We know that India still remains deeply divided between its elites and its have-nots; a divide so great that much of the elite does not even see it, happily believing that the nation as a whole is on its way to superpower status. There is no doubt at all that economic liberalisation has helped a section of the economy, yet there is equally no doubt that there are faultlines in economic growth and equitability. Rifts across the lines of caste and communalism intersect in complex ways with the changing economic landscape.Check it out. I expect it to be well worth your time and thought.This blog will attempt to explore that uncertain terrain. It will focus on the “other half” that is often ignored by the mainstream media. It will attempt to present a fuller picture of India and a fuller examination of issues of concern than what we normally see around us.
To this end, we hope to ask questions and suggest answers. Some of the questions we ask include:
[...]
- Fundamentally, what are the aims of liberalization; what should they be; and what else defines India in the 21st century, apart from the growth of our economy or the successes and failures of liberalization?
- Which sections of Indian society and the economy have benefited from liberalization, and which ones have not? And which ones have been adversely affected because of liberalization?
- Is poverty decreasing? If so how much and how fast?
- What are we doing to push growth and opportunity in rural areas, where over two-thirds of Indians still live?
- What about issues of caste, class, gender? What about food, housing, water, sanitation, education? What about corruption, crime, social justice, rights and responsibilities?
Because India is changing, in many ways and dramatically. Yet in many ways India is also much the same. This blog is a fruit of the tension between those two thoughts, an attempt to examine the ground in between.
Surely it is time for us to pay attention to how the other half lives.
Monday, January 30, 2006
How the Other Half Lives
How the Other Half Lives - A Reality Called India is a group blog started by a few of the excellent bloggers in the Indian blogosphere - Uma, Dilip, Vikrum, Shivam and Anand. This is how they describe their blog and their efforts:
Friday, January 27, 2006
Of Babysitting and Stolen Childhoods
At least twice a month, Saturday nights were movie nights. We hired a babysitter to play with our young son for a couple of hours, drove to the nearest movie theater, got tickets to whatever movie still had a few seats open and watched that movie.
The neighborhood where we lived in northern Virginia had three girls in their early teens who were interested in babysitting and earning some money along the way. All three had obtained training in CPR (cardiac pulmonary resuscitation), were Girl Scouts (Girl Guides, as they are known in India) and were very professional in their approach to babysitting. They arrived at the appointed time and never canceled if they had promised they would be there on any given day.
One of them, in particular, took her job very seriously. The first day she was to babysit for us, she whipped out a one page, typed form for us to fill. The form asked for everything from our emergency contact information to our son's bedtime, his medications, if any, allergies, if any, his dinner time and what he liked to eat for dinner.
We were taken aback, to say the least.
She was also very well prepared to handle our son for the two odd hours she expected to play with him. She had brought along with her some crayons and pictures for him to color, and some games.
This Saturday night arrangement worked well for all parties involved. My husband and I got to hang out together and watch a movie or attend work-related events, our son had a fun time with a babysitter who wasn't averse to squealing like a child herself and running around the house after him, and the babysitter got to earn money for whatever she was saving for (one of them financed a trip to Mexico through her earnings).
When we moved to Bangalore about a year ago, I was delighted to find a lot of teens in our neighborhood. I, of course, saw potential babysitters in all of them. Fully expecting to have at least five potential babysitters in my rolodex by the end of the week, I approached two of them who were hanging out in the childrens' park in our apartment complex.
"Hi, I was looking for a babysitter for my son. Do you guys babysit?"
"Whaaa...?" read their expressions. They didn't have a clue as to what I was saying.
They looked at each other and got up and walked away, leaving me with my mouth hanging open.
I thought I had approached the whole thing wrong. May be I should've asked the parents.
So I talked to the mother of one of the girls. Her reaction was not much better than the one I got from the girls. Finally I got something along the lines of "I don't think she'll be interested," from the mother.
I couldn't figure it out. It's not that no one had ever heard of babysitting here. Moreover, what did the other parents do? Most families have both parents working and most families are nuclear units, so the need for a babysitter (as distinct from a full-time nanny) must arise at some point.
A couple of months down the road the picture became somewhat clearer. Most of the families with young children had someone staying with them. In some cases it was a grand-parent, but more often than not, a young girl, practically a child herself, transplanted from some village to live at the house and take care of children not much younger than herself.
I saw them everywhere. I saw them at the park with the kids (I saw more such young girls than the childrens' mothers in the park), I saw them at the grocery store handling the cart and the children while the mother piled the cart with groceries, I saw them at the school gates waiting patiently to pick up their wards.
You don't have to look very hard to find the irony in this picture. We hesitate to have our own children "work" while apparently having no objection to young children working long hours to care for our children.
And children don't just work in homes. They work in extremely hazardous conditions in factories and construction sites, in the cities as rag pickers and in the fields. Here is a heart-breaking story from a Human Rights Watch report from a few years ago about a girl forced to work in a beedi-rolling factory:
More recently, Outlook (January 23, 2006 issue) carried some horrifying stats on the state of child labor in India.
And there is something we can all do about it.
Next time you see a child working somewhere he or she should not be working, please report it to the authorities. Organizations such as Akshara Foundation will work with the families of such children and will give them lessons at least for a few hours everyday so that the endless cycle of lack of education and financial indebtedness is not repeated.
This post began on a somewhat facetious note about babysitters, but the point, really, is about children and their right to their childhood, to an education, and to at least the opportunity to get out of whatever financial morass their families have gotten into.
Crossposted on Desicritics.org.
The neighborhood where we lived in northern Virginia had three girls in their early teens who were interested in babysitting and earning some money along the way. All three had obtained training in CPR (cardiac pulmonary resuscitation), were Girl Scouts (Girl Guides, as they are known in India) and were very professional in their approach to babysitting. They arrived at the appointed time and never canceled if they had promised they would be there on any given day.
One of them, in particular, took her job very seriously. The first day she was to babysit for us, she whipped out a one page, typed form for us to fill. The form asked for everything from our emergency contact information to our son's bedtime, his medications, if any, allergies, if any, his dinner time and what he liked to eat for dinner.
We were taken aback, to say the least.
She was also very well prepared to handle our son for the two odd hours she expected to play with him. She had brought along with her some crayons and pictures for him to color, and some games.
This Saturday night arrangement worked well for all parties involved. My husband and I got to hang out together and watch a movie or attend work-related events, our son had a fun time with a babysitter who wasn't averse to squealing like a child herself and running around the house after him, and the babysitter got to earn money for whatever she was saving for (one of them financed a trip to Mexico through her earnings).
When we moved to Bangalore about a year ago, I was delighted to find a lot of teens in our neighborhood. I, of course, saw potential babysitters in all of them. Fully expecting to have at least five potential babysitters in my rolodex by the end of the week, I approached two of them who were hanging out in the childrens' park in our apartment complex.
"Hi, I was looking for a babysitter for my son. Do you guys babysit?"
"Whaaa...?" read their expressions. They didn't have a clue as to what I was saying.
They looked at each other and got up and walked away, leaving me with my mouth hanging open.
I thought I had approached the whole thing wrong. May be I should've asked the parents.
So I talked to the mother of one of the girls. Her reaction was not much better than the one I got from the girls. Finally I got something along the lines of "I don't think she'll be interested," from the mother.
I couldn't figure it out. It's not that no one had ever heard of babysitting here. Moreover, what did the other parents do? Most families have both parents working and most families are nuclear units, so the need for a babysitter (as distinct from a full-time nanny) must arise at some point.
A couple of months down the road the picture became somewhat clearer. Most of the families with young children had someone staying with them. In some cases it was a grand-parent, but more often than not, a young girl, practically a child herself, transplanted from some village to live at the house and take care of children not much younger than herself.
I saw them everywhere. I saw them at the park with the kids (I saw more such young girls than the childrens' mothers in the park), I saw them at the grocery store handling the cart and the children while the mother piled the cart with groceries, I saw them at the school gates waiting patiently to pick up their wards.
You don't have to look very hard to find the irony in this picture. We hesitate to have our own children "work" while apparently having no objection to young children working long hours to care for our children.
And children don't just work in homes. They work in extremely hazardous conditions in factories and construction sites, in the cities as rag pickers and in the fields. Here is a heart-breaking story from a Human Rights Watch report from a few years ago about a girl forced to work in a beedi-rolling factory:
My sister is ten years old. Every morning at seven she goes to the bonded labor man, and every night at nine she comes home. He treats her badly, he hits her if he thinks she is working slowly or if she talks to the other children, he yells at her, he comes looking for her if she is sick and cannot go to work. I feel this is very difficult for her.The entire report is here.
I don't care about school or playing. I don't care about any of that. All I want is to bring my sister home from the bonded labor man. For 600 rupees I can bring her home - that is our only chance to get her back.
We don't have 600 rupees. We will never have 600 rupees.
More recently, Outlook (January 23, 2006 issue) carried some horrifying stats on the state of child labor in India.
Nearly 17 million children have to work for a living, many of them in hazardous environments. Close to 30% of the 2 million sex workers are underage. Less than half of India's 430 million children go to schools.And in any given month, there are at least two stories such as these about the discovery of child labor and the rescue of the children.
And there is something we can all do about it.
Next time you see a child working somewhere he or she should not be working, please report it to the authorities. Organizations such as Akshara Foundation will work with the families of such children and will give them lessons at least for a few hours everyday so that the endless cycle of lack of education and financial indebtedness is not repeated.
This post began on a somewhat facetious note about babysitters, but the point, really, is about children and their right to their childhood, to an education, and to at least the opportunity to get out of whatever financial morass their families have gotten into.
Crossposted on Desicritics.org.
Saturday, January 21, 2006
3 Knights in India and Chinese Take-Out
John Steventon is a cartoonist who's working on his second publication, 3 Knights in India. After seeing my post about the Jayanagar IV Block Shopping Complex, he sent me an e-mail with an interesting question.
He wanted to know what kind of containers are used by Chinese restaurants for packing take-out food so he could depict it appropriately in his illustrations.
In Bangalore, Chinese food comes in round, white, plastic containers with plastic tops. Some restaurants have their name on the containers and some don't.
Has anyone seen any another kinds of containers for Chinese take-out food? Do they pack some food in aluminium foil?
John has visited Bangalore twice to research the series and has some lovely photographs of those visits. Check out the one captioned "Why spelling really does count". It's hilarious.
But even better than the photographs are his cartoons that were inspired by his visits. He's uploaded them as well right alongside the photographs.
Here is his depiction of the Jayanagar market.
Cartoon by John Steventon (www.happyglyphs.com)
He wanted to know what kind of containers are used by Chinese restaurants for packing take-out food so he could depict it appropriately in his illustrations.
In Bangalore, Chinese food comes in round, white, plastic containers with plastic tops. Some restaurants have their name on the containers and some don't.
Has anyone seen any another kinds of containers for Chinese take-out food? Do they pack some food in aluminium foil?
John has visited Bangalore twice to research the series and has some lovely photographs of those visits. Check out the one captioned "Why spelling really does count". It's hilarious.
But even better than the photographs are his cartoons that were inspired by his visits. He's uploaded them as well right alongside the photographs.
Here is his depiction of the Jayanagar market.
Cartoon by John Steventon (www.happyglyphs.com) Thursday, January 19, 2006
Did a Double Take, Anyone?
Woke up at 4 this morning (jet lag has been unusually severe this time around) and had a hankering for less color. So started tinkering around and came up with this.
Now that I'm looking at it, just too bland. But will stick with it for a while. May be it'll grow on me.
Now that I'm looking at it, just too bland. But will stick with it for a while. May be it'll grow on me.
Whaaa...? Come again?
I was at a wedding yesterday.
Towards the end of the marriage ceremony, but while the rituals were still going on, the band switched from traditional carnatic music to that song from Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge, "Tujhe Dekha To Ye Jaana Sanam"!
I know I sound like a stodgy old woman, but it was a little weird at first. A while later, it was quite enjoyable.
Towards the end of the marriage ceremony, but while the rituals were still going on, the band switched from traditional carnatic music to that song from Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge, "Tujhe Dekha To Ye Jaana Sanam"!
I know I sound like a stodgy old woman, but it was a little weird at first. A while later, it was quite enjoyable.
Friday, January 13, 2006
Clash of the Worlds
N and I were at the DMV (Department of Motor Vehicles) a couple of days after we got to the US to get our car license tags reissued.
We took a number to get in line, I filled out the application form and we sat in the row of chairs facing the 17-odd customer service counters. Christmas decorations were everywhere - green imitation pine streamers hung from the doors, windows and ceiling, red bows punctuating them every two feet or so, and red stockings hung from every counter with the name of each employee written in shiny colorful markers across the white furry borders.
As we sat waiting, we read the names on each of the stockings. When we came to the one with lettering in gold-colored marker, I blinked. The name looked like it had been written in Kannada. I blinked again, but it wouldn't go away.
I asked N to go up closer to the stocking and see if it was written in Kannada. He looked at me like I was nuts ("You've got to be kidding, mom"), but he went to the stocking and looked. It said Safiana. In English, of course.
Snippets of conversations I could not catch in crowded places seemed like they were spoken in Kannada. I looked around and there was not a single Indian face to be seen. It's not just me. On this trip, N sometimes thought he heard Kannada too.
This was not the first time my two worlds have clashed in my head. When we're driving around in the US on a stretch of road empty of other vehicles, with relatives or our Indian friends in the car, listening to a Hindi CD, it comes as a complete shock to me when we come to a traffic signal and there are cars with non-Indian faces in them.
We're not in Kansas anymore, Toto.
And my brain doesn't just transplant India into the US. The reverse works very well too.
A few months ago I was at my uncle's house in Bangalore for a pre-wedding family get-together (my cousin was getting married). I was dressed up in Indian clothes, of course, with bindis going a mile up on my forehead and bangles clanging on my wrists. On the way back home I needed to stop at the grocery store for something.
As I was leaving my uncle's house, an image flitted across my head. I was going to show up at the grocery store in all my Indian finery. Just a thought. And an awareness that I would get a lot of stares and smiles and perhaps some questions.
A second later it struck me.
Duh! I'm in India! I'm not going to the local Safeway, I'm going to Monday to Sunday!
We took a number to get in line, I filled out the application form and we sat in the row of chairs facing the 17-odd customer service counters. Christmas decorations were everywhere - green imitation pine streamers hung from the doors, windows and ceiling, red bows punctuating them every two feet or so, and red stockings hung from every counter with the name of each employee written in shiny colorful markers across the white furry borders.
As we sat waiting, we read the names on each of the stockings. When we came to the one with lettering in gold-colored marker, I blinked. The name looked like it had been written in Kannada. I blinked again, but it wouldn't go away.
I asked N to go up closer to the stocking and see if it was written in Kannada. He looked at me like I was nuts ("You've got to be kidding, mom"), but he went to the stocking and looked. It said Safiana. In English, of course.
Snippets of conversations I could not catch in crowded places seemed like they were spoken in Kannada. I looked around and there was not a single Indian face to be seen. It's not just me. On this trip, N sometimes thought he heard Kannada too.
This was not the first time my two worlds have clashed in my head. When we're driving around in the US on a stretch of road empty of other vehicles, with relatives or our Indian friends in the car, listening to a Hindi CD, it comes as a complete shock to me when we come to a traffic signal and there are cars with non-Indian faces in them.
We're not in Kansas anymore, Toto.
And my brain doesn't just transplant India into the US. The reverse works very well too.
A few months ago I was at my uncle's house in Bangalore for a pre-wedding family get-together (my cousin was getting married). I was dressed up in Indian clothes, of course, with bindis going a mile up on my forehead and bangles clanging on my wrists. On the way back home I needed to stop at the grocery store for something.
As I was leaving my uncle's house, an image flitted across my head. I was going to show up at the grocery store in all my Indian finery. Just a thought. And an awareness that I would get a lot of stares and smiles and perhaps some questions.
A second later it struck me.
Duh! I'm in India! I'm not going to the local Safeway, I'm going to Monday to Sunday!
Monday, January 09, 2006
Am baaaaack....
Got back to Bangalore yesterday.
Had a wonderful time in DC, seeing all the old familiar landmarks, meeting up with old friends, visiting the Christmas Tree and the Minora at the White House, roaming the malls choking with the rush of year-end shoppers....
Things hadn't changed much - the neighbors were the same, our favorite restaurants remained (even some of the waiters), Trader Joe's was still there, Beltway politics was in full swing.
Well, may be one thing had changed - the Redskins are on a 6 game winning streak!
Had a wonderful time in DC, seeing all the old familiar landmarks, meeting up with old friends, visiting the Christmas Tree and the Minora at the White House, roaming the malls choking with the rush of year-end shoppers....
Things hadn't changed much - the neighbors were the same, our favorite restaurants remained (even some of the waiters), Trader Joe's was still there, Beltway politics was in full swing.
Well, may be one thing had changed - the Redskins are on a 6 game winning streak!
Friday, December 16, 2005
Off On Holiday...
Going back "home" for three weeks after more than a year. Really, really looking forward to Einstein Bagel, Panera Bread, Bertucci's, California Pizza Kitchen, Oodles Noodles, Chevy's....Oh, and going back home, of course.
Thought for the New Year
New years bring new beginnings. If you have already started thinking along the lines of New Years' Resolutions and if one of your resolutions happens to be volunteering for a cause that's close to your heart, I hope you are able to do it.
But if you are strapped for time and cannot volunteer but are considering donating funds to a cause, I urge you to consider Project Why. Charu at Indsight has a post that explains a pledge drive that Project Why has undertaken. Simply put, find out how much a rupee a day could do for a child's life.
Here's wishing you a very happy and prosperous new year and wishing the earth no tsunamis, no earthquakes, no hurricanes, no 9/11s, 3/11s or 7/7s, and less of pollution and littering.
But if you are strapped for time and cannot volunteer but are considering donating funds to a cause, I urge you to consider Project Why. Charu at Indsight has a post that explains a pledge drive that Project Why has undertaken. Simply put, find out how much a rupee a day could do for a child's life.
Here's wishing you a very happy and prosperous new year and wishing the earth no tsunamis, no earthquakes, no hurricanes, no 9/11s, 3/11s or 7/7s, and less of pollution and littering.
Wednesday, December 14, 2005
Akshara Update and Thank You!
There has been a flurry of e-mails over the last week ever since I put up this post calling for volunteers. After the dust has settled down somewhat, I am thrilled and proud to report that 35 volunteers have come forward to assist Akshara in the various phases of their Read Bangalore Project.
Thank you to all those who volunteered, thank you everyone that spread the word, and thank you to everyone who wrote in their best wishes for the project.
Crossposted on Everymanscity.
Thank you to all those who volunteered, thank you everyone that spread the word, and thank you to everyone who wrote in their best wishes for the project.
Crossposted on Everymanscity.
Thursday, December 08, 2005
Akshara - First Steps in the Read Bangalore Project
As I've mentioned here and here, Akshara Foundation has undertaken a project in association with the Karnataka State Department of Education for augmenting the reading skills of primary school children (in classes 2 to 7) in about 1,374 goverment primary schools in and around Bangalore.
Once the initial base-line assessments are done (i.e., assessments of the level at which the students are currently reading and processing language), Akshara expects that about 72,000 (of about 1,90,000) children in these schools will need remedial help to bring their language skills to where they should be for their age.
Last Saturday, Bhaskar, Akash, Surjo, Mandar, Kelly and I met with Col. Rajan and Mr. Ravi Kumar of Akshara Foundation to go over what they need in terms of volunteer help. At that meeting they gave us a broad-brush presentation which gave us an idea of the scale of the project, its objective, the number of schools and the number of children involved, the kind of teacher training that will be necessary in order for the project to be successfully executed (about 3,600 goverment teachers will need to be trained to teach the children language skills over a period of 45 days), and an idea of the kind of logistics involved.
Today I had another meeting with Col. Rajan and Mr. Ashok Kamat (a trustee on Akshara's Board) regarding the first steps in this project in which we can we involved. The steps I'm describing below are only those steps in which we, as volunteers, can be involved in. There are various other pieces of the puzzle that Akshara is working on separately.
The work that needs to be completed over the next 3 and 1/2 months can be divided into two discrete steps:
1. Data Collection: There are three kinds of data that need to be collected - School data, Teacher data and Student data. To begin with, the Karnataka State Department of Education will provide Teacher and Student data to Akshara which Akshara is accepting for the time-being.
School data, on the other hand, will be primarily collected by Akshara. This is where we, the voluteers, come in. Starting December 15, 2005, Akshara will need voluteers to go to each of the schools (addresses and directions will be provided by Akshara), stand there at the location with a GPS receiver (which will also be provided by Akshara) and figure out the exact GPS location (latitudes and longitudes) of that school so the location of every single school under the project can be pin-pointed on a map.
The city is divided into 9 education blocks (with 77 clusters), so it would be possible for voluteers to pick an area and go to all the schools in a couple of clusters, for example, rather than criss-crossing the city and going all over the place.
All this work can be done on weekends and holidays (the schools need not be open for this purpose). The deadline for this step of the project is January 31, 2006.
2. Data Entry: All the data that comes in (School, Teacher and Student) will need to be keyed into computers. A couple of you had asked me if data entry can be done at home on personal computers and I confirmed today that that is possible. Data entry can be done at home and the spreadsheets can be e-mailed to Akshara. Alternatively, data entry can also be done at any of the 9 block offices of Akshara where they have dedicated computers for this purpose.
Akshara anticipates that this phase of the project will begin February 1, 2006 and the deadline is 31, March 2006.
What we need to do now is to let Akshara know which of these two phases each of the voluteers is interested in. Please leave a comment on this post with your preferance and I'll tabulate it so Akshara has a clear idea of where they have help and where they need more.
Please comment.
Crossposted on Everymanscity.
P.S. This is the 100th post on this blog. Somehow, seems fitting.
Update 1: Just wished to clarify that after the completion of the two steps described above, there will be follow-up work in the data analysis and assessment areas. Many of you have expressed interest in those areas as well, and there is plenty of opportunity to be involved in that. Thanks.
Update 2: Global Voices has linked to this effort here. Thank you Global Voices.
Update 3: Anita Bora at Just a Little Something links to this post here. Thank you Anita.
Once the initial base-line assessments are done (i.e., assessments of the level at which the students are currently reading and processing language), Akshara expects that about 72,000 (of about 1,90,000) children in these schools will need remedial help to bring their language skills to where they should be for their age.
Last Saturday, Bhaskar, Akash, Surjo, Mandar, Kelly and I met with Col. Rajan and Mr. Ravi Kumar of Akshara Foundation to go over what they need in terms of volunteer help. At that meeting they gave us a broad-brush presentation which gave us an idea of the scale of the project, its objective, the number of schools and the number of children involved, the kind of teacher training that will be necessary in order for the project to be successfully executed (about 3,600 goverment teachers will need to be trained to teach the children language skills over a period of 45 days), and an idea of the kind of logistics involved.
Today I had another meeting with Col. Rajan and Mr. Ashok Kamat (a trustee on Akshara's Board) regarding the first steps in this project in which we can we involved. The steps I'm describing below are only those steps in which we, as volunteers, can be involved in. There are various other pieces of the puzzle that Akshara is working on separately.
The work that needs to be completed over the next 3 and 1/2 months can be divided into two discrete steps:
1. Data Collection: There are three kinds of data that need to be collected - School data, Teacher data and Student data. To begin with, the Karnataka State Department of Education will provide Teacher and Student data to Akshara which Akshara is accepting for the time-being.
School data, on the other hand, will be primarily collected by Akshara. This is where we, the voluteers, come in. Starting December 15, 2005, Akshara will need voluteers to go to each of the schools (addresses and directions will be provided by Akshara), stand there at the location with a GPS receiver (which will also be provided by Akshara) and figure out the exact GPS location (latitudes and longitudes) of that school so the location of every single school under the project can be pin-pointed on a map.
The city is divided into 9 education blocks (with 77 clusters), so it would be possible for voluteers to pick an area and go to all the schools in a couple of clusters, for example, rather than criss-crossing the city and going all over the place.
All this work can be done on weekends and holidays (the schools need not be open for this purpose). The deadline for this step of the project is January 31, 2006.
2. Data Entry: All the data that comes in (School, Teacher and Student) will need to be keyed into computers. A couple of you had asked me if data entry can be done at home on personal computers and I confirmed today that that is possible. Data entry can be done at home and the spreadsheets can be e-mailed to Akshara. Alternatively, data entry can also be done at any of the 9 block offices of Akshara where they have dedicated computers for this purpose.
Akshara anticipates that this phase of the project will begin February 1, 2006 and the deadline is 31, March 2006.
What we need to do now is to let Akshara know which of these two phases each of the voluteers is interested in. Please leave a comment on this post with your preferance and I'll tabulate it so Akshara has a clear idea of where they have help and where they need more.
Please comment.
Crossposted on Everymanscity.
P.S. This is the 100th post on this blog. Somehow, seems fitting.
Update 1: Just wished to clarify that after the completion of the two steps described above, there will be follow-up work in the data analysis and assessment areas. Many of you have expressed interest in those areas as well, and there is plenty of opportunity to be involved in that. Thanks.
Update 2: Global Voices has linked to this effort here. Thank you Global Voices.
Update 3: Anita Bora at Just a Little Something links to this post here. Thank you Anita.
Sunday, December 04, 2005
Crazy Saturday Evening
It began at 3 pm and ended at 1 am.
At 3 pm, I left to go to the Akshara meeting. It took me an hour and a half to reach Cox Town from South Bangalore. The meeting lasted an hour and a half and then back on the roads for another hour's drive back home. Then off again to my parents' house further south than our house to drop off N for his sleep over.
And then, the car ride of a life time, through the lanes and bylanes and non-existent roads of Bommanahalli and Rupen Agrahara (never knew these areas existed in Bangalore until yesterday), through what I can only describe as Martian landscape, to Airport Road/Maratahalli which we reached an hour and fifteen minutes later.
Finally to the airport from Maratahalli and then back home.
At the end of the evening, V was on a plane, N was at a sleepover with his grandparents, uncle and aunt (my brother and sister-in-law), and I was home alone.
For the first time in the last five years, seven months and twelve days, the three of us spent the night in different places.
At 3 pm, I left to go to the Akshara meeting. It took me an hour and a half to reach Cox Town from South Bangalore. The meeting lasted an hour and a half and then back on the roads for another hour's drive back home. Then off again to my parents' house further south than our house to drop off N for his sleep over.
And then, the car ride of a life time, through the lanes and bylanes and non-existent roads of Bommanahalli and Rupen Agrahara (never knew these areas existed in Bangalore until yesterday), through what I can only describe as Martian landscape, to Airport Road/Maratahalli which we reached an hour and fifteen minutes later.
Finally to the airport from Maratahalli and then back home.
At the end of the evening, V was on a plane, N was at a sleepover with his grandparents, uncle and aunt (my brother and sister-in-law), and I was home alone.
For the first time in the last five years, seven months and twelve days, the three of us spent the night in different places.
Akshara Volunteer Meeting
Bhaskar, Akash, Surjo, Mandar, Kelly and I had a useful meeting with Col. Rajan and Mr. Ravi Kumar of Akshara Foundation yesterday. More about the meeting and its outcome in a short while.
Those who wanted to come but were unable to, don't despair, there'll be plenty of opportunity to catch up and be involved.
Crossposted on Everymanscity.
Those who wanted to come but were unable to, don't despair, there'll be plenty of opportunity to catch up and be involved.
Crossposted on Everymanscity.
Peter Weir to Direct Shantaram
According to a PTI report that was carried in The Hindu, Peter Weir is all set to direct Johnny Depp as Shantaram. Master and Commander, Far Side of the World is one of N's favorite movies and I've enjoyed that and many of Weir's other films - Picnic at Hanging Rock, Dead Poets Society, The Truman Show.
Johnny Depp, Peter Weir and Shantaram - a deadly combination to say the least.
Johnny Depp, Peter Weir and Shantaram - a deadly combination to say the least.
Friday, December 02, 2005
Volunteer Meeting at Akshara Foundation
A group of us Bangalore Bloggers is meeting with Col. Murthy Rajan, COO, Akshara Foundation on Saturday, December 3rd at 4 pm.
The purpose of the meeting is to go over the areas in which we can help Akshara in their work. For background information on Akshara Foundation, the latest project they have undertaken, and the areas in which they are seeking help, please see this post on Everymanscity.
If you are interested, please come, join us!
Here is the address at which the meeting will be held on Saturday:
Akshara Foundation,
New 129/1 MM Road cross,
Cox Town,B'lore-5
( close to Frazer town police station).
Hope to see you there!
The purpose of the meeting is to go over the areas in which we can help Akshara in their work. For background information on Akshara Foundation, the latest project they have undertaken, and the areas in which they are seeking help, please see this post on Everymanscity.
If you are interested, please come, join us!
Here is the address at which the meeting will be held on Saturday:
Akshara Foundation,
New 129/1 MM Road cross,
Cox Town,B'lore-5
( close to Frazer town police station).
Hope to see you there!
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