Jan 16-19 - Week 2: Workshops, Shopping, and More Food

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We are all working on projects that have impact across all nine NavGurukul campuses. For instance, Rishika and I are developing leadership training curriculum for the student councils on all campuses. We wanted to interact more closely with the students on the Pune campus, so we hosted a few workshops for the students. We held two English workshops: one where they created skits based on improv prompts to practice spontaneous speaking and another where they developed their vocabulary by playing Charades. We also held a cultural activity workshop where we taught them American dances, such as Cotton-Eyed Joe and Cha Cha Slide, and played American games like Capture The Flag. Thought: They have played a lot of games that we grew up with (Red Light, Green Light; Duck, Duck Goose) but not Capture The Flag. Perhaps this reflects the imperialistic history of the US and/or the Western emphasis on military strategy in children’s games? Anyway, the students seemed very excited for the activities. Great to see their smiles and hear their compliments.

Another highlight of this week was going to Tulshi Baug to purchase clothes for the wedding this weekend. There were many stores, big and small, that sold clothes in the area. At one store, I tried on a few Western-influenced, one-piece dresses. I liked the look of one purple/millennium-pink gown, but it was REALLY heavy. There was a petticoat like layer among the many dress layers. Also I wanted it to be tighter at the waist, but I was concerned that I wouldn’t be able to get the dress past my shoulders if it was altered. The other Western-influenced dresses weren’t quite my style or were similar to some dresses I already have. So I decided to give some of the Indian dresses a try. I put on a dark green lehenga which looked OK after I got used to the sparkle and busy patterns. Seeing someone wear a nice purple sari, I also tried that, though the sari didn’t quite match my swimmer body. After trying on Western dresses, a lehenga, and a sari, I decided to stick with a lehenga since there were more options than Western dresses and there was a greater potential for me to wear it again in the US than a sari. We had been in the store for more than an hour already so given the price point I would be fine even if I didn’t wear the dress again. I had trouble articulating the patterns or colors I desired, but with a struck of luck I was satisfied with the next lehenga I tried on.

At this price point, adjustments by the tailor are included. Thinking back to the stories my mom told about what she had to do to watch someone use a sewing machine, I was happy to watch the tailor make the alterations. I didn’t know that you the sewing machine can remove thread that you’ve already put in while keeping the thread intact.

While women are expected to dress modestly, showing the skin of your abdomen is common and not really considered sensual here. According to the internet, the belly button is considered sacred as opposed to sensual. Thus, saris, lehengas, and tops are typically cut to show the abdomen.

Tulshi Baug is located in the older, more central part of Pune. While in the Uber, there were children, women, and drag queens (?) knocking on our window for money. There aren’t as many people asking for money in the areas that we frequent.

Now that we’ve been around for a week, the dogs are also used to us now. They used to bark at us when we came home. Now they might bark at the Uber but they stop barking when we get out of the car. They used to be scary or at least a nuisance, but now they are our allies, warning us of strangers (and perhaps evil auto drivers).

Food this week:

  • I tried Maggi noodles for the first time! The seasoning is mainly salty with a little bit of spice (turmeric, chili, and others). Although too salty on its own, it was good for my taste when mixed with eggs or vegetables.
  • Chiko – a sweet, honey or date like fruit. You scoop it out of its skin like I do for kiwi and avoid the large seeds. While it’s too sweet on its own, its tasty when mixed with yogurt.
  • Egg curry (actually called curry) – hard boiled eggs in a sauce with tomatoes, onions, cilantro, vegetables, spices. The one served by the Airbnb cook had great depth of flavor. According to Rishika and Vidya, toasting the spices for the right amount of time (which varies between spices) contributes to the depth.
  • We had masoor dal instead of the typical toor dal! It was not split so darker in color and less integrated with the sauce.
  • Bhindi – Vidya prepared the fresh okra so that it was more crunchy than slimy. After covering the okra to cook it through, they let it caramelize before adding lots of ghee, curry leaves, and ginger garlic paste. The ghee made it really tasty. The crispy fried curry leaves reminded me of water spinach.
  • Rajma – kidney beans. Warm spices (cinnamon, clove) were more prominent than cumin, unlike the typical sauces we’ve had so far.
  • Tea time
    • Toast soaked up flavor of cardamom-spiced tea!
    •   Kaju katli – cashew-based confection. At first, it was nothing spectacular to me but I appreciate the cashew taste.
    • Usually tea is served with both a sweet and savory treat. Our savory treat was bakarwadi. It had coconut and sugar, but the chili and spices were more prominent. Nice and crunchy also!
Toast

Kaju Katli

Bakarwadi


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