Reflections from Oz

I’m now back in the land down under .... but on my way home to Australia I took a few days off to get some R&R in Thailand which gave me the perfect opportunity to reflect on my amazing experience before attempting to tackle the onslaught of emails.

My first thoughts … I need a steak and a cup of coffee! No seriously – I am not sure how I can put into words or do justice to the experience I have just had, the people I met and the feeling of pride and happiness you get from doing something you know has the ability to make a real difference.

Many people have asked me what was the highlight of my trip – I can honestly say I don’t really have any ONE highlight, other than having had the opportunity to work with Judy for two weeks who I found to be an inspirational, intelligent and gifted leader who I now count as a good friend.

My first and lasting impression of India is how overwhelming it is in every sense – just the sheer number of people for a start is overwhelming; the metropolitan area of Mumbai has a population of approx. 20.5 million – if you consider that I live in Australia – our population is only 23 million for the entire country!

Here is a collection of my top 15 random memories, observations and thoughts …

1.       The traffic – or rather the erratic choreographed dance of cars, buses, carts, cows and people that merge together on the roads – all in perfect timing and tune to the constant sound of car horns.

2.       The gorgeous colours of all the Saris against the backdrop of rubbish and poverty

3.       The irony of sitting in the dark during constant black outs – while surrounded by 2 enormous power plants

 

4.       The contrast of Mumbai to rural India – the people and the pace!

5.       The knowledge that I will never be able to balance a bag or basket the size of a small house on my head

6.       The incredible talent of the Artisans I was fortunate enough to meet

7.       A reminder that learning is the best way to empower people and help to break down differences and build respect

8.       The giving, humble and positive attitudes of people like Shwetha, Nilarijanbhai and Lakabhai

 

9.       That people with an entrepreneurial spirit will find untapped resources and courage that will surprise them & ensure their success … Zakiya!

 

10.   That angry birds and mobile phones will find their way into every corner of the earth

11.   The constant smiles and laughter of all the students and staff at KRV

12.   That the world will not collapse if I do not have email for 24 hours

13.   That I have a new found appreciation for power, hot showers & coffee!

14.   That I will always be appreciative of Western Union and Ashoka for giving me this opportunity

15.   And finally - that one person (aka Judy) can have a positive ripple effect on the lives of many …

 So with those final thoughts I will sign-off this blog and say in my finest Gujarati …

Dhanyaawaad (pronounced Dhuhn-Ya-Vaad and means “Thanks” ) and Pachi maliye (see you later )!

Jolene

Oh – just a few tips for my fellow Ashoka EIR friends … depending on where you are heading around the world - take a torch, travel pillow, mossy net, “travellers friend” drops, a physical book (in case you lose power like me and the IPAD becomes redundant!), a large memory card for the camera and a sense of humour! Xx

Madad Karo! (means "Help!" in Gujarati - pronounced: Muh-dud Kuh-Roh)

Wow – where did the time go? 

 

On Saturday I was feeling pretty comfortable with my progress – but by Wednesday I was in a bit of a panic!  The regular power outages in my first week had meant that most of my research and notes were handwritten and we had spent the better part of 3 days (Sunday – Tuesday) “out of the office” going to Bhuj to interview the Master Artisans, on trains and meeting with the IRMA faculty so suddenly I found myself at Wednesday and in desperate need of a few days of concentrated effort to pull everything together!

For those that know me, I am sure you can visualise that I converted my bedroom into one large virtual mindmap covered in flipcharts & paper … much to the amusement of the KRV staff & students! 

Every few hours I came out from my cave and joined them for Chai … seriously – I think I drunk more tea in the last two weeks than in the last 30 years combined!  At night we sat under the stars and enjoyed the home-made open air cinema. 

 

What I found fascinating was learning more about the traditions and culture of the area – and how those traditions are being preserved but also challenged by modern society such as …

·      The Caste system; which classifies people into groups based on socio-economic conditions and dictates what occupations a person can pursue, if they can enter particular rooms or places & share common plates & cutlery

·      Arranged marriage; still very common across India but is being challenged more frequently by younger generations

·         Gender roles & Social norms; for example at KRV the design classes are split between males & females and are held at different times conforming to social norms but there is now a greater tolerance and acceptance of a women’s ability to earn and provide beyond traditional gender roles

·         The changes to the Rabari nomadic way of life, living in tents or under open skies raising cattle, camels and goats

·         The traditional Rabari clothing & jewellery and how you can tell based on the embroidery, tattoos, type of jewellery or lack thereof who is married, widowed, has children, is in mourning etc

The students continued with their final class, Shwetha helping them finish their collections, design logos, complete photo shoots and prepare to present their collections to a panel of professionals at the KRV Mela & convocation being held in November – it was amazing to see the difference in their presentation skills and confidence from Day 1.

On Saturday, Judy, Nilarijanbhai and I went to Bhuj to meet with members of the Karvada, the male alumni from the design school and some of the most likely participants of the business course.  I presented the outline (with the help of Nilarijanbhai translating!) to get their thoughts & reactions on the learning objectives, key curriculum & activities  … drumroll please … Judy and I were really excited at their reaction– all of them thought the topics and content were “necessary” and practical – and they liked how we had built in opportunities to earn money throughout the course.  They all expressed a genuine interest in participating – to the point I think Judy will struggle to keep numbers down for the pilot!

Sunday was my last day at KRV, the students did a final presentation (and were brilliant) before Judy and I said our good-byes and were taken to Bhuj in order to make our way to Mumbai.  I only had another 24 hours in India, so on the Monday I spent a few hours at the Western Union / WUBS office with Anil and his leadership team before having a final farewell dinner with Judy and making my way to the airport to start the journey home.

 

Rain, Trains & Automobiles

Despite the power outage and the rain we have been moving full steam ahead and making some great progress on developing the business course.  

Over the last few days I have met many inspiring people who have helped to provide valuable input and feedback on the core skills the artisans need to know in order to be successful, how to make it immediately practical and transferrable (particularly given the literacy and numeracy challenges) and how to incorporate sales opportunities directly into the program. 

On Sunday Judy, Nilarijanbhai and I went to Bhuj to meet a number of Master Artisans who have successful businesses and are the Kala Raksha advisors. 

I got to see some Bandhani  - after the hours and hours of effort to tie each individual dot it only takes seconds to pull and see the gorgeous effect.

The night before Shankarbhai took Judy & I for a drive to Mandvi, which is a Sea Coast town on the Gulf of Kutch, only a kilometre from the Arabian Sea.  On the way you could see the effects of all the rain ...

We stopped at 72 Jinalya, a stunning Jain temple that has 72 separate shrines and has been under construction since 1982 – which they are still chiselling …

The town of Mandvi is famous for its 400 year old ship building centre where local carpenters still make ocean Dhows. 

 

The King of Kutch has a Summer Palace (as you do!) where there is luxury beach hut accommodation and a private beach. 

After our visit with the Master Artisans on Sunday, Judy and I boarded an overnight train to Anand, which is about 9.5 hours by train from Bhuj.  I consider myself to be a fairly independent traveller, but I have to say that this is not something I would have tried if I had been travelling on my own  – not that I did not feel safe, but it is pretty intense for a foreigner who cannot understand the language!  However, Judy is a pro at it and we soon found ourselves in Anand and heading to IRMA – the Institute of Rural Management. 

 

We met with the Director and several of the faculty and students who were all very excited and receptive to partnering with Judy and KRV to help with the program – we are looking at how we might be able to leverage their faculty &/or resources for a mutual benefit.   It was a great reinforcement of the value of the program and that our approach is on track … but it was also a great reminder to me of how much difference there can be between theories and concepts and the ability for people to make it practical in reality – which was something we discussed at length yesterday to try and bridge the gap.

What I found strange is that in each faculty members office they had these posters pinned up of the students ... this is each class group and they need to sit in this order / configuration for each class so that the teachers know who is who ...

Some of the students who had heard about Judy and Kala Raksha arranged an impromptu meeting so Judy could spend an hour with them to present her experiences and the amazing work she has done to preserve traditional art culture.

After a long day, it was back to the train station for an overnight journey back to Bhuj.  Here are a few pictures from the car window ... and plenty of Western Union sightings ...

 

 

 

 

I am now 9 days into the 14 and I can honestly say I am exhausted but really excited as I think we are going to have an amazing program that has the ability to change a lot of lives!