12 May 2008

I woke up early due to a four-hour nap the previous day (pretty good trade off). I took the opportunity to read about FMD before our site visit. Vibha was also up and had the same plan. Before heading off, we had a buffet-style breakfast at a hotel that Dr. Nadeem struck a deal with to let us come to without being guests there. This would be a common place to eat, and the food would be pretty standard in the future: Dosa, Idly, Vada, Omelet, Chutney, Sambar, Bread and Jam, water, maybe some noodle dish, and 2 types of Juice (either Grape, Nimbupani, Watermelon); pretty good selection for us.
After Beakfast we drove directly to the Bull Semen Collection Facility. We had the opportunity to draw blood and do intradermal injection with an auto dosage syringe for Tuberculosis on a herd of cattle they kept that was recovering from a bout of FMD. These animals were no longer shedding virus, so we were allowed to go freely from this to the Semen Collection section. Here we saw a bull ‘collected’ from twice and the semen was kept for STD testing. Here they give the bull two false mounts before the real deal, and have him do the mounting on another bull. The collection tube is the same as the ones I’ve seen in the States too. The semen collection facility is focused on supplying semen of quality genetics to farmers in India and provide training for veterinarians to help encourage proper care and breeding of animals. From one semen sample, 146 cows can be impregnated. I will write-up more on this later for those interested.
After our exciting morning of semen collection, we drove to a village where we met with a veterinarian that has a case of FMD she has found and is treating. While waiting around the village, we got some good stares which would become all too familiar for 9 Americans traveling around rural Inida. We took some pictures with the children around the town and one goat that was riding shotgun on a bicycle. The group headed over to the house that had the cow that was being kept in isolation from others by being moved inside a room. We could see the erosions on the tongue and dental pad, some flies attracted to the lesions on the feet, as well as a lot of salivation from the irritated mucous membranes. It was pretty cool to see, especially since the cow should recover fine. FMD is rarely fatal, but reduces production. This cow had decreased its production about 3/5 what it used to. While leaving, one of the townsfolk was an Albino, and did not look to healthy otherwise. The androgynous ghostly form was a bit strange to have around, but it must have a very harsh life, in an area where life does not look so easy as is. Vibha told us about the Banyan Trees which are large wide trees, and almost always have a small shrine under them.
We returned to the Institute where we learned the process for a Sandwich ELISA for the 4 Strains of FMD that might occur in India (A, O, Asia-1, and C which has not been seen a few years). For dinner we had a dosa stuffed with potato masala and a chickoo milkshake (apparently called Naisberry in Jamaica). We headed back to the KVC (our home away from home) and Matt and I lay down while Vibha watched TV pointing out the good and bad music to us, as well as actors and dancers, which are all inherently linked in Ballywood. I pass out pretty quickly when the day is done.

11 May 08

I hope my anti-malarials are working better than my bug spray…. I found about 20 mosquitoes this morning to kill. Almost all were blood filled, which made them slower and easier targets. Walking around I got to enjoy the not so irritating aspects of nature. I think parasites are fun and all, I just prefer the ones that don’t itch so much and have the good possibility of causing death…
There seemed to be butterflies feeding on aphid milk, lots of ficus/fig trees, acacia looking trees, and sensitive plants along the ground, as well as some of the plants that are thought to of evolved to look as if they were eaten away at so insects would not lay their eggs on the ‘taken’ plants. It seems to of worked too. Very little caterpillar damage other than a few micros in shelters. I did find a ‘cute’ animal for Joel. The chipmunk/squirrels are numerous and dart around the trees and fences. Aside from nature, there are people everywhere. People are on the road, in huts, the woods, holes, digging holes, in houses, and anywhere else you might expect or not to find people. There seems to be a large number of hawks [I found that kites are popular birds here too] and ‘House Crows’ that fly around mixed in with just a few songbirds.
A student took me out to breakfast and I had my first (but by no means last) Idly (rice cake) and Vada (plain donut) that we dip in either a chutney (nothing like chutney I have seen before and is a spiced creamy but thick sauce with I think mustard seed) or sambar (lightly spicy sauce). People started to come today, everyone but Vibha (who I presume is already on Indian Standard Time- IST). People are already worried about money, as it seems most of what we have to pay for cannot be by credit card. The flight to Mangalore will be the biggest expense (though it is half as much as we thought it was at this point, which brought much relief to the group when learned later). The Mangalore flight seems like a lot, just to see a fisheries college and a beach (thinking we had to dish out $400 cash). We were promptly stuffed again as people came over. We also went to a fruit stand and got 4 mango’s a piece, plus a chickoo fruit that LaTisha recognized from Jamaica. I still have not tried Jack Fruit, which appears to be a spiky watermelon that grows on trees.
I met this guy Devaray and his 3 friends in the hallway today. He is a poet and a singer, and has given over 1,000 autographs. I think this might be because he goes around offering people his autograph, which I have one of. He uses the local language (which I still don’t know how to spell but sounds like Canada and has to be related to Karnataka, so I call it Karnata. This seems like a good guess as Tamil comes from Tamilandu). Dr. Nadeem explained that lots of people had their own agendas in India, but while they might have good intentions, we have our own agenda to stick to already. Devaray is a pretty good guy if not a bit full of himself, he’s at least eager to meet lots of people. Either that or he wants to be around Americans.
Dr. Nadeem told me a bit about his work looking at flock management. He thinks it might be better to spread out lower amounts of feed for a longer period than to feed animals and then have periods of starvation when food is sparse. This could have a large impact on feed conversion as gut microflora will have to rebuild itself. The goal is to train a farmer from every village to build interest from the other farmers when they see the success and then have interest from other farmers for training. When this happens they can hold seminars to train more people in groups.

10 May 2008

So sleep didn’t work out so well, but I’m feeling good after a shower and order some breakfast. Aloo Palak sounds good, a nice plate of puréed spinach with diced potatoes starts the day off well. I tried to leave early, however, a fake front desk thwarted this attempt. This was actually a back desk that I found was closer to the staircase I descended, and makes it appear from someone trying to find the door, that the hotel is both closed and you are locked in a by a steel grate (a little unsettling to a traveler in a new place). I found out later that this was just the back and I met my cab to head back to the (domestic) airport. As the cab left I saw a holy man that lived in a cart being towed by a cow. Not a large cart, barely enough to fit in, but it is what he did. I haven’t seen this before and it was quite interesting.
I happily made it to the airport to find out that my ticket was for the day before which did not please me to spend another IRS 6,000 ($150) for a new ticket. This did not make me as upset as the thought that someone was waiting for my flight yesterday and I did not arrive. My flight was delayed on top of if, and so once again I was in the middle of a strange airport not knowing if anyone could speak my language. My worries subsided by the time a week of the trip was up if that, but it is unsettling to be in a foreign country alone for the first few days, and perhaps longer if you never find people you find to be friendly. My adventurous attitude helped me make it through just fine though. I read my book some more and looked at the fish tank in the terminal, which had especially one very beautiful starfish that was deep blue with red highlights. The flight was smooth and had ok food enough. Apparently cheese-cake means short cake in India though…but maybe just on Kingfisher Airlines. Apparently this is a new airline that was bought by a man that has had a prosperous company in India. Kingfisher water, beer, airlines, and other products are often available.
After getting my luggage which all survived checking, I found a gruff looking man holding a “PURDUE” sign, who when he noticed me gave a warm, energetic, large smile that would be a common sight throughout the rest of our trip. Dr. Nadeem got a cab for us to go back to campus. In this case, it was more of an active effort to remain calm for the car ride, but manageable (I would like to thank my parents at this point for being terrible drivers, and never wearing seat belts, as the knowledge of their survival I am sure has helped me cope with the no-seatbelt secured insanity that is an Indian car ride). He told me about some of his work with small ruminants and that we would be visiting a real live case of Foot and Mouth Disease as one of our first events. He also explained the “lack of traffic” (which was by no means a clear road) being due to the holiday going on this weekend and that elections were taking place. The roads are not only filled with normal cars, but auto-rickshaws (stay tuned for pictures), motorbikes, people, cows, and anything else. Elections appear to be an amazing experience here… There are over 200 seats for the state of Karnataka open, and 5-28 people running for each one of them. This is just one state too. I feel maybe 3 Americans in 100 might be willing or able to vote for something as in depth as this (but then again that might be not far from how many vote anyways). The main road we are on is Mahatma Gandhi Rd. and the school is on Bellary Rd. in the Ganganagar section of Bangalore.
The hospitality has begun wonderfully (and will continue for the entire trip to the point of being almost unbearable). I also learned we will get to do TB testing on some cattle which we just learned how to do at Purdue this year (or last year for the three third years in the crowd). Many veterinarians appear to be Corporate and others Government based. The Karnataka Veterinary Council is head of the government appointed vets, and I am staying in their guesthouse. The room has two twin beds, a desk, bathroom with a western toilet, a flatscreen TV, nightstands and cabinet, fans and A/C. Not a bad set up; much like a nice and large college dorm with a private bathroom. My room is the marveled Dr. Willie Reid and Dr. A. Nour Suite. Well at least they stayed in the same room too. I unpack a bit and wander around the building to find a wonderful level of diversity and life that is exciting to my ecologic side. More than 15 morphs of butterfly in just a few hours, with vespids, bees (some male apis I took photos of for John though they are the only bee I’ve seen since coming here), cicaidas, ornate caddis flies, dragonflies, and gorgeous tropic plants have made for some fun findings. I also found that darkness falls quickly here. It takes about 1/2 hour to go from a bit dim to pitch black.

It seems my plans to lose weight in India are off to a terrible start. I have been stuffed on several occasions already, and have not even felt hungry since America. Dr. Nadeem and his student-helpers have brought me to restaurants and wished me to try everything. Unfortunately, my own curiosity fueled this and so I have eaten as much as possible on several occasions. My last meal consisted of Gobi Manchurian (a favorite of spicy Cauliflower aka Manchurian style), Curd Rice (rice with curd and light spices almost like basil flavor), and Naan with Paneer masala(diced Cheese Curd in curry sauce). After dinner Nithin treated me to some betel paan, which ‘helps with digestion’ and also makes you feel pretty good too (but I never got many answers for my questions of what was in it). All I know is that it has betel nut, dried fruits, some sort of paste with gold and silver foil in it, and is all wrapped up in a betel leaf. I learned that Baliwood movies are almost always based on their songs, and the popularity of the songs determine the popularity of the movie. There is one preview I saw for a horror movie called Anakima that stood out.

May 8/9

International airports are a great place to go people watching. Everything about traveling abroad to a new place can turn into an experience. The opportunity for miscommunication arises at some of the most unforeseen times. As I checked in airport attendant, whom I’m sure was trained to never break a smile, was being harangued by a man who could not believe she could smile while he was distressed. To him, it was the rudest gesture possible, and it seemed that she was taking pleasure in his upset, prompting him to demand why she was laughing at him. Honestly, his over the top attitude was amusing enough to get a giggle or two. I feel bad for customer service though. The mixture of people in an airport is fun to watch, from the relaxed veteran traveler to the flustered newcomers that can appear frantic even with hours till their flight leaving. Having taken the only train from Lafayette to Chicago allowed me a healthy 9-hour wait at the airport for my 7:10 flight to Delhi. This time was well used reading the book my Histology TA Abeje suggested I read, The Geography of Bliss by Eric Weiner. I figured I had to at least read the chapter on India before leaving, and so I did. I also managed to read some of the beginning, write some thoughts down, take a nap, eat $10 of airport food (a burrito and soda) which inspired me to dream of the amazing amount of Curry and other good food I would be enjoying in the months to come. I also wandered the airport till I found a watch and some earphones I could buy that were as close to reasonable I could manage at O’Hare. I was impressed my mp3 player made it though my entire waiting for my plane. This unfortunately meant it did not make it past this. I looked around at some of the characters nearby. I like people, especially uninhibited ones. I think that’s why I found some of the children in the airport and their parents so fun to watch. One child and his mother I were inspiring in their joint cuteness. This kid was still a crawler and I think his head was still beating out his body for weight. His eyes were some of the deepest azure blue I have yet to see. There is something about parents interacting with their children in fun ways that always lightens my heart. I was walking behind a family to my terminal, and the daughter of the bunch would, every few steps, do a little shimmy skip dance thing. Just once her mother mirrored her as if they practiced for hours together and the girl’s whole body language lit up as if she just found out she had a superpower. I think these moments are fun and important. As the boarding time approaches, the number of women in Sarees increases. I wonder though if this is an older tradition as most of the women donning this attire seem to have a few years on them. For the amount of skin they have the opportunity to show, I think the saree is far more tasteful and elegant than much of the revealing clothing worn by people I wish wouldn’t in America. The saree seems to do nothing but improve one’s appearance, and is often tastefully accompanied by an ornate matching shawl. There is also a large crowd of westernized attire that is generally business or college casual. The bright colors of the more traditional clothes help them brighten the normal airport crowd. The only thing that stands out perhaps more is a man with a kiwi-sized growth on the top of his head, as he waits with his wife, or so I will call her. His accessory is the only reason for him to stand out, but it is something I have not seen before. I notice the look on the faces of the crowd is not a happy one. The majority of faces appear to be downright irritated, as if they are just unimpressed with what life is giving them at present, and are waiting for it to get interesting for them. I don’t know if that is the case, but the book I just read says that India is full of contradictions, so maybe I just don’t know how to read the Indian countenance yet. Besides, I don’t think many people are happy to be getting on an 18 hour plane ride.
On the plane, I was seated next to Harish Arora. He’s a banker for a credit card company in Dallas Texas going for his annual visit to see family in Delhi. He was quite friendly and even offered a phone number in case I didn’t make it in Delhi or had some difficulty. This was my first taste of Indian hospitality, and worrying. The flight was tough on my body and mind between the odd hours to be served food, and the odd alternations of light and dark when the cabin crew seemed to think night and day should be. This did not match my rhythm, and the sleep I got on the plane did not make my night stay at hotel Lohmod in Delhi that pleasant. Partly, this was also due to a nervous impulse that ran through me since my arrival. I was suddenly alone in a country with hit or miss English speakers, and everyone looked irritated and unimpressed which did not seem like a good combination if I was in trouble. I had attempted to prepare myself for my first real experience as a minority, but there is little you can do till you are actually one. First of all I was nervous being in a new city, period. This was then amplified by the problem that I did not know if I would be able to find people speaking English. I am sure part of it even had to do with being surrounded by such unrecognizable culture and people. Luckily I had another gut feeling, aside from the worry, was a feeling like I was in a friendly place. The only familiar faces I saw were the moth-flies in the sink at the hotel that flew around some of the apartments’ sinks in Connecticut. I had a good feeling that I would find friendly faces in Bangalore the next day too, which gave me a goal. After a thorough skewering from the government’s tourist booth that helped me find an overpriced hotel and cab, a new day was ready to begin.
While in and around the hotel, I tried some tea (and did not die even though it was not burning hot); discovered Indian music videos (which are all kinds of sexy and make me want to try a club while I’m here); found that alcohol is not as common a commodity here as America, but drunk people can be viewed in a humorous light; cab rides are not necessarily as scary as I was warned; and while there is noise, what I noticed first is the air, which is thick, heavy, and (at least here) polluted. I would later find that some of these things I ‘learned’ were pure coincidence. I also found a channel on TV that had “A flying monkey man in a red loin cloth and gold bangles [actually a Hindu God] with music in the background and what appears to be a stock exchange crawler on the bottom of the screen.” The outside of the hotel window is a picture out of any national geographic page. Piles of trash and rubble are around buildings with alleyways between them made of dirt, stray dogs, and people with some appearing crippled. With the two distinct sides of the hotel so different, I feel India might need a pretty close look to help understand it.