Three girls in Rural Rajasthan

This is my first time on a blog, but what a beginning. I am sitting on the veranda of our field residence in rural Rajasthan in India. Darkness fell several hours ago so instects are crawling all over me and the computer screen. And I am online.. here in the middle of nowwhere, where herds of camels and sheeps pass by every early morning. The herdsmen of the village nearby wear red turbans and white cloth. But internet reaches and thats is amazing!

Zindu and Sahar are sleeping. We have been here for a week now but are still settling in. There is so much to absorb. We met in Delhi two weeks ago, but the contrasts of India only became real this last couple of days. We are hosted by a local NGO which primarily do mobilization work - the ultimate goal being social and economic revolution led by the poor. Not very tangible indeed but a progressive approach. We joined them for rally for a two days last week to get a better understanding of their work. On top of a tractor-wagon we drove from village to village, sang, held speeches about injustice and distributed flyers. They did not allow us to be spectators only so we had the pleasure (...) of talking to the 'masses' on our way from a megaphone. On our way we saw poverty with capital P. On the second night we slept on the floor of a primary school. It rained badly that evening and the stove didnt function so we had to split up and go from house to house to ask for food. It didnt feel right - the people here are so poor that many only eat once a day. But we got to talk to people and understood how settled oppresion of women and how ridgit the caste system is here. Cruel and very much eye-opening. Development in India is a primarily a political battle and not so much a matter of economical constaints. The means are there to address poverty, but there is a massive lack of will, implementation and capabilities of the poorest.

We enjoyed the weekend. This evening we had the first non-veg meal in weeks on the roof-top terrasse. Food is preparred on the floor and enjoyed on the floor while talking alot. There are always many people around and I enjoy the community feeling here.

I will head off to bed and look forward to hear stories from all of you.

Tine