A Week Worth of Pictures

This past week we visited Rock Garden.  Built by Nek Chand, this "garden" is built entirely of trash.  He started building these structures all on his own and almost 20 years later his park was inaugurated.  Who knew trash could be so beautiful?!

Many of the walls were made of old grain sacks

Who knew broken tile can make such beautiful things!

I'm not sure if you can tell but there is a swing in each of those arches!  People of all ages were enjoying this past time. So refreshing

Made out of broken bangles

Every Wednesday Nanaji (grandfather) goes to the Farmer's Market to get the week's worth of veggies and fruit.  It was amazingly colorful, wonderfully smelling, and exceptionally organic (and it was hotttttt!)

Love the color of the eggplants! 

Veggies

My Nanaji and I loading up on fruit at the farmer's market

tomatoes

Green and red chillies!

The sweetest mangoes

Love their old fashioned weighing scale

Okra

Can't have indian food without onions!

Garlic and Ginger

Papaya!

Next Stop... Simla in Himachal Pradesh!

Delhi Belly...not!

Delhi or "Dilli" in desi terms--was amazing. For the first time I felt like I was in the real India and not in the margaritaville of India aka Kerala. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE Kerala. I love the spicy food, the genuine&humble people, the sprawling and beautiful backwaters, the laid back, palm trees swaying in the wind atmosphere, and the greenness of the entire state. It's got an easy island vibe (even though its landlocked on three sides) that is unrepresentative of the rest of the country. Delhi is a lot of what I imagined the "real" India to be--crowds, ancient ruins, smells (go0d&bad), animals stopping traffic, insane traffic, temples, amazing food, open markets--basically all 5 senses on fire. Delhi did not disappoint.

After our intense day of shopping in Chandni Chowk, we spent some of the next day taking a break and sightseeing. We started off at Qutub Minar...

...one of the first monuments of muslim India. The tower was built in 1202 as a sign of muslim victory and dominance over Delhi. It is now considered a world heritage site and a major tourist stop. It was an incredible sight and I got to take some pretty amazing pictures.

The next stop on our Delhi tour was Baha'i Temple, also known as the Lotus Temple.

I think I might have found a new religion (no one show this blog to my mom...i'll hunt u down). The Baha'i faith pretty much says that all religions have the same message and that important religious figures (Jesus, Muhammad, Buddha, etc.) were divine messengers that established religions to suit the needs of their people at THAT time. The faith also believes that religion and people are constantly evolving and our ultimate goal is to achieve peace, justice, and unity for all people. Agreed.

After this refreshing religious rendezvous, we stopped off at Humayun's Tomb, another world heritage site.

Humayun's tomb is Delhi's first mughal mausoleum built to house the second mughal emperor, Humayun (duh). This was essentially a prototype for the Taj Mahal and it is no less breathtaking (well maybe it is, I haven't seen the Taj Mahal yet). I think what struck me about this site was how massive the structure was and how many people died building it. People literally worked themselves to death building these colossal monuments and tombs and now my douchy behind is over here taking pictures and making stupid poses to show off to my friends. I really hope I'm not reincarnated as a slave building a giant ridiculous tomb way in the future on some different planet in their version of ancient times.

Oh and there were some pretty awesome trees there--i love trees.

Our final stop (b/c I broke my glasses..womp womp) was Rashtrapati Bhavan and India Gate.

Rashtrapati Bhavan is the indian equivalent of the White House..but its way cooler because we've got landscaped elephants on our lawn.

India Gate commemorates indian lives lost in World War I, the Afghan War of 1919, and the Indo-Pakistan war of 1971

And we're done...phew! So after this quick lesson, you should all be semi experts in Indian History...or at the very least you should be able brag to your friends about some new fun facts that doesn't include what happened on the latest episode of Jersey Shore.

News Flash: Wedding Shopping Break in Delhi!

Day 1: Chandni Chowk
On Thursday we had no plans for the weekend and by Friday we had set in motion a 2 day trip to Delhi. Early Saturday morning my mom, Anitha, Geetu didi (cousin-sister), and I set off towards the capital city, Delhi, in search of vibrant shops and finger licking good food.  First stop, Chandni Chowk!!

Chandni Chowk literally means "moonlit market."  It was part of the mughal city (in what is now Old Delhi) enclosed by the humongous red fort.  Built in 1650AD by the mughal emperor Shah Jahan, one of the city's main streets was Chandni Chowk.  Today it is one of the oldest markets hustling and bustling with constant activity.  The busy street is lined with stores and all the offshoot gallis (alleyways) have shops as far as the eye can see.  These narrow gallis create a maze where one would not surface for days.
First, we visited Gurudwara Sis Ganj Sahib Ji.  It is a very historical place in the Sikh religion because Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji (9th guru) was beheaded for refusing to convert to Islam in 1675AD.  After some quick praying and some parshad (umm ofcourse!) it was off to shop!

This market is a designer's dream with everything from gold buttons of any size to fabric of every shade to an array of bangles and beads.  It felt like an unreal world (almost like Disney World Anitha said).  Not only were the sights stunning (I won't forget to mention the criss cross of electric wires that seemed to hold the whole market together) but the sounds heightened the senses.  Car horns blaring in the distance to scooters zipping through the alleys, there was always some sort of commotion. 

We were so lucky to have a guide with us that seemed to know Chandni Chowk like the back of his hand.  As we whipped through the narrow gallis we suddenly stopped in front of this two story shop: Om Prakash.  This was the first stop to find the ultimate wedding reception sari (traditional indian outfit).   We saw numerous colors and I tried on more saris than I can count.  And then there was one.  The minute I tried it on I felt like a bride.  Besides finding 'my' sari I was amazed by the beautiful selection this store had.  Each piece burst with color and elegance.  It was one of the best stores that I had been to so far and it was packed with people!  How does one even find this place?  Afterwards we visited a couple more shops but nothing else compared.  We hopped on a cycle rickshaw for the trip back to the car.  As the day was winding down it seemed we had walked for miles and that the shops went on forever.  But then... Right when you think the shops will never end, a small plaque declares a heritage site of a Jain temple tucked away in the deep recesses of the market never to be found again... 

Gurudwara Sisganj Sahib Ji in Chandni Chowk

Famous for their Dahi Vadas

One of the gallis of Chandni Chowk

Riding in a cycle rickshaw in bumper to bumper traffic!

Blog me this...

hmm we've been slacking a little on the blogging...lo siento amigos!

So the last week has been pretty eventful. We met Dr. S & finalized our projects, moved into a new makeshift classroom, went to a YTTS staff meeting, shopped our asses off in delhi (i bought shoes and a sword), and then topped the week off with the best indian-chinese-kashmiri food EVER (crispy curried lotus stems anyone?!?).

We finally met with Dr. S on Tuesday to go over our observations and ideas for YTTS. She was running on Indian Standard Time (I.S.T) and made us wait for an hour before she decided to show up. The wait especially sucked because we had to sit there and listen to Col.BD* talk about his ideas for YTTS. Imagine stereotypical machismo indian uncle who refuses to listen. Ya, no thanks. Finally Dr. S showed up and we were able to go over our ideas and suggestions for our internship. Luckily, she was receptive and ended up giving us complete freedom to develop a needs assessment and outlines for community education workshops.

Thursday we were invited last minute to a monthly salary meeting, which is a meeting where the staff talk about site issues and receive their monthly paychecks. Dr. S was once again late, this time clocking in at a record 2 hours past time. But she's such an easygoing & likable person that you can't stay mad at her...plus she brings her teenage son everywhere so she's got the whole 'mom' thing going on. The staff meeting ended with a traditional Langar (lunch) with our partners in crime Kamleshji and Neelamji...(*sigh* always the photographer, never the photographed)

Friday we went to Badmajra to meet with Neelamji. Lakhvirji (our regular autorickshaw driver) picked us up in the morning and dropped us off at the new location for the classroom. The new place consisted of a two room building that ended up having a drunk sleeping off his hangover in one room and the other room having a dangerously loose ceiling fan that threatened to chop off anyone's head who neared it--but the heat was unbearable so we turned it on anyway and watched it rumble and shake. The drunk eventually left and we were free to clean up the space with a rug, some chairs, and a portable fan. The new classroom was definitely a step down from where the class was originally held. We tried to find out the reason for the move but Neelamji was kind of sketch and said that it was because one of the neighbors (a teen girl) would distract the kids from studying. I don't know, it just sounded strange to me--how could a 15 yr old girl force a routinely held community classroom to move locations? We couldn't get a better explanation, and the language barrier didn't help either. At the end of the day we still had a packed classroom & the children were happy to learn the day's lesson-- which is def what makes my heart smile (that and jalebi's).

Stay posted for our adventures in Delhi!

*names have been changed to protect the guilty

What is the biggest health problem in your community?

The focus of our field works is maternal and child health.  We were privileged to conduct two group sessions with groups of 10-15 ladies to obtain a snapshot of the health status in Bad Majra.  We asked questions such as: Did most of your deliveries occur at home or in the hospital?  Why didn't you deliver at the hospital since it is free? Did you use midwifes during your home deliveries? Did you take prenatal vitamins?  Most answers were as we expected except one: What do you think is the biggest health problem in your community?  While glancing at one another, the ladies answered, "Nothing really except in the summers we get heat rash."  This took us aback considering all around us were signs of malnutrition, anemic pregnant mothers, and vitamin deficiency.  It was also clear that most children had diarrhea.  In fact in one of our group discussions, one of the toddlers proceeded to defecate showing serious signs of diarrhea.
The age old saying "ignorance is bliss" comes to mind.  The predicament for us now is if the population thinks they have no health problems, are we coming in and creating new ones for them by pointing out things they are ignorant of?  Infant mortality in Punjab is currently 38 per 1000 live births which is much higher than the government goal of 30 per 1000.  So we, as educated public health students, know that ignorance is NOT bliss because people are dying unnecessarily due to preventable causes.  How do YOU think we can address the imbalance between perceived happiness and reality??

Crate&Prairie

Our meeting with Dr. Sangeeta (our supervisor) got cancelled yesterday so we decided to check out this small cafe in Sector 10. Willow Cafe didn't look like much from the outside, but once we stepped in and went downstairs we were blown away. The decor was a mix between little house on the prairie and crate&barrel. I know it sounds like a weird hybrid but it totally worked. We took advantage of the cute location for a quick photo op...

To chicken wing or not to chicken wing...

The other evening we ate at a restaurant called Bistro.  It was mostly American style food with an Indian twist.  The chef recommended chicken wings to go along with our Kingfisher Ultras and we were SKEPTICAL to say the least.  When these tasty morsels arrived, the mixture of sweet and tangy with Indian spices was irresistable.  It brought tears to my eyes (well at least the spiciness did).

  

Early Monsoon?

I woke up to the sounds of pouring rain.  As I groggily looked outside, it was quite dreary.  “Should we go to work today? Do people take a holiday when it pours like this?” We had heard that rain in Chandigarh is quite spotty so it may not be raining in our work area.  Anitha and I decided that making the trek in the rain to Bandmajra would be well worth it.  We called a radio taxi and promptly departed from Sector 10 (though Nanaji offered to drive again haha).  The rain only got worse as we were making the half hour journey to Mohali (the city where Bandmajra is located).  The dirt road began and our taxi driver dropped us off about a mile from the entrance.  By the time we arrived at the center we were both soaking wet.  We (tried) dried off inside and once the rain subsided Neelam Ji and Kamlesh Ji took us for a walk around Guru Nanak Colony (colony right beside Rajaram colony where the center is located).  There were fields full of green vegetables and sumptuous fruit trees in parts of Guru Nanak colony.  We stopped at their quaint local Gurudwara (Sikh temple) and had some parshad (blessed, sweet brown sugary goodness).  Then we went to the lunch (langar) at the Gurudwara afterwards which consisted of daal (lentils), phulka (tortilla), and sweet milk.  They served mango for dessert YUM! (that is one thing that I love about langar that everyone and anyone is welcome)  As we walked back to the center we came to know that the man living right next door, whose daughters come to the tutoring sessions, drives an auto rickshaw.  We made arrangements with him to pick us up from our house in Sector 10 and drop us right in front of the center which saves us the walk through the blistering heat AND sometimes the pouring rain.  Anitha and I happily took the auto rickshaw home.  It was quite a bumpy ride at times—at one point Anitha almost bounced right out of the rickshaw—but overall we were so thankful we could give back by hiring the rickshaw driver from the very community we are trying to help :)

A pomegranate tree that we stumbled upon growing inside someone's yard. We resisted the urge to pick it.

This also made my heart tingle...but that was probably from the spike in cholesterol..

Sukhna Lake

Went to Sukhna Lake early this morning and saw the sweetest sight...made my heart tingle *sigh*. Then I walked 4 miles while Simran ran laps around me lol.

Tiffins & Gramps

Nanaji (simran’s grandfather) insisted on driving us to work the first day and the trip soon became an all out adventure. Nanaji loves to tell us all the history and interesting facts about anything he sees when driving…it just gets a little scary sometimes since we are driving in INDIA! But somehow people always make it by the skin of their teeth (or in Indian terms the skin of the milk aka malai..which is apparently delicious according to simran…im testing it out tomorrow). Anyway we finally make it to Bandmajra village alive…and well informed! We realize soon that the roads into the village are narrow, uneven, and lined with trash, and debris. Nanaji insists on trekking through..so challo?!

Continuing the drive through the slums in a nice 4 door Ford, we know we’re bound to attract some attention. After nearly reaching the end of the road we see a large truck blocking passage. It is nearly impossible for two cars to be on the narrow road at the same time so a few villagers had to come help us back up and move forward…back up and move forward….and back up and move forward -__- until we gave the truck enough room. We finally get to the end of the road and see Neelamji (YTTS staff) waving us over to the YTTS office. Before we could meet her we had to get Nanaji reversed and back on the road. After another 10 minutes of struggle we made our way towards the ‘office’.

The YTTS office consists of a small dirt floor classroom with a table, cabinet, and a couple of chairs for the teacher and visitors. But it does have a fan---hallelujah! The kids ranged from 1^st to 6^th grade but the morning group only went up to 3^rd grade. They were adorable! They all sat on the floor working on their written Punjabi, Hindi, and English. (sidenote: No wonder international students make the rest of us look like jackasses—they start learning 3 languages in first grade….even in the slums!). After observing for a little bit Neelamji took us on a walking tour of the slums. While not as exciting as slumdog millionaire, it was definitely interesting to say the least. We didn’t jump in a vat of poop or meet amitabh bachan but that is on my to do list—well maybe not the poop part…maybe. We met many of the ladies in the village who were actually quite beautiful. (I can see Billy Mays now: “Wrinkles? Muffintop? Stretchmarks? Try a week in the slums of Punjab & rejuvenate yourself! *Malaria may be included*”). We finished off the tour with lunch back in the classroom. Kamleshji, the 2^nd YTTS teacher was there and she insisted on sharing her phulka’s & sabzi (chapathi and curried vegetables) with us. So in true Indian fashion we all sat around the table and broke bread (or chapathi in this case). I would say all in all this was a pretty good first day.

Greetings from Punjab

Simran and Anitha here writing to you from the fabulous city of Chandigarh, India.  We will be documenting our various adventures in India this summer.  Currently, we are starting our international field experience for the completion of our Masters in Public Health-- what does this mean?  This means that we are collaborating with an NGO to do maternal and child health work in a slum area of Punjab.  Chronicling our foodie adventures and our travel escapades will be some of the hottest topics so... look out!