Soul-o ride to Chikkaballapura

For a long time, I had been looking for a good reason to cycle to Nandi hills. Last week, I decided to ride to Usha's farm Samaagama, at Chikkaballapura (near Nandi) where I have been spending most of my weekends, learning to set up a farm.

I did some homework before the ride as family members were worried that I was riding alone. I consulted my inspiration and mentor, Manjula, who has done many rides to Nandi and got to know that it was a pretty comfortable ride. Manjula suggested the option of taking a ride on the Airport bus, in case I needed a break from cycling or if the cycle broke down. She also shared the contact of a reliable cab driver, just in case. In the evening, the cycle was cleaned, and front and rear lights were checked. The cycle was ready for a long ride and so was I, with helmet, gloves and glasses.

Friday morning - started at 6:15 am. Cycled 15km, uphill all the way, to Majestic and reached at 7:30 am. Got into an airport bus and lied to the conductor that I am headed to the airport. I watched with guilt as he rearranged all the luggage to make space for my cycle. There was no trace of guilt as I paid Rs. 340 for the ticket - Rs. 104 for the cycle and Rs. 236 for myself - the most expensive trip to Chikkaballapura so far. An elderly Rotarian next to me started a conversation by inquiring about boarding changes at the airport. I told him about my cycling trip and he looked at my finger-nails and advised me to get my haemoglobin checked. So, here was some free medical consultation! Two minutes later, we were sharing stories about each others' travels and adventures. He encouraged me to start a Rotary circle in my area so that I could travel more and get sponsored for it. However, I am not very clear about the Rotaty concept, so politely listened to all his advice. It was soon time to get down. I went to the conductor and confessed that I had lied to him about going to the airport. The gentleman that he was, he just smiled and let me get off at Sadahalli Gate signal. If
not for the lie, I wouldn't have been able to take the bus.

8:30 am. Had covered 28km by bus. Messaged about my bus ride to my friends and they were confused as to how I managed to take a cycle on the bus. Restarted the ride and took a break for breakfast at 8:45. Sri Krishna Grand offered a table with a view of landing aircraft. Ate pongal and wada for Rs. 100!
9:15 am. Started to cycle again. The next stretch of about 27 km was uneventful except for a stopover for watermelon towards the end of the ride. The watermelon sellers were pretty impressed by the cycle.
11:15 am. Reached Srirampura, exhausted mainly because of the sun and wind.
During the entire journey, never did I feel that I rode alone, what with regular updates on calls, sms and Whatzapp with friends, family and well-wishers!
There was no time to rest as Usha and two others were waiting for lunch to be delivered in the forest where they had been cutting grass since morning. By 1:15 pm, I had made multiple trips from the village to the forest to deliver food and water. Finally, it was time for some well deserved rest.

Cycle resting outside the hut

Saturday was spent in plastering the mud walls and helping finish the roof of the hut that is being built. My legs did ache, but it was the kind of pain that is normally felt after a good, hard trek.

Sunday morning. Started at 5:35 am. Rode before sunrise through a couple of quiet villages. An easy ride till Nandi Upachar - 19km in 1.5 hours. Had sweet elneer (tender coconut) and restarted in 10 min. A few minutes into the ride and I felt free and very happy with myself - not sure if it was endorphins or because I was finally able to make this ride happen.

Stopped for 10 min after 11km (near Sadahalli Gate) to check and clean chain. Saw some cyclists near Decathlon. Stopped again after 6km, this time for an indulgent masala dosa breakfast. The next stretch of about 12km was a breeze on the really good airport highway. Pity, there were no trees :(. The last kilometer to my friend's place near Hebbal was surprisingly difficult. As I reached my friend's place, I was treated to some delicious buttermilk by my friend's daughter. For a change, I was on the receiving end of some pampering. A refreshing bath and a good sleep followed. After spending some quality time with my friend's family, I started towards home at 4:00 pm and reached at 6:00 pm. The ride through the road between the golf course and the chief minister's residence was the best part as I cycled under the cool shade of tree canopies. The rest of the ride was mostly amidst Sunday evening traffic.
My 7 year old Trek 7.1 served me well throughout the journey and the puncture kit that I had packed so diligently didn't have to be used.

Ride summary
24th Feb, Friday
15km - 6:15 to 7:30 am - Majestic
28km - 7:45 to 8:30 - by bus, to Sadahalli Gate
3.5km - 8:30 to 8:45 - Breakfast stop at Sri Krishna Grand
27km - 9:15 to 11:15 - Reached Srirampura (Chikkaballapura), with a short break for watermelon
46 km by cycle, 28km by bus - Total 74km in 5 hours with breaks for breakfast and watermelon.

26th Feb, Sunday
19km - 5:35 am to 7:05 am - Nandi Upachar. Break for elneer
11km - 7:15 to 8:10 - near Sadahalli Gate
6km  - 8:20 to 8:45 - A2B for breakfast, 7km before Yelahanka
13km - 9:10 to 10:00 - Friend's place near Hebbal
Total 49km in the morning, 4.5 hours with 2 breaks
24km in the evening, from 4:00 pm to 6:00 pm, no breaks

Lets talk. Period.

How do I start? Let me start from the start. As a girl steps into womanhood, life changes in many ways. For me, there were many changes that irritated me and the least of the bothers was physical discomfort. I was not allowed to play as much as before and playing with boys was severely restricted. For someone who grew up playing mostly with boys, this was a big change for me. And then, I was not prepared psychologically for this normal and healthy aspect of life!

I had only heard murmurs and whispered gossips. In 'those' days, there were even family functions held to mark the 'event'. When asked about these functions, I was told it was her 13th birthday or 14th birthday or something similar. I just couldn't understand why someone would want to suddenly invite so many friends and relatives for a birthday party! Maybe it was the beginning of women being seen as objects! Needless to say, there was a big fight on this issue. I couldn't think of calling everyone home for something so private. No amount of Dairy Milk chocolates, interesting books and pretty dresses would convince me to have a 'birthday party'. Yet, my family did some puja and invited people home. I was fighting and crying the whole day :(

For a long time, I silently suffered physical discomfort and pain - everyone has to, there is no choice! I comforted myself by saying maybe this is nature's way of preparing women for childbirth and other hardship. I even took tablets on a couple of occasions, against my principles.  I missed a major portion of my swimming classes. I missed many outings. I painfully realized I was a girl!
For getting rid of the physical pain, my mother read somewhere about a simple home remedy of eating pomegranate - and it works like magic! 

Some things changed over a period of time through exposure from various media including one of my favourite TV Shows -  Blossom (the smart protagonist was played by Mayim Bialik who has played the role of Amy in The Big Bang Theory, where she is intolerable actually). In one of the earliest episodes of Blossom, there is a reference to her first period and things are weird. Not having her mother close to her makes it even more uncomfortable. She talks to her granny and the granny says that in her youth, people were made to stay far away from home! I realized that all cultures must have evolved in the same way!

For many years, I had fights and arguments with my mother about taking a head bath at whatever odd time of the day, in the name of hygiene. What has hair got to do with menstrual hygiene? At one point, I even wanted to cut my hair real short. And then, I hated washing those soiled clothes and dry them where no one could see - as if I had created some crime. I was not allowed to do much work at home because I was not supposed to touch clothes or items in the kitchen. I was not allowed to go to temples or participate in religious activities. Not having to do household work and the religious restrictions are the only things I liked ;)
By the way, Goonj, an organization striving to address the basic need of clothing has been providing, through its ‘Not Just a Piece of Cloth’ initiative, a much needed physical product and also spreading awareness on this taboo subject.

Things have changed a lot now, however, it has its disadvantages too. Now that I have switched to reusable cloth and cloth pads, I can safely argue against the huge marketing of use-and-throw plastic napkins. In fact, in one episode of Big Bang Theory, Sheldon tries to reason to Penny as to how she could save money by buying in bulk! A better alternative would be stop using use-and-throw pads altogether and switch to either a menstrual cup or reusable cloth pads.

Well designed product in a well designed package

Menstrual cups are supposed to be very comfortable, but I have not been able to get used to them. Mounting ethical and environmental concerns made me switch to the traditional cloth. My aunt who works in an Anganwadi introduced me to bandage cloth - she was introduced to it as part of her work. The Government is actually doing good work, but we fail to acknowledge it. 

The switch wasn't smooth and easy. It took months to unlearn the bad habit of many years :(
For a few months, I gave the pads in a separate bag to the BBMP waste pickers. For a few months, I tried burning the plastic pads near my place - I knew it was wrong, but I wasn't strong enough to make the switch. I started using cloth when at home. When I went to Munsiari, I told myself - enough is enough. I do not want to spoil the beautiful Himalaya and decided to use cloth always even if it was going to be uncomfortable or clumsy.
As they say, "You cannot cross a chasm in 2 small steps." Once I made this decision, I felt free.

Water-proof travel pouch

Back in Bangalore, I was tested once. I was under stress and my dates got messed up and I wasn't prepared. I was in the heart of the city and I had to make a choice. I am glad I went to the nearest Khadi Bhandar and bought cotton hankies to serve as pads instead of buying the plastic ones at a medical store. I passed the test :)

About 8 months ago, I got introduced to Eco-Femme and their very practical and very well designed travel pouch to carry soiled pads. I wash them, dry them and reuse them.

After discovering that urine was a good fertilizer for plants, the next thing in line had to be menstrual blood. I guessed that Blood, being synonymous with life, might be good to use it for plants. Many people store umbilical cord blood for treating over 80 illnesses as it is a rich source of stem cells. So something that is capable of giving life must be naturally good for plants. Just as I was thinking along these lines, I had a conversation with Shamala and she said she had already been using the wash water for plants! So, that is exactly what I do these days. I identify the weakest plant in the garden and nourish it with water used to clean used pads.

It has been over an year since I switched to reusable cloth and pads and ever since, I am having happy, guilt-free periods.

Washed and sun dried

I want to thank 4 beautiful ladies for being my inspiration.
My aunt for providing me the option of cloth, Sejal for introducing me to menstrual cups, Meera Rajesh for introducing me to Eco Femme and Shamala for making me realize that chum water is indeed good for plants.

Here is a list of resources on this subject.

menstrupedia - a friendly guide to healthy periods
goonj - a voice, an effort
the alternative - reducing the monthly plastic
she-cup - affordable menstrual cups in India (costs Rs. 695)
Eco-Femme - option of rural (each kit consisting of 3 pads and travel pouches costs Rs.200) and international pads (starts from Rs. 215) 

ಯಾವ main, ಯಾವ cross?

Today, I was in Sadashivanagar for a workshop at ZED office. Sadashivanagar is one of the prettier areas of Bangalore and it looked even more beautiful in the morning. I am at this junction admiring the chilly weather and what do I see? One street says 4th Cross on the North side and the same street says 13th Cross on the South side!
I am looking for the ZED office on 13th Cross and 5th Main and going around in circles. At one place, the same street said 14th cross on one side (on an old board) and 15th cross right opposite (on the new board).
It was time to ask someone. I normally prefer to ask auto drivers as they are forced to know most roads. So, this gentlemen steps out of the auto and tells me to ask joggers as they usually venture to jog on many streets. Even as he said this, he mimicked joggers. It was so cute! I do not know how I would manage without auto drivers!

I asked one jogger, who explained me about Sadashivanagar and RMV extension but that did not help me much. Another gentlemen offered his advice and I finally reached the place. It was less than 50 mts from the junction and I had somehow missed it!

I had plenty of time, so decided to walk the beautiful streets of Sadashivanagar. Though new buildings/apartments are coming up here and there, most of the old world charm is still retained. The footpaths are paved and look neat, but they could have left some open spaces for the earth to breathe and take in some water. However, many houses still have huge gardens or open spaces. I saw one elderly gentleman helping an elderly lady with some garden maintenance and oh boy, were they charming!
Aimless wandering, without any purpose or goal is so relaxing but we are usually in such a hurry all the time to reach our destinations that we miss such beautiful moments. 

Discovering Anne Frank's diary at a remote railway station

Last month, I was in Munsiari for my annual pilgrimage. This time around, I had to make the return journey the conventional way - take a shared taxi straight to Haldwani and a train straight to Delhi and then to Bangalore. Unlike last time when I, along with another student, had many stopovers at unknown, but beautiful places and loving people.
I was to spend the evening and night at Haldwani since my train was scheduled for the next day. The evening was spent in buying a pair of chappals, having early dinner and enjoying a cup of chai. My older pair of sandals had been chewed and thrown away by Laddu - Malika's youngest doggy.

Back to the railway station and I had to make arrangements to spend the night at the station as I did not want to pay for a hotel outside. I feigned innocence and fear, and the station master fell for it. He got worried and allowed me to stay in the waiting room as the dorm keys were not available with him. He instructed me to lock the waiting room from inside so I could be safe. There were no trains throughout the night and I had the entire room for myself! I had some newspapers and a shawl (I wasn't carrying my sleeping bag because the trip was very short and somewhat planned). I have experience sleeping almost anywhere - at railway stations, parks, temples, footpaths, tents, no-tents, under the open sky, in a telephone booth, etc.. Compared to all that, an entire waiting room for myself was luxury.

With the accommodation taken care of, I started for the nth time, to read 'Design for the real world' but progress was slow - the print is small and the thoughts are heavy. My eyes then fell on Anne Frank's 'Diary of a young girl' at the station's book shop. It is a book that I had been planning on reading for a very long time and the time had finally come. I picked it up and was I glad! I wish I had read this book when I was a teenager. I feel every teenager - boy or girl - should read this book at least once before they step into the real world. As per the official website, the book has been published in Kannada also, and I am waiting to hear from the Kannada publishers about its availability.

The diary records a teenager's thoughts as her life changes drastically, within a span of 2 years, from a happy and carefree childhood to some of the worst living conditions imposed by The Holocaust. When I had a chance to travel in Berlin, many years ago, I had paid a visit to The Wall and spent some time at the museum reading stories of people who tried to cross The Wall. At that time, I did not connect much and my thoughts centered around people's stupidity - creating walls and then trying to cross them! Schindler's List made a better connection, but Anne Frank's writing touched me like never before.

When Anne starts writing her diary, she is curious and hopeful. But she then goes on to struggle almost everyday with her feelings and thought processes.
She is unable to get along with her mother and can't love her fully. She observes and comments on the stress imposed by extreme living conditions on relationships . She writes about her crushes, puberty and the changes in her mind and body, as it happens. She talks about love and beauty and the hope that it brings. She describes mundane details about the food and living arrangements. And how, alongside all the house hold chores, she enjoys her reading and writing. She aspires to become a journalist and something more than just a homemaker. She reports about the war as she hears from the radio and has opinions on politics; at one time, she calls Finland 'silly fools' for turning down a peace offer.

Here are some excerpts from the journal entries that I like most.. Though I have not been able to align fully to these thoughts, I am definitely trying to.

23rd Feb 1944 
"The best remedy for those who are afraid, lonely or unhappy is to go outside, somewhere where they can be quite alone with the heavens, nature and God.... And I firmly believe that nature brings solace in all troubles."

6th Jul 1944 
"I wonder if it's really a good quality not to let myself be influenced. Is it really good to follow almost entirely my own conscience?"

Quiet honestly, I can't imagine how anyone can say "I'm weak," and then remain so. After all, if you know it, why not fight against it, why not try to train your character? The answer was: "Because it's so much easier not to!". This reply rather discouraged me. Easy? Does that mean that a lazy, deceitful life is an easy life? Oh no, that can't be true, it musn't be true, people can be so easily be tempted by slackness.. and by money...

"We all live, but we don't know why or the wherefore. We all live with the object of being happy; our lives are all different and yet the same.... we have the chance to learn, the possibility of attaining something, we have all reason to hope for much happiness, but.. we must earn it for ourselves. And that is never easy. You must work and do good, not be lazy and gamble, if you wish to earn happiness. Laziness may appear attractive, but work gives satisfaction.
I can't understand people who don't like work...

How noble and good everyone could be if, every evening before falling asleep, they were to recall to their minds the events of the whole day and consider exactly what has been good and bad. Then, without realizing it, you try to improve yourself at the start of each new day; of course, you achieve quite a lot in the course of time. Anyone can do this, it costs nothing and is certainly very helpful. Whoever doesn't know it must learn and find by experience that: "A quiet conscience makes one strong!" "

No (monetary) cost fertilizer

Our garden lab next door is the best lab that I could have got since the soil there is of poor quality and I have to figure out ways to make it fertile. I already use urine occasionally and compost from the kitchen also helps. Once in a while, a generous neighbor provides us with sheep-shit. Even with all this, the soil still needs nurturing.

Whenever my aunt or grandmom is in town, I never lose a chance to ask them about new (or should I say old?) techniques to rejenuvate the earth. My aunt happily shared this simple method that involves using Neem, ಹೊಂಗೆ - Honge (Pongamia Pinnata), ಎಕ್ಕೆ - Ekke (Calotropis_procera) and cowdung buried under a thin layer of soil for about 3 to 4 months.
Neem is known to have medicinal properties, Honge is good manure and cowdung hastens the composting process. I am yet to figure out Ekke's purpose. As we were preparing the compost pit, my dad mentioned that Ekke is usually used in paddy fields also.

My 16-yr old cousin is in town for her holidays and I found her to be of great help in the garden as we implemented the above technique (pictures below). She has a close connection with the land as she spends most of her holidays on her grandmom's farm and the effect shows!

Neem and Honge from the trees outside our home

Ekke from the plant near our house

Ready for enrichment

adding honge

adding neem

ekke and cowdung slurry from the street

covering with soil 

I prepaid for her help by facilitating her introduction to the internet, google search and gmail. It was fascinating to see her wonder at her discoveries as she saw her school, created her email id and searched how to make neem oil, for a start. The fact that she studied in Kannada medium and was using the computer for the first time did not matter at all. It made me wonder if all we need to teach them is how to ask questions - Why, Who, How, What, When - and then give them freedom, space and the tools to find answers; and then they will take care of themselves!



Photographs by Varsha - she was using an SLR for the first time.

Pain, death, Two nomads, 1 narrative

Today has been a heavy day emotionally.. I was reading about Arunima Sinha in the morning, and then an article by a doctor about terminally ill cancer patients.. It made me look at my to-do list that I had when I was a happy & hopeful 23 yr old. Though I have done many things that I never imagined I would do (thanks largely due to chance and easy money!), trekking to Everest Base Camp is still an unfulfilled wish.

I have been through my own little ups and downs in life, faced many choices and opportunities and not always made the 'right' choices - choices that I am not necessarily happy about (not fair enough, not sensitive enough, not strong enough, not risky enough, etc.). Situations like these actually help us know who we truly are instead of who we think we are. Sometimes I wonder if it is easier to not have too many choices and experience failure and pain early in life!
Thoughts like these often make me feel if I am fit for this world and I feel like dropping everything and just meditate and grow plants. And then, stories like that of 2 nomads, 1 narrative and the thought of an uncertain life and certain death make me shelve the idea of dropping everything as the wanderer in me wakes up again!

Akki mudi.. and work for the soul and body

Whenever I want to find an alternative to plastic, I ask my parents or grandmom since there was no plastic during their time. This time around, my question was about storing seeds. As of now, I have a plastic box but my brother has promised to build me a wooden box. Back to the past.. My father explained that they used to store seeds in a sphere made by tightly tying straw around the seeds. Seemed interesting. What about rats? They always had cats, so it should have been fine. This conversation happened quite some time back.

My current plastic seedbox, soon to be replaced by a wooden one

Yesterday, I got re-introduced to this beautiful and simple method of storing grains and seeds in a sphere made of rice straw. My mom and I had been wanting to visit a house under construction near our home and we finally made it couple of days ago. The family happens to be from Mangalore and within 20 minutes of meeting, my mom had made friends with them and offered our home for storing their stuff till their gruhapravesha. Of all the stuff that came into our house, the one thing that struck my attention was a sphere with rice!! The explanation for this type of storage was very similar to the seed storage technique explained by dad. With this technique, they store upto 40 kgs of rice for a year.

Akki Mudi - for storing rice

The technique used is not just beautiful, but so simple, indigenous and made from locally available material. It
also promotes art (yes!) and engineering (yes again!) and even more importantly, something for people to do with their hands, mind and heart. Schumacher in his book 'Small is beautiful' talks about work as "something.. for the good of man's body and soul'. With these products, there is a joy of doing-it-yourself or atleast knowing where a particular product has come from and who has created it. For the person producing these products, there is hopefully the same joy in knowing that his creation is being used by people he/she knows. Compare this to the factory made products that are produced in bulk by automated machines without any feelings.

This incident also made me feel for all the people stuck in jobs where their soul and body are not fully involved and are just working for the pay-packet (Even I was there for sometime, so can understand how it feels).

PS: Some photos of 'mudi kattuvudu' (tying the mudi) can be found here in a local news article.

Why me?

No, this is not about 'Why do all bad things happen to me only?'

My friends have often wondered how I end up not only meeting so many strangers, but also how they tend to open up their mind and heart to share their life experiences with me. Sometimes, even I wonder because for a major part of my life, I have been a very shy person, scared to talk to people. Whether it is the Indian girl whom I met on a bus in Bristol (she has a Chinese brother - both adopted by a couple in Luxemburg), or the Indian-American Kannadiga whom I met at a Zakir Hussain concert in London, or the 75-year old World War veteran whom I met by the Thames river.. or more recently, some migrants I met on the train, or the security guards I get to meet at IISc .... 

All these people and the conversations I have had with them have had an impact on me and have enriched my life.

This is the first in the series of recording such experiences. I will start with the most recent one that happened yesterday.

I was introduced to the book 'Siddhartha' in the morning and having gone through the gist on Wikipedia, was trying to relate to the thoughts presented in the story. It was mostly reaffirming, but did leave me disturbed and exhausted. So I was planning to leave early when I had this 25 minute conversation with the security boy (I did not track the time, he did). I was the listener for most part, which is usually the case with me, except when I am talking to my very close friends.

The security boy helped me put up some posters on the notice board; I had nothing to do, but felt an obligation to stand there till he finished his job. I thanked him and turned to go, but he started a long conversation which never seemed to end. He told me about a TV program that he watched about Emu rearing and all the money it could bring. I asked him if we have the right weather conditions to rear Emus, but I could see that he had done all the homework as he explained the process. He also talked about how he wants to go back to his village and become a farmer and stay close to his people. He went on to talk about how his family lost a lot of money and family jewelry because of his dad's poor choices (mostly influenced by his alcoholism) and his mother's innocence. He had taken up a job as a security guard and got his father also enrolled at the same place. He has just started his Diploma course in Mechanical Engineering and hopes to get into a good job soon. He pays for his fees and along with his father, is paying off a loan they took to have a shelter for themselves. He says he cannot spend time with friends after college because he has to report to work. He also regrets not spending enough time with his mother because he is either at college or at work for most part of the day. He talks to his father on the phone since he doesn't get to meet him too because they work in different shifts. With all this, he manages to participate in debates and elocutions as he loves to talk (no doubt about it!).

During the entire conversation, he smiled as he talked. He did not seem to have any complaints about anyone though he admitted not having trust worthy relatives. He did not seem to have any hatred towards his father for all his alcoholism and poor financial management. All he wished for was to have a few good friends who would stand by him during his troubled times. He seemed to have everything worked out for becoming a farmer - the loans that he could take, the subsidies that he could make use of and the trust that he could build with his fellow villagers.

I was amazed by his attitude and sincerely hope that life doesn't become so hard on him that he loses his optimism. I also had a few lessons to be learnt from him about forgiving people and taking everyone along. Though I have experienced financial and other hardships during my childhood, I thanked my stars for not having to earn for my fees or contribute to the family income. I also feel lucky to have been blessed with some really good friends and had (and still have) the luxury of spending time with them.

Learn, teach and have fun at Munsiari

While I was in Munsiari earlier this year, Malika suggested designing a program for independent travelers who would like to do something beyond just tourism and explore the connection with the land and its people. Some of my friends are planning to go on such a trip. I have listed some activities that can be done at the place.

Learn from the community

1. Farming
2. Knitting
3. Carpet making
4. Cooking
5. Singing and dancing
6. Anything else one wishes to learn

Teach the community

1. English
2. Car driving
3. Food processing
4. Tailoring and designing
5. Singing and dancing
6. Cooking
7. Solar repairs
8. Accounting/Finance
9. Film making
10. Anything else one wishes to teach

Apart from these, one could participate in local wedding parties and go on treks. Munsiari is the starting point for many treks in the Kumaon region of the Himalayas.

We shall be staying with families in the home stay program. 

We are looking at a 2 week program starting mid November. The charges are tentatively Rs. 700 per day including food at the homestay. Transport to the place is extra (Need to take a train from Delhi to Kathgodam and then a taxi to Munsiari @ Rs. 500)

If anyone would like to join in this adventure, let me know by mid September so we can book train tickets.

What a year it has been!

--> The year gone by (August 2011 to August 2012) has been an exciting one. I am writing a short summary for my reference.

Went to Rameshwaram with parents, was amazed by the temple structure with all its fresh water wells. Also went to Dhanushkodi and experienced the vastness of the ocean. Developed cold feet, almost cancelled my Canada trip but eventually made it.
In Toronto, attended TEDx and TIFF. At b-school, met many people from many countries, was thrilled. Soon realized I was not meant to be doing assignments after assignments. Steve Jobs died. Got lost. A friend sent a link about Malika Virdi. Decided to get some real education back home for lesser fees.
Went to Montreal with a borrowed credit card and camera. Cycled in Montreal on a rented cycle. Walked on the cobbled streets of Quebec city. Came back to Toronto. Caught up with a friend from college after a decade. More assignments. Met some ordinary people. Met some amazing people. Made few friends for life. Volunteered at an urban farm and earned some vegetables.
Wandered on the streets of Toronto. Fell in love with the place. Watched a weirdo play in a cute little theatre. Was reminded of Ranga Shankara.
Learned to make Aloo Parantha and Groundnut chutney. Baked cakes with classmates who turned into friends. Went for swimming classes for the third time in my life.
Knew I was going to go back, but felt a sweet satisfaction in putting full effort into studies. Had a crush on one of my professors (coincidentally got a A- in his subject).
Saw Disney on Ice and felt like a child. Sang Christmas carols. Had a traditional Christmas dinner with an amazing family.
Visited friends on the other side of the Niagara. Renewed a friendship. Painted a wardrobe at her home. Enjoyed a guided walking tour along the streets of New York, with a friend.
Got a sweet farewell from my desi classmates. Had a calm and relaxed journey back to Bangalore.
Prepared sandige with mom. Attended Mylara jaatre in North Karnataka with mom's family. Witnessed madness. Climbed a water tank to take pictures. Sent photographs to people I met at the fair (and they still keep in touch!).
Went to Haridwar and Rishikesh with parents. Was overwhelmed by the mighty Ganga. Went to the Taj Mahal and did not feel anything. Toured Jaipur and liked it. Toured Delhi and hated it. Parents went home and I continued onto Munsiari (and the rest, as they say, is history.) Found myself.
Decided to go back home. Left the details of the journey to chance. Met some dreamers and achievers on the way. Enjoyed the hospitality of a wonderful family in Nainital. Travelled in unreserved class along with a foreigner. Shared recipes of Ragi mudde and Dose in a crowded train.
Came back to Bangalore with mixed feelings. Back to my garden experiments. Appeared in an article in Sudha (Kannada) magazine and liked it. Looked after 3 puppies for a while. Went to aunt's place to take refuge from angry mom. Learned to make Rave unde and nippattu from uncle. Also got some lessons on cultivating land. Started writing in Kannada.

Now, looking forward to another eventful year ahead!

My conversations with Malika Virdi

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These are some of the many conversations that I had the privilege to have as I saw Malika Virdi's many facets - as a woman, as a person from a minority community, as a mother, as a mountaineer, as an artist, as a leader, as a last-minute project manager, as an agony aunt, as a farmer, as an activist, as a former Sarpanch, as a teacher, as a grandmother (to neighbour's kids), as a volleyball player, as a cook, as a strict task master, as a pet-lover, as a friend.. as a person living life to the fullest.

 Photo courtesy: Diba Siddiqi

I am scared of you!

Malika Virdi: It was nice of you to offer to take a back seat while working with the German researcher and let the locals get some visibility.

Lavanya Keshavamurthy: Thanks. I was not sure if I did the right thing. I am scared of you!

MV: It is because of the competitiveness that we are taught in the corporate world. It is refreshing to see that you are different. We'll see if this leads to our friendship. But, you can be scared of me if you want.

I want to die only once

MV: (Recollecting a conversation she had with a local during her Himalayan trek) I asked the person who lives literally on the edge, if he doesn't get scared of jumping off trees and cliffs. He said, “I do not want to be scared and die a 1000 times before I die. When the time comes, I will die, and nothing will stop me.”

LK: (repeating to myself, “I do not want to die a 1000 times before I die”)

Farmer or more?

One of the questions I wanted to find answers to was whether one can make a living as a farmer. We were trying to scare away some monkeys when we had this conversation. When I joined the fight, she had given up on a catapult and was trying to use a bow and arrow.

MV: It is a tough life if you want to make a living off farming. Look at those langurs (monkeys). They destroy half the crops, if they haven't already been eaten away by pigs and porcupines. And then, there are jealous neighbors who let their cattle graze in our fields.

LK: Also the unpredictable monsoons. Which is why my parents fear when I tell them I want to be a farmer.

MV: They are right. You should have an alternative source of income.

Leeches are better than humans

LK: I want to leave around May 15^th.

MV: You cannot leave before you finish all those items on the board. Or, do you have someone waiting for you in Bangalore?

LK: :-) I am told that leeches start appearing around the last week of May. I am scared of leeches.

MV: People are far more dangerous than leeches. We will ensure that you will not be bitten by leeches. (I was overwhelmed when she said this)

LK: I know. I have met some really creepy people in my life. Coming back to leeches.. I have this awkward scary feeling towards creepy crawly worms. It is similar to some people being scared of spiders.

MV: No, you don't know. You only know psychologically that some humans are bad. You haven't seem them all.

LK: hmmm..

Generalist or Specialist?

It was a few days after I had driven a taxi in Munsiari. By then, I had also done some basic carpentry fixes, built a slow sand filter, cleaned my room before vacating it, looked after goats, cooked for the family, etc..

MV: (addressing the women of the Sanghatan (women's collective)) We have to know everything and we will. We will drive a taxi, we will grow food, we will clean our house, we will cook, we will knit, we will use the internet, we will repair solar lamps, we will also be carpenters and plumbers if need be.

LK: I always had this fear of not being a specialist. To make matters more confusing, people told me 'you should not do this or that because you are an engineer/woman/team leader/inexperienced/etc..' But, now, I feel I had always been right.. I mean, I believe there is nothing wrong in learning and doing any kind of work; no job is big or small.

MV: You are right. Cities tend to make you grow vertically, forcing you to be good at one skill and ignore the rest whereas most of these other skills are life skills which we ought to know. Being in a rural setting makes you grow horizontally, forcing you to learn the much needed life skills and making you more complete.

How do you decide what is important?

LK: I made this list of pending items. There are some things which I may not be able to complete and there are some that I can continue from Bangalore.

MV: Hmm.. the fish pond is top priority. The kids have been waiting too long to see fish in their pond.

LK: (I was surprised because I expected something more 'important') Fishpond?

MV: Basanti's kids were the first to learn to bake cakes in a solar cooker and also teach others. They deserve to have the first fishpond in their village.

LK: But, there is so much work to be done.

MV: How much? Will it do if all the women in the collective work for a day?

LK: What? May be. I don't know. I am not sure. We'll try.

(I seriously was not confident of completing it, but eventually, we did complete it.

There was another (cement) pond already built by a well-off family in the same village, but Basanti's kids were indeed the first to get fish from Malika's pond. Oh, were they happy that day!)

These stones are God?

During 'Creative Edge' – a week reserved for artistic work, my art project was to sketch the story of the pond at Malika's place.

MV: Have you seen where the Jal Devi is (Water Goddess)?

LK: No, you have a Jal Devi?

MV: Yeah. (pointing to few irregularly shaped stones) You see those stones there? When we started creating our pond here, we did not know that this place was originally a water source and that the villagers worshiped those stones as the water Goddess. I am not religious, but the villagers believe that we got water in the pond because of the Jal Devi.

LK: I am not religious too, but I respect their belief. Their beliefs are so much simpler and non-intrusive compared to that in cities. Also, these people here are so open to others' beliefs and non-beliefs and are pretty modern in their thinking.

MV: I am glad you could see beyond their simple lifestyle. Some of these women just go along and treat religious events as inevitable social gatherings.

(We both knew who we were talking about.)

Do you mind moving?

Apparently, I was sitting in Malika's place in the office.

MV: If you don't mind, could you please move to a different place? I already have so many of my documents here and it would be tough for me to move.

LK: I moved to 5 different homes and you ask me if I mind moving 10 feet? :)

MV: :-) We knew you would understand us moving you to so many different homes.

LK: I did enjoy the love and hospitality of 5 different families.

Real world learning

We were discussing about my MBA course..

LK: Oh, we had a bit of accounting, a bit of economics, a bit of leadership, etc..

MV: OK. Here's some real social entrepreneurial learning opportunity for you. You need to create financial statements for our collective and also suggest an organizational model for us.

LK: I was planning to relax after the research project...

MV: Relax, huh?

(At the end of my stay, we had the template for the statements and 2 accounting classes conducted for the women in the collective to take it forward. I also got an opportunity to learn and share what I learned about producer companies as a possible alternative to co-operative societies.)

Competitiveness is good, no?

MV: (During my end-of-term appraisal) It is refreshing to see an urban woman be so non-competitive. You even let Ola wear your best sari during the mela!

LK: But, I would get numerous other opportunities to wear a sari. Wait a min. Did u say being non-competitive is good? During my corporate life, I was always asked to be more competitive and more visible. Thank you for bursting this myth.

20 years are not enough

LK: (looking at my TODO list) 2 months are not enough to do all that I want to do.

MV: 20 years are not enough. (20 years is the amount of time Malika has been in Munsiari)

It is not about 'who you are' (man/woman/outsider/local), it is about 'what you do'

One of the other questions that I had asked was about how local people (especially men) react when outsiders (especially women) try to bring about change in a community.

MV: I will not answer this question for you. I am sure you would have found the answer yourself.

LK: Yes, I did.

(Over numerous kitchen conversations, I saw that everyone (man/women did not matter) who had been touched directly or indirectly by Malika's work, had a great deal of respect for her)

Making a world of difference to one starfish

A chance meeting with the manager of Himalaya Public School (HPS) at Chaukori, as he came to drop members of Himalayan Education Foundation (HEF) to Munsiari, proved very valuable to Ola and me. Prakash invited us to visit the school on our way back from Munsiari. It worked well for us as we did not want to make the 12-hr journey at one go. I had also heard a lot about the school, so was curious too.

Chaukori is about 4 hrs by road from Munsiari, at almost the same altitude as Munsiari. But, it was unbearably hot that day because of deliberate forest fires in the area (to clear forests for agricultural land).
At the school, we were given the option to stay in a room or in a cozy tent - what we chose is anybody's guess. I was floored by the hospitality at the school as well as at Prakash's home in Nainital. The respect and love showered on us was overwhelming. It is hard to believe that such wonderful people still exist in today's world.

Prakash's sister Devbala (also the principal of the school) spoke with passion about the school started by her father with the intention of providing good education for rural people so that they could be confident enough to compete with urban children. The school was started in a goshala (cowshed) with classes conducted in the morning the same classrooms turning into dorms in the night.

Over a hearty (and special) meal, Devbala recounted how, before mobile phones became available, they used to travel a few hrs by bus to the nearest telephone booth which may or may not be working. Prakash shared stories of how people came forward to help in various ways, the recent addition being a computer lab set up by one such group of people. Another person, Jayant, through the Himalayan Education Foundation supports schools and school children in the remote villages of the Indian Himalayas. The Himalayan Public School is one such school. When we visited, a library was being built and I saw carpenters turn into computer students by night. There were no barriers for learning.



We spent the evening with Hemlatha, 12-standard student who has aspirations of becoming a doctor. I liked her for her composure and the way she spoke in simple but flawless English. She is one of the beneficiaries of the Himalayan Education Foundation.

At the time of leaving, I asked Prakash as to how I could return his favour (for dropping us to Almora and hosting us at his school as well as at his home). He jokingly said that I need to pay 200 USD. But, I decided to take it seriously. So, this is a request to my friends, especially those in the US, to help me in passing on the favour to some needy student.
The cost of sponsoring one non-residential student in first grade is approximately Rs. 5000 per year, going upto Rs. 11,000 for a student in 12th grade. The fees for residential students starts from Rs. 36,200 per year. Details are available on the website of HEF and HPS.

Even as I write this, I wonder how this write-up will help in reaching out to thousands of students in need. Then, I remember the story of the starfish wherein a little boy makes a world of difference to the one starfish that he throws back into the ocean. So, even if one person reaches out to one student, it is worth the effort putting together all these words.

Camera courtesy: Ola Da

A book from here and a book from there..

During my stay at Munsiari, one of the community needs that came out strongly was the need for a good library or a reading space, preferably with books/audio-video in the local language (Hindi).

A friend's friend heard about my trip and came forward to support a library through an initiative called READ.

All I did was to put these 2 pieces together and today, a library for children and young adults in the age group 5-25 yrs is in the process of being setup.

There were 3 main reasons for the need for such a library. 

1. While the children and young adults have access to conventional education, they do not have access to books on a wider variety of issues and subjects, particularly on the natural sciences and natural heritage. 

2. Through a collection of audio video material, to bridge the digital divide.

3. Access to any kind of learning material (apart from school books) is almost non-existent and the nearest big town where books are available is more than five hours by road.

Books from the following sources have been suggested.

• Eklavya - The complete list along with the rates, is available here.

• Childrens' Book Trust

• National Book Trust

• Katha

• Sahmat
  

There is also a need for building/buying racks/shelves and related library infrastructure.

If you are interested in participating in this initiative, there are 3 (actually 4) ways of getting involved.

1. Buy some of these books yourself and send it to Munsiari (or any special books that have inspired you as a child/young adult – I plan to send Kalam's “Wings of fire”)
2. Bear the cost of some books/infrastructure by sending money directly to Himal Prakriti
3. Contribute indirectly though READ
4. Visit the place and actually setup the library and experience it first hand

About READ

“READ Initiative” is a group with an aim to provide access to good books to underprivileged children in India. Their main focus is schools and community centre libraries where books can be made accessible. By contributing books for the library, they intend to ensure that the “library/ reading space” becomes a special treat for the children.

They have successfully completed two years and have provided books to 11 schools across India.

About Himal Prakriti

Himal Prakriti is a non-profit, non-governmental organization registered as a charitable trust. Its work has been embedded in the community, and its role has been to extend support to the various conservation and livelihood issues in the Gori valley through education, training, research and advocacy activities. Through its educational initiatives, they aim to build on the community capacities in understanding and appreciating our natural heritage and to build on the body of knowledge that will strengthen lives that are dependent on nature in the Himalaya.

PS: Please ping me for the contact details of READ/Himal Prakriti

The story of Basanti's fish pond

The beginning

The pond at Basanti's place (first of the 5 homes I stayed in, in Munsiyari) was already half dug up when Ola and I came in to the picture. We started digging bit by bit and soon Basanti’s sons joined in and the pond grew to a decent size of approximately 6m by 4m.

To put plastic or not?

The soil at the base of the pond is very permeable and there was no chance of water being let in before making it suitable for a pond. I was totally against putting plastic and wanted to try other alternatives such as creating a thick layer of compacted soil, gleying using dung and other organic matter or using a layer of natural clay such as Sodium Bentonite. After a quick breakfast discussion with a soil expert who was in Munsiyari by chance, it was decided to go ahead with layering the pond with plastic as we did not want to run the risk of the fish dying. The soil expert gave a few practical tips and suggested that the plastic needs be fully protected from direct sunlight to avoid UV rays from decomposing the plastic. 


15^th May 2012 - One lovely day and a dozen strong women

My assessment of the work of layering with organic matter and plastic was about 2 to 3 days of dedicated hard-work and there was little chance that I could take out so much time in all the other things that I had to finish. Malika told me that there was no way I could return home unless the pond was done!! She suggested a shramdaan from Maati women and there we were, about a dozen strong women from ages 12 to 50 shoveling mud, carrying cow dung and even cutting stones. Lunch break coincided with a bout of rain and we got a chance to catch up over a hearty lunch that included Rajma and Aloo Mutter from Basanti's garden.

Though ideas came from everyone, Rajda (Basanti’s husband) took the lead and sweated it out even though he was quite weak from fever. By 6 pm, the pond was done and I had seen a live example of the community happily participating in a project that did not have anything to do with them directly. Later in the day, Rajda created a water inlet and the pond was full by the next morning. On the 20^th, the kids dived into the pond at Malika’s place to get fish for their own pond.

Within a few days of the pond getting completed, the place came alive with the pond attracting damsel flies and dragon flies, apart from tourists. There is something about water and fish that attracts people - I remember my friend and I standing by the pool at the Infosys campus and spending many quiet minutes leisurely watching the fish.
The last time I called to check, Basanti had added more fish into her pond, this time from the Gori Ganga river in the valley.

Now for all the boring details:

Specifications

Final size of pond (approx): 6m * 4m,  2 ½ feet deep

Plastic sheet (used to build temporary roofs): 2 thick sheets of 6m by 7m, total cost Rs. 1500.

Steps we followed

1      Dig dig dig
2.     Create a slope for layering the plastic
3.     Clear stones and smoothing the surface by tapping with hands and legs
4.     Layer the pond floor with organic matter (leaves, cow-dung, hay)
5.     Cover with plastic with a good 2 feet of plastic sheet coming over the bank of the pond and a large overlap between the 2 sheets
6.     Secure the sheet by placing heavy stones on the edge
7.     Cover sheet with soil, leaves, hay, dung – a thick enough layer to support an ecosystem.
8.     Place few big stones and wood to create spaces for fish to build their homes and play
9.     Beautify the edge by planting local plants
10.   Put in the fish

Small is beautiful indeed

A few months ago, a friend recommended the book 'Small is Beautiful' by E.F. Schumacher. This book lives up to its name as it is a small book of 250 pages and it suited me fine as I am generally a lazy and slow reader.


Though the book was written more than 30 years ago, the ideas are still relevant. I would say they are more relevant now than ever. It links human behaviour and economics and puts people at the forefront of development. Though progress and development are meant for people, most of the huge development programs that we generally know of somehow miss the human aspect. A classic example is the surge of many unnecessary flyovers in Bangalore, most of which have no provision for people to cross the road. Also, I haven't come across anyone who is happy to be working in such projects either.

The author talks about the use of simple 'Intermediate technology' which is not only less expensive, but also easy to train and control. I could see this in action as I saw a few people make a stone path in Sarmoli village in Munsiyari. The people cut stones that are locally available and laid them out using their hands and simple tools. They seemed satisfied with their work and happily posed for photographs. The other important thing is the ease of taking in feedback and suggestions from locals, on the go. In this case, the local who was accompanying me told them that the stone path is better than the cement one since the stone path provides a better grip especially when there is snow. Whether the suggestion will be implemented or not is secondary, but the ease of providing feedback is nothing compared to the complexity and bureaucracy involved in the massive projects in cities.

I had the same feeling when I visited a couple of micro hydro power projects and water mills which are built almost entirely from locally available materials. Unfortunately, some of these have begun to shutdown as huge hydro power projects are making their way into these serene places and their impact is already visible through many landslides in the area.

Which brings me to the concept of Buddhist Economics which has simplicity and non-violence as its base. The author makes a reference to 'The Middle way' by saying "It is not wealth that stands in the way of liberation but the attachment to wealth; not the enjoyment of pleasurable things but the craving for them." Which translates to achievement of maximum well-being with the minimum of consumption, i.e., small means leading to extraordinarily satisfactory results. A demonstration of this principle could be seen in the little village of Paton (Munsiyari, Pithoragarh, Uttarakhand) which I was fortunate enough to visit (thanks to Malika for forcing me to go on the trip and Ram for guiding us). The village is off-grid, yet, as Ram noted and I couldn't agree more, people have light, can charge their mobiles and watch their favourite TV serials - all powered by solar energy!