soil turns to clay, houses become under passes for water. it is impossible to stay at home, it is impossible to step outside. So where to they go? Simple, go in search of shelter. The shelters are schools which are already full. it is difficult to find a toe space.
The nightmare comes when people have to go to the toilet. Usually they used the toilets inside the camps, since they are not enough they go to the OAT. (Open air toilets). With the rains, they just cant go out, even if they manage to go it is difficult to find a space to set foot. The place is so bad that even the OAT is flooded.
The food situation is worse. The community kitchens are also being flooded. It is difficult to get a fire going. Desperate attempts are made to continue with the cooking to feed atleast 2000 people from single kitchen. People are tired.
They knew that the rains would be the deadliest to handle. They hope that their woes will drain away with the water. What they feared most is here and they know that this too shall pass!
Monday, August 17, 2009
Monday, August 10, 2009
Systems
Systems
I am actually angry with the systems and the way they operate. I mean the entire operation systems. Don’t mistake me for mac or window. The way things are organized in this country. Well the country may be too large, so let me just be upset with the city. I am so angry because it has been set up to deal with a small population. For example if come to the Park station on any morning between 5:30 -6:30 am. You will witness a long queue that is waiting to buy a ticket to the local train. There are only two counters and people are fighting their way to get the ticket. Someone came with a brilliant idea of a ticket vending machine. They have installed two vending machines outside the ticket counter. Most of the time you want to buy the ticket you will find that only one machine works. It boldly reads, Contact the ticket counter.
Wherever you go the situation of public toilets is dismal. You can see people standing in long queues to do their job. Leave alone the street toilets. In the Chennai international airport, as you are waiting for your flight you can easily locate the toilet. Not with the signs but with the smell. Just follow your nose and you will get there.
The men’s urinals stink so much as if they have not been cleaned for years. Out of the four taps only three will work. There is no need to talk about the cleanliness of the place. Once I called on the authorities to ask them reasons for the sorry state of affairs. He simply said, “what to do sir, just too many people come and go so that is how we can keep it.”
I have seen much busier airports in the world which handle atleast five times the air traffic yet they remain spotlessly clean. Wonder how much effort goes into cleaning them before blaming the population. Well be it the street corner toilet or the ones in airport they are just not enough for the population that is using it. They are clearly made for small numbers of people despite the fact that there is enough awareness about the number of users.
Why stop with the toilets. Look the buses outside Loyola College from 7:55 – 9:30 am. You will see passengers seeping out of the windows. The bus is moving at 30kmph tilting to one side. It appears as though the students are practicing their hanging skills on the foot board. Not understanding the dangers they try they gymnastics on the bus.
One such hanger said, “I travel all the way from ambattur. I was waiting for a bus for about an hour, but no luck. When the bus finally came it was so crowded that I could not set a foot on it. I could barely find place for my toe. I placed my toe on the foot board, passed my books to the person seated in the last seat and decided to hang my way to college.”
After waiting for hours, you can be sure that not one but two busses will come to the same spot competing against each other. It is no surprise that they too get full.
I will continue with more soon.
I am actually angry with the systems and the way they operate. I mean the entire operation systems. Don’t mistake me for mac or window. The way things are organized in this country. Well the country may be too large, so let me just be upset with the city. I am so angry because it has been set up to deal with a small population. For example if come to the Park station on any morning between 5:30 -6:30 am. You will witness a long queue that is waiting to buy a ticket to the local train. There are only two counters and people are fighting their way to get the ticket. Someone came with a brilliant idea of a ticket vending machine. They have installed two vending machines outside the ticket counter. Most of the time you want to buy the ticket you will find that only one machine works. It boldly reads, Contact the ticket counter.
Wherever you go the situation of public toilets is dismal. You can see people standing in long queues to do their job. Leave alone the street toilets. In the Chennai international airport, as you are waiting for your flight you can easily locate the toilet. Not with the signs but with the smell. Just follow your nose and you will get there.
The men’s urinals stink so much as if they have not been cleaned for years. Out of the four taps only three will work. There is no need to talk about the cleanliness of the place. Once I called on the authorities to ask them reasons for the sorry state of affairs. He simply said, “what to do sir, just too many people come and go so that is how we can keep it.”
I have seen much busier airports in the world which handle atleast five times the air traffic yet they remain spotlessly clean. Wonder how much effort goes into cleaning them before blaming the population. Well be it the street corner toilet or the ones in airport they are just not enough for the population that is using it. They are clearly made for small numbers of people despite the fact that there is enough awareness about the number of users.
Why stop with the toilets. Look the buses outside Loyola College from 7:55 – 9:30 am. You will see passengers seeping out of the windows. The bus is moving at 30kmph tilting to one side. It appears as though the students are practicing their hanging skills on the foot board. Not understanding the dangers they try they gymnastics on the bus.
One such hanger said, “I travel all the way from ambattur. I was waiting for a bus for about an hour, but no luck. When the bus finally came it was so crowded that I could not set a foot on it. I could barely find place for my toe. I placed my toe on the foot board, passed my books to the person seated in the last seat and decided to hang my way to college.”
After waiting for hours, you can be sure that not one but two busses will come to the same spot competing against each other. It is no surprise that they too get full.
I will continue with more soon.
Monday, August 3, 2009
Day 7
Not wanting to leave any stone unturned, I was up by 6:00 am and went for an early breakfast and tried meet with the organizing committee. I went to the office but it was locked. So I waited for a while and left. By now the bus had arrived. In all we had 90 pieces of luggage. We had to put it all in the belley of the bus.
As I went about organizing the people, they had filled in the belley. My luggage was left outside. They said that there was no more space. They were about to close it. I rushed and used my packing skills, reorganized the whole side and got my stuff in with more space for three more suitcases and slammed the door.
We set off for this epic trip. Imagine four people with 27 Bengalis. Just close your eyes and think of you traveling in a cart filled with bottled that cluttered all the time. Now imagine if all the bottles came alive and were trying to win an argument. We are not finished yet, now think how it would be if those bottles were divided into four groups and you were sandwiched in between.
When two of them spoke they picked up three arguments. Believe me they were all highly educated people. Most of them very senior, who held high positions. They were fighting for seats inside a bus, putting a luggage was a problem and traveling was also a problem.
All this settled in a while. We were smooth on the road. Now they started to sing those wonderful Bengali songs. They had trained voices and they sang the whole song. It was now beginning to be fun. I also sang a couple of party songs that set them dancing.
One very important thing had to be decided. What kind of food did we want? Veg or non veg! Some said veg only, some said non veg without beef or pork. Some said Halal. Wow, as I said earlier, there were three people having five fights. They finally decided on veg for all. I was a bit annoyed but decided to go by the group’s sentiments.
We went to the restaurant as soon as we reached Shilling. The woman who I hated most put two of her bags in three seats and had booked them. I had to say, Oh my, even here they were stuck up to places. Once the food was served we had a good spread of vegetables, all boiled or sautéed. Now she went, Chicken Nahi, bol dhiya Kya!! (haven’t you ordered chicken). I said to myself, Hey just shut up and eat. You have been hogging a lot of great food the whole week, now why do you want chicken. Just eat quick and get on the bus. We came here to see the stone forest and not to keep eating.
After much persuasion I got them all into the bus in one piece. We set off into the stone forest. Before getting in we had to hire a battery operated car. It would cost 200 yuan for 10 people. This is what we were told. Once we got there we saw the carts, they were all 14 or 13 seaters. As soon as it came by, our Bengali brothers and sisters jumped into it without any hesitation. Now the 4 non Bengalis were left to wait. No cart would take us. So we decided to walk.
The Stone Forest was fantastic. It reminded me of a national park we had been to in the US. Tall rocks cut by water millions of years ago. I used my geological memory to reason out what could have caused this. I figured out that erosion along with water that had drained gave the rock such magnificent shapes.
The rocks were cut so sharp, they stood atop needle tops defying gravity. Miles and miles of sedimentary rocks, limestone that had been smoothened by human touch. On the crevices that we walked we touched the rock and it felt like marble silk. Human touch could even turn rock into a smooth place.
There were spectacular views. I wanted to capture every bit of it but I had a tiny camera that could not do much. I had borrowed the camera from a student the previous evening. It really meant a lot to me. That she trusted me and gave it. But because of the debacle in accommodation, she showed up the next morining and asked for the camera. She said that she was going home and needed it. Without speaking a word I just returned it.
Just before boarding the bus she asked me what time I would be back. I said at 6:00. I said that I would be back to meet all the volunteers to bid farewell. She was excited and said take the camera. Give to me in the evening. Wow, it was relief.
With that camera I kept clicking away.
Sunita and I walked around the whole park, relaxed, admiring the beauty of the forest and sharing our stories of the National parks we had visited. On our way back we caught up with the battery carts. They asked us to get in but we preferred to walk. We were asked to get back in a hurry. We were then taken to a local market and given about 45 minutes to shop. I was cursing Dr Manick. I said we paid so much money not to come and shop we could have seen much more of the park. But my friends were convinced of the shopping. They said that they would have liked more time to shop. With little choice, I forced all of them into the bus.
On our way back we visited a carpet factory. They had made the most exquisite carpets and embroidery I have ever seen. Picture perfect embroidery and great carpet work. They showed a 1 foot by 1 foot carpet that looked like the Persian carpet, it cost 35,000 Yuan, just multiply it by 7 to get the prices in rupees.
Our next stop was the tea making place. This place made green tea. A woman would come and make tea for us to taste. After which we were expected to buy. Knowing us indians the made tea and just left the place. While my friends waited to be served, I figured out that we should just take it and drink it. So we did. We drank about 4-5 cups of the best green tea. We thanked them and left.
Now it was time to get off in Kunming. Many of us butterflies in our stomach. We were not sure about accommodation. We had to find a place. But the lady I hate most wanted to be dropped at the hotel. He was so persistent that she took the whole bus there only to be dropped off. So we did.
In the meantime Dr Manick, asked sunita and me to pay 20 yuan for the battery cart that we did not ride on. It was a bit unfair but I did not want to argue about it and just gave it. Gopal a companion said, yeah it hurts you leg when you have to pay for what you have not enjoyed.
Well now we got back. The funny part was that we were all accommodated in the place where I was refused place the previous day. We all had the same room numbers.
We went for a walk, had dinner and got back by 9:30. My volunteer friends were waiting for me. They wanted me to go with them to a karaoke bar. They were planning to spend the whole night. I agreed to go with them. I left my room at about 10:30.
At the bar, they had rented a room. There was a huge tv with a Karaoke console. They played the songs and sang the whole night. I joined in the eating and drinking flower tea. It was loud but good. I was marveled by their singing skills. I managed to stay awake till 2:00 am. I dozed off on the sofa. They went on with their loud songs. I woke up every 20 minutes, smiled at them and went back to sleep. I then woke up at 6:00 am and got back to my room.
After all the lobbying and advocacy for a place to stay that night, I finally stayed out.
Now I am all packed and ready to meet my sweet heart.
As I went about organizing the people, they had filled in the belley. My luggage was left outside. They said that there was no more space. They were about to close it. I rushed and used my packing skills, reorganized the whole side and got my stuff in with more space for three more suitcases and slammed the door.
We set off for this epic trip. Imagine four people with 27 Bengalis. Just close your eyes and think of you traveling in a cart filled with bottled that cluttered all the time. Now imagine if all the bottles came alive and were trying to win an argument. We are not finished yet, now think how it would be if those bottles were divided into four groups and you were sandwiched in between.
When two of them spoke they picked up three arguments. Believe me they were all highly educated people. Most of them very senior, who held high positions. They were fighting for seats inside a bus, putting a luggage was a problem and traveling was also a problem.
All this settled in a while. We were smooth on the road. Now they started to sing those wonderful Bengali songs. They had trained voices and they sang the whole song. It was now beginning to be fun. I also sang a couple of party songs that set them dancing.
One very important thing had to be decided. What kind of food did we want? Veg or non veg! Some said veg only, some said non veg without beef or pork. Some said Halal. Wow, as I said earlier, there were three people having five fights. They finally decided on veg for all. I was a bit annoyed but decided to go by the group’s sentiments.
We went to the restaurant as soon as we reached Shilling. The woman who I hated most put two of her bags in three seats and had booked them. I had to say, Oh my, even here they were stuck up to places. Once the food was served we had a good spread of vegetables, all boiled or sautéed. Now she went, Chicken Nahi, bol dhiya Kya!! (haven’t you ordered chicken). I said to myself, Hey just shut up and eat. You have been hogging a lot of great food the whole week, now why do you want chicken. Just eat quick and get on the bus. We came here to see the stone forest and not to keep eating.
After much persuasion I got them all into the bus in one piece. We set off into the stone forest. Before getting in we had to hire a battery operated car. It would cost 200 yuan for 10 people. This is what we were told. Once we got there we saw the carts, they were all 14 or 13 seaters. As soon as it came by, our Bengali brothers and sisters jumped into it without any hesitation. Now the 4 non Bengalis were left to wait. No cart would take us. So we decided to walk.
The Stone Forest was fantastic. It reminded me of a national park we had been to in the US. Tall rocks cut by water millions of years ago. I used my geological memory to reason out what could have caused this. I figured out that erosion along with water that had drained gave the rock such magnificent shapes.
The rocks were cut so sharp, they stood atop needle tops defying gravity. Miles and miles of sedimentary rocks, limestone that had been smoothened by human touch. On the crevices that we walked we touched the rock and it felt like marble silk. Human touch could even turn rock into a smooth place.
There were spectacular views. I wanted to capture every bit of it but I had a tiny camera that could not do much. I had borrowed the camera from a student the previous evening. It really meant a lot to me. That she trusted me and gave it. But because of the debacle in accommodation, she showed up the next morining and asked for the camera. She said that she was going home and needed it. Without speaking a word I just returned it.
Just before boarding the bus she asked me what time I would be back. I said at 6:00. I said that I would be back to meet all the volunteers to bid farewell. She was excited and said take the camera. Give to me in the evening. Wow, it was relief.
With that camera I kept clicking away.
Sunita and I walked around the whole park, relaxed, admiring the beauty of the forest and sharing our stories of the National parks we had visited. On our way back we caught up with the battery carts. They asked us to get in but we preferred to walk. We were asked to get back in a hurry. We were then taken to a local market and given about 45 minutes to shop. I was cursing Dr Manick. I said we paid so much money not to come and shop we could have seen much more of the park. But my friends were convinced of the shopping. They said that they would have liked more time to shop. With little choice, I forced all of them into the bus.
On our way back we visited a carpet factory. They had made the most exquisite carpets and embroidery I have ever seen. Picture perfect embroidery and great carpet work. They showed a 1 foot by 1 foot carpet that looked like the Persian carpet, it cost 35,000 Yuan, just multiply it by 7 to get the prices in rupees.
Our next stop was the tea making place. This place made green tea. A woman would come and make tea for us to taste. After which we were expected to buy. Knowing us indians the made tea and just left the place. While my friends waited to be served, I figured out that we should just take it and drink it. So we did. We drank about 4-5 cups of the best green tea. We thanked them and left.
Now it was time to get off in Kunming. Many of us butterflies in our stomach. We were not sure about accommodation. We had to find a place. But the lady I hate most wanted to be dropped at the hotel. He was so persistent that she took the whole bus there only to be dropped off. So we did.
In the meantime Dr Manick, asked sunita and me to pay 20 yuan for the battery cart that we did not ride on. It was a bit unfair but I did not want to argue about it and just gave it. Gopal a companion said, yeah it hurts you leg when you have to pay for what you have not enjoyed.
Well now we got back. The funny part was that we were all accommodated in the place where I was refused place the previous day. We all had the same room numbers.
We went for a walk, had dinner and got back by 9:30. My volunteer friends were waiting for me. They wanted me to go with them to a karaoke bar. They were planning to spend the whole night. I agreed to go with them. I left my room at about 10:30.
At the bar, they had rented a room. There was a huge tv with a Karaoke console. They played the songs and sang the whole night. I joined in the eating and drinking flower tea. It was loud but good. I was marveled by their singing skills. I managed to stay awake till 2:00 am. I dozed off on the sofa. They went on with their loud songs. I woke up every 20 minutes, smiled at them and went back to sleep. I then woke up at 6:00 am and got back to my room.
After all the lobbying and advocacy for a place to stay that night, I finally stayed out.
Now I am all packed and ready to meet my sweet heart.
Day 6
Today is the last day of the conference. The curtains will be drawn at 4:00pm. Between the beginning and end of the day a lot has happened. First let me start with the lectures. I was interested in attending two panels. The first panel consisted of the armed conflicts and the second was on micro finance. I wanted to attend both the panels but could mange to attend only one at a time.
Choosing the microfinance panel, a person from bangaladesh was presenting the model of micro finance and education. He was using very familiar terms such as pedagogy, participation, empowerment, realization and so on. It sounded like a lot of old wine in new bottles. I clearly did not learn anything new. The next presentation was about the Secret towers of the Himalayas. It was about many tall towers that were built about 2000 years ago in china. Nobody knew anything about it. So a researcher works on it for 11 years to unravel the mysteries. She was also working on a micro finance model to develop the people who lived in that area.
After the presentation I had run out of patience and hence decided to move out of the room. I went straight to the next floor to find what was happening with the session on conflicts. A volunteer was sitting alone with a computer. She was very happy to see me. Perhaps I was the only person to visit her. She said that the people who had planned the session had not shown up.
My next stop was the documentary corner, I went to see if there were any exciting films playing. All I could find was documentary on a particular Chinese culture. I would have sat through it fully but I decided against it because half the film was already over.
Wanting to explore the city, I came to the arena where the buses were ready to depart for the tour of the museum. I got hold of my Sinhalese friend and got into the bus. We decided to go to the Daichi Lake. It was supposed to be very beautiful and serene. Well that is where we decided to go but when we asked around people could not tell where it was. So we just walked. We saw a very touristy place where many people were entering. So we decided to enter. We were a bit lost in the beginning. A man came by showed us his badge, one very similar to what we were wearing and signaled to follow him. We had no clue. The only thing we knew was that he had a badge. We followed him. He was quite fast in speaking Chinese, I could not make sense of what he was saying. The only thing I understood was that he was Yi. He pointed a book on ethnic minorities and said that he was Yi.
We cruised passed all the villages. It was a huge park. Every ethnic minority had its own place. All the little village models were tourist traps. They showcased their culture and also wanted us to take a part of their culture with us in the forms of some articles that they sold. There were women and men dressed in their traditional costumes and would dress us up in that as well, so that we could take a few pictures and go home to tell our people we had met the real minorities.
Having less than one hour at hand we really had to hurry. It was a 500 acre park. We could hardly get a few glimpses. But we did what best we could do and hurried back to the bus. The man was taking us all along. He suddenly jumped into a battery cart thinking that it was too late. He was also ready to pay for us. But I insisted that we could walk and cover the entire distance and so we did.
We got back just in time for the bus.
Getting back to the university we were ready to get some lunch. There were no surprises. Braised pork, Braised chicken, diced pork/beef, a whole lot of veggies, dry fish dry fried, winter melon soup, corn porridge, rice porridge, rice noodles, wheat noodles, fried noodles, fried rice with beef, fried rice with egg, plain rice, sweet chicken with cashews, and many more dishes were on the menu. I took my usual serving of wheat noodles with braised pork and a dash of rib and yam soup.
Once lunch was over, I got my dorm to change and meet up with a bunch of students. Going in there was an announcement that read, All participants should vacate their rooms ob 1/8/09 before 12:00 noon. This came as a shock to me. I had enquired about the accommodation about 3 times. They has said that we could stay back till the 2nd of August. There was panic among the participants. I decided to go meet the organizers. Things here work a bit differently, the organizers had closed the office and had left. There was no one in the accommodation desk.
I had to find accommodation for myself, so I went to the Yunan University dorm and requested them if I could stay with a friend who had extra space in his room. They plainly refused. I continued to persist and asked they why I was denied a place. They said that they had to permission from their authorities. I volunteered to speak to the authorities. They denied access. In the meantime the person who could decide showed up.
She consulted the man incharge and saw my plight. But the man refused to let me in. after about an hour’s discussion I decided to reach the higher level. I asked for the phone number of the organizing committee, called them and went to meet them.
The staff of the organizing committee, recognized me from my call and said that, “We have just understood the problem we will deal with it”. I requested her to call the Yunan Nationalities Dorm immediately. She did. I was greatly relieved. The guys who accompanied me were surprised to see the efforts that were taken.
It seemed like a success story, they said that it was a good lesson to learn, Not to stop at a blank wall. Also learning to be persuasive. It was a proud moment for the students and for me as well.
Just to double check I went back to my dorm to check if they were actually following the instructions. Sure enough, they were re registering us for the next night. I then went about telling all the people that there was no need to panic, and they could stay. All of them breathed a sigh of relief.
In the meantime, some volunteers had located a cheap but good hotel for me to stay for the night. They called all their contacts and had even arranged to pick up my luggage. Now that I had a room I could stay back.
Next on the agenda was to organize the trip to the stone forest. In fact the Yunan Province is identified with the stone forest. How can we go back without seeing this natural marvel! Joining with a big Bengali group we go a volunteer to help and planned out the entire trip. We were to book a bus and depart early next morning.
Since we had got permission to stay in our dorms we decided to be relaxed, without much packing. I had all my stuff strewn over my room. Since I was very tired I decided to go to bed by 10:30. So I was fast asleep. At the stroke of midnight, I heard my name being called and door being knocked. I opened the door and two volunteers were standing outside, they said, “I am sorry, we just got the information, they said that you have to vacate tomorrow early in the morning and take the luggage with you”. What nonsense, was my immediate reaction. And do you inform someone at midnight about all this. Then what happens to all that we spoke to the authorities.
I went to the Bengali leader Dr Manick Chakaraborthy and spoke to him, we got some volunteers to help us call the organizing committee office, but all our efforts were futile. Our blank wall was just the iron curtain we could not get past.
The problem was to look for ways to store our luggage. After much discussion we decided to wait till the morning and talk with the people responsible.
Getting back to my room, I packed all my stuff and then went back to bed. By now it was 2:00 am.
The greater lesson learnt was the Chinese administration system. They clearly operate on a chain of command and there is no way to bypass them. However persuasive you are they stick to the rules and stand by it. Even if the mistake is theirs.
Choosing the microfinance panel, a person from bangaladesh was presenting the model of micro finance and education. He was using very familiar terms such as pedagogy, participation, empowerment, realization and so on. It sounded like a lot of old wine in new bottles. I clearly did not learn anything new. The next presentation was about the Secret towers of the Himalayas. It was about many tall towers that were built about 2000 years ago in china. Nobody knew anything about it. So a researcher works on it for 11 years to unravel the mysteries. She was also working on a micro finance model to develop the people who lived in that area.
After the presentation I had run out of patience and hence decided to move out of the room. I went straight to the next floor to find what was happening with the session on conflicts. A volunteer was sitting alone with a computer. She was very happy to see me. Perhaps I was the only person to visit her. She said that the people who had planned the session had not shown up.
My next stop was the documentary corner, I went to see if there were any exciting films playing. All I could find was documentary on a particular Chinese culture. I would have sat through it fully but I decided against it because half the film was already over.
Wanting to explore the city, I came to the arena where the buses were ready to depart for the tour of the museum. I got hold of my Sinhalese friend and got into the bus. We decided to go to the Daichi Lake. It was supposed to be very beautiful and serene. Well that is where we decided to go but when we asked around people could not tell where it was. So we just walked. We saw a very touristy place where many people were entering. So we decided to enter. We were a bit lost in the beginning. A man came by showed us his badge, one very similar to what we were wearing and signaled to follow him. We had no clue. The only thing we knew was that he had a badge. We followed him. He was quite fast in speaking Chinese, I could not make sense of what he was saying. The only thing I understood was that he was Yi. He pointed a book on ethnic minorities and said that he was Yi.
We cruised passed all the villages. It was a huge park. Every ethnic minority had its own place. All the little village models were tourist traps. They showcased their culture and also wanted us to take a part of their culture with us in the forms of some articles that they sold. There were women and men dressed in their traditional costumes and would dress us up in that as well, so that we could take a few pictures and go home to tell our people we had met the real minorities.
Having less than one hour at hand we really had to hurry. It was a 500 acre park. We could hardly get a few glimpses. But we did what best we could do and hurried back to the bus. The man was taking us all along. He suddenly jumped into a battery cart thinking that it was too late. He was also ready to pay for us. But I insisted that we could walk and cover the entire distance and so we did.
We got back just in time for the bus.
Getting back to the university we were ready to get some lunch. There were no surprises. Braised pork, Braised chicken, diced pork/beef, a whole lot of veggies, dry fish dry fried, winter melon soup, corn porridge, rice porridge, rice noodles, wheat noodles, fried noodles, fried rice with beef, fried rice with egg, plain rice, sweet chicken with cashews, and many more dishes were on the menu. I took my usual serving of wheat noodles with braised pork and a dash of rib and yam soup.
Once lunch was over, I got my dorm to change and meet up with a bunch of students. Going in there was an announcement that read, All participants should vacate their rooms ob 1/8/09 before 12:00 noon. This came as a shock to me. I had enquired about the accommodation about 3 times. They has said that we could stay back till the 2nd of August. There was panic among the participants. I decided to go meet the organizers. Things here work a bit differently, the organizers had closed the office and had left. There was no one in the accommodation desk.
I had to find accommodation for myself, so I went to the Yunan University dorm and requested them if I could stay with a friend who had extra space in his room. They plainly refused. I continued to persist and asked they why I was denied a place. They said that they had to permission from their authorities. I volunteered to speak to the authorities. They denied access. In the meantime the person who could decide showed up.
She consulted the man incharge and saw my plight. But the man refused to let me in. after about an hour’s discussion I decided to reach the higher level. I asked for the phone number of the organizing committee, called them and went to meet them.
The staff of the organizing committee, recognized me from my call and said that, “We have just understood the problem we will deal with it”. I requested her to call the Yunan Nationalities Dorm immediately. She did. I was greatly relieved. The guys who accompanied me were surprised to see the efforts that were taken.
It seemed like a success story, they said that it was a good lesson to learn, Not to stop at a blank wall. Also learning to be persuasive. It was a proud moment for the students and for me as well.
Just to double check I went back to my dorm to check if they were actually following the instructions. Sure enough, they were re registering us for the next night. I then went about telling all the people that there was no need to panic, and they could stay. All of them breathed a sigh of relief.
In the meantime, some volunteers had located a cheap but good hotel for me to stay for the night. They called all their contacts and had even arranged to pick up my luggage. Now that I had a room I could stay back.
Next on the agenda was to organize the trip to the stone forest. In fact the Yunan Province is identified with the stone forest. How can we go back without seeing this natural marvel! Joining with a big Bengali group we go a volunteer to help and planned out the entire trip. We were to book a bus and depart early next morning.
Since we had got permission to stay in our dorms we decided to be relaxed, without much packing. I had all my stuff strewn over my room. Since I was very tired I decided to go to bed by 10:30. So I was fast asleep. At the stroke of midnight, I heard my name being called and door being knocked. I opened the door and two volunteers were standing outside, they said, “I am sorry, we just got the information, they said that you have to vacate tomorrow early in the morning and take the luggage with you”. What nonsense, was my immediate reaction. And do you inform someone at midnight about all this. Then what happens to all that we spoke to the authorities.
I went to the Bengali leader Dr Manick Chakaraborthy and spoke to him, we got some volunteers to help us call the organizing committee office, but all our efforts were futile. Our blank wall was just the iron curtain we could not get past.
The problem was to look for ways to store our luggage. After much discussion we decided to wait till the morning and talk with the people responsible.
Getting back to my room, I packed all my stuff and then went back to bed. By now it was 2:00 am.
The greater lesson learnt was the Chinese administration system. They clearly operate on a chain of command and there is no way to bypass them. However persuasive you are they stick to the rules and stand by it. Even if the mistake is theirs.
Day 5
Waking up at 6:00 am was no big deal any more. Though I longed to sleep for a few more minutes I did manage to get up and get ready for the lecture. Joan had told me specifically that the lecture would start at 8:30 am at the big hall. So I went to the main campus for breakfast and went to the big hall. Now there were six big halls. I went to the one she had mentioned, it was not there, then I went to the other big hall. There were two very beautiful Chinese women who welcomed me to their session on Mobile populations. I asked for Joan Mencher, but they said that they were not aware of her session. Two more halls were ruled out. Then I went to straight to the info desk to get the exact location. It read 311. I rushed to the room but to my dismay I did not find any familiar faces. So I was so disappointed and confused.
Walking along the building I bumped into Malathi, she was sitting with a presenter in a hall. They were waiting for the session to begin but no one was there. The time was 9:00. I decided to go for another session. As I walked along the corridor I found, Joan sitting in a room. I went in and asked her about the session. She said that it was delayed and they were just about to begin the lecture. I was thrilled and sat through the lecture. She spoke about food security and agriculture in India, with specific reference to Tamil Nadu.
We already knew much of what was spoken but the perspectives were quite good and agreeable to the listeners.
As soon as this was over, I had booked myself for a trip to the Nationalities museum. The museum displayed the, art, culture, dressing and folklore of the 54 odd nationalities. It was a treat to watch it on display. Though the time was limited I was able to experience the richness of the cultural heritage of China. The way they showcase themselves needs a special mention.
It made me think of the forsaken tribal museum in Ooty. We had to run from pillar to post to collect basic facts and materials to show the world our tribal people lived with some dignity.
Getting back by noon was useful. We had a lunch and ventured out into the city. As planned, Fu Jiacheng, Su Honjian and Ma Xingxing were waiting for me. We planned to go to the camera repair place. So we took a bus and walked about two km to reach the place. Once we got there the lady took the camera, looked at it and said that the shutter was not closing. It would cost me 250 yuan to fix it. I could easily get it fixed in Chennai or could buy another one for a little more than that.
We left the place with the camera. We headed to the open market. It was a place where they sold handicrafts and small things. Believe me, the same things could be bought in Pondy Bazaar for 1/20 of the price. I was in no mood to buy any thing and hence just roamed around and continued to walk.
The next stop was the great wall. Well this was not the real great wall, it was the great wall miniature, model. It was nice to go on top of it. It was nothing like the real wall. On our way he stopped for some nice Ice cream from KFC. As if there was no better place in china to get an ice cream. The guys insisted on the quality of air conditioning and hence got the ice cream from there.
Our next stop was, the one and only Wal Mart. I told them about my discontent with the Waltons but still they said, this is a place you will get all that you may need. I said that I really did not need anything. Now that we were there we had to face it. I also thought that it may be a good idea to go there to compare the prices and approaches to the population.
Actually Wal Mart being in china is more appropriate because they take Chinese goods all around the world and sell it. It was good for them to set up a mall in China. This would surely through some light on the America-China mutual interests.
We were tired of walking for four hours and thirty minutes so we decided to return. Soon we went for dinner. After dinner, the guys came to my room to download the pictures. They came in had a chat, a few more followed. We were laughing so loud that the security guy game by to watch us. We laughed and joked for a while. The time had past 10:00 pm and they was no sign of going out. After a while since some of them had night shifts in the conference hospital they left.
It was a great day with so much fun and frolic. Tomorrow will be the closing ceremony. I look forward to watch it again from the giant screen.
Walking along the building I bumped into Malathi, she was sitting with a presenter in a hall. They were waiting for the session to begin but no one was there. The time was 9:00. I decided to go for another session. As I walked along the corridor I found, Joan sitting in a room. I went in and asked her about the session. She said that it was delayed and they were just about to begin the lecture. I was thrilled and sat through the lecture. She spoke about food security and agriculture in India, with specific reference to Tamil Nadu.
We already knew much of what was spoken but the perspectives were quite good and agreeable to the listeners.
As soon as this was over, I had booked myself for a trip to the Nationalities museum. The museum displayed the, art, culture, dressing and folklore of the 54 odd nationalities. It was a treat to watch it on display. Though the time was limited I was able to experience the richness of the cultural heritage of China. The way they showcase themselves needs a special mention.
It made me think of the forsaken tribal museum in Ooty. We had to run from pillar to post to collect basic facts and materials to show the world our tribal people lived with some dignity.
Getting back by noon was useful. We had a lunch and ventured out into the city. As planned, Fu Jiacheng, Su Honjian and Ma Xingxing were waiting for me. We planned to go to the camera repair place. So we took a bus and walked about two km to reach the place. Once we got there the lady took the camera, looked at it and said that the shutter was not closing. It would cost me 250 yuan to fix it. I could easily get it fixed in Chennai or could buy another one for a little more than that.
We left the place with the camera. We headed to the open market. It was a place where they sold handicrafts and small things. Believe me, the same things could be bought in Pondy Bazaar for 1/20 of the price. I was in no mood to buy any thing and hence just roamed around and continued to walk.
The next stop was the great wall. Well this was not the real great wall, it was the great wall miniature, model. It was nice to go on top of it. It was nothing like the real wall. On our way he stopped for some nice Ice cream from KFC. As if there was no better place in china to get an ice cream. The guys insisted on the quality of air conditioning and hence got the ice cream from there.
Our next stop was, the one and only Wal Mart. I told them about my discontent with the Waltons but still they said, this is a place you will get all that you may need. I said that I really did not need anything. Now that we were there we had to face it. I also thought that it may be a good idea to go there to compare the prices and approaches to the population.
Actually Wal Mart being in china is more appropriate because they take Chinese goods all around the world and sell it. It was good for them to set up a mall in China. This would surely through some light on the America-China mutual interests.
We were tired of walking for four hours and thirty minutes so we decided to return. Soon we went for dinner. After dinner, the guys came to my room to download the pictures. They came in had a chat, a few more followed. We were laughing so loud that the security guy game by to watch us. We laughed and joked for a while. The time had past 10:00 pm and they was no sign of going out. After a while since some of them had night shifts in the conference hospital they left.
It was a great day with so much fun and frolic. Tomorrow will be the closing ceremony. I look forward to watch it again from the giant screen.
Day 4
Actually I wanted to sleep early. But I have a lot to say. So I decided to be up and say what I wanted to say and then go to bed. After yesterdays’ trip things almost came to an end. Nevertheless the congress had to go on with the list of invited speakers. The participants were still excited about the sessions and not tired yet.
As for me it was another day of intellectual feasting. I began the day with a documentary film. It is very unusual that I do that but I did so just because I had not been to that area before. I peeped in and found a good movie about a Chinese village. It was an anthropological film that was based in rural China. I was not surprised to see the face of poverty and superstition remain the same in all parts of the world. It was quite disturbing to see the state of people. I did reflect on the dichotomy of Indian life. We have the Agni and Chandrayaan we also have the farmers’ committing suicide.
The next stop was the anthropological book fare. I am sure that it was filled with some great books but I did not understand a single word, it was all in Chinese. It gradually led me to the ethnic exhibition. Embroidered work, silver jewelry, wood carvings and so on were on the display. The most impressive was a suit made from a bark of a tree. I will have the photos sent when I get them.
Since I did not have a camera I have been asking some volunteers to take pictures of me and email it to me. It has worked well so far. Only hard thing was to make them understand to send it to me. I used my dramatic skills to tell them.
It was time to go for a talk by Dawn Chatty, from the Oxford University. I had met her last year. Her talk was on the mobile people and the laws concerning the land. She discussed the case study of Oman. The oryx (a type of deer) lived in this area. Due to excessive hunting they became extinct in the area. They were now found only in two zoos. The Sultan of Oman decided to re introduce the oryx and demarcated a huge piece of land to be protected. Within a period of two years they multiplied. It was reported as a huge success story. This did not last long. The local people were not consulted in the process, they also felt that a minority community that lived on the edge of the forest got more attention. Lo and behold jealousy took control and the hunting began. In about a year they were reduced to only four pairs that could multiply. For the first time in History UNESCO with drew its world heritage site status from Oman.
By now I was ready to see some of Kunming and look to buy a cheap camera. So I got into a bus and left for the market. In Kunming, all the conference participants get to travel free of cost. You just have to show the card and they let you in. I went to the Flower and bird market. Saw a lot of hand work. It appeared beautiful. Also saw a lot of animals that were up for sale. Their behavior would put the funniest home videos to shame.
With no luck for my camera, I kept walking for a long distance. I decided to take a bus because I wanted to attend a talk that was given by Dr Veena Das. Bus no 82 and 84 were destined to the university. I checked about No 84 and confirmed that it was going to the university. But I did not check about 82. Since the guide book said that I could reach the market on that, I assumed that it would go back to the university.
The two buses came simultaneously. I got in to the bus no 82. I was in it because I thought that it would head in the right direction. The bus kept going. I did realize the strangeness of the place. Since all the places appeared the same I just went on. I then asked around for help. The sixth person helped me understand that the bus was on another route. I had to get off.
The bus stand was my next destination. Using a small guide book I asked around and tool a bus number 69 and reached the university. By now Dr Veena’s talk was over. I felt very stupid. I walked along.
A familiar face walked towards me, it was Dr Chellaperumal, he used to work in St Xaviers College Palayamkottai. I had met him in the US and now was meeting him again. He introduced me to Dr Hilderman, a person who had done his doctoral work in the Niligiri hills. He was currently working on the Badagas. As we sat down to chat Dr Joan Mencher, the mother of Anthropology came by. Infact she was looking for me.
We sat down to chat. It was a deep intellectual discussion on the issues of tribal’s, dalits, forests Act and so on. After many days I felt like I was in a good group that was discussing some great intellectual stuff. Joan with her 60 years of experience of Indian culture was able to give so many insights from all over south India.
Later I went for a session on visual anthropology. They screened a short film on Ambedkar. I thought that it was a great idea to discuss the history of Ambedkar in a conference like this. The people at the session were in tears after they saw the work of him.
That took me to the end of the day. I dinner and was off for my long walk. Now as I walked what did I stumble upon. A cell phone mall, a series of stores with so many cell phones. Impossible to ignore the varieties. But the fact was that the Chinese products were cheaper in India than in China.
I got back to my dorm and interacted with my volunteer friends and got to my room. By now the time is well past mid night. I have to attend an interesting lecture at 8:30 am.
As for me it was another day of intellectual feasting. I began the day with a documentary film. It is very unusual that I do that but I did so just because I had not been to that area before. I peeped in and found a good movie about a Chinese village. It was an anthropological film that was based in rural China. I was not surprised to see the face of poverty and superstition remain the same in all parts of the world. It was quite disturbing to see the state of people. I did reflect on the dichotomy of Indian life. We have the Agni and Chandrayaan we also have the farmers’ committing suicide.
The next stop was the anthropological book fare. I am sure that it was filled with some great books but I did not understand a single word, it was all in Chinese. It gradually led me to the ethnic exhibition. Embroidered work, silver jewelry, wood carvings and so on were on the display. The most impressive was a suit made from a bark of a tree. I will have the photos sent when I get them.
Since I did not have a camera I have been asking some volunteers to take pictures of me and email it to me. It has worked well so far. Only hard thing was to make them understand to send it to me. I used my dramatic skills to tell them.
It was time to go for a talk by Dawn Chatty, from the Oxford University. I had met her last year. Her talk was on the mobile people and the laws concerning the land. She discussed the case study of Oman. The oryx (a type of deer) lived in this area. Due to excessive hunting they became extinct in the area. They were now found only in two zoos. The Sultan of Oman decided to re introduce the oryx and demarcated a huge piece of land to be protected. Within a period of two years they multiplied. It was reported as a huge success story. This did not last long. The local people were not consulted in the process, they also felt that a minority community that lived on the edge of the forest got more attention. Lo and behold jealousy took control and the hunting began. In about a year they were reduced to only four pairs that could multiply. For the first time in History UNESCO with drew its world heritage site status from Oman.
By now I was ready to see some of Kunming and look to buy a cheap camera. So I got into a bus and left for the market. In Kunming, all the conference participants get to travel free of cost. You just have to show the card and they let you in. I went to the Flower and bird market. Saw a lot of hand work. It appeared beautiful. Also saw a lot of animals that were up for sale. Their behavior would put the funniest home videos to shame.
With no luck for my camera, I kept walking for a long distance. I decided to take a bus because I wanted to attend a talk that was given by Dr Veena Das. Bus no 82 and 84 were destined to the university. I checked about No 84 and confirmed that it was going to the university. But I did not check about 82. Since the guide book said that I could reach the market on that, I assumed that it would go back to the university.
The two buses came simultaneously. I got in to the bus no 82. I was in it because I thought that it would head in the right direction. The bus kept going. I did realize the strangeness of the place. Since all the places appeared the same I just went on. I then asked around for help. The sixth person helped me understand that the bus was on another route. I had to get off.
The bus stand was my next destination. Using a small guide book I asked around and tool a bus number 69 and reached the university. By now Dr Veena’s talk was over. I felt very stupid. I walked along.
A familiar face walked towards me, it was Dr Chellaperumal, he used to work in St Xaviers College Palayamkottai. I had met him in the US and now was meeting him again. He introduced me to Dr Hilderman, a person who had done his doctoral work in the Niligiri hills. He was currently working on the Badagas. As we sat down to chat Dr Joan Mencher, the mother of Anthropology came by. Infact she was looking for me.
We sat down to chat. It was a deep intellectual discussion on the issues of tribal’s, dalits, forests Act and so on. After many days I felt like I was in a good group that was discussing some great intellectual stuff. Joan with her 60 years of experience of Indian culture was able to give so many insights from all over south India.
Later I went for a session on visual anthropology. They screened a short film on Ambedkar. I thought that it was a great idea to discuss the history of Ambedkar in a conference like this. The people at the session were in tears after they saw the work of him.
That took me to the end of the day. I dinner and was off for my long walk. Now as I walked what did I stumble upon. A cell phone mall, a series of stores with so many cell phones. Impossible to ignore the varieties. But the fact was that the Chinese products were cheaper in India than in China.
I got back to my dorm and interacted with my volunteer friends and got to my room. By now the time is well past mid night. I have to attend an interesting lecture at 8:30 am.
Day 3
Was a bit late to get up since I went to be late, but that is no excuse. The Sun shows up pretty late. It is still dark till 6:30. It reminds me of Coonoor. No fans, no, A/C not a single mosquito in my room. When I sleep I have to sleep under a quilt. It is not so heavy it is just right for me. I always used a thin quilt. All this kept me asleep.
At seven I had to be at breakfast to leave for my rural trip. I was going to a village called Chinouhei , it means the lake where the apes/monkeys play. I had to be at the departure point at 8:00. So o went to the veg hall saw the stuff and was disappointed with the choices. That did not stop me from eating my heavy breakfast. I ate fast and dashed to the Quinglai hall, the point of departure.
There were five buses lined up in four rows. Each line was destined for a different direction. I got the first bus since I had booked for the trip. I was seated alone because I wanted a window seat.
The bus took off. It took me awhile to observe what was happening. We were piloted by two police cars. They had stopped all the traffic for us. All signals were red. The traffic stopped and gazed at us. I thought that it may be only in the city they were blocking the traffic for us, but I was mistaken. For the entire 90km stretch they had blocked the traffic. As we went we saw the trucks, cars, two wheelers pulled over giving way for our bus.
We reached the village. The entrance was decorated with two tigers. It meant that the tigers could ward away the evils and dangers that came into the village. When we reached the village. We were taken for a walk. People were farmers. They main produce were tobacco and corn. The first impression was that the village was too clean to be real. Not a piece of dirt in any part of the village.
All the houses were made of limestone. The funny part was that though they had plenty of limestone they did not use cement to bind the stones. The stones were placed one on top of another to form a wall.
After a short walk we were led into an arena. We were welcomed with the sound of drums, carnets, and some of the best music. The village head introduced the culture, politics and life in the village. We got to see a documentary film about the life of the Sani people who were a part of the Yi people.
A presentation on the politics followed this and a question answer session ended the proceedings. In all that they presented I could not see a role for the women in politics. It was quite gender biased. I guess that it was because of my own perceptions.
They served us a wonderful meal. It was a spread of lamb soup, beef curry, chicken and beans, and many other things that I cant name. The highlight was that they served wine. They said that it was corn wine. It was supposed to be the best wine in the region. Before the meal they cheered each other to drink. I unassumingly took a big sip. It went down my throat like a ball of fire. I started to cough and felt that I was going to die. But it was momentary. I promised to touch it again. Then they told me that it was nothing by pure liquor made from corn. That did not stop me from eating my food.
Continuing the village tour, I choose to go to the place where they embroidered and made baskets. In the basket making place I met a man who was 77 years old and was part of Mao’s cultural revolution. He was one of the main organizers of the district. Later he joined the communist party and worked for many years. Now he is the only basket maker in the village. He has his lands on which he farms.
Our next stop was the embroidery center. Women made skirts, vests, and all garments from a jute like material. The embroidery work was very good. It was so impressive that many from my team just could not stop buying.
Now it was time for some dances. The entire village came together and performed a series of dances. The dragon dance, monkey dance, drum dance, hunters dance, and many more. The best part was that women who were in their late 60’s proved that they were still fit as they danced without stopping for about 90 minutes. The academicians who were with me were put to shame by the fitness of the women. It was a wonderful spectacle to watch children dance equally alongside elders of the village.
We were forced to leave the place, since we had to get back on time. Our journey back was the same as we went. Traffic free, royal treatment.
While coming back I was thinking if this would be possible in one of our villages in Tamil Nadu. The way they showcased the village looked too goo to be true. Some questions in my mind were, Is there an oppression that is bringing people together. What motivated them? How is it possible to coordinate all the 1000 families. Many more questions continue to spring up.
Once we got back, we had to get dinner and get back for the cultural performance. Since Yunan province is home to 25 different ethnic groups, their cultural heritages were portrayed in the form of dances and music. It was another 90 minutes of scintillating performance. I for a minute realized that this is why they were able to perform so well at the Olympics’ opening ceremony.
Tomorrow will be a series of lectures and movies. Looking forward to learn a lot.
At seven I had to be at breakfast to leave for my rural trip. I was going to a village called Chinouhei , it means the lake where the apes/monkeys play. I had to be at the departure point at 8:00. So o went to the veg hall saw the stuff and was disappointed with the choices. That did not stop me from eating my heavy breakfast. I ate fast and dashed to the Quinglai hall, the point of departure.
There were five buses lined up in four rows. Each line was destined for a different direction. I got the first bus since I had booked for the trip. I was seated alone because I wanted a window seat.
The bus took off. It took me awhile to observe what was happening. We were piloted by two police cars. They had stopped all the traffic for us. All signals were red. The traffic stopped and gazed at us. I thought that it may be only in the city they were blocking the traffic for us, but I was mistaken. For the entire 90km stretch they had blocked the traffic. As we went we saw the trucks, cars, two wheelers pulled over giving way for our bus.
We reached the village. The entrance was decorated with two tigers. It meant that the tigers could ward away the evils and dangers that came into the village. When we reached the village. We were taken for a walk. People were farmers. They main produce were tobacco and corn. The first impression was that the village was too clean to be real. Not a piece of dirt in any part of the village.
All the houses were made of limestone. The funny part was that though they had plenty of limestone they did not use cement to bind the stones. The stones were placed one on top of another to form a wall.
After a short walk we were led into an arena. We were welcomed with the sound of drums, carnets, and some of the best music. The village head introduced the culture, politics and life in the village. We got to see a documentary film about the life of the Sani people who were a part of the Yi people.
A presentation on the politics followed this and a question answer session ended the proceedings. In all that they presented I could not see a role for the women in politics. It was quite gender biased. I guess that it was because of my own perceptions.
They served us a wonderful meal. It was a spread of lamb soup, beef curry, chicken and beans, and many other things that I cant name. The highlight was that they served wine. They said that it was corn wine. It was supposed to be the best wine in the region. Before the meal they cheered each other to drink. I unassumingly took a big sip. It went down my throat like a ball of fire. I started to cough and felt that I was going to die. But it was momentary. I promised to touch it again. Then they told me that it was nothing by pure liquor made from corn. That did not stop me from eating my food.
Continuing the village tour, I choose to go to the place where they embroidered and made baskets. In the basket making place I met a man who was 77 years old and was part of Mao’s cultural revolution. He was one of the main organizers of the district. Later he joined the communist party and worked for many years. Now he is the only basket maker in the village. He has his lands on which he farms.
Our next stop was the embroidery center. Women made skirts, vests, and all garments from a jute like material. The embroidery work was very good. It was so impressive that many from my team just could not stop buying.
Now it was time for some dances. The entire village came together and performed a series of dances. The dragon dance, monkey dance, drum dance, hunters dance, and many more. The best part was that women who were in their late 60’s proved that they were still fit as they danced without stopping for about 90 minutes. The academicians who were with me were put to shame by the fitness of the women. It was a wonderful spectacle to watch children dance equally alongside elders of the village.
We were forced to leave the place, since we had to get back on time. Our journey back was the same as we went. Traffic free, royal treatment.
While coming back I was thinking if this would be possible in one of our villages in Tamil Nadu. The way they showcased the village looked too goo to be true. Some questions in my mind were, Is there an oppression that is bringing people together. What motivated them? How is it possible to coordinate all the 1000 families. Many more questions continue to spring up.
Once we got back, we had to get dinner and get back for the cultural performance. Since Yunan province is home to 25 different ethnic groups, their cultural heritages were portrayed in the form of dances and music. It was another 90 minutes of scintillating performance. I for a minute realized that this is why they were able to perform so well at the Olympics’ opening ceremony.
Tomorrow will be a series of lectures and movies. Looking forward to learn a lot.
Day 2
It was the first day of the congress and the second day in China for me. I was up and dressed up all in Suit and all. I went for a breakfast and ate a lot of good Chinese food.
Upon reaching the venue, I asked around about getting to the opening ceremony. Immediately a volunteer said that I could go to the parallel opening ceremony. I was a bit confused, I said, “I want to go to the opening ceremony in the real one.” She said, “yes you can go to the palelell opening ceremony in that loom”. I asked, “ why cant I go there to the main one” she said, “you need a ticket for that”. I said , “What ticket?”. She said, a ticket, then I said, “Show me how the ticket looks like, may be I can check if I have left it in my room”. She said, “No no , you need to have the ticket now,” she passed me on to another volunteer who was standing with a placard in his hand it said, “way to the parallel opening ceremony”.
Then I understood that the hall was too small to accommodate all the delegates and so there were session held in rooms where they would live telecast the ceremony. So I was able to see the opening ceremony amidst a packed audience in a hall. I must say that the live telecast was very good.
My next stop was at another hall, where the lecture was again live telecasted. It was on the way in which cities were growing the world.
It was only 11:00 am and they gave us a lunch break.
Post lunch there were two good lectures. The first one was on how colour and race were associated with mental capacities. The second was fascinating, it was about the preference of lighter skin in India. The speaker Dr Subdhra of Delhi university argued the roles of woman as devi Vs dasi. It was a great concept. She painted a caste and class picture very vividly and explained why men preferred either of the two.
Once that was over, It was time for my session. There were four speakers in the panel. Two hardcore anthropologists, one geographer and a poor social worker were set to start the sessions. I was the second batsman. I laid out the context of Tsunami and exclusion of the dalits. I also spoke of OfERR’s role in working with the dalits to alleviate the poverty.
The other two papers were also very good. One paper was on the Kosi river breach. It was good to compare the relief operations of the Kosi with the Tsunami.
We finally got to the end of the session. We were all tired. My session did attract a lot of questions and hence I was given the maximum time. I did explain the steps that were involved in the process.
Now it was time for Dinner at 5:30 pm. I had dinner and left for a long walk. It was raining, but did not worry too much about it. I walked for about 4 km and got back.
In the reception center there were a number of volunteers. I sat with them and had a long chat, we laughed so much about silly things and made fun of each other. Since it was past nine, I came to my room.
Tomorrow, I am going for a village visit. I am already excited to learn about it.
Upon reaching the venue, I asked around about getting to the opening ceremony. Immediately a volunteer said that I could go to the parallel opening ceremony. I was a bit confused, I said, “I want to go to the opening ceremony in the real one.” She said, “yes you can go to the palelell opening ceremony in that loom”. I asked, “ why cant I go there to the main one” she said, “you need a ticket for that”. I said , “What ticket?”. She said, a ticket, then I said, “Show me how the ticket looks like, may be I can check if I have left it in my room”. She said, “No no , you need to have the ticket now,” she passed me on to another volunteer who was standing with a placard in his hand it said, “way to the parallel opening ceremony”.
Then I understood that the hall was too small to accommodate all the delegates and so there were session held in rooms where they would live telecast the ceremony. So I was able to see the opening ceremony amidst a packed audience in a hall. I must say that the live telecast was very good.
My next stop was at another hall, where the lecture was again live telecasted. It was on the way in which cities were growing the world.
It was only 11:00 am and they gave us a lunch break.
Post lunch there were two good lectures. The first one was on how colour and race were associated with mental capacities. The second was fascinating, it was about the preference of lighter skin in India. The speaker Dr Subdhra of Delhi university argued the roles of woman as devi Vs dasi. It was a great concept. She painted a caste and class picture very vividly and explained why men preferred either of the two.
Once that was over, It was time for my session. There were four speakers in the panel. Two hardcore anthropologists, one geographer and a poor social worker were set to start the sessions. I was the second batsman. I laid out the context of Tsunami and exclusion of the dalits. I also spoke of OfERR’s role in working with the dalits to alleviate the poverty.
The other two papers were also very good. One paper was on the Kosi river breach. It was good to compare the relief operations of the Kosi with the Tsunami.
We finally got to the end of the session. We were all tired. My session did attract a lot of questions and hence I was given the maximum time. I did explain the steps that were involved in the process.
Now it was time for Dinner at 5:30 pm. I had dinner and left for a long walk. It was raining, but did not worry too much about it. I walked for about 4 km and got back.
In the reception center there were a number of volunteers. I sat with them and had a long chat, we laughed so much about silly things and made fun of each other. Since it was past nine, I came to my room.
Tomorrow, I am going for a village visit. I am already excited to learn about it.
Day 1
Chennai to China -
Day 1
I have no plans of keeping a journal or writing a blog. Habits die hard, there is an urge inside that calls keep a record of what I saw and did. So here I am sitting and writing a blog.
Let me start with the airport in Chennai. I was a bit delayed because of traffic, most importantly I was doing silly things till the end. The car was on time, I just had to leave, but I began small details before leaving and was trying to get over with them. I jumped into the car. Half way, I realized that I had not eaten and the flight was only at 11:30. I asked the driver to stop in a restaurant, had a dosai, packed two for the driver and his friend and got right back.
Once I reached the Airport, there was a long queue. It looked hopeless, the line was to let go and scan their luggage. Suddenly we were moving fast. We realized that the delay was because a senior citizen was in the wrong place and was gathering his luggage to leave the terminal. After this I scanned the luggage and went to the check – in counter. As usual, I fell in line with the least number of people. Only a family was ahead of me. They had two children. The man had 8 bags. He wanted to check – in the hand baggage as well. He was allowed to do so but he had to go back to the scanner and come to the counter. Once this was done there were repeated problems with checking in. By then the queue had grown. People behind me were cursing the counter personnel. It took almost 20 min to check that one family. In the meantime people who were far behind me in the neighbouring lines had moved past the immigration.
I then managed to get myself checked in. There was no window available. I got my much hated aisle seat. It was an emergency exit seat.
At the immigration, there was another snaking line that inched. The good thing was that there were many people attending to us. When it was my turn I went and greeted the official. She looked at my departure card and said, “Social Worker? What do you do?” I said that it was my profession. She brightened up and said, “Sir I am also a Social Worker, I studied Social work and then joined the police services”. It was a pleasant surprise. Shyamala had graduated from Sacred Heart College. While the conversation was on, she was flipping the pages on my passport. She was searching for a place to put a seal. Since I had only one page left she looked for some empty space and stamped my exit.
I waited and boarded the plane. I got an emergency seat with no one in front. It had plenty of leg room. I guess it is the best seat if you want to relax. But the staff of the Malaysian airlines looked a bit too slow to respond. I had to ask six times to get a glass of water. Then I understood that they were understaffed and four people had to cater to the whole aircraft.
I did not sleep very well, felt very disturbed but the toilet door that opened and closed every five minutes. Then the midnight meals came in and then the water, then the tea and then the flight landed.
Landing in KL was smooth. With a good 3 hours left before boarding, I decided to look around a bit. The airport was quite big and beautiful. The Duty free shops were all having discounts going. They were inviting, but I was not too enthused. I wanted to find an electronic store. Once I found it I started exploring the latest gadgets. Soon it was time to leave.
I took a monorail and got to the terminal G2. I found a long bench and saw people stretching on it. So I did the same. After a while the gate opened. About 10 of us had got into the gate and we waited for a few more people who were traveling for the conference. They did not get past the gate. A person from the airline then told me that there was a technical fault with the plane and hence we were taken another aircraft. My friends breathed a sigh of relief.
Now, I was getting to know the people who were going to the conference. Malathi, was going to be on my panel, she was calm and composed. Padmini Balaram, a short woman who worked in Coimbatore appeared to be nice but actually began getting on my nerves very soon. We had accommodation but she was so unsure and was breathing down my neck. I met Herath a lecturer a the Jeyawardenapura University in Sri Lanka, and Kamakshi Mubarak, a research fellow from Oxford.
We got into the plane. we rested a bit and then we landed in Kunming. The view before landing was spectacular. A range of green mountains bodering the sky scraper city. The landing was so smooth that we did not even know that we had landed.
Everything happened so fast and smooth. Our luggage was out and we got out within a few minutes. Changed money, got to a line for the taxi and waited. It was a long line once again. We had to stand in the smoke. The number of people who smoke in this country is very alarming. Every second person smokes. They smoke on the road, in the car, in the toilet, in the hall and in all place you cant imagine.
We got to the university. The registration was at the Gymnasium. It sounded good. We went there to find out that things were so organized. Except for the language there were no issues. While we were registering, Padmini Balram was busy trying to request for accommodation. I had known of a friend who was scheduled to come but dropped out at the last moment. So I suggested her to take that room. She caught on to that idea and went on nagging all the people for accommodation. I could understand her situation. She had arranged with a friend as an alternative. But her friend had left for Beijing. So she was out of luck.
After running from pillar to post she finally found that the letter of registration said that she had accommodation. She was so thrilled and scooted to her room.
I got a room on the 4th floor. There is no lift. So I just walk up and down. They gave me a key. I put my luggage in it and went for a walk. Guess what I stumble into, an electronics mall. I had a good look at it and walked around to familiarize myself with the town. Then I got back and tried to open my door. The key moved easily, but when I turned it, half the key was in my hand and half of it was in the key hole.
I then called the volunteers for help. Effectively they got a technician in five minutes and fixed it.
I went in washed and went for a sumptuous dinner. It was a Chinese dinner, real Chinese. The only problem was that something that I had eaten had a strong flavor. I think it had vinegar, as I kept eating it I almost puked. I looked for some bananas but found those dragon eye fruits and ate them to change the taste. Even now when I think of that flavor I feel like puking.
I got back to my room, took out the reading materials and read though most of it and am ready to hit bed.
Tomorrow I have my session. I will also tell about the volunteers who are doing a great job.
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