Travelin' On

I am now writing from a very comfortable bus, Volvo AC, run by “Airvat”. As we were getting on the bus it was beginning to rain but the sun has since come back out and it is a beautiful day again. In this exact moment I am so incredibly at peace. As I gaze out the window I literally can’t wipe the smile off my face. I am listening to Travelin’ On by Norah Jones--the very essence of me is content right now and not in a way that I can control or manipulate. I just feel like I am where I am supposed to be.

            Throughout my journey not everything has gone exactly according to plan... but nonetheless I am with some really great people and the hiccups have just made for better stories in the long-run. (Here's the trip, more or less)

Mysore

            Well, we started by waiting an extra hour for a van to take us to Mysore because there was a slight miscommunication regarding days and times for departure. The van was comfortable though, and at this point I was with Navee, Kristen, Kasie, Matt and Sam. We started the journey by getting breakfast at a Kamat. The food was good (and served on banana leaves) and it was in a jungle like setting, our tables were shaded by the overhanging trees, and there were little monkeys climbing about. Our driver was excellent! He was so kind, and played a variety of American music, and Bollywood music videos. At each of our meals he could not sit with us though. I admit, sometimes I can’t fully understand varying cultures like how our driver can’t eat with us despite my invitation. But, I am trying to remain sensitive and not go out of my way to rock the boat.

            After hours upon hours of travel, we arrived in a tribal community outside Mysore. It was really interesting to juxtapose the urban slums that we just left in Bangalore to the rural villages outside of Mysore. From what I observed they are vastly different. The interactions amongst the people are different and the way of life is quite different, despite the fact that many of the people from both areas are living on comparable salaries. However, I can not even begin to assess happiness levels or compare comfort levels in the two different regions.

Tribal School

            Our first stop within the tribal communities was at a tribal school that was created by SVYM (the larger organization that I am working for, Prema Vidya is a project under them). The children here seemed extremely happy and healthy. They were all so excited to be at school and greeted us with huge grins and waves as we walked through each of the classrooms. The attendance rate at this school is excellent, and there was a high pass % for progressing past the 10th standard. A strong sense of community prevailed throughout the entire campus. The school only charges 10Rs for students to attend, there are 50Rs to a dollar, just so the families feel that they are taking ownership over and investing in their child’s education. There is also a hostel on site that the majority of the students stay in throughout the year and that only costs the families an additional 10Rs; the hostel facilities are actually very nice. (These costs include food and clothing as well.) As I walked around the school it occurred to me that there should be emphasis on educating children on local topics that will have an importance/prominence in their individual lives, especially in rural communities. Furthermore, it should be a choice for people to join the developed world, or developed communities. By joining, they will not necessarily gain health and happiness or improve their livelihood in comparison to the life they currently lead.

            At CSIM last Thursday we heard from a woman who is completely redeveloping a rural village by building new homes and community centers for each of the families. She is a trained architect who was no longer content working solely for financial profit. We also met a man who comes into rural villages everyday and shuttles the children out to museums for schooling. It is interesting to see how different non-profits work with their available resources. SVYM has created an entirely new infrastructure for a school, and a complete hostel for housing. The architect is restructuring a village and supplying the families with a different way of life through material means. The museum schools are using the existing infrastructure of museums and bringing the teachers, and students from their communities to a new location. Each NGO is working to enhance the quality of life for different groups, but I am curious to further investigate which mode will have the most success as they develop.

            SVYM also has a teacher school down the road. Our tour of this facility was informative, but I felt like the principal didn’t really know what to do with us, and with the language barrier our questions were sparse. After touring both of the schools it became apparent how prominent SVYM is within this tribal community. As we drove through the village to and from the school, there was a clear divide between the homes and families working outside their homes, compared to the school and the uniformed school children throughout the campus.

Ayurveda Treatment Center and Hospital

            After the schools, we went on to an Ayurveda (natural and holistic) treatment center that caters free services to the tribal people, and inexpensive services to other Indians. This, too, was created by SVYM. It was fascinating to see traditional Indian medicine grown right outside the facility. Ayurveda philosophy believes that all herbs and plants have medicinal qualities, you just have to find a way to release it. They concentrated on healing the mind and body through yoga and massages as well. It seems like they have really high success rates, and will also resort to western medicinal practices (within their small scope) when there is a need.

            Our final SVYM visit on Friday was to another hospital in a community about an hour away. This hospital had huge facilities and staffed over 500 people. It uses the same philosophy as the Ayurveda treatment center when charging patients. Here, we had a full and complete tour of all the wards on the grounds. I figure they must not get that many visitors because they were able to walk us through everything. On the tour I ended up seeing a new born baby that was literally born moments before we walked it. I also saw a child in the women’s ward that was malnourished, it was really hard to stand in front of her knowing my stomach was full, or even rumbling a bit just an hour after a meal--but I am glad that she is somewhere that she will be helped.

Dr. Bala

            Clearly, SVYM is very multifaceted and undertakes many projects throughout India, PremaVidya being a small sect. And so it was exciting that on the end of our tour of the hospital, Dr. Bala, the CEO of SVYM, wanted to meet with us! Despite his very busy schedule, he took the time to sit down with us for about a half hour or so to just chit-chat and get to know us. He asked about Navee, Kristen, and my work at PremaVidya, and as I got through describing it to him, including our challenges and excitement, he said that we are doing something very important for the company. He said they are trusting our unbiased, outside opinions and that we will be producing a very important document at the end of our six weeks. Of course, this is thrilling, but undeniably nerve-racking as well.

            Throughout my time in Bangalore, I have met many, many social entrepreneurs and gotten to develop an understanding of the process of creating a social enterprise better with each of these encounters. But, more often than not, it feels as if many of them are trying to give a sales pitch. I am here to learn from the success of companies, but my understanding will be deepened by accepting their failures as well. Dr. Bala, however, understood our purpose as students and very naturally took ownership over the failures of SVYM, and humbly claimed their successes as well. Maybe this is easier for a company that is so well established, but nonetheless it was greatly appreciated on my part. He also was really honest about Mr. Naresh’s (our boss at PV) health. Mr. Naresh is not well and that is extremely hard to accept, but it almost felt that by Dr. Bala accepting that Mr. Naresh is suffering, we can more properly address how to handle it. I hope that I can take this mentality with me in my communication strategies in the future, both in a personal and working manner.

Kishore Bhai- Gandhian Economics & SE

            Before this trip, we met with a man named Kishore Bhai. He was one of the original men to coin the name social entrepreneur, and in fact, doesn’t know if he still likes that title! He was so fascinating to listen to and provided us with many answers, and many, many more questions. He brought me to ponder globalization and the notion of cultural imperialism. I wonder how NGOs play into the idea of a westernizing the world, and how negative that movement really is. Today (and my opinions are ever changing), I feel that we need to more fully embrace biodiversity in the world, in terms of humanity and culture. We live in a greedy time, and there is violence in the world. The 21st century is said to be the most violent of all, despite the World Wars that have occurred in previous times. There is great cultural strife and conflict around us. I want to better embrace variation and differing cultures. It is such a delicate balance to work to enhance the lives of others when you are not living in the same form as them. It is hard enough for me to figure out what the heck I want, and what makes me happy- much less what someone else desires. Time and culture also evolve and I hope that my future endeavors have a natural, organic progression and that I never force anything unwanted upon anyone. Kishore Bhai-ji has inspired me to look more into Gandhi's ethics and morals, and told us that we are “in the womb of time”. I have heard that as youth, we are the future, many times. I have heard negative remarks about our generation as well as positive. Kishore Bhai-ji was positive and saw hope in the future, but moreover after our conversation, I felt a sense of responsibility in our future. I think we can all benefit from feeling a sense of responsibility in our own future and the future of our world.

One final thing he said that resided in me was that...

Our conscious should be free as long as we recognize it and are cognizant of reality. We must take responsibility, not just feel it.

New Experiences & Travel Afflictions

            Now back to where I currently am. I have really enjoyed leaving my comfort zone on this trip, surprisingly, even in the moment. I have been able to be pretty self-aware of late, and benefit from seeing the other side of a situation, even when the situation is proving to be a challenge. I have been able to redefine luxuries, but maybe this is just for the moment, or just for the trip.

Indeed, I have also really loved the touristy things that we have done. Before departing for Ooty, we visited the Mysore Palace. It was stunning! The designs were so impressive and so intricate. The entire palace, as vast as it is, was built by hand without technological advances. As Navee, Kasie and I walked through (barefoot might I add... I absolutely love that most places you go, you remove your shoes before you enter), we planned our weddings haha---where we will walk down the aisle, the room for gifts, the area for cocktail hour (which of course would not happen in India with the heavy Hindu influence), the dance party, and reception. After we tranced through the palace we wandered off and found elephants that blessed us! When the elephant exhaled it smelt so foul, but I was still really excited to have an elephant trunk on my head! After the palace excursion was over, we went to the bus station.

           

            Of course the bus was late. We have coined the term T.I.I. meaning this is India, whenever something goes awry. I can’t tell you how many times we claimed T.I.I. throughout the weekend, but again it just makes for some good laughs when you are with the right company. We started to leave almost an hour behind schedule, and on our way someone lost their mobile. We actually turned the entire bus around multiple times and spent more than 20 minutes looking for the lady’s phone out the window. Someone next to me actually jokingly said, only in India! T.I.I. I’m not sure if she ever found it, or even how it left the bus in the first place. As we traveled on we stop and took a pit stop for lunch at a small area with a snack shop, a sari store, a restaurant and a squatty potty (basically a ceramic hole in the ground that is usually dirtier than going in the dirt). Either we stopped because the bus broke down, or the bus broke down when we stopped, but either way--our bus broke down. Everyone waited eagerly in the hot and sweaty bus hoping to get back on the road. As I was watching out the window I saw a lady run into the street just as a car was speeding down the road. The car swerved to avoid hitting her and she walked away rubbing her foot. T.I.I. It appears that she may have gotten swiped? Everyone within a km radius flooded around the car and was talking at the driver for a good 10 minutes. Finally, it drove away and the people who were around the car scattered and proceeded to go back to their lives as if nothing happened. My own waiting continued, until we finally started driving another 2 hours behind schedule. We made it 1½  km, turned off the road, waited a bit longer, turned back in the opposite direction of the sign that read “Ooty”  and arrived at that same small area where we were stranded before, but this time to be greeted by a new bus. Thank goodness because the road to Ooty is long and winding up a rainy mountain and I feel much safer in a functioning bus. We’ll just have to see what happens next, should be exciting.