Blogs from Karnataka, India, Asia - page 5

Saturday 26 – Sunday 27 January 2013 It’s fair to say that we have been ‘Indianised’. When we first arrived in Mangalore everything was a shock to us. The food, the traffic, the noise and the litter. Now, we are back in the city and everything just feels like home. We don’t notice the noise or the litter anymore, the traffic feels calmer and we can’t wait to eat the Mangalore food and see some of our old friends! We are back in Mangalore for the district conference. Although we got to relax and meet friends at the venue on Friday night, today was time for serious work as we had to present our experiences to over 3000 people. First though, we were able to listen to the rest of the guests and keynote speakers. Our ... read more

I think we have all learned to expect the unexpected on this trip but my vocational visit to a government-run hospital and medical college in Shimoga certainly put me to the test. I thought that catching sight of students working on a cadaver in Mangalore was enough but here I got to see much more than I had ever thought (hoped) I would see in my entire life! I was taken on a tour of the anatomy department of the medical college where there were lots of different body parts on display, including embryos. However, I was then taken into another room where there were brains on slabs waiting to be dissected. I was then told to go through to a small back room and to get close to a tank. Well, there was not just ... read more

Friday 25 January 2013 We have said goodbye to our sixth set of hosts today. Jangannadh and Vidya have looked after me very well in Shimoga and Yashas sends us off with a high five. We have a five hour bus journey to Mangalore, along some of the best (or worst?!) roads we have seen. I still can’t believe that people drive on roads like this. There are craters, not potholes, and drivers overtaking on corners. This road has hairpin bends as we go down the side of a huge mountain. It’s all worth it for the views though! We are back in Mangalore for the district conference where we will be presenting to over 3000 people. Good job we have had lots of practice on this trip. And we don’t want to rub it in, ... read more

At 6:30am this morning, I went for a short walk with my host in a nearby park. It is quite new and named after Mahatma Ghandi. Apparently, taking a morning walk is a new concept. Local people pay 50 rupees per month to use the park, or 5 rupees per visit, which goes towards the park maintenance. There were quite a few people out walking and jogging. There was also a group therapy class going on – a laughter club. I was curious about a gentlemen who was sitting on a bench clapping and my host told me that this was another form of therapy. For children, there is an aquarium, a train ride, and all the usual things you would see in a playground ride back home. Whilst I was wearing tracksuit bottoms and a ... read more

Thursday 24 January 2013 Vidya let me into her kitchen today to show me how she makes some of the South Indian cuisine I have been enjoying here, including idly, roti and coconut chutney. I hope I can find the ingredients at home so that I can share them. I also got a chance to play with Yashas and the young neighbour from upstairs. It is quite common here for neighbours and family to walk in and out of each other’s homes. The door always seems to be open, especially in these smaller communities. I was really interested to see that Yashas toy kitchen has all of the traditional Indian utensils. I’m sure the kids at home would be a bit confused by this! Today is my fifth and final vocational day and I’m visiting KUVEMPU ... read more

On my first night in Shimoga, my host took me to a centre that cares for people who are not able to look after themselves and who have no-one else to care for them. The centre was established in 2007 by a gentleman whose aim in life is to serve others. The majority of the people who are cared for at the centre are people with physical disabilities, though there are also people with mental ill health. 280 people have received care from the centre since it opened. As soon as I walked into the centre, I saw that there were three occupied beds surrounding the office desk and the television was blaring. The main room off this had at least eight beds but also two people sleeping on the floor. The third room, which was ... read more

Wednesday 23 January 2013 During the last three weeks, all of us at some point have had to face challenges, cope with difficult situations and become very adaptable to a very different way of life. I think we are all coping remarkably well and we will be sad to leave here in ten days time. Today started with a ride on an elephant. I also had my first experience of an elephant dribbling down my back and hitting me over the head with its ear at Sakraibail camp. One of the young elephants was showing off and it almost looked like it was dancing for us! This was followed by a Lion and Tiger safari. Although these ones were not completely wild at Bandipur, it was great to see such beautiful animals up close and personal. ... read more

For my vocational day in Mysore, three very different visits had been arranged for me. The first of these was to a 90-bed private hospital that is part of an international chain of hospitals providing world-class healthcare. It opened in 2009 and recently achieved accreditation with international standards. A community ethos is an integral value for the hospital; free / concessional clinics are offered every month. Although I have not visited a private hospital in England, the facilities, services, and operational procedures I observed and was informed about were in line with what I would expect and hope to see in any hospital. I was slightly surprised that the hospital had only one ambulance (with access to a back-up). The emergency department was only set up with three beds, though it could accommodate six and could ... read more

Since Mysore, we have been staying in the beautiful coffee region of Belur. We were all fortunate enough to be hosted by coffee planters on their plantations. Emily and I stayed with a wonderful old man, Ganghia, and his wife, Vashanta. He is evidently highly respected by everyone in the region, deservedly so, it seems to us. His son is the owner of India's largest coffee shop chain, Cafe Coffee Day and apparently one of India's richest people. He is also, we are told, an unassuming man like his father. The house where we stayed was built about 150 years ago by a coffee planter from Wales. Ganghia's family bought it in the 1940's and have built it up to its 11,000 acres of today. He took us on a tour, showing us the difference between ... read more