Blogs from Bhubaneswar, Orissa, India, Asia - page 4

I have only been riding my new Enfield 350cc motorcycle a couple of days now in Bhubaneswar and thought I should write down these thoughts before I become just another participant in this web of conspiracy against every ‘official’ traffic ordinance ever written into law! The latter is bound to happen to me (indeed it must for there to be any chance of survival out there at all - you sure can’t beat them so… !). I have already broken the most important unofficial (but certainly written - see below) rule of driving in India. That is to continuously beep your horn (the louder the horn you have the better) - in fact those who have been to India can attest to the sign written on the back of every truck and every auto rickshaw and ... read more

Sorry - this is just text info about my work - no pics this time - boring I know!! I work as an “Organisational Development Advisor” for the Institute for Development Progams and Research in Bhubaneswar, Odisha (formerly known as Orissa), India. This is a 12 month placement under the Volunteer Service Overseas (VSO) UK program (HIV and AIDS stream). I was recruited as a Health Manager generic position by Australian Volunteers International who are in a partnership with VSO to recruit Australians into the program. VSO has an Indian office in Delhi (VSO India) which manages about 60 foreign volunteers across the country. The largest number would be from the UK with many from the Philippines, a number of Canadians and Americans, one at least from Africa that I know of, and 4 Australians. For ... read more

Just a coupla shots of the office of IDPR where I will work now over the year plus ahead. If anyone is interested in checking out this NGO they can view the website at: http://www.idpr.org.in/future.htm Not much else to say right now - all ahead of me - but the office space is pretty cool and the staff seem really nice. Sarita and Sulata have good English (Sarita excellent - she lived in the states for 7 years while her husband studied at Cornell University). Sneha has reasonable English and Kahnu gets by but is in the zone of nodding (as if to say yes) when he may not really have understood the message - so have to be a little more explicit with him. Kahnu is also very keen to show me his 'village' which ... read more

I needed a break from cities and thousands of people so I got myself onto a train to Balasore in Orissa, fairly off the beaten track by the sea in the Bay of Bengal. Once I eventually found the tourist office it felt like I had dropped into a scene from "it aint half hot Mum", a1970's British comedy. There were servant wallahs, typewriters bashing away in the office and all paperwork filled out in triplicate. It was clear I was probably their first foreign tourist for a few months, I was treated like Royalty! When I got to the hotel at Chandipur (the only one in the beach part of the area) the whole staff was lined up to greet me (I kid you not!). The beach was amazing it was long and deserted except ... read more

Nyt ajattelin muistella hieman, mita olemme puuhailleet viime aikoina ja milta Intia on vaikuttanut. Viimeksi kirjoitin vahan liikaakin vain eri keskusteluista, joita olemme taalla kayneet. Ne ovat usein aika tylsia, silla ihmisilla on lahes aina samat kysymykset. Joskus kuitenkin syntyy kiintoisiakin juttutuokioita, kuten nuo avioliittoa ja uskontoja koskevat, joista viimeksi kerroin. Palaan nyt ajassa taaksepain aina Kolkataan asti. Viimeisena paivana ennen sairaalareissuani kavimme katsastaan Kalighat temppelin. Siella suoritimme mielenkiintoisia rituaaleja, joissa piti koskettaa kukkaseppeleella otsaansa, lausua perheenjasentensa nimet ja ripustaa seppele roikkumaan alttarin ylapuolelle. Yhdessa vaiheessa kukkia piti myos heitella eraan patsaan juurelle ja samaan aikaan oppaamme piirsi meille otsaan punaiset taplat. Oli mukavaa saada temppeliin opas, vaikkakin han intialaisittain... read more