My Manali Story

Blogs I understand are written in the order of new-to-old. It took some work to reverse this one to tell you a story. The first post that follows is an email that I sent out after my first week. Then, the story continues through my return home. With this post, I am also introducing the cast of characters.

From left to right - me with Sunny, our Manali coordinator; Judy Stone, MD, adjunct instructor for the study abroad program and mother of Heather Stone; Heather Stone, MPH student and course creator and instructor.

Mili Duggal, Maternal and Child Health PhD student in the Department of Family Science. Mili has been working with me on a USDA grant to develop health messages for low-income rural mothers and their families.

Drs. Alexander from Lady Willingdon Hospital with their baby boy. Both doctors earned great respect from the students. Dr. Philip Alexander, known as "Sir" is the lead doctor who performs many surgeries a day.

A snapshot of Hotel Kanchan Grey with many of the students. Front and center are the hotel staff, including Shroven (in white) who made great effort to learn English and teach Hindi, much appreciated by all. Behind him is the head cook who prepared three meals a day for our group.

 One day trek from Manali to the Jogni Waterfall near Vashisht

Did I mention that one of the students invited a snake charmer to the hotel one morning? 

Can't resist sharing a monkey shot. No, I didn't zoom to capture this guy right outside Sanjay, Madhu, and Tanmay's dining table window while we ate breakfast in Varanasi.

There are more people, and I don't mean to leave people out (the doctors and social workers from the hospital, Himani and Ann--researchers who worked hard with our students and are continuing to work with Heather, Tanmay--Sanjay and Madhu's 11 year old son, my most prolific facebook friend who was almost as scared as I was, but also sported a snake on his head for a brief moment, etc...)

Lis from Manali, India June 6, 2011

I arrived in Manali two days after immersion in the world of airports, airplanes and more airports. I was less bedraggled than you’d expect thanks to the new “T3” terminal in Delhi airport. For a price, you can rent a modern room for 3 or 6 hours immediately as you exit customs, advertised as “nap”, shower, mineral water, and wi-fi. I checked out at 3am and headed toward my gate for domestic departure. I really entered India when I stepped out of the airport in Kullu, a 2 hour drive from Manali. I asked the taxi driver if I could use the seatbelt which was visible, but tucked behind the seat. He responded, “no problem,” as he started his engine. Translation: “It will be no problem that you wear no seat belt.” As the taxi weaved up toward snow covered mountains from the Kullu valley, everything was immediately familiar—the cows in the road, men hunched in storefronts sweeping dust with hand made short-handled brooms, the “BLOW HORN” requests painted artfully on every truck (and the compliance of every passing vehicle), the 3 teenage schoolboys sharing one motorbike, the plastic glittering god bobbing from mytaxi driver’s dashboard, and something new since my last visit—the countless uniformed school girls with Hannah Montana backpacks.

 

I am here with 14 undergraduate students, two graduate students – Mili , a PhD student from India who works with me in College Park and Heather Stone, an MPH student who has done a fabulous job designing and implementing the study abroad course, and Heather’s mother, an infectious disease doctor from the US. The students arrived one week before I did and they’ve worked through many startup glitches, stomach bugs, and orientation to Manali. We take up most of the rooms in our hotel, Kanchan Grey, and eat meals together at tables in the courtyard. The rooms are decent and the food is tasty. The students are divided each week into one of three tracks. One group goes to a remote village, Jibhi where they trek with a social worker and a faculty member to map houses in even more remote villages. The goal is to track tuberculosis cases and trace potential for further infection through contact with an infected individual whose records are available in the Manali hospital.  A second group works in the hospital observing rounds, surgeries, and outpatient consultations. The third group goes by car to nearby communities with healthcare workers affiliated with the hospital. This week I will go out with this group. In the afternoon, the students have class with the faculty and discuss readings in preparation for a final project of their choice.

I arrived in time for the weekend, and went with them on a trek up a mountain through beautiful meadows with views of the snowy mountains becoming closer to eye level as we rose. The students are a delight—very dynamic, interesting, adventurous—not a surprise given their choice for a study abroad experience. There are several students who are pre-med and some hard science majors, some public health, and one nursing. They are all really interested in watching surgeries, births, and events in the emergency room. I will avoid watching such things, so I don’t end up on the floor as a patient. The doctor who runs the hospital is a great inspiration to the students.

 

 This weekend I will go to Varanasi to see dear colleagues and friends, of course, but also to assess the feasibility for a study abroad program that is part hill station like Manali—cool and mountainous—and part Varanasi, where it is hot in June but students could interact with local college students from the two universities, and have lectures from my colleagues on issues ranging from gender justice and Men’s Action to Stop Violence Against Women (MASVAW) to peace research.  Fortunately, two of my colleagues Dr. Sanjay and Dr. Madhu Kushwaha will come to Manali during our last week to lecture. The students are very excited.

 

The experience here will have a long lasting impact on me and my work, yet I am having a hard time being away from Leo, Julian, and Eric. I have skyped with mixed success. Today, I had a crystal clear connection and sat with them for breakfast singing songs and blowing kisses through my web cam. I have photos and drawings by both boys on my wall to wake up to, and the students seem to tolerate my stories with polite choruses of “Awww”. While I consider myself a traveler and Eric a wonderful homemaker, if I had to guess which of us would be in India and which of us would be fulfilling the daily needs of our children and home, it would be reversed. Maybe next time…or better yet, next year we will all be on a summer adventure!

Sanjay and Madhu

Fortunately, as mentioned in my first post, Dr. Sanjay and Madhu were available to travel to Manali as guest lecturers on gender justice and taking action to change social structures that perpetuate caste, class, and gender disparities. The students were inspired by their wisdom, as was I.

Sanjay’s Story
I asked Dr. Sanjay to tell the students a story that I knew about him. As a young student, he officially changed his name to Sanjay (no surname). While a challenge at airports and on official documents, he takes pleasure in the concealment of his caste, which is identifiable by last name. Dr. Sanjay's driver's license, passport and business cards identify him as "Dr. Sanjay" modeling for the next generation how to be an agent for dramatic social change. Dr. Sanjay is Associate Professor of Social Work at Mahatma Gandhi Kashi Vidyapith. He is the director of Men’s Action to Stop Violence Against Women (MASVAW),  a campaign that works with youth, perpetrators, and action groups to stop violence against women.  

A Madhu Story

Madhu is an Associate Professor of Education and student advisor at Banaras Hindu University (BHU). One of her student advisees became very ill and she was called to the hospital. It turned out that he needed a heart valve replacement. The student was from far away and was low caste. His mother was dead and his father worked as a coolie at the train station, getting a few rupees for carrying heavy bags on his head for passengers disembarking from trains. Because of the equivalent to affirmative action, a quota system exists to allow a small number of low-caste students in under the system. The student did not have money to pay for operation. 

Madhu wrote to the administration requesting immediate action to pay for the operation. She speculated that the administration would be slow to act and then say, “He is not our responsibility. He is no longer our student.” Meanwhile, her students began a collection. Madhu and the doctor wrote letters legitimizing the collection because scams are not unusual. The students collected 60,000 rupees –more than $1300 just from fellow students. Madhu suggested that they ask faculty members. She donated generously, but requested the students mark her donation “anonymous.” Then she made a second, smaller donation of 1000 rupees under her name. One female faculty member became angry with Madhu, “Why did you donate 1000? I don’t want to donate 1000, and now I will look bad.” Madhu noted that this colleague was so consumed with herself, her jewelry, and material things—“this is the way it is.” 

At the hospital, a woman overheard her conversing with the boy and inquired with Madhu, “Are you a relative?” Madhu said, “No, I’m his student advisor.” The woman asked if she could make a donation. Madhu said, “Of course, his friends will take your donation.” The woman donated Rs 15,000, more than $300 US. She told Madhu her father had died of a heart problem when she was young. She never even gave Madhu her name. The university later came through with funds, which together with the student collection, allowed the boy’s father to travel to Varanasi for the operation, to pay all the post operation expenses, medicines, etc. At this point, the media got involved and Madhu said to her Dean, “I have to go and teach class. You go ahead.” This is Madhu. The boy sat for final examinations this year and he is healthy.

Varanasi: Feels like home, June 10, 2011

I took a long weekend to visit friends (who are like family) to me in Varanasi.  To descend from the mountains of Manali, it was hot, but the locals manage the heat with cooling foods: curds, certain vegetables and fruits, and by slowing down, especially in the hottest part of the day. I visited Mahatma Gandhi Kashi Vidyapith, the university where I taught 4 years ago in time to observe oral examinations for Social Work students. I went to see a Bollywood movie, “Ready” with our dear housemate, Shalu, the little girl-turned teenager who still calls me Auntie.  I’ve boasted that Bollywood films are fairly easy for me to grasp even though in Hindi, until I asked Shalu for storyline clarifications and found that the plot was much more complicated than my version. Everyone I saw was pleased to see me, but eager to see the blond, curly haired little boy that made everyone smile when we lived there, each asking, “But where is Leo?”
  

I also visited the guesthouse at Banaras Hindu University and am contemplating the possibilities for a summer program that involves exchange with BHU students. BHU is a nice campus, with enormous trees. The shade from the trees makes it relatively cooler than the city. I envision a sunrise boat ride on the holy Ganges River, a view of the constant motion and color at Dashashwamedh Ghat, inspiring lecture with professors and discussion with students, followed by 3 weeks in the mountains in order to provide students a diverse study abroad experience.

Jibhi Village

UMD Students Kelly and Ariel taking pulses at the Health Mela

Jibhi village has a guesthouse affiliated with Lady Willingdon Hospital in Manali where our University of Maryland students were working. The students rotated in small groups of 5 each week between three assignments: hospital, community around Manali, and this remote village. I spent two days with the third group attending the annual Health Mela, during which doctors, social workers, and dental workers provide quality care to large numbers of children and their families who travel to attend.  Our students helped write up the data, mapped tuberculosis cases in the villages, and took childrens' pulses. Below is a dental check up by the hospital's dental hygienist and then little girl with her toothpaste and toothbrush. I love the cross-cultural similarities--envisioning my kids in their carseats proudly clutching their new tubes and brushes after each dental visit.

A short hike from the Jibhi hospital guesthouse is an idyllic scene out of a Disney storybook with homemade bridges leading to a misty waterfall. On our walk, we saw a goat herder cross the river with his pack, but alas, one baby goat was left behind "baa"-ing to its mommy and daddy. The herder came back, scooped up the baby goat and the mama goat said, "baa, baa" (thank you). The goats went on their merry way, as blue butterflies circled our heads. Really, this happened.

Coming home

The monsoon made its entrance as we prepared for our departure. Less than 24 hours before our scheduled flight on a tiny plane above the mountains surrounding Manali, we learned that flights had been cancelled for the three previous mornings, not delayed, Cancelled (with a capital C). The forecast for our flying time was Rain (with a capital R). We made the decision to cancel our 17 seats, and hired four cars for the 17 hour ride to Delhi, planning our departure for midnight to ensure we would not miss our Continental Airlines connection back to the US at 10:50pm. It was the right decision. Ours was the 4th consecutive day that the flight was cancelled. Knowing this decision meant aborting our plan for a day of touring and shopping in Delhi, everyone spent the final hours picking up gifts and packing for our midnight departure.

We said our goodbyes to Hotel Kanchan Gray, watched as they roped and tarped our bags to the roofs, and with henna'ed palms, began our long journey. There were good signs. 1) I buckled myself into the fully functioning passenger-side seatbelt (see first post if the reference doesn't make you smile). 2) Our driver stopped ever-so-briefly to bow his head, close his eyes, and pray. Given his job description of delivering us safely, I liked that.

Henna design by Himani, a Smith college student conducting research with Heather for the summer

We stopped in Chandigarh at 8:30am for breakfast at Mili's maternal home, meeting her family who welcomed us with a delicious breakfast and her mom's chai, the best I've ever tasted.

We made it. And so I'm home after a great learning experience. Julian and Leo greeted me with hugs that are beyond words. Kissing little boy cheeks was what I missed most of all. I teach about childhood and family resilience. Eric is an amazing dad and made it work with lots of family support, but we are strongest when we share the daily tasks of parenting. Now...final papers to grade from my College Park kitchen table.