hi all,

this week the country has definitely been preoccupied w/ the events in mumbai. it's on the west coast of the country (i'm on the east) but the news, as you can imagine, hit pretty hard everywhere.

otherwise, things are a mix of frustration and excitement. i'm glad to be here. i'm getting to see everything (good and bad) firsthand. but i'm having to learn to be patient and that things will happen on their own time and not a moment sooner.

we are planning some trips to the southern tip of the country which was hard hit by the tsunami as well as some other areas in between. if all goes as planned we'll start traveling in late july.

this week we spent some time again with the Irulas who i mentioned in my last blog. we went to the partner organization ITWWS who is directly working with them and they have this huge area where they grow tons of herbs and are involved in forest protection, etc. everything's done with an eye towards preserving the environment (which is really important in this rapidly growing country)...the organization also has a bunch of Self-Help Groups (SHGs) in which the Irula women band together to make small arts and crafts and also sell their herbal medicines for which they're well known. i also learned that the local ngo/international ngo (ingo) relationship can be quite tense. the ITWWS coordinator was nothing if not charismatic and he was not about to mince words just b/c some staff from one of their donors (actionaid) was present. a very interesting experience.














this (above) is a small wood carving SHG. the women sell their products in touristy areas. i bought a bunch of things, all for about $2. the herb garden is to the right. whatever herb i could think of (and many more i never knew existed) could be found here.

the rest of the week was one in which i read up on some of lit. search materials i need to use to link up to my field visits.

i'm enjoying watching vh1 here which is a mix of contemporary music (whatever is out in the US) combined with 80's bonjovi and really bad early 90s music (read c&c music factory, paula abdul, fresh prince), etc. there's also the more interesting bollywood videos which are great!

i went to Pondy Bazaar, a semi-open air market,
much like ones i've seen in Kolkata (where my family is from). the scene is chaotic at best; combine that with the heat and humidity, it is just surreal. i also heard that this crowd is nothing compared to what its like during the wedding and festival seasons.

alright, will write more soon. that is, if the internet cooperates! :)

hope you're all enjoying your summers...

subarna