In the suburbs of Mumbai (about 1 hour out) there is a national park in which there is a rocky, mossy hill that rises above the surrounding jungle-type vegitation. On this hill there are ~109 caves carved by buddhist monks in about 1000BC, called the Kanheri caves. The monks had no metal tools, so all the caves were build wih rock tools. They reminded me a bit of Petra (the 2000 year old city carved out of sandstone) in Jordan - one of the new 7 wonders of the world!
Water runs down through the middle of the community as you look up the hill. There was a bathroom/ washing area and other places where water was diverted using holes through or ruts carved into the stone.
Here is me with one of the cave statues...he has a few inches on me...
Past the realy tall statue is this inner temple..one can walk behind the pillars and one can see where all the oil lamps were usually placed.
lots of little wall carvings..it doesn't get much better than well-preserved, 3000 year old caves!We visited a second Jain temple near the national park. In this sect of Jainism, the priests are not allowed to wear any clothes at all!


Me at the Mumbai coast.
We dressed scandelously (spaghetti strap tank tops!), and headed out to a bar/dance club on Sunday night. When we arrived, we thought the club was closed because there was no one around, but it turns out we were just the only ones there. We had a good time on our own, getting to request anything we wanted form the DJ. After 1-2 hours, the bar was comfortably full. I am glad my team-mates are all so flexible and fun :)

On Sunday, the four of us set out on a full-day tour of Mumbai with a private car and driver and a tour guide. Here I am with a bunch of funny-shaped concrete wave-breakers.
Apparently the Indian coast used to be inhabited primarily by fishing communities. Most of these villages have been displaced, but we got to visit the only fisherman village remaining in Mumbai. The boats were mostly on land because it isn't safe to fish in deep waters during monsoon season.

Here is a women chopping fish. I was impressed with how clean this village was and how little it smelled like fish - much cleaner than the Delhi slums!

Using mythology to promote transportation safety - I can get behind that :)

One of our stops was this gaint market (Crawford market) offering everything from fruits/vegitables, spices,
to a big meat warehouse and a section for pets...most of these pets did not look very happy, although I did see one of the cutest golden retriever puppies I have ever seen...and a guinea pig that someone had died bright pink (conspicuously mixed in with a group of non-dyed guinea pigs).
One of the stops that I thought was pretty cool was Dhobi Ghat, where all of Mumbai's laundry is washed. When you look down into this area, it is hard to tell where it ends...so much laundry! Many of the day-to-day functional differences that I see in India compared to the US are related to the price of labor here. There are so many people willing to work for so little money that it doesn't make sense for many businesses and homes to by washing machines. In that vein, I don't think I have seen a single crane in India - but I have seen a lot of huge marble blocks being pulled up several stories with rope and pulley systems!
We visited a Jain temple in the most expensive residential area of Mumbai. This place was very intense. The priests for this branch of Jainism can only wear one piece of white cloth wrapped around their bodies and a white cloth covering their nose and mouth that is meant to prevent accidently killing any bugs by inhaling them. The 2-story temple (partially under construction) was like an insence hot-box with an obstacle course of dozens of religious activity options. There were lots of small rooms surrounding an open quadrangle in the middle where all sorts of praying, making and destroying rice pictures, bell ringing, and decorating idols was taking place. This Jain temple was very colorful with bright paintings decorating all the walls and ceilings.
We also got to visit the house in Mumbai where Ghandi lived for 17 years, which has been turned into a museum commemorating his life. He had a lot of books.

We like Bombay.

Train, Pain, and a return to Decadence

After a 1 hour taxi ride to the train station we rushed to our platform and tried to find out where we should go to get into Boogie (car) number B7. We asked three people whose answers ranged from both extremes of the long platform so we decided to hang out in the middle (it was a little hot!). When the train arrived the plot thickened...there was no car nunber B7. The train person tried to explain that this is the NEW train and therefore there was no B7 car. We caught hold of a another distressed B7 passenger who thought the extra car may have been tacked on to the end of the train so we raced to the end and got into a car with a paper sign on the outside that appeared to read 'B1'. When we got on, there were eight people who claimed that they were supposed to sit in 6 seats and so things were tight until the conductor came through 2 hours later and cleared things up.Here is Jessica about 14 hours later, eating breakfast on the top bunk. I was in a nearby-top bunk and slept pretty well, despite the severe cold that had me caughing and spitting up phlem periodically...wooo!
Julie's family in Bombay (technically Mumbai), generously sent their personal driver to pick us up from the train station (where our train arrived 2 hours late). We got settled in our fancy hotel (4 girls in one suite for $25/each/night) which was right near the Gate of India and the Taj Mahal Hotel and went to find food. We found "Food Inn" where I ordered tandoori chicken, roti, and a bananna lassi....possibly some of the best ckicken I have ever had! I guess I was missing meat. Here is the Taj Mahal Hotel...there are a lot of buildings in Bombay designed by european architects during British rule...however, this hotel was built by a rich Indian who was turned away from a fancy British hotel, so he decided to make a super-expensive hotel that anyone (with money) could stay at. Later that night, Julie's extended family (about 15 of them) met up for dinner and invited us. We feasted on indian, chinese, and thai dishes at a long banquet table and ended the meal with one of the best desserts I have had in a while: brownie with ice cream, covered with sizzling chocolate sauce.
We slept very soundly this night.

BONUS PICTURES! This weekend only!!! (courtesy of Jessica)

Cat and Jessica at the poorly named but extremely tasty "Chicken Inn" in New Delhi.

Cute group picture at Agra Fort.

Out for Jessica's 21st birthday - we went to a bar/restaurant/place to watch cricket where I had a tasty mojito for about $2 and then learned a valuable life lesson: don't order italian food in India and think it will taste anything like what you were expecting.

I feel like I spend a lot of time digging through my backpack ...

Another Lodi Gardens shot, a.k.a. the spot for young Indian couples on Sundays.

Shmancy shot of sunset and bogenvilla near our exercise field.

Cat visiting favorite part of campus.

Hopefully the train won't shut down again...

Our group will turn in our second big report to the NGO we have been working with tomorrow and then Julie, Jessica, Yamilee and I get on an Indian sleeper train for the 16 hour ride to Bombay (Mumbai). Above is a picture of our destination within the last week...I am still struggling to find a kayak that will fit in my backpack. Anyhow, Julie's aunt and uncle have planned a picnic and a day at the beach for us on Saturday...it is unclear how these plans align with te thousands of people being evacuated from areas near bodies of water...but I'm sure it will be delightful. No laptop for the weekend, so you'll have to wait until Tuesday for more of the good stuff.

Happy Independence Day United States of America!

A day in the life of a Cat in India:

* 6am: feel really tired..think I am getting a sore throat...hope it is raining so I don't have yoga...shoot! it is bright and sunny again.

* 6:20am: leave for yoga at 6:20am

* 7:15am: return to room, eat oatmeal and check email, fight urge to take nap, and work on data analysis from recent community surveys

*9am: meet with team to get organized for the day (usually have tea: black tea made with hot, very sweet milk)

*10am: 10 minute walk to the Delhi border where we can get an autorickshaw that will take us to the NGO

*~10:20am: inevitable breakdown of autorickshaw....today was the flat-tire variety....mmm, the side of the road is covered in human poop...

*10:45am: arrive at Deepalaya school - confirm with Principal which classes we can visit. Conduct a "quiz game" with three classes of students (which is a sneaky way to get more data for our suvey in exchange for chocolate)...with the 8th class actually being the weaker than the 6th and 7th, since all the best students tend to leave the NGO-run school over time

*1pm: collect the three classes in the lobby for our health/education related play. I make some small talk with one of the 7th grade boys

*2pm: We thank all the Deepalaya staff for a great four weeks and talk to the Principal a bit longer and tell her we will have our final report for her by Friday

*2:15: so starving!!!!! To Nathu's Sweets for one of my favorite lunches: North Indian Thali (shared with Jessica) and a Sweet Lassi drink. The thali is a collection of dishes: this one has a chick-pea curry (back/left), a paneer in masala sauce, and a section of lentils(back/right). The dishes come with rice (in the same tray section as the curd- the white stuff with bits of carrot) and roti (like naan only smaller and lets buttery) and some carrots and onions. The best part of the lunch is the sweet lassi which is really sweet, thick yogurt; the green things are pistachio shavings.

*3pm - autorickshaw ride back to the college

*3:30pm- meet with team members and learn from second supervisor that our primary supervisor has chicken pox...plans for next week are in the air (a condition we are getting increasingly tolerant of :)

*4pm - try to do some editing of report...and end up watching some Indian music videos on TV in Julie and Jessica's room

*6:30pm - round up most of the crew for a run on the field around sunset - one of the best parts of the day

*7:30pm - shoot the basketball around until it is dangerously dark on the slippery/sandy/broken concrete basketball court - go into the gym...smile as I do every day when I see the treadmills - they don't make them like this any more! You can build one at home - all you need is some 2x4s, a bakers dozen rolling pins, and a wide strap :) - no electricity needed.*8:15pm - shower up and head over to the canteen (cafeteria) for dinner to hang out with our Indian girl friends. They are on scholarship and are mostly from farming families in Ladakh. Ladakhis look Chinese and are primarily Buddhist. In this freshman class there are several sets of sisters of differing ages.

*9:30pm- excuse ourselves from dinner since we are all pooped (and chances are 2 out of 5 of us are having some sort of stomach issue...good times).

*10pm- post blog for you lovely people.

Love, Catherine

French toast never tasted so good!

Julie, Yamilee, and Jessica in Lodi Garden in Delhi.
Catherine exploring the outside wall of Sikander Lodi's tomb (which indudes a walled in garden and a mosoleum in the middle) in Lodi Garden. It is amusing to note that Lodi Garden appears to be an make-out spot for Indian couples. The four of us were in complete shock finding a couple under every tree and large bush after observing almost no public displays of affection between men and women in the month we have been here.
A lovely mosoleum that is quite distinguished despite the punishments of time. Remnants of light and dark blue tile still decorate the outside .
A view from Safdarjang's tomb (similar layout to the Taj Mahal) also in Delhi, near Lodi Garden.
When I consulted Lonely Planet guidebook for nearby restaurants guess what we found! an All-American Diner - complete with red pleather seats, Heinz ketchup, waffles, smoothies....oh...it was so good. I would never have guessed I would feel nastalgic about syrup :)

How do you improve self-reliance and healthy living practices in slum communities?

Today our group team from MIT and the Rai Foundation split up to gather data for our study on information tranfer within slum communities: two students went to IKV camp and J.J. camp and three of us went to an NGO school serving children from these communities. Last week and this week we have been studying patterns of information transer within the local slum communities as a function of gender and school-age vs. adult. Initial results show that 25% of the adults in the slums cannot read, but many are able to keep up with current events and entertainment through television. In the poorest slums, there is only limited access to public toilets and most families can only afford 2 meals a day and nevertheless most homes have televisions. About 80% of respondants proclaim TV as their preferred source of information. However, in the very poorest slums the women are so consumed by the hardships of daily life that they have no knowledge of current events / entertainment / politics - for example, one 32 year old women had never gone to school, could not read, owned neither a TV or a radio, and claimed she did not speak to anyone in her community or family about news or other new pieces of knowledge...the question we are trying to answer is how can we tailor information transfer about health and education to individual slumcommunities and specific demographics within these communities to improve their chances for self-reliance and healthy living?

Here are pictures from the NGO-run school located near several slums. These children's families have to pay for the uniforms and books themselves, which are expensive compared to the government schools (although there is still a large gap between the education at these schools and the education at private schools). Many of the girls are on partial scholarship so their families, who make about 4000 Rs-/month (or $1200/year), pay 50 Rs-/ a month (or ~$1.25) instead of about $5/month for boys. There are two reasons Deepalaya (the NGO) favors girls: 1.girls are the ones who will stay in the home and spread knowledge throughout the community (and hopefully send their children to school) and 2. girl-children are often denied the opportunity for education since the parents prefer to use their limited resources to educate their boy-children. Above is a picture of Julie and I from this morning with several boys from the 10th standard (~15 years old) and below three girls from the 9th standard (~14 years old) - in each class there are a number of young men and women who speak English very well. They were all incredibly friendly, curteous, and curious.

Hallelujah!

I did it. I fixed my broken LCD screen…well, actually the nice Indian man fixed it in 30 min for 6800 Rs (~$175)…not too shabby. The resolution is not as high as the old screen, but a full screen sure beats being restricted to the upper-left quadrant. For any of you people interested in computers, Nehru place is some sort of computer mecca. It is a bee hive labyrinth of thousands of tiny computer stores and electronics parts vendors – it was pretty unbelievable. Today we are off to do more sight-seeing in Delhi. (pictures to follow) I have been up since 6am (yes, because I’m a crazy person) but also because 6:30am is when my friend Deepak and I do Pranayama (yoga breathing exersizes)…after 7am the sun is too hot to be sitting outside on the field comfortably.

To the market!

Safety is not really a concern when it comes to Delhi's roads. It is not that people don't get hurt, it is that no one seems interested in taking further safety precautions. On the way to the market we saw a sign that read "Accident prone area - be careful"...I can only assume they were referring to all of Delhi...while the city is at it, they should make a sign saying: "Watch out for infants being held by mothers sitting side-sattle on the back of motorcycles". There are many surprising sights on the roads but the one below was a classic - the cell phone stuck in the helmet. (Of course, I can't really talk because I was only able to take this picture while on the road because we had 5 girls in one autorickshaw - comfortable for about 2-3 passengers, and I was sharing the drivers seat).

Once at the market, the unusually cloudy and "cool" weather transformed into a dounpour and all the shoppers ran to the nearest market stall, while all the stall workers tried to prevents their tarp awnings from collpsing by keeping the water from collecting by poking with long sticks. Amusing for us was that there were several victims of the sudden unloading of these tarps - the funniest of which resulted in a teenage girl with a white curti (shirt) getting completely dreched and the resulting fury of the mother at the very apologetic shopkeeper (while all the on-looking shopkeepers were giggling).

However, one hour later, everything had dried up and the shopkeepers who had packed-up for rain-mode spread out again. Here is one one of these very temporary stores created on this stone archway.

Also, one of the NGO elementary schools that serves local slums had a new saying of the day posted...I agree.

Ohhh, and exciting news in blog-land. I have just called a lap top repair place in Delhi (apparenly located in Asia's largest electronics market...), where the store owner said (in English!) that replacing the Dell laptop screen could be replaced in 1 hour! I know it is not fixed yet and I don't know if I am supposed to bargain over the price...but I can't help "We Are The Champions" from playing in my head. Good luck, me! (as my grandfather Roy might say :)