Got Chai?

Hellooo lovelies,

As I write this post I am nearing the end of my 1 month independent study. In the last week I will mostly be writing my paper and completing a few last minute interviews. Since I have not written a blog post in a little while, I wanted to start by describing a typical day in Dehradun, which is where I live when I am not in the mountains. :)

I have been living in the guesthouse of a local NGO here called RLEK. Everyday I wake up in a room I share with 1 or 2 other students from my trip, depending on there schedules. Then we each take turns getting ready for the day and discussing our plans. We go downstairs for breakfast, which is served at the NGO, and then I leave to take my daily journey to my advisors office. My advisor, JP Panwar, is the head of a local media organization called Channel Mountain Communications, and his office is across the city and about an hour ride from the guesthouse. 

I walk to the main road and get on my first shared taxi of the day, which are called Vikrams. I take this to another place where I catch a different shared taxi the rest of the way to the office. In the beginning I would often pick the wrong taxi and end up in a different part of the city. This is one example of how dependent we can be on the kindness of strangers in India. Luckily, people always respond to this need, especially in Dehradun, which I have found to be particularly welcoming and friendly. Once I am guided to the correct Vikram, by a driver or passenger, all is well. Now I have gotten the hang of this morning journey and can relax and enjoy whatever new experiences come my way. I often talk to women who get on the taxi and want to know where I am from and what I am doing in here. Some ask me why I am in India, their children all want to go to America! ;) I laugh and tell them I love India and I am learning so much here. Most mornings are a great opportunity to practice hindi, and for the other passengers to practice their english. It is a good trade-off. 

I look forward to the daily adventure to and from the office, most of all for the opportunity to observe and interact with the local people here. Everyday I pass by fresh fruit and vegetable stands, metal making shops, wood carving, tailors, children in uniforms going to school, people going to work, and so much more. It is a great way to familiarize myself with the city. Near my office there are even fields of fruit trees, wheat, and vegetables that people are harvesting everyday. And of course, from anywhere in Dehradun, you can see the foothills of the himalayas in the distance. 

Speaking of the mountains, I have made a few more trips up to Tehri and other areas to collect data for my study on the Tehri dam. I recently went with a friend of JP's for a few days and collected many interviews and observations of the areas all around the Tehri dam and reservoir site. This was a very successful and eye-opening visit, and it was very hard to tear myself away from the mountain communities and return to Dehradun. I am lucky that Thapliyal ji was so well connected to the communities there, because his family is from the Tehri district, and he able to set up so many valuable interviews for me. During our drives through the mountains he also shared a lot of local knowledge and stories with me that he had learned from growing up in the mountains. We also shared jokes along the way as we formed a friendship, many of which revolved around Chai. Since many people offer you chai when you meet with them, we probably drank close to ten cups a day. Thapliyal ji cannot get enough chai, and always welcomes another cup. Meanwhile, I was beginning to reach my limits, and he made this into a joke by always asking me if we should stop for some more chai. :)

As this journey in Uttarakhand continues for one more week, I am feeling tired but determined to finish out the semester strong. After meeting so many people and seeing so many places that are still affected by this dam project, I feel a strong emotional investment to create a good study for all the people I have met along the way. 

I will write again once I return to Jaipur!

Sending my best thoughts and wishes back to all of you,

Taylor

A typical day of film editing in my advisors office. Everyone loveees to pose for pictures.

Then they turned the camera on me... working hard, or hardly working? 

On my first day back to Tehri my translator and I visited the community I had met on my first trip here.
I was so fortunate to have the chance to see them again and interview some of the women.

This dog has the right idea. A great place to relax and enjoy the view.

A view of the Tehri dam from the other side as we made our first trip around the reservoir.

A new view of the deepest and widest part of the reservoir.
Here you can see the top of the tallest building in what used to be Old Tehri Town.
One of many haunting images we saw that day.

Our driver enjoying a drink from one of the fresh mountain springs.

My wonderful translator who now feels like yet another one of the many Indian fathers I have acquired.
Thapliyal ji was born and raised in the mountains of Tehri Gahrwal.

We were lucky enough to see one of the native nomadic communities of Uttarakhand,
 migrating into the mountains for  the summer.