Research: In progess

For those of you who might have thought that I am just goofing off here in sunny Bharatpur (like the park director who said to me, "What are you doing? What have you done?), I acutally did some real work this week. I finally was able to get some interviews this week which makes me think that I might actually get a PhD yet. It isn't necessarily the way that I envisioned things going and problably not how fieldwork manuals would recommend, but I'll take what I can get. My one RW, Gurdeep, took it upon himself to recruit people in his typically smart-ass way. He went over to another RW who was dozing in his rickshaw and said, "Madam needs to take your interview. Go over there and talk to her." Of course the sight of me tape recording our conversation brought over other rickshaw-wallas as well as people passing by (that is really not ideal). But after the first person did it, others were more willing to sit through the process. So far, the interviews have been a little shorter than I want them to be which might just be a result of the fact that we are sitting on the edge of the road with five to six people listening in. But its a start...I can always follow up with people later.

Besides that, Ian went to a near by village for three days to attend a function at a temple there. He said that it was frustrating sometimes that he couldn't understand what people were saying to him because of the rural dilect. I told him that he couldn't complain. That is the way it is for me ALL the time. And he didn't have someone telling him that his spouse's Hindi is SOOO much better than his own. I have to remember sometimes not to get angry at Ian for his Hindi compentency but it always irks me when people compare us.

One of our professors from Syracuse will be visiting us in two weeks. Initially I was a little nervous...what if she thinks I'm not doing a good job? But now I am just looking forward to spending time with someone who knows the other me. :)

Weather is still hot and sticky. It rained this morning but we need more.

Interview, anyone?

Well, this is the end of the first week of the park being open. Though the tourists have been spotty, I think everyone is glad to be back even if it is just to sleep in their rickshaws. I have started asking people about interviewing them and they are a little suspicious of the whole enterprise. I'm hoping that if one person gets interviewed, he can pass the word along that I am not going to stick pins under their finger nails or ask them ridiculously hard questions. So, I am going to keep plugging away at it. Hopefully, I can pin down either Bhagat or Gurdeep to be my first "victim." :)

In other news, our landlady's daughter is getting engaged this week so I am actually going to be taking off two days at the park to spend with the Sharmas. Auntie drives me crazy but I like Priyanka so I don't really mind. I'll try to remember to take pictures so I can show you my digs (which I haven't done up to now...weird, huh?)

Ian is still in Delhi. He was planning on coming back a couple days ago but our friend Mather was in an accident. Overall, she is okay, but she broke her collar bone so Ian decided to stay with her while she is in the hospital. Mather took such good care of Ian when he was sick with his fever last fall that I'm glad he is there to help her now.

It rained all day here yesterday which is good news. I hope it can keep in up! If you are the praying type, please put in a word or two.

Palace Pictures...

Oh, I finally got a chance to upload a couple photos from Karauli. I wasn't able to get one of the market, because pulling out a camera here is like asking to be mobbed by small children. I just wasn't up for it. But here are the digs where I stayed... The picture on top is the building in which I stayed and the one beneath it is the residence of the Maharaja and Maharani.

Back to the Daily Grind

Ian and I had a nice mini-vacation in Delhi to celebrate our anniversary. We didn't do anything specialy really, but it was just nice to be together. We were going to see a movie, but after perusing the selection we decided that it wasn't worth our time (Hindi movies are about 3 hours long!) or our money. So instead we spent the day browsing in shops, and we finished the day with a wonderful dinner at one of our favorite restaurants.

Ian is staying in Delhi until next week, but I decided to come back a little bit early. The park is opening on the 1st of July (yea!!!) and I wanted to be ready for that. So I have spent the last few days visiting with people and catching up. And once the park opens, I really am going to start my interviews (come hell or high water).

So after all the excitement of Karauli and the celebration of Ian's birthday and our anniversary, life is finally settling back down to normal. I must say I am ready for my 10 cups of chai, sharing lunch with my RWs, and finally making progress on my research!

Ian's Birthday

Today is Ian's 30th birthday (and he will probably get very angry that I am posting it so widely). We spent the day pretty uneventfully here in Bharatpur. In Indian culture, it is the resposibility of the person whose birthday it is to give sweets and, if there is any sort of party, to pick up the tab. We decided against the party because we had a feeling that it might drain our bank account but Ian did distribute sweets to people we know that he met this morning in town. He also decided that he wanted to cook himself dinner instead of going out to eat. It is a good thing that he likes to cook because he would starve if I was in charge of the kitchen. All of my RWs think it is funny that he is at home making dinner while I am hanging out with them in the bazaar. It is completely opposite from anything that they have ever known. :)

The day after tomorrow we are going to Delhi to celebrate our anniversary. Ian also has some other work to do, so I am going stay for four or five days and head back to Bharatpur. It seems as though the Gurjar agitation is officially over so there should be no more problems travel-wise.

Hope all is going well in the States. I have heard that there has been some more wacky weather in the Northeast. Watch out for the hail! The monsoon has started here about two weeks early but so far the rains seem to be good. Knock on wood because my RWs need a good rainy season if they are going to make a living this winter. Take care and I will post more soon...

Back in Bharatpur

I have escaped from Karauli and arrived back in Bharatpur this morning around 9 am. Actually, it was one of the most sedate, uneventful car rides I've ever had in India. You would never have known that anything was amiss except for the road was pretty empty. That is why we made excellent time...3 hours. Unbelievable! I am very glad to be back in Bharatpur safe and sound. Ian and I went out to lunch, and I think this afternoon we are going to relax at our house or maybe go into to town to catch up with people. It'll depend on how tired I am. I got so used to sitting around in AC that I am a little worn out with the walking.

From here, I don't know what our plan is. We were originally planning to go to some place in the hills for our anniversary and for Ian's birthday which we scraped. Then we thought maybe we would go to Delhi, but we will have to see how things go in the next couple of days. In any case, we'll be together! :)

The Agitation Continues

Greetings from Karauli! It is now day 16 of the agitation and I am still tucked away at Bhanwar Vilas (a.k.a. the palace). The leader of the agitation is just demanding really silly things now so I don't know how long they will keep it up. Hopefully, I will be home by next week.

In the last couple of days, I have decided that I should just prepare for winter. First, I finished the quilt top that I started in January. I am planning on finishing the quilt itself when I get back to Bharatpur. I will probably buy some cotton fabric and see if the guy who makes bed covers by the one temple in town will give me some cotton fill. I'm not going to quilt it but tie it, at least until I get back to the states. Then I have been working to finish up the socks that I started last fall. I didn't get much done on them when we were with the students and I have been working on them a little bit since we have been back to Bharapur. But with 12-14 hours on my hands, I think I'll have them finished by tomorrow. So even though it is 100+ degrees now, I am ready for 30 degree weather. :) I just don't know what I will do once I am done with the socks. I might have to go out to the bazaar and see what other kind of crafty project I can hunt up.

After finishing up with email, I think I am going to go look in some of the shops near by and then head back for dinner. Hopefully the cable will be back on this evening so I can get my fill of Hindi soap operas! Another exciting night in Karauli! ;)

P.S. This computer doesn't have a USB port so pictures and what not will have to wait for me to get back to Bharatpur. Sorry...