Day 11 in India
We had breakfast out on the terrace this morning and there was a slight breeze. It felt so good and we were happy that the pollution didn’t seem as stifling as last night when we came into town. We can still feel it in our lungs but for some reason it seemed better today.
Our morning session was presented by Harini Nagendra, a Professor at the Univeristy of Bangalore. It was interesting to see how we can understand culture better by studying the nature of a city. Bangalore had early stories and songs about the man-made “lakes” and indigenous vegetation that used to prevail across this environment. Then as urbanization and mass colonization occurred what happened was that roads and development caused a change in the landscape and trees that once served multipurpose for the people (fruit, shade, medicine) were cut down, small water bodies disappeared or were contaminated and any new trees were ornamental, which may have provided shade but no longer provided needed food for the impoverished and historical indigenous knowledge of the land resources (ie traditional medicines that came from the land) became harder to pass along to other generations. This reminded me of what has/is happening with the Native American knowledge of the land. She said 80% of the trees in Bangalore parks are exotic (non native).Urbanization continues to expand and often at the expense of the natural environment and the alread marginalized groups.
Clearing the small water bodies also affected the culture because many religions have water as part of their ceremonies. Now those elements are harder to find (or further away or used but contaminated). There are also gender issues involved with changing the ecology in a community because when the trees were cut down, women were forced to go further to find privacy or are forced to pay for access to a local public bathroom—a luxury the poor the poor cant afford. So we really cant have healthy communities until we understand that this involves a focus that includes both the land and the people.
In the afternoon we walked to the Children’s Rights Trust. This is an organization that advocates for kids and healthy parenting. The statistics we learned here were harsh. Children 6 and under make up 12% of the population and 18 and under is 34%. Total population of India as a whole includes 39% 18 and under. 32% of the children under age 3 in Bangalore are underweight. Anemia affects 61%. Completion of 8 years of school is 59% in the urban area and only 35% in the rural areas. More than 260,000 children under the age of 15 and who are below the poverty line are estimated to be living in the Bangalore slums. Water and food insecurity, lack of sanitation facilities, abuse, child labor, and child trafficking (labor, sex and worse) are all major issues affecting these kids. It was overwhelming to think of some of these numbers, but affirming that this group is working hard to be their advocate.
We also had a little time to explore the city today. It has a very different vibe and feel. We took an uber to a jewelry store someone recommended and we saw a very different class of individuals than what we had just been studying. There were Mercedes dealerships and Porsche cars in that neighborhood. The minimum earnings for the day, yes the day, they said was less than 400 rupees (less than $6) and many don’t come close to making that. So this evening we went out and helped the local economy (ok we went shopping). 🙂 We actually closed down the whole market, which was ok since I had to get back to work on my online classes which started today
On a positive note, our participant who was sick was released from the hospital and is said to be doing better today. Thanks for all of you who sent him good vibes.
Til tomorrow...here’s some pics of the day.
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