Bangalore Brunette: Ganesh Festivities, Shooting Star Program, and more!

My oh my it has been a long time since I have written! Lots of funtivities at Sneha Care Home and Bangalore so I’ll give you a glimpse into a little bit of each. WARNING: This is quite a long post. So you can read it in sections (the capitalized titles) if thats easier :)

ADVENTURE WITH VEERA

What seems like ages ago now, I had a “lovely” evening with Veera, Learning to Fly player/runner by morning, Goldman Sachs employee by day, and kati-roll loving energizer bunny by night (or really all of the time!) We wandered aimlessly around UB city for a while, the FANCIEST mall in Bangalore (think Louis Vuitton, Cartier, etc.) before traipsing into Jimmy Choo for the heels we “needed” for our big “charity ball” we were going to in October (or was it December, Veera…?!) Had a great time trying on shoes for our fake event and but decided to wait to purchase our ball shoes at a later date when we could bring our dresses and have our toes properly pedicured! I couldn’t quite tell if the clerk knew we were phonies, but it was harmless fun nonetheless! We then headed to Cloud Bar for some happy hour cocktails (buy one get one free!) The bar scene was quite different from the Bangalore I had experienced the past month! I was quite surprised to find young class-conscious college students smoking, drinking and partying hard. Given who I’ve been surrounded by the past month, I actually felt pretty uncomfortable around these affluent college kids, riding on their parents success and boasting about the degrees they were working towards and the companies their dad’s owned. Veera and I chatted with some med school students for a while longer before satiating our hunger with delicious veggie burgers at Truffles (I think its also called Fire and Ice). Carried on the night with a jaunt back to UB City since one of Veera’s sister’s friends was at Skyye Bar, THE coolest club in Bangalore. Cover charge was over Rs 1000 but we were able to get in free because of our connections!! Picture this: dim mood lighting from the glass ground, stacked bars and djs all outside on top of one of the tallest buildings in Bangalore. Yea, I felt pretty freakin cool! Veera and I found ourselves some interesting new Indian lads who were just in Bangalore for the weekend. Turned into a pretty ridiculous night with SCRUMPTIOUS room service kati rolls in a hotel lobby, a freezing auto ride back to Veera’s, and a grumpy gatekeeper at Abishek Koramangala. What an adventure we had—wouldn't repeat it, but it was fun while it lasted!

And unfortunately, the food sickness from the day before wasn't completely over. Sunday noontime, Veera and I ventured to Thulp for some continental grub. My eyes were gawking over the falafel pita pockets and decadent brownies but my stomach said no, no, no. So I headed back to Sneha Care Home to get better and get some rest while Veera went to Frisbee practice that afternoon. In hindsight, I’m glad I didn't go to practice because that rest and relaxation made all the difference and I was feeling 100% by the next day!

GANESHA FESTIVITIES and SHWETA!

Skip ahead a couple of days and you are at Wednesday, Ganesh Charturthi, a huge nine day festival celebrated around India. Via the powers of Facebook, I had connected with Shweta Mukesh, a friend of mine from Summit High School in New Jersey. She is currently living in Delhi on a UPenn Fellowship but her parents live in Bangalore. Shweta typically visits Bangalore once a month and would be visiting from Wednesday to Sunday for the Ganesha festivities. What’s even better, she wanted to involve me in the celebrations!! So Wednesday evening, after about 2 hours of some of the most ridiculous bus/transportation confusion I have had yet, I arrived at the Mukesh’ beautiful Whitefield apartment. They have lovely views of the city from their sleek, modern apartment. It was an absolute joy talking to her parents. They were incredibly hospitable, humble hosts and they had such a wealth of knowledge about everything from Hindu culture and tradition to socioeconomic problems pervading India today to the latest innovations in technology and design. Mr. and Mrs. Mukesh were retired but started up and were now managing an Apollo Health Clinic in Whitefield. Not exactly an easy retirement, but they were full of ambition, energy, and determination. Shweta and I went to Corner House for dinner. Known for their delicious ice cream, they also sell your token dosas and chat./stree food(but safe since its not on the street!) We had sev puri and pav bhaji (I’ll explain later in an exclusive food blog). Pretty tasty, but I’ve definitely had better Indian food. Finished off our dinner with scrumptious brownie sundaes, and I was headed back to Sneha Care Home for some rest. We auto-ed back to Sneha Care Home since it definitely wasn’t safe to be traveling that late J

Thursday brought frustration as it was a government sponsored strike throughout India (Irony??) demanding lower petrol prices. As such, transportation was practically non-existent and going out was deemed to dangerous (think people throwing stones and becoming violent). So I stayed at Sneha Care Home for the day with little work and all meetings cancelled (people couldn’t get to Sneha Care Home). Oh well, not every day can be 100% productive, right?

Friday was a whirwind of activity compared to its predecessor with a meeting with Sapna, the St. John’s nutritionist, followed by a staff meeting to brief the teachers about the Shooting Star Transition Program I had been planning with Father Mathew the past few weeks. The meeting with Sapna was really productive and shed light on the realities of the food program here. Shooting Star Transition Program is the program I am coordinating for the 29 students (12-14 years old) deemed eligible to prepare for a transition to vocational training at Snehagram (the next phase after Sneha Care Home). The teachers didn’t have too much feedback for my lengthy powerpoint but I guess what can I expect? As they said, we will see how the kids respond in the first few days! 1 pm rolled around, my bags were packed and I was headed off to Shweta’s for the weekend’s festivities. We went to 100 ft. boutique, a classy Mediterranean restaurant in Indiranagar for late lunch. It was probably one of the most expensive meals I had yet (split 1 appetizer, 2 entrees, and 1 dessert) but boy was it a treat. We even had red pepper and avocado bruschetta!! Check out the pictures—I’ll be going back here for sure J We tried some authentic sugar cane juice on the way home from a place Shweta KNEW was reputable and stopped by her parents clinic. From no internet to missing files, clearly the problems in India are not limited to Sneha Care Home! Mrs. Mukesh looked pretty stressed so we headed back to the house to email/relax/and watch some Princess Diaries. Light dinner of homemade dosa and chutney (YUMMMM so thin and crispy) before early to bed… I had Frisbee in the morning.

Games at Loyola grounds (the trek there from Mukesh’s house was unbearably long and burdensome) followed by a quick stop back at Sneha Care Home for shower, a peak into the CHAI (Catholic Health Association India) conference going on at the Pastoral Care Center and mass with the archbishop of Bangalore, than back to Mukesh’s for the Ganesh Pooja (prayer and food celebration). All the food was already made but I’ll get my chance to learn some time soon! As the guests began to arrive, Shweta’s aunt helped dress me in one of Mrs. Mukesh’s beautiful saris (see pictures!). Boy, I give mad props to these women who wear saris every day. Not exactly the most comfortable outfit to walk/sit/do anything in, but it looks quite lovely! The pooja was in the community room—about an hour of prayers, songs, fruit offerings and general merriment in front of the Ganesh statue and alter before the feast. We enjoyed an all-vegetarian South Indian selection—yogurt rice was my favorite followed by some of the traditional sweets. It was great experiencing Hindu culture and talking with family and friends about the Hindu identity and the meaning of the festivities. Everyone was so hospitable; it was great to be surrounded by such welcoming and amiable new friends!

Sunday I said my good byes to the Mukesh’s (though per their insistence, I will definitely be back for a nice warm shower, delicious food, and good conversation—even if Shweta isn’t around) before heading back to Indiranagar to meet up with Veera and her friend Garrett- an expat working in Delhi who played ultimate at Dartmouth—small world! We went to Daddy’s Deli for some delicious omlettes followed by Naturals Ice cream (known for their fruity ice creams and tender coconut variety. More up Veera’s alley, but I will say it was pretty good!) Chilled around for a while and then headed to L2F practice at Kanteerva Stadium. I hadn’t been here yet for practice- so much nicer than anywhere else I’ve played. I’ll definitely be coming to Sunday practices in the future! Hit with a message from Father Mathew about an unexpected meeting with an HR firm about the Shooting Star Transition Program, so I rushed back just in time. Luckily they didn’t mind I was sweaty and wearing my Frisbee garb!

SHOOTING STAR TRANSITION PROGRAM + WORK

Monday, September 27^th was orientation day for the Shooting Star Transition Program. I was super excited to get the ball rolling and the kids were ultra-curious when they found out they wouldn’t be taking regular classes. Orientation day was a combination of talks from me and Father Mathew, team games, and reflection about the program goals and components. After just day 1, I realized what a challenge this was going to be! My crisply defined program of oral and written lessons, group projects, workshops, newspaper reading, and one-on-one mentoring would soon be shattered by confusion and disinterest. Now a week later, the kids are finally starting to understand the scope of the program and everything it entails. However, the idea that they will need to start working, thinking, taking responsibility, applying their knowledge, and working as teams is all novel to them. It will be an uphill battle and we will likely have to amend several parts of the program, but these kids really need to learn how to comprehend rather than just rote memorize. If I can get them to think and apply, I consider myself a success.

So far we have had about a week of oral and written lessons (focusing on phonetics, sentence structure and grammar), several discussions about the project and everything it entails, one-on-one mentoring with almost all the children, a workshop led by Vera and me on public speaking, and a short movie and reflection session. The kids are at all different levels in of both general IQ/comprehension as well as English so it is quite a challenge. But with hard work and determination, hopefully we can make this work!

Wednesday evening I took a break from the monotony of food choices at Sneha Care Home for dinner with Vera (volunteer not Frisbee) who happens to live right down the block from Frisbee Veera (what are the odds, right?) We indulged in some continental fare at my favorite new spot, Thulp. Luckily this time I wasn’t sick! We split the falafel pita pockets and an asian tofu/corn burger with bok choy- a sumptuous feast considering the alternatives at Sneha Care Home that night. We finished with milkshakes (unfortunately the thin/watery types are rampant in India) but it was better than nothing! After chilling in Thulp a while, Vera showed me the guest house she was staying at before I ventured to OTHER Veera’s apartment to sleep for the night (so we could head to Frisbee practice together early Thursday am). Unfortunately, it stormed all night so practice was iffy. However, we decided to go on a nice run around the Koramangala area! Ran for a solid 45 minutes—pretty good considering I haven’t run since my IT band nonsense. Felt a little pain towards the end, but I was overall happy with my knee’s performance!

And before you know it, it was Friday! Did some feedback work on the Shooting Star program with the SCH staff and discussed changes to the nutrition program with Father Mathew and Father Vince. We’ll be making some simple yet critical changes—milk (with almond or chocolate powder) at break instead of tea, a new type of rice, addition of more leafy vegetables (YUMM!!), and addition of more dried fruits and nuts (if sponsors will consider donating). We may add supplementary powders to the milk for the malnutrition program but that's still pending Sapna’s (the nutritionist) decision. Also in the works is a theatre performance about good nutrition and cafeteria hygiene! I had a very successful meeting with Dr. Chitra Friday afternoon as well. Although there are some logistics to be hammered out, she and I are both on board to start our study on Infant and Young Child Feeding practices in Thally, Tamil Nadu. Funding may be an issue but I don’t think we will need any anyways since she will be conducting interviews with the women and I can pay for my own transportation to the area! Also more to come on this exciting front…

Wow deep breath. That was a lot to cover. But coming up next is my first trip out of Bangalore with none other than Veera to--- CHENNAI!!