Today we went to the National Film Archives to see the film "मन्थन" or "The Churning". We sat on stiff red velvet chairs to see the projection, transporting us back to 1976 when the film was released. The film was funded by the Dairy Farmers of Gujrat about the founding of a dairy cooperative in the 1950s, based mostly on the Amul cooperative. This phenomenon, also called the "White Revolution", brought about a huge increase in the availability of milk and other foodstuffs in the 1970s. (See the Wikipedia page about the film here.) The film touched on issues of caste, poverty, gender, and the feudal holdovers of rural India. Although very distant from the "Bollywood" Hindi movies I've seen, Manthan definatly protrayed some very sensitive issues with graceful acting and cinematography.
For a lighter movie, I highly suggest "Three Idiots" (IMDb here). It's everything you could ever hope in a movie- drama, humor, song and dance, romance, plot twists, births and deaths. It fully acknowledges its Bollywood heritage and the joys of bromance. Although the three hour commitment can seem daunting, the film mixes humor and serious issues in unbelievably quick turns, keeping the audience on its toes.
Ok. Time to study for my Hindi test. :P
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
Thursday, October 7, 2010
Updates
I have no patience to write this update gracefully, so I shall resort to the wonderful organization of numbers.
--
1. I've officially been in India for two weeks! Zomg!
2. Saturday Adventures:
After a lot of debate, I decided to stay the weekend in Pune rather than attempt to go to the famed Ellora/Ajanta caves (see this blog for a preview). But no worries, I will go! Because Saturday was the Mahatama's birthday (Gandhi, that is) we went to one of his memorials within the city at the Aga Khan palace. The palace had a small museum which contained affects of Gandhiji and his wife and beautiful grounds. (I apologize for no pictures; this will be explained below.) Interestingly, admittance for foreigners is Rs. 100 while only Rs. 5 for Indian citizens. There was a book launch going on when we got there in the afternoon, but it was surprisingly empty for being a National Holiday. A couple of young boys (aged 8-10) came up to us, asking for our autographs! We all exchanged names (in broken Hindi and English) signed in their notebook (in English and Devanagri) and took photos. From there, we took a rickshaw further into the heart of the city to visit the Shaniwar wada, a fort built in the 1700s. Most all of the interior structures have been destroyed through various processes, but the fortification still remains. From there we walked among Lakshmi Road, which hosts one of the busiest shopping areas in Pune.
3. Sunday Adventures:
Not going to the Ajanta/Ellora caves left a hole in my heart for some early Buddist religious architecture. To fill this hole, we decided to start on an adventure to the Karla caves, built before 200 B.C. This adventure required a 1.5 hour public train ride, a 10 minute rickshaw, and a good 30 minutes of stairs. One way. But it was totally worth it. When we arrived near the caves, the local town was having a celebration with a small crowd of young men clearly inebriated, covered in pink powder. We hiked up the stairs, braving the stares that accompany being so clearly foreign. We just made it up the stone pathway to be granted entrance to the site- the caves shut at 6 pm. Running back to the station, we ended up meeting a couple of exchange students from Germany, and shared some chai and English before getting back on the train. (And on that note, may I express my pleasure with the woman's compartment on trains. We sat on the floor in front of the open door, letting the air fill the mostly empty compartment.) And we made it back in time for dinner.
4. Photography
Over the weekend I, and everyone else in my foreign-exchange group, were asked to pose in pictures at least 6 times. Apparently it's a common expression of curiosity and happens to foreigners all the time. Complete strangers would come up to me, and ask me to be in a photo with them, their wives, friends, and family; once the photo was over, everyone was happy to go back to sight-seeing with their respective parties. It was in one of these instances, however, that I got distracted, showing a stranger the photo that was just taken, and got shuffled along to my own party. It wasn't until I got to the train station that I even realized that I no longer had my camera. *Sigh* But it's just a thing, and I'll get another one before my trip.
5. My trip!
In about a week I'll be going on an epic journey. I'll keep the details a secret, but let's just say that I'm gonna be able to see much more of India.
6. This weekend
In Bombay/Mumbai. I don't know if I'll have access to internet, but I'll at least have some stories and hopefully a camera when I get back.
Ok. So that's all I can force myself to do now. I'll leave social commentary and pictures for later. (^-*)
--
1. I've officially been in India for two weeks! Zomg!
2. Saturday Adventures:
After a lot of debate, I decided to stay the weekend in Pune rather than attempt to go to the famed Ellora/Ajanta caves (see this blog for a preview). But no worries, I will go! Because Saturday was the Mahatama's birthday (Gandhi, that is) we went to one of his memorials within the city at the Aga Khan palace. The palace had a small museum which contained affects of Gandhiji and his wife and beautiful grounds. (I apologize for no pictures; this will be explained below.) Interestingly, admittance for foreigners is Rs. 100 while only Rs. 5 for Indian citizens. There was a book launch going on when we got there in the afternoon, but it was surprisingly empty for being a National Holiday. A couple of young boys (aged 8-10) came up to us, asking for our autographs! We all exchanged names (in broken Hindi and English) signed in their notebook (in English and Devanagri) and took photos. From there, we took a rickshaw further into the heart of the city to visit the Shaniwar wada, a fort built in the 1700s. Most all of the interior structures have been destroyed through various processes, but the fortification still remains. From there we walked among Lakshmi Road, which hosts one of the busiest shopping areas in Pune.
3. Sunday Adventures:
Not going to the Ajanta/Ellora caves left a hole in my heart for some early Buddist religious architecture. To fill this hole, we decided to start on an adventure to the Karla caves, built before 200 B.C. This adventure required a 1.5 hour public train ride, a 10 minute rickshaw, and a good 30 minutes of stairs. One way. But it was totally worth it. When we arrived near the caves, the local town was having a celebration with a small crowd of young men clearly inebriated, covered in pink powder. We hiked up the stairs, braving the stares that accompany being so clearly foreign. We just made it up the stone pathway to be granted entrance to the site- the caves shut at 6 pm. Running back to the station, we ended up meeting a couple of exchange students from Germany, and shared some chai and English before getting back on the train. (And on that note, may I express my pleasure with the woman's compartment on trains. We sat on the floor in front of the open door, letting the air fill the mostly empty compartment.) And we made it back in time for dinner.
4. Photography
Over the weekend I, and everyone else in my foreign-exchange group, were asked to pose in pictures at least 6 times. Apparently it's a common expression of curiosity and happens to foreigners all the time. Complete strangers would come up to me, and ask me to be in a photo with them, their wives, friends, and family; once the photo was over, everyone was happy to go back to sight-seeing with their respective parties. It was in one of these instances, however, that I got distracted, showing a stranger the photo that was just taken, and got shuffled along to my own party. It wasn't until I got to the train station that I even realized that I no longer had my camera. *Sigh* But it's just a thing, and I'll get another one before my trip.
5. My trip!
In about a week I'll be going on an epic journey. I'll keep the details a secret, but let's just say that I'm gonna be able to see much more of India.
6. This weekend
In Bombay/Mumbai. I don't know if I'll have access to internet, but I'll at least have some stories and hopefully a camera when I get back.
Ok. So that's all I can force myself to do now. I'll leave social commentary and pictures for later. (^-*)
Monday, September 27, 2010
A Thesis
Today was the first day of classes and as part of the introductions, my professor asked us each about our first impressions, expectations, and surprises about India. As we have only been here for 4 days now, it's hardly enough to even understand what's going on. Yet there seemed to be a similarity in responses- we were hardly shocked. There were no epiphanies, no earth-shattering culture shock. There was perhaps even a vague similarity to some of the students, and even I have to admit the walking down these battered streets I am reminded of my experiences contending with street shops and unbelievable traffic in Peru.
To be fair, in the closeted program we are in and as foreign students in general, we have and will be sheltered from the most desperate of situations, just as we are sheltered in the United States. Coming from America/the "West" (however you want to characterize it), India has come to represent a dueling monster, a strange mystical dirty rising star in the international scene. Something (as I unabashedly steal an image from Rusdie's "Midnight's Children") that can only been seen in glimpses, elements as seen in holes of the fabric of global reality. In many ways, the nation has been characterized in three ways: as the magical, colorfully exotic nation that the British fell hard and fast for; as holding one of the poorest populations on the earth, along with the dirt and crime that follows such poverty; and as the "rising star" on the global scene along with Brazil and China as new producers of technology and medicine. With these contrasting beasts of Indian portrayal, we could only expect the best and the worst out of our experiences. Yet reality, as in all things notes Aristotle, lies somewhere in the middle.
I choose not to feed into the characterization of this multi-cultural nation as any of these three beasts, the Cerberus with three heads. Because, as true as these stereotypes may be in parts, it would be unfair to confuse my experience with the assumed and expected. I expect to have unexpected revelations, to be tested in my preconceptions about time, place, and people. I expect my own sheltering and education to remove me from certain understandings and as a young, American female there are shared experiences I will never know. I hope to show you (my invisible readers) my experiences and my thoughts. This will not be a treatise about how to truly "See the Real India". Because no such thing exists. Instead, I hope to be the hole in the sheet; to be a window, though tinted, into this whirlwind of places and peoples. And through these glimpses, I hope to obtain a wider view of the world, and myself.
To be fair, in the closeted program we are in and as foreign students in general, we have and will be sheltered from the most desperate of situations, just as we are sheltered in the United States. Coming from America/the "West" (however you want to characterize it), India has come to represent a dueling monster, a strange mystical dirty rising star in the international scene. Something (as I unabashedly steal an image from Rusdie's "Midnight's Children") that can only been seen in glimpses, elements as seen in holes of the fabric of global reality. In many ways, the nation has been characterized in three ways: as the magical, colorfully exotic nation that the British fell hard and fast for; as holding one of the poorest populations on the earth, along with the dirt and crime that follows such poverty; and as the "rising star" on the global scene along with Brazil and China as new producers of technology and medicine. With these contrasting beasts of Indian portrayal, we could only expect the best and the worst out of our experiences. Yet reality, as in all things notes Aristotle, lies somewhere in the middle.
I choose not to feed into the characterization of this multi-cultural nation as any of these three beasts, the Cerberus with three heads. Because, as true as these stereotypes may be in parts, it would be unfair to confuse my experience with the assumed and expected. I expect to have unexpected revelations, to be tested in my preconceptions about time, place, and people. I expect my own sheltering and education to remove me from certain understandings and as a young, American female there are shared experiences I will never know. I hope to show you (my invisible readers) my experiences and my thoughts. This will not be a treatise about how to truly "See the Real India". Because no such thing exists. Instead, I hope to be the hole in the sheet; to be a window, though tinted, into this whirlwind of places and peoples. And through these glimpses, I hope to obtain a wider view of the world, and myself.
Friday, September 24, 2010
Jet-lag
Hello again!
The past month has been a whirlwind of travel for me, staying no more than one week in one location at a time. I feel like I've barely had time to prepare all I needed for my latest foreign adventure. While my MacBook (and my brain) tells me that it is 9:11 am, my watch (and stomach) tells me that it is actually 7:45 pm. I lost a day somewhere in transit; it must have slipped away from me in that barely-conscious airplane delusions, trapped by the seatside television and drowsiness.
But I arrived! Have arrived! Twice! First in Bombay/Mumbai, then onto Pune/Poona. Yes, that's right, India.
(More to come...)
The past month has been a whirlwind of travel for me, staying no more than one week in one location at a time. I feel like I've barely had time to prepare all I needed for my latest foreign adventure. While my MacBook (and my brain) tells me that it is 9:11 am, my watch (and stomach) tells me that it is actually 7:45 pm. I lost a day somewhere in transit; it must have slipped away from me in that barely-conscious airplane delusions, trapped by the seatside television and drowsiness.
But I arrived! Have arrived! Twice! First in Bombay/Mumbai, then onto Pune/Poona. Yes, that's right, India.
(More to come...)
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Profile of a Place: Galena, IL
Galena, Illinois, is a picturesque place serving tourists searching for a taste of clean fun and nostalgia. The town boasts of its historic ties to the thriving trade on the Mississippi, well before Chicago became the gateway to the West, with lovely streets filled with lovely stores selling lovely things. Tourists thri
ve in Galena, where nostalgia rules pocketbooks. Unlike many tourist traps, however, Galena does not rely on the young and reckless to fund their service economy. Families, groups of mature women, and motorcyclists make up the majority of the visitors. Confectioneries, wineries, house tours, jewelery stores, antique houses, museums, parks, art galleries, and restaurants cater to the well to do searching for a taste of Midwestern refined living. Grant's Home is a mandatory stop on the Galena circuit and is the cheapest find of all as it is run by the State of Illinois. A mere $3 donation gets you to see quite a few original pieces of the Grant family, including one of the most famous portraits of our 18th president. The tour was small, but the historical associations of the house made it well worth the trip. This is in contrast to another historical house and tourist attraction, the Belvedere House. The impressive mansion has seen a variety of owners and uses, and the current owners have opened the House to the public to showcase their impressive collection of period furniture, art, and MGM salehouse finds such as The Curtains from the famous film "Gone with the Wind". Although the history of the house has be
en recorded quite well, only the largest pieces of furniture are original to the house. The pieces are incredible, however, including a priceless Tiffany chandelier (no pictures in the house, unfortunately) with matching sconces.
I cannot speak to the quality of the food and spirits this jewel of Jo Daviess County as I am too poor to indulge in such things. Food and housing is quite expansive in the area; we ended up staying in Dubuque, Iowa to defray the cost of our own get-away. But to put things in perspective, the Belvedere Tour puts you back $9 a person and a milkshake is $4 a pop (and you can get a real float in traditional flavors such as Green River for $5).
Galena brings some rustic charm to the weekend vacation however constructed for the vacationer.
ve in Galena, where nostalgia rules pocketbooks. Unlike many tourist traps, however, Galena does not rely on the young and reckless to fund their service economy. Families, groups of mature women, and motorcyclists make up the majority of the visitors. Confectioneries, wineries, house tours, jewelery stores, antique houses, museums, parks, art galleries, and restaurants cater to the well to do searching for a taste of Midwestern refined living. Grant's Home is a mandatory stop on the Galena circuit and is the cheapest find of all as it is run by the State of Illinois. A mere $3 donation gets you to see quite a few original pieces of the Grant family, including one of the most famous portraits of our 18th president. The tour was small, but the historical associations of the house made it well worth the trip. This is in contrast to another historical house and tourist attraction, the Belvedere House. The impressive mansion has seen a variety of owners and uses, and the current owners have opened the House to the public to showcase their impressive collection of period furniture, art, and MGM salehouse finds such as The Curtains from the famous film "Gone with the Wind". Although the history of the house has be
en recorded quite well, only the largest pieces of furniture are original to the house. The pieces are incredible, however, including a priceless Tiffany chandelier (no pictures in the house, unfortunately) with matching sconces.I cannot speak to the quality of the food and spirits this jewel of Jo Daviess County as I am too poor to indulge in such things. Food and housing is quite expansive in the area; we ended up staying in Dubuque, Iowa to defray the cost of our own get-away. But to put things in perspective, the Belvedere Tour puts you back $9 a person and a milkshake is $4 a pop (and you can get a real float in traditional flavors such as Green River for $5).
Galena brings some rustic charm to the weekend vacation however constructed for the vacationer.
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
Post-Peru
Well, I promised another post before leaving the country, something that I failed to do. *isorryface* I spent the last few days in Arequipa picking up gifts and relishing the availability of cake slices for $1. I'll probably bore y'all with the details of the archaeological investigations at the site in another post.
I intend to keep this blog up, with some more useful posts on travel and (possibly) my cooking adventures. I'll be travelling to Washington D.C. (OMG THE SMITHSONIAN) before heading over to India, so there will be more stories (probably mostly about the food). With these assurances, here are some more pictures for your perusing (full pun intended) of the wonderful country of Peru. I am sad that I did not get to do more travelling, especially to see some of the great archaeological sites of the country- Cuzco, Machu Picchu, Caral and the cultural ones- Lima and Puno for instance. But I am young still, and much of this world is left to be explored. I will get to it one day. Hopefully while the exchange rate is so amenable. Again, for your viewing pleasure...
View of the Vitor Valley, taken from a Middle Horizon site in Millo II. The mountain set called Chichani is in the distance on the left, and the single volcano in the center is Misti. Architectural rubble covers the site in what used to be structures and terracing.
Palta Rellena con Pollo- one of my favorite Peruano dishes. It's basically a chicken salad over avocado. Simple and delicious!
View from our lab in Vitor.
This is a video taken from a scenic point in the district of Sachaca, and if you turn your head you can get the full view of Arequipa, however sun-washed and fuzzy. This was my first attempt at using the video function on my camera, and apparently I thought the only way to make it function was by verbally willing it to "Panorama". My apologies.
I intend to keep this blog up, with some more useful posts on travel and (possibly) my cooking adventures. I'll be travelling to Washington D.C. (OMG THE SMITHSONIAN) before heading over to India, so there will be more stories (probably mostly about the food). With these assurances, here are some more pictures for your perusing (full pun intended) of the wonderful country of Peru. I am sad that I did not get to do more travelling, especially to see some of the great archaeological sites of the country- Cuzco, Machu Picchu, Caral and the cultural ones- Lima and Puno for instance. But I am young still, and much of this world is left to be explored. I will get to it one day. Hopefully while the exchange rate is so amenable. Again, for your viewing pleasure...
View of the Vitor Valley, taken from a Middle Horizon site in Millo II. The mountain set called Chichani is in the distance on the left, and the single volcano in the center is Misti. Architectural rubble covers the site in what used to be structures and terracing.
Palta Rellena con Pollo- one of my favorite Peruano dishes. It's basically a chicken salad over avocado. Simple and delicious!
View from our lab in Vitor.
This is a video taken from a scenic point in the district of Sachaca, and if you turn your head you can get the full view of Arequipa, however sun-washed and fuzzy. This was my first attempt at using the video function on my camera, and apparently I thought the only way to make it function was by verbally willing it to "Panorama". My apologies.
Saturday, July 17, 2010
Meet my new best friend, Pepto
The bathrooms at the field house.As all travelers must, I did too. I fell sick on Tuesday and stayed back from the field. Luckily (unfortunately?) another one of my peers was also sick, so I had a buddy to stay back with. Somehow I had gotten through this much of my life without taking Pepto or Immodium or Tums, so this week has been experiments in the three. I am feeling much better today and hopefully it all will have passed. I only have one more week in Peru, so my next post will be my last from the country. I forgot my camera in Vitor this weekend, so I don´t have any more recent pictures, though I will probably post more with pictures once I´m back in the States and don´t have to pay for my internet.
We are coming up to the end of our trench as we are preparing to excavate the most exciting features, hopefully some in-situ burials. We have already opened one that has been heavily looted, but much of the human remains are intact.
Today I will try ceviche and do a bit of shopping (and send those postcards like I´ve been meaning to). I´ll be back again with more updates later. :D
PS- One word in Spanish that I´ve comfortably learned while here- galletas...cookies. :D
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