I totally spaced it out, but if any of you feel so inclined to send mail, you can send it to our friend's address with his name and he'll pass it on to us!
Dinesh Gahlot
13a, lake side, hauz khas village
new delhi, 11016
India
I never thought I would be in such a beatuful and peaceful place, but then again I keep telling myself about many of the places we've visited so far in India. We arrived in Bir, in Himachal Pradesh on Saturday. We are attending a youth jam called Sharing Our Gifts and Priveleges for Social Change at the Deer Park Institute, in the foothills of the Himalayas. We are staying at a former buddhist monastery that is now a retreat and learning center. The local villages are intermixed with monasteries and many Tibetans also inhabit the towns. Prayer flags fly over every building. It is so majestic to walk outside every morning to see the sun warming the face of the himalayas.
there are about 30 people attending the youth jam from all over india, and one woman from france...and it isnt exactly a youth jam as the ages span from 19 to 50 or 60. everyone has been so welcoming and open in sharing with us...i wish we could take them with us through the rest of our travels. so far we have been reflecting and discussing a lot about what privelege and generosity actually is, what it means to different people and how it affects people.
all of the attendees are doing such great work around the country either with children, the environment, the arts, education....and the list goes on. so we are getting some great ideas about how to spend the rest of our time in india.
so we'll be spending thanksgiving and my birthday here in such a beautiful place surrounded by amazing people. enjoy the thanksgiving holiday!
peace and love,
kasey
there are about 30 people attending the youth jam from all over india, and one woman from france...and it isnt exactly a youth jam as the ages span from 19 to 50 or 60. everyone has been so welcoming and open in sharing with us...i wish we could take them with us through the rest of our travels. so far we have been reflecting and discussing a lot about what privelege and generosity actually is, what it means to different people and how it affects people.
all of the attendees are doing such great work around the country either with children, the environment, the arts, education....and the list goes on. so we are getting some great ideas about how to spend the rest of our time in india.
so we'll be spending thanksgiving and my birthday here in such a beautiful place surrounded by amazing people. enjoy the thanksgiving holiday!
peace and love,
kasey
Greetings from Delhi once again! I first of all would like to say that Kasey and I were unaffected by the tropical cyclone that was supposed to hit West Bengal. We left the farm 220 km from Kolcutta, West Bengal. India was not affected but so far 224 people have been reported dead and hundreds of thousands had to evacuate their homes. But here we are in our friends animation studio in Delhi but we will only be here for 5 more hours until we get on a train to Bir to attend a student workshop about social change and our privledges. Our plans are changing a lot right now and I dont think we will be attending the Bija Vidyapeeth course by Navdanya, its sort of complicated. We are currently making other plans. We just spent 2 weeks in the Bakura distric in West Bengal on a farm nestled among many small villages with houses made from adobe situated among palm trees and endless rice fields. It was so beautiful, peaceful and smog free! What a relief. Here is an article that I wrote very quickly for the Center for Interdisciplinary Studies, Dr. Debal Deb's organization. Check it out and also look at the pics of Basudha and learn a bit more about where we stayed. Please look up the growing injustice that is occuring in Nandigram, West Bengal. We have been reading the local paper daily regarding this issue and it is very dishartening to see how facism still thrives in this country. We have to bounce because we must figure out our plans and get packed for our 5 day adventure to Bir for the Deer Park Institute class.
Shanti! (Peace)
-Liz
websites: http://www.cintdis.org the article might not be up yet but you and certainly browse the site.
http://www.deerpark.in/ this is the website of the youth conference we are heading to tonight!
Shanti! (Peace)
-Liz
websites: http://www.cintdis.org the article might not be up yet but you and certainly browse the site.
http://www.deerpark.in/ this is the website of the youth conference we are heading to tonight!
This is an entry that I wasnt able to finish on the 7th of November because the power went out before I could save it but I found the draft! Yay!
"Awake, awake great ones! The world is burning with misery. Can you sleep?"
This is the quotation that stared down at me as I laboriously attempted to use one of the work out machines at a local gym in Barrachpore near Kolcuta this morning. I think it is a great call to action.
For the past few days I have been in Barrackpore at the home of Dr. Debal Deb who we have been working with at Basudha. I had to accompany him here because I needed to get on the internet very early in the morning to sign up for classes (Im taking Cultural Anthro, Intl Relations 1, Womens Studies 70, IAD 10, Bootcamp!, and doing an internship in the Eco Garden- holler back if you are taking any of these or have any tasty tid bids of advice youd like to share : ).
We arrived at Basudha, the rice farm we will be working at for 2 weeks located near Durgapur in West Bengal, a few days back and have yet to thrust our hands into the soil. When we arrived, Debal was preparing for the 5th (maybe 6th?) Annual Basudha Festival which was an amazing event to participate in. I am currently composing an article to post on Dr. Debs website about the festivities. Here is a link to the site: http://www.cintdis.org/. The food in Bengal is very different than the food in Northern India. They love sweets, always eat with their hands even if there is no chipatti bread to ease this process, always have a huge heap of rice along with 2 or 3 veggie dishes, and tend to eat dinner really late at night (something that I am not used to at all!). We eat our meals on plates that are made from Mahua leaves which are pinned together with tiny twigs - they also make bowls from these leaves. The house that we are staying in on the farm is made from adobe, bamboo and has a thatched roof. We have been sleeping on the balcony which is a lovely place to crash except for the fact that the sun and sound of people talking alwats wakes you up. Since we arrived, we have been stalked by packs of curious children who just watch us quietly as if we were artifacts in a museum. I think its cute and kind of ammusing but it can feel very suffocating too. I have been trying to use the Bengali phrase book to talk to the kids and they think its absolutely hilarious. Kasey and I sung Sublime to them cos they really wanted to hear us sing. We also got them to sing a traditional song for us so, we're even : ). So far, there has not been any work that I have done at the farm because of the festival and my traveling to Kolcutta. Kasey, however, stayed behind at the farm and is harvesting rice and recording data for some of Debal's experiments.
We have met so many interesting people at Basudha and had numerous enlightening conversations about development, ecologial economics, racism in India, the injustices of Monsanto including many terrible things that I cannot dissclose at the moment.
"Awake, awake great ones! The world is burning with misery. Can you sleep?"
This is the quotation that stared down at me as I laboriously attempted to use one of the work out machines at a local gym in Barrachpore near Kolcuta this morning. I think it is a great call to action.
For the past few days I have been in Barrackpore at the home of Dr. Debal Deb who we have been working with at Basudha. I had to accompany him here because I needed to get on the internet very early in the morning to sign up for classes (Im taking Cultural Anthro, Intl Relations 1, Womens Studies 70, IAD 10, Bootcamp!, and doing an internship in the Eco Garden- holler back if you are taking any of these or have any tasty tid bids of advice youd like to share : ).
We arrived at Basudha, the rice farm we will be working at for 2 weeks located near Durgapur in West Bengal, a few days back and have yet to thrust our hands into the soil. When we arrived, Debal was preparing for the 5th (maybe 6th?) Annual Basudha Festival which was an amazing event to participate in. I am currently composing an article to post on Dr. Debs website about the festivities. Here is a link to the site: http://www.cintdis.org/. The food in Bengal is very different than the food in Northern India. They love sweets, always eat with their hands even if there is no chipatti bread to ease this process, always have a huge heap of rice along with 2 or 3 veggie dishes, and tend to eat dinner really late at night (something that I am not used to at all!). We eat our meals on plates that are made from Mahua leaves which are pinned together with tiny twigs - they also make bowls from these leaves. The house that we are staying in on the farm is made from adobe, bamboo and has a thatched roof. We have been sleeping on the balcony which is a lovely place to crash except for the fact that the sun and sound of people talking alwats wakes you up. Since we arrived, we have been stalked by packs of curious children who just watch us quietly as if we were artifacts in a museum. I think its cute and kind of ammusing but it can feel very suffocating too. I have been trying to use the Bengali phrase book to talk to the kids and they think its absolutely hilarious. Kasey and I sung Sublime to them cos they really wanted to hear us sing. We also got them to sing a traditional song for us so, we're even : ). So far, there has not been any work that I have done at the farm because of the festival and my traveling to Kolcutta. Kasey, however, stayed behind at the farm and is harvesting rice and recording data for some of Debal's experiments.
We have met so many interesting people at Basudha and had numerous enlightening conversations about development, ecologial economics, racism in India, the injustices of Monsanto including many terrible things that I cannot dissclose at the moment.
Greetings from Durgapur, West Bengal!
After a long, crazy train ride, a bus, and jeep ride we finally arrived at the Basudha farm yesterday morning. It has been wonderful thus far to have a break from the insanity that was Varanasi, the holiest city in India, arguably, where the Ganga river runs through and is the religious and cultural life line of the region. There we were able to observe Arti, a ceremony that is conducted at Dasaswamedh Ghat (on of many ghats on the river which are palace like pieces of architecture build by Maharajas and noblemen centuries ago), many cremation ceremonies at another ghat where the dead are wrapped in beautiful, glittering cloths and adorned with flowers before they are submerged into the river and burned for at least 3 hours. It was a very intense experience witnessing these events, it is amazing to me how spiritual Varanasi is (or Baranas as the locals call it). It seems like going to temple and singing religious songs is such a big part of their life and yet I don't get the sense that t people there are trying to force Hinduism on anybody. Though you do come across many bicycle rickshaw drivers and boatmen who try to get you to purchase their services at every turn. It is sometimes hard to deal with the constant staring and harassment but I think I'm getting use to it, it is just a apart of their culture. Now that we are in a smaller town off the beaten path, we do still get the stares, but it is much less offensive and hard and more curious. We have had packs of women and children following us around where ever we go and unlike in the big cities, they do not beg us for money or food.
When we arrived at Basudha after our arduous journey, we were greeted by Dr. Debal Deb and Rahul, an Indian gentleman who has been doing work in sustainability for many years and is currently traveling all over India. We had a delicious breakfast of fresh puffed rice cereal, tiny sweet bananas and jagary, which is a candy made from boiling sugar cane. It was all very tasty. The cook, Hanu, is very nice and cooks wonderful food that is all local and organic, everything is from the farm except for the potatoes. It had been really fun learning to eat rice and dal with our hands, there is a technique that one must develop in order to avoid making a huge mess! But it is great to have that extended connection with your food through the sense of touch and also, you never burn your tongue because if the food is hot to the touch, then you wont dare put it in your mouth! The farm is fantastic so far. There are 545 varieties of rice growing here on a little over 2 acres of land; within these small plots, there are a few experiments being conducted to determine the effects of soil type, water, and natural inputs on different rice varieties. In addition, there is a field of rice growing right up against Basudhas land that contains conventional rice - the stalks are not as heavy with rice as the ones on our organic farm! Its pretty cool to see these differences with your own eyes and not just read some statistics in a science journal about yields. While we are here we will get a chance to harvest, thresh and winnow rice and make scientific observations for Dr. Deb's research. There is so much to say about the farm... the farm house where we are staying was constructed by hand with no wood, plastic or metal what so ever and is made from condensed mud bricks, mud paste straw and bamboo. It is very comfortable, simple and beautiful. There are also a few hand built composting toilets! Rad! These outhouses are very simple. There is a metal funnel where you can pee and it just runs right into the plants and then right next to is there is a dirt hole where you can poop, and then cover with dry dirt. It is very important to keep the pit dry or it will start to stink and wont decompose as quickly. There are at least 4 types of composting going on at the farm, it is amazing to see all the different methods in action and I am planning on drilling Dr. Deb about these methods so I can bring back info to Davis and Project Compost! Id better run because I have to upload pics, probably to facebook, I guess, and then look up classes for next quarter! Ah!
There will be an update on the 6th, I think that should be the next time I have access to the net.
Until then, take care and give love!
-Liz
After a long, crazy train ride, a bus, and jeep ride we finally arrived at the Basudha farm yesterday morning. It has been wonderful thus far to have a break from the insanity that was Varanasi, the holiest city in India, arguably, where the Ganga river runs through and is the religious and cultural life line of the region. There we were able to observe Arti, a ceremony that is conducted at Dasaswamedh Ghat (on of many ghats on the river which are palace like pieces of architecture build by Maharajas and noblemen centuries ago), many cremation ceremonies at another ghat where the dead are wrapped in beautiful, glittering cloths and adorned with flowers before they are submerged into the river and burned for at least 3 hours. It was a very intense experience witnessing these events, it is amazing to me how spiritual Varanasi is (or Baranas as the locals call it). It seems like going to temple and singing religious songs is such a big part of their life and yet I don't get the sense that t people there are trying to force Hinduism on anybody. Though you do come across many bicycle rickshaw drivers and boatmen who try to get you to purchase their services at every turn. It is sometimes hard to deal with the constant staring and harassment but I think I'm getting use to it, it is just a apart of their culture. Now that we are in a smaller town off the beaten path, we do still get the stares, but it is much less offensive and hard and more curious. We have had packs of women and children following us around where ever we go and unlike in the big cities, they do not beg us for money or food.
When we arrived at Basudha after our arduous journey, we were greeted by Dr. Debal Deb and Rahul, an Indian gentleman who has been doing work in sustainability for many years and is currently traveling all over India. We had a delicious breakfast of fresh puffed rice cereal, tiny sweet bananas and jagary, which is a candy made from boiling sugar cane. It was all very tasty. The cook, Hanu, is very nice and cooks wonderful food that is all local and organic, everything is from the farm except for the potatoes. It had been really fun learning to eat rice and dal with our hands, there is a technique that one must develop in order to avoid making a huge mess! But it is great to have that extended connection with your food through the sense of touch and also, you never burn your tongue because if the food is hot to the touch, then you wont dare put it in your mouth! The farm is fantastic so far. There are 545 varieties of rice growing here on a little over 2 acres of land; within these small plots, there are a few experiments being conducted to determine the effects of soil type, water, and natural inputs on different rice varieties. In addition, there is a field of rice growing right up against Basudhas land that contains conventional rice - the stalks are not as heavy with rice as the ones on our organic farm! Its pretty cool to see these differences with your own eyes and not just read some statistics in a science journal about yields. While we are here we will get a chance to harvest, thresh and winnow rice and make scientific observations for Dr. Deb's research. There is so much to say about the farm... the farm house where we are staying was constructed by hand with no wood, plastic or metal what so ever and is made from condensed mud bricks, mud paste straw and bamboo. It is very comfortable, simple and beautiful. There are also a few hand built composting toilets! Rad! These outhouses are very simple. There is a metal funnel where you can pee and it just runs right into the plants and then right next to is there is a dirt hole where you can poop, and then cover with dry dirt. It is very important to keep the pit dry or it will start to stink and wont decompose as quickly. There are at least 4 types of composting going on at the farm, it is amazing to see all the different methods in action and I am planning on drilling Dr. Deb about these methods so I can bring back info to Davis and Project Compost! Id better run because I have to upload pics, probably to facebook, I guess, and then look up classes for next quarter! Ah!
There will be an update on the 6th, I think that should be the next time I have access to the net.
Until then, take care and give love!
-Liz
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
