Arts, entertainment, dead rats and the first week of March

28th of February to 6th of March, 2009
One could say that my entire time in India thus far has been one, big “cultural experience.” But to revert back to the more traditional definition, I have experienced some very interesting events since coming here that would fall into that descriptive category.

At the end of February I spent a few evenings at the Prithvi theatre, which is a small theatre and public performance space in Juhu. I first saw on the 23rd of February (with Sunitha and Amber) two documentary films by an Indian film maker about the famous Indian poet Kabir. One of the documentaries I saw in the first week I was in India, seeing it again was even more profound. The filmmaker, Shabnam Virmani, interviews various traditional musicians in India that are influenced by Kabir; thus the music in phenomenal, and this film especially, was a delight. You can read more information on www.kabirproject.org

A few nights later I returned to the Prithvi for a short poetry reading, where I was privy to hear four poets and a guitarist reciting various works including Pablo Neruda (a favorite of mine from my Spanish classes in university) and Anne Sexton--the last thing I expected in India was for poets to be reciting Sexton’s prose on cigarettes, whiskey and women. That night, after a day at the school volunteering and taking in some art, I wrote down for the first time that I was starting to feel more at home here, rather than on a holiday. Ironic really, since I knew I was to embark on a string of travels again very soon.

The last day of February I went into town with Sunitha to an open house at her university where her students were having an exhibition of their media projects. Four, 15 minute documentaries were screened; I viewed a still photography exhibit from photos took in Central India,; and reviewed their advertising campaigns. It brought back memories of teaching at IU (where Sunitha and I met).

Taking the regular bus down that day, we were lucky enough to score the AC Bus on the way back. Introduced in the city fairly recently, it was only 35 Rupees (around U.S. 50 cents) and virtually horn-honking and exhaust-fumes free. Before heading home, we stopped to do some shopping and then at Tewari Brothers to get a samosa, but there were out so we ordered this monstrosity instead


The next day I did not feel on top of my game (of course, there could be no correlation between that huge thing I ate the day before), but I did manage to catch a showing of the Sean Penn film MILK which was fantastic. (Living a five minute walk from a theatre definitely has lead me to see more films in the past few months).

There was a teacher day the following day at school, and it was interesting because we did group exercises with the volunteers, the regular teachers, and some of the older students. One of the scenarios discussed was what would happen at the school if two of the kids, who were both male, had a relationship and the parents found out and voiced complaints with the school. Some context to give you is that the culture in India is that homosexuality is illegal and it is not openly talked about. While some of the kids said they would want the students to be expelled, others said they would still be friends with them if they chose to continue the relationship, which shows some promise of open mindedness. It was an extremely interesting discussion to have, especially since homosexuality is not an widely discussed topic in India. It also turns out to have been a situation the school had to deal with in the past.

I’d been keeping especially busy with school this week, and we had three new volunteers arrive from England as well, Lu, Becca and Vikki, who went to university together and are at the school for three months. We also attempted to do a paper mache project with the kids (sadly though, someone popped all the balloons the next day so it was not completed) but they had fun making them all the same. Zoe and I also attempted a massive reorganization of the schools’ many puzzles; not recommended unless you are a glutton for punishment. I also somehow lead a wild game of toss the bean bag across the classroom (for exercise class the “playground” was occupied by a wedding) which was a huge hit with the kids, but did cause a minor casualty of one of my bracelets breaking.


I had my first chicken tikka pizza this week as well with my friends Harsh and Chirag from the running club. We were also lucky enough to be sitting next to two couples at the restaurant who were celebrating a birthday and who were very generous (after a few shots of tequila) with their leftover chocolate mousse cake; it was no Chocolate Candle from Pasquini’s but it was a suitable substitute.

Another throw back event for me this week was teaching computer classes to the kids--without computers. I used to teach computer classes to kids in Denver, and I felt like today they actually learned some things AND listened. It was the great feeling when you can actually tell students’ are grasping some concepts.

That afternoon, I met Sunitha downtown to go to an International Women’s Day event at SNDT Women’s University Mumbai on the Colaba campus. The head of postgraduate studies and research spoke and there was a short presentation on an organization called VACHA that works primarily with girls in their second decade of life, with one of their main projects teaching adults within the organization how to make films--we watched 5 of their shorts--and in turn, these filmmakers will teach some girls who live in the slums filmmaking. The goal, according to the director of VACHA, was to “demystify technology for girls and use it to express themselves“.

One of the short films stated that most girls who grow up in a slum are arranged to be married by around 18 or 19 years old, even though they may want to continue their studies. As I have mentioned before, in India, the mentality for being married is very much present. Interestingly, on the way down to meet Sunitha that day, my cabbie actually spoke English, which isn‘t that common in Mumbai. Youseff was about 55 years old, and when he asked if I was married he expressed deep regret, and said he himself was getting married next year for the first time--he is from Delhi and his lady friend is there, while he works some months in Mumbai driving the cab and then goes back to Delhi other months and saves money for his wedding.

A bit of an aside: I’m currently reading “Outliers” by Malcolm Gladwell (author of “Tipping Point” and “Blink”) and the main thesis of his book is that where you come from and where you grow up matters in the level of success you reach in life. To me there is some irony in reading this book while in India, because the evidence of that here is bold and in your face everyday, especially working with the kids where I volunteer. I often have thought, what if I had been born into a different lot in life? Gladwell’s book provides concrete examples of successes, and shortcomings, of those who were and were not born into certain lots, and even during good or bad periods of time in history. I think it hasn’t become totally clear, but at least less murky, to me now while living in a completely different culture, the levels of power distance at work.

The Women’s Day event morphed into a talk on the SAS statistical analysis software, so Suni and I ducked out (though the irony was not lost that earlier in the day I was trying to teach the kids what data meant), I grabbed a free samosa, and we went walking past this huge open field--one of Mumbai’s few and cherished open spaces--where lots of men were playing cricket.



We sauntered through Fashion Row next, (full of knock off clothes that were factory rejects people sell for cheap--and that sometimes the cops raid without warning) and then browsed some small used book sellers on the street. Our next stop I had been looking forward to--my first journey on the Mumbai trains! First we needed to eat Frankie’s in the station, though. Frankie’s are this fabulous (and I mean fabulous) food you get that is wrapped in an egg-like tortilla, full of sauce (and in my case full of mutton, though you can get veg, too). I perhaps like them so much because they remind me of burritos.


The Frankie Boys approved of the photo.

The train ride was a delight, though I had it easy because it was non-rush hour; sometime I likely will have the chance to ride it solo. We sat in the lady’s carriage, and lots of people sell food on the train, which I hope to sample next time I ride.

Some random thoughts from this week:
As I was walking home one afternoon, I saw a crow (not a rare occurance) that was very involved in pecking at something. Upon further investigation, I noticed the crow was eating a dead rat. Later, I was telling my friend Harsh about this, very animatedly, and his response was something like, “You may be the only person who comes to India and sees that and thinks it’s cool.”

I was able to phone Naturals Ice Cream order butterscotch ice cream to be delivered to the house! You can get almost anything delivered here without extra cost; definitely something I love.

It’s no shock to most of you when I say there is a lot of crap, literally, in the streets here. But one of the first days I was at the school I remember Zoe stating “what’s with all these animals shitting everywhere today??” We had seen a dog, cat, and I think it was a cow in a 10 minute span all relieve themselves.

Either you gain weight here, or you lose it. I am in the former, I fear. I was warned about this beforehand by Sunitha’s friend Forrest who is American and spends a good deal of time in India and always gains weight, and between the hospitality here, unless you get sick, you will probably put on some pounds. The food is just that good! (or, I may be having too many street samosas).

It IS feeling more like a home and less like a holiday--again, as I embark on three more distinct travel plans--which I know logically is because I have established more of a routine here and made some great new friends. It’s a fascinating and crazy culture with lots of ups and downs. But the people that I have actually got to know have been wonderful.