Category Archives: Studies in India

work with DePauw university

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I worked with DePauw University from Indiana, USA. Mr. Rajai Bimbo who is Assistant Director of Civic, Global and Professional Opportunities department at DePauw contacted me to assist him and his students during their one week trip to Varanasi. He basically contacted me because of my work with LGBT community in India. He was also interested in NGOs of Varanasi. BHU was already there host university but they were not happy with the way BHU professors and someone named Mr. Ramuji were not replying them on time. There was a time came when they asked what could I offer to their students for one week.

It clearly meant that once they thought about giving me the whole program but of course BHU and Ramuji are big names so I could not get the whole business. Mr. Bimbo told me once that he had contacted BHU professors and Ramuji asking them to collaborate with me so that we could work together but they did not want me to get involved in the program hence they said that I was good but not good enough to work with them. Finally Mr. Bimbo told me that I could not work together with them but he still wanted me to spend some time with their students to talk about LGBT rights in India and activism going on in Varanasi.

I was given a few hours to organize something for them and I thought a visit to Lok Samiti, interview with Mr. Nandlal Master, a visit to an real Indian village and Coca-Cola affected site would be great visit for the students so I took them to Mehdiganj. I organized a meeting with Mr. Nandlal Master where students asked questions about work of Lok Samiti and its struggle against Coca-Cola. After the interview I gave a tour of the village and then took the students to a site where a canal was being dug under MNREGA scheme. Students talked with the farmers and people working at the site which was really interesting to them. I have always given priority to work with students and it is my dream project to organize such university programs in my city but unfortunately BHU professors and Mr. Ramuji did want me get involved with DePauw.

The things that I was offering to DePauw was a lot better than what was offered by BHU and Mr. Ramuji but only because of politics and monopoly in the industry I could not get this business and students could not get most out of their money and time. Mr. Bimbo’s asking to BHU and Mr. Ramuji to collaborate with me was clear indication of they liking my work and offer. Anyways, I was happy to work with them and have done my best. Students and Mr. Bimbo both seemed happy with me which was the biggest achievement for me.

 

Hotel Haifa in Varanasi

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Hotel Haifa is located near Assi ghat in Varanasi. They are recommended on several on online travel forum and have really good reputation in the market hence they are usually full. I also used to recommend their hotel but did not know about their strange business policy that they do not allow tourist guides inside their hotel. Actually I an American university ‘s student group was staying at Hotel Haifa and they wanted to meet me. They invited to their hotel and we were talking in the restaurant inside the hotel. Suddenly the owner of the hotel Mr. Ravi Mishra showed up to introduce himself to the group.

After talking with them he asked me how come I was there. I told him that the group had invited me because they wanted to talk with me and he seemed upset hearing this. He told me- Listen, I want to make this clear to you that I do not allow guides and outsiders to enter in my hotel. I was shocked to hear this. He said that he doesn’t allow tourist guides to enter in the hotel and talk with the clients. He asked me not to enter in his hotel again. After talking with me he told the same thing to the group. They were all looking at me with surprised face. They told me sorry for whatever happened.

I was really shocked and felt guilty for whatever happened with me. It was the first time when somebody insulted me. We stopped our meeting and left the hotel. I talked about it with a few people who had already stayed at the Hotel Haifa and one of them told me – The restaurant staff was eager to please, but I felt slightly intimidated by the demeanor of management. They do promote their own tour guides, money changing and travel agent services so that explains what they are doing to you. As an American traveling alone, I liked having one person I could count on and had developed a rapport with leading up to the trip. They want to be the guests’ primary resource or they have touts they want to network with.

I don’t know what to say about this but it is really strange if they do not allow locals or tourist guides to meet with their clients. I think they don’t want their clients to meet with locals so that their clients always hear them and finally they can be cheated easily. I had heard about British prohibiting Dogs and Indians at several places but it all happened in early 1900 and now I see the same thing happening in the 21st century even we are already independent and have our own government. Do you really think that you want to support such hotel by staying there? I am not going to work with anyone whoever stays there.

child sponsorship in varanasi

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It has been more than 7 months since we started ChanceIndia education program and I am so happy that we have almost 40 supporters and we are sending 43 poor kids to the school. When Atilla and I planned to start the program we were hoping to find hardly ten-fifteen sponsors thus we had chosen only 20 kids but Attila got great response in Hungry. He gave his interviews to radio stations, TV channels and news paper in Hungry and did several presentations about the program and got almost 30 supporters. I was not hoping for that many sponsors because we did not have anything to show but fortunately we got great response.

Twenty three come from the village area where we are working with Lok Samiti and twenty kids are here in Varanasi city.  The program is 0% management cost program hence all the money is being spent on the children only. Attila needed an assistant so we hired one guy and Attila pays his salary from his own pocket and not from the Chance India’s account. Which shows Attila’s dedication for the program. Attila and Dora both work really hard for the program and they are always looking for any opportunity to help the kids who are part of the program.

Dora goes to Mehdiganj three times a week to teach English to the kids who come from the village area. She teaches to the kids here in Varanasi also. She has three classes every week. They have hired a computer teacher also who teaches to the kids in village area. Actually Attila wanted to do it but he noticed that the kids were having problem learning with Attila because of the language barrier. I really liked the idea of publishing all the financial transaction on Chance India’s website so that there is more transparency. There are always someone working as a volunteer which gives more opportunity to the kids practicing their English and I am sure it would help them a lot. I really hope that this program would be a successful program and would help the community a lot.

Coca-Cola Varanasi

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I worked with a journalist named Bart Spellers from Holland who was writing an article about the Coke issue in India. He wanted to visit all the disputed Coke sites in India including Mehdiganj, Varanasi and I worked with him in Varanasi as his local assistant and translator. I also look for an opportunity of visiting Mehdiganj and talking with people about their problems created by Coke so I was happy to get this job. I took Bart to Mehdiganj, arranged interviews with Nandlal Master, a few employees, the union leader at the Coke plant, a few women and a few farmers. Bart did not want so many interviews but he wanted to talk with the right kind of people because he did not have much time for Benares.

I was kind of surprised to hear that he did not have much time for his work. He was writing the article on a very controversial subject and I think he should have spent more time in Benares in order to come closer to the fact. Anyways, I think they did good job because they talked with few but the right kind of people. I had an idea but was surprised to talk with the people in Mehndiganj. I was very well aware of the situation but thought it might get better this year but after talking with the people I realized that the situation is still the same as it was four years ago when I went there the first time to work.

All of the people were still angry at Coke and the government. They all said that Coke is responsible for the lack of water in Mehdiganj and the government is doing nothing against Coke. They said that the situation has been getting worse and worse year by year which did not surprise me at all. We had less than average rain last year and I heard that Coke’s market increased within the past year in India which would of course cause more ground water shortage. Nandlal Master said that the committee constituted by the prime minister of India to study the issue has submitted its report to the PMO but has not made it public yet which sounded strange to me.

Why not make the report public since the study has been completed? Nandlal said that he has used a RTI to ask when the report will be given to him and the concerned department replied to him that they have asked the district magistrate to get him the report. It is okay if they are going to provide the report but I still do not understand why they tried to hide it? Why was it not given to the media? After all it is a big issue . So many questions again and the government and Coke both seem suspicious to me. Hopefully someday something will happen, but it is not sure when.

Finally the article is published here:
http://www.depers.nl/buitenland/497352/Coca-Cola-zuigt-de-grond-leeg.html

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.

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

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.

Italian language course

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I’ve recently joined an Italian language course and am excited about the opportunity. I’ve always wanted to learn a foreign language, but in Varanasi, there haven’t been many options. BHU and Sampoornanand Sanskrit University were the only institutions offering foreign language courses, and BHU only accepts its own students, while attending Sampoornanand felt like a waste of time. Although I wasn’t particularly interested in Italian initially, I enrolled in this course because I realized that waiting for a more suitable opportunity might mean years of delay in learning a language.

My goal has always been to learn German, and Sampoornanand University does offer a six-month diploma in various foreign languages, including German. I had signed up for German classes about four years ago, but the program was poorly managed, and I was disheartened to learn that students were given certificates regardless of their performance. Eventually, I decided to stop attending. The Italian course I’m now enrolled in is conducted by Centro Risorse India, an Italian institution that not only teaches Italian to Indians but also supports Italian students in India.

I also work as a translator at Centro Risorse India’s Varanasi branch. The course consists of 50 hours of instruction, with three-hour classes on weekends. The classes are held at a school near Godowlia. The course features two teachers: an Indian woman from Delhi who also works at Centro Risorse India’s Pune center, and an Italian scholar who is fluent in Hindi. There are six students in total, including me. One of my classmates is a tour guide who works with Japanese tourists, while another is a Hindi teacher.

Our teachers are excellent. They use interactive methods rather than traditional book-based instruction, incorporating games, role-plays, and frequent speaking practice. Although the pronunciation and grammar are challenging and unfamiliar to me, I’m committed to doing my best. I’m unsure how long it will take to become proficient in speaking and writing Italian, but I’m determined to make progress and see where this journey takes me.

Finally received tour guide license

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I finally received my tour guide license on the 30th, marking the end of a three-year wait. I had initially applied for it in 2006. I began preparing for the entrance exam shortly after my application, but had to halt my preparations when the Tour Guide Association of India sued the Indian government over the licensing process. The association was resistant to new entrants, fearing that their established positions were at risk. Many of the existing guides had obtained their licenses when the process was simpler, and now that the requirements were stricter, the association was obstructing the changes to protect their interests.

My brother Chandan, who works as an escort, shared a humorous anecdote with me. On his last visit to Benares, he hired a government-approved tour guide for a morning boat ride. The guide spoke at length about Benares, Hinduism, and the Ganges River, emphasizing that the Ganges is revered as a mother by Hindus. However, shortly after his talk, the guide began chewing betel and spat it out into the Ganges in front of his clients. This understandably upset the clients, who questioned whether Hindus spit on their mother. The guide had no response, which reflects the kind of professionalism that should be avoided. I hope that the training I received will prevent such unprofessional behavior.

The certificate

The tour guide training program faced numerous delays due to ongoing legal battles between the Tour Guide Association of India and the government. The association initially sued as soon as the application forms were released, causing several months of delays. After the government managed to resolve the first legal issue, they conducted the entrance exam, only for the association to sue again, leading to further delays as the case was heard in the Delhi High Court. Ultimately, the government won, and the High Court directed them to resume the training program, which finally started in August 2009 after a three-year delay.

Sana and I at convocation hall

The training was conducted at IITTM in Gwalior and lasted for 16 weeks—6 weeks of classroom instruction and 10 weeks of fieldwork. The curriculum included over 75 lectures, and I wrote a research paper focusing on the cultural diversity of Benares. The program concluded with a written exam and an interview, both of which I successfully passed. I received my certificate and now need to visit the India Tourism office in Delhi with a police verification certificate to obtain a provisional license, which will be valid for two months. After this period, I should receive my permanent license (red card). I hope there will be no further issues in Delhi.

Happy moment

Child sponsorship in Varanasi

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I recently connected with a Hungarian individual named Attila, who is a computer engineer in Hungary and volunteers with a Hungarian NGO (www.afroaid.hu). This NGO operates a child sponsorship program in Africa. Attila expressed his desire to volunteer in Varanasi, India, with plans to come next year with his wife for a year. He was particularly interested in NGOs focused on children’s education programs. I introduced him to various NGOs in the area, and he showed interest in several of them. Given my own interest in similar initiatives, I suggested to Attila that we consider starting our own program in Varanasi.

Attila was enthusiastic about this idea. He shared that he had a great experience working with children in Africa and was eager to apply his expertise to establish a similar program in Varanasi. We discussed how to initiate the program and decided to begin with some preliminary research. We visited several local schools to estimate the cost of education per child. Attila was also keen on providing one meal a day to the children to alleviate the burden of meal preparation at home. We decided to start with 30 children: 10 from the city area and 20 from the village area.

We made a trip to Mehndiganj to visit Lok Samiti, which runs an education program that Attila wanted to see. We toured Lok Samiti’s school and training centers, interacted with the children, and heard some heart-wrenching stories. Lok Samiti offers evening classes for children who work during the day, which is my favorite program among their offerings. It was striking to see children working 12-hour shifts and still attending evening classes. There were more than 30 children at the evening center.

The children were incredibly innocent and curious. They asked Attila questions about his life in Hungary, such as whether he had goats, what he grew on his farm, how he came to India, and how much money he earned. Given that these children earn about Rs. 1,000 per month, Attila found it challenging to answer their questions. We also visited some of Lok Samiti’s training centers for girls over 14, where they receive training in sewing, embroidery, dance, and basic education. The aim of these programs is to empower the girls to become self-sufficient.

We asked Nandlal Master, the president of Lok Samiti, to select 20 children from his program who are both impoverished and eager to continue their education, with supportive parents. We conducted a similar search in the city and identified 10 children from impoverished families who were interested in learning. One of them was a 12-year-old girl named Rashmi, who had previously attended an English-medium private school but had to quit due to financial constraints.

Rashmi impressed me deeply. She had attended school up to the 6th standard, and my niece, who was also a student at Rashmi’s former school, told me that Rashmi was well-regarded by her teachers. Rashmi was the only child who clearly articulated her future goals. When Attila asked her what she wanted to become, she replied, “an engineer,” and specifically, “a computer engineer.” Rashmi explained that she wanted to develop computer programs to help poor people. Both Attila and I were taken aback by such a thoughtful response from a 12-year-old.

All the children we met were eager to attend school, but many faced obstacles. Some had already stopped attending school due to financial difficulties, while others who were capable of attending better schools were stuck in government schools that offered only minimal education. We have selected a few schools and plan to enroll the children in the nearest quality school to their homes starting in March 2010. Some of the children will need basic English language training to thrive in English-medium schools. We are organizing two-hour evening classes for the selected children. With this initiative, thirty families now have hope, and I feel a strong responsibility as a local supporter.

Attila has returned to Hungary but has already secured some supporters and hopes to find more for all the children. We have decided to keep office expenses minimal until we reach 50 children. Attila and his wife will be living in Varanasi for a year and managing the program’s administrative work. We aim to forgo formal office space to ensure that all funds directly benefit the program. I am excited to be involved in this project and look forward to working closely with Attila.