http://womensrights.change.org/blog/view/delhi_named_most_unsafe_city_for_women

And I recently became a flexitarian .. my freezer is loaded with the veggie burgers ...

http://food.change.org/blog/view/when_vegetarianism_isnt_good_for_the_planet

http://www.netip.org/blog/2010/07/14/diamonds-in-the-rough/?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

courtesy of the net-ip blog

Hi. A new set of Fellows started a new year off in India this summer. You can read the trials and tribulations of surviving an Indian summer here :

http://nanubhai-classrooms.blogspot.com/

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/22/fashion/22Gimlet.html

Hi. I apologize for the delay in the re-release of this blog.
I had some red tape on some of my photographs.
Please feel free to read the blog posts in date order. (Click on January on the right hand panel. Read in date order starting with Dec 13, ending at Dec 30. Please review the screenshot above for details on where to find the location of each post.)

**There are many posts, so if you cannot read all, read this one - DECEMBER 16 . It is the most important from the blog. ***

Also,

over the next few weeks please look out for additional posts on the following 9 topics:

> NRI / Transfer of Wealth between Generations
> Pratham
> Nanubhai Education Foundation
> India 1999 vs India 2009
> Caste system
> The Fellows
> Marriage / Weddings
> Alcohol / Meat
> Sugar Factory

Lastly,

thank you for taking the time to visit this page. Please leave your comments/feedback/questions on any of the posts. I look forward to reading your commentary.

It was during my trip that I found a sense of identity, ten more years of inspiration, a passion to understand the caste system, a longing to return to India, an appreciation for my health and education, admiration for Fellows who severed their ties to the Western world to live in rural India, powerful women in the urban areas of Mumbai, burning hot masala chai, and last but not least, what altruism really means. I am a nobody in the realm of 'saving the world'. I have a lot of work to do, and many more years of spreading awareness.

Here are some photos from the trip. My apologies on how choppy it turned out. I hope to upload some photo albums soon.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qgmxjZDRAmI


Thanks for following,
Anita

** And a special thank you to Heena Bhakta-Palmer for wanting to create and maintain this blog. It's a wonderful idea !!

And, please read this article :

Some facts stated in the WSJ article on February 24,2010:
-22% of rural households lived in katcha structures (temporary shelters)
-29% lived in semi-pucca structures (semi-permanent homes)
-74% of rural households had no access to toilets while
-75% of rural households depended on firewood and chips as a major cooking fuel
-9% used dung cake as fuel while 42% of households used kerosene for lighting

I got back to NY in the afternoon. I was jetlagged for over
five days after I returned. It was totally worth it! Happy new year!!

Today we headed back to Mumbai. Spent the day running
> errands, and going to dinner at Shiv Sager, round two! And then, the
> inevitable, we got dropped off at the airport at midnight for our 5am
> flight.

Oh and this was my last time seeing the auto rickshaws with the following sticker on the back:

Capacity : 3 Idiots .

When I had first arrived in Mumbai I was afraid to sit in a rickshaw thinking that sticker might be on the back. Later I found out that 3 Idiots was a new hit Bollywood film! Lol ... It's playing in the USA right now.

We got up early today and all went to Sevni together to hang out with my family. On the way, my nephew threw out a AA battery out of the window because the cell did not work anymore. Before I could stop him, it was gone. In India, people throw any items out of a moving vehicle. It could be any type of garbage. But as we all know, improper disposal of batteries will cause long term damage to our environment, and to the lives of those living in the polluted areas. In Sevni, we had everyone there, from my dad’s sister and husband, her 3 kids: Maya (of Saroli) and her husband and 2 kids; Jitubhai (of Chattanooga Tennessee) and his wife and their one kid; and Gurubhai (of Canada) and his wife was on her way from Toronto when the bomb scare happened in Amsterdam so she would not get to India until the next day. The next day was my nephews 'babri' (first haircut). A special Hindu ceremony is performed. I was so excited to attend, but unfortunately I had to get out of town back to Mumbai for my flight and to pick up my dear friend’s wedding duppata (veil) . So I did not get to stay for the babri. After eating fresh nasta (morning snacks), we had to head back to my grandparent’s village. On our way back to Rajpura, my other Fuwa (uncle) took us to Bardoli where we ran some errands. That night we prepped for our journey back. The village was alive. There was a wedding about to happen that night. The boy had come from America to marry a girl from my village. (It’s the current trend) The village was so excited for the wedding. People were dancing and in good spirits. I went outside to watch it, and it was stunning. There was horse and carriage, and people dancing. Fireworks blared.

My gran found out that we had gone to that Vishnu Yagna (prayer) and she was upset that we did not eat there. Dining at a yagna is supposed to be very good luck. So guess what... we woke up early and went again! I objected and told my dad we really needed to pack our suitcases, and he insisted on having the spiritual excursion. We went with a neighbor. The auspicious ceremony was beautiful. The priests wore yellow robes. The family in the prayer was seated in a square around a fire. Each couple also had their own miniature fire. They sat on elaborate chairs. They were dressed up like royalty. It was the parents, their two kids and their wives from America, and other close family. The attendees, like me, were separated in groups of men and women. For a little while I sat with the women, and then I went to go sit with my dad. Yea, I broke so many rules in India... Oh well. So as the family is participating in the prayer around the fire, next to them is another square prayer area that women are walking around. These women are people who are attending the yagna. They would walk around and then stop to pray and then keep walking. I asked around to try to understand what this yagna was all about.. I could not get any straight answers. I asked the young and the old. I even asked my gran. This is when it hit me, even in India, my religion and its customs have become commercialized. The only thing that everyone knew was that the family had taken a vow to give up something (sort of like Lent). This yagna was to signify the completing of this major sacrifice. However, nobody could tell me what was given up, for how many years, and why they were doing this 3 day yagna, and feeding every attendee for lunch and dinner everyday. Everyone was moved. They knew they were being blessed for being the presence of these priests and this family. After eating the meal, I felt a little more spiritual myself? Maybe it was a placebo effect, but still, I was becoming as inquisitive about Hinduism as I was went I did my History class research projects in middle/high school. Let’s just say Hinduism is vastly different from what you learn and read about in books, and how it is practiced in its motherland. After the yagna we headed to Saroli to spend the night with my cousin and her husband and kids and in-laws. We had a great night. Although I got bit by so many mosquitos. I was itching everywhere. We watched Boodnath ( a hindi movie about a kid's imaginary friend ) with my nephew. I know I have only met my cousin once ten years ago, but her and her family was like we hadn’t skipped a day in our life as a family. We laughed and caught up on many memories. I am joyous over the strength of our relations through the distance and the time frame that has passed.

We woke up early and went around to many villages trying to visit relatives and friends. We spent an average of 20 minutes at each home. We spent a few hours in Navsari at my dad's school buddy's house. It was fun. It was interesting to see how city people live compared to those of us from small villages. They have a two story townhome behind their welding shop. They had some furniture. The place was very open and had sunlight. We went onto so many villages. I met so much family. I was avoiding having to drink water. I sometimes pretended to sip to be polite. (Foreigners cannot drink tap water. Sometimes filtered water is not really filtered. Most Americans boil water before drinking it. ) I had about a dozen conversations about getting married... We even stopped by at a 21 priest Vishnu yagna in the village of Dhamroad. Here we ran into more relatives. We carried into the night stopping through village after village. It is dangerous to travel at night in rural Gujarat. The roads are unsafe. The trails are unmarked. The only light you can see is the sugarcane fields burning at a distance. Also, there are animals out, and often times pedestrians walking on the roads. It was great to meet extended family. I have so much history in a place that I have only visited twice. It reminded me of the importance of learning the family tree and trying to pass on that message to other Gujaratis. Who would want their family legacy to disappear or be lost from one generation to the next. And today, it is especially important to try to understand genetics and disease prevention.
So in my grandparents’ house, there is a rat. It scours through the house at night. There is no possible way to trap this thing. So we live it. That’s right; we have a rat living in the house. All of us sleep on furniture that is elevated on legs. I was sleeping the bedroom until I could not breathe. There was very poor air circulation. I moved out into the living space, where my gran slept on a hard sofa on one side, and my dad slept on another piece of furniture similar to that one. My grandfather had a ‘bed’ like mine. All four of fell asleep there in the darkness. I would normally turn my iphone on and play some tunes to fall asleep, and so I would not hear the rat crawling around. After the first few nights, I was over the rat. I was onto new bugs. I was trying to avoid mosquitos in the night. Until one morning I woke up, and I had a giant bite on my cheek. I wrote it off as acne. Until I noticed how hard it was, and others began to notice how red it was. The first thing I thought of was that ‘Tales from the Crypt’ story we all used to read when we were young. You know that famous story about the lady who goes to sleep, wakes up with a bite on her face, and it turns out a spider laid eggs in her face. Yep, that’s exactly what I started thinking… Good times! The bump grew bigger, redder, and eventually started to hurt. I counted the days until I could make it to a dermo. The pain subsided, and the bump went down. Today, it’s still red… and several people including my gran, and Kritika, just to name a few have tried to rub it off my face thinking it was a smudge or trying to understand what it was. Thanks! Lol regardless of the bugs, rats, etc, I love India… I love the simple life.

Today was Jignesh and Rina's night wedding! It was magical!

We got up at 5am in Sevni and left to go back to my home village Rajpura. Then we got ready and went to Ninat for Jignesh's satak. This is a pre wedding ceremony for the groom.


After the event, I spent the evening with my grandparents. I can see how Americans become so frustrated when visiting or talking to my grandparents. They live like they may have all their life. The home was rebuilt about five years ago, and it is modern. However, they still live they did. What I mean is, each morning my grandmother wakes up and goes to light the geyser to start the hot water. Then she puts on a pot of chai, which my dad took over while he was visiting. It drove my gran crazy. (Men are not supposed to do housework) They take baths. Then they do their prayer. They are too old to leave the house and walk to the village temple. We go for them, which is a common practice in Hinduism. Praying for others and conducting fasts and prayers for others is common. So each morning as we walked around the temple bowing down to each God and Goddess, I knew I was doing it for my grandparents. We would take Prasad(food blessed by God) back to my grandparents. My gran cooks on the floor. We have a perfectly fine counter, as well as utensils. She prefers to sit on the floor and do all of her chores. Both my grandparents have an old mentality. They do not get any news. I was going crazy not knowing what was happening in the world, but they did not have a tv, and nobody delivered the paper, because my grandfather is blind, and my grandmother is illiterate. They heard stories by word of mouth if someone came to visit that day. They buy their food for vendors who roll their wooden carts through the village full of different types of vegetables and fruits, none of which ever looked fresh. Yet, my gran would stock up. While we were in town, my dad replaced their refrigerator. My gran is used to leaving food outside. Any type of food. We all know bacteria can grow, and it could be bad for you, but they have done this for years, so she did not know the difference. They wash clothes in the back of the house squatting over a large outdoor stone that has a faucet running over it. We have workers that come to wash clothes and wash dishes. Our workers are from a lower caste. My gran cannot use her pots and pans, and nice dishware because the workers may take it with them. Throughout the day my grandparents eagerly wait for phone calls. They pace around the house. They look forward to hearing about local weddings, and hearing stories from passerby travelers. The greed lies, and cheating flood the village daily. The air is thick and weighed down by negativity and folklore. The stories range from a recent mother and wife from Austin Tx who had a drinking problem, and died from alcohol poisoning, to stories of misfortune, others about the riches of America. The gossip is so intense, there are days it gives you headaches, momentary tears, and even stomach pain. The worst part is when false information is spread through out the village and onto the next. It hurt me to see the reputations of others being degraded and laughed at. What a shame it was. That evening, I had the chance to interview my grandparents for the story corps project. They gave me some interesting answers about their lives. I was able to record it all. They did not understand some of the questions so it was tough, but they got through it. I was proud of them. The one question I really wanted them to answer was what advice would they give to their grandchildren and their children, but they could not understand it. Regardless, I think their life story gives me so much inspiration and values that I will take with me and spread to others. This includes, hope for the darkest days, because in the end my toughest day could not have been anything like my grandparents worst day. Faith for knowing that truth prevails from all of the stories where lies were told and they were cheated, truth prevailed for them. Courage to know that if someone tells you that you cannot do something, you can try harder to prove it to yourself, rather than showing it off to them. Education, knowing that they missed an opportunity to learn because of lack of funding, I know I should appreciate what I have learned, and the freedom of being able to be anything I want to be. Health, having the option to have insurance and taking care of myself. Being able to enjoy fresh food, hot water, running electricity, and the extra perks like going out for a drink, watching tv, going out to see a movie, etc.

Overall, despite the negative views at the way my grandparents and older generations live, I had the chance to understand that they are stuck in their ways. Their home remedies and old recipes are fine. They live a peaceful life. I think it isn't fair to compare today's luxuries to their simplicity. I hope more people can start to appreciate that and leave the elders alone.

My dad and I took an autorickshaw from our village to Kadod High School to meet two more fellows. These girls were living at the school in a house next to the Principal’s home on campus. The girls were ever so sweet and welcoming. I had the opportunity to attend classes with them, where they taught English lessons. I had the chance to meet the principal, who told me that they were very impressed with Nanubhai Education Foundation. Nanubhai was the principal of Kadod High School. He retired many years ago and started his own polytechnic school. The current principal knew who my family was. In fact, on this trip I learned that my grandfather attended Kadod High School, as well as my dad’s sister. I learned that my grandfather was fluent in English. As I walked through the halls, I thought about what it must have been like for them to be young and daydreamers. My grandfather had wanted to leave India, but unfortunately in his lifetime the government never granted him a visa. The same goes for my grandmother who only finished 4th Standard at another local school before marrying my grandfather when she was age 13. What a different time that was. Neither of my grandparents had the opportunity to visit America. Back to Kadod, the kids were rowdy. I just don’t know where they get the energy in the heat of India. They are always squirming and talking during lessons. At Kadod, one of the fellows walked me to the nearby hostel that was built for students whose parents left them to study for the year. This is common for parents who can afford it. It is also a common practice for Indian parents abroad. Many return to India to leave their children in a boarding school. When we went the hostel, we had to cross a bridge, where the Fellow pointed out the trash that was thrown overboard into the water and the grass. I notice a dark colored pig roaming through the trash. In fact, there were many pigs that roam around Kadod, amongst the many different types of animals that they have out there. After my visit to Kadod High School, we took the autorickshaw to see my Foi and Fuwa's (dad's sister and husband) village Sevni. I spent the afternoon hanging out with them. Sitting on their balcony swing chair all afternoon and sipping hot chai. Later I got ready to go to Jignesh's garba. Jignesh grew up down the road from me in Fort Lauderdale. He was getting married so they were hosting a garba (event where you dance). I had a great time. I finally got to do garba after all these years!! It is a traditional gujarati folk dance. It was a great time. They had international foods. I had some ice cream! Ice cream in India is amazing! We could not stay late because of the danger of traveling in the night. We spent the night in Sevni at my Aunt’s house.