December 31. 2010

It's New Years Eve!!!!! I feel like my blogs are getting longer and longer and I can't promise this will be any shorter, =)  Today a lot was planned as we were to go to lecture, tour, go to a bazar and then end with a New Years Celebration.  With all that, it just can't be a short one!

After breakfast we headed to Mithraneketan, a place being preserved by COSTFORD and was once home to a royal family.  The main objective was to see the architecture of the building as it was all made from wood, and the detail was impecable.  See for yourself:

 Here we are touring the inside....note how important natural sunlight is as there are openings in most rooms for such.

The hand carved borders along all the walls.....

 Even the meticulously designed rods for roofing.

 As we toured we all noticed the children that were around the complex and their evident handicap.  Later in lecture, we learned there were dormitorys on the campus, and a place for children with disabilities and autism....they were there because it was believed traditional practices were not enough, and they were sent there so that tribal medicines could be practiced.  From the moment I saw each of them, my focus was taken elsewhere.  One in particular I felt connected to, and I wanted to play with him.  I found it hard to concentrate on the lecture.  As most know, individuals with Autism have not only a place but a piece of my heart.  I felt compelled to work with them, and I began to question my purpose...if just the sight would envoke such emotion within me....I did capture a very few photos from a distance as I wanted to be very mindful of respect and privacy:

The second lecture of the day was presented by Sajan's wife Shailaja Nair.  The topic was very informative and intersting, providing background on the issues of informal settlements (slums) in India and more specifically Kerala.  Although slums in Kerala are such a small percentage of the total amount in India and present much less of a threat for crime, there are still many people living below poverty and something must be done.  As instrucuted by Ghandi, Laurie Baker returned to India to build for the rural poor, and now that is what COSTFORD does.  The slum we visited is called Karimadom, and COSTFORD is working there and several other areas to not only transform living conditions but social conditions.  Take a look at the before and after pictures of these slums.  (These pictures were not taken inside the slums as I did not feel comfortable photographing people's lives as an outsider so out of respect, they were also taken from a distance)

This is the actual slum and above are the built new infrasturctures.  I also snapped photos of the current strucutres being built, which will one day be the housing in the slums.  The goal of COSTFORD is to also contribute to the social transformation of the built environment by also facilitating empowerment of the poor and weaker sections of society.  The new design of the slum has been to reorganize and provide services as well as room expansion.  They also wanted to integrate these populations with the rest of society.

I should also note seeing the slums made me realize how much we praise industrialization in the States and although it was a good thing, to me it happened too quickly.  The slower pace of less developed countries is allowing traditional, sustainable and resourceful practices to be retained.  Instead of being ingulfed in modernity and the latest technologies, while important, I think the most important thing is to live simply.  In India they use so much less and do just that.  And that's how I wish to live: simply.

When we arrived at the slums, the children welcomed us with open arms!  They surrounded us, asking our names and speaking English so well (the older ones).  One boy in particular spoke and you could tell he was advanced.  When asked if he was at the top of the class, he responded yes, and I only had one feeling: one of embarassment.  Here is a 12 year old boy engaged and learning English our of respect for our "culture" and to enhance himself, and here I am, a 23 year old who can only speak English.  Although the desire to learn another languge has been present, I haven't acted on it.  I am largely ashamed because the want hasn't been great enough to spark action.

After leaving the slums, we went to a bazar where we all shopped and had a lot of fun.  However, I found my best experience at the bazar to be not shopping but the long conversation I had with a man who owned a a welding shop.  He was very intriguing and initially I just sat in front of his shop to kill time as we waited for a lost soldier =)  He welded and created artwork from brass, copper and silver.  He told me all about his family, and most specifically his work being a family tradition.  We discussed the meaning of the eyes he made, and those were intended for use at Temple.  They are purchased as a symbolic representation that they belive in god and and god is good; the eyes were to be given as a part of them, similiar to what we consider offering.  He then showed me the entire process of making a set, and allowed me to photograph each step.  Here are a few from the bazar and his process:

Because today was New Years Eve, of course we had to end the day with a celebration.  We went to a COSTFORD designed hotel to experience an Indian cultural performance/show, partake in a splendid feast of cuisine to hang on the beach, and ring in the new year with new friends who taught us a lot of Indian dances.  It was the best New Years I've had in a while.....as we danced and celebrated there were fireworks from the distance that were absolutely beautiful....and they even fired plenty from the roof top of the hotel we were at!  It was so fantastic.  I don't have many pictures because my camera died but here are the few I grabbed!

Drummers!