Only a short message, since I have no inspiration left, haha.
Last weekend I went to AP with Claudia, her mum and an Indian Colleague of her, Praveen. There we visited some projects for NABUUR, an organisation that gives support to community development projects. The first day was very tiring and at the end of the day we had enough. The local representative didn't really understand the concept of NABUUR and the sharpanch had taken over his programme of the day.
The second day we visited two other villages which are represented by SAVANS. In these villages we had a really warm welcome. They made banners with our names on them and welcomed us with traditional dances, which we were asked to join. We also had to try bison horns, used for the bison dace. A very special experience which I will never forget.
No pictures yet, but I will post them when I get back...
Thursday, September 20, 2007
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
Counting the days...I really miss home
I have visited Pench NP, Maharashtra site. It was really beautiful and even though in the same state as Tadoba, the greens are of a much greater variety. Because this park is in a more hilly area and the roads leading through the park have many many bends, I thought the park was bigger then Tadoba. In this I was wrong. It’s actually 2,5 times as small!!
Tomorrow I will go back to Chandrapur. My stay in Nagpur has been extended with a few extra days and many games of chess in the evening, which I lost most of the time.
I really have to work on my moves and on my patience. Since I don’t like to think too long before crossing the board, I got myself killed during the battles too early. I guess I won’t make a good soldier…
With every day that passes I want to go home more and more. It definitely was a time well spent, but 5 months away from family and friends is a lot tougher this time than when I left for Australia now almost 10 years ago. Of course that was for a whole different reason.
My moods swing from happy to annoyed and back. I need more personal space, something that is not always available in a country like India. I don’t know how the people do it, living with all family members in houses we consider too small for 2 people, let alone 6. I look at it with amazement and realize that for me this is not the way and I am very happy that I am born in the Netherlands with all its own non likable things. Nowhere is a perfect place, but at least in your own country you know how to behave in certain situations and also you know what the consequences of your behavior are likely to be.
I have learnt a lot about myself. Good things and bad things, sometimes by being alone and other times because of people around me. I tried to adapt to the Indian culture as much as possible within my limits. (I can’t change who I am and the way I act all the time.) I have learnt to eat the mild Indian food, which is quite spicy still. I now know I can make a nice deal when I want to buy something, although I doubt I will use this skill when I come back. I am better at keeping my patience in any possible way, but the most Indian thing I have to do at times is using the toilet and cleaning my bum with a can of water and my left hand.!!! (oh yeah, toilet paper not commonly available or the toilet gets blocked).
I look forward to the next 3 weeks, when I will see Shanoo, Suleman and the children again, will stay in my shed in Tadoba, have my so needed time by myself and enjoy Dutch humor when Claudia arrives. The latter will be on the 8th of September and I can hardly wait.
Tomorrow I will go back to Chandrapur. My stay in Nagpur has been extended with a few extra days and many games of chess in the evening, which I lost most of the time.
I really have to work on my moves and on my patience. Since I don’t like to think too long before crossing the board, I got myself killed during the battles too early. I guess I won’t make a good soldier…
With every day that passes I want to go home more and more. It definitely was a time well spent, but 5 months away from family and friends is a lot tougher this time than when I left for Australia now almost 10 years ago. Of course that was for a whole different reason.
My moods swing from happy to annoyed and back. I need more personal space, something that is not always available in a country like India. I don’t know how the people do it, living with all family members in houses we consider too small for 2 people, let alone 6. I look at it with amazement and realize that for me this is not the way and I am very happy that I am born in the Netherlands with all its own non likable things. Nowhere is a perfect place, but at least in your own country you know how to behave in certain situations and also you know what the consequences of your behavior are likely to be.
I have learnt a lot about myself. Good things and bad things, sometimes by being alone and other times because of people around me. I tried to adapt to the Indian culture as much as possible within my limits. (I can’t change who I am and the way I act all the time.) I have learnt to eat the mild Indian food, which is quite spicy still. I now know I can make a nice deal when I want to buy something, although I doubt I will use this skill when I come back. I am better at keeping my patience in any possible way, but the most Indian thing I have to do at times is using the toilet and cleaning my bum with a can of water and my left hand.!!! (oh yeah, toilet paper not commonly available or the toilet gets blocked).
I look forward to the next 3 weeks, when I will see Shanoo, Suleman and the children again, will stay in my shed in Tadoba, have my so needed time by myself and enjoy Dutch humor when Claudia arrives. The latter will be on the 8th of September and I can hardly wait.
Sunday, August 19, 2007
The other India
traditionele sari, ja ja
August is supposed to be the month for tarvelling. There will be less rain is according to the locals, but some travellers seem to have a different opinion. especially the ones that went to Kerala on the west coast.
I have been to Hydrabad and stayed there with a friend I met in tadoba. He has a house in Hydrabad and liked to show me more of the area. From Chandrapur we went by Gypsy, via Warangal, where there are some nice sights to be found (1000 pillar temple).
After 1 week in Hydrabad being driven around and have 2 trips with the ap touris services, I decided it was time to leave for Tamil Nadu. I had planned to take the train to Chennai and from there, step by step, move south wards. I got as far as Mahabalipuram and then moved back up and sidewards closer to Thailand, when I out of the blue decided to visit the Andaman,Nicobar Islands.
It was told that these bounty Islands where reallyrelaxed. Also more Israeli and European people would be there and that sounded great. The week I have had there was really relaxing and it was very nice to be able to speak in your own language every now and then or English to people who know what the words mean.. Had a great time and decided that it will be time to go back to reality and see what has happend with the educatioin project soon.
This week I will first be in Nagpur for a few days and then get the chance to go to Pench NP in off season. This is also aranged by Ravi. I am very lucky that this man crossed my path.
Looking forward to get home in 6 weeks time. A new house, my last year and not all the sounds, rudeness, smells and chaos that India brings. And a bath
Sunday, July 29, 2007
First step outside Maharashtra..
I sit here all alone in my shed, listening to Maria Mena, Ilse de Lange Stevie Ann and some Dutch cabaret, looking out on my freshly washed clothes and a sky that gets greyer with the minute. In the background there is the faint noise of thunder. Power has gone already today, so I now can be almost sure that I will be able to finish this postJ
Yesterday I did it. I booked my train ticket to freedom, hihi. In this case Warangal in Andhra Pradesh where really isn’t that much to see or do if I listen to other people, but hey, it’s the first step to 4/5 weeks of seeing more of India. Paying 400Rs (€8) for a 3 hour train journey in 3rd class air condition isn’t too bad. Anything below 3AC is said not to be safe for a women travelling by alone.
From Warangal I most likely will go to Hydrabad, since Ravi (an Indian friend) likes to show me his hometown. Hydrabad is said to be the city of bangles (bracelets) and other kinds of jewellery, so I actually should not go here till last if I want to keep some money in my pocket haha. Well first I have to find things I like, since Indian style is not always my style and the second problem is the size, since the Indian women are a lot more fragile than European women.
It’s kind of strange having to pack all my things in 3 different bags. My small pack and newly made travel bag to take with me and my big pack to leave in the Shed or at friends in Chandrapur. I am not sure yet, since last weekend my big pack got eaten by a rat family, it’s not necessary to store it somewhere else in case this would happen. Learned a lesson once again, don’t ever leave anything in your bag a rat likes, like biscuits (or Indian candles). Even though it’s in a sealed pack!
The education project goes the way it should. Ramrao has visited one or two schools almost every day and the children enjoy making the paintings. The only difficulty is that the lower groups, 1 and 2, don’t know how to cut things and can actually only make paintings by drawing instead of sticking waste materials on paper. Oh well, they can collect and like doing that, so getting them involved that way and have them make a drawing doesn’t seem a bad idea to me. Vishwas could only visit 7 schools this month, since he had to go on foot, bus or find other means of transport.
The other assignments are also going well. The results of the interviews with the handicraft employees of SCF are ready to be sent. The interviews with the people of Moharli are done, but the answers need to be translated to English before I understand. Ramrao will do that at the end of this month or the first week when I get back. Nice straight back to business!
The inquiry about the influence of TATR on villages is done straight after the school visits and need to be translated too before it’s of more use to me. Me going away obviously only is a short brake because there is nothing that needs my immediate attention.
There is only one thing. The last month it hasn’t rained all that much to my opinion, even though the statistics say 60% of the rain has fallen already. I wonder if this is a dry monsoon or if I am in for a surprise.. Lets hope the rain will only come at night, like it mostly did this month and I am happyJ
Yesterday I did it. I booked my train ticket to freedom, hihi. In this case Warangal in Andhra Pradesh where really isn’t that much to see or do if I listen to other people, but hey, it’s the first step to 4/5 weeks of seeing more of India. Paying 400Rs (€8) for a 3 hour train journey in 3rd class air condition isn’t too bad. Anything below 3AC is said not to be safe for a women travelling by alone.
From Warangal I most likely will go to Hydrabad, since Ravi (an Indian friend) likes to show me his hometown. Hydrabad is said to be the city of bangles (bracelets) and other kinds of jewellery, so I actually should not go here till last if I want to keep some money in my pocket haha. Well first I have to find things I like, since Indian style is not always my style and the second problem is the size, since the Indian women are a lot more fragile than European women.
It’s kind of strange having to pack all my things in 3 different bags. My small pack and newly made travel bag to take with me and my big pack to leave in the Shed or at friends in Chandrapur. I am not sure yet, since last weekend my big pack got eaten by a rat family, it’s not necessary to store it somewhere else in case this would happen. Learned a lesson once again, don’t ever leave anything in your bag a rat likes, like biscuits (or Indian candles). Even though it’s in a sealed pack!
The education project goes the way it should. Ramrao has visited one or two schools almost every day and the children enjoy making the paintings. The only difficulty is that the lower groups, 1 and 2, don’t know how to cut things and can actually only make paintings by drawing instead of sticking waste materials on paper. Oh well, they can collect and like doing that, so getting them involved that way and have them make a drawing doesn’t seem a bad idea to me. Vishwas could only visit 7 schools this month, since he had to go on foot, bus or find other means of transport.
The other assignments are also going well. The results of the interviews with the handicraft employees of SCF are ready to be sent. The interviews with the people of Moharli are done, but the answers need to be translated to English before I understand. Ramrao will do that at the end of this month or the first week when I get back. Nice straight back to business!
The inquiry about the influence of TATR on villages is done straight after the school visits and need to be translated too before it’s of more use to me. Me going away obviously only is a short brake because there is nothing that needs my immediate attention.
There is only one thing. The last month it hasn’t rained all that much to my opinion, even though the statistics say 60% of the rain has fallen already. I wonder if this is a dry monsoon or if I am in for a surprise.. Lets hope the rain will only come at night, like it mostly did this month and I am happyJ
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
When the ‘paus’ comes from the sky and you are on a bike…..you get very, very wet
This happened twice this week. And I can tell you, in a country where attending traffic seems to be a computer game with the mission being to survive, the higher level is reached when it rains that hard that you can hardly see your own bike…. If then a dog decides to cross or a cow lies in the middle of the road… I have seen it all and I am still here.. Bonus points and High score!!
Now the update:
Ramrao and I started visiting schools last Monday. It was about time. We also finished visiting schools last Monday, because we where told that there were important exams this week and thus no time for other, time consuming activities.
The other problem we ran into was the contract we liked the schools to sign. With this contract the schools had to promise that they would use the lesson material provided and SCF would assure 2 fun activities per year and a camp in Tadoba for the children and teachers most actively involved in the programme. The schoolmaster told us that he couldn’t sign this contract, because first we need to have official permission of the Education Officer that the lesson material may be used by the teachers. Unofficially they don’t mind the education workers to come by a few times per year to do a fun activity and it’s also ok to leave the lesson programme behind, only there will not be a guarantee that they will make use of it.
A week ago I visited the Collector, who then did send me through to the RDC, to ask for help in the matter rent that SCF paid in advance and want back. This because the conditions for renting the former SCF Office where not met by the owner. The owner now does difficult about the money and the only one who can now help is the Collector, because that’s the man in the Chandrapur District that decides about money matters.
Friday the 13th I met with the Deputy Collector of Chandrapur for the 2nd time. I hoped he could give me some good news, but Friday the 13th was not my lucky day in that. I did meet a lot of important people again in the office though. The man who organises the elections (and I got told that Maharashtra is the only democratic state without rigging the elections), the District Sports Officer and a few other men. The Sports Officer invited me to see the “olympic stadium” and after that I met his daughter and wife and went for a small dinner at his house. I thought a great opportunity to ask about the Education Officer, who happens to live in the house behind the SO. Next meeting with the RDC I will meet the EO too and hopefully he can help us with the lesson programme permission.
All the days I could not visit the schools, Ramrao and Vishwas have done a survey in Moharli to inform how well known SCF is under the people in this town. The office is located in Moharli and Claudia asked me to find out about this. The survey amongst the employees we held the week before, but this week there was an extra opportunity fro me to ask the ladies of the Handicraft Project about things they don’t like in their work. A personal meeting, without managers present, gave me a lot more information than the survey the week before.
Ramrao and I have also started to inquire about positive and negative points people encounter living in and around Tadoba. People of four villages have answered the questions so far. This was my initial assignment for the Forest Department. I keep them informed and send them information about what I am doing and how I like to do things, but I don’t get much advice or response from them. I think I will have to go into the office more to speak to them and ask them, but there is not enough time to do that. The office is in Chandrapur and the busses go twice a day to Chandrapur and once a day (because it’s rain season) back, if the bus is not needed for anything else. I will then have (if I am lucky) about 2,5 hours to meet with the Forest Department and then I will have to head for the bus stand again. I must say that when I go into the office it takes a lot more time than that because talking with the ACF is really nice and he has a lot to tell.
I have been to Ramdigi to see the waterfall. This is the only time of the year you can see it! It was a really nice spot and fun to see the fish trying to jump up the waterfall after they had just come down with it. The place itself was not much of a town. I think about 20 people live there and because of the flood the earlier all the shops had to be rebuilt. This sounds very big, but all the shops are 1 tent which contains 4 shops and is about 6x4 meters or close to that.
Because I was spotted taking pictures of a Hindu wedding last week, I was asked by the family to join the programme at the temple. It was fun to be part of a wedding ceremony and nice that they explained what they where doing. This was the 1st day of a 5 day feast before the actual marriage would take place. The 1st day the groom and his family bring offerings to the gods in the form of flowers, dahl, sweets a lot of other foods, colours and scents and a goat (not slaughtered this time, vegetarian family). This way they hope that the gods will give their blessing for a long and happy marriage. The goat ate the flowers, which is a good sign. That means that the bride and groom are suitable for each other.
Saturday I have visited Nagpur with Samir, Suleman and Shanoo. Materials had to be purchased for the Handicraft Project at the market and from big companies. I wanted to buy some books and other good things, like toilet paper, because it’s nice to have that when you go travelling. It was a long day. Around 7 am we left Tadoba to arrive in Nagpur (150 km) around 11, but than you still have to travel half the city to get where you want to be. I spend maybe 30 minutes shopping for my own things and after that I sat in the car the whole day, watching many people pass by. I was told not to come to the market because the rates would be higher then. After the shopping was done I was told the price of the materials and it was only 5Rs less than the other time and from a different shop, so I think I stayed in the car for nothing. Oh well, I had my water and some biscuits and my books to read….. At 9pm we got back to Tadoba and the only thing you than like to do is to have a quick wash and sleep…
What I must not forget to tell you, there are no public toilets to be found other than men’s cubicles. Women don’t seem to have to go to the toilet…Further it’s quite normal to go anywhere really, but than you must not be a foreigner. Before you know it your bum will go around on mobile phones… -At times it feels like being an alien, everybody has to stare at you and it seems very strange that you act the same way as the Indians..- On the way back we passed people sitting on the side of the road with their cup or bottle with water to do their susu or poopoo.
Next weekend I will have a 3 day party in Wardha and will bring a visit to Sevegram, which is the birth place of mahatma Ghandi.
The weekend after I will start travelling to Aurangabad and I will return to Chandrapur in September. My placement is almost at the end. When I come back in September I hope the boys will have done what I asked them to do and I will be able to tell what people like and don’t like about living in and around Tadoba.
Now the update:
Ramrao and I started visiting schools last Monday. It was about time. We also finished visiting schools last Monday, because we where told that there were important exams this week and thus no time for other, time consuming activities.
The other problem we ran into was the contract we liked the schools to sign. With this contract the schools had to promise that they would use the lesson material provided and SCF would assure 2 fun activities per year and a camp in Tadoba for the children and teachers most actively involved in the programme. The schoolmaster told us that he couldn’t sign this contract, because first we need to have official permission of the Education Officer that the lesson material may be used by the teachers. Unofficially they don’t mind the education workers to come by a few times per year to do a fun activity and it’s also ok to leave the lesson programme behind, only there will not be a guarantee that they will make use of it.
A week ago I visited the Collector, who then did send me through to the RDC, to ask for help in the matter rent that SCF paid in advance and want back. This because the conditions for renting the former SCF Office where not met by the owner. The owner now does difficult about the money and the only one who can now help is the Collector, because that’s the man in the Chandrapur District that decides about money matters.
Friday the 13th I met with the Deputy Collector of Chandrapur for the 2nd time. I hoped he could give me some good news, but Friday the 13th was not my lucky day in that. I did meet a lot of important people again in the office though. The man who organises the elections (and I got told that Maharashtra is the only democratic state without rigging the elections), the District Sports Officer and a few other men. The Sports Officer invited me to see the “olympic stadium” and after that I met his daughter and wife and went for a small dinner at his house. I thought a great opportunity to ask about the Education Officer, who happens to live in the house behind the SO. Next meeting with the RDC I will meet the EO too and hopefully he can help us with the lesson programme permission.
All the days I could not visit the schools, Ramrao and Vishwas have done a survey in Moharli to inform how well known SCF is under the people in this town. The office is located in Moharli and Claudia asked me to find out about this. The survey amongst the employees we held the week before, but this week there was an extra opportunity fro me to ask the ladies of the Handicraft Project about things they don’t like in their work. A personal meeting, without managers present, gave me a lot more information than the survey the week before.
Ramrao and I have also started to inquire about positive and negative points people encounter living in and around Tadoba. People of four villages have answered the questions so far. This was my initial assignment for the Forest Department. I keep them informed and send them information about what I am doing and how I like to do things, but I don’t get much advice or response from them. I think I will have to go into the office more to speak to them and ask them, but there is not enough time to do that. The office is in Chandrapur and the busses go twice a day to Chandrapur and once a day (because it’s rain season) back, if the bus is not needed for anything else. I will then have (if I am lucky) about 2,5 hours to meet with the Forest Department and then I will have to head for the bus stand again. I must say that when I go into the office it takes a lot more time than that because talking with the ACF is really nice and he has a lot to tell.
I have been to Ramdigi to see the waterfall. This is the only time of the year you can see it! It was a really nice spot and fun to see the fish trying to jump up the waterfall after they had just come down with it. The place itself was not much of a town. I think about 20 people live there and because of the flood the earlier all the shops had to be rebuilt. This sounds very big, but all the shops are 1 tent which contains 4 shops and is about 6x4 meters or close to that.
Because I was spotted taking pictures of a Hindu wedding last week, I was asked by the family to join the programme at the temple. It was fun to be part of a wedding ceremony and nice that they explained what they where doing. This was the 1st day of a 5 day feast before the actual marriage would take place. The 1st day the groom and his family bring offerings to the gods in the form of flowers, dahl, sweets a lot of other foods, colours and scents and a goat (not slaughtered this time, vegetarian family). This way they hope that the gods will give their blessing for a long and happy marriage. The goat ate the flowers, which is a good sign. That means that the bride and groom are suitable for each other.
Saturday I have visited Nagpur with Samir, Suleman and Shanoo. Materials had to be purchased for the Handicraft Project at the market and from big companies. I wanted to buy some books and other good things, like toilet paper, because it’s nice to have that when you go travelling. It was a long day. Around 7 am we left Tadoba to arrive in Nagpur (150 km) around 11, but than you still have to travel half the city to get where you want to be. I spend maybe 30 minutes shopping for my own things and after that I sat in the car the whole day, watching many people pass by. I was told not to come to the market because the rates would be higher then. After the shopping was done I was told the price of the materials and it was only 5Rs less than the other time and from a different shop, so I think I stayed in the car for nothing. Oh well, I had my water and some biscuits and my books to read….. At 9pm we got back to Tadoba and the only thing you than like to do is to have a quick wash and sleep…
What I must not forget to tell you, there are no public toilets to be found other than men’s cubicles. Women don’t seem to have to go to the toilet…Further it’s quite normal to go anywhere really, but than you must not be a foreigner. Before you know it your bum will go around on mobile phones… -At times it feels like being an alien, everybody has to stare at you and it seems very strange that you act the same way as the Indians..- On the way back we passed people sitting on the side of the road with their cup or bottle with water to do their susu or poopoo.
Next weekend I will have a 3 day party in Wardha and will bring a visit to Sevegram, which is the birth place of mahatma Ghandi.
The weekend after I will start travelling to Aurangabad and I will return to Chandrapur in September. My placement is almost at the end. When I come back in September I hope the boys will have done what I asked them to do and I will be able to tell what people like and don’t like about living in and around Tadoba.
Friday, July 6, 2007
Pānī aur macchar.....khuljī khuljī khuljī
Yep and that’s very annoying. First you get wet and your clothes have a hard time getting dry again. The second bite and that does itch very very much, as I already mentioned 3 times above J
Well the rain decided that now it decided to come it had to come all in once. And not a little drizzle, but the sky opened up and, I don’t know what upset the gods, but it did upset them real bad. No sunshine only grey days…And with some luck, I think when the gods are asleep or have dinner, there are some dry moment in which you can do something useful, like visiting a school.
The bike is now in my possession and we have used it last week to visit the first school in Moharli. 3 people on the bike is quite normal here, only you must not forget that there are some mayor holes in the road and the 3rd person is not supposed to fall of. (Me being this 3rd person on the bike) Also the road is not a race track and, I know top speed of 50 km doesn’t sound like an awful lot, but on this bike it feels like you are going a lot faster and that is a little scary. Of course protective clothing is never heard of, at least not in this area of India. In Delhi they did have helmets…Like going by bus, on the bike it also seems to be a rollercoaster ride, wind blowing through your hair many times swaying from one side of the road to the other side to avoid the wholes, a sudden break before a part with more holes than road and if you are lucky you also find yourself in mid-air for a moment. The best thing of all, no long Q and no paying entry fees!!!
I have finished all the theoretical parts of my assignment(s) and with the SCF questionnaires I like to start this week. When I (officially) will start with the assignment for the forest department I don’t know. I still wait for my permission letter to come and before I have that I officially am not aloud to ride the bike in Tadoba, which means that I can’t visit the towns and therefore can’t start my problem inventory. Bus is no option, since I am also not aloud to walk in the park, and after you get off the bus a walk of a few km is quite normal to get to the towns in Tadoba. Unofficially, I have asked the boys to do the inventory for me, because my time is running out. There are only 3 weeks to go and then I have a holiday brake, so before that the practical part of the assignments must be carried out.
I must say that after being here 2 months I let the Dutch way of thinking go a little and picked up on the Indian way. This works a lot more relaxing. The Indians have a phrase: “jo honā hai, so hogā”, meaning: “whatever has to happen, will happen”. Well, I think I can live with that J
So it has to be this way that:
Bats are using my kitchen, bathroom, and toilet (and 1 even my room by mistake!) to shelter for the rain and the daylight. (yugh, the smell)
Macchar dislike DEET 30% for 4 hours at the most and then they just love to eat you again.
A monitor lizard keeps me awake because he walks in-between the roofing and my sealing. (I saw his tail and hind legs disappear..)
In India everything takes a lot longer than I am used to….
Well the rain decided that now it decided to come it had to come all in once. And not a little drizzle, but the sky opened up and, I don’t know what upset the gods, but it did upset them real bad. No sunshine only grey days…And with some luck, I think when the gods are asleep or have dinner, there are some dry moment in which you can do something useful, like visiting a school.
The bike is now in my possession and we have used it last week to visit the first school in Moharli. 3 people on the bike is quite normal here, only you must not forget that there are some mayor holes in the road and the 3rd person is not supposed to fall of. (Me being this 3rd person on the bike) Also the road is not a race track and, I know top speed of 50 km doesn’t sound like an awful lot, but on this bike it feels like you are going a lot faster and that is a little scary. Of course protective clothing is never heard of, at least not in this area of India. In Delhi they did have helmets…Like going by bus, on the bike it also seems to be a rollercoaster ride, wind blowing through your hair many times swaying from one side of the road to the other side to avoid the wholes, a sudden break before a part with more holes than road and if you are lucky you also find yourself in mid-air for a moment. The best thing of all, no long Q and no paying entry fees!!!
I have finished all the theoretical parts of my assignment(s) and with the SCF questionnaires I like to start this week. When I (officially) will start with the assignment for the forest department I don’t know. I still wait for my permission letter to come and before I have that I officially am not aloud to ride the bike in Tadoba, which means that I can’t visit the towns and therefore can’t start my problem inventory. Bus is no option, since I am also not aloud to walk in the park, and after you get off the bus a walk of a few km is quite normal to get to the towns in Tadoba. Unofficially, I have asked the boys to do the inventory for me, because my time is running out. There are only 3 weeks to go and then I have a holiday brake, so before that the practical part of the assignments must be carried out.
I must say that after being here 2 months I let the Dutch way of thinking go a little and picked up on the Indian way. This works a lot more relaxing. The Indians have a phrase: “jo honā hai, so hogā”, meaning: “whatever has to happen, will happen”. Well, I think I can live with that J
So it has to be this way that:
Bats are using my kitchen, bathroom, and toilet (and 1 even my room by mistake!) to shelter for the rain and the daylight. (yugh, the smell)
Macchar dislike DEET 30% for 4 hours at the most and then they just love to eat you again.
A monitor lizard keeps me awake because he walks in-between the roofing and my sealing. (I saw his tail and hind legs disappear..)
In India everything takes a lot longer than I am used to….
Saturday, June 23, 2007
ere ere pau sa, tu la deto pai sa (come come rain, I give you money)
I have been in India 8 weeks now. I finally understand the Indian idea of working hard.
A hard day work can look like getting up around 7 am, make chai, prepare dinner, eat something, leave the house to go to work around 10, start work at 11, have your tiffin (dinner brought from home) between 1 and 2 pm and finish at 4pm. Go back home, rest for an hour, cook dinner and sleep. It is possible that the women work harder than the men..
To me this looks more like a day of in the Netherlands. I have the feeling that even on my day of I was able to produce more work than the people do here while working hard. I have to bare in mind though that the temperature here is quite high in dry seasons and during the monsoon the humidity is, I guess, far above 70%. To sweat you don’t have to do anything, just have a bath and try to dry yourself.. So everything is adjusted to this climate and in a hot climate you take it easy and your biggest worry is to drink enough.
My problem has been that I was still moving on NL speed. Now I have not that much that I can do by myself. I rely on other people now to get the things done that I want done, and now I seem to have a lot of time to do nothing. Or even when I am doing something, it feels like I am not doing much. I wonder what the impact of this laid back, easy going, all the time in the world approach will have when I get back. ..
I have to tell you, I did see 3 tigers last week, when I was on Jungle Round. Very nice looking and one of the last chances to see them, because now everything starts to be green ad get leaves, grass grows, water stays in the waterholes inside the forest and the tigers will not come out during the day anymore.
This morning I worked hard, joining a jungle round on foot. Every morning this is done. Nanauri goes in the forest with another guy (always 2 to be safe) and they check for pugmarks of tigers and leopards. Also they check if there have been any poachers or other strange markings. After a walk of 2 hours we got back this morning and the work was done. Of both, leopard and tiger we found a pugmark and made a drawing with the exact location of where it was found. Can you imagine this being your job??!!
Oh yeah, before I forget. I am working on my assignments too. I have 1 assignment for the Forest Department to do problem inventory, 1 assignment to find out about how people feel about moving out of Tadoba and 1 assignment to get a good view of the positive effect of the SCF handicraft project on the use of the forest. The first one I changed in the second one, because the FD did not want me to do anything really and I thought the 2nd one would be interesting. Now the FD wants me to stick to my original plan, so back to nr 1 and the 3rd one I decided on after I was told that the second one would be almost impossible (permit, work, rain ,etc)
Further the monsoon period has started. Some funny red creatures, local name gosei, are the sign for the start of this time in the year. Don’t worry that there hasn’t been that much rain yet, it will come. Till now most rain has fallen during the nights. I am happy with that, because then I can do thing in daytime. The humidity is the problem though, if it rains a bit more the temperature will drop and the humidity should be a lot less. I am so looking forward to that…
July start visiting schools and doing my problem inventory in the villages in and around Tadoba I hope. Still waiting for permission on paper to go around by bike…
A hard day work can look like getting up around 7 am, make chai, prepare dinner, eat something, leave the house to go to work around 10, start work at 11, have your tiffin (dinner brought from home) between 1 and 2 pm and finish at 4pm. Go back home, rest for an hour, cook dinner and sleep. It is possible that the women work harder than the men..
To me this looks more like a day of in the Netherlands. I have the feeling that even on my day of I was able to produce more work than the people do here while working hard. I have to bare in mind though that the temperature here is quite high in dry seasons and during the monsoon the humidity is, I guess, far above 70%. To sweat you don’t have to do anything, just have a bath and try to dry yourself.. So everything is adjusted to this climate and in a hot climate you take it easy and your biggest worry is to drink enough.
My problem has been that I was still moving on NL speed. Now I have not that much that I can do by myself. I rely on other people now to get the things done that I want done, and now I seem to have a lot of time to do nothing. Or even when I am doing something, it feels like I am not doing much. I wonder what the impact of this laid back, easy going, all the time in the world approach will have when I get back. ..
I have to tell you, I did see 3 tigers last week, when I was on Jungle Round. Very nice looking and one of the last chances to see them, because now everything starts to be green ad get leaves, grass grows, water stays in the waterholes inside the forest and the tigers will not come out during the day anymore.
This morning I worked hard, joining a jungle round on foot. Every morning this is done. Nanauri goes in the forest with another guy (always 2 to be safe) and they check for pugmarks of tigers and leopards. Also they check if there have been any poachers or other strange markings. After a walk of 2 hours we got back this morning and the work was done. Of both, leopard and tiger we found a pugmark and made a drawing with the exact location of where it was found. Can you imagine this being your job??!!
Oh yeah, before I forget. I am working on my assignments too. I have 1 assignment for the Forest Department to do problem inventory, 1 assignment to find out about how people feel about moving out of Tadoba and 1 assignment to get a good view of the positive effect of the SCF handicraft project on the use of the forest. The first one I changed in the second one, because the FD did not want me to do anything really and I thought the 2nd one would be interesting. Now the FD wants me to stick to my original plan, so back to nr 1 and the 3rd one I decided on after I was told that the second one would be almost impossible (permit, work, rain ,etc)
Further the monsoon period has started. Some funny red creatures, local name gosei, are the sign for the start of this time in the year. Don’t worry that there hasn’t been that much rain yet, it will come. Till now most rain has fallen during the nights. I am happy with that, because then I can do thing in daytime. The humidity is the problem though, if it rains a bit more the temperature will drop and the humidity should be a lot less. I am so looking forward to that…
July start visiting schools and doing my problem inventory in the villages in and around Tadoba I hope. Still waiting for permission on paper to go around by bike…
Saturday, June 9, 2007
There’s a rat in my kitchen...
I know, 3 posts in 2 weekends is a bit much, but hey, I have nothing else to do but watching lightning and read. Ramrao was not available all week again. I tried to contact him via wireless, but no response and via papa Shek I found out today (8-6) that he is in Warora, family problems. Last week he had problems in Moharli. I wonder where he will be next week…
Because I haven’t been feeling comfortable without a toilet for the last couple of days, and had no one around to accompany met to visit the NGO’s and the CF in Chandrapur, I can say that I had not much else to do. I finished my book ‘Like the flowing river, by Paulo Coelho’ en started reading ‘Doing your research project: a guide for first-time researchers in education, health and social scene, by Judith Bell’. Quite interesting I must say, with some good tips. Since school advised us to think about what to do for thesis…I’ve started thinking about that now..
Tuesday week I met Vishwas. He is the other guy for the education project. He seems nice to me, but he doesn’t speak that much English. Well we see how far we get. I guess it will be alright, because I can also understand some other people in Tadoba and they can understand me, as long as we use more than words…pictures and sounds help a lot and it’s actually a laugh when you come to think of it. Try it at home, and everybody will wonder if you are a fruitcake.
Vishwas will start next Monday. I would like to start the training of activities then, and hope that Ramrao will be there too, because I like to work a bit more efficiently than the Indians are used to. Train 2 in 1 might be a bit easier, since they can help each other when there are things one of them doesn’t understand. Also I will only get frustrated once about something and not twice or more. Keep holding my breath and counting till 1,2,3,4, etc…
The 7th of June is the official starting date for the monsoon period. In the evening of the 6th it started to rain heavily and the humidity disappeared for the night, only to return the next morning, even worse than before. I don’t like this sticky weather. This is comparable to the Netherlands with more than 27oC, only here it’s still in the 40’s. I thought the rain season had started, but thought too soon. The next night was one with beautiful lightning shows above the lake, some rain and a lovely cold breeze…even felt a bit chilly and thought about getting my sheets.
Other thought that came up where scorpions and snakes… when the monsoon starts the water wakes them up and the snakes and scorpions will appear from their holes. I guess one of the first things they will do is look for food and there might be a minor concern…I have a rat in my kitchen… Before coming to India I did read something about rats attracting snakes, so I hope this rat is different. There is absolutely no way I can keep the animal out of my kitchen and I am not looking forward to meet a snake. There are just many holes and gaps via which it can enter my kitchen and if the rat can enter, why not the snake…
By the way, did you know that rats eat candles?!
Because I haven’t been feeling comfortable without a toilet for the last couple of days, and had no one around to accompany met to visit the NGO’s and the CF in Chandrapur, I can say that I had not much else to do. I finished my book ‘Like the flowing river, by Paulo Coelho’ en started reading ‘Doing your research project: a guide for first-time researchers in education, health and social scene, by Judith Bell’. Quite interesting I must say, with some good tips. Since school advised us to think about what to do for thesis…I’ve started thinking about that now..
Tuesday week I met Vishwas. He is the other guy for the education project. He seems nice to me, but he doesn’t speak that much English. Well we see how far we get. I guess it will be alright, because I can also understand some other people in Tadoba and they can understand me, as long as we use more than words…pictures and sounds help a lot and it’s actually a laugh when you come to think of it. Try it at home, and everybody will wonder if you are a fruitcake.
Vishwas will start next Monday. I would like to start the training of activities then, and hope that Ramrao will be there too, because I like to work a bit more efficiently than the Indians are used to. Train 2 in 1 might be a bit easier, since they can help each other when there are things one of them doesn’t understand. Also I will only get frustrated once about something and not twice or more. Keep holding my breath and counting till 1,2,3,4, etc…
The 7th of June is the official starting date for the monsoon period. In the evening of the 6th it started to rain heavily and the humidity disappeared for the night, only to return the next morning, even worse than before. I don’t like this sticky weather. This is comparable to the Netherlands with more than 27oC, only here it’s still in the 40’s. I thought the rain season had started, but thought too soon. The next night was one with beautiful lightning shows above the lake, some rain and a lovely cold breeze…even felt a bit chilly and thought about getting my sheets.
Other thought that came up where scorpions and snakes… when the monsoon starts the water wakes them up and the snakes and scorpions will appear from their holes. I guess one of the first things they will do is look for food and there might be a minor concern…I have a rat in my kitchen… Before coming to India I did read something about rats attracting snakes, so I hope this rat is different. There is absolutely no way I can keep the animal out of my kitchen and I am not looking forward to meet a snake. There are just many holes and gaps via which it can enter my kitchen and if the rat can enter, why not the snake…
By the way, did you know that rats eat candles?!
Saturday, June 2, 2007
4 chital, 2 barking deer, a wild boar and an eagle.
Once a year about 300 till 350 people sign in to help counting the animals in Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve. There are about 100 people located in every range. These ranges are Tadoba, Kolsa and Moharli.
So this year I signed in (and will be in the Indian Daily, Newspaper). I thought only NGO’s (Non Government Organisations) were aloud to join, but the case is also many private persons join. They don’t only come from Chandrapur or Nagpur, also people from Mumbai are present. That is 17 hours by train to count from 12 noon till 6 am and then go back again for 17 hours.
Normally the count is at the beginning of May, but due to heavy rainfall this year they had to postpone to the 31st, because that was the first full moon after the 2nd of May, and also the last occasion before the monsoon will start.
So the 31st of May was the big day. We were dropped of on a watch tower somewhere in the Tadoba range. A nice spot, with a pond and therefore the chance on seeing many animals is bigger. I sat there with one lady from Chandrapur –teacher in environmental studies- and a guide from the Maharashtra Forest Department. The 1st hour we saw 4 chital and 1 wild boar, but he didin’t count. The 2nd hour 1 barking deer and 1 eagle, but there are too many birds, so they don’t count either, and the 3rd hour again a barking deer.
So this year I signed in (and will be in the Indian Daily, Newspaper). I thought only NGO’s (Non Government Organisations) were aloud to join, but the case is also many private persons join. They don’t only come from Chandrapur or Nagpur, also people from Mumbai are present. That is 17 hours by train to count from 12 noon till 6 am and then go back again for 17 hours.
Normally the count is at the beginning of May, but due to heavy rainfall this year they had to postpone to the 31st, because that was the first full moon after the 2nd of May, and also the last occasion before the monsoon will start.
So the 31st of May was the big day. We were dropped of on a watch tower somewhere in the Tadoba range. A nice spot, with a pond and therefore the chance on seeing many animals is bigger. I sat there with one lady from Chandrapur –teacher in environmental studies- and a guide from the Maharashtra Forest Department. The 1st hour we saw 4 chital and 1 wild boar, but he didin’t count. The 2nd hour 1 barking deer and 1 eagle, but there are too many birds, so they don’t count either, and the 3rd hour again a barking deer.
view from watch tower. drinking water 2 bandar, behind (you need good eyes :), a barking deer
While starting our 4th hour, waiting eagerly for something more spectacular to happen than bandars (monkey) jumping in and out of the trees, playing hide and seek or tack, the weather decided to change from nice and sunny in quite humid, cloudy and illuminating at times joined by a big bang. Big drops found that it was time to drop down at us, and to avoid being soaked to the bone, we sought shelter in a Hindu temple. (I have now learned that the meaning of orange is devotion). This pre-monsoon weather liked hanging around for a big part of the evening and the count had, yet again, come to an early end. No nice night on the watch tower in the moonlight counting many animals and hoping for bears, tigers and leopards to pass by. Shame…
People, don't forget to check the link to My webalbum. Posting pictures goes much faster that way, so I will update in that album every now and then.
My first Indian Muslim wedding
29-05.
Well, I thought I would have something very interesting to tell you all. Last weekend I was invited to attend a wedding of the sun of Shanoo’s unce in Chandrapur. Indian weddings, for what I had heard, can be quite different and interesting, compared to a Dutch wedding. I must say, I was a little disappointed.
This Muslim wedding was from Friday till Monday. The first 2 days are for family to arrive and meet. The neighbours will leave for a few days, so all relatives have somewhere to sleep. The last preparations for the big day have to be made and much food and music is available, as long as there is no power cut. Also the mehndies are drawn on the hands of the women who like that. These are drawings with red henna and are made on your hand and arm by a friend. If, after an hour or so, the henna starts to brake your hand will have a nice red/brown pattern on it. The deeper the red colour the better, because they believe that a deep red colour means that you have and receive a lot of love. (White people most of the times will get a deeper red colour, so…J)
The 3rd day is the day of the wedding ceremony. This was held in Balarshah,, what meant that most of the relatives and friends were put up somewhere near the mosque in Balarshah for the night. The ones that lived close came the next morning.
Before the ceremony at 10.30 the groom was dressed. A long white coat/dress down to his ankles, a 5 meter fabric draped around his head, 11 kilo’s of white flowers hung around his shoulders and chest and the finishing touch, a curtain of white flowers and slingers (what looked like x-mas decorations) was tied in front of his face, so he couldn’t see. Then it was time for family and friends to, one by one, wish him all the best and put some money on a tray. The groom then was taken to the car by his father and uncles and from there on it took another 30-45 minutes to get to the mosque, which was around the corner, because every 10 meters there was a stand still so the men (and some women) could dance on very loud music.
At the mosque women and children had to wait in a separate room until the wedding ceremony got to an end and bride and groom where married. Even the mother has to witness the ceremony from the separate room. After the ceremony it was time for dinner and then go home. (Every meal is called dinner, this was lunch)
One of the things I noticed is that most of the Muslim women don’t cover their head. Some women only cover their head when praying or greeting each other and there were only a few women, who were dressed all in black with only their eyes visible.
The last day was dinner, organised by the groom’s father. This was supposed to be a big thing and everyone was expected to look their best. For the men that meant suit or new jeans and blouse. For the women that meant new saari, salwar suit or other tailor-made dress, a lot of make-up, many bangles and their own wedding jewellery plus that of their mother or grandmother.
This dinner was supposed to end with dancing, but thunder, lightning and rain decided different and most guests went for dinner and then straight home. Oh well, the bride and groom have something to look back on. I don’t think there are many Indian couples who have a foreigner on the pictures in their wedding album.
Well, I thought I would have something very interesting to tell you all. Last weekend I was invited to attend a wedding of the sun of Shanoo’s unce in Chandrapur. Indian weddings, for what I had heard, can be quite different and interesting, compared to a Dutch wedding. I must say, I was a little disappointed.
This Muslim wedding was from Friday till Monday. The first 2 days are for family to arrive and meet. The neighbours will leave for a few days, so all relatives have somewhere to sleep. The last preparations for the big day have to be made and much food and music is available, as long as there is no power cut. Also the mehndies are drawn on the hands of the women who like that. These are drawings with red henna and are made on your hand and arm by a friend. If, after an hour or so, the henna starts to brake your hand will have a nice red/brown pattern on it. The deeper the red colour the better, because they believe that a deep red colour means that you have and receive a lot of love. (White people most of the times will get a deeper red colour, so…J)
The 3rd day is the day of the wedding ceremony. This was held in Balarshah,, what meant that most of the relatives and friends were put up somewhere near the mosque in Balarshah for the night. The ones that lived close came the next morning.
Before the ceremony at 10.30 the groom was dressed. A long white coat/dress down to his ankles, a 5 meter fabric draped around his head, 11 kilo’s of white flowers hung around his shoulders and chest and the finishing touch, a curtain of white flowers and slingers (what looked like x-mas decorations) was tied in front of his face, so he couldn’t see. Then it was time for family and friends to, one by one, wish him all the best and put some money on a tray. The groom then was taken to the car by his father and uncles and from there on it took another 30-45 minutes to get to the mosque, which was around the corner, because every 10 meters there was a stand still so the men (and some women) could dance on very loud music.
At the mosque women and children had to wait in a separate room until the wedding ceremony got to an end and bride and groom where married. Even the mother has to witness the ceremony from the separate room. After the ceremony it was time for dinner and then go home. (Every meal is called dinner, this was lunch)
One of the things I noticed is that most of the Muslim women don’t cover their head. Some women only cover their head when praying or greeting each other and there were only a few women, who were dressed all in black with only their eyes visible.
The last day was dinner, organised by the groom’s father. This was supposed to be a big thing and everyone was expected to look their best. For the men that meant suit or new jeans and blouse. For the women that meant new saari, salwar suit or other tailor-made dress, a lot of make-up, many bangles and their own wedding jewellery plus that of their mother or grandmother.
This dinner was supposed to end with dancing, but thunder, lightning and rain decided different and most guests went for dinner and then straight home. Oh well, the bride and groom have something to look back on. I don’t think there are many Indian couples who have a foreigner on the pictures in their wedding album.
Saturday, May 19, 2007
In the jungle the mighty jungle, the tiger sleeps tonight.....
If you want the tiger to find you.....
Sing as loud as you can
Wear bright colours
Use lots of perfume
Make sure you get out of the car and walk through the bush
If you don’t want the tiger to find you…
Make sure you do the opposite (see points mentioned above)
It is possible that it’s not the tiger that finds you, but a bear… good luck!
Thursday 17 May
Namashkar to you all!
I said that Ramrao was supposed to come back on Sunday in my last update. Well he didn’t He showed up yesterday afternoon. So yesterday he could cook me dinner again and this morning I had a cup of tea at the Chital Shed again, since a week.
The rest of the week has been busy. Sunday and Monday worked out which activities are good for the lesson programme. Now I have to put it all in the computer, so Claudia can have a first look at it, before I start training the guys.
Tuesday Sunil, Shanoo, Samir and I went to Nagpur. That’s about 2.5 hours drive from Tadoba and I can tell you, comfortable is a word not known in India when you go from place to place in any vehicle. The roads are full of holes, there is a true sound pollution when you meet other traffic, since everyone feels that they should let you know they are there…, the heat causes for the smog to hang about in the city, and so fresh air is something different… It is quite an experience going to the city when you stayed in quiet Tadoba for a week. It feels that I have already been there much longer than that. Next week I am gone only tree weeks, but if you would tell me it is 2 months I would also believe you.
In Nagpur, which the lonely planet states as a clean city, I found that there where some very smelly places. It’s true that it looks kind of clean when you compare it to Delhi (also had some very smelly streets). Besides going to the market, getting fabric for the handicraft project, visit someone Samir knows (and the wildlife photographer form Calcutta Mr. Nihili if I am correct, was there too) and visiting Mr. Majumdar (PCCF Maharashtra Forest Department), I didn’t see many interesting sites to visit.
Mr. Majumdar was very nice. He speaks English using sentences that flow.. So nice to be able to understand what someone is saying without having to put your brain in overdrive to work out what someone means. I must say that this is getting easier too, only I have to watch out that I don’t talk back in the same way.
It was a long day. Up at 5.30, back from Nagpur at 22.30 and the heat makes you so tired. The people here normally take a rest between 12 and 3 pm, but there was no time to do so.. The nice thing from coming back this late is that I had my 2nd night safari. Sitting in the back of the gypsy watching the sky full of stars.. it’s too bad we did only see Sambar and rabbits this time. We did see tiger tracks on the in the morning, but no tiger..
Today Samir, Ramrao and me went to Nagpur to pick up my gas cylinder. Finally I can cook a meal myself. Just didn’t fancy cooking on wood, because I can see myself burning the forest down… I look forward to cook a meal with more vegetables than rice…
In the evening, Sumera knocked on my door, to ask if I wanted to come with her and Samir on Jungle round. Not a problem!! So the 2nd official jungle round for me, with enough light to see animals….Beautiful pictures again and ….on the way back, all of a sudden Samir saw something in the grass….YES my 1st tiger!!!! I am sorry to say that, since it was sunset and al, my picture of the tiger is a bit of a black greenish blur.. Shame.. By the time I had my camera setting right the tiger had disappeared in the grass of course, so for my first tiger picture you will have to wait till I see my 2nd tiger..
Next on the list, the leopard or cheetah.
Indian Buffelo
You might be wondering what some of the animals are and what the park looks like and so on. I do have taken pictures, the problem is that it takes a long time to upload them. India internet is not as fast as I am used to. I will try to put some pictures in my web album, but no promises.
Tata!
Sing as loud as you can
Wear bright colours
Use lots of perfume
Make sure you get out of the car and walk through the bush
If you don’t want the tiger to find you…
Make sure you do the opposite (see points mentioned above)
It is possible that it’s not the tiger that finds you, but a bear… good luck!
Thursday 17 May
Namashkar to you all!
I said that Ramrao was supposed to come back on Sunday in my last update. Well he didn’t He showed up yesterday afternoon. So yesterday he could cook me dinner again and this morning I had a cup of tea at the Chital Shed again, since a week.
The rest of the week has been busy. Sunday and Monday worked out which activities are good for the lesson programme. Now I have to put it all in the computer, so Claudia can have a first look at it, before I start training the guys.
Tuesday Sunil, Shanoo, Samir and I went to Nagpur. That’s about 2.5 hours drive from Tadoba and I can tell you, comfortable is a word not known in India when you go from place to place in any vehicle. The roads are full of holes, there is a true sound pollution when you meet other traffic, since everyone feels that they should let you know they are there…, the heat causes for the smog to hang about in the city, and so fresh air is something different… It is quite an experience going to the city when you stayed in quiet Tadoba for a week. It feels that I have already been there much longer than that. Next week I am gone only tree weeks, but if you would tell me it is 2 months I would also believe you.
In Nagpur, which the lonely planet states as a clean city, I found that there where some very smelly places. It’s true that it looks kind of clean when you compare it to Delhi (also had some very smelly streets). Besides going to the market, getting fabric for the handicraft project, visit someone Samir knows (and the wildlife photographer form Calcutta Mr. Nihili if I am correct, was there too) and visiting Mr. Majumdar (PCCF Maharashtra Forest Department), I didn’t see many interesting sites to visit.
Mr. Majumdar was very nice. He speaks English using sentences that flow.. So nice to be able to understand what someone is saying without having to put your brain in overdrive to work out what someone means. I must say that this is getting easier too, only I have to watch out that I don’t talk back in the same way.
It was a long day. Up at 5.30, back from Nagpur at 22.30 and the heat makes you so tired. The people here normally take a rest between 12 and 3 pm, but there was no time to do so.. The nice thing from coming back this late is that I had my 2nd night safari. Sitting in the back of the gypsy watching the sky full of stars.. it’s too bad we did only see Sambar and rabbits this time. We did see tiger tracks on the in the morning, but no tiger..
Today Samir, Ramrao and me went to Nagpur to pick up my gas cylinder. Finally I can cook a meal myself. Just didn’t fancy cooking on wood, because I can see myself burning the forest down… I look forward to cook a meal with more vegetables than rice…
In the evening, Sumera knocked on my door, to ask if I wanted to come with her and Samir on Jungle round. Not a problem!! So the 2nd official jungle round for me, with enough light to see animals….Beautiful pictures again and ….on the way back, all of a sudden Samir saw something in the grass….YES my 1st tiger!!!! I am sorry to say that, since it was sunset and al, my picture of the tiger is a bit of a black greenish blur.. Shame.. By the time I had my camera setting right the tiger had disappeared in the grass of course, so for my first tiger picture you will have to wait till I see my 2nd tiger..
Next on the list, the leopard or cheetah.
Indian BuffeloYou might be wondering what some of the animals are and what the park looks like and so on. I do have taken pictures, the problem is that it takes a long time to upload them. India internet is not as fast as I am used to. I will try to put some pictures in my web album, but no promises.
Tata!
Saturday, May 12, 2007
All by myself....
Fri 11 May, TATR
Last Tuesday I have been on a jungle round with Samir. We hoped to see the mother tiger and her 2 cups, but that didn’t happen. We did see Sambar, Chital (spotted dear/bambi), sloth bear (lippen beer), wild boar (ever zwijn), Indian buffalo, crocodile and monkeys. Samir will take me again, so maybe next time.
Wednesday visited Mohurly, where the SCF Office is located. Shanoo and Sunil are the managers of the handicraft project that’s situated in this office. It was nice to have a look at how and where the ladies work. Totally different than what we are used to in the Netherlands.
The ladies where rather surprised that I am not as tall as Claudia.
Getting to Mohurli is a nice story, but getting back to Tadoba even better. The bus was supposed to leave from Tadoba at 10am. It didn’t arrive till 12, because it first had to go to a wedding. Can you imagine! Connexion doesn’t show up, without notice, because the bus is needed for a wedding…
Well in India, especially in May, that seems to be a very normal event. May is the month of weddings, and when people need a bus to drive the guests, well than other people will mot be able to go somewhere, or are late.
So we (Ramrao and me) got to Mohurli and round 4 pm we were supposed to get on the bus going back to Tadoba. It didn’t show up, not an hour later, not two hours later, just not at all. In the mean time it was warm, I was running low on water, started to get hungry and felt tired. Not a perfect combination if you have to wait for a bus, without knowing if it will come, and in the case it doesn’t show, what to do?? Luckily the elephants that live in the Mohurly side of the park got their dinner, so I watched them eat. Next time I will ask if I may feed them a rice-cone. This time I decided not too, because you should safe some experiences for later…
Ramrao assured me that we would get back, since more people who needed to be back in Tadoba would be picked up later from Mohurli. Good to know. To do something about me feeling hungry, we had dinner with Ramrao’s oldest brother, who is gatekeeper at Mohurli gate from 12 midnight till 8 am. The dahl I had there was really nice. Not too strong with chilli, but some nutty taste, which I really liked.
Round 8.30 pm Samir came to pick us up in the gypsy. We then picked up his father and an other Tadoba person from Mohurli bus stop and drove on, through some villages to a very colourful house to get some petrol. The men all had some sweets, which looked really strange to me. Like dough balls, with green and orange bits in it. From here we drove to a gate on the other side of Tadoba and from there on was my 1st night safari… Spectacular, even though you don’t see many animals, I did see an owl and a mongoose (grond eekhoorn).
Yesterday was the first big thunderstorm. Rain comes down pouring, like a swimming pool is turned upside down. It was nice, but also a bit scary, since the thunder was really loud too.
Ramrao, Anusia and Komol, left in the afternoon to go to their village. Ramrao will be back Sunday, so I will have a couple of days on my own. It’s good, since I got a bit nervous with someone being around me all day, follows every move you make and is so curious that he doesn’t think that maybe some things are not meant for him to read. That might be a culture difference too. Here everyone shares and lives together and I am used to have a lot of privacy back home…
Last Tuesday I have been on a jungle round with Samir. We hoped to see the mother tiger and her 2 cups, but that didn’t happen. We did see Sambar, Chital (spotted dear/bambi), sloth bear (lippen beer), wild boar (ever zwijn), Indian buffalo, crocodile and monkeys. Samir will take me again, so maybe next time.
Wednesday visited Mohurly, where the SCF Office is located. Shanoo and Sunil are the managers of the handicraft project that’s situated in this office. It was nice to have a look at how and where the ladies work. Totally different than what we are used to in the Netherlands.
The ladies where rather surprised that I am not as tall as Claudia.
Getting to Mohurli is a nice story, but getting back to Tadoba even better. The bus was supposed to leave from Tadoba at 10am. It didn’t arrive till 12, because it first had to go to a wedding. Can you imagine! Connexion doesn’t show up, without notice, because the bus is needed for a wedding…
Well in India, especially in May, that seems to be a very normal event. May is the month of weddings, and when people need a bus to drive the guests, well than other people will mot be able to go somewhere, or are late.
So we (Ramrao and me) got to Mohurli and round 4 pm we were supposed to get on the bus going back to Tadoba. It didn’t show up, not an hour later, not two hours later, just not at all. In the mean time it was warm, I was running low on water, started to get hungry and felt tired. Not a perfect combination if you have to wait for a bus, without knowing if it will come, and in the case it doesn’t show, what to do?? Luckily the elephants that live in the Mohurly side of the park got their dinner, so I watched them eat. Next time I will ask if I may feed them a rice-cone. This time I decided not too, because you should safe some experiences for later…
Ramrao assured me that we would get back, since more people who needed to be back in Tadoba would be picked up later from Mohurli. Good to know. To do something about me feeling hungry, we had dinner with Ramrao’s oldest brother, who is gatekeeper at Mohurli gate from 12 midnight till 8 am. The dahl I had there was really nice. Not too strong with chilli, but some nutty taste, which I really liked.
Round 8.30 pm Samir came to pick us up in the gypsy. We then picked up his father and an other Tadoba person from Mohurli bus stop and drove on, through some villages to a very colourful house to get some petrol. The men all had some sweets, which looked really strange to me. Like dough balls, with green and orange bits in it. From here we drove to a gate on the other side of Tadoba and from there on was my 1st night safari… Spectacular, even though you don’t see many animals, I did see an owl and a mongoose (grond eekhoorn).
Yesterday was the first big thunderstorm. Rain comes down pouring, like a swimming pool is turned upside down. It was nice, but also a bit scary, since the thunder was really loud too.
Ramrao, Anusia and Komol, left in the afternoon to go to their village. Ramrao will be back Sunday, so I will have a couple of days on my own. It’s good, since I got a bit nervous with someone being around me all day, follows every move you make and is so curious that he doesn’t think that maybe some things are not meant for him to read. That might be a culture difference too. Here everyone shares and lives together and I am used to have a lot of privacy back home…
What a journey
It’s Monday the 7th in TATR
Thursday last week, I left Delhi on the AP Express first tier. An excellent train to travel a long journey, except for the many stops, of which I have no idea what they are good for and the really bumpy ride…ah and the thing that I got sick during the night. After say 21 hours I arrived at Balarshah station. That’s near Chandrapur. Some guy from the train was supposed to tell me where to get of, but he obviously didn’t. I did see the sign Chandrapur before, figured out that the next stop would probably be me and decided to get ready. One man who was in my carriage helped me with the door, since I didn’t know how it worked, and he waited until he saw Sunil, Samir and Ramrao, who came to pick me up. I thought that was really nice.
Next was dinner at Shanoo and Sunil’s place, have some chai (very milky tea with ginger) and rest a bit. After that, time to get some shopping done and go to Tadoba. With 5 people and lots of bags in the Gypsy we drove to my ghar in Tadoba.
My bed is normal height, only consisting of wooden planks ad a mattress on top of that of only 2,5 cm thick. I don’t know what’s in the mattress, but it’s almost as if you sleep on the floor. Had a sore neck the first time I woke up.
The shower is nothing more than 2 buckets of water and the toilet is like a hole in the ground. In the room I have a table and a cabinet for storage of my things. There is a van to keep the air flowing. A real necessity, since after 8.30 am, it gets really humid, with temperatures round 46-48oC.
Yesterday, Ramrao and I started translating the lesson notes from Marathi to English. It’s not always easy to understand each other, since the words and letters are pronounced different than what I am used to, and visa versa. I don’t speak English like Claudia does.
In the afternoon I decided that I wanted to see something of the park. It’s nice to sit at the house, but a bit boring… So we went down to the vip guesthouse, had a little stroll and did see a spotted deer, golden back woodpecker, giant squirrel, butterflies and finally also a crocodile.. First he was in the water, but when Ramrao came closer the croc decided to come out…I have to admit, I was a little frightened at that moment, since my lack of experience with crocs and the sign saying: “Swimming prohibited. Survivors will be prosecuted.”
In the evening Ramrao made me dinner. His wife, Anusia, was supposed to come, but she didn’t show up, because there was a wedding in her village. Maybe she will come today, if not, Ramrao will have to be my cook again. He knows not to use too much chilli, because my stomach gets upset with that. Dahl and rice (bath) are not a problem..
Well, I guess I will need a bit more time to get used to the Indian way of living. I am looking forward to the end of this month, because there is a good chance that the rain season will start. Temperatures will drop till 30oC, and that sounds nice to me. Only the snakes….
Thursday last week, I left Delhi on the AP Express first tier. An excellent train to travel a long journey, except for the many stops, of which I have no idea what they are good for and the really bumpy ride…ah and the thing that I got sick during the night. After say 21 hours I arrived at Balarshah station. That’s near Chandrapur. Some guy from the train was supposed to tell me where to get of, but he obviously didn’t. I did see the sign Chandrapur before, figured out that the next stop would probably be me and decided to get ready. One man who was in my carriage helped me with the door, since I didn’t know how it worked, and he waited until he saw Sunil, Samir and Ramrao, who came to pick me up. I thought that was really nice.
Next was dinner at Shanoo and Sunil’s place, have some chai (very milky tea with ginger) and rest a bit. After that, time to get some shopping done and go to Tadoba. With 5 people and lots of bags in the Gypsy we drove to my ghar in Tadoba.
My bed is normal height, only consisting of wooden planks ad a mattress on top of that of only 2,5 cm thick. I don’t know what’s in the mattress, but it’s almost as if you sleep on the floor. Had a sore neck the first time I woke up.
The shower is nothing more than 2 buckets of water and the toilet is like a hole in the ground. In the room I have a table and a cabinet for storage of my things. There is a van to keep the air flowing. A real necessity, since after 8.30 am, it gets really humid, with temperatures round 46-48oC.
Yesterday, Ramrao and I started translating the lesson notes from Marathi to English. It’s not always easy to understand each other, since the words and letters are pronounced different than what I am used to, and visa versa. I don’t speak English like Claudia does.
In the afternoon I decided that I wanted to see something of the park. It’s nice to sit at the house, but a bit boring… So we went down to the vip guesthouse, had a little stroll and did see a spotted deer, golden back woodpecker, giant squirrel, butterflies and finally also a crocodile.. First he was in the water, but when Ramrao came closer the croc decided to come out…I have to admit, I was a little frightened at that moment, since my lack of experience with crocs and the sign saying: “Swimming prohibited. Survivors will be prosecuted.”
In the evening Ramrao made me dinner. His wife, Anusia, was supposed to come, but she didn’t show up, because there was a wedding in her village. Maybe she will come today, if not, Ramrao will have to be my cook again. He knows not to use too much chilli, because my stomach gets upset with that. Dahl and rice (bath) are not a problem..
Well, I guess I will need a bit more time to get used to the Indian way of living. I am looking forward to the end of this month, because there is a good chance that the rain season will start. Temperatures will drop till 30oC, and that sounds nice to me. Only the snakes….
Hello from India!
I flew out of the Netherlands last Tuesday morning and arrived in India, New delhi Thursday night. The flight was ok, the films could have been better, the food was good for an airplane meal.
At Delhi airport Pintu was waiting to pick me up and bring me to the hotel where I would stay the first 2 nights. The first 2 days Pintu would be my guide and show me around Delhi. Not only nice sights that were shown, also expensive tourist shops, since taxi drivers get some money for bringing tourists to the shops and a higher percentage if the tourist also buy something. Pintu told me not to buy anything, and I did fine in the first 3 shops, but the 4th one I could not resist. Most likely paid a little too much, but I did bargain and got the price down from what it used to be.
These salesmen are really good at their job. A salesman in the Netherlands is a piece of cake to resist compare to these guys over here.
My first impression was not a bad one. I expected much more traffic, honking horns, and whatever you could think of to be there. The best thing was rain on Wednesday, since that made this day a much nicer day to be out and do something. Thursday was hot and humid again, around 43oC or so.. I don’t want to live in Delhi, but it’s ok to stay a couple of days. Just don’t look around to see all the dirt, try to look at the beauty of it all and enjoy the relaxed attitude, instead of the nasty habits that Indians have to tell other people to fuck off in Hindi..
At Delhi airport Pintu was waiting to pick me up and bring me to the hotel where I would stay the first 2 nights. The first 2 days Pintu would be my guide and show me around Delhi. Not only nice sights that were shown, also expensive tourist shops, since taxi drivers get some money for bringing tourists to the shops and a higher percentage if the tourist also buy something. Pintu told me not to buy anything, and I did fine in the first 3 shops, but the 4th one I could not resist. Most likely paid a little too much, but I did bargain and got the price down from what it used to be.
These salesmen are really good at their job. A salesman in the Netherlands is a piece of cake to resist compare to these guys over here.
My first impression was not a bad one. I expected much more traffic, honking horns, and whatever you could think of to be there. The best thing was rain on Wednesday, since that made this day a much nicer day to be out and do something. Thursday was hot and humid again, around 43oC or so.. I don’t want to live in Delhi, but it’s ok to stay a couple of days. Just don’t look around to see all the dirt, try to look at the beauty of it all and enjoy the relaxed attitude, instead of the nasty habits that Indians have to tell other people to fuck off in Hindi..
Thursday, April 19, 2007
Finished with school
Now I only have to prepare myself for what is to come..
The weather, nice, sunny and too hot for the time of the year, temp lies between 15 and 28 degrees, does help me to get in the mood. I am great full for these temperatures, since India will be even hotter with temperatures around 40 degrees.
I went to Safari park Beekse Bergen a few weeks ago, to get in the mood and try my camera. That’s something you better do before you leave I guess. Nice pictures and nice safari… although animals don’t walk around outside their fenced cages or gardens or whatever you like to call them.
This cute fellow I will not see in India, but the sloth bear lives in the park….
I just saw part of a documentary about India and the dangers of the wildlife. A sloth bear is very strong and has nasty claws, furthermore he is unpredictable, and scares away tigers.. Don’t know who I favour to run into…neither when they are hunting I would say, haha.
Well still counting the days. 2 more weekends to go and then…I can tell you about my adventures in India instead of dreaming about India while being at home in the Netherlands.
The weather, nice, sunny and too hot for the time of the year, temp lies between 15 and 28 degrees, does help me to get in the mood. I am great full for these temperatures, since India will be even hotter with temperatures around 40 degrees.
I went to Safari park Beekse Bergen a few weeks ago, to get in the mood and try my camera. That’s something you better do before you leave I guess. Nice pictures and nice safari… although animals don’t walk around outside their fenced cages or gardens or whatever you like to call them.
This cute fellow I will not see in India, but the sloth bear lives in the park….
I just saw part of a documentary about India and the dangers of the wildlife. A sloth bear is very strong and has nasty claws, furthermore he is unpredictable, and scares away tigers.. Don’t know who I favour to run into…neither when they are hunting I would say, haha.
Well still counting the days. 2 more weekends to go and then…I can tell you about my adventures in India instead of dreaming about India while being at home in the Netherlands.
Tuesday, April 10, 2007
Counting the days
Well it's April now, so time to add a new post.
I am busy finishing up the last bits of schoolwork for this year in the Netherlands. A couple of exams and assignments to do and than finish packing. My backpack is ready filled, so I can''t forget anything and my house is occupied with moving-boxes.
The last week I hope to have some time to say goodbye to some people. There are more people I like to say goodbye, than there is time, which causes a little problem. Yeah, time....I will have plenty of that in India, since I have no internet access in the reserve and watching telly might not be all that interesting to me. Language problems mainly.
Comming closer to my departure I start to wonder about little things that are different over there. What vegetables do they have? Do Indians use much cummin seeds and other herbs I'm not fund of. How hot will over 40 degrees feel, specially when it gets very humid. I do have some experience with heat (above 40 in Perth) and humidity (Brisbane, Singapore), but maybe this is different.. What clothes shall I wear and, will I be able to learn to negotiate about prices on the market... I'm not so good at it over here...
Oh well, all these things, I guess I will find out soon enough! I'll keep counting the days, and try not to get stressed because I still have so much to do over here. Next time I'll update my blog from India.
By the way, I've added a link to other placements of fellow RD&I students. They will leave somewhere in May, and it might be nice to have a look at their blog too, just to get an idea of how diverse Rural Development can be.
I am busy finishing up the last bits of schoolwork for this year in the Netherlands. A couple of exams and assignments to do and than finish packing. My backpack is ready filled, so I can''t forget anything and my house is occupied with moving-boxes.
The last week I hope to have some time to say goodbye to some people. There are more people I like to say goodbye, than there is time, which causes a little problem. Yeah, time....I will have plenty of that in India, since I have no internet access in the reserve and watching telly might not be all that interesting to me. Language problems mainly.
Comming closer to my departure I start to wonder about little things that are different over there. What vegetables do they have? Do Indians use much cummin seeds and other herbs I'm not fund of. How hot will over 40 degrees feel, specially when it gets very humid. I do have some experience with heat (above 40 in Perth) and humidity (Brisbane, Singapore), but maybe this is different.. What clothes shall I wear and, will I be able to learn to negotiate about prices on the market... I'm not so good at it over here...
Oh well, all these things, I guess I will find out soon enough! I'll keep counting the days, and try not to get stressed because I still have so much to do over here. Next time I'll update my blog from India.
By the way, I've added a link to other placements of fellow RD&I students. They will leave somewhere in May, and it might be nice to have a look at their blog too, just to get an idea of how diverse Rural Development can be.
Friday, February 23, 2007
Flight is booked!!
It's all arranged. I am flying out on the 1st of May and will not return till the end of September.
Yep, India, here I come!!!:D
I have visited Claudia to find out what she can organize for me, what I have to think of to take with me, what things I have to take into account when I am there, etc. It was a very informative evening and made me and Claudia excited about the 5 months coming that I will spend in TATR. Ofcourse, not everything is nice. There are some snakes, scorpions and other creepy crawlies, but hey that's life in a rural area.
The house
In the park there are many animals to be found like Tigers, Leopards, Deer, Crocodiles, Elephants, Bears and so on. My house for 5 months will be on a hill with view on the Tadoba lake, beautiful scenery....what else could someone wish for... i am warned for termites, so I am not to put anything that termites eat against the walls of my house.
Yep, India, here I come!!!:D
I have visited Claudia to find out what she can organize for me, what I have to think of to take with me, what things I have to take into account when I am there, etc. It was a very informative evening and made me and Claudia excited about the 5 months coming that I will spend in TATR. Ofcourse, not everything is nice. There are some snakes, scorpions and other creepy crawlies, but hey that's life in a rural area.
The house
In the park there are many animals to be found like Tigers, Leopards, Deer, Crocodiles, Elephants, Bears and so on. My house for 5 months will be on a hill with view on the Tadoba lake, beautiful scenery....what else could someone wish for... i am warned for termites, so I am not to put anything that termites eat against the walls of my house.
My neigbours :D (foto's by Paul and Claudia, SCFIndia)
Friday, February 9, 2007
Tigers, here I come....
Well, there have been some complications, but they are solved now. School approved and I can do my practical placement in India with the tigers and communities that live in and round the reserve. I am well happy about this, and look forward to this experience.
I spoke to Claudia and she told me that my room will be in the reserve and has a great view on the lake. I added this picture, but can't say if it's the lake or just a lake in the reserve.
What a great view!
Have found some links to the tiger reserve, feel free to have a look and inform yourself on where I will stay 5 months, from May-September :D
I spoke to Claudia and she told me that my room will be in the reserve and has a great view on the lake. I added this picture, but can't say if it's the lake or just a lake in the reserve.
What a great view!
Have found some links to the tiger reserve, feel free to have a look and inform yourself on where I will stay 5 months, from May-September :D
Wednesday, January 24, 2007
News from Claudia
Well, it took me by surprise to receive a call from Claudia. She is in India at this moment and saturday she will have a chat with the forrest department in Tadoba. She will ask if I can do my practical placement with that organization. I so hope that that will work out, since then there are no arguments from school against me going there, working on the education project or a project about land use.
Even so, I don't stop shopping around on the net. I found some websites with lots of NGO's in all countries and I will surely send most of them an email. Just to make sure, since you never know what help they can be to me this year or next year.
Right that's that for today. I will keep you informed about all the new developments :)
Even so, I don't stop shopping around on the net. I found some websites with lots of NGO's in all countries and I will surely send most of them an email. Just to make sure, since you never know what help they can be to me this year or next year.
Right that's that for today. I will keep you informed about all the new developments :)
Monday, January 22, 2007
No tigers
Well, it has been a while. I know a blog is supposed to be a bit like your diary. I'm doing quite well then, since my diary was written in maybe 4 times a year :)
Ok, lets get you all up to date.
I thought I had this practical placement sorted, now this is not the case anymore. My placement coordinator wasn't too happy about the lack of guidence I would receive. Also the organization is very small and only just started, so he wasn't sure if this would be an environment where I could learn all the skills I am supposed to learn. To make a long story short, I am not going to have my placement with SCFIndia.
The next question is, where will I have my placement. That I don't know yet. I'm active searching the web for organizations that have anything to do with sustainable tourism, community development, business development, micro financing, and conservation issues combined with transfer of knowledge/education. This means organizations like Unicef, WWF, CAMAT, Uniek Curacao, etc., have been sent my application letter and resumé, and now I wait for them to respond... It's not nice sitting and waiting, that's for sure.
That's it for today. I better get busy searching for more opportunities for my placement.
All ideas are welcome, as long as the project I can join is out of Europe.
Ok, lets get you all up to date.
I thought I had this practical placement sorted, now this is not the case anymore. My placement coordinator wasn't too happy about the lack of guidence I would receive. Also the organization is very small and only just started, so he wasn't sure if this would be an environment where I could learn all the skills I am supposed to learn. To make a long story short, I am not going to have my placement with SCFIndia.
The next question is, where will I have my placement. That I don't know yet. I'm active searching the web for organizations that have anything to do with sustainable tourism, community development, business development, micro financing, and conservation issues combined with transfer of knowledge/education. This means organizations like Unicef, WWF, CAMAT, Uniek Curacao, etc., have been sent my application letter and resumé, and now I wait for them to respond... It's not nice sitting and waiting, that's for sure.
That's it for today. I better get busy searching for more opportunities for my placement.
All ideas are welcome, as long as the project I can join is out of Europe.
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