Shivratri- MS Style

AU Tournament

Manav Sadhna Science Fair

Surya Mandal- Solar System

Density of Solids Liquids and Gases

Jwaramukhi- Volcano

Famous Scientists

Vinay Mandir- Harijan Girl's Hostel

FARM LIFE

I went to Vasuda ni Vadi, home of organic farmers Purviben and Rajabhai at the end of November and stayed until the end of December. A nice solid month at the farm. So this farm was only 40 km from Ahmedabad in the District of Kheda, and it was a bit of a haven for me. I felt like my month there was almost like a retreat; I spent time outdoors sowing, harvesting, weeding, but then I also had time to read, learn, talk and reflect.  Because this was a little while ago, I shall insert some diary entry extracts- you have been warned!

During my first week there I helped with planting the chitted potatoes. So the whole process involved weeding the area- using tools I'd never used before- a sort of horse-shoe shaped blade attached to a wooden handle, and then working the organic home-produced compost into the existing soil, then making the rows, then planting the potatoes. So all in all that was a fair bit of work, spread over a few days. When all was done, we left the chitted potatoes snug in the Earth, wiped the droplets of sweat of our brows and then turned in for the night. But alas! In the middle of the night there was a bit of a ruckus. The following morning revealed the potato patch to have been ravaged by wild boars! You win some you loose some...
So that was one of my first of many lessons learned on the farm. It's difficult to do everything according to a fixed plan, because you never know when a wild boar or a monkey might just come and mess it all up. And it's not just the wild life that complicates things. This year there was some unseasonal rainfall in October/November, which to me was a refreshing break from the sweltering heat, but to the farmers was a pain in the back side. You see, that time of the year is when people like Purviben and Rajabhai were harvesting their rice. So they had begun to cut down and bundle the rice, and then leave it in the sun to dry off. And then it rained. Bad news. Very bad news. The rain caused the bundled grain to start growing again, thus hindering the drying process. This meant that the quality of grain yield from that year was significantly lower.
You just can't know what's round the corner. And yes I know that applies to all aspects of life whether you're a farmer or not, but I feel that back at home we have more control, especially in a work environment.  That's all I have time for now, but there's much more to tell about farm life. Peace out.

Let's go fly a kite!

The morning of the 14th January 2011 was bright and crisp. The sky was its usual soft Indian blue- well…almost! Scattered like confetti high in the sky were hundreds and hundreds of kites, all flitting and fluttering colours of blue, red, gold, green, pink, orange and every other imaginable colour! The city of Ahmedabad was celebrating the festival of Uttaryan.



So, in Ahmedabad many of the houses are quite tall and have flat open roof tops, which during the summer time comes very useful because then everyone sleeps out side underneath the moon and stars for a cool nights sleep. And during the festival of Makar Sankranti, everyone climbs up the steps to their roof tops with friends and families to catch a good gust of wind that will take their kites up high into the sky! And that’s exactly what we did this year.

 Along with friends from Manav Sadhna, Gramshree and family members we all went to Virenbhai’s house- one of the founders of Manav Sadhna. As we made our way up the staircase to the roof of his house, I could here the sound of "Tere mast mast do nein" blasting from speakers above us. It was a party on the roof! We found ourselves in the midst of friends who pushed steaming hot bowls full of channa and sev into our hand with the instructions to “Eat first, play later!”
It was so good- Virenbhai had brought the gas cooker up onto the roof so that we could cook up the channa and also make chai! Aswell as the channa and sev there was tal sakri and mumra no ladoo, and also bags of guavas and boar! Excellent food.

So, with our bellies full I was itching to have a go at flying a kite. A few of the boys had already got theirs in the air and they were flying them- apparently easily- so I swapped places with Ajaybhai and had a go. I thought I would just have to hold it, but no! The kite started to fall down pretty much straight away and Ajaybhai told me to keep tugging it and occasionally allow more string to go so that it would go higher and higher. It was very cool. Occasionally someone else’s kite from another rooftop came close towards ours, and then we would attempt to cut the other kite! You see, the string that is prepared for kite flying is coated with a mixture of paint and glass powder which makes the string strong and sharp so that it cuts through the air, and when the kites come in contact with another kite and crosses paths, there is a competition to see whose string cuts the other first. And then once one of them has been cut and the kite is cut loose everyone cheers and yells at the top of their voices!

This went on for the whole day until it started to get dark and we could no longer see the kites. And that’s when the fireworks start! There wasn't nearly as much as at Diwali time- but when there is something to celebrate- and there nearly always is in India- you’re bound to have some fireworks! As it gots darker still people started to send lanterns into the sky from their rooftops. From where we were we could see the light of lanterns from all around us getting smaller and smaller as they rose higher and higher into the sky. It looked beautiful- I've uploaded the video of our lantern onto facebook. It was such a nice way to spend the day!

Sewa Cafe

Over the past six weeks I've been to the Sewa Cafe quite a few times, and each time has been very different. But I feel that every time I go I gain a better and better understanding as to what it's all about. Sewa Cafe is one of the many, many restaurants in Ahmedabad, but unlike all the others there is no fixed price- you give from the heart! T'is based on the gift economy.
Let me paint you a picture...
The first time I went to Sewa Cafe for dinner was during my first week. We got out of a rickshaw and stepped onto a bustling street, roaring with the sound of traffic. There on the other side of the street on the top most floor was Sewa Cafe and Gramshree.
Sewa Cafe is beautiful.We stepped out of the lift into the waiting area which leads to an open-roofed dining area! The contrast between the noisy street and the tranquility indoors is really striking! I shall post some pictures soon...
As we came to sit at our table we were greeted most graciously by the waiters- who are all mostly volunteers by the way- and a glass of cool FILTERED water.
Written upon a chalk board was five different dishes- which change every day. That particular time we filled our bellies with hot sweetcorn soup, biryani, pasta, panipuri and icecream, all the while soaking up the soothing ambiance created at Sewa Cafe. At the end of the meal we were given an empty envelope in which we could give as much or as little money as we wanted to, and anonymously.
So the idea is that the money you give is paid forward as a gift, i.e it pays for the next person who comes to eat at Sewa Cafe. Hence your experience at the Sewa Cafe does not simply end when you leave the restaurant; instead you become part of a never ending chain- a circle of giving. Brilliant.