Of BreakFast, Celine Dion, Bird Battles, Dirt is not Dirty, Squatty Potties, and other things

Funny Phrase: Figure this one out (from a project proposal on water management) – “The traditional methods of water conservation and water recharging are eloping.” Indian English is always interesting. Along this line of thinking I have pondered whether, in a globalized world where English is a lingua franca, English should be simplified for scientific, medical, etc. communication. I definitely appreciate well-written, complex English, but at the same time I have a memory of Chinese graduate students in one of my research groups not really being able to understand the English of an American scientist who was writing in a rather sophisticated way. What is the goal? To communicate clearly and beautifully to those who are absolutely fluent in English? Or clearly to those who are almost completely fluent in English (which will also be understood by those absolutely fluent in English)? I don’t know, but it’s a thought.


BreakFast: So, I was looking at the underside of a bed in my room and found the label “BreakFast” with information indicating that the company did plywood, blockwood, etc. and that their wood was seasoned, chemically treated, and powder proof. The latter description makes sense for a wood production company, but the name does not. What is ironic was that on my first day here I was reaching for something on the other side of the bed and put my knee on the bed…and it broke…fast. So, I guess the name fits. Not sure if they need to work on their marketing or production first…



Mango chutney: is just lovely. Made from unripe mangoes, it is sweet and sour and altogether a delight for the pallet. Wish I could convey the flavor.



Celine Dion: So, I was playing around with the head of the NGO (Manu)’s mobile phone and was surprised to find amongst his playlist, an extended dance version of Celine Dion’s “My Heart Will Go On.” Now, given Manu’s stately, cultured, reserved status as a 55-year-old white-bearded Indian man, it is not expected that you would find such a song. But perhaps his heart does really go on and on, as Celine said. At any rate, I did get sort of a guilty pleasure out of listening to the song.



Mobile Phones: Speaking of mobile phones, the mobile phones here in India are pretty darn awesome. Seriously, they are much better than the majority of the nonsmart phones in America. The Nokia phones that the NGO workers have, have tons of memory, so that there is all sorts of features, including video, music, radio, recording of sound and music, and of course pictures. They’re also seems to be some photo editing capacity, and for a fee the internet can of course be accessed. It really is ridiculous how easily they can access all of this stuff, all on a standard phone that many of the people have. Perhaps this accessibility and corresponding savvy-ness of the people comes from the fact that the majority of them don’t have other things like ipods and computers to do some of the other tasks that many Americans don’t do on their cell phone. At any rate, I have been much impressed with the phones here. Another nice feature is the removability of the SIM card, which identifies the phone with its owner. This allows you to easily switch phones, and to be able to get a new SIM card in another country when you are traveling. US companies thus far do not allow this, which is too bad.



Roasted chickpeas: are just wonderful. Can be eaten like corn nuts, or sunflower seeds. Great flavor. Good snack (I’m eating some right now).



President of SVS: I got to meet the president of SVS, and he was a delightful man. He was preparing for a conference on human rights in Afghanistan (and perhaps Pakistan; don’t recall). He is considered an expert because he was a higher-level official in the jail system in Rajasthan and pioneered the concept of an “open jail”, which seems to me to be equivalent to a halfway house in India. He had much wisdom, a gentle and kind affect, and was just a wonderful man. A piece of wisdom: if law is used to perpetuate injustice, then the results will be that people will break the law on purpose, so lawlessness will break out. Great man.



Kids: Kids are kids, no matter where you go. They are interested in strange, new people. They like to run and play. They are susceptible to being tickled, and get a kick out of running away from someone who is trying to tickle them. This is no different in India, as I experienced all of these thing when I was in one of the workers’ village (worker: Rohitash Meena, Village: Kurkela), mainly playing with his kids. They also showed me how to climb and hang from mango trees, gave me an unripe mango to snack on (tangy and sweet; good), and then we had fun playing tic tac toe, rock paper scissors, thumb wrestling, and that game where one person puts their palms up and one puts their palms down just above the other person’s palms and the person underneath tries to swat the other person’s hands (I taught them all of these). They got a great kick out of all of this. They also, of course, loved my camera and took a bunch of pictures, some of which I will try to send. Good times.