Exploring Bangalore!

We have arrived in Bangalore! We received a colorful and warm welcome from Christ University, where we will be staying for a little over a week. We all love taking in the beauty and serenity of the campus, and feel happy to be among other college students!

On Monday, one of our activities for the week included visiting the ISKCON temple in Bangalore which is known for their philanthropy through their development of Akshaya Patra which is the largest school lunch program in India--serving 1.6 million school children across 12 states. They have their first kitchen at the temple which includes many multiple cauldrons that each can make rice to serve 1,000 government school children, plus many other large cooking equipment. The visit, information session, and tour of the temple and Akshaya Patra was inspiring as their mission believed that no child should be denied education because of hunger.

On Tuesday, we met up with twelve other psychology students from Christ University and traveled to the Lalbagh Garden together. Here, we were split up into groups to work on an observation project. The goal was to find a certain spot in the park and observe people there. We had to select a behavior to observe and make notes on what we saw. It was really fun to work with students from the university and learn more about their studies and life in India. Many of us bonded over Netflix shows and music, and of course, our love for psychology and working with people!

After our observations, we all returned to campus together and shared a traditional Indian meal. Then, we were asked to present our findings to the rest of the group. All students got really creative with this assignment! Groups presented about observing people’s cell phone usage, levels of physical touch or public display of affection, forms of exercise, and variability of interactions based on gender. It was so interesting to hear about everyone's different topics and findings, and also interesting to
compare and contrast these behaviors with the United States. The day ended with tea, cookies and conversation with new friends. It was so fun to meet new people, and bond over interests we all share. It was also interesting to explore more of this complex country and some of the people that characterize it.

On Wednesday afternoon we had the exciting opportunity to work with the Christ University culinary department and make four Indian snacks that represent a few different regions of India. In small groups, we each tackled cooking a tasty dish and experienced chopping, dicing, stirring, and frying popular snack foods. We made Gujarati Poha, Pav Bhaji, Onion Pakoda, Garlic Chili Chutney, and Aate Ka Halwa--each with a distinct taste and method of cooking. This class emphasized the importance of the use of spices and locally sourced foods. The culinary professor told us that all the ingredients are grown India--nothing imported and at maximum only 100km away. Not only did this cooking experience bring us confidence in the kitchen and a feeling of community, but it also familiarized us with Indian cooking and some new recipes to bring home!

- Bridget and Fiona

A Happy Pongal Visit

Greetings!

On January 12 our group made a wonderful visit to a Dalit village a few hours from Pondicherry. Arriving at the village, our group of students was pleasantly surprised with the very warm welcome we received from the villagers. All of the women in our group received beautiful flowers in their hair and assortments of colorful bangle bracelets. The men were also greeted with a special ceremony in which white cloths were wrapped around their shoulders. On our foreheads and necks, all of us received a red mark, a traditional symbol of welcome and blessings in India. It's safe to say that we and the villagers had mutual levels of excitement for the day, as we were there to take part in the Pongal Festival (known as Makar Sankrati in another south Indian state, Karnataka), a four-day celebration of thanksgiving for the year's harvest in India!

{Our group being welcomed by the villagers}

Our day kicked off with watching the village women cook pongal, a sweet porridge-like dish eaten as part of the celebration. As the food cooked and the water boiled over the handmade pots, villagers began to clap and cheer, as this marked the beginning of the festival! Later, we got to taste the dish— it was delicious!

{Village women cooking pongal}

The rest of the day was filled with lots of fun, laughter, and excitement. The other festivities began with some of the women villagers performing a traditional circle dance for us, which we also all got to join in on. Next, we watched the men villagers as well of some of our own brave men play a traditional game similar to tag, but much more aggressive. It was quite funny to see some of our students get into it. We also partook in a game where one person was blindfolded and had to navigate themselves towards a hanging target and try and hit it with a long stick they were carrying. While nobody hit it, many of us were super close! We also got to spend time mingling with the villagers, men, women, and children. Many of us were excited to interact with the children especially, as we hadn't had much of a chance to do so in the villages we'd visited prior. We found it a bit funny to see how eager they were to take "selfies" with us, but they were full of smiles, energy, and enthusiasm.

{Shown is the hanging pot students tried to hit in the second game}

Towards the end of the day, we gathered all together as a group to have a brief discussion. A few professors from a local college were there to moderate and translate the conversations between the two languages (English and Tamil). As our group has been reading many articles on the role of marriage and treatment of women in India, it was very interesting and enlightening to hear the professors speak on the importance of moving towards a gender equal society and the training the villagers had been going through on giving women more empowerment in their community. One professor also touched on the problem of alcoholism among men, which we had previously read about, and reiterated how important it is to raise awareness and prevent this issue, as it is a cause of many forms of gender inequality and abuse. It was really wonderful to see the villagers react in agreement to these statements, and witness how both men and women had already begun to work towards a more inclusive society to women.

{Fish, rice, sambar, and various salads prepared by villagers}

Our day ended with an amazing meal prepared by the villagers, which we ate on banana tree leaves—a first for many of us! We said our goodbyes with lots of hugs and well wishes for a happy Pongal to the people many of us had felt we'd built friendships with even in the short span of a few hours. While we were sad to leave, I think we all left with full hearts and lots of hope for the future progress of the village community. It was an experience many of us will cherish forever and can't wait to share with all of those at home.

A Very Merry Day in Pondicherry!

Bidding a temporary farewell to Chennai on January 11th, we packed up and drove four hours south to Pondicherry (which is also known as Puducherry). After dropping off our bags at the hotel, we had the rest of the day to experience the unique city of Pondicherry! Even though everyone spent their time in different ways, it’s safe to say that we all enjoyed exploring the beach promenade and admiring the beautiful buildings. In Pondicherry, the architecture suddenly shifts as you approach the beach area — it changes from a bustling Indian street, lined with shops, motorcycles, and cows — to grand buildings displaying the French influence on the city. Pondicherry was originally occupied by French colonists, so much of the architecture by the beach is still modeled after French designs today. Also, Pondicherry has many delicious French-inspired restaurants and bakeries!

A Pondicherry street view

Seeing the beautiful Bay of Bengal for a second time was another highlight of the afternoon, but even the sunny skies and peaceful waves couldn’t keep us from thinking about the devastation that water can cause; we recently read two articles detailing the treacherous 2004 tsunami that greatly affected southern coastal India, and they helped us put the destruction and tragedy these communities faced into perspective. In Pondicherry, a barrier of rocks was installed on the beach after the tsunami occurred to protect the city against future storms

The Bay of Bengal, Pondicherry 

Though we all could’ve spent two more days enjoying Pondicherry, we definitely made the most out of our day there! We are already learning, observing, and experiencing so much here in India, and we can’t wait to continue sharing our adventures with you!
-Meredith

No shortage of beautiful flowers here!

The promenade 

A beautiful park in Pondicherry

Pulicat Lake villages

During our excursion to Pulicat Lake on January 6th, we visited various fishing villages. Prior to visiting the Pulicat Lake area, we read an article reflecting on fishing villages similar to the ones we would visit. The villages surrounding the Pulicat Lake make their livelihoods through fishing. There are two castes of people that fish on the lake, the Pattinaver and the Dalit, the former of which control the regulatory Padu system, which splits fishing time and area between the villages and is used to monopolize the fishing for the Pattinaver. The first village the women's group visited, where we had the coconuts and got to speak with the group of women, was of the Pattinaver caste, meaning they had more rights to use stake nets in the lake and were able to collect more fish than the people of the second village we visited. The people of that village were Dalit people, of a lower caste than the first, so they had to handpick prawns instead of using the more effective stake nets. It was interesting to see not only the difference in the quality of living between the two, where though the Pattinaver clearly struggled, they had more infrastructure and resources than the Dalit, but also the difference between the gender structures due to these economic differences: in the first village, only the men could fish, whereas the women cooked and cleaned and took care of the children. In the second, only the women did the handpicking, while the men stayed in the village doing the physical labor needed to maintain the village itself or working physical labor for wages elsewhere.

For part of the afternoon, we split into two groups. One group focused on women and culture, which was detailed in another blog post, and another group focused on religion and culture. In the religion group, we first traveled to fishing village that was 99% Muslim and 1% Hindu/other. A native spoke to us about the fishing trade, the ideas reflecting the article we had read beforehand. The village used to make 350+ fishing boats per year, yet in recent years, with the addition of fiberglass boats, the number has dwindled down to 0, so people have to find a different way to make a living.
In the Muslim village, we could see how religion and daily life are intertwined. The village leader spoke to us, with the help of a translator, and said that the main ideas he wanted us to know are that there is a “life after death,” and that “heaven is real.” We saw men gathered near the mosque--women had to keep a certain distance away, and young boys were allowed to openly play outside.

After visiting the predominantly Muslim village, we traveled to another lakeside village that had a well-known Christian church. We went inside this holy place, then talked with the Father and another minister. They showed us another building that the Portuguese built in the 1500s, which is part of the church grounds.

Hindu temple

A church

Pulicat Lake

A mosque

First Impression and Spencer's Globalization

Being the oldest mall in India, Spencer Plaza possesses numerous stores and restaurants and is filled with flowing shoppers. This is a sign of blossoming development, and India progresses through the world as a developing nation due to modernization, cultural mixing, and globalization.

Because of modernization, we were able to see a huge contrast between the slums and the urban environment around the neighborhood. This mall also plays a role in the technological advances. Utilizing the state-of-the-art foundation and machinery prosper this commercial complex. Culturally mixing the city of Chennai with stores, such as Nike, Lee, Krispy Kreme, and American Eagle. Even the famed golden arches from Mcdonald’s can be visible for the whole block to see. Nevertheless, these American restaurants have integrated a mixture of Indian cuisine. We tried Domino's pizza yesterday and the food was served with different Indian spices not normally served in the U.S. Yet, the culture of India did not disappear. Traditional clothing articles such as kurtas, saris, and their respective scarves are displayed throughout the mall. It was also interesting to see some of the different textures in fabrics used in traditional Indian clothing.

Overall, the influence of this globalization affects daily lives in India. Technology continues to improve the lives of many people. When arriving in India, we did not know what to expect. We were amazed by the traffic in Chennai and how the people navigating through the roads make it look so easy. From people to cars, rickshaws, and motorcycles, we could only imagine how difficult it is to drive here. The people of Chennai make it look so easy... Geez. Getting a taste of authentic Indian food has been exciting due to the lack of taste in America.

Streets of Spencer Plaza

Women’s Rights in the Pulicat Villages

     On January 6th our class travelled about an hour and a half outside of Chennai to visit villages along the shore of Pulicat Lagoon. The men in these villages predominantly make their living through fishing, though these activities have been negatively impacted by the effects of climate change and pollution. The night before, everyone in our class read an article detailing the social, economic, political, and environmental issues in that area. However, this article only told us about the issues facing the men in the community, and did not touch on the situation of the women. During our excursion, the class split into two groups, and I was in the group that focused on women’s issues for the Pulicat villagers. This experience enabled our group to gain a more complete understanding of the complex issues within the region.

     We were joined by a group of about ten village women, who sat cross-legged in the sand across from us. Our guide, a local social worker who does extensive activism for women’s rights in India, translated our questions to the women as well as their responses to us. It was amazing to be able to listen to the women and hear what they had to say about their lives, and how they would change things if they could.

     One of the most striking aspects of life in the village discussed by the women was the system of local governance. This was not governance through the state or by elected officials, but instead a kind of village council called a panchyat, which was made up of the male heads of household. All of the villagers were discouraged from reporting crimes to the police, and instead those issues between villagers were worked out by the council. Because no women were allowed on the council this left them at a serious disadvantage in disputes, and made them vulnerable to oppressive treatment.

     The women told us hesitantly about how the panchyat had mistreated single-women headed households in the village. They shared that widows had no representation on the council, and because of this when the widow’s pension was paid by the government to the panchyat, which was apparently a regular practice, It was distributed among all of the families in the village, instead of being given to her in full. The women we spoke to that day said that if they had a voice on the panchyat, they would have protected the rights of widows and taken care of vulnerable families in their community.

     Many studies have shown that the surest way to increase the economic growth of a developing country is to better the status of women in a society,but in this village the women felt that they were stuck in a world that would not be better for their children, and that even cultural advancements were not bettering their situations. These women had no power in their local government, were not allowed to fish as their husbands did and thus wielded very little economic influence, and were largely dominated by their husbands and their husbands families within their households. But the women expressed a hope that things were changing for the better, commenting that the young men in their community were beginning to see that the only way forward was through the elevation of women. Perhaps in the coming decades the status of these women will change and they will be able to live more fulfilling and empowered lives within their villages.

About this blog

Welcome to the India Interim 2018 blog, a record of the study/travel experiences of 21 St. Olaf College psychology students during the month of January. This course examines childhood, adolescence, and family life in India today. Topics include: 

• the status of girls and women in modern India
• the impact of India’s surging population growth, rapid economic change, and globalization on the development of self-concept, relationships, education, well-being/stress, and expectations about adulthood
• how the work being done by Indian psychologists, social workers, and other helping professionals is influenced by this religiously and linguistically diverse nation’s unique history and culture  
  

The month of study/travel provides daily opportunities to consider what we can learn about ourselves by studying these issues in this important South Asian nation. Much of our reading will be from research in developmental and cross-cultural psychology. We will supplement these sources with guest lectures, memoirs, works of fiction, and our own observations and experiences in the south Indian states of Tamil Nadu (Chennai and Pondicherry) and Karnataka (Bangalore) and the north Indian cities of Delhi and Agra. 

Each week, a different team of students will post at least two updates. We hope you enjoy and learn from our reflections!