Building Hazards...

The bye-pass road of Bolpur is being widened. The road was dug up to couple of feet on one side, and then the work was stopped for months. Now it is dug again, and the works have resumed. However there is no sign where the existing road ends and the new digging starts. At least some markers and indicators must be put to show that there is a hazard just on the left of the vehicle that is driving on the left side of the road. It is not good enough to build good roads. We must also ensure that we don’t build hazards with them!

That takes me to the lane from near Kalishaher temple towards Rathindrapalli in Sriniketan, near Shantiniketan / Bolpur. Yesterday, 13 Nov, while biking on the road, a car came opposite of me. When I went to the left side of the road, I saw a deep crate that was totally unprotected and was supposed to function as drain! Some how I managed to balance myself and didn’t fall into the ditch. I am sure that this is a normal site of Bengal…and probably that of the country as a whole. Departments think within their own boxes. So, the gentleman who plans the road just doesn’t care about the drainage as that is of another department…and doesn’t even bother to put up a signage or marking or a railing to protect the travelers on the road.

These are people who build hazards, not pathways. Government’s post-completion audits must include number of hazards added after its development works are completed, and also such engineers who execute faulty plans must be punished.

Three Events, One Story: All is not well in the country

Three events in the three days of my visit to home this weekend, away from my routine works at UNICEF, make me repeat that all is not well in the country. Let me start with 23 July.

Event 1: After landing at Kolkata, I took a ticket for an Express train, and got into Kanchankanya Express that usually has few empty seats that gets filled up from Bolpur. So, if one wishes to have a reservation till Bolpur one can ask for upgrading the ticket to a reserved one. I met the Ticket Examiner and asked for such upgradation, and he checked his chart and told me to sit at Coat S7, Seat 28. I took the seat. After we had completed more than two hours of the 3 hr journey, the Ticket Examiner, asked me for 100 rupees, ticked off my ticket, and started walking. I asked him what about the confirmation note he is to give. He said, "That would cost more. But why do you need it? You are nearly at your destination." He just didn't stop. He had gone past. I never saw him again. Lesson 1: Corruption that was much less just couple of years ago in my experience at least in Indian railways is once again looking up.

Event 2: 26 July, Sunday. I went to the local market to buy some green vegetables. I purchased for 250 rupees. The bad I had carried wasn't even half full ! Unbelievable. I returned feeling, this has never happened. Cost of vegetables have never been so bad. Lesson 2: All is not good, neither for consumers nor for small vendors.

Event 3: 26 July, Sunday. At 8.00 pm I caught the Jaynagar-Howrah passenger train that was running nearly 4 hours late to travel to Kolkata from Bolpur. There were two families who were discussing among themselves about their poverty. These families were from a place called Murarai, on the Bengal - Bihar border in central part of State of West Bengal. They were terribly anguished. The first man was sharing that he had to pay 20,000 rupees as commission to get 70,000 rupees for his legally allotted house under the Indira Awaz Yojana (housing scheme of the government for poor). The second one said, his daughter lost a job as Anganwadi worker (as assistant to cook food) under the ICDS scheme, because they were asked to pay 75,000 rupees in advance as cash to guarantee the job. Which they could not. And the job went to someone who could afford to pay up. I joined in to ask, "Why, wasn't the corruption has always been there?". They said, "When the communists were ruling at least the poor wouldn't be asked to cough up, or would be let off with a request for a small donation to the party. But now, it is very straight: either you pay up or make way for one who can afford.". Lesson 3: There is a need to fight corruption at every level by every ministry and person.

Little Surprises

I had days of little surprises throughout the week. Of them, two are more important as it involved visits by some of my friends. The first one is of Dr. Erich W from Germany. He had gone to Raiganj and was on his way back to Germany and had reached Kolkata on 27th morning. In the evening I joined him and two of his companions. We had some wonderful remembrances, little chat about my visit to his home nearly four years ago, the plans I have for strengthening higher education of children from tribal families and the plans he has for the village he and his companions support in Malda district. We had a wonderful dinner at Big Boss restaurant in the China Town, Kolkata. On 28th morning I had the opportunity to reach him to the airport and say "Good Bye".

On 29th I got a call saying that Mr. Mishra, a friend of mine from Odisha state of India was in the neighboring state of Jharkhand and is planning to visit me along with a few more friends on 30th Sept. And we had the visit of Fr. George Uthirakulam and Fr. Varghese Pally along with Mr. Mishra. It was really a big surprise, thrill and to say the least, I was excited. I took them around Bolpur - Shantiniketan, we had some good mutton curry for lunch, lots of talk about what I am doing now and how things are with CKS. 

Thank you friends for making the week a memorable one. The joy of your arrival still lingers on. Hope to meet you all soon again..

Aminpur Water and Soil Testing Begins....

Center for Knowledge and Skills (CKS) and Visva Bharati University have joined to organize Water and Soil Testing as part of internship of two students from Environment Science department of the Visva Bharati University in Aminpur village, near Bolpur. Readers of this blog are aware that CKS works in Aminpur to help the poor tribal people of the village for their socio-economic development. In this major research activity to be conducted over a period of six months, one of the students will collect water samples from source, collection points in the village, storing facility at homes and from the hands of users. The study will help to analyse (a) hygienic behaviour relating to handling of water in the tribal community (b) ascertain the kind of activities that would be required to undertake as part of awareness building in the community.

In the other study, soil samples from the agricultural fields of the farmers will be collected over a period to study the changing nature of soil, and the support the community would require in terms of agricultural interventions to increase their produce.  Dr. B. Chandran from the Environment Science department will guide the students on the technical aspects of the study. We thank the faculty of  Environment Science for accepting to take up this study for the benefit of the poor tribals in the area, in collaboration with CKS.

Training of Community Mobilizers

Four big long days. From 7 – 10 June I am in Kolkata training 65 community workers in mobilization skills so that they are able to deal with the resistant families and are able to take up the challenge of making them understand the need of polio vaccine for their children. The challenge for us has been much more! There is regular drop out of these mobilizers (mostly women between the age group of 19 – 28) as their own families resist these girls and women from going out of their homes to work! And they do not want their women to move from house to house, talk to men and women, convince them about taking polio vaccine because it is socially unacceptable to them. 

So, at times it happens that even on the day of training they drop out! How to convince those who are supposed to convince others? The days were hot and humid, but the evenings had a bit of thunderstorm. In fact the newspapers reported that 4 people died in a wall collapse inside Kolkata, and two persons died in nearby Hooghly district, about 30 kilometers from Kolkata, after a lightening stuck a group of people watching a local soccer match. 

Coming back to the training part, I had just one long session on the first day, and on other days it was mostly coordinating with the other three trainers, and step in whenever required. I also managed to have couple of meetings separately : one with the coordinators and another with the supervisors, to understand gaps, to motivate them into program implementation and achieve highest standards in reaching the goals set.

Jenifer - on way to "Inserted Community"

Last Wednesday, in the morning at about 9.00 am I was traveling from Bolpur to Kolkata. Suddenly I got a call on my cellphone from a Kolkata number. When I picked it, I just couldn't believe my ears. It was my niece Jenifer. She was in Philippines for the last two and a half years, and had just returned. Just before she left for Philippines she had tried to meet me several times, and was able just once, as I was busy with the post-cyclone Aila response coordination at that time. She had gone to Philippines to become a nun! And she is one today. I spoke to her for a while and she said that she is leaving Kolkata at 12.00 noon to leave for Tamilnadu and then to Philippines as she plans to spend the early years of her service in an "inserted" community in Philippines. I told her to wait till 12 noon, and I promised to meet her at 11.30. Although I had few other small appointments, I postponed them, and I went to meet her at Anjali Bhavan in Ripon Street, Kolkata, and reached sharply at 11.30, with my driver doing his best part to make it happen.

She hugged me and held on to me for a while, and then we began to talk for some time. She was served an early lunch at 11.45 so that she can leave on time to catch the train. Jenifer had some personal problems and I had supported her early in life so that she grows into a mature woman. And she seems to be a mature one today. I asked her why she is planning to be serve in Philippines for some more time, in stead of returning to India. She said she wanted to be in an "inserted" community and serve the poor. What is this "inserted community" all about? She explained, it is a small little community of religious living with the people like people in remote utterly poverty stricken locations with exactly the same facility like that is available to the poorest family in the area! Hei, someone called it serving the poor? But here it is...."living the poverty"! As we kept talking I told her about the mosquito menace in Kolkata and other places in India. And asked her if there are plenty of mosquitoes in Philippines too. "Of course", she replied, "Only the difference is, we do not use mosquito nets!" She continued, "In inserted communities because we live like the poor and with the poor, because the poor do not have mosquito nets, we too do not use one! I had an opportunity to live in a community for two months. And that is what we did. And when I return, that is what I will do!". 

My developmental mind took over me. "Isn't it right that we educate people about using mosquito nets? We should teach them what is good, and help them achieve that.", I said. She in her simpler tone replied, "Yes uncle. All the families in that place are able to afford a mosquito net, then we will have one too!"

In the context of motor cycle riding and jazzy car winding religious in India, can someone show me if there are a few "inserted" community in this sense of the term?

Marketing the Disabled

Since there is a large fair in Bolpur on the occasion of Christmas,known locally as "Poush Mela", I went to see the fair. It was pretty large and well managed. As I was walking in, due to the crowd that was jostling from every side, I was looking ahead and walked, trying to avoid as much of pushing as possible. Suddenly I tumbled on something, and I almost fell over. When I looked back, I was shocked. There was a woman, on a wooden bed of about 1.5 ft wide, 4 ft long and about 1 ft high. The lady had just two limbs. Soon, as I walked around the fair, I saw at least three more persons, with one or two limbs missing in similar "beds" just in the middle of people's way. Certainly they could not have come there by themselves. So who brought them in? I began to ponder! And who is gaining out of bringing them in and taking them out? Something is really messy there, in this land of Rabindranath Tagore, just within the university complex started by the national poet. It is shame that people are marketing disability instead of giving dignity to these people. Someone should take action against this sheer shameless marketing of people's disability. This is nothing less than generating a beggary market. Hope the Chairman of Bolpur Municipality, the law enforcement authorities and the University administration is listening. And before we end, being the eve of Christmas let me wish everyone  

Very Happy Christmas!

Kids Have it Big

Sunday, 18 Dec 2011. Location Aminpur, near Bahiri, a little known tribal village near Bolpur. We three of us from CKS reached the village in the morning, and the children and villagers had been informed that there will be a small sports event in view of the Christmas and New Year on the anvil. We were delighted by the enthusiasm of children and the time went flying! In about three hours with the children and some of the villagers, we had won their heart, and they loved the fun. The winners were given prizes. There was an interesting twist in the games. Except for two of them, all others had some mental exercise along with the physical game. For example the little kids while running a 100 meter race had to stop at 50 meter point, identify the animal in the picture, write it in Bangla language and then complete the race. The older ones had a simple mathematical calculation to complete in a 200 meter race! This made it more interesting for children as the competition became a learning point as well. 

A week back, a drawing competition had been held as well for those children who are getting special educational support from our organization, and those children too received prizes. The joy is in giving. As the saying goes, the smell of a flower remains in the hands of the giver.