A little bit about where I live
on Jen's Indian Adventure (India), 10/Feb/2010 17:14, 34 days ago
Bhubaneswar, the capital city of the state of Orissa, on the east coast of India, lies beside the Bay of Bengal. My home for this year has a population of just under 2 million people, a population that is growing rapidly thanks to the increase in the number of third level education intitutions that have been opening up here over the last 5 years. The main department stores that I have been visiting since arriving in December were not here 5 years ago and I have been told that a large proportion of the current road system is new as well.Orissa is the second poorest state inIndia, the poorest beingWest Bengal, and this is why so many NGOs and INGOs operate here today.Bhubaneswaris a city of contradictions. I mentioned before that I live in what is known as the wealthy side of town. However just around the corner is a slum. I walk past a very old, poor farming community each time I go to the local shop. It is honestly a bit weird walking home with a bag full of groceries past people who clearly could not afford in a month what I have in one plastic bag. But that’s life here and something you have to get used to, even if it’s not a pleasant experience.On a happy note I often get a big wave from 2 young boys who are getting their daily wash from their father at a pump on the side of the road.Every morning on the walk into the office I pass traditional women who have come in from the countryside to work in the city. Typically they are construction workers of some kind– the menial tasks like sweeping up the loose gravel, washing walls etc - but all done using their own tools that they carry to and from work everyday on their heads.The two main methods of carrying anything around here, if you are a member of the lower castes, are your head and a bicycle (if you are fortunate enough to own one).I have seen entire shop-loads of stock on people’s heads, never mind on the back of a bike. But, so far I’ve never had a camera with me when I see half a shop coming at me on the morning walk into work.Poverty here is not as obvious as it was inDelhi. It’s rare to see someone sleeping on the street here, but that doesn’t mean that they don’t. The fact that the populated areas here are more spread out than inDelhiis probably the main reason for this. Due to the recent demand in accommodation property developers are building up houses and apartment blocks wherever they can find space. I don’t know if I am right in saying this but it looks like either planning permission is not required to build or that no planning is done on where buildings should go up. There is no clear centre toBhubaneswar– just a bit here and a bit there. Also this is the reason there is so much sand on the side of every road. I did wonder where the sand was coming from considering we’re at least 2 hours from the nearest beach. This makes walking anywhere a bit of an adventure. You can never be sure how much sand you’ll have to walk through to get from A to B. There are no footpaths in most areas so you have to watch your footing as you avoid the traffic.I don’t want and don’t mean to make my new home sound sad and poor. It is a city of vibrant colours and so much culture. Everywhere I go there is a reminder of Indian’s religious beliefs and history, one which they are proud of and are happy to share. I’ve gotten used to the constant celebratorymusic coming from one direction or another – a simple thanksgiving prayer or a large wedding. It is quite common to see incense burning in front of a small religious symbol on the side of the street at which people will stop and pray as they walk by. Yesterday evening I attended the annual ‘Adivasi Mela’, the annual celebration of Orissa’s many tribes. Tribal villagers get together once a year to display and sell their wares to the city dwellers. A few weeks ago I went to see Ekamra Haat , a local market that focuses on the sale of local handloom products, the city boundary walls are painted featuring local traditions and the city can claim to being one of the greenest and cleanest inIndia.Bhubaneswaris known as the‘city of a 1000 temples’ (there are only now approx 600) or as ‘thetemple cityofIndia’ as it has such a religious and colourful history. There always seems to be a party going on.When I was inDelhiI had been told that December was the month to get married, but it’s not the same here. It comes down to what date your priest advices is a good day, no matter what day of the week it is. And of course weddings here last 3 days so the party goes on and on. There constantly seems to be a stream of Guru’s coming to the local hotels to share their religious advice. I’ve had the pleasure of being invited to a wedding today. Putting on the sari was a big adventure and our kind neighbour had to show us how to do it. Thankfully it stayed on for the wedding and didn’t fall off. It was a lot more comfortable to wear than I had imagined it would be.The weather here too is a constant topic of discussion (mind you only amongst the ex-pats). Whilst sitting on our balcony last Saturday afternoon, at which point it was approx 32 degrees, a mother and son walked past us on the street below. Nothing unusual with this normally, except that the child was wearing a woolly jumper and a woollen ski mask (I was sitting on the balcony to claim the one tiny breeze I could locate at the time). I guess when you’ve experienced 40+ degree temperatures you can get a little bit cold when it comes down to 30 !Apart from that the scene was as it would be at home- that and the wild dog chasing a large monkey who would have won the fight if he’d had the sense to turn around.