Mai in India

Final days...

2008-03-25T04:00:00.000-07:00

As the survey and my own interrogation went really well, I was so pleased when we sat on the bus back to Bangalore. My thoughts was spinning, my body drained and my stomach well... I wanted to scream with joy, although I knew that I still had to plot 80 questionnaires into Excel. It is a hard task, but absolutely doable and the reason for why I am here in the first place, so I shall not complain...

I have lots of good information for my master now. How I look forward to the writing. It will be fun I think... Have made maps of the institutions, of the distributary and have loads of pictures and memories... The small moments of pure living in all the turmoil, are filed in the "keep"file, and will be revealed to those who wants to listen...

I am sad but mostly happy to go home. Tired is the word - as I have not slept in two days (due to stomach) It is so typically me to get ill just at the end, but will go to the doctor and get a happy mix (so bright colours these pills) and zimzalabim; no more pain....

I hope you have all enjoyed this blog. I will update it with pictures to accompany the last trip and the last days, but that I will have to do from home...

Back to plotting....
Miss you all sooooooo much.. but will be reachable on Saturday.... Norway here I come...

Klem mai

Lets get started shall we!!!!! Friday 21st of March

2008-03-23T21:54:00.000-07:00

Yet a new environment and a new everyday in rural India. Waking up on a thin matt (which takes a few nights to get used to) on the floor, underneath a mosquito net, sweaty, well it is all worth it when you dip your hands in the stream right outside the house and breathe in fresh air. Acres with rice fields, coconut trees and flowers in all sorts of colours, not to mention the sound of music from the wildlife. I cannot describe this incredible notion puzzling me every morning. I am privileged to wake up to this and it is defiantly the highlight of my day.

Interviewing the farmers is though when the Soria (Sun – think that is a new name on my long list) is out haunting your every move. Yesterday I think we must have had the warmest day until now – probably around 35 degrees. I cannot describe the heat – so the 24 interviews (three of my ones) where done on a stone bed outside a farmers house, shaded by palm leaves.

This morning the enumerators arrived (to my frustration “only” two days late- but hey that is Indian time right???) After a quick dip in the nearest canal and a short training session we embraced this clouded day. I was not feeling very well today, so delighted to not have to deal with a burning heat. In fact as I am writing this it is pouring down with rain, serious rain… We went to the tail end of head reach minor today. Not so many visible issues, but damages to the minor structure, sometimes little water in the canal, no cooperatives or Water User Associations (WUA´s) in this part and generally little interaction with any institutions and officials. The WUA´s are meant to strengthen the farmer’s ability to have a direct impact and more to say in the management process of irrigation water. I am yet not convinced that these organisations are working; yet the farmers are also not convinced that this is the way to go. They have their own ways of dealing with their issues. When there are issues, they form a group and go to the offices. If there is no result they take matters into own hands. There are defiantly some evidence that they are working some places but generally all over I am under the impression that this is system are failing.

I am feeling better now that the rain is falling. The heavy pressure has finally left my head alone… I was given so much tea today, and this one farmer who could speak sulpa (a little) English, insisted on me coming to his home. Firstly serving cardamom tea (amazing taste) then secondly running up to the roof picking a coconut for me to drink, then finally ending this feast with a raw mango with salt, topping it with a tamarin (sour fruit in a shell) snack – well I have to say… Usually everything in a garden is useful. Neem trees are disinfecting, several herbs and spices, fruits, vegetables, lime trees are everywhere in this region, grass for fodder and so on. Nice—I like a lot…

I also had to come to several homes in the headquarters we are staying in. more tea, homemade sweets (which I now can make – will serve at next party) and a view into their personal life. Admiring one of the girls handicraft skills, as she was embroidering pearls onto a yellow sari (Indian dress). Beautiful.. they offered mango juice – as I had strongly insisted on no more tea.

Now I am off to bed. The rain is still pouring… Chenagide.. (l like…)

Going to the temple Mantralayam in Andhra Pradesh, Tuesday 18 March

2008-03-23T21:53:00.001-07:00

As we have one extra day we chose to use today for an outing outside the project. Getting up at 5 in the morning to go to a temple 3.5 hours away sort of seem a bit strange to me – but I was willing to experience something different. Choosing to take the local buses, change in Raichur and arriving almost simultaneously with the direct express, also seemed a bit strange to me – but again I am all up for a true Indian experience. There are many small details in the past two months that has puzzled me greatly. It seems lots of things get complicated, less effective and unstructured all in order to …??? In a restaurant there are 1 person taking the order, 1 person serving you, 1 person asking you if you are satisfied, one just checking last time, 1 person cleaning, several people standing around and I have no idea about the status of people in the kitchen. It is done in good spirits, to create work for more people. You should think this at least would make your food come faster – but no. In shops one at the tiller, one packing your bags, one standing at the entrance giving you your bags, one stamping your receipt with a paid stamp and then you are free to go. I admire the effort and the system; it just takes a long time to get used too.

So Mantralayam… After the bus trip we arrived in the town sharing the same name, and as one shall not eat before prayers, I was starting to feel a little bit hungry passing several nice food places. Entering the temple area, we first went down to take a holy bath in Tungabhadra. It is almost like still working, as the river seems to be everywhere. As the pictures clearly tell, there was not much of a river these days, and I did not feel like dipping myself in this water. But the Indians enjoy it tremendously. Soaping until the lather is covering their entire body, then swimming, laughing and chanting. A beautiful sight, but somehow sad to know that the water quality is so poor… how I wish I could leave that notion of knowledge on the shelf for a second and just totally live in the moment…

The temple was not as mind-blowing as other smaller temples I have seen in the past weeks, and the money boxes every second step, underneath every statue just enables me to enjoy the moment. I have yet to get over this paying for believing and receiving blessings. One thing is at the end of the experience you offer a donation, but at every step –how can anyone feel relieved. This I have met around the world, and it has blinded me – spearing me the opportunity to see what the believers see. I only see just that – business.

All in all, a nice relaxing day. The bus trip back, the stopover in Raichur wandering around a bit, then the lovely dreams when dazing off and the opportunity to update my blog finally. A good day.

Tomorrow will be another working day as our enumerators will be joining us and we will start to conduct the survey. This is it for now… Miss you all sooooo much now. But will be back on the 27th, so will give it 110% till then,

Lots of Love to you all
Mai

Walkthrough survey along the river, Sunday 15th of March

2008-03-23T21:52:00.000-07:00

Getting up early we were out of the room at around 810. A car from the irrigation department was waiting and a nice driver. We were of to drive along the entire distributary 54 –a jumping 43 km. In addition we also drove down the three minors, choosing the three villages were we want to conduct the household survey. We picked up the first division officer, who had records and details on the first part of the river. The sun was shining and the heat sneakishly entering the car…(still early in the morning)

Just to give you a small insight to some of the findings:
There were no problems in the upper part of this distributary, as is the case in most distributaries. The head reach has plenty of water, lots of land per farmer and generally a good living standard. The problems accumulate towards the end of the stretch. This due to a typical neglect for understanding that excess water use in the upper part, by for example violation of cropping pattern, has dramatic consequences for the tail end. See the pictures. This is absolutely the case in this distributary. The distributary is designed to have a healthy flow for 43 km, but there is almost no water at around 30 km down the distributary. This affects many villages, and farmers obviously. We have chose minor 18 in the tail end. As we drove along it, the car suddenly stopped. There was a large gap in the road and in the minor. The farmers must have been so frustrated that they had destroyed the actual minor by making a huge hole in the structure. This to try to lead the little water there is in the minor, to their plots. It so truthful to see it in person – how the farmers choose to deal with the fact that they receive no water. As the government has promised the tail end water, it is their job to provide it. But as there are many factors along the distributary that also affects the outcome in the tail end, they manage to get away with almost laughing at our comments on how bad it is that there is no water n this particular part. It’s such a shame that the farmer’s collective action is destructive methods. But I hope to uncover why that is. I will be interviewing and interrogating from Thursday an onwards to find out if they have tried to impact and have a say in other ways too.

At one point we got stuck by the way. The mud captured the back tyre and the driver – well let’s just say he just made it worse. We called for a tractor that came to our rescue after an hour. We rested in the shade of a tree. I have to say – it is the first time I have felt such a difference between heat and shaded heat. It was unbelievable. Felt like 10 degrees cooler in the shade and so pleasant. I am so glad to have experienced that beautiful difference. I now understand why all animals magically flock around their Sheppard’s, sitting in the shade of a tree having their lunch. The exhaustion was indescribable, resulting in me I sleeping without dinner…

Visiting the officials in charge of Tungabhadra and Distributary 54

2008-03-23T21:50:00.000-07:00

Arriving in Sindahnur at 730 as planned most have meant that the bus driver stepped on it. We went to find our headquarters, had a bath and went to meet the CADA officer. We had some food, and then went to the CADA headquarters to get answers to some of our initial questions. There was a strange “No comment” and “ask the Irrigation department” on some of our particular matters. The one officer however spoke up and revealed several good juicy stories as to why there is and has been a violation in cropping patters. This official claimed that apparently there was a minister some 20 years back, wishing to win the election, promising enough water for everyone, meaning everyone could grow paddy – the most water intensive crop. This lead to that everyone started growing paddy. Head reach, mid reach and also in tail end. There are many more reasons, but he claimed this was the main one.

The vicious thing about paddy is that it requires to literally standing in water throughout the season. This is leading to a drastic soil adjustment, which again means to shift to a less water intensive crop after you have grown paddy, is more or less impossible. It therefore becomes a vicious circle… Rice also operates with a constant market price, which makes it a safe option – so that is another obvious factor for why the farmers chose to grow it. Horticulture crops (tomato, onion), chili and other crops vary and fluctuates in price so is not as safe. But what to do when the water is not there? It’s complicated and the answers are not exactly many…

I could go on here, but tired and the electricity just shut. (Happens on a regular bases here.)
Night,
Mai

Traveling to Raichur district and Sindahnur

2008-03-23T21:49:00.000-07:00

This trip started off late on 13th of March. Realising I only had two weeks left, made me a bit melancholic. In one way I cannot wait to get back home, but I sense a difference in my mind that will take time to adjust back. On the other hand India has still so much more knowledge, culture, places and a natural rhythm still uncovered. I will be back for sure…

Sitting in the amazingly busy bus station Majestic, I was the first one to arrive. (10 minutes early is not normal...). I sat and watched the people. There were those who were running, those who were getting ready to sleep at night taking off their shoes, finding a corner and settling down. Those with kids, young families, old families, people carrying television set, 20 kg of rice, grass or other types of shopping. Kids smiling, drunks stopping up and staring, the beggars not giving in, and I think I was the only foreigner (not from India that is) amongst the many hundred people there. The others arrived within 20-30 minutes. We were all in a good mood. Think one of the boys had been drinking a bit actually. This is not very common here, but obviously I don’t mind…

The buses run regularly and mostly on the dot. This time however the bus was one hour late, but when arrived we got into the bus and off we went. I was just about to fall asleep, when the bus suddenly turned. The air-condition did not work, so we had to go back to the bus station. Here we changed buses and the time was now 1230, but finally we were on our way. I slept like a baby more or less all night long.

sorry for the looong break...

2008-03-23T21:45:00.000-07:00

Life in Bangalore has consisted mostly of desk work, so haven't written much about it. Some really good partying and nice time with friends in town, plotting numbers, getting ready for next fieldtrip has been my agenda in between...

Following are the notes from my last fieldtrip.

Enjoy,
Klem Mai

Last day in field - but still one more day to come... 02.03.08

2008-03-10T11:55:00.000-07:00

Today I was the first one out of bed. I went out on the backside of the house - let the fresh morning gracefully blow the not so fresh night odors from the boys room away... There was no sun just yet so lighted a candled a bathed in the rustic room in the dimmed light... It felt like a movie.. It felt like a cabin trip really, all very basic and sort of natural... After my bath, I went on the porch and watched the people wake up as well.. They have their morning rituals, fetching water was the first one. About 10 x10 litres every morning for each family. The one dad watered the plants with the water he withdrew, so had to get another 5 buckets. They seemed to have a rotation order,who goes first, second but then the fifth and the sixth person was a bit "hey, you are late are you not?...." But no hard comments, just neighborly comments on well I have not got a clue what they were really chatting about, but it looked peaceful... In harmony with nature... The kids starting waking up running around and getting ready for school. They all have bikes sponsored from the government here, in order to get to school in time and it is obviously much faster than walking, plus lots of fun... They love their bikes...

The local joint we are eating at makes the best food -my stomach is ticking like a clock. In fact I am much better in the village side compared to Bangalore. Think it might have to do with the freshness of inexpediences, the fact that it is prepared straight away (not bulk food) and the places we have been eating at are generally clean. I only skipped lunch at one place... Had biscuits and coconut-juice instead. Delicious...

Today we were at the head of the head reach. I have not been in such big homes before I believe... They were just to big. The house I am in right now has marbled floors, a 40m2 garage with two cars, 3 motorcycles and two good bikes. I think they might be sharing this with the neighbour, but still... The TV was just stupidly big and well I have to say they are seemingly living good lives... I felt really run down after 1 hour in the village( Had a bad cold throughout, but today it just got a bit worse) I was generally a bit out of it today. I still managed to dance with the kids in the evening. We made a big campfire, I sang a Norwegian song (Når trollmor har lagt sine 11 små troll...) The bit with oayayayayabufff was easy to get so everyone joined in.. Then it was the kids and the boys time.. They screamed and sang so beautifully for 1 hour... Then we danced as we turned the car sterio on full power and blasted the all so quit place until midnight. The kids loved it, and so did we... I was exhausted by the end of it all, but the holding of hands, shaking and swirling the kids and sharing of tunes was so worth it...

What a beautiful morning...and what a night.... 01.03.08

2008-03-10T10:22:00.000-07:00

Today I woke up after a fantastic sound sleep. I have not slept this well in the last month, so nice to wake up refreshed. Then the beauty of the place we were staying at hit me... I had to fetch water from the well in the middle of the yard. It was just such a sight.. The cock was welcoming me and the sun. The boys were laughing, farting, fighting, slapping each other and everything else one does in the morning, so my meditation session was sort of out of the question... All the kids in the neighborhood came out wondering what that noise was, only to find lots of new playmates and friends. I joined the girls who drew a square on the ground and jumped around kicking the stone around, then I drew a "pardis" and they off course knew that one so a success. Then we ran, yes the joy if running the fastest you could (without shoes) was exciting and made all of us bubble... I obviously was a bit out of breath (and my clogged nose did not help much) after the fourth round, the kids went on whilst I counted in their language, Kannada.

We visited the mid reach of the mid reach today. The situation there was a bit different...There was in one village no canal water. This meant that they had to get water from the ground using bore wells, and this again meant that we could not conduct our survey in this village as we are interested mostly in canal water, the prices the farmers pay for this particular water (you don't pay for the water you withdraw from your own ground) or a combo of both canal and borewells. We moved on to the next village, as it was far away one of the farmers offered us a ride on his motorcycle - so we drove off in style.. A tremendous amount of warmth and smiles and lots of tea and food were offered wherever we went... So hartwarming... (I do get funny looks and remarks but hey I probably look at people funnily as well..Its only human...)

The day was a great success. This went faster then we thought, meaning we could be done tomorrow. As the sky turned black and the sparkling sea of stars emerged (we are talking billions of them - so incredible) I searched for star signs. Realizing that the Big Dipper was upside down, got me thinking. I think i might have mentioned that the moon grows from down to top and top to down rather than from side to side like in Norway..??? Anyway, it is a reminder of were in the world I am, and that you have to look at the world with a different set of attitudes in order to get the context. The visible world is different... How amazing!!!! Good night to all of you out there...

Klem mai

Finally off to the field....29.02.08

2008-03-10T09:56:00.000-07:00

The enumerators, those who are helping us conducting the survey, arrived 2 hours late. Typical Indian time… But after a short introduction to team of 9 handsome 22-year-old Indian boys, we were off. The car we had only took 9 so Harish and me headed for the local bus. I have to say the buses are about the only thing running somewhat on time... Slowly Bhadravati city centre was in the distance and miles of field, coconut groves, a humpy road was emerging… Distributary 22 is part of the Bhadra reservoir right bank canal project. It is a very successful project as there is very little water shortage. Interestingly about 15 years ago the farmers in this area realized that growing rice was not going to work. They therefore shifted to arecanut, needs watering once a month, that is it. As it also is a tree the labour is just the harvesting once a year and then the refinement process can happen in the homes of the farmers. It is therefore a end product that leaves the farmers resulting in an extremely high price. It’s amazing… Their initiative also allows water to flow to the very end of the distributary. This is all in all a very healthy shift and has proven to be extremely successful. I have to say as we went to the tail end village - Sanyasi Kodimagge Hosur, I was a bit shocked to see the wealth and high standard of living. Motorbikes (latest models) huge houses, good clothing, education and sanitation facilities were all in place. This only shows that were there is good management of the water resource, great livelihoods and good standard of living can be achieved.

I easily stand out in the countryside. May stop and stare as they have seen a ghost – and some stopped my colleagues asking of I were there to exploit them. This is hard to begin with, but you soon realise this is only a natural reaction. I tend to interact well with kids. Saying hello to them in their language as well as what is your name – breaks the awkwardness.. They laugh and start speaking English straight away. I started taking pictures and that was a huge success. They loved seeing their face on the screen… So beautiful… We got to the place we were staying around 6 after a hard session. It was the headquarters of the Irrigation department workers. Really basic, but there was two beds so Cavita and me got those. The boys were on the floor. I was dead, so slept like a baby straight away…

Field trip to Smimoga - Arriving in Bhadravati 28.02.08

2008-03-05T02:01:00.000-08:00

After a day at the bus (8 hours) and miles of beautiful countryside and other picturesque scenery, I arrived in Bhadravati. I am still in the same state Karnataka, but I am now in the Shimoga region - also known as the breadbasket of Karnataka. The lush jungle-like forests and the many rivers and waterways, makes it a good place to be a farmer. Rice, arecanut (aka Betel nut), cotton, maize and ragi (Finger millet) are the major crops cultivated here. In the region we visited, farmers grew mainly arecanut. The arecanut tree resembles the coconut tree, and I got some arecanuts from a farmer we interviewed, not to mention the taste session I had in front of 5 farmers. The nut is meant to act as a mouth freshener. You chew it together with a leaf, some tasty spices and some lime. I have to say the taste was okay, but to chew on a nut that was so hard I felt like me jaw was going to brake any minute, the red tongue afterwards and the bits in between your teeth - not convinced ill be a regular chewer… Great to see how the refinement process worked and to see that it is requiring little water, leaving enough for almost everyone in distributary 22 (the 1 river arm out of 2 we have focused this particular study on)

I said goodbye to a friend on the bus - Anna Pourna, a beautiful old lady who eagerly chatted with me for two hours. Although she spoke in Kannada, and I spoke in English, we seemed to be getting some information across. I have picked up a good deal of the language now, and everyone is so appreciative of this effort. It makes it easy to break the ice between my somehow different presences in their everyday life. Me, Avi, Harish, Umesh and Cavita (the 5 of us are in charge of this survey together) had dinner at a local diner. I will be eating the local food where the plates are clean (good indicator of the standard of the place) but will stay clear of drinking the water ironically. The hotel was dreadful, but a warm shower is worth paying for. Cant wait for tomorrow.

Times they are changing...

2008-02-28T09:22:00.000-08:00

Well I have been raised to be punctual and if not let other people know of your whereabouts and the possible delay. I have also been a person with an agenda- and that is my everyday and weekly structure. I follow it and it works. As the plan for this fieldtrip was to start last Wednesday, then be done by the 10th -max 12th of March, i have to say the agenda has been put away after over usage of pen. I am finally off to Shimoga and distributary 22 tomorrow and the 20 days in field have now shrunk to about 6 days. Ill come back to Bangalore, then go to TungaBhadra distributary 54 in Raichur. Not sure if I will take a guess at how long or when that will happen now... Just hope ill be able to attend all of it. One of my fellow students here looked at me today and just said "You look disappointed!" Well I am just glad to be going... Apparently I am not supposed to get of at the end stop - this worries me a bit. Ill not get off the bus unless I see my friends though. Promise... I have had a slight cold. It has inhabited my body for the last three days, making me sneeze like a professional sneezer and I am almost done with a whole roll of toilet paper. I am not sure I mentioned the bed bugs from last week... I was invaded during my sleep and the little buggers had a party without me knowing anything.. Guess who screamed the following morning.. I confess - I showered twice, and another time when I came to Silje... Bad, but I was so itchy... Got a "new" mattress now, and have been waking up without the colorful bites, so I sure am happy..

I am off, and will be back on the 6th I think. They said either the 4th or the 6th, not the 5th though, so you will get an update soon. I am not disappointed by the way, just keen on getting an overview of it all. I understand that it will not be as easy to be on time here in India, as the distances are long and the travels are though. 30 km takes an hour and 2 hours if the traffic is bad. I just have to reconnect the wires on this and it will all be fine...

Lots of Love to you all
Mai

Dancing in Bangalore although it is banned....

2008-02-25T23:25:00.000-08:00

I have to say - there are certain things you just cannot ban. In my mind - DANCING, the very basic movements your body naturally does when rhythm is present (or at least that is how I react) you just cannot ban. Well, that has happened here in Bangalore. First they banned Live music - then they realised that dancing was just as bad - so banned that too. Not entirely sure why, but something went wrong during a concert, and thus the ban.

Well I was out this week end, shaking my shoulders, my head and my hips religiously to the amazing Indian music, and so was the rest of the club. (As you can see on the video - takes time to upload so be patient...) The ban ain't stopping the mood or the dancing - long live shaking.... We, (Me, Silje, Ed, Sharlyn, Tim, Ben, and a couple of more very nice people) were located at a fancy hotel discotheque where the entrance apparently was 2000 rupees (250 kr) to get in, if you were not on the guest list. Now the pool and the amazingly expensive drinks made it just unbelievable in itself, but then i heard the music and the noise people where making and just got into the best party mood ever... Great night... But it did not stop there..

It was not until the after party, where I met the organizer of this amazing night out - who told me about how he had to bribe the police (who are really good at taking advantages of this law) by letting them eat in the fancy hotel restaurant together with their entire family. So much for a functioning system... I still cannot believe that you can ban dancing...

As for the after party - this was in the middle of Bangalore city, on a rooftop with green grass. It was amazing too. All the people I met that night was just having such a good time and we ended up laughing, dancing and doing handstands on the grass. Felt like being at a festival...

Working today, reading all the theory on how to structure my findings empirically - according to a theory. Not so easy to pick the right one, but starting to get the hang of a few potential ones, so just need one more day of heavy reading and ill be fine. I will be leaving for field on friday the 29th- and then I am not sure how the access to internet will be. I am reachable on my Indian mobile (number at the bottom of the blog) but I will be writing a lot, so if the chance comes up - you will be getting some good insights into MY and their everyday life...

Cheers everyone - and miss you all very much,
Klem Mai

My next steps...

2008-02-20T09:47:00.001-08:00

After a relaxing time in Pondi, I am back studying and reading. Still relaxed but ready to take on new adventures...

The plan was to head out into field today, but due to various reasons I am still her. This is a typical Indian phenomenon. Things get rearranged in order to manage everything, but unfortunately for me this means another week in the office. I chose it myself, as I was meant to visit several fishing communities along the river, but as it is irrelevant for my thesis so I decided to be a grown up and spend the next 5 days reading and writing my methodology and theory chapters. Think this will be a wise decision... Time will show....

I will be travelling again on the 3rd of March, staying in field until the 23rd of March. I am ready to go, and cannot wait…

How are you guys? Send me an email or a note on Facebook… Curious to know who is reading this blogg..
Lots of love to you all,
Mai

The other beach and Norwegian paradise

2008-02-18T23:09:00.000-08:00

After understanding that there are no available seats back to Bangalore on the Sunday bus, I opted for staying another day in Pondi. I was not sad at all, as I really wanted to stay for a little longer...

On the Monday we got up really early and went out to see the studying area were 70 Norwegian students spend 10 weeks of their lives in Pondicherry, as part of cultural studies in Social anthropology, Peace and Conflict. I was taken away by what I saw when stepping out of the private bus. "This is paradise" I thought, and was looking around to check if the camera crew of either Robinson or Love Island was hiding in the bushes. As the pictures reveals (although no pictures can capture what this place is about) I just gaped for the next half an hour. "Can anyone really focus and learn anything out here" I wondered... but as I asked around, and spent the day there myself, you tune into a very relaxing working mode. I read about hundred pages, had the most amazing meal, and then we went to the beach just a kilometer away. I have to say that India never stops surprising me. Just enjoy the photos...

The bus journey home went really well. I surprisingly slept for most of the time and when I arrived in Bangalore I got a rickshaw straight away and in bed around 6.10 AM. I am so pleased with this trip - as I have both managed to loosen up, feel a stronger connection with my purpose here, eating well, walk around like a tourist, seeing some wonderful monuments, meeting lots of amazing people and bade in the sea. thank you so much for a wonderful time Carolina and Maria.

Ill be on Skype tonight if anyone wants to talk,
Lots of warmth and love from
Me

Auroville and our own personal rickshaw driver

2008-02-16T02:13:00.000-08:00

The girls, Caroline and Maria, arrived safely after a long taxi drive from Chennai. In ten minutes we were out of the door and heading for the beach promenade... As I had wondered around in the morning, I knew my way around. Caroline was here for three months in 2005, so she is friends with everyone.. Pondi is a small idyllic place, and you walk everywhere. We had a nice lunch and then got into a rickshaw that was meant to take us out to Auroville. Half the way there our driver stopped and asked a friend to take us - and thats when we met Mr Balu. What a wonderful man... and he plays music.. .He is now our designated driver, and he loves it...

We went to Auroville... http://www.auroville.org/ Have a look at its website - "Auroville wants to be a universal town where men and women of all countries are able to live in peace and progressive harmony above all creeds, all politics and all nationalities. The purpose of Auroville is to realise human unity." What a strange but facinating place. Not sure what to make of it just yet...

Today we have been on the Aurobeach. As we were sitting in the rickshaw and Mr Balu was singing along with the great tunes pumping out of the mini sterio, I felt my shoulders relax. Beautiful and amazing to swim in the Bay of Bengal... Relaxing to be by the sea and swimming was ecstatic...I am sunburnt, as I forgot to put suncream on my legs... That is the last time I forget...

Now we will be shopping and tonight we are having a drink. This sure is luxurious...
Later,
Mai

The Bay of Bengal and its secrets, Friday 15.02.08

2008-02-16T02:06:00.000-08:00

After a long hustling night on the bus, I have arrived safely in Pondicherry. I did however mange to get on the wrong bus, although leaving at the same time, from same place – there appears to be two companies. I did not even try to argue – just asked if there were any available seats. A nice spot free, so paid another 350 rupees – and here I am in Pondicherry, Tamil Nadu.

I watched the sunrise over the Bay of Bengal this morning. It was absolutely mind-blowing… How beautiful the sea is and its passion? At 6 AM this wonderful old French colony, was out stretching, running, meditating, walking, singing and praying all before the sun was saying hello. I was just exhausted but felt a new exhilarating feeling inside, and I have not stopped smiling since. After the sunrise I went to book a room, and thought I would sleep for a while, then have a wander and breakfast. One hour later, 8 guest hoses and three phone calls and I still had not found a room. Then I realized I was a bit lost, but I walked on admiring the beauty of Pondi. Then I walked pass a slum and saw a dead man in street. The man was lying there lifeless, whilst kids were playing around him and the women brushed their hair. In my blinded daze, I was soon brought back to reality. As it is expensive to have a proper funeral in India, many people especially in the slums are left where they fall. I couldn’t walk so fast after that – and I don’t think I was smiling anymore. I did feel an instinct grabbing me, not allowing myself to fully take in what I had just witnessed. Not even when I was eating my breakfast or when I eventually got the hotel room. Not even in the shower or when I watched parts of a movie. But just now it hit me – and it does something with you. I am fine, but not sure what exactly to feel…

The girls will be arriving soon. I will try to sleep a little and then I look forward to see more of reality.
Klem Mai

4 days vacation in Pondicherry

2008-02-14T01:33:00.000-08:00

Tonight, tonight... I am off tonight... Ill be traveling all night long in seat number 11 in a sleeping bus, reaching Pondi early tomorrow morning. I will have the beach, yoga masters from all over the world, quit meditation spots, aryuvedic massage and reading. Two of my Norwegian friends will join me either tomorrow or on Saturday, and we will have a nice relaxing sunbathing time for a change. I will be back on Monday with lots of pictures and new memories to share,

Cheers,
Mai

Blue Monday...

2008-02-11T00:59:00.000-08:00

How wonderful life is... The sun is shining and the air is fresh. I am planning a trip to Pondicherry on Thursday to Sunday, wwhere I will met two of my friends from the last India trip. A reunion in India - now that is what I call to be privileged...

But it is not all fun and games - I am working hard on getting all my own questionnaires ready for the big trip on the 20th. I have managed to do most of the initial writing for my thesis. It is strange how easily it becomes after a while - like almost if you are on autopilot. I am aiming for a soft landing, but I am expecting some turbulence along the way, but for now I will try to float for a while...

Hope you are all doing well,
Klem Mai

I am singing in the rain...

2008-02-08T21:58:00.000-08:00

The weather the last few days has been very odd. Occasional showers and a heavy pressure, and finally today it is pouring down. This is not usual at all, and everyone are wearing a "What is going on" face today. I try to wearing my "Its global warming" face, but not sure if i have got it just yet... The response is rather "you look a bit tired".. Hmmm... need to work on expressions...

I am in the office working, gazing out at the rain through the wide open windows. The fresh air is constantly paying me a visit and everything outside looks so green and bright. I look forward to a walk later on. Unfortunately my tummy is angry, so a constant drowsiness is haunting me, as well as a vibrant headache. I am taking it slow and easy - and will see a doctor tomorrow if it does not stop. I am hungry all the time, so eating salty crisps, some rice and banana. For those who has been in India before I am sure you all remember the drink Electral. I am drinking that too - and the taste is growing on me. (A nice blend of vitamins, sugars salt and other important nutrients) Ill be fine...

Later
Mai

Reading and understanding more of the details..

2008-02-07T06:12:00.000-08:00

The last days have been filled with reading and inquiring about all sorts of things. I have started writing and tomorrow I will start on my own questionnaires. I met a Norwegian friend of mine yesterday, who will be living in Bangalore for the next 4 months. Silje and I was in India together last spring, and one of the girls from the same trip has been in India for several weeks, and another one is coming on Saturday.

We will hopefully all met up in Pondicherry next week sometime.Think we all have fallen in love with the diversity of this country and need more time to experience and learn further about this wondrous land.

As it stands I will be out in field from the 20th of February. Will most probably be 20 days of hard work. Ill keep you posted... Thank you all for encouraging emails and updates on Facebook. I Miss you all very much,

Lots of Love to you all
Mai

Tailend of the TB River- Raichur... 31.01.08

2008-02-07T05:22:00.000-08:00

The day started of with getting a top up in a kiosk, and this became a bit of a task. The man behind the counter had troubles with the process, so sent is soon on a bike to somewhere else.. i stood there kind of puzzled not sure what to say, but after about 15 minutes i received a message that said the top up was successful. Wonderful, and the kiosk man was extremely happy...

The village today was also at the tailend of a different distributary. There was more water here and they had borewells as well as some canal water, so managed, but still voiced many concerns. Todays mission was to get through the entire questionnaire and get feedback on it. We managed to get two done, and it was successful. I kept talking to the CADA officer today. He knew English so managed to ask him some of my own questions. He was very honest man, who had actually never been in this particular village. He said that " I go where societies are active, there I guide them" so was this not an active society then? The answer was " Where there is activity and participation from the farmers, results are possible to achieve. This town is expecting the government to come in and fix everything. It is a WUA here, but it is participation on paper, something you find very often in the tailend..." Then we chatted about Norway, his family, my family - and my mum rang in the middle of it. I had to talk to her later... We left with a better understanding of how the questionnaire could become better. We literally had to change everything...

The trip back to Bangalore was long. Watched a movie in the car (fancy screen in the roof in the front) Beautiful love story from West Bengal. I was deep into it when we stopped for a nice meal... Another three hours to go.. We have traveled lots the last days, and more of this is to come.. Filled to the rim with impressions I have managed to get some of my initial thoughts on paper -and my master is slowly emerging.. Nice... Bed and silence finally, but now i could not sleep. Kept pacing until 2 0'clock, but had good night sleep in the end...

Midreach of the river, and tailend of the distributary...30.01.08

2008-02-07T04:19:00.000-08:00

After having been to the lush upper part of the river, I was not sure what to expect when traveling further down. After picking up the CADA officer (Command Area Development Authority) we went off the road and onto a very invisible stretch of dirt... (a road is to exaggerate) After an hour in the car we reached our small village - and we gathered about 20 farmers in a classroom in the local school. This meeting become more tempered and two of the bigger farmers spoke most of the time. They had a lot on their chest. Not enough water, salinity problems, migration problems, labor shortages (people moved into the bigger villages rather than staying in the village) There was many of the farmers in this area that bought water from each other and they have reached a mutual payment agreement - either in cash or with a part of their crop. there had been several diseases affecting the crop outcome in the last ten years - so the safe option is to grow paddy (Rice). The first crop is not a problem but the crop they grow now is at risk due to lack of water. There are two seasons in most of Karnataka. (Kharif and Rabi season) I would like to share with you a fact: In the head reach they have water availability 7 days a week more or less in both season. (Unless there is a drought) In mid reach there is water for some hours each day. It is not constant and varies a lot. Tail enders however, reported that some days there might be only 10 minutes of water, and there could be many days without... The scenario was further confirmed in the next village we visited.

The village Koppal Camp, was the toughest one to see on this trip. As a tail end village , they hardly receive any water. The road scenery shifted quickly as we came closer to the camp. There was wast brown patches of unfruitful soils everywhere and lots of different crops. Rice, sugarcane, and Jowar (cereals) are very water intense crops found in the upper parts of the river. As there is little water here, they grow less water intensive crops. Chili fields, some cotton patches in between, sunflower and other more colorful crops were gazing back at me. I was fascinated but there was also the big untouched areas that had visible salt lines all over, not so cheerful. The farmers we met were sad and was so eager to get us to understand what their situation was like. The president of the Water User Association got up and drew on the chalkboard - to make sure we got it. There frustration was heard, and I could tell that we were all a bit unsure of what to do. We were shown their source of drinking water after the meeting... I was feeling ill just by looking at it - this is not drinking water. I became angry and could feel my own frustration raise... I took pictures, but it was hard to met the eyes of the kids and people of the village after this. They all wanted to be taken a picture of and as you can see there were tribal people who had settled down together with the other farmers in this village. Not so common... I was quiet for a long while...

We had one more village to go - we had not booked this meeting, but the CADA officer thought it would be a good idea so three hours late we sat down and had a FGD. This village was mainly farmers who had migrated from the neighboring state Andhra Pradesh. They were so frustrated and had been on several strikes without any luck..There were many who hoped we could help out.. STRIVER is research to come up with a better understanding of the local situation in the TB River basin, it is not directly going to result in a policy change or some other kind of change. That is though.. Another day was over and the bed was inviting. I was exhausted and went straight to bed. The many trains in the distance kept waking me up... Not getting much sleep at this trip....

Hampi and the head reach of the Thungabhadra River, 29.01.08

2008-02-04T21:19:00.000-08:00

Being on the road in India is absolutely amazing. The variation and different scenery makes you want to have sunshine 24 hours in order to not miss a thing. Hampi – the city once extremely fertile and pumping with activity, now some amazing ruins reflecting its glorious past. Hampi is located within the ruins of Vijayanagara, the former capital of the Vijayanagara empire (1336 – 1646). Possibly predating the city of Vijayanagara, this village continues to be an important religious centre, housing the Virupaksha Temple. The village of Hampi contains several other monuments belonging to the old city. It extends into some of the old ceremonial streets of Vijayanagara I could go on for hours here, but the pictures will explain better. I met two small kids, Ravi and Anjaneya, who without any further introduction grabbed my hand and showed me their Hampi… It was so nice to be able to interact( they spoke some English) and I loved playing and running around the temples. They even came in our car – just to show us all the rest of Hampi. What a beautiful place it must have been. It still has a really nice vibe to it…

After my first meeting with the lush upper part of TungaBhadra I was thrilled to meet the farmers in the head reach of the river. These farmers owned up to 50 acres of land, they have lots of water as they are very close to the dam, resulting in the possibility to grow two crops of Paddy (rice) each year, they are well organised, most of them speak three languages (Hindi, Kannada and English) and they are very well off in general. Their biggest concerns are on a level that easily can be fixed. The survey was well received, and as there was lots of surplus water and not so much concern on the organizational level, it was a smooth ride and an easy introduction to fieldwork. After about 6 hours in the field, we drove towards Bellary city and another hotel – happy with today’s achievements. This time the standard was a little less pompous, and as I was very tired the bed looked inviting. We went off to have a meal, and ended up at really small restaurant were two cows were blocking the entrance. The food was really good, and apparently we were the first foreigners in the café. When my head finally hit the pillow I was in heaven. – As I was about to enter dreamland, a big fight started outside my window. A man got smashed up, and about 20 people gathered to look and yell. This kept on for about 30 minutes, and the man being hit was crying in such horrible way. As I had netting in front of the window, so it was hard to see what was going on – but it sounded terrible…Again a rough entry to another night….

The road ahead… 28.01.08

2008-02-04T05:10:00.000-08:00

Ready to go, I was up in a hurry this morning. My body was already on a journey, and my mind had troubles following.. or maybe it was the other way around? Finally we, myself, David from Niva, Umesh, Avi, and Harish, where on our way to Hospet, in the Bellary district. The journey was estimated at 6 hours, but ended up being more like 8.5. The last 8 km was spent in a queue full of lorries with iron for the 2008 Olympics in China. Apparently this region has delivered minerals for the last year and half. It must have been 100 -200 lorries in both of the directions, and there was police officers with large sticks who had a go at the lorries breaking the queuing system. There were plenty of those, so we had several moments with yelling, smashing of mirrors and bulking the lorry doors – it was wild times and the frustration of the officers seeped easily into our cars as you could tell they felt it was the only thing left to do.

Finally reaching the hotel (I thought we would all sleep in a shared room, me under my mosquito netting in one corner and the boys in the other corner, but no…) We, my boss and I, were put in a five stars hotel, whilst the boys went off to another place. There was no more of the single rooms available, although that was what we had ordered, so I got the Honeymoon suite!!! I have to say, this was not at all what I expected –see the pictures and I guess you see where I am coming from. I spent a long time accepting this and so did my boss. We both were extremely baffled, and agreed to tell the boys that we did not want this extreme type of differentiation from now on. I then agreed that, lets have one night sleeping comfortably and getting some good rest. In bed at 2430, under five layers of blankets (I turned of all the AC, but still it was freezing) and dozed off probably around 0100. Then at 0130 I woke up panicking as it sounded just like two bombs had gone off … Then I heard the most intense drumming, screaming and bustle from the street –so there was a festival on… I am light sleeper so this was not my cup of tea –I wanted so badly my beauty sleep. After 30 minutes it died off, and I wet into sound sleep. Guess what woke me up at 0600 this morning? Those bombing sounds again and intensive drumming… hm.. The shower was nice and now I am of to breakfast. Wonder what Hampi is like?

Klem Mai

Work, work, work...and a trip to town....

2008-01-27T01:52:00.000-08:00

For the last two days I have been snowed down in work. Only yesterday I allowed myself a short (4 hours) stay in town. The destination: one of Bangalore's biggest book stores, Sopna. It was three floors filled with lots of great books, and there was a sale on, so nowI have three more books to carry home. I also got a "Teach yourself Kannada CD, the local language spoken in Karnataka, the state I am in. Now I can recall some of the colures, say how are you, count, read numbers, ask for more tea or if you would like some tea? And so on... I know more Kannada than most of the other people here ironically, as they are from other parts of the country.

Yesterday evening my boss from NIVA, the water research institution I work for back home in Norway, arrived. It was funny speaking Norwegian again, yet alone here about the weather, the cold and the interesting new things that has happened in project since I left. How do I keep up, well I will just do my very best…

Tomorrow we are off to the field: My first meeting with the river, the people and the environment. I cannot wait...The Bellary region is very diverse, and has many different types of scenery. It is meant to be very beautiful.

I hope you are all doing well back home, that life is treating you well and that you are all enjoying life. Keep smiling…

Klem Mai

Bangalore by night...

2008-01-24T05:09:00.000-08:00

Yesterday two of my friends wanted to take me shopping, so we were off to Mahatma Gandhi Road. (I have been to that road before only in Delhi.)It seems like there is an MG road in every city - all in all Gandhi was the father of India, so not to surprising. It was a nice trip as we went to a typical Indian market where I bought a fruit bowl. This place had traditional handy crafts at official prices. No haggling, only fair-priced goods. Lots of nice things: small to extremely big elephants (I want a big one., but maybe not ideal for the plane!!!), goddesses, pashminas, jewelry, sandalwood, it was all there...Will probably go back there again... After getting a nice cup of coffee, some fruits, some cloths, a soap box for my bar of washing powder and some cheap Indian film classics (5 - 7 kr), we went to the 13th Floor. Nice restaurant with a view to die for.. There it was, Bangalore by night, accompanied by the full moon. So beautiful and great food. A must if you ever are in Bangalore.

Now the days are rushing away, the easy start I have had, with spare hours to do whatever I want to, are over. Now it is work, read write, learn understand and ask all the stupid questions I possibly can think of... Learning the language too. That is fun... It will ease off a bit after I will be back from fieldwork. I am leaving next Monday to Shimoga and the Bellary district, where we will be conducting a test of the household survey we have worked on for the last months. This is to tune it, so that we are on the right track and asking the right type of questions, which will result in as unbiased answers as possible. I cannot wait to get out there... Very excited indeed... The trip also starts in Hampi - a beautiful village of old, old ruins, hence the nickname "The City of Ruins". Kannada Hampe derives from Pampa, which is the ancient name for the Tungabhadra river. I will tell more of this when I return..

The mosquitos are attacking me from all angles, so I have to run.. More tomorrow. I am reachable on Skype, for those who has this facility, and I am usally on from around 130 230… Hope every one is good, and enjoy the new pictures…
Cheers,
Mai

The bus and all the beautiful names…

2008-01-22T03:12:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was really good. One of the researchers here, my next-door neighbour kindly asked if I wanted to join him on an excursion to a different university - The University of Theology. I accepted, as getting out and about, is fascinating. I asked if it would be a long journey, and he replied that it was kind of far, but acceptable. Starting with a rickshaw outside the gate, we jumped off at the main road and then got on a public bus. My first journey on the bus was a pleasant and long experience. There are reserved seats for women at the front and men at the back of the bus, and separate doors too. Women use the front door to enter and leave, and men use the middle door. This is just the way it is, and it ensures the women a place to sit, I was told.

45 min later we arrived at our stop, after not being able to stop peering out at all the thousands of colourful people outside. Now the hard part began. Now where do we go? The professor is from Bengal and speaks English most of the time, and he has an extremely loud voice, which sometimes seems very offensive to others. This made it hard for him to get what he wanted but eventually after asking about 15 people we found it. Mind you I got it the first time around, but he insisted I was wrong, which I kind just accepted at one point. Strong voice is a bit scary...When we finally arrived, he was 40 minutes late for his meeting, which he could have done over the phone as the lady could not help him at all.

But all in all, the University was one of the prettiest places I have been so far, with a stunning environment and a good mixture of people from all over the world. Very peaceful and tranquil, so defiantly worth the trip...

Heading home we talked about the meaning of names. As I am a visual person I now see what the name means, rather than remembering the names. I have so far met happiness, empowerment, the milky-way, lion, the soft one (Lolita, I recall that one) flower, a thanks to a goddess, and yesterday I met Tunga. She is named after the river I am writing about – the Tungabhadra River. Her father wrote his PHD on the river and thought it was the most beautiful place on earth – so hence the name. I am in love with this tradition and rethinking what I might call my kids…

My stomach is still singing happily and I have made lots of new friends, who are so wonderful and inspirational. The peacefulness is seeping in slowly and the stress from Norway is leaving me alone. Still a bit jetlagged, but that too I hope will ease. Take care and miss you all dearly,
Cheers,
Mai

Harmony...

2008-01-20T01:38:00.000-08:00

Today I got up at 7 o’clock to meditate on the roof. People are generally up very early here, so a great need for inner peace and a bit of ME-time. I am not sure if I can call today’s session meditation, but sat still for 30 minutes and relaxed. It is weird how hard it becomes to zone out; when your brain has a million things it would like to remind you of. It does loosen up every part of your body though, and you firmly wake up. I was hassled a bit by nature – as a crow was interrogating this new specimen, me, which had entered its territory. On the rooftops of Delhi the peacocks where everywhere, whilst here, you have small white owls, crows and hawks. A very nice start to the morning…

It is Founders day of ISEC today, as the institution was founded 37 years ago. The governor of Karnataka, former leaders of the board and a broad range of the best Indian academics will come here and celebrate. It is all in English, so I have had an interesting Sunday so far. Professor André Béteille gave a very interesting talk on the current understanding and significance of the cast system. He looked at it from a modern point of view, comparing today’s understanding, with that of the past. His main points were that the practice of the cast system was fading, and that there was a general acceptance for this in many parts of India. The obsession with cast and the very often negative connotations it has, is of the past. According to Béteille the only place which revives this tradition, and thereby retain a rather incorrect picture, is the political arena. By playing the cast card, there party’s popularity at various levels remains. This is unfortunate, but as long as it is a known fact, there are ways of dealing with it. Béteille did not deny that there is still a cast practice going on, but it is loosing its firm grip. As an example he used intermarriages. (One cast marries another cast) Many accept intermarriages, as long as the man is of higher cast than the woman. This is progress and was unthinkable 60 years ago. Another example he used was that there is less bias in the work arena and in the educational system. At this point Béteille asked the audience to think about how some occupations are valued in the US, as well as in other parts of the world? Very interesting indeed… All in all a nice eye opener.

(ISPY is gone again, and I wonder where he is this time… Just don’t jump on me in my sleep.)

I am trying to relax, but the context makes me want to dive into the many books I have found and work, work, work… I will try enjoying the sun whilst reading – a bit of business and pleasure at the same time…

Later,

Klem Mai

Progress!

2008-01-20T01:36:00.000-08:00

Today I have had a day of sighting in Bangalore. Having seen most of the hinduist temples, the Bangalore Palace, the Bangalore State building, and done a bit of shopping, I have been there and done that. I am at campus and talking to the guy who runs the kitchen, who studies here at ISEC and is very open and friendly. In fact most of the people I met are friendly and are slowly starting to chat and say hello, which is very nice. The kitchen guy asked if I had a computer with DVD player, and as I nodded, he was on his way to the rental- shop. Now he will show me all the best films apparently. “Lagaan” was a nice movie on rural village life in north India, and the importance of rain. Very tired now, and the local time is 2300, so think the jetlag is fading…

Cheers,
Mai

Dazed and Confused…

2008-01-20T01:34:00.000-08:00

Exhausted I tried to stay awake but at 9 I guess I was out like a child. Now, I am awake, and have been since 2 o'clock. Soon it will be morning… it is 425 here, and I guess I am jetlagged. Cannot remember that from Delhi. I have to push myself tomorrow. Not sleep until late.

Just watched the film “The Kite Runner ” based on the book by Khaled Hosseini. The intro is absolutely stunning and the rest of the movie is touching. Everyone have to go and see it… It is absolutely beautiful. As I never got to read the book I think, it blew me away. Not sure when it is out…

I have got a roommate, a giant spider that I have named ISPY. (He was not there last time I checked – maybe he is gone…) I am happy, scared and very much overwhelmed by all this. I feel so out of place at same time I am adjusting. Tomorrow I will see Bangalore. My colleagues have arranged for a car to pick me up – which feels awkward, yet I do not know enough Kannada to go anywhere and feel safe I will return. But I am learning. It is just a matter of weeks and I will be fluent, ha ha…

I have met many people today. It will be good to get some friends, someone who can after a while show me the real Bangalore. Trying to slow things down, which is hard when you are used to a busy everyday. I know it will be busier after a while, so nice to relax now.

Feeling sleepy again, maybe because it is 0022 at home… Good night…

Mai

Daylight….

2008-01-18T01:00:00.000-08:00

After just having managed to unpack, there was a knock on my door and three smiling faces greeted me; Lenin, Manasi and Leetha. What a pleasant surprise – I had just dressed so grabbed the keys and embarked on a nice tour around campus. A little oases indeed. Lush and green.

I have now had my first cup of chai tea, a introduction to some of the staff at ISEC and had a quick tour outside the gates in the local shops. Still feeling a bit tired and drained I will try to rest today. In an hour I will have my first meal, which will do me good. I was told that the name of this area Nagarbhavi means the Well of Snakes, and that there are snakes here, so will have to watch out. Manasi has worked here for three years, but has only seen a snake once. I will let you know if I see one. A different everyday life indeed.

The food was so tasty and so I can get used this. More tasty than the Delhi food - so not worried about that.

Today is the founders day of ISEC, so everyone is out celebrating and by that I mean playing sports. Funny introduction. Will go to the shops now to get some fruit and light snacks. 5 hours until the next meal...

Cheers,
Mai

I am here….

2008-01-18T00:58:00.000-08:00

Well I have arrived after 8 hours on the plane from Frankfurt. The plane ride was very nice, and the food delicious. Slept the first hours then watched a nice on Indian movie – “Chak Dai India”. The customs was not a problem, but the baggage took forever. “Funnily” the baggage belt I was waiting at stopped before my bag had arrived – but realizing that approx 100 other passengers had not received their bags either, I was relieved to find a second conveyor belt from Frankfurt. I got my bag – and now all I had to do was find Mr. Raghavendra with a sign with my name on it. He was outside and had been waiting for an hour, but said that was normal. “So this is Bangalore,” I thought, staring into a large palm tree and suddenly a bat flew over my head.

I was not sure what to expect, so the coldish weather at 2 o'clock in the morning took me a little by surprise. Secondly, whilst driving, I was shocked to see that there was no one around. I have until now seen 50 people - and that is after a drive across Bangalore for half an hour. This is a city with 6.5 million people -

I have seen no holy cows walking around, like in Delhi, but lots of stray dogs. They seem to be everywhere.

The room is nice, and as the campus is huge and very safe (large gate with security man) I look forward to see the site at daylight. Goodnight and will show you more tomorrow…

Mai

Over the moon...

2008-01-15T05:59:00.001-08:00

Today I have felt my new "normal" hart rate since the break of dawn. I am nervous in, I guess, a healthy way... New Years seems like yesterday, whilst tomorrow is already the 16th and my last night in my own bed in a while... Hm... Wonder if I will sleep well.

On Thursday I’ll be up at 4 to catch the first train out to Gardemoen - and then I am on my way to Bangalore. How incredible lucky I am to be able to do these travels. I will make sure to share my adventures and learning’s with you all....

Cheers,
Mai

Bangalore, here I come....

2008-01-12T01:26:00.000-08:00

First stop on Thursday will be the capital of the state Karnataka, Bangalore. It holds an estimated 6.5 million people and is a today referred to as the "Silicon valley" of India. This because of its huge business activity with the latest technology. As telephone lines were laid to help co-ordinate anti-plague operations in 1898, it continued to be at the forefront of technology and became the first city in India to have electricity, (1906) powered by the hydroelectric plant situated in Shivanasamudra.

I will be staying at ISEC - Institute for Social and Economic Change. (http://www.isec.ac.in/) one of the main institutions involved in STRIVER in India. I will post some pictures of the place after I have settled in...

I am very excited, as I will be exposed to such a different everyday life for the next 2 and a half months. A butterfly colony is settling in my stomach for sure... Lets see what awaits me...

sari-hoog-biTT-banni - okay, I got to go now...

Cheers,
Mai

This feeling inside!!!!! 15 days to departure...

2008-01-02T13:30:00.000-08:00

Everything is under control or is it?

I am happy that 2008 starts of with only 2 weeks in my native country, Norway and then I am of to see what India, or more precisely Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, and their realms for two and a half months. My first proper field trip - and probably not my last..

As a Master Student at SUM in Oslo (www.sum.uio.no) India became the country I was determined to write about, after discovering how the public force and later the stately force struggled against Coca Cola i Kerala - ending with a total ban of Coke for over a year. This because of Coke's intrusiveness, over usage, pollution and a general lack respect and understanding for the precious resource of life - water, and the consequences this all had in the local communities (http://www.indiaresource.org/index.html.)

To me India always seemed to be a country representing a unique way of life, and in some parts more harmonious and at peace with nature, maybe even more than my own country - Norway. Yet one cannot even begin to compare the two. Norway with its mere 5 million inhabitants, far from comparable with the second largest nation in the world - 1.3 billion (or some say less, some claims there to be more) Also India ranked at 128th place in the latest UNDP Human Development Rapport, whilst Norway ranked as number 2. Hmmm... When I was in India the first time, I used these three words to best describe the feeling inside: Colorfulness, Diversity and Optimism... I wonder if I would us the same three words next time? I want to understand this country - dig deeper into its reality....and of I go in 15 days...

Since India is renowned for leapfrogging the most disastrous steps of industrialization and booming away with technology and interesting local solutions to local problems, it looks to me like a progressing country. Also labeled as the worlds largest democracy - I surely want to find out what kind of democracy one encounters and how this is implemented. HOW does one mange to hear everyone and take the diversity's into account?

To narrow it all down - my topic of interests is WATER. Yes, water and its complexity... Management of water to sum it up - and I want to to find out if end-users are being heard in the management process of water. How do the end-users manage to affect the management process? How do their voice shine through in the bigger picture?

I have landed a dream role in the EU-funded project; STRIVER (www.striver.no), a project concentrating on creating a better understanding of Integrated Water Resource Management (IWRM), the "best" method for ensuring a holistic management process, as the main focus is on local stakeholder participation and interaction, communication amongst all sectors. Working for the Norwegian Institute for water research NIVA (www.niva.no) I will be their arm in field... Wonder how far it stretches, but sure am willing to give it a serious try...

I could go on, but this is meant to be the teaser, and not the entire plot of my thesis... I will try to update this blog as regularly as nature allows me to, and surely let you in on the beauty reality will allow me to encounter on my mission...

It is soon my own reality. I wonder if I can get underneath the surface at all...

Cheers,
Mai