(Cor) Cleanliness

Boy, that's a problem. Generally, people's sense of hygiene is very different. People will throw anything, anywhere. Not a thought is wasted on dropping paper, plastic, or any kind of trash anywhere. You see cars that pitch paper bags, candy bar wrappers out of the window all the time. Pedestrians do the same. Some people do not pay for trash pick up, instead they drop it out of the window on the way to work.

Ok, that's a huge eye sore. But does not necessarily affect your own health unless you have to walk through it (many people walk from place to place, but of course we're in our car most of the time).

But more dangerously is personal hygiene. For example servants will use the same rag they use in the bathroom in the kitchen. You have to tell them all the time to wash their hands after cleaning the bathrooms. Not to mix sponges used for cleaning on the food. Not to use food that has fallen (on the dirty) floor. Not to sneeze on the food. And then of course they don't use toilet paper here, so use your imagination.

No wonder so many people fall ill with stomach trouble. For poor people this can mean death (de-hydration), for people more well off, it means feeling very crappy for a few days. So many times we hear in the neighborhood that someone has fallen ill due to stomach upset. A couple of months ago one of Rohan's friends was sick for 3 weeks, had some 20+ injections, because of something he ate at a candy shop. He lost 20 pounds.

Today Simone is sick with a bad stomach, but we have no idea where she got it from. We try our best to be as hygienic as possible, but when 99% of the people don't follow the same rules, you can get it fomr just about anywhere.

(Cor) Holi.

Yesterday we celebrated "Holi" a festival where everybody throws colors on everybody else.

Sorry but I don't know the significance of it, perhaps Swagata will explain.


But it's pretty much mahem, as you take this colored powder (yellow, read, blue) and just put it people's hair, clothes, face, anywhere. Then add water guns and you can pretty much imagine what it looks like.


Kids love it and yesterday the adults got involved too. I was the last one to (forcibly) submit.


Then, like every "real" Indian get together, a good meal was served.

(Cor) Justice? Talibanisation in India.

Last weekend a party was being held at a farm house in a rural area of Bangalore. Over 100 youths attended. By all accounts no drugs were present, just alcohol and loud music. Neighbors complained after some time and the police showed up. This is where it got bad. The police alleged that it was a "rave" party and instead of just breaking up the party and telling everyone to go home, and perhaps fining the organizers, the police arrested everybody! This is the same police that will often refuse to file a report when other crimes are committed, the same police that will witness a family getting beaten up over a traffic accident and do nothing (as was reported this morning in the paper).

Today is Wednesday and some of the kids are still in jail. Bail was set at Rs20,000 ($400) but some had a hard time raising that money. And even when they did, the police came up with excuses (papers were filed too late, names were written down wrong or whatever). Yesterday was a holiday, so nothing was done either. So you have up to 100 kids in jail (and jail is NOT a nice place here), they are not allowed to see their relatives, get (perhaps) one meal per day (which you may not want to eat anyway), being treated like criminals. One girls suffers from asthma and needs medication, but her brother is not allowed to give it to her. Apparently she is unconscious.

Why? Well there is an increase in "Hindu Nationalism", which is similar to the Islam Taliban - although not nearly as radical (yet?). A couple of months a go a half dozen girls got beaten up by boys for visiting a pub - it is supposedly against "Hindu" culture. Then there are many reports about girls being bothered (yelled at, and even beaten) for wearing indecent clothes (spaghetti strap tops or jeans are 'indecent' in the eye of these people), or whatever. Many times the police does not do anything. And all this is supported by some political parties - although not overtly.

It makes me realize the dangers lurking all around us here - while we live our nicely isolated and protected lives here in Ferns Residency.

Or are we safe and protected .....?

(Cor) The "size" of our lives

How small our lives are here:

We relish the fact that we have found a fruit cake that we like at a local bakery. We eat it all the time and find great satisfaction in it.

(Cor) Are we safe?

What a world we live in.

American corporate greed has taken a big chunk out of our investments, greedy banks and lenders have depreciated our real estate holdings and here in India our personal belongings are at risk of theft.

Is there any place to hide?