Out in the Field

With my job here I have the opportunity to travel around the state of Maharashtra. In an official capacity these are monitoring visits to evaluate how the program is doing in the field and to implement a volunteer management database. I get to go way off the beaten track and stay in villages that are beyond the reach of the Indian railway system, a very extensive system that is the world’s largest employer. These villages have been several hours away so traveling requires leaving the night before, spending the night on the bus, and arriving early in the morning to start a full day of field visits. After two full days of going from village to village we spend another night on the bus to come home and leave to start all over again. I’m a pretty light, fickle sleeper so I’m usually exhausted before the work day even starts. However I’m grateful for the opportunity to see how people outside of the major cities live. It’s been an eye-opening experience to say the least. Language is more of a barrier since fewer people advance in education. Through some tireless translation I’ve learned several of the obstacles that people must overcome.

In one village I visited were campaigns addressing three main issues: violence against women, caste discrimination, and education. In my field visits I didn’t meet a single woman, all meeting participants were men. Women in civic and social participation is abysmal, and their absence was disheartening. However there is a small group of women raising awareness about violence against women. Caste discrimination is present in urban areas, but it is in full force in the rural areas I visited. One brave young man from a lower caste campaigned for an open position on his village council but was defeated due to opposition of his caste background. He continues to campaign for social awareness and now serves on three village committees (unelected positions.) Another issue is education, families move where the crops are so their children do not receive consistent schooling. The organization I was visiting has set up programs for education gaps so children can make up for lost school time.

However I had some great Indian food, I’m getting decent at eating with my hands now, although I haven’t quite mastered only using my right hand. Traditionally eating with your left hand was seen as unclean, although this is not prevalent anymore. Tearing roti with one hand is pretty challenging and I don’t think I’ll master single-handed eating before I leave. 

Most meals consist of wrapping roti around an assortment of vegetables, using your hand of course.

Community center where one of the field meetings was held. The smoky column in the back is a Hindu shrine.

Women right beside the meeting who didn't want to participate, but wanted me to take pictures of them!

On my last day of field visits I came back by myself. Getting home involved taking a bus to Mumbai and another bus to Navi Mumbai. I thought to myself, taking a bus to Navi Mumbai doesn’t make sense because I could take the train and I’m sure there will be gridlock traffic. As the bus entered Mumbai, it turns out there was gridlock traffic. The conductor yelled out if anyone wanted to get off at Kurla. I have only been in Mumbai once but I recognized the name as a stop on the rail line I could take directly into Navi Mumbai. I said I wanted to get off the bus, so I leaped over a three foot wide puddle to land on the muddy streets of Mumbai. At this point I had been on the bus for five hours, since seven that morning, and was exhausted from days and days of field visits and traveling. The bus driver pointed me the way to the railway station and off I went. The sheer amount of people on the street would have been overwhelming enough, but navigating the traffic and muddiness tested my resolve. When I decided I was just going to get my feet muddy I almost ran into a cow and its huge pile of “fertilizer.” I then realized that I don’t mind mud on my feet but I do mind stepping in piles of fresh cow dung. Unfortunately there is no way to distinguish regular street mud from cow mud so I picked my steps carefully toward the train station. I tried three times to get an auto rickshaw to take me but it was just too close to be profitable for them, yet just far enough for me to know I had to focus on my end goal. About 15 minutes into my trek I was able to get a tuk tuk and got dropped off at the train station, where I was confronted with a mass of people which apparently were eight separate lines for the tickets. These eight lines were spilling out onto the streets. Completely disheartened I decided to ask two gentlemen where I could get a bus to Navi Mumbai. They asked why I would ever want to take a bus as that would take 2-3 hours with traffic and a train is only half an hour. I pointed to the line and they understood. One of them handed me a coupon and said, we need to find more. I had no idea what he was talking about but followed their lead as they began asking people for more coupons. Apparently these coupons are prepaid, and stamping them in a little machine at the station with the correct amount for your ticket will act as your train ticket. They asked several people if they could please spare a 10 rupee coupon, a 5 rupee coupon. I didn’t think this would work, why would people willingly give up these golden coupons that let you get onto the train without having to stand in a 100-person line? But it did, it did work. People did give these men their coupons. In about three minutes we had enough for my train fare, in fact we had more than enough. The men stamped my coupons and I ran toward the platform. I made it onto the next train and decided not to sit, but stand near the open door and get some fresh air. I had been reading articles on how sitting is bad for you and after sitting on buses for several days I decided I could stand for half an hour. I got to home/work just before lunch.

After days of being in the field and being astonished at the resolve of these people trying to make a difference against all odds, I was completely blown away by the kindness of these two men and all the strangers they asked for coupons. I’m sure they had somewhere they could have been, but these men went out of their way to find coupons for me; they did something for me I’m sure they wouldn’t have normally done for themselves. And yes, several people said no when asked if they could give up coupons, but many people said yes and some people even volunteered their coupons. I was just blown away. Yes people in India and everywhere face harsh adversity, but they have kindness that I haven’t seen often. Yes India can sometimes be dirty, but it has a clean heart.

Cows blocking my path to the bus door.

This is what I mean when I stood and got some fresh air on the train.

Diversity and Inclusion

India is extremely diverse, an obvious point but a significant factor that affects every aspect of life. I had a great conversation today with one of the directors from the Mumbai office about the diversity of India and its future economic prospects. With such a large population and as a growing economic power, there are high expectations about the societal and economic future of India. With more than 18 official languages and many more unofficial languages, different ethnic groups, different religions, and the pressure of ‘modernization,’ India faces a truly daunting task. There are more than 30 bank holidays, because there is a bank holiday for every religious and national holiday in India. This means every Hindu, Buddhist, Christian, Jain, Sikh, etc holiday is observed. How so very inclusive! Then there are the languages, sometimes mistakenly referred to as dialects. There is a distinct language in each of state India; it was one of the factors when dividing India into its present states. So school children learn subjects in their native language until first grade, and then start learning Hindi and English. However the unfortunate children who are uneducated often do not get a chance to learn Hindi and English. When you call Customer Service there are multiple language options. Then there are different ethnic groups. Often times this diversity is found within a state. So to have true unity and face the 21^st century, the people within each state must unify and the states must unify. Otherwise you have a very splintered country which lacks the focus in order to maximize on its vast potential.

Then there are differing views on the best path forward to economic growth. Mostly accepted now is the Western model of industrialization. Gandhi had advocated a republic of self-sufficient villages. A great illustration of the tension between tradition v. ‘modernization.’ In my research of state youth policies, there is an urgency in ensuring that traditional arts and culture are not forgotten. There is a sense of cultural pride that people have, and it has resulted in India painting its own version of modernization. I am curious to see how this will continue in the future. My theory is that since India has such a dominant popular culture of its own, with Bollywood and the accompanying music videos, that Western cultural influences will not be as significant. In other countries I've visited, American culture has been supremely dominant. In France American films were dubbed in French. The movie theaters here have Hindi movies, maybe one American movie. In other countries I hear about Brad Pitt or Julia Roberts. Here I hear about SRK, Kareena Kapoor, Aamir Khan, among others. Sometimes I would feel like American culture was encroaching on other countries' pop cultures, and sometimes I could feel an undercurrent of tension from the people. In India, popular culture is very independent and has acted as a great buffer to outside influences.

And then there’s China. There is much talk about China in the US, but I’ve never heard so much about China as I have here. I’ve seen posters that compare Indian and Chinese statistics on workforce, growth, and overall renown. As a fellow BRIC country, India is very aware of the comparisons being made between China and India and seems eager to prove their significance. They want to make sure India is on the map as China is. I have to agree that in my general conversations in the US, people would talk more about the influence that China is gaining. You would hear about the importance of learning Mandarin. I didn't hear as much about India or learning Hindi. However looking at the numbers, India has made huge strides in the past several years and can be the dark horse in this 'competition.' I think the realization of this potential will again lie in India’s ability to synthesize a wildly diverse country.

But India is a magical place. There really is no other place like it; it’s a different level of existence. A harmonious mix of contradictions. Frenetic sensory overload but life at a slower pace. Embracing Western models of growth but applying them to traditional industries. Then there are the cows and elephants that roam around the streets. That get fed from cars in parking lots.