Tuesday, May 27, 2008

monsoons, motherhood, and mangos

hiiii
so I have posted a link to pics of my flat...mainly for my mother's sanity. There's a pic of the guest room...weekend in delhi anyone?

The last few days have been an absolute blur. Delhi continues to be a sensory overload but I am loving it so far. 

I woke up on my first day of work and was INCREDIBLY nervous. And, of course, Delhi decided to bless us with a monsoon that morning. GREAT. A touch of control-freak-facing-natural-disaster  sent me on the fritz. Luckily I had was able to pull myself together to call a car...we got stuck twice in 2 and 1/2 feet of water...which didn't phase the driver at all...oh goodness. 

Starting work at Apne Aap has really grounded me. I take a "tuk tuk" to work every morning (I will post a picture) which is an adventure every time. I am one of three woman working in the Delhi resource office...an office which is fantastically small, two rooms and a patio (patio serving as conference room). Chatakandra (one of the women) has taken on so many rolls in my life...she is constantly trying to get me to eat and drink tea, encouraging me to explore the country, and celebrating my every wrangled word in Hindi.

 I was able to meet Ruchira Gupta the founder of Apne Aap (I will post a link to her bio), whom I completely worship. I tried to stay composed while she casually walked through the office, moving the tea around, looking for something in the "library" (our two sets of bookshelves), rattling off some hindi and then smiling at me *swoon* asked if I would come meet with her....in the one other room of our office (more like a glorified terrace). She explained to me three projects she had in mind...and then asked me to choose whichever I would like *swoon#2*..... I feel a little bit like a monty-python skit with my change in direction with this internship...as Ruchira and I talked about my selected project I couldn't resist thinking "okay claire, annnnnnddd now for something completteelly different....."

so, the new and improved project for the next 9 weeks of my life...the end result will hopefully be an approx 30 page report on the concept of motherhood in the lives of women in prostitution in India. As Ruchira and I talked, the intricacies of this subject fascinated me more and more. Two of the myriad issues include the fact that as mean age of those trafficked into prostitution continues to drop, girls are being force to have their first child as early as age 13 and 14. This has been used as a tactic by traffickers and brothel owners to try to ensnare the girls more deeply into the system. Another complicated facet of the identity of motherhood with WIP is the degradation of the Hindu tradition of Devadasi. The tradition which is technically illegal still occurs a great deal in India where girls as young as 10 years old are "married" to (ironically) the goddess of motherhood (or other gods/goddesses) and then become a temple prostitute. Yet another major problem is the concept of intergenerational prostitution....

In order to properly construct the report I am going to have to do field work in Delhi, Bihar and Kolkata. The organization is planning for me and a fellow intern to travel to the community house in Bihar in order to administer surveys on the subject as well as interview the women  and girls for about 10 days. We are then going to Kolkata to continue the work for about 5 days...Just when I was getting used to Delhi......

I will be (almost completely) out of contact for that period of time (about 2 weeks) tentatively beginning June 9. I am  appointing jimmy, zach, and the brown family as the support group for my mom & co. 

In other news...Kathleen was quoted on BBC as well as in the Wall Street Journal about Myanmar. Need I rearticulate my awe of her? I'm so proud of her! I will always remember us practicing for that press conference driving through monsoon-soaked Delhi. I'm posting the link....

There's some music/chanting going on in the Hindu temple down the street so I am going to go look into it. 

Thanks so much for all the emails etc. 
Thinking of you all with a tummy full of mango!! 
xoxo
c



3 comments:

Unknown said...

Dear C: Wow - that's all I can say - you are taking that place by storm. No little city of 13 million people is going to scare you off! I think the issue of motherhood and prostitution is perfect - such an important area and very concrete. I know that the kids are often taken away from the girls - and they have to make a certain amount of money before they can see them. It is all so cruel. But do not get too used to India - I think I need to send you to Myanmar to straighten the Generals out! Much love, K

kstearns said...

Dear Claire, I will read your dispatches with awe and admiration. As your aunt said, move over, New Delhi! What an important issue with which to concern yourself. Please allow me to edit your book, which no doubt will be forthcoming in 2010. Best and stay safe, and thanks for the thank-you note . . . Mommy No. 2 (so glad you haven't forgotten!)

Andrea said...

baby phi! firstly...ive been terribly bad about keeping up with your blog. look how much youve written(i don't have a job. i have alot of free time. sue me)

i'm honestly really excited to hear about the survey, how you did it, and its results. it actually sounds really really interesting. (also, im really excited to hear the logistics of conducting a survey not in your native language)

so expect that when when we see eachother again to give me a full rundown(i want stuff on paper and all. again, i'm a nerd.)

hope all's well, and im going to continue my blog catchup

love
a