Research

Slowly, I'm getting started with my research. Things sometimes move along slowly here, so every day, I've been meeting with various Manav Sadhna employees to try to hammer out a schedule. I'll be going into the Ramapir No Tekro slum on Monday and Tuesday. I'm also going to go and see Sughad, the site of the sanitation institute which I've heard is amazing.Then, I'm going out of town (all over Gujarat) with my family from Wednesday-Friday. So, my interviews should officially begin next Monday, the 13th. I'll start interviewing slumdwellers by going into the Tekro with Sunilbhai, and also start meeting some local mentors.

I need to arrange a visit to the Ahmedabad Municipality Corporation to see if I can get any information about the hybrid government-NGO Ahmedabad Slum Networking Project.

Other than that, life in Ahmedabad right now is very, very hot! Walking to Chetna Behn's Anganwadi from Manav Sadhna takes 20 minutes, and in the midday heat, it's pretty sweaty. But, I've found that when I'm playing with the kids or talking to the volunteers and employees, the heat becomes secondary to everything I'm seeing and experiencing. Still, I have absolutely no idea how the kids manage to play tag outside at 2 in the afternoon!

Yesterday was the Saturday Special, where I was welcomed with a flower necklace and kankoo (red dot on my forehead) for the fourth time. This time, though, it was in front of over 100 kids.

I'm getting back into the habit of doing prathna, literally meaning prayer, every day. It's not a prayer that pertains to any particular religion, but rather one in which you close your eyes and repeat slokas with words and phrases about of not stealing, loving others, and having peace of mind (om shanti). I don't think there is anything more beautiful or peaceful than watching, listening to, and chiming in with a chorus of 20+ children who are generally wildly running all over the place sitting quietly and chanting "om."

I'll post more as my research progresses...

By the way, Happy Independence Day!