Life at Sonapani

April 11, 2008

Hello, friends outside of India!

Life in the Himalayas is going quite well. Things have settled into a regular routine: breakfast at 8:00am, classes at 10:00pm, lunch at 1:30pm... For once, I am getting more than six hours of sleep each night, adequate exercise each day, and eating three square meals each day. Although it sounds like we are living the good life, which we are, there is quite a reading load for the classes. Sustainable development is an interesting subject, and the information will serve to be very useful when I decide to form an NGO. In fact, we are so fortunate to be living in a region where sustainable development and NGOs are relevant. It isn't just something that you read from textbooks, development is actually happening, and I am participating in this amazing process!

We are living in what geologists call the "lesser Himalayas". The elevation range is roughly 2000 to 2500 meters (6500 to 8200 ft). In the past week, the climate has ranged from extremely cold to extremely hot. Although accommodations in our cottages are very comfortable, they are not heated or air conditioned—which makes taking a bucket bath very interesting. If there is one thing that I miss more than my family and friends—namely, you people—it is taking a shower (the kind that comes down in a regular spray) without having to pray for a functioning hot-water heater. I've taken a bucket bath in cold water, which I have sworn I would never do again. But desperate times call for desperate measures, and you would do the same thing if you haven't taken a bath in five days, with the grime of Delhi still clinging to your skin.

I'd like to make a short comment on the food here. The food is prepared by a 22-year-old chef named Vinod from a nearby village called Bhimtal. He was trained in Delhi and has worked in several five-star hotels. This guy is so talented and if he opened a restaurant in the states, he would become a sensation. Just to give you an idea of how amazing this guy is: Keith only had to show him how to make apple pie once, and he could independently produce the best apple pie I've ever tasted. Now you know—the best-tasting apple pie is found in India. The humility of this guy is admirable. It is not uncommon that a person with talent like his would be extremely arrogant. But Vinod started crying when he saw how much we were enjoying his apple pie. Crying. The spontaneous eruption of tears was so cute that I almost exploded.

In terms of academics, my research project will on women's health. Specifically, I will be researching how health-seeking behaviors of women differ by specific factors such as age and literacy levels. The women of the Himalayas are amazing. In fact, the women of India are amazing. In the Kumaon region of Uttarakhand, women do most of the household chores and agricultural work. Life in the Himalayas is strongly tied with the land and the forest. So quite understandably, life is agrarian. Fodder, fertilizer, and fuel all come from the forest. There isn't a logging industry here, so these timber products must be collected individually for each household. Fodder comes from fallen oak leaves and pine needles—the two main tree species in the Kumaon region of Uttarakhand. Oftentimes, you see women on roads carrying huge loads of leaves on their heads, after gathering them from the forest. You also see women climbing trees to lop the branches. This is really quite amazing, considering how un-climbable the trees are. Even more amazing is that these women climb these trees in sarees. How this is accomplished, I will never understand.

Unfortunately, men don't do much here. That's why all the roads and chai stands are occupied with meandering men—smoking, drinking, and gossiping. Even though the women do all the herding, lopping, child caring, cooking, leaf collecting, work management, the Kumaon is still very much a patriarchal society. One of the main initiatives of CHIRAG (Central Himalayan Rural Action Group)—the NGO I'm working with—is women's empowerment. Among many other things, they hold monthly meetings for the local women to get together and talk about their problems. Hopefully, I will be able to attend one of these meetings next week.

It is also said that the women compose songs about the hardships in their lives while doing their work. I find this so endearing. The women of the Himalayas have so little free time in their daily lives, yet they still find the opportunity to insert small artistic opportunities into their busy days. Art is so universal, and it extends from a Manhattan gallery to the Kumaoni woman.

Common health problems in the Kumaon include diabetes, TB, hypertension. Rabies is also a common problem. Physical injuries are also frequent, especially with women—since they do most of the tree climbing etc. What initially surprised me was the low incidence of HIV/AIDS, given how it is a major problem in India. Then after thinking about it a little, it makes sense. Consider the main methods through which HIV is transmitted: unprotected sex, drug use, and blood transfusions. Many of the people here live below the poverty line…so people are too poor to buy drugs. Anyways, most of the existing intoxicants are inhaled. Blood transfusions are rare. Unprotected sex is less of a problem in rural regions than in the cities. We see more pro-condom ads in these parts than in Delhi! Besides, sleeping around is just not something that I see people here doing.

Nainital was quite fun. I had an opportunity to practice my very broken Hindi. At the moment, the only phrases I can utter are mera nam Vania hai (My name is Vania), ap kaise hai (How are you), kitne rupiye (how many rupees for this), me thik hu (I am good). With this very basic knowledge of Hindi, I entered a shop in Nainital with the intention of bartering only in Hindi, with the hope of getting a fair price on the merchandise. After asking kitne rupiye for a shirt, the shopkeeper got really excited and started speaking rapidly in Hindi. At this time, I stupidly reminded myself that I can't understand any numbers above 10. This lost me my bartering edge, and I left the shop feeling a bit foolish—without the shirt, of course.

In any case, I see that this update is getting a tad long. Next week, I will be heading out towards Jim Corbett National Park/Wildlife Reserve to study forest ecology and to do some tiger hunting on elephants. When I say "tiger hunting", I mean that in a figurative sense, of course. And to everyone who has requested postcards, I have them with me. I just haven't had the opportunity to mail them yet.

I miss you all,

--Vania