Kandhamal

Just got back at 5am this morning. Had a crappy night bus to Phulbani in Kandhamal on Tuesday night, arriving at around 5.45am. It's only just over 200kms but takes six hours because of the shitty roads, and there's not even mountains to negotiate. We got an auto to an office in town and they put down some flattened cardboard boxes, a plastic mat and a sheet on the concrete floor and Sujata and I had a few more hours sleep. Then woke up, bathed and had some breakfast and hit the road. We had to ride motorbikes to a town about 45kms away where the NGO we were visiting is based. Did a couple of case studies in nearby villages, had a thali lunch at a hotel and then had to ride another 30kms to meet the head of the NGO to get a case study from him. He was in a meeting in Balliguda to talk about flood relief so we had to visit him there. On the way the road was blocked by a recovery vehicle pulling a bus out of a ravine, apparently the accident happened three days before. We managed to get the bikes around and kept going. On the way back there was a motorbike accident, luckily I didn't see it happen but Sujata was on the other bike and they saw the whole thing. The rider was drunk and veered off the road over some dirt mounds, became airborne and crashed. He was just laying there drunk and a bit abusive but his pillion was not drunk and had blood all over his face and looked a bit in shock. (No one wears helmets here except the rider only in Bhubaneswar.) We waited around for almost an hour 'til help came for them. The drunk guy's mum arrived in an auto and started shouting at him then some other friends came in a 4x4 and packed them all in and took them back to town and we were on our way. I had to do one more case study then we could go back the other 45kms to Phulbani. Just when we left the rain started so we had to stop under a shop awning for about half an hour or so until it passed. Luckily I had a raincoat but Sujata forgot hers. We finally headed off again, by now about 7.00pm and there was more rain on the way but we had to keep going. There were so many fireflies in the trees and it was just beautiful. Then we got back to Phulbani about 8pm and went to a friend of Sujata's for dinner. They started preparing it when we arrived so ate at about 9.45pm by which time I was not hungry so had to beg for only a small portion as it is not cool to leave food on your plate here. I really shouldn't have eaten anything because I then had indigestion and was so uncomfortable on the bus. I just have to listen to my ipod the whole time and drift in and out of sleep. We got back about 5am and Sujata's husband met us with his motorbike and they dropped me home. I had a few more hours sleep but had to get up and do some work and today I'm just in a daze really. I'll go to Puri  tomorrow for Jane's 27th birthday party on Saturday so hopefully I've recovered by then. Then I have to do back to back night buses on Monday again to visit Kalahandi. Oh the volunteers life.

The lazy blogger

I know I've become very lazy in blogging. India has become my home now and it seems slightly strange to write updates of my daily life, while different to what my life has been in the past, they have become my new normal.

I am now used to mud and noise and car horns and people shitting and pissing and spitting in the street or whereever is convenient. I'm used to everything being shut just when I want to go and buy something, everything shuts from about midday until the evening. I'm used to the soaking monsoon rains. I'm used to eating curry at every meal, craving it even. I'm used to zoning out when people are speaking in Oriya around me. I'm used to being stared at. I'm used to kids yelling out hello when I walk past. I'm used to having no work to do for long periods and then being dragged around the countryside to do some really interesting work. I'm used to riding on motorbikes through remote jungle villages. I'm used to sitting in the homes of very poor people while they tell me their stories. I'm used to getting three or four share auto rickshaws across town to see someone about something then be told it is not possible today. I'm used to waiting. I'm used to things not happening as they should. I'm used to Indian generosity and friendliness. I'm used to wearing Indian dress. I'm used to being asked what I ate today, or yesterday.

So what is there left to share when I've become used to all of this.

The next series of entries will be exerpts from emails to my dear friend Clara describing some of my experiences to her over recent weeks.

Waiting

All is good in India, I had a massive dummy spit last week because I haven't worked in three weeks and no-one seems to give a shit. All my colleagues were involved with the Anna Hazare hunger strike stuff to pass an anti-corruption bill in parliament - not sure if you heard about it but it was a pretty big story. Anyway so I sat around waiting for them to organise something for me. I've spent a fair bit of time in Puri. In fact just came back from there this morning. There's big floods here in Orissa at the moment so we rode up to some of the affected areas on Sunday and it is such a mess, thousands of villages have been inundated and washed away. Just got a call today from the Australian High Commission to see if I'm okay so I gave them the flood update. Yesterday was full moon so today the water is flowing back into the sea and relieving the situation. Got my hair permanently straightened last week - 99% humidity every fucking day was killing me. Now I'm getting everyone staring at me. When Pintu and I rode through a village on Sunday, I'm not joking the whole street stopped and stared and watched us go by, turning their heads and all. I told him they must like his new sunglasses.

There's some more french people in town as of last week I think so there's now five or so here. Simon one of the older ones had a french night in his apartment on Saturday which was good. He had fois gras, pate, crepes, etc which was pretty good. I left early because I was a bit crook and also wanted to get up early to go to Puri next day. I missed out on the nightclub so I'll get the goss from my flatmate tonight. All I know so far is that someone lost their zippo lighter. So I spend the next two nights on night buses going to and from Kandhamal to interview some more people about their RTI stories. It is a troubled part of the state and I was meant to go there a few weeks ago but wasn't allowed due to Naxalite activity (local terrorists) but I believe it has settled down a bit. I'm really not concerned about the naxalites and i'm pretty sure they're not concerned about me either. After that I come back for a night then off to Puri again on Friday. All the expats are going for someone's birthday and someone's farewell. Then Monday night I'm on another bus to Kalahandi and probably a night bus back again. All quite exhausting really!


So that's the general update from India. I hope you're getting a sense of the wackiness of this place. Problem is for me that I'm losing relativity and not sure what is normal anymore.

Technology in India

India is where it is all meant to be happening with IT and in my experience it is, just not the right way.

In the first week here my Mac laptop charger blew up. Since then, my two external hard drives have broken, my touchpad has stopped working, my SD card reader doesn't read my SD card and my screen is pixelating and going strange.

I've also broken the replacement Mac laptop charger.

I am not enjoying technology in India and that could be why my blog is a bit neglected...

Kuilipuda, Sambalpur

Today, I was sitting in someone's house as they were preparing tea for me before telling me their RTI story. I decided to record random observations as I was waiting, just for something to do.

Jungle, humid air, smoke filled. Men in gamacha collecting rice and staples on their bicycles. Women collecting water from communal pump in the village. Cows and dogs roaming. Women in brightly coloured saris harvesting rice. Air thick with humidity and cow shit and smoke. Small children looking after smaller children. Eyes smeared in kajol and black circle on forehead to make child ugly so spirits won't take them. Flies, sweat, smoke. Women making chai. Young boy playing with a toy bow and arrow. On the wall hangs an old adidas bag that says Sydney, maybe something from the Olympics 11 years ago. I sit in a courtyard, mud and puddles in the centre. The home is made from mud with a straw thatch roof.

Dhenkanal RTI Master Training

Well my weekend was a blast! After having dinner and drinking too much wine with my flatmate on Friday night, I was up before 5am to meet Sujata to get a train at 6am that turned out to be at 6.45am. We then went to Dhenkanal which is a couple of hours away for a Master Trainer Program on RTI. What these guys do it train up people in the different villages to use the Right to Information Act and help their communities so they attend this two day course. Basically we sit around on the floor in a big circle (women on one side, men on the other) in a dusty decaying building and it is all spoken in Oriya. I was completely nodding off less than an hour into it so Sujata asked if I wanted to take rest and I said yes, after lunch. So after lunch I spent the entire afternoon lying on a sheet on a concrete floor in another room of this building reading Holy Cow and dozing. Sujata came in a couple of times to lay down and she curled up next to me and spooned. At other times people would come into the room and have meetings while I was sleeping. This is all quite normal for me now. We hung around in the evening to eat dinner at about 9pm then went back to the "office" where we all slept on the concrete floor. I did get a thin foam yoga mat to sleep on and had a pillow but no sheet over me this time. Sunday was a bit the same. I got up and went to Anu's sister in law's house where I could use the bathroom to shower and clean up. There they gave me some mango, pomegranite and biscuits then we headed to the hall for breakfast and it was the same all over again except that we didn't get back to the office until about 10.30pm last night then I had to talk to some guy for a while about his organisation but at 11pm I just couldn't do it any more. At 5.30am this morning Sujata woke me to tell me I need to get moving. I went to Anu's sister in law's house again but their water wasn't working so I went back to the hall to use the bathroom. At 7am we got the slow train that took three hours and I finally made it back to my apartment by about 10.45am where I could finally have a cigarette and be in my own space. So that was my weekend, how was yours?

A bit of mountain air

With work getting a little busy, I decided to take Pintu up on his offer and head down to the southern part of Orissa for a few days for a change of scenery.

The air is so much cooler and fresher down there and the scenery, lush mountains and hills and rice fields, it was a stunning vista all around (except for a few steel mills and the obligatory industrial sites that are a huge point of conflict in this state).

The plan was an overnight train down to Koraput, collect motorbike on arrival and cruise around the countryside for four days. That is exactly what we did, each day visiting different tribal markets. The markets were very much for the locals and some don't see any foreigners so there's not many trinkets to buy but the experience is wonderful and fascinating.

Each market visit started with a drink of local brew with the ladies who sell it in big silver pots. Unlike most other places in India, these women were quite amused by the foreigner having a little tipple, even encouraging it. Then we'd wander around, see what was on offer, maybe chat to a few people. If you leave it too late there are many drunks around, this is the weekly event of course and that local brew does pack a bit of a punch.

There's nothing quite like cruising around unknown lands on the back of a Honda Hero with a trusted friend as a guide. It was a very nice and relaxing few days and I can't wait to head back down there and go to some of the tribal villages next time.

Lord J

In a land with over 33 crore* gods, there is no shortage of deities to worship in India (*a crore is ten million).

One of the most prominent deities here in Orissa is Lord Jagganath (and family), whose temple is located in the nearby religious (and beach) town of Puri.

Lord Jagganath is considered an aspect of the god Vishnu or his avatar Krishna and worshipped as part of a triad along with Krishna's brother Balabhadra and his sister Subhadra. The 12th century temple of Jagannath in Puri is regarded as one of the Char Dam (four sacred Hindu pilgrimage places) in India.

Every year in mid-summer, Lord Jagannath, with his elder brother Balabhadra and sister Subhadra, goes on vacation, travelling on grand chariots, from his temple in Puri, to his garden palace in the countryside. This belief of the Hindus has given rise to one of the biggest religious festivals in India — the Rath Yatra or the Chariot Festival. This is also the etymological origin of the English word 'Juggernaut'.

The festival begins with the Ratha Prathistha or invoking ceremony in the morning, but the Ratha Tana or chariot pulling is the most exciting part of the festival, which begins in the late afternoon when the chariots of Jagannath, Balabhadra and Subhadra start rolling.

  

This commemorates the annual journey of Lord Jagannath, Lord Balarama, and their sister Subhadra to their aunt' s temple, the Gundicha Temple which is situated at a distance of 2km from their temple. New chariots are built every year. This is the only day when devotees who are not allowed in the temple premises such as non-Hindus and foreigners, can get their glimpse of the deities. During the festival, devotees from all over the world go to Puri with an earnest desire to help pull Lords' chariot with the help of other priests pulling the chariots with ropes. They consider this a pious deed and risk their lives in the huge crowd. The huge processions accompanying the chariots play devotional songs with drums, tambourines, trumpets etc. Crowd estimates vary wildly but it would be fair to say that at least a million (and possibly several times that number) come to Puri during Rath Yatra each year.

Lord Jagganath is a god for the low caste people and during the festival, the low caste people become the kings of Puri. In fact, during Rath Yatra, the King of Puri has to climb each of the chariots and sweep the floors, becoming a low caste person.

My good friend Pintu who owns the guesthouse in Puri which has become my second home, organised tickets for us on a balcony right outside Jagganath Temple where we could witness all of the proceedings away from the unbelievable crowd.

We were woken just after 4.30am to get ready to head down there. Many streets are blocked off and the crowds become just too heavy to get through the streets if you leave it too late. 

I still haven't been able to find the words to tell you about the experience of Rath Yatra. 

From the moment I arrived in Puri on Saturday and climbed on the back of Pintu's bike, I felt a change in the air in Puri. We spent some time cruising through town to organise tickets and pick up beer and various other things and the energy and excitement I could feel as we rode around town gave me goosebumps.

Again on Monday morning Pintu woke me early and we went down to Grand Road at about 6am in the morning drizzle to witness the pilgrims lining up to board the chariots. We walked through the area and lit a candle and I touched Jagganath and Subhadra's chariots.

Puri is a wonderful and interesting place and to be part of Rath Yatra, a centuries old ritual, is a privilege and has provided me now with memories I won't ever forget.

Lalitgiri

I think because of our enthusiasm on the first day of Roja, Sue and I were invited by a new friend, Madhubhai, to visit his village outside of Bhubaneswar on Thursday, the final day of Roja. Sure, why not.

Plans in India are made slightly differently to what I am used to. I understood I would be called on Wednesday morning to confirm arrangements and that we'd be picked up on Wednesday evening, stay overnight in the village and have the whole day to participate in the festivities. On Wednesday night I was called about 8.30pm and told to be ready at 6.30am and wait for further instructions then. We were also told to pack bags to stay over Thursday night instead.

It all seemed to work out and by 9am we were on our way, Sue, Madhubai, me and a couple of young university students/volunteers, Mani and Abhilasha. The day was beautifully cool and drizzly and fantastic for a drive although I had a terrible cold that had set in which I was trying to ignore.

On the way to the village we visited two temples, one for Durga and one for Ganesh. In the first we lit candles and received blessings and it was a really special experience.

We arrived in Madhubhai's village in time for lunch and had that at his mum's home. He is a from a joint family so there were aunties and cousins and all sorts of relatives floating around.

The day ended up being pretty busy, visiting his family and friends and the old Buddhist remains at nearby Lalitgiri*.

In the evening we were taken to the centre of the village where there was a stage set up and a performance going on. This was something that occurs each year during Roja and it seems to me it is a cross between street theatre and preaching.

Due to the constant rain we abandoned plans to stay overnight which I was quite happy about as my cold had become worse and I was craving sleeping in my own bed. It was a really wonderful day in the end although very tiring. And of course, Sue and I have a few new friends (or family members)!

*Lalitgiri (also known as Naltigiri) is a Buddhist complex in Orissa comprising major stupas and monasteries, similar to Ratnagiri and, together with Ratnagiri and Udayagiri, part of Puspagiri University. Numerous excavations by the Archaeological Survey of India have been conducted since 1985, and continue to this day.

A museum is to be built to display relic caskets thought to contain bones of Gautama Buddha, and other archaeological finds for public display. The site was extensively excavated by the A.S.I. from 1985-92. The remains of a huge stupa, and relic caskets consisting four containers made of khondalite, steatite, silver and gold were discovered along with other important structure and archaeological remains.

It never rains...

Not a minute too soon, monsoon season arrived in Bhubaneswar this week. In Orissa there is a three day festival called Rajo (or raja, or roja) which celebrates the arrival of monsoon season and freakishly, the weather behaved and monsoon started right on cue with a sudden drop in temperature and heavy rains.

I was invited to attend some festivities in a slum called Salia Sahi which happens to be right next-door to my new apartment complex. It is the biggest slum in Bhubaneswar with up to 50,000 inhabitants, and one of the biggest in India.

My friend Sue who just arrived from Australia (via a month in Assam) came as well. We were decorated by the girls and boys with mehindi, nail polish and the Rajasthani foot-thingy. We were also a magnet for the local media that turned up!

It doesn't take long in Orissa, as a foreigner, until you're thrust into the media spotlight. Sue made it four days which, considering two of those days we were at the beach, is a remarkable achievement.

http://www.orissatv.com/NewsDetail.asp?newsId=NS42996

Some info on Raja:

Raja is an agriculture oriented festival, mostly observed in the coastal districts of Orissa for three days. It also inaugurates the agricultural year all over Orissa which marks the moistening of summer parched soil with the first shower of monsoon making it ready for productivity. To celebrate the advent of monsoon the joyous festival is arranged for three days.  During this festival Mother Earth or "Basu Mata" is considered to be a menstruating woman. Hence digging of soil or tempering it in any way is strictly prohibited. The Mother Earth is said to undergo pollution due to menstruation and given rest just like a woman imposed with several restrictions.

Raja is also considered as one of the chief festivals of unmarried girls or the potential mothers. The women folk, especially the virgins, forbid all kinds of manual works during these three days of Raja-festival. They don't carry water, cut vegetables, sweep the houses, sew clothes, grind grains, comb hair, walk in bare foot etc. So, all kind of restrictions are imposed both for the land and the women-folk.

The unmarried girls or virgins observe the restrictions prescribed for a menstruating woman. On the first day of Raja Sankranti they rise before the dawn, do their coiffure, anoint their bodies with turmeric paste and oil, then take the purification bath in the river or tank. Bathing for the next two days of the festival is strictly prohibited. During these three days girls are seen in the best of their dresses and decorations, eating cakes and rich food at the houses of friends and relatives. They move up and down in the swings rending the village sky with their joyous impromptu songs. The swings are tied to the branches of Mango or Banyan trees and decorated with garlands of different flowers. The virgins of the village gather there on this festive occasion and one of them is elected as Dolo-rani (queen of the swing). When the queen takes her seat on the swing, the virgins move her forward and backward with chorus of charming songs. These songs are full of jolly spirit of girl-hood days and refer to glorious future, happy love and would be marriage with suitable husbands.

After a slow start...

I must admit that things got off to a very slow start for me here in my volunteer life. It has been a bit surreal to be living and working out of a small and hot room, little contact with colleagues and very little to do.

However, finally things seem to be happening.

After moving apartment and just beginning to settle in, I was off for a three-day field visit to some of the RTI coalition partners to see the work they have been doing and talk the people who have used RTI.

RTI is the Right to Information Act, 2005. It is a law passed recently in India to give people the right to access government information. In the past, every government document was a secret and many things are still treated that way. However this new law helps people figure out what their entitlements are and why they aren't receiving them. 

The Odisha RTI Coalition is a group of 24 NGO's here in Orissa (Odisha) who work with the poorer classes. Many of these people are BPL (below poverty line), Scheduled Tribe and Scheduled Caste. Education levels tend to be very low and illiteracy is common, making it difficult for these people to complete an RTI Application Form. 

I'll be posting some of the stories from RTI as the year progresses but in the meantime please enjoy some photos of the lovely folk at Raghupati Colony in Berhampur and the Tumba project community in Ganjam district, just near the border of Andhra Pradesh.

Night Sounds for an Insomniac

Sleep has been a rare commodity on these hot and sticky nights. With daytime temperatures up into the mid forties and humidity around 98%, one ends up in something of a daze most of the time. Of course a whirring fan above the bed does not always do that much to cut through the dense and oppressive air. Constant blackouts remove this one small luxury, usually when it is needed most.

Given the unbearable conditions of my current living arrangement, I have searched for and found a new apartment in a newer part of town. It also comes with an Aussie expat for company. Never know your luck in a big city like Bhubaneswar!

This pictureless film shares some of the nocturnal activities of my old neighbourhood.

Bhubaneswar Mall Culture - A Massive Whopping Affair

Two interesting things here in Bhubaneswar, the "malls" and the journalism. The following story from online journal Odisha Diary sums up both rather succinctly methinks. (Do not for a minute be fooled into thinking this town is "cosmopolitan" as we know it in the rest of the western world.)

Odisha's Capital city Bhubaneswar booming with mall culture

Report by Priya Priyadarshini; Bhubaneswar: Shopping has always been an interesting and exciting piece of flavour for all people who do enjoy it to the maximum length. With the reviving mall culture one can equally get the essence of brands and their utilities. It is something like a combo pack where one gets the range of simple stuffs starting from house chore items to the glassware touch. Each item with the unique portrayal of excellent artiwork and design wear.

Moving to the Orissa's capital city one can witness things on a growing up service. Though things are yet to get the perfect glow, viewing the troupe never lacks the pleasure. One is highly bestowed with the displayed stuffs that are vibrant in colour, texture and price as well. In Bhubaneswar the mall culture is a decade long phenomena when people started to carve their accounts with new inputs and that for with a happy note of brands and varieties. Malls are more of an enjoyable ride for many. Scrolling the segments not only we do get the new beats of brands but also sense the dreams turning reality.

“If a consumer wanders in a mall, he gathers sufficient knowledge about products. Choices and preferences come thereby keeping him up to date about products:, says Shiba Biswal a mall culture admirer.

While contrary to this statement Shashi Mohanty a book lover feels Bhubaneswar needs to revive in terms of mall culture as it lacks various other facilities provided by other city services.

In the capital city the malls are more a centre for the young scions.  Be it Big Bazar, Pantaloons, Pal Heights or The World each has it’s own package that deals with the prospects of improving lifestyles. Getting the latest flick and track from the ‘M planet’- the music store house and redressing your style with the best of suits, brands and clothes everything and all under single roof only. Similarly, packaging the seasonal and annual fruits and vegetables along with all the kitchen stuffs from the most reliable source is a great boost of the mall culture. Even the best of all jewellery stones do add another feature to the concept. It is always said that shopping with a bit of good food makes the ride a memorable one. Be it Baskin Robbins Or Pizza Hut, Moginis Or Spencer with all food stuffs one is certain to explore the best for the taste. 

Over the span of time the behaviour of consumer has moderated a lot. Malls can be adjudged to be the sole factor behind this. Earlier it was shopping only but with the mall structure it is more like a happy go fun ride where one experiences a lot regarding the basics of shopping as an adventure. Time saving idea is equally prevalent over here.

Well it is the most comfortable place for youngsters to breed their ideas at the best. Placed with the updates from the techno world there is equal; placement of novels, bestsellers and top 5 to relish one’s knowledge. Even the concept of coupon cards and membership cards do make it easier to shop. Malls are a way to boost your house with the maximum of things. As one can get discounted rates on varieties of occasion. Bumper prize, summer special, winter offer, even certain game points all at the end for every individual. While malls are the centres of experiencing the wildest shopping spree, kids do get their own world to explore in the dreamy land with each game stuff to pull their nerve straight. 

Though the youth culture appreciates the ways of presentation of stuffs yet gives a second thought to the pocket as well before stepping into the buildings. “I am pleased to get the ultimatum without any duplication as one gets the best of some designer wear. Again a place where I am free to deliver my thoughts with friends of my essence thereby grooming the know how of the latest fashion, “says Ankita Ray an aspiring media student.

Bhubaneswar is certainly taking a metro look having an assurance of recycling and renovating things with the mall culture and this is the just the beginning of the maximum whopping affair yet to activate the city dwellers.

http://orissadiary.com/CurrentNews.asp?id=26755

The Joys of the Share Auto

Until I acquire my own wheels, the only way to get around Bhubaneswar is to use auto-rickshaws. There are a few bus routes but the "autos" are everywhere. There's two ways to get a ride in an auto, firstly and most commonly is the "share auto" which is where an auto runs from point A to point B and picks up and drops off along the way. The second is "reserved" for which you pay a hefty premium and that auto will take you all the way to where you want to go.

With limited financial resources, time on my hands and a general curiosity about doing things with the locals, I find myself in share autos most of the time.

A newcomer to Bhubaneswar would have no idea about the system as street names and addresses either don't exist or are hard to come by. After a couple of months here I'm finally figuring out the lay of the land, not to mention the share auto routes and the prices I should be paying.

The guys on my neighbourhood routes to/from Kalpana square are great and never try to overcharge me. In fact I find that most of the time the prices are fair. The great autowallah swindle is something that irks many a foreigner in India.

If I want to get from the south side of Bhubaneswar (where I live) to the north side, it can take me an hour and up to five different share autos.

So the system takes a little getting used to and is very intimidating to newcomers but once you've got the hang of it city starts opening itself up to you.

In the past couple of months I've had some really cool experiences with locals in the share autos. Just in the past few days here's some of the "joys":

1. I took a reserved auto on Sunday to meet my friends for lunch at the Mayfair Hotel. It was pretty far and pretty hot so I thought I'd do it in style. I got the autowallah down from Rs80 to Rs70 but he didn't really know where he was going. We stopped along the way for him to check the price with his mates and he told me it should be Rs80. I could've argued we stick to the agreed price but what the hell, he has to make a living and what is Rs10. So at the end when I paid him, he was so happy to get the extra Rs10 and we had a laugh and shook hands. A couple of days ago I went down to my corner auto hub to get a share auto and he was there. He was so happy to see me he shook my hand enthusiastically and had all his mates do the same. We reminisced about Sunday's ride to the "Maypair" (f's aren't pronounced in Orissa, it is substituted by a p). Gorgeous!

2. The other night I was coming back from a meeting and got in a share auto at Kalpana Square. The women are always in the back and the men in front with the driver. I've had as many as nine in an auto before. We had a lady in the back with some shopping bags, then me, then two other ladies with a child aged about three also had to squeeze in. The lady on my right wasn't happy to squeeze over too much and it didn't leave much room for the two other ladies, let alone the child. I grabbed the child and stuck him on my lap so that we could all fit in. Not sure how this bold act would be viewed by the locals, the mum asked him if he was okay and he did the cute Indian head wobble to say yes. He sat comfortably in my lap the whole way to their stop.

3. About half way down from Kalpana Square to where I live in Brit Colony there's a roundabout where we turn. I call it the cow convention of an evening because there's scores of cows that head there when the temperature cools. Loads of dogs too. A few days ago we stopped there to let some people out and they were fixing up the payment. I was in the back seat, at the edge. Perfectly timed, a cow walked up and stopped with its rear less than a metre away from me. It then started to relieve itself. Right there! Not knowing quite what to do, I just had to hold my breath and turn my legs so none of the poo sprayed up on me.

Yes, life in India is never dull!

Calcutta

A few of us headed up to Calcutta for the weekend for a bit of a break. Calcutta is only 7 hours away by train - that feels like nothing after the Delhi commute.

Calcutta was the former capital during the British Raj, before it was moved to New Delhi. It is a huge city that has some beautiful colonial architecture, wide, tree-lined boulevards, and, much to our delight, footpaths. 

The main reason for the trip was to see a game of IPL Twenty 20 Cricket at Eden Gardens. The local team is the Kolkata Knight Riders and they played the Chennai Super Kings. There were some stars out on the field with MS Dhoni (India's captain) heading the Chennai team with help from Mike Hussey and Doug Bollinger. Brett Lee was bowling for the local team which is owned by one of Bollywood's biggest stars, Shah Rouk Kahn. It was a pretty slow game with Chennai struggling to get 130 in the first innings. Most of the attention of the crowd was focused on Mr Kahn and his Bollywood cohorts. Kolkata came in firing and was clearly going to win the game but it was delayed after about 8 overs due to rain and then called off. Kolkata won by 10 runs under the Duckworth Lewis method which means they've got a chance to reach the finals series.

One of our friends here in Bhubaneswar also planned a new social movement activity for that day. International Day of Service, conceived right here in Bhub, is a day where people can go and volunteer at a local orphanage or aged care home. The aim is to motivate and mobilise volunteers. The first event was held on Saturday and due to us being in Calcutta we hooked up with an orphanage there. So after arriving at 6am, showering and getting breakfast, we were off to the orphanage loaded up with face paints and big smiles. The kids were just gorgeous and once they warmed up we had a ball. I think the photos say it all.