Closer and closer from my flat....

The avenue - the traffic is very quiet cause it is only 7 am... Behind the big red add is White House....

and behind White House....

This is my building... beautiful isn't it?

pictures of my neighbourhood, Ameerpet

You will find it everywhere... on the right, the very popular chai* stall and a snapshot of a few shops (below)
* Indian perfumed very sweeeeet tea






A newspaper stall (on the right) and a
Hindu temple (below)

Invitation au voyage

Pour venir me rendre visite....

Une rue en zig-zag, poussiéreuse, large et bruyante, riche en couleurs et où l’on trouve pêle-mêle

au hasard du chemin, des paniers et des colliers de fleurs blanches et oranges pour les pujas, des corbeilles de graines multicolores sur les étals des vendeurs de puris, le chai. Des intrusions d’Occident. Pour les gourmands, les glaces Baskin Robbins, un petit supermarché propret avec quelques merveilles du bout du monde, du vinaigre balsamique, de l’huile d’olive, du chocolat. Mais l’Inde revient en force. De l’autre côté de la route, un temple, un restaurant de tiffins, une boutique de bonbons au ghee, de vins, d’électronique, des échoppes chamarrées de matelas, de rideaux, de saris… et le chai.

Un groupe d’hommes attend le bus. Les bus s’arrêtent à peine, les portes restent toujours ouvertes, juste le temps de s’y agripper et de monter. Des femmes en sari ornées de colliers et de bracelets déambulent lentement, seules ou en groupe. Elles sourient, on a envie de les suivre.

Puis, une grande avenue avec un pont qui s’envole vers le ciel. Il faut faire une prière avant de traverser… Sur le côté, se dresse Lifestyle et White House, des boutiques de vêtements branchées. On peut y croiser de jeunes Indiennes maquillées, lunettes de soleil, jeans et kortas. On s’enfile dans une ruelle qui débouche sur un parking et un immeuble blanc carré un peu défraîchi. Deux ascenseurs avec des grilles, mais on peut aussi prendre l’escalier, car l’appartement est au premier étage.

Dans le couloir, une nacelle de jardin. Personne ne s’y assoit, cela n’a pas d’importance. Elle vous rappelle qu’ici, il ne faut pas courir après le temps. Le temps on le perd tout le temps, alors il ne faut pas essayer de le garder pour soi. Quand vous viendrez, avant de frapper à ma porte, posez vos sacs et balancez-vous quelques instants. Peut-être vous remarquerez les muggulus dessinés au sol. Ou vous vous endormirez après un long voyage rêvant des mille délices que vous réserve votre visite en Inde.

A modest ode to West Bengal

West Bengal is bewitching

And Kolkata is its Queen

The city of Joy breathes deeply and quietly,
Following secret and silent rhythms.
Listen! Smell! Her song exhales her history.
Her words utter an invitation for the pilgrim
To melt down in her arms and never return.

West Bengal is exalted
And Kolkata is its true spirit.

Peasants, merchants and thinkers, how many of your dreams,
How many of your voices have swollen the Howgly?
Stop! See! Her flow roars endlessly.
Her cadence is a reminder for the pilgrim
To stand up at her side and never resign.


West Bengal is savoury
And Kolkata is its delicacy

Her flavours are never sharp, never bitter, never sour.
They come from the earth, from the rivers and from the sea.
Taste! Enjoy! Close your eyes…
Her savours are a joy for the pilgrims.
They are now gathered and forgot the fatigue of their long journey.

(drawings from Rabindranath Tagore)

2009

What will 2009 be made of?
Que sera 2009?
Mais que va-t-il donc se passer en 2009?

Mmmmh....

I don't know yet but...

2009 has started pretty well. For sure, there has been a strong movement of the stars and planets in my favour!



Suddenly, I have been moving out of my "lost-in-transition" state. In one week, I have managed to:

- find a very nice flat, perfectly located in the city centre;

- buy the motorbike of my dreams.... and get my "learner's license"! In one month, I will get the full driving license (beware Hyderabad unhabitants!);

- open a bank account after harassing the bank staff for 1 month; and

- get all my luggage (almost) delivered at ICRISAT after 2 months of intense negotiation with the shipping company and ICRISAT - and half a day of paperwork at the airport.

How did it happen...???

This, I know!

Because I got a magical card.

The Indian ID card - which gives me the Indian citizenship. I received it just before I come back to France for Christmas - that was a very nice Christmas gift.

Photos of the flat and motorbike below:



The flat is on the first floor, in a big building close to the main road, but very quiet.

(Val, the guy standing on the right, and the furniture are not included...)




and the bike (driver not included either)...


It is not a beautiful bike, actually it has been designed for rural areas to carry heavy loads... but I like it! It is not too big but still has four stroke- and I know with it I can take all my friends for a ride in the city - no weight restriction!

Tomorrow I leave for 5 weeks to the North, Uttar Pradesh then Haryana for 1 week, and then West Bengal for 4 weeks. So no blog during this time but I will come back with a lot to tell!!!

Oh, and I almost forgot to give the results of the test... Djohar is the salutation term in Santhal (see: http://www.johar.in/story.php and http://wesanthals.tripod.com/)!

So, johar and see you soon!

First steps in West Bengal

Djohar! (The quizz from the previous post is still going on!!)

What I will remember from my first steps in West Bengal...

- the elegance of women dressed in glistening and colourful saris. When they sit in group, they are as beaming as a rainbow!

Most inhabitants of the villages we visited are Santals, which form the largest tribal group in East India. Farmers grow rice during summer and most of them also keep animals, mainly goats, indigenous cows, buffaloes, sheep, pigs and poultry.

Grazing livestock in recently harvested fields:

Rice production only covers 6 months of food needs on average. Thus, farmers are commonly engaged in seasonal off-farm work, e.g. in construction works, stone crushing or coal mining.

- water scarcity in a region where annual rainfall ranges from 1400-1600 mm. But rainfall is concentrated during 4 months of the year and there is not enough water during winter to grow grain crops or vegetables.

In Jogradihi, the last village we visited, there is no tube well for drinking water. So women go to fetch water at the nearby stream between 2 to 5 times a day. They have dug holes on the bank of the stream to get cleaner water (see picture). They collect water after filtering it through a shawl.

Discussion with villagers in Jogradihi

A few anecdotal souvenirs...

During this trip I also met:

- the most crazy (but incredibly skilled!) taxi driver ... Every day, Sreedhar and I were travelling 3h between Bankura, the main town of the district, and Saltora, 40 km away, where we were visiting villages. Within 5 days, we almost hit 12 bicyles riders, 16 goats, 27 dogs and 40 chickens (I noticed chickens always decide to cross the road when you arrive).

- a lot of new friends...

It seems these guys have a strong preference for French blood!

Escaping from the ICRISAT campus!!

From Hyderabad to West Bengal

As I described in my first post, ICRISAT campus where I work and live is a quiet place... very quiet place.... And between quiet and boring, there is not a big step....

So you can imagine how happy I was to have the chance to travel 11 days on a field trip to West Bengal and Haryana!!

See where these two States are on the map enclosed (as you have certainly noticed, this is an instructive blog, so if you read this post during your working hours, don't feel guilty, you actually expand your knowledge, which is for sure very beneficial for your work).

First, Sreedhar (one of my IWMI colleagues) and I headed to West Bengal. Our mission was to visit and select villages, establish a friendly contact with the district authorities and collect some maps, statistics, and whatever local officials were willing to provide us.

Our first stopover was Kolkata*. From the airport, we took a taxi to the railway station to catch the train that would lead us to Bankura, a small town 230 km northeast from Kolkata.

* "Kolkata" replaced "Calcutta", the former anglicised name of the city, in 2001 to reflect the Bengali pronunciation.

Some pictures taken on the way from the cab...

Howrah bridge

Snapshots - streets of Kolkata

I wish I could have stopped a few days in the City of Joy. I found it fascinating - despite of the noise, agitation and traffic, there is a kind of nonchalance that fills the air which magnetised me!

It is late here already - in the next post I will tell you about the mysteries of Bankura - I am sure all of you are impatient to know about it...

Djohar!

To enhance the interactivity of this blog, I launch a little quizz on this post: what does "djohar" mean and in which language? Some Indian sweets to win for the first right guess (only one of these will fill your stomach till the next quizz ...)!!!