Morning calls, Groundnuts and Yuppies

Part two-Day two... I have to put this down before going to bed or I'll burst with unsaid news and views.
The day started with a phone call from Lisa, my sister...a call at 5 in the morning usually accelerates my heart rate..I just expect bad news at wee hours...and it was horrible news. Bombay or Mumbai, to be Precise and Maharashtrian, was being attacked...bomb blasts, firings, hostage situation, Taj and Oberio being burnt...it was mindless and shocking...this year has been a veritable festival of bomb blasts...there were calls to revive POTA and TADA...I just hope that this does not force the government to a knee jerk reaction like that... like Rahul bose said on NDTV its the life between the bomb blasts that needs to be thought about...I totally agree!
After a heavy breakfast of Butter toast, scrambled eggs and juice I was all set to travel another 100kms to Shergarh, our field area in Jodhpur. Well I don't need to mention that Prem had another of his absolutely engaging arguments with the hotel staff on the amount of stuffing in his Aloo Parathas.
I slept throughout the 2hour journey to Shergarh. Our first stop was the field office cum training centre of the partner organisation Jai Bhim Vikas Evam Shikshan Sansthan where the head of the organisation and the project coordinator regaled us with stories of dalit discrimination and rights assertions by the community. A lot of people in India believe that dalit discrimination is overrated, reservations need to be abolished. The real story is vastly different.There are still places in India where dalits have separate cups at tea stalls, where barbers refuse to cut their hair and where they have to get their own plates to a marriage function of an upper caste. Our field visits also brought up a lot of such cases...there are issues here that are difficult and unimaginable in a independent and democratic country..imagine someone refusing to let you walk out of your village or home to the hospital, the road, nearby shop just because he/she owns the land around your village...its true...Dalit dhanis or villages do not have approach roads making them dependent on the so called upper castes for daily passage...How difficult would it be for them to oppose 'begar' unpaid labour at a Rajputs house when the only means of communication to the outside world is being controlled by the same Rajput..Life in a village is so highly romanticised in novels, movies, even history books...trust me that is all a load of crap...villages are hubs of discrimination, exploitation and violence...there is no self sufficient happy Indian village where everyone helps everyone and all sing and dance in the rain.
The best part about our field visit was the unending supply of fresh roasted groundnuts...I must have had atleast half a kilo of groundnut.
Have you ever seen the night sky in a village...it is the most beautiful sight one can ever see...there isn't a single spot left in the sky..its like someone spilt a whole sack of stars on a black satin sheet. Back in Jaipur or Delhi I can actually count the number of stars. We started back for Jodhpur at around 7 pm.
I was determined to have a good dinner after having to skip lunch, despite the groundnuts and elaichi flavoured coffee. After a heavy discussion on where to eat and what to eat (you must have guessed who was leading the discussion) we decided on Kalinga....one of the oldest restaurants in Jodhpur. The ambience was good, the food great especially the handi mutton and price reasonable. The crowd was largely foreign tourists and Indian tourists..the main difference between the two is that while foreign tourists are quite and reserved in a restaurant, Indian tourist are loud and obnoxious. There was a group of young men and women, I am guessing from Delhi, the yuppie crowd who were laughing and giggling and talking loudly, generally trying to stand out as the cool and with it crowd from the metropolis of Delhi...and Girls.. Drinking is cool, as long as you don't make it a point to impress on others your coolness quotient...we seriously don't care if you're drinking pina colada or jal jeera..honestly Shut Up!
Back at center point the news from Mumbai was still grim...almost 80 people were dead and nearly 200 were being held hostage. I hoped things would improve tomorrow...and with that thought i switched off my TV and went to sleep..Tomorrow is going to be long day...
Bye