Farewell to MCC

Tonight is our last night on MCC's campus..... :(  For the next four weeks we will be touring India going to Kerala, Goa, and then finally reaching Delhi.  I am very excited about being in a constant state of travel and getting to see such different areas of India.  However, I will miss MCC and this 'home' away from home.  Here are a few things that I will miss about Madras Christian College:

-The Porch!  If you want to hang out and relax this is where you go.  It is the communal area of the International Guest House (where we have been staying at MCC) where everyone goes to sit and hang out.  I will miss morning coffee and newspaper time where I worked on my Sudoku and Word Jumble skills.  I often was one of the first people out here in the morning so it was very peaceful to wake up and enjoy the quiet of campus.  I really am going to miss this porch. 

-Yoga.  Speaking of getting up early,  our group had the option of attending yoga classes while we were at MCC.  This sounded like an awesome idea for most of our class, but the only drawback was that these classes were at 6:30am.  A lot of us showed up for the first class but then slowly our group diminished as people opted for the extra sleep time.  I was determined to attend all of the 10 classes they had arranged and I was able do this, along with 2 other group members.  It was quite hard to get up on some of the mornings but you felt so great and refreshing afterwards that it was worth it.  However, I'm not going to miss waking up that early.

-the Food!  The chef at the IGH (International Guest House) was amazing.  I don't think there was ever a meal I did not enjoy.  They were also very good about gradually introducing us to higher and higher spice levels. SO much good food was consumed here

-The staff here that have been so amazing to us.  Any little need or concern that we have they would help work it out.  They were so nice even if they didn't speak the best English.  They were so great and accomodating.  They really made MCC a home for us, something that will be hard to leave behind.

Those are only some of the things I will miss here at MCC.  I could go on and on but our flight to Kerala leaves early so we have to leave here at 4:30am which is only 6 hours from now.  So with that, I will say farewell.  I will have very limited internet access until I return to the United States in about a month so if you are trying to contact me and I don't respond that is why. I will try to blog when/if I can! 

Academic Blog: Water Issues in India

Water is a resource that has caused India a lot of stress in its long history. Everything from water quality to availability makes it a challenge for India to provide acceptable water to its people. In our time here I have listened to many lectures about the water issues facing India and have also been able to witness them first hand.

Before one can talk about water quality issues, there has to be water available for this to be a problem. India has long been a country that has struggled to meet its water demands. In fact, over the last few decades there has always been a t least one state that has been labeled as suffering through a draught. India’s rainfall patterns are quite unusual in that they depend on the monsoon season to meet their water requirements. In other words, India will go many months without getting any rains at all and then when the monsoon comes the areas will endure a downpour of rain for a few months that consists of most of their annual rainfall. These rain trends require the nation to have sufficient water management policies in order for the water to last through the year. If India is not careful with monitoring the water resources this could cause severe water shortages throughout India. Another practice that contributes to the scarcity of water in India includes irrigation techniques that place significant stress on the groundwater supply. Irrigation is one of the most water intensive processes and India is a largely agricultural country, considering these two factors one can see that the amount of irrigation in India compromises the amount of water available to the people if not monitored properly. India is not a country that receives constant rainfall throughout the year and is prone to draught if monsoon rains do not come to a region. This makes it crucial for the country to be able to store water in reservoirs when rains are plenty, as is the case in Chennai at the moment, and to practice frugality when there are draught conditions.

One of the other major problems that India faces right now is with water quality and sanitation. This is something that we have experienced and witnessed firsthand while being in India. While walking on the streets we have seen streams and other water bodies that have been contaminated by trash, sewage, animals, and other various pollutants I am sure. Also, as foreigners we have had to be conscience about what water sources that our drinking water comes from. We cannot assume that the water is properly sanitized so bottled water at restaurants is a must and we cannot consume ice anywhere, a big contrast to the United States.

Water pollution comes from a variety of sources. In cities, the lack of a sufficient waste management system contributes to pollution. There are hardly any trash cans around and often open sewage areas that are not blocked off in any way so pollutants can migrate into the water supply and make it harder for people to obtain clean water. As India has grown in recent years, urbanization has significantly contributed to water pollution in India. There are industries now that are located near bodies of water that release effluents into water bodies that as a result contaminate drinking water. Also, sedimentation of rivers and other water bodies is another challenge that India’s water sources face. This sedimentation changes the flow and decreases the biodiversity of affected water bodies as well as makes it more difficult for people to use as a clean water source. In more rural areas, the effects of fertilizers that are being used for agricultural production have led to nitrogen and phosphorous excesses not only on the surface where they are sprayed, but in the groundwater as well. This is a huge problem that will most likely get worse as the consequences of this pollution become more problematic as people begin to be impacted by these fertilizers. This, coupled with the fact that fertilizer use does not seem to be diminishing at any point in the near future, does not bode well for the safety of the water sources not only in India but throughout the world. All of these contaminants are contributing to the polluted water supplies in India, something that if not monitored properly will continue to cause problems for the nation.

India’s efforts to provide safe water to its population have not been insignificant. They have built many dams, large and small and have even suggested projects that would connect the Himalayan Rivers so as to provide more water to its people. They have also passed many laws and policies regarding the management and sanitation of water supplies. However, their problems lie in the implementation and enforcement of such policies. India needs to have better enforcement of its water protection policies in order to ensure the quality and availability of their water supply for the future.

Academic Blog: Narmada Valley Dam Project

               India faces a number of environmental challenges as it continues to grow and develop.  Some of the major problems that India is continually battling are water shortages and energy shortages.  One of the ways that India has looked into rectifying both of these issues throughout their history is through the development and building of hydroelectric power dams.  One such of these projects was called the Narmada Valley Dam Project, a now infamous project in India that resulted in many citizens protesting because of the adverse effects it would have on their lives, homes, and ecology of the area.

                The details of this project included the construction of 3,200 dams, both large and small, all along the Narmada River.  This river flows through three states in northern India; Madhya Pradesh, Maharastra and Gujarat. This had long been a discussed idea for this river, but it wasn’t until 1987 when the World Bank sanctioned a 450 million dollar loan to begin construction on the largest dam of the project, the Sardar Sarovar, that significant construction began.  This dam was proposed to be 136.5 meters tall and was projected to provide irrigation to 1.8 million hectares as well as provide drinking water to the often draught prone areas of Kutch and Saurastra in Gujarat.  However, many people feel that these benefits were grossly exaggerated and that the detrimental impact the building this dam would have on the river’s health, sensitive ecosystems, the environment, and on people’s lives far outweighed the benefits that it may bring to the area.  The opposition to this dam increased as its construction commenced and displaced 320,000 people.  In response to the significant impact this dam has had on many people in the community and knowing that if construction continued that the number of displaced persons could reach into the millions, protest movements began to take shape. 

In 1990, the Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA) organization coordinated protest movements in the region. These were non-violent protests (satyagraha) that succeeded in getting the attention of the World Bank which caused them to review their support and loan of the project.  The bank formed the Morse Commission to evaluate the dam and the affects that it was incurring on the people and environment.  The findings of this report corroborated many of the grievances that the NBA had petitioned against the project and as a result the World Bank withdrew from the project.  India continued on with the project but following a petition from the NBA the Supreme Court suspended the project  in 1995 when it was at a height of 80.3 meters.  Despite the massive protest movement, the dam was permitted to continued its construction after a review of the project by the Supreme Court and since 1999 has been undergoing construction at a slower pace and with more regulations in order to help alleviate some of the negative impacts of the dam.  Whether or not the sacrifice made of the environment to build this dam was worth it remains up for debate.

                Learning of this controversial dam and the World Bank’s role in making the project a reality has made me consider the effectiveness of multilateral organizations like the World Bank or IMF.  These organizations promote development by granting loans to far away countries from their cozy offices in Washington, D.C.  thinking that money will solve all the problems in these far off nations.  That may be an overly dramatic and cynical statement, but I do think that a certain disconnect exists between these institutions and the local areas that their projects focus on.  I say this because this summer I worked at a company that specialized in providing consulting services promoting sustainable development in developing countries.  The projects I worked on were financed and approved by the World Bank and IMF and the next step was to ask companies like ours to go and fulfill the tasks set forth in the projects with the allotted amount of money given to the project.  Our company worked on projects that were much smaller than the Narmada Dam, but the process of how these projects go about being completed are probably very similar.  In getting familiar with these processes over the summer I realized that many of the experts that go in and offer their services on these projects do not stay there for very long.  There are of course long term professionals and local experts that are full time workers on the project, but these other experts come and go quite rapidly.  They offer advice and go on their way.  After being in India for 5 weeks I feel like this may not be the best idea.  This country is so different and has complex issues to deal with that an outsider could not possibly comprehend in a short stay to the country.  I know that personally I would not feel comfortable offering advice on a large and expensive project even after 5 weeks of being in India, but what do I know as I am not even a college graduate.  It just seems that if the people who were in charge of the Narmada Dam had paid closer attention to the environment, local communities, and people that they were about to impact that they may have not been so keen to go forth with this project.

                I believe organizations like the World Bank have the best intentions when they approve any project, but in the future it may serve them well to bridge the disconnect that exists between their headquarters and the areas their projects are targeting.  It is one thing to offer advice from far away when issues are put into nice little boxes, but in reality, the world is much more complex than that, something that I have learned day after day in India.  

Thoughts from India

I know that I have not blogged much since arriving in India, but I am going to try to correct this.  I don't even know where to start because we have done so much, experienced so much and seen so much in the 3.5 weeks that I have been here.  I guess to summarize some of what I have been up to I will make a list of random thoughts/experiences of this trip.

-I never ever ever ever ever would want to drive any sort of vehicle in India.  There is no such thing as traffic laws.  People weave in and out of traffic at will, make their own lanes, and there is no such thing as being too close to another car.  I swear that our bus magically shrinks during some parts of our drives because it shouldn't be able to fit where it does. 

-With the lack of driving rules, you can imagine how much fun crossing the street is.  You have to just start walking as oncoming traffic is bearing straight for you and hope that they get out of the way, so far they have.  This takes awhile to get used to.

-If you dont like trash, don't come to India.  I have been amazed by the amount of trash that is littering the streets.  There are always piles of trash everywhere, no public trash cans lining the streets.

-With trash, comes animals.  Because there is so much trash on the streets animals are also found in the streets.  Common sights include cows, stray dogs, goats, and wild pigs eating the trash.  Talk about a free meal.

-Bucket Baths.  Our place of residence for the first 5 weeks of our trip has been Madras Christian College where there isn't a legitmate shower in the bathroom (common throughout India).  Instead of a shower they have a bucket.  You fill this with water and bucket bath commences.  I have no problems with these, however, it is near impossible to completely wash my hair.  I can never completely wet my hair and so it is always a battle to thoroughly shampoo my hair, and then a whole other battle to rinse the shampoo. This whole process makes being clean that much more satisfying.

-Temples, temples, and more temples!  We have visited many temples so far in in India.  Many of them are painted and very colorful.  This paint is not original to the structure, but was added after their completion.  It is still old paint though.  Others are not painted and I have come to like these temples more.  I like the more natural look.  One of my favorite things about these Indian temples are that they are still used today.  Oftentimes when you visit temples or other hundreds year old strutures they are just there on display for whoever wants to see.  In India, they are active places of worship with Indians going to worship and leave offerings to various deities.  I really like seeing these temples in use. 

-Elephants! Outside of many temples there are often elephants.  They 'give' blessings to people who walk past by touching their trunk to the top of someone's head.  Then to pay them for this you put rupees (Indian currency) in their trunks, yes IN their trunks, and they jingle it around before they give it to their master.

-Speaking of Rupees, everything in India is very cheap.  One hundred Rupees is the equivalent of around 2 dollars and I hardly buy anything that is greater then 500 rupees, or 10 dollars.  One major plus of going to India on study abroad rather than Europe!

-Swimming anyone?  When we have gone on our 5 day trips (we have had 2 of these ) to various parts of India most of our dowtime when we are at our hotels in the evening is spent in the hotel's pool.  It is so hot here, although it is cooling down because the monsoon has arrived in Southeast India, that after a long day of travel and sightseeing it feels great to swim.  At our first hotel we spent an entire afternoon in a pool, I think about 4 hours total. 

-FOOD!  One of my favorite things about India.  The food here is amazing!  So many flavors and curries and spices, I could go on and on.  Some of my favorites are the classic paneer, all their breads (there is more than just Naan everyone), Gobi 65 (fried cauliflower that is the best thing you have ever tasted, take my word for it), Okra dishes, Malai Kofta (vegetable dumplings in a sauce) and so many more that I can never remember the names of.  One of my favorite desserts I have gotten was at one of our hotels and it was bana pancakes.  Essentially, sliced banana stuffed inside a crepe, so good.  They also had those available for their breakfast buffet and I took advantage of this, I know that isn't exactly an Indian dish but it was so good that it needed mentioning.  I'm slowly building up my spice tolerance, still have a LONG way to go before I can withstand 'Indian hot' though.

-Can I take your picture?  Sooo sometimes when we are traveling and our whole group is together Indian families like to come up and ask for our picture with them.  It is weird for people to be so excited to take pictures with you because you are a foreigner, or white to be more specific.  When this happens, often other families will join in the fun and ask for pictures.  This is fun most of the time, but sometimes it can be cumbersome because it makes it hard for us to walk anywhere and so it will delay us for a bit.  However, I will continue to enjoy my celebrity status in India while I am here.

-Diwali!  We were able to celebrate the Diwali holiday authentically in India (their equivalent of Christmas).  We all got dressed up in our Saris, well the girls dressed in saris, and made our way to our Professor's family's home in Chennai.  They were very welcoming and fed us amazing food and gave us a traditional Diwali experience.  We sat and enjoyed each other's company all afternoon, set off fireworks which is the thing to do on Diwali, ate like kings and queens, and relaxed.  Only complaint for the day is that saris are not as confortable as they look.  They are very tight around your waist and not easy to maneuver around in, but you do look pretty in them!

That's all I have for now, though a lot more has happened.  I'll try to keep this updated more often now.  Check out my facebook photos to see what I've been up to here:

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