Day 4 India (photo set 1/2 for day 4): Our first agenda item today was a lecture on the challenges of the water supply in Jaipur City. We learned that there is 90 million liter deficit per day in terms of water demands which causes people in some areas of the city to not have water for periods of time during the day or in some cases not at all during the whole day. I think we often take advantage of having clean water readily available to us in most parts of the U.S. Another note for those of you who haven’t traveled widely, water in many places in the world can carry bacteria our bodies aren’t used to so it’s recommended to not use tap water for brushing your teeth and keeping water out of your eyes and mouth as you shower. I encourage you to try and conduct these two morning tasks as if you were visiting India and see how well you do.
After the morning presentation we boarded the bus to head to Salim’s Paper, a local company that helped an impoverished community here in India with its creation of beautiful artesian (handmade) paper products. They also employ a high percentage of women (40%). We watched a demonstration of the paper making process and walked the store room. So many colors and patterns. Some of my favorites were the ones that included marigold petals. So cool! Marigolds hold a special place in India. They are used in many ceremonies. It is sometimes referred to as the “flower of the soul”.
Our next stop brought us to another artisan company, Shakshi which is carrying on the ancient art of hand block printing on fabric. It was fascinating to watch the artists work with such precision ensuring each block was stamped properly along the entire length of a large bolt of fabric before moving on to the next layer (a separate block with a second color). We were driven over to their store so we could see some of their final products. Right next door was another multi-generation blue pottery store (got some photos this time for you LB).
The next stop brought us to the state pollution control board for a formal presentation on ambient air quality monitoring. As can be expected, the faster the population is growing the harder it is on the environment and air quality decreases. They now monitor it at various stations across the state, one of which we got to go visit. What I found most interesting here was the fact that India is still a patriarchal society and when our group coincidentally split the semi circle with mainly women sitting on one side and mainly men sitting in the other, the male presenter turned to the male side of the room for basically the entire presentation. I counted only three times total in 45 minutes, that he glanced our direction. Once was at the beginning when he said we should introduce ourselves, once was at the end when he said he’d take questions, and the third came part way through when their was a noise and movement from the gentlemen serving tea to the staff sitting behind us on the women’s side of the room. 3 short glances to talking less than 10 seconds all together in 45 minutes!
We also had some time to explore the area around our hotel. Walking the streets is a bit crazy as there aren’t really sidewalks and traffic is constant and chaotic. We had Paneer Kebabs on the street and even checked out a local grocery store. We stopped at a confectionary shop where we tried a special dessert that was a cross between shredded wheat and cotton candy. It looked like a birds nest and we were told that it was made special for the kite festival that was coming up and that they only make this treat this time of year and only for 15 days. We’ve seen a lot of kites being flown the while we’ve been in Jaipur.
Here are a few photos from today.
Day 4 India: (set 2/2 photo blocks) For explanation please see earlier post for today that also includes the first set of today’s photos. Thanks!
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