While I was away from the Net...

04:46 16-07-2009:

It's been blowing hard since night before last. At first it seemed as if a storm was brewing. But nothing of that sort happened. The sky was clear and one could see the stars. No clouds in the sky, and yet the wind was strong. Towards dawn, however, some clouds appeared on the eastern horizon and by day break we had a cloud cover. The wind turned to a gale, some clouds kept floating by, but there was no rain. At least no rain worth talking about. A few drizzles now and then that did not last for more than a couple of minutes at the most.The wind is still up. The clouds are still there. But there is still no rain. It's quite chilly though. This is really very strange weather and I really don't know what to make of it.

The phone is not working. Or perhaps I should say it is not working properly. It is not possible to speak to anyone for more than a minute at a time without getting disconnected. And getting connected is more of a matter of luck than technology! The net too is not working. It's possible to connect to the net. But data transfer is not possible. Which means I can't check email or check any web-based programme. And here we are trying to impart computer literacy to the children and telling them about the wonders of the internet!

I've been awake since 3:00 a.m! The wind chime on the veranda was chiming more than usual and the roof was sounding as if it would blow off. And since I can't go for a walk in the dark (it's still dark at 4:45 a.m) I decided to write these few lines hoping that I may be able to upload them as a blog entry whenever net connectivity is restored.

Things on the project are fine. Suman and Khagen are managing pretty well. Bhola comes by and does his bit. Richard helps out whenever needed and teaches. Bansi comes to teach. So things are moving quite smoothly at the moment. We've planted some trees. Built a wall. And carrying out minor repairs, etc. We have even managed to get a portion of the field ploughed -- the area near the new well. Hopefully, we will be able to grow some maize and lentils there along with some vegetables.

15:21 16-07-2009:

I wonder where the clouds have gone! At lunch the sky was overcast. Now it's bright sunshine. I can see a few dark clouds in the distant horizon but they don't seem to be headed in this direction. Had they been, they'd be upon us by now. And what happened to the clouds that were here? The winds blew them away for sure. Sadly, they did not give us any rain.

Can you imagine how the farmer must be feeling? The ones who have sown their seeds and watched as they wilted and dried. And others who have not as yet been able to plough their fields? Now I understand why they are so apathetic to everything. They seem to have no control over anything. How can we even expect them to hope for anything better. In a monsoon dependent country, I guess one tends to become fatalistic.

It was cool in the morning. It's quite hot now.

16:30 17-07-2009:

The phones are working once again. They do get disconnected, but not as frequently as yesterday. It is possible to have a conversation. But net connectivity has not been restored. I wonder when that will happen.

Bhola has gone to Dumka. The labourers came and did some work on the foundation of the "cottage". I don't know if it will get built. But there was a lot of broken bricks lying around looking ugly. So we decided to put it in the foundation. We may have enough bricks up to construct up to the plinth level. The cement for the well is lying around. It may get spoilt. So might as well use it to do something.

Harish (Parvati's father) came and ploughed the field near the well for the second time. And for the second time, I forgot to take pictures. He's planted some lentil and maize. Suman said he will plant some vegetables there. It's next to the well. So irragation will not be a problem even if it does not rain.

Still no rain. It does look like famine and drought. I've never seen famine in this region before. This will be the first time. I don't know what to expect or even do. Bhola says that the government will pour money into the area once famine is declared. That's one reason why everyone is waiting for the declaration to come.

The nights are cool. And if there's no sun, the days are cool too. The strong breeze has stopped. I guess it just came to drive away the rain clouds. Wierd.

Some changes on the project. Henceforth Khagen will take care of the kitchen. Suman will take care of the plants and trees. Let's see if this arrangement works.

16:18 18-07-2009:

Still can't get online. We are lucky that the phone is working. It still get's disconnected during a conversation, but not if the conversation is brief. Airtel is ensuring that we don't talk for too long! They want us to save money! But on the other hand they are charging us for a whole month's net connectivity and giving us very poor service. Every month the net connection is down for a week or more.

There's nothing much we can do about it. We should be grateful that we have some sort of connectivity even in this remote village which has no electricity and is connected to the rest of the world via a dirt road which is messy during the monsoons. Aren't we lucky that it hasn't rained this year? Of course, I am being sarcastic. If God does not do his/her job in Jharkhand, how can we expect the bureaucrats (or for that matter, anybody!) to do their!

Khagen has gone home. Bhola too went home but is expected back soon. Suman is here. And Richard. suman is pottering around in the field. I don't know what Richard is up to. He's probably helping Suman or watering the plants. I'm trying to write this blog that I won't be able to upload.

Bhola brought me a gas oven from Dumka. So now I have a mini-kitchen in my room. I can make my own tea as often as I like and the way I like it. Unfortunately, Bhola was taken for a ride when the bought the blended tea. It's not very good. And instead of "Darjeeling", they gave him "Assam". He, of course, can't tell the difference.

The labourers did not come today. Perhaps they will come tomorrow. The mason promised to show up too. Let's see if we can get some construction activities underway.

Yesterday and today, I taught the class 4 kids how to work on a spreadsheet. The boys are making a list of trees. The girls are making a family chart. I think they are messing up things. But I'll let them fiddle around and then show them all over again.

14:58 19-07-2009:

It's a very, very hot day today. There were some clouds in the morning. Evan a few drops of rain, but mostly it has been sunny and sweltery. Right now it's 2:30 on a Sunday afternoon with bright sunshine that hurts the eyes and no clouds on the horizon to bring some hope of rain. The monsoon has failed. I told Richard that he is one of the lucky few to see how a famine starts. I am worried. But for some strange reason Bhola seems elated! He says that a famine would mean more money pouring into this area for development work. That's probably true. But given how the government machinery reacts to disasters, there will be a lot of starvation deaths before relief work starts. His kind would make a lot of money pocketing various construction contracts. But what about the poor villagers who will have to wait with folded hands for relief ration or work that will help them earn their bread.

Early this morning Phanka was waiting outside the gate for us to wake up. He wanted to know if we had any work for him. We have. And he and one more person can start tomorrow to help the masons work on the foundation of the cottage. There's nothing unusual about the villagers working on the project. What's unusual is the fact that this is perhaps the first time they have come asking for work! Bhola had approached Phanka and his brothers -- Kadru and Pitho -- a month ago to ask if they would do some work for the project. And he had been turned away rather impolitely -- we don't have time for work, they had said. And it has always been the custom for us to go to the village to ask for labourers. That's what makes today's visit by Phanka more significant. It means the villagers have given up hope of being able to grow rice this year. Their only hope now is to find work.

The price of food has already started rising. Rice, potato, vegetables have started costing more. How are people able to afford such high prices, I asked Bhola. He said, they mostly survive on rice and lentils and eat vegetables or meat (almost the same price as vegetables now) once or twice a week.

It's been a quiet and lazy Sunday otherwise. Bhola left about 11:00. Khagen is yet to come back. Richard is relaxing. Suman is doing what needs to be done. I'm still waiting for net connection to be restored.

20:23 21-07-2009

The labourers started working on the foundation of the "cottage". All the broken bits and pieces were put in the foundation and pouded down and sand poured over it. Today the masons put the first layer of bricks. Some bricks have arrived. More is expected. They should have delivered today. But I guess it got overlooked in the excitement following the bank robbery!

The Devdand bank got robbed! Five robbers arrived in a "Bolero" jeep similar to the one used by bank officials. Everyone assumed it was some official come for a visit. The people in the jeep walked into the bank and worked out in a couple of minutes. And it was only after they had left that it became clear that the bank had been robbed! A smooth operation. They then stopped a motorcyclist not far from the project. One of the robbers drove away on the motercycle. The others abandoned the jeep and took off on foot in four different directions.

Not much money was apprently taken away. But Devdand is a very small place. Not even a "one-horse" town. And the bank is quite small too. Hence all the excitement. People have something to talk about and it guess this is going to be a hot topic for a while to come.

It's been raining off and on and the weather is mostly pleasant and cool. There's enough sunshine to charge the batteries and dry clothes. And enough rain to keep the farmers and newly planted trees happy. Let's hope the natural balance will be maintained?

11:34 22-07-2009

It's really frustrating. I haven't been able to get online since the 15th. I haven't been able to check mail or write to anyone. No way I can upload this blog. And there's no way I can find out what's going on! The Airtel answering mechanism is most unhelpful. I keep trying the data card off and on. Sometimes I do get a signal. Things look hopeful. And then suddenly, it disappears just as it appears.

The masons are working on the foundation. Bricks have not arrived. I'm letting Bhola handle the situation. But I do wish people would use their brains a little bit more. How do I get them to do that?

I've just realized that I pound on this keyboard as if I'm using a typewriter. That's going to screw up the keyboard very soon! Must learn to do touch-typing!

14:36 25-07-2009

It's very frustrating. Just as I felt I had set up a good communication system, I am unable to get online. It's been almost a fortnight. I had hoped that AIRTEL, being a privately owned company would be more efficient about restoring its services. But apparently it isn't! Two weeks have gone by and there's no gprs service in this area. It's impossible to get through to Customer Service and when you do, they give you the run around. They ask you to call a number which says: "this is an invalid number, please check the number and dial again"!

I spoke to the Territory Manager, Sandeep Patel. He promised to look into the matter. He obviously has not been able to do much. Today Sachin came to visit me this morning to talk about the possibility of holding a three-day yoga camp for the villagers. I requested him to see if he could do something -- since he's Sandeep Patel's neighbouer. He just informed me that SP is not available today. Let's hope something will work out soon.

Construction of the foundation is almost complete. By my reckoning, it should have been complete this morning. But this time we have engaged Roldih labour. They are the laziest in the region. They need to be called time and again to come to work. They easily waste a lot of time just come to work! Well, today is pay day. And I am going to take my time paying them. It's sad how I'm being reduced to such pettiness. Maybe it's time to withdraw completely or go away. I'm still trying to figure out what I should do. There are a few alternatives I am toying with -- hand over the project to another organization, hand it over to local people (who I know will not be able to run it), hand it over to some Godda businessmen who may be able to run it as a religious institution. What about me? I could retire to one corner of the project and continue to teach and practise "pratyahara" (withdrawl) from the project. I could also go to Meena's farm and take care of it and be close to the Himalayas. Or perhaps I could go to Debasih's ashram up in the moutains and teach the children there. There are so many other projects scattered all over India who could use me. All I need is a place to stay and enough food to sustain myself. The wheel is still spinning... let's see where it comes to rest.

14:50 03-08-2009

I gave up. I gave up waiting for the net connection to be restored. I gave up waiting for the weather to improve. I gave up trying to get things to work. And I gave up writing the blog. But I didn't give up on my morning walks, my meditation and yoga. I did not give up on school. The only time I felt worthy or useful was when I was teaching. And the only time I became conscious of myself was when I was doing yoga. The rest of the time I simply "shut down". I spent hours playing games on my computer or my mobile. Anything to keep my mind of the present.

So why am I writing this today when I know that I won't be able to upload it? Because I got a call from Bhola who says that the datacard is working in Godda. The phone's gprs service is working Godda. So there's still hope that the service will be restored in Devdand too. Wonder why it isn't working here? Is it part of a conspiracy not to allow news from rural areas get online? I know that some border states did not have mobile phones till recently. Anyway, at least I now know that gprs services are available in Godda and perhaps I could go there once a week and upload all the blog entries and check on mail. I used to do that earlier. But it's expensive and time consuming. And at a time when we don't have any money, I'm pinching pennies.

The new routine started today. Khagen and I are teaching all five classes. The class four kids are teaching the class one kids English. Khagen is teaching Hindi and Maths in all classes except four. I'm teaching all other subjects to classes two to four. Let's see how it works out. I'm glad I'm teaching class two. Today I went into class and discovered that they had "finished the book"! And yet when I asked them to read, they were unable to do so. "Silkworm" is being pronounced as "sikwork" and "those" as "toss"! Maybe I can go through all the lessons with them once again. We have the time.

14:06 05-08-2009

The net is still off. Can't get online. Have spoken to Sandeep Patel, Territory Manager for Airtel. As ever, he was polite and told me that he has informed the concerned people. But that hasn't had any effect. Unfortunately, I can't go to Godda. It's too hot and I can't leave the project entirely on Khagen. Suman has gone to visit his wife. I wonder if he will be back in the morning like he used to earlier. These days he tends to call up and say he's ill or will come another day!

The weather is quite depressing. It's hot and humid. There's a cloud cover since last night. But no rain. Not even a few drops. Once in the while the humidity levels are unbearable. One feels physically sick. Local people are falling ill. A lot of kids have been ill and attendance has dropped due to illness.

Today attendance was particularly bad because it's RAKSHA BANDHAN or RAKHI. It's the day when sisters tie colourful strings on their brothers' wrists, pray for their welfare and ask for protection in return. Yet, a lot of children came. Only Kartik was absent from class 4 and Komal and Sonu from class 3. They had gone for Puja to some temple.

Today the tailor came and took the measurement for the pajama-kurta and salwar-kameez of the children in classes 3 and 4. I hope they get stitched before 15th August.

12:35 08-08-2009

Well, the net connection has still not been fixed. And India is supposed to be one of the most IT savvy nations. It is also probably one of the most inefficient countries in the world. How else do you expect a private company (Airtel) which claims to be the market leader, not being able to fix a problem for the past three weeks! They probably don't care. They've got my money. And even if they don't provide me with the services for which I've paid them, how does it matter to them?

I hope Rahul will be able to use his influence to get things moving. But at this point I have no hope. When the Territory Manager is unable to fix a local problem, what can the higher ups actually do?

Life on the project is ok. School is going on. The children are learning something I hope. There's been some rain and so the plants are happy. The farmers are happy too. But also anxious. Will their crops get adequate water? Or will there be too much rain when it's not needed?

I'm mostly occupied with my yoga and reading and listening to music. In a way I'm glad the net is not working. I have the perfect excuse to shut myself from the world.

11:19 10-08-2009

The other day I was telling the kids about robots. How robots needed to be given clear instructions while humans can think for themselves. That afternoon I asked someone to put out my mattress if the sun shines. The sun did shine but it was also drizzling. And this person promptly put my mattress out in the sunshine unmindful of the fact that it would get wet in the rain! I didn't know whether to laugh or to cry! Perhaps there's very little difference between humans robots.

Well, the net is still not working from Roldih and I don't want to go to Godda just to get online. Rahul has been trying to pull a few strings here and there and I got a message from him saying that he is hopeful that the connection will be restored in a day or two. I hope he's right. The Territory Manager said the same thing. But it's been a month since then and nothing has happened!

All's well on the project. We are getting ready to celebrate Independence Day on the 15th. The tailors are stitching pajama kurtas and salwar kameez for the children of classes three and four. Wonder if they will be ready in time. From now on the uniform will be pajama-kurta for the boys and salwar-kameez for the girls.

The weather has not improved. There's been hardly any rain. It's hot, humid and sunny. Sometimes that is better than cloudy humid which somehow seems totally unbearable.

I am enjoying my teaching despite the weather. Class two is definitely more intellingent than class three. But we can't call class three kids zombies any more. They are more reactive these days. I do get a good response from them while teaching. But most are slow. I do supect that most of the class two kids will catch up with them by the end of the year!


12:30 10-08-2009

Looks like Rahul has managed to pull a few strings somewhere because they are definitely in the process of fixing the problem. I can connect to the net and so I thought I'd lose no time uploading this.... I'll write more if the connection persists.