Monthly Archives: February 2010

Hindi classes with Italian cultural center

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For the past two months, I’ve been doing something new: working as a Hindi teacher at the Centro Risorse India center. I’ve been conducting “walking classes,” which are both interesting and enjoyable, though they can be a bit dull when dealing with absolute beginners. About two months ago, Marco, the head of Centro Risorse India, asked me to give these walking classes. Although I had no prior experience, Marco encouraged me to give it a try. He assured me that if I liked it, there would be more opportunities for me.

With some free time on my hands, I decided to take on the challenge. My first student was Caterina, a girl from the University of Venice. I took her out for a walk, and we started conversing in Hindi. To make the sessions more engaging, I chose topics related to Benares or Indian culture instead of sticking to general conversation. This approach proved effective. Caterina, who lived in the Nagwa neighborhood, was my very first student, and I felt a bit nervous on that first day. I chose to discuss the “History of Nagwa” as the topic.

We spent a couple of hours discussing Nagwa and also delved into some controversial political and social issues related to the neighborhood. The class flew by, and I found the experience quite fulfilling. Since then, I have worked with many students and thoroughly enjoy the job, especially when the students have a sufficient grasp of Hindi to express themselves. This role not only allows me to share information about India and Benares with foreigners but also gives me a chance to learn about different countries and cultures through my interactions with international students.

However, I encountered a student who knew no Hindi at all, which was extremely frustrating. I advised her to focus on Hindi grammar first before reaching out to me again. Despite this, the feedback from the students I’ve worked with has been positive. Now, the university is offering me a language and teaching training program in Venice for a month, which sounds exciting. However, I’m unsure if I should attend, as the program is scheduled for June, when I plan to visit America. I’m considering whether there might be an opportunity to visit neighboring countries of Italy after the training, which would make the trip even more appealing.

Finally received Indian passport

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I finally received my passport, and believe me, it took more than eleven months. I applied for it last February and only received it this January. The entire process was marred by bureaucratic red tape and corruption. From purchasing the application to finally holding the passport in my hands, it was a constant ordeal of bribery and inefficiency. The police were supposed to verify my documents by visiting my home and meeting me in person, but instead, I had to go to the police station, where they demanded Rs. 600 and never followed up with a home visit.

Similarly, the Local Intelligence Unit (LIU), known for its propensity to ask for bribes and its lack of genuine efficiency, was also supposed to verify my documents. I ended up meeting the officer in a hospital room where his wife was admitted. It was quite absurd: I received a call from an LIU officer who said he had my passport documents and wanted to meet me. When I inquired about the time he would visit my home, he told me his wife was ill and in the hospital, so he provided me with the hospital address and asked me to meet him there.

At the hospital, this officer took me to the room where his wife was lying in bed. She had the typical appearance of someone whose spouse is involved in corrupt practices. The officer briefly reviewed my documents and then demanded Rs. 600 as a bribe. My friends had advised me to offer only Rs. 300, so I tried to negotiate, but he insisted that the Rs. 600 would be distributed among all the officers at the LIU office. Reluctantly, I paid him the full amount.

Adding to the absurdity, the officer then asked me to teach him English. I couldn’t help but laugh at the request and didn’t know how to respond. I suggested a few language schools and quickly left the hospital. During our conversation, he revealed something troubling: when I asked why he didn’t come to my home for verification, he mentioned that they were primarily concerned with people who have beards, implying a focus on Muslims.I understand that one particular group is involved in the majority of terrorist activities around the world and may be viewed with suspicion. However, as an officer working for the LIU, he should have visited my place and conducted a thorough check regardless.

The inefficiency and bias of institutions like the LIU seem to contribute to the problem rather than address it effectively. It’s disheartening to see how these institutions operate, especially given the significant impact of terrorism on our society.

Josh Massad’s World Through Music

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I’m working with a musician named Josh Massad on a project called “World Through Music,” which focuses on teaching music and other subjects through music. Josh travels globally, teaching music to children in various regions. In the U.S., he introduces American kids to African and Indian music. In Africa, he teaches Indian and American music to African kids, and currently, in India, he’s teaching African, American, and Asian music to children in Varanasi. About a month ago, Josh contacted me to see if I would be interested in collaborating on this project.

Josh with village kids

The project intrigued me, so I agreed to assist him. My role involves organizing his performances at schools throughout Varanasi. To give Josh and his project broad exposure, I arranged for him to perform at a variety of schools, including city schools, village schools, private schools, government schools, play schools, and schools run by NGOs. In total, we planned around 50 performances over 25 days, with 25 performances at village schools where children come from very poor families, 10 at NGO-run training centers for girls, 10 at city schools, and about 5 at schools run by NGOs.

Josh teaching Kanjira

One of the performances is scheduled at a school for children of sex workers in Varanasi. These children often face difficulties gaining admission to traditional schools due to a lack of residential proof and documentation about their parents. An NGO in Varanasi has started a school specifically for these children, and we will be working with them as well. Additionally, we’ve organized performances with children from my educational program and with daytime child laborers in Mehdiganj, where Lok Samiti runs evening classes for them.

Dancing with a kid

Josh carries a map and various instruments from around the world. He starts by discussing geography, teaching about the seven continents and the countries within them. He then shows these locations on a map and introduces the instruments, explaining where each one originates. It was surprising to see that many village kids had little knowledge of geography; some didn’t even know which continent India is on or could name its states. I hope Josh’s lessons will spark their curiosity and expand their knowledge.

Josh teaching map

After introducing his instruments, Josh plays them for the kids and teaches them African songs. One song, in particular, is a favorite: “Fanga Alafia, Ashe Ashe,” a welcome song from Africa. The kids love singing it and joining in with Josh. He also teaches various clapping styles and occasionally introduces basic yoga techniques. The project is progressing well, and seeing the children’s enjoyment makes me happy. However, a few teachers have questioned the relevance of teaching African songs, expressing doubt about their impact.

showing an Indonesian instrument

I don’t expect the children to master all of Josh’s instruments or geography in a single day, but I am confident that his performances will ignite an interest in world geography and music. If they glance at a map even once at home, I’ll consider the project a success. Josh is planning to make a documentary about his work next year and wants me to organize the details. He is also considering starting a mobile school in India and again hopes I can help with the arrangements. He envisions bringing musicians from various places to travel with him and teach music and geography. It sounds incredibly exciting, and I’m looking forward to being part of it.

Kids also love to play the instruments

Shivratri 2010

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It was Shivratri on the 12th, and I was incredibly excited for it. Shivratri is the biggest festival in Varanasi, celebrated as the wedding anniversary of Lord Shiva. There are over six thousand temples in Varanasi, but only 11 of them organize a wedding parade for Lord Shiva. The parade begins at various temples and culminates near the Vishwanath Temple (the Golden Temple). The most popular and grandest parade starts at the Mahamrityunjay Temple and is the final parade of the day. I attended the parade with my friends, and it was absolutely amazing.

Lord Shiva and Parvati

Bhang, which is associated with Lord Shiva and an integral part of Varanasi’s culture, is consumed by many people during the festival as a blessing from Lord Shiva. People take a bath in the Ganges, perform rituals at Shiva temples, offer bhang, and then consume it. The entire city is decorated with lights, free bhang drinks are served everywhere, and people come out to join the festivities. It’s so much fun—I love this festival. It is said that during Lord Shiva’s wedding, a diverse array of characters participated, including gods, goddesses, ghosts, demons, and more. Consequently, the wedding parade featured all sorts of characters.

The parade included people wearing ghost masks, individuals dressed as gods and goddesses, snake charmers, hijras, and various animals like cows, bulls, goats, dogs, horses, and elephants. There were people smoking ganja, and the scene was quite chaotic. One man dressed as Lord Shiva was leading the parade. He was extremely high on bhang, almost sleeping while walking. I had seen the same man in last year’s parade, and I suspect he was deliberately given a lot of bhang, as he was also nearly unconscious last year. He struggled to walk, would occasionally faint, and either walked slowly with his eyes closed, danced, or fainted. I doubt Lord Shiva fainted at his wedding, but Varanasi’s bhang certainly has that effect on people!

ghost

The man carried a trident and a damru, and wore a dhatura garland. He performed the Tandav dance for a short time, then would faint. As he fainted or fell asleep, people chanted “Har Har Mahadev” (a chant for Lord Shiva) and “Jago Baba” (meaning “wake up, baba”) to rouse him. The noise from thousands of people shouting “Har Har Mahadev” was deafening, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I’m not sure how anyone can survive after consuming so much bhang, but he seemed to be holding on.

Character playing Lord Shiva fainted due to intoxication of Bhang

The festival featured loud music, with drums playing everywhere, but I particularly enjoyed the Nagada drum. The Nagada is a traditional Varanasi instrument used in both wedding and funeral parades. We take pride in our Nagada performances. Josh, wanting to try bhang, bought a glass of bhang lassi without consulting me. He expected it to have an immediate effect like alcohol, but bhang takes time to work. Later, he asked me for more bhang lassi, so I took him to a reputable shop, not realizing he had already consumed some.

Bhang Thandai

After drinking more than half a glass of bhang lassi, Josh said it wasn’t making him high, and I explained it would take some time. He asked how long, and I told him at least two hours. He then revealed he had already drunk a glass of bhang lassi an hour earlier. I advised against drinking a second glass, but he insisted he could handle it. Although I knew two glasses of bhang were too much, he believed he’d be fine. It’s been over 48 hours since his second glass, and he’s still asleep in his room. When I asked if he would ever drink bhang again, he said never.

elephants were also there

Many documentaries have been made about Varanasi and its festivals, but none focus specifically on this one. I had planned to film the festival but couldn’t due to my commitments with Josh’s project and a lack of resources. Now, Josh wants to help me make a documentary about the festival, and I’m really looking forward to it. I’ll do my best to capture the essence of this festival, and I’m sure it will be a lot of fun. The festival is over now, and I’m already excited for next year. Har Har Mahadev!

Lord Shiva

San Francisco guests at home

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I hosted a couple from San Francisco at my guest house for three weeks. They arrived in Varanasi five weeks ago and initially stayed at a guest house near Assi Ghat for two weeks. Unfortunately, they were uncomfortable there because the bed in their room was not to their liking. They learned about my guest house through Megan, one of my guests, whom they met at a café. Megan brought them to my place, and they enjoyed it so much that they decided to spend the rest of their time in Varanasi with us. Both of them are psychologists from San Francisco.

They were eager to learn Hindi and tabla while in Varanasi. I introduced them to the Indian classical music school next door, where Uncle Sam was impressed and decided to take tabla lessons. Binit, the Hindi teacher, taught them the language. They showed a strong interest in social work, having already been involved with Bal Ashram before arriving. I also took them to Lok Samiti to show them the organization’s work, and they were deeply impressed. They even asked Nandlal Master, the president of Lok Samiti, if they could assist with his efforts.

Uncle Sam and Auntie Mar were wonderful guests. Even though their stay was only three weeks, we developed a strong bond, and I miss them now. Uncle Sam kindly gave me a netbook, which will be incredibly useful for me during power cuts and while traveling.

Winning a television

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Today, while watching the news on India TV, I was reminded of a memorable experience from three years ago when I won their “Best Video of the Day” contest. At that time, Lane and I had visited Nagwa, Varanasi, to document untreated sewage discharge into the Ganga. Lane used his digital camera to capture footage of this issue. I sent the video to India TV, and it was selected as the “Best Video of the Day,” earning me a prize: a color TV. I was thrilled about the prize, especially since I didn’t own a TV and couldn’t afford one. However, India TV requested a bank draft of Rs. 2300 as a tax on the lottery winnings.

Eager to claim my prize, I sent the money. They then sent me a letter on Sansui’s letterhead (as Sansui sponsored the program) stating that I could collect the TV at the nearest Sansui store. Upon visiting the address listed on the letterhead, I discovered that the office had closed a year earlier. I reached out to India TV, who instructed me to contact Sansui’s Mumbai office. Mumbai redirected me to their Lucknow office, which then told me to wait a week. After a week, Lucknow informed me that no local dealer had the TV model I had won, and I would need to wait further. The same story persisted with each follow-up.

When I complained to India TV, they stated that their only role was to collect the money and forward it to Sansui, leaving the responsibility of delivering the TV to Sansui. Shocked by their response, I threatened to involve the police, but they dismissed my concerns. Despite continuous efforts to resolve the issue through Sansui’s Mumbai and Lucknow offices, as well as local dealers, no solution was forthcoming. Eventually, I decided to file a complaint with the police to document my attempts to resolve the issue. However, the police at my local station were unhelpful and informed me that they couldn’t register my complaint without connections at a larger station. This response was disheartening.

Ultimately, after over six months of persistence, I received my prize by traveling to Lucknow overnight. I spent more than Rs. 1500 on phone calls and the trip, which diminished my excitement about the TV. While I was initially thrilled to win, the experience of retrieving the prize was fraught with challenges. Since then, I’ve created several videos but have refrained from sending them to India TV due to their inadequate support and handling of the situation. My experience with India TV, Sansui, and the police was deeply frustrating and disappointing.