Looking Backwards and Forwards: At a Juncture

Displaced by a recent fire, the residents of our pilot project in the Ramavaram slum are to be permanently relocated. This isn’t goodbye; we certainly still have plans for them and a few visits are being planned. But it’s clear that this chapter is coming to close far faster than we envisioned.

We’re here at a critical juncture in Sangam India. We look back and we see many successes, as well as several failures, in our attempts to promote self-sufficiency in the Ramavaram slum. For us, it was a tremendous learning experience, both in personal and professional ways. Personally, I will miss many of the people and I have learned much about myself from them. Professionally, we have learned about how to work with residents in underprivileged communities to better their lives. For the residents of Ramavaram as well; the experience was a positive one. The children, I’m sure, many of whom knew me and others by name, will miss our presence. They certainly appreciated the time and energy we put into our weekly visits.

Though we’re saying goodbye, we have much to look forward to as well. We have learned much over the last year about slums, the problems they face, and ways in which we can confront them to produce meaningful solutions. We look forward to implementing these ideas in new communities and producing real, lasting changes in them.

Our team is growing quickly and leadership is coming from across the globe. We have new ways of operating and planning our operations, and people from across Chennai are showing an interest in volunteering for our cause. Despite the sadness that comes from leaving one community prematurely, we remain nonetheless excited about an opportunity to form a cohesive plan, move forward, and make a difference.

Looking Ahead - Ideas for Tentative Plan of Action

We have just received word that the Ramavaram folks will be shifted to the new place tomorrow morning at 10 AM. We have also heard that the new place is in Sriperumbuthur, which is quite far from the city, even further away than Porur. The new area could in fact be considered rural.

This of course brings up questions of how Sangam India will proceed in the face of such uncertainty. We feel that at this juncture, it is time for Sangam India to move forward in a new direction. Although there are a few things that we will continue with the current community, it is in fact not a feasible option for us to continue working with them in the same way that we have been doing until now. The following are the activities that we wish to continue with:

a) Clothing and Utensil distribution - Clothing has already been provided for these people, so we will be distributing these clothes after sorting them. We will be assisted by the Porur Sai Samithi in accomplishing this. Utensils and other items for the households will be determined in the next week, based on the need.

b) Health Education and Deworming - We would like to have a one day visit with the community during which we have a comprehensive health education program as well as deworm the entire community. During this we would like to cover topics of hygiene, family welfare, malnutrition, and men's medicosocial issues. This will be accomplished with the help of Dr. Anita, Dr. Gayathri, and Dr. Arun.

c) Scholarships for children - We would like to set up a long-term program through which children can be given scholarships based on merit. We hope to set an incentive program as well through which children can be encouraged to study well, based on which they will receive some sort of benefit. This will have to be accomplished by periodic visits to the new settlement, perhaps every 6-8 weeks. Of course, this requires manpower and people who are willing to periodically travel to the new settlement, which is a significant distance away.

d) We would like to approach SEED, a local organization in Sriperumbuthur, to assist with microfinance options for this group. We are yet to approach them, so if anyone is interested in working on the liaison, please contact us.

e) We would like to conduct periodic health camps and screening camps in the new settlement, perhaps every 6 months or so.

As far as Sangam India as a whole, we will begin early next week with a search for a new community to work in. Do give us your suggestions. Please keep your eyes open for word of a general body meeting to be held soon, during which we will be establishing committees and discussing future plans.

As usual, all suggestions, comments and questions are welcome.

Perspective: Making a Difference

ARTICLE BY SRIRAM RAMGOPAL

We have been going to the Ramavaram slum for over a year now, and our goals and objectives for the community are maturing in many ways as we learn more about the people there as well as about ourselves. The educational programme that we started from March of this year has been working well, but perhaps not in the ways that we expected it to. We worked hard to elucidate the goals of what our program were going to be; and we decided on a number of objectives. These were based on the information that we had about the children from numerous visits, from their parents, and from a visit to their school that some of our members made earlier this year. As Bhavya described, these were health education, teamwork and trust, values, etiquette, citizenship and creativity. These goals were selected because we thought they would help these children become responsible, hardworking adults, who had careers and a bright future ahead of them.

It remains too early to know whether or not we achieved our objectives. We have tried hard to develop and carry out activities teaching these values, but whether or not they learn something from it is not so clear. It is difficult to change the way people are. It’s hard to make people, especially a group of children, realize the importance of things like handwashing and hygiene when their parents and surroundings tell them otherwise. Likewise, it’s hard to convince children that with hard work and with a positive mindset that they can indeed be doctors, cricket players and policemen, when everyone and everything around them seems to contradict that notion. The effects of health education, etiquette, citizenship and creativity are hard to impart to a group of children who have been taught that such things are meaningless. Thus, though we have tried very hard and will continue to do so, we may or may not reach our objectives. Nonetheless, we will do our best to reach them because we strongly feel that these things have value and are important.

However, I have realized over the last several visits to Ramavaram, that we are making a difference here, though in an unexpected way. Though we may or may not be successful in reaching arbitrarily stated objectives, something is changing, though slowly and subtly, in this group of children. Every time we go to the slum, the children rush out and are excited to see us. They are excited when we sit them down in groups, and though they quickly grow tired of being lectured, they are immensely excited by the prospect that young adults, coming from entirely different walks of life, take time, every week, to go and see them.

For a group of children who receive little attention from their parents, the adults in the community, or from their teachers, the fact that we come there for the sole purpose of spending time with them carries great meaning for them. We sit down with them in small groups, and they take great pleasure in sitting next to us. Many of our members speak little or no Tamil but despite this, the children love to talk to us about everything they can possibly think of. They love the thrill of communicating with somebody who cares about them. Some of our members are especially successful at talking to the kids there and finding out what their problems are, and by listening to their problems with a sympathetic ear, we can connect with these kids on an emotional level and produce more positive change than we could by merely following orders on a checklist.

On Saturday evenings, as we come home from another day at Ramavaram, we wonder whether or not we were able to teach anything to the kids, and whether anything will change there as a result of it. No doubt that progress comes slowly and it is too early to expect dramatic changes. No doubt that the things we are teaching the children there will slowly but surely change their behavior, as long as we are consistent and clear with them. Of course, we will continue to refine our lessons and our plans in the community as we gain more and more experience with the people and from other organizations. I strongly believe that we can make a difference here and break the cycle of poverty and hopelessness for at least a few families here at the Ramavaram slum. However, after spending time with these kids and showing them that we care about them, I’ve come to realize that there is more than one way to define success. By sharing happiness, compassion and goodwill in these children, I believe we can give them something more meaningful but less measurable: hope. And for this reason we will keep trying to make a difference here despite the odds we face.

Summer Visit - Day One

Here is a short statement from Sri Nandini, one of our members, about yesterday's trip to Ramavaram.

In the aftermath of everyone’s leaving to vacation, Safwan rallied the troops. Four of us showed up; including one of my schoolmates, Chendur, from Carleton University, Canada. Knowing that it takes an army to actually control the kids, Shubha, Safwan, Chendur and I decided to follow their example for a change, and found our inner children. Between playing cricket, flying kites and having the usual horde attacking us, I realised that in the next month, I’m really going to miss these kids.

It turns out that many of the children at Ramavaram will be going home to their hometowns over this month. Depending on how many kids are there, we'll schedule another summer visit.

Click here to view the rest of the photos.

Educational Programme - Day 2, March 21, 2008

Yesterday's educational programme was a blast!

Unfortunately, however, it didn't go quite as planned. It turns out that the school-age children of Ramavaram were going on a field trip to Mamallapuram with a local missionary group. In the future, we hope that the adults of the community will be able to inform us about such scheduling conflicts in advance so we can better plan for them. However, despite this small disappointment, things still went well. The plans that we had scheduled for our this trip were quickly canceled as we tried to find a new activity to do instead with the younger age group that was present. Before we went to the slum, Tatthagath and I picked up a cricket bat and a few balls. Not surprisingly, this turned out to be a great hit with the children. I was surprised to see that the kids there did not even have a cricket bat; instead, they used a simple plank of wood to get their fill of India's national pasttime. A new cricket bat and some balls were a huge excitement for them.

Getting the kids organized took some work, as it did last week. The kids there are, unfortunately, very unruly and they don't care much for instructions or organization. This is made worse by the prospect of cricket. However, with some work, we were able to get the kids into line and each one of them got to try to hit at the ball bowled by Bhavya or Pragnya. This was a lot of fun. Kids who were too small to hold a bat were assisted by Aadhar, Sanjay, and Ravi. Many of the girls, who were not so interested in cricket, instead played with some of our other members. They played name games and other activities which let them get to know our members.

Though we did not achieve our objectives, everybody - Sangam India members and the children alike - had a great, idyllic and wonderful time. The kids are so much fun to spend time with; and issues such as language barriers seem like less and less of an issue with them.

After our activities with the children, we spent some time seeing some medical cases, thanks to Dr. Thinesh. We visited Superraja, who had sustained a fracture to his legs following an accident, and we saw another child who had a severe skin rash. We also stopped by the home of Amudha and Meena, the two girls who we sponsored for their higher education. We got a new uniform for Meena, who had torn hers.

Thanks to everyone who volunteered their time yesterday, and a special thanks to those coming out for their first time: Navya, Bhuvan, Vidyalakshmi and Ravi. We hope to continue the scheduled programme again next week. Stay tuned for more details!

Click here to view the photos from this trip.

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Medical Visit, March 18

My first visit to Ramavaram today! What an experience to say the least! Swarmed by kids, teenagers, and adults alike...I was in for quite a shock! To FINALLY visit the place and see for first hand what Sangam India was all about was truly amazing!

My first visit saw a lot of cases of conjunctivitis. disposed medications..kinda like a mini “medical camp!” Apart from that, got to interact with the people there as well as the kids… such unconditional warmth and generosity! Felt something you can’t quite put into words to be able to help so many deserving kids… All I can say is that I am glad I am part of such a wonderful organization and looking forward to many more trips and experiences at Ramavaram!

Kudos to the whole gang for starting Sangam India!

Click here to view the photos from this trip.

Ramavaram Food Donation, November 26th

As described in previous posts, today we carried out our project to distribute food to the residents of the Ramavaram slum.

The situation in Ramavaram worsened dramatically overnight - indeed, the entire slum has been submerged by the floodwaters.

Last night, when they were sleeping, the residents were woken up by policemen giving them the instructions to vacate their homes immediately as the floodwaters were rising. They were vacated to a nearly school complex near the Nandambakkam Police Station. It is good that the State Government acted quickly in this regard or it is very likely that lives may have been lost.

This morning, we spoke to the residents by telephone who conveyed these events to us. We were saddened to hear this and it gave some urgency to our work - though it was a small gesture, at best, given the immense problems they were facing. Our group today was small but we were organized and able to get the work done efficiently. Nazneen, Vasundhra and Pamela did a wonderful job of organizing the work. A small group went to get the dhal while another met with Hema Aunty to get the rice. Meanwhile, Shankar and I went to locate the residents.

As we passed by the slum at Ramavaram, we were all awestruck by the flooding there. Here are a few pictures of the slum that I took on the way back:

The school where they have been relocated to has been generously provided for by the State. Of course, school has been canceled so it is not in use now. While they have a roof over their heads, the families have to deal with the crowded conditions of having 8-9 families living in each room.

Once we met them, we began distributing the rice. One of our contacts in the slum, Nagappan, had prepared a list of each family that had been relocated. We gave each family 2 kilograms of rice and half a kilogram of toor dhal (pigeon peas.) In all, 105 parcels were given - a total of 210 kilograms of rice and 52.5 kilograms of lentils. This is a very small contribution, considering the size of the group and their needs during these difficult times. However, having been relocated, and out of work, we hope that it can make a small difference to them. In addition, more than the food, I think the fact that we showed up made a big difference. They were very happy to see us and our demonstration of solidarity with them.

One thing which strikes me, personally, is the immense perseverance that I see in the slum. They have difficult lives, and their problems increase immensely when it rains and floods like this. They have lost many of their personal belongings in their rush to leave the slum. However, despite these problems, they have positive attitudes about their current predicament and seem to be holding up in situations that would make most people (including me) feel very hopeless.

We'd like to thank Hema Aunty (that is, Mrs. Hema Trivedi) for coming out today as our special guest. We'd also like to thank her for helping to sponsor this event as well as for providing the vehicle that was essential for this project.

Click here to view the photos from this trip.

"Everybody Loves a Good Drought"

ARTICLE BY NIVEDITA GUNTURI

Since I moved to India, I’ve found that public awareness of true social conditions is sorely lacking, in the non-humanitarian circles at least. Thorough journalism and a global commitment to turning awareness into a social epidemic might do something to move us in the correct direction.

I came across a book in which the author attempts to do just this, getting the word out to as many people as possible. P. Sainath, a journalist, received a grant from The Times of India to travel across the country, revealing the hidden injustices that the poorest of the poor suffer in India. He did a phenomenal job, creating a volume that anyone with any vested interest in social work in India must read. His work is investigative journalism at its best, filled with everything from statistics to case studies to thorough, incisive interviews.

The author covers a host of topics, which I’ll list here so that readers can have a better idea of what the book actually contains:

Health Care
Sainath talks about the state of rural health care and the shortage of doctors for the poor. He asks biting questions about why a poor child does not deserve the same care that a better-off child gets. Important reading for any one wanting to go into public health anywhere in the world, and especially in South Asia.

Education
The dismal state of education in India is covered here. This chapter left me feeling that a proper education is vital to the improvement of the state of affairs here in India.

Displacement
It is particularly heartbreaking to read of how adivasis (tribals) are being summarily thrown out of their homes with little to no promise of compensation. The truly dismal part of this is that their homes and villages are being used for weapon testing and target practice by the military. It is shameful and despicable that a nation can treat its own citizens like this. Of course this is not the only place in the world that this has happened, but that does not make it acceptable.

Survival Strategies
This chapter is at once uplifting and tragic, as we see what the poor of India have been doing to improve their lot in life.

Crime
This part of the book looks at what kinds of crimes have been committed against the poor and the utter, shocking, lack of response from the Indian justice system.

Water
This chapter describes the lengths many in India have to go to to find water for daily use and how dependent they are on others for their water supply.

Media
This is a particularly important and especially impressive part of the book, I feel, because Sainath takes a moment to cast a critical eye on the media and journalists, of whom he is one. He talks about how journalism takes a view that is either sympathetic to the government or speaks highly of NGO’s. He argues that neither is helping the poor. He also reveals the sheer number of NGO’s which have been accused of corruption and have embezzled funds donated to the poor.

Overall, Everybody Loves a Good Drought is a true eye-opener, in many senses, and should be required reading for anyone wanting to work for India’s poor or India’s children. Although it is now twelve years old, I think the examples and causes delineated in the book are still 100% valid.

I’ve given an excerpt here from the chapter on health and health care, because it particularly hit home with me. I hope that it gives you a good idea of the tone and feel of Sainath’s book.

“Tuberculosis claims over 450,000 Indian lives each year. It would be lucky to get a couple of columns in the newspapers yearly. If it does, it’s when the country’s distinguished chest physicians, some of whom treat newspaper proprietors, hold their annual congress.

Diarrhoea claims close to 1.5 million infants each year in this country, one every three minutes. The best it can get by way of space is when UNICEF’s annual “State of The World Children’s Report” is released. Then it makes an occasional bow on the centre page. Or, in one of those anguished editorials (hastily written because the one on the Stock Exchange didn’t turn up) asking: “Where Have We Gone Wrong?” After which, it can be packed away to be used in identical form the following year. If no Indian has won a beauty contest that season, it could even make the front page. This establishes that the newspaper has a caring editor, who will soon address the Rotary Club on What Can Be Done For Our Children.

Every fourteen days, over 7.5 million children below the age of five in India suffer from diarrhoea. Close to nineteen million contract acute respiratory infections including pneumonia, in the same 336 hours. Quite a lot can be done for them, but it isn’t.

In 1992, USAID gave India Rs. 12.6 billion to be spent solely on population control in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh. This program has serious implications. One is that hazardous contraceptives like Norplant will be pushed onto very poor rural women who have little or no access to proper health care. The same contraceptives are not in general use in any Western country.

Funds are much harder to come by for, say, water-borne diseases which account for nearly 80 percent of India’s public health problems and claim millions of lives yearly. These include diarrhoea, dysentery, typhoid, cholera, and infectious hepatitis. Water-related diseases, including malaria, take their toll in tens of thousands of human lives annually.

Yet every third human being in the world without safe and adequate water supply is an Indian. Every fourth child in the globe who dies of diarrheal disease is an Indian. Every third person in the world with leprosy is an Indian. Every fourth being in the planet dying of water-borne or water-related diseases is an Indian. Of the over sixteen million cases of tuberculosis that exist at any time worldwide, 12.7 million are Indian. Tens of millions of Indians suffer from malnutrition. Yet, official expenditure on nutrition is less than one percent of GNP.”

One point that particularly struck me were that only 20% of hospital beds are in rural areas, where 80% of the population lives. I have heard varying versions of this statistic, but it’s always been just as drastically disproportionate as this version makes it out to be.

One particularly biting statement Sainath makes is that the Indian government is trying the ‘trickle down theory – take away from the poor, give to the rich, see how much trickles down to the poor.’ He remarks that the result is that ‘money trickles up, malaria trickles down.’

From my blog, Informed Activism in India.

Reflecting and Looking Ahead

The road Sangam India has taken since March has been a rocky one, with plenty of ups and downs. From the beginning, one of our most sincere and most elusive goals has been forming strong, lasting relationships with the members of the communities we wish to serve. Gaining the trust of the people in these communities has been almost a Sisyphean task, where for every step forwards, the next step is quite a few times more difficult, if not a retrograde step. Diwali, in many of our eyes, was a remarkable time for us to reassure these people that we are really here to help them, to be their friends. Of course, in communities that have had difficulties with outsiders in the past, trust is not easily won. But I think this was certainly a move in a good direction for us, a move towards openness and a chance for us to give these people what they need.

This past Sunday, we held a medical camp, about which you can read in the previous post. What was different about this camp was the response from the people. Many of us felt that we were able to connect to them, and help them in ways that they wanted to be helped. We felt that it was time for us to start including the community across the street. When Sriram, Srinandini and myself went to that community, the response we received was very heartwarming and encouraging. The residents were ready to come to our camp immediately, and hopefully we have helped a few of them and can help more of them in different ways.

Sriram, Malar and myself also visited Lakshmi, Amudha and Meena, the sisters that we've sponsored for 11th grade. For me personally, even though I don't speak much Tamil, it was a chance to connect, to see these girls as my friends, as my sisters. The inspiring part about doing this kind of work and meeting these people is not the work that is being done, but the people that we meet when we're there. It is truly inspiring to see Sangam India truly move towards what "Sangam" should really mean - unity and joining hands.

Things are really looking up for our little group, especially with the support of all of our members and friends who are not in Chennai. We are really looking forward to wrapping up this year with a bang and starting off next year with some big ideas and even bigger plans. More on that will come later. For now, I hope you will share in the joy that we all feel at experiencing what really seems like a breakthrough to a new dynamic within our group and with our friends at Ramavaram as well.

My Perspectives on Sunday's Medical Camp

A few things really struck me in the medical camp we had Sunday (November 2nd, 2008):

First of all, I have to say that I am very proud of our group members who took on the responsibility for this massive task - especially to Ayesha who has proven herself to be a very capable leader. Its exciting to see the group mature and for its members to be willing to take a more active role.

Ayesha did a terrific job of setting up the details for the camp - organizing and purchasing the drugs, arranging the space, finding the volunteers, and setting up the tent, among other things. We reached the campsite around 11AM to set up the tables. The children, as usual, greeted us excitedly and helped to set up the tables and chairs. We set up the pharmacy and got the camp started. Several of our members went into the slum to create awareness of the camp.

This brings me to the second point which really struck me. We have made huge inroads to building trust with the people at the camp and I feel like that was very evident today. This is probably because of the work that went on in the last two weeks, where we responded the the community in its time of crisis to play our part - even though it was small, it was undoubtedly appreciated by the residents. The people at the slum know that we are there to help them and not to take advantage of them in any way and they were willing to come to the camp to get treatment.

In an effort to increase participation at the camp, Nandini, Nivedita and myself went to the slum on the other side of the road to increase awareness here. This slum was much smaller, and only slightly better off than the one we usually work at. The people here were very receptive to our message and a large number of them came to the camp to receive treatment. This was our third revelation. Following this experience, we have decided to include this slum in our future work at Ramavaram.

Finally, our doctors did a terrific job in coming. For people who work six to seven days a week, they were very enthusiastic to help and supportive of our cause. It is not small thing to ask from people who seem to be perpetually exhausted and tired from their work in the hospital to spend even more time working. Their willingness to participate in the camp is always deeply appreciated - after all, it wouldn't happen without them!

These things made today's camp especially exciting for me. Though this may be our last major even of the year, its clear that next year will bring us to the next level of promoting education, healthy activities, and overall self sufficiency to the slum residents.

A New Way to Celebrate Deepavali

Yesterday’s trip to Ramavaram was quite fulfilling in many respects. We have been collecting clothes for quite some time with the intention of distributing them house to house, but we were never quite able to mobilize such an operation. Now that Deepavali has arrived, in addition to the torrential rains, it seemed like the right time to do this.

One thing that has been especially educational for me is understanding how important it is that we approach a community with a strong view towards their needs. Because of all the difficulties that people have been facing at Ramavaram, it was imperative that we pay attention to their immediate need for food and clothing and that we address it as soon as possible. It is something that has been difficult for me personally to handle in a way that is not at odds with our strong belief in moving the community from dependence on others towards self-sufficiency. Sometimes it is important to deal with the concerns at hand before trying to move on to bigger things. Small steps are the only way to move towards a better relationship and understanding between us and those we are trying to help.

Overall, I think it was one of the best ways that I have ever celebrated Deepavali. It is the festival of lights, after all, and what better way to bring light to our surroundings than to make a few lives slightly easier for a short while, at least?

"Social Consciousness and Vogue India's gross miscalculation"

ARTICLE BY NIVEDITA GUNTURI

There’s something about this notion of globalization that makes people seem to think that we are not all responsible, as citizens of a nation and of the world, for being socially conscious and aware. Many seem to be blindsided by the rapid progression and economic boom hitting the world, and India in particular, to the point of truly becoming blind to what is appropriate and what is utterly unacceptable.

A friend in London brought this to my attention, and frankly I thought it was a joke.

For those of you who haven’t seen this particular issue of Vogue, take a look at the NYT article linked to in the previous paragraph. When challenged by the NYT, Vogue India editor Priya Tanna told folks to lighten up. She states herself that fashion magazines are not where one should look for social consciousness and “saving the world.” Amen, sister. But here’s the thing. Where do we draw the line? Whom are we allowed to exploit? Who is allowed to do the exploiting? The men and women depicted in the shoot are not referred to by name, merely as “lady” or “man”. I appreciate the egalitarianism, but is there anyone who truly believes that given the choice, if woman is living in a leaky hut with her husband who earns barely enough money to feed her 4 children and not enough to send them to school so only the boys go to school and they eat meat once in two weeks, after saving up, and they all share one 3 rupee cup of tea because they can’t afford milk for the children, she is going to save up for maybe 4 years and buy a Prada handbag? If you’re out there, you lofty dreamer, get in touch with me because I’d love to pick your brain.

I understand the thematic approach: anyone can be pretty, you can aspire to these great heights if you really want to, blah di blah, et cetera, et cetera. But do you mean to tell me that these people that are in these pictures have heard of Gucci? That the children write to St. Nick asking for a Versace backpack for Christmas? I don’t think anyone can be so deluded as to think that the ‘lady’ and ‘man’ and ‘boy’ depicted in the shoot know anything about haute couture. And if they don’t, then why are they the subject of the pictures?

Frankly, I am personally appalled that an Indian can subscribe so shamelessly to a neo-colonial mindset. So now that we don’t have foreign invaders in our country anymore (well we do, but more on that in a moment), it’s time for us to behave imperially towards fellow citizens? Beautiful, Priya Tanna. Bravo. Maybe next time we can show an auto-walla driving a Jag. If Louis Vuitton and Hermes are no longer a rich man’s privilege, maybe Bentley and Ferrari aren’t either. Maybe those of us who still believe that poverty may be holding some people back are living in the history books. Maybe we should open our eyes and look around.

The sad truth is, however, that enough of us are NOT looking at our surroundings with as close an eye as we should. The human beings around us have become part of the landscape. We see them but we do not notice them. They have become important to us purely in a utilitarian manner. I wonder many things about the people chosen to become models for this shoot. How were they compensated? Did anyone really learn their names? Were they treated like other models? Or no because they were amateurs? Or even - maybe - because they were poor? (gasp!)

I think it’s important that we as the residents and citizens of India - nay, the world - owe it to ourselves and our fellow citizens to pay attention to what’s going on. And even more importantly, the media has a strong role to play in this. The first thought I had when I saw the NYT article (after my Britain-dwelling friend sent it to me) was ‘why haven’t I already heard of this, living in India?’ And that is the first thing that is wrong with the Indian social consciousness. If you pick up any well-regarded Indian newspaper, you will see one page devoted to local news, one page for national news, and one page for international news. There’s maybe one page for general human interest stories, one page for business, and approximately 10 pages for celeb gossip and of course there’s the supplement with the society pages and full body shots of hot, famous women. I happen to glance at the papers almost everyday, and I’m online quite a bit. But neither me, nor any of my friends and colleagues who do read the newspaper everyday, had heard anything about it. Why? Because the media believes - rightly - that not enough people care to make it worthwhile news.

It’s time for us to make these things worthwhile. We should know, we should make it our duty to know, what’s going on around us. If we really want to turn a blind eye to the state of affairs, then we are doomed to a very difficult life. The cotton, dye, stitching, and embroidery for the clothing we wear, the raising, growing, harvesting and transporting of the food we eat, and every other kind of handiwork we take for granted, is done by the poverty-stricken people that we so blithely dismiss. Priya Tanna and her cohorts have committed a true travesty by allowing this to happen.

Here’s what I read in The Independent:

“Leading Indian fashion designer David Abraham jumped to the magazine’s defence.

“This kind of juxtaposition is always there in India - the servant who serves a glass of wine which costs more than his monthly salary,” he said.”

True, it’s always there. And I believe we should all be doing whatever we can to narrow the gap. But fine, even if you don’t agree with my brand of egalitarianism, I don’t see the legitimacy of propagating and highlighting such juxtaposition. The tragedy of seeing a homeless man lie, sick and hungry, in front of a glamor-ridden, blindingly minimalist Marks and Spencer store never escapes me. Photographing that image highlights the juxtaposition enough for me. Capture that image, and as an artist, display the dichotomies in our society. I would gladly support that. But what is the need for creating such inequalities and then publishing them for the world to see?

It seems to be an inherent problem in the way we think. The interesting point here is that I don’t think Tanna or her colleagues ever intended to hurt, offend or harm anyone. But as individuals who have the power to reach out with a message to so many people, I think that whether or not they accept it, members of media outlets do have a social responsibility, to be at least minimally aware of injustices and ignorance that are present around them. To me it truly seems reminiscent of old-timey Indian exoticism as “captured” by the British. We should not allow ourselves to be colonialized and imperialistic within our own society. By forcing so-called signs of prosperity onto people who cannot dream of ever being in such a position, I do not think we do ourselves a favor. I do not think it is acceptable for women like Editor Priya Tanna, who should be a beautiful example of the success of the Indian woman, to degrade and exploit her fellow Indian in such a way.

Instead of declaring that fashion is no longer a rich man’s privilege, why not we take the opportunity to share with the public that education is no longer the rich man’s privilege? That is actually something to spread the message about. When India has reached a point where we can say that every person has the bare necessities, food, water, a means of sustenance, a place to live, and if they’re lucky, the chance for an education, then we can move on to bringing high fashion to the masses. Until then, let’s try and keep our priorities straight. When the last little girl has two pieces of clean, whole clothing that she can wear proudly, then let’s start thinking about teaching her fashion and style.

The hierarchical, classist ignorance shown by Vogue India and its supporters is disdainful. I urge everyone to make their views known to the editorial staff so that they think twice before making a similar gaffe in the future.

From my blog, Informed Activism in India.

Dental Camp

The Dental camp was a huge success and a phenomenal experience. The camp started at 12pm and it consisted of three main stations. One of the stations included the Registration area. Here, the residents were asked their name, age and their chief complaints after which they were sent to the screening station. At the screening station, the children were monitored for any dental caries and toothaches that were bothering them. If any of the children required further treatment, they were sent to the final station where a dental chair was set up to do some minor tooth cleaning. After the children rotated through each station, they were each given toothbrushes and toothpastes so that they could understand the importance of proper oral hygiene and help maintain it as well.

All in all the process went smoothly thanks to the fact that the dentists were well organized and the ushers who helped accompany the children from one station to the other. I would like to personally thank both of them for maintaining order within the camp and helping us make this project a successful one. I would also like to thank Dr. Shivakumar for not only displaying his strong leadership skills, but providing quality service to the people of the community. I look forward to conducting our next medical camp in the near future and seeing more new faces come out to help the people of Ramavaram. Until then, keep up of the good work folks!

August 7th Ramavaram Visit

“How easy do you think it is to hear, but not listen?

How tough is it to see and, yet not perceive?”

Beside the usual chaos up there, these are precisely the two questions that have been lingering in my mind since my last visit to Ramavaram - 7th of August’08.

It was supposed to be a simple visit, to an underprivileged community, 10 minutes away from our college (by bus). So the visit was to include: talking (in a language I don’t know), demonstrating hygiene practices (and secretly resolve to follow them myself), playing with the kids (yes all the people in my head were excited too), and handing out a healthy snack (we called it a banana).

What happened instead was this:

Once we got off at the bus stand, I was intently listening (yes I was) to a briefing about Ramavaram. I was in no way prepared for lay ahead.
Which was, a huge bear hug! I’d like to call it a bear hug, because there were 5 kids for each one of, as if we were the hottest property of the ‘Lost and Found’.
The excitement around us, was a true Ramavaram special. For, I haven’t seen it anywhere.
We made our entry into their habitat in a human train…the engine being Bhavya. We passed by what I thought were 35 thatched huts (turns out there are 94 of them!)

We were led into their playing area, which altered between a tarred road -a freeway for speeding cars - and an even more low lying area.
So this even more low lying area - a vast expanse of greenery with stagnant black water from the Adayar river - is an even more special place.
It’s free of any inhibition, what with people washing an array of things over there, ranging from dirty clothes, to filthy bodies.

After a little deliberation and lot of frenzy, we decided that the area of activity would be near one of the huts.Once seated, we brought out our master demonstrators- Valli and Vandana. So the first lesson to be taught (and learned) was “Wash your hands after playing in the water/with the animals, and most importantly before you eat.”

Valli said a lot more, but the fascinating piece of oratory has to be heard in Tamil. Our audience watched in rapt attention as they were being taught how to use the soap in a more efficient way. Once that was done, we had our own little orientation session - quizzing them on our names and guessing their names as well. By now, each one of us had our favourite- not necessarily the one hanging off our shoulder. It’s as if Nature made a Giver of each one of them, their hands might be empty, but their hearts aren’t.

Lesson no.2 dropped in after a little singing session. So Pamela and Nazneen , armed with a brush and tooth powder, taught them how to fight tooth decay, everyday - twice a day. Most of the members of Sangam were as interested in the novelty of oral hygiene as the little inhabitants of Ramavaram! And… the incentive for being a good audience, was a snack-as much as they wanted. Though I’m sure one of the next visits will include lessons on “What is a queue? And How to form one without killing each other?”

We weren’t done yet. One by one, the parents came up with queries, grievance and, complaints. While most kids were distracted with a parallel photo session, some of us addressed their concerns. It was like watching a medicine textbook unfurl - a grave assortment of diseases.
There was one on the spot treatment too: a minor head wound was set right for Ritin’s bravest patient.

3 hours and a lot of chaos later, something had changed in each one of us. The trouble with being there, is the kids just won’t let you stop smiling: either with their songs,
or their witty retorts. We were back to were we started from, when I saw something… straight ahead stood a sparkling clean top notch hospital, and to my left was a swanky IT office.

And that brings me back to the my initial question:

How tough is it to see, and yet not perceive? That they live there with so many problems and such few resources, & just a helping hand would make a living difference?

Click here to view photos from this event.