Delhi.
2 days 2 nights.
At home with Piush Gupta a new friend. Lives in old buildings oldish enclave in one of the less exclusive but better than average parts of the city.
Rode motorbike around and around. So far no theatre only getting anxious to find some.
Day 3.
Train to Orissa 24hrs duration through night & one whole day.
In this 2nd class AC sleeper there was non-stop service which was a surprise. There was constant supply of bottle water and cartons of mango juice - plus fresh bed linen and towel complete in a slim brown paper bag (still warm from the launders).
There was also snack with tea-dinner-dessert-snack with tea-breakfast-snack with tea-lunch-snack with tea.
Soup sticks on indian night train/
with pink serviette & yellow butter
Saturday, October 6, 2007
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
Preparations and practical majors (Natya Chetana pre-trip transcript)
Thanks for the preparations and practical majors/
Challenges are always not too big if someone is opened to face/
The minimum principles we expect are/
1.When you will be with us, as long as we are not a professional
counterpart to accommodate a foreigner, we are subject to be verified by
Police or objected by Police if necessary/
So the precautionary step is that you should not have any own plan of movements and should not move anywhere even in daily life like to market or to shop or any place outside campus without getting a permission here from me as the Director of the
organisation/
This will be almost a matter of information if there is no
clash in our common progress/
You may deposit a photocopy of your passport information and the VISA page
with us after you arrive/
So that we can feed the Police correctly if they
ask us about you and this has been maintain for our official record also.
2.No Tea/
Tobacco/
alcohol.
3.The daily routine starts at about 6.30am with a common prayer/
Friends can help you to get up/
The life in a day will come to a rest when you will get a sleep after 10.00pm everyday/
The time fixed are always a proposed one/
We never run after time rather prefer to rule time according to our need/
There is a chance of change in programme and action/
However the time for some action are maintained with watch and sometimes not/
The ground of the flexibility would be the circumstances and humanitarian
grounds/
It is difficult to express the idea/
But there is a taboo that Indians do not keep time/
This is true in case of middle class population/
But the rich class/
the business class or/
the poor class people are always run after time/
Rich class run to use time to exploit the situation and the poor runs after time to survive/
You may not get a labour to contact after a particular moment in the morning/
the farmers goes to field keeping a particular time/
They keep time without a watch/
but keep eye on Sun/
and moon/
to follow timing/
We Natya Chetana volunteers learnt this when we did cycle expedition to villages and missed the audiences by arriving 5-10 minutes late/
You may feel this as strange.
4.You are going to have a sleeping bed with other friends/
Will have food provision with similar food like others.
5.You will get mosquito net and mattress to sleep on the floor/
We avoid use of wood since 1986 when we did play about deforestation/
So there is no proper wooden structure of beds/
You will not get any special room of your own/
You will be in a common room with own bed with mattress/
We would advice you to have lock and key system of your luggages/
There are not thieves around you/
We will be in a family like situation/
But who knows if there is an anxiety to see something from your luggage by one of us in your absence/
6.It is always advisable to avoid using typical western clothes/
You may find it easy/
interesting/
cheaper and comfortable/
to use Indian clothes which you can buy after arrival/
We are known in the world for a typical textile which is hand made and is seen only in Indonesia and South America/
not even in other parts of India/
This will not strengthen the taboo about Europeans that they are too Rich and one should behave like a King/
However you will draw attention and get emphasis from our friend circle or
from even eminent persons also/
So it is your opportunity but to minimise this image of Colonial Power/
When outsiders here will see you as one among us and you do not demand a special care or attention/
rather prefers to like India and Natya Chetana Theatre/
then they will be surprised and then try to be opened up with you.
7.The weather will go out of Rain and get into winter for us/
This winter may be a summer time for you/
But this winter also can put you in flue like health problems/
Better to have some warm clothes/
may not be heavy coats/
but sweater/
We have herbal medicines for any treatment and avoid modern medicine/
We are shifting today to Natya Gram (Theatre Village) to start working from tomorrow/
This is all for now/
Thanks and we remain/
Yours truly/
Challenges are always not too big if someone is opened to face/
The minimum principles we expect are/
1.When you will be with us, as long as we are not a professional
counterpart to accommodate a foreigner, we are subject to be verified by
Police or objected by Police if necessary/
So the precautionary step is that you should not have any own plan of movements and should not move anywhere even in daily life like to market or to shop or any place outside campus without getting a permission here from me as the Director of the
organisation/
This will be almost a matter of information if there is no
clash in our common progress/
You may deposit a photocopy of your passport information and the VISA page
with us after you arrive/
So that we can feed the Police correctly if they
ask us about you and this has been maintain for our official record also.
2.No Tea/
Tobacco/
alcohol.
3.The daily routine starts at about 6.30am with a common prayer/
Friends can help you to get up/
The life in a day will come to a rest when you will get a sleep after 10.00pm everyday/
The time fixed are always a proposed one/
We never run after time rather prefer to rule time according to our need/
There is a chance of change in programme and action/
However the time for some action are maintained with watch and sometimes not/
The ground of the flexibility would be the circumstances and humanitarian
grounds/
It is difficult to express the idea/
But there is a taboo that Indians do not keep time/
This is true in case of middle class population/
But the rich class/
the business class or/
the poor class people are always run after time/
Rich class run to use time to exploit the situation and the poor runs after time to survive/
You may not get a labour to contact after a particular moment in the morning/
the farmers goes to field keeping a particular time/
They keep time without a watch/
but keep eye on Sun/
and moon/
to follow timing/
We Natya Chetana volunteers learnt this when we did cycle expedition to villages and missed the audiences by arriving 5-10 minutes late/
You may feel this as strange.
4.You are going to have a sleeping bed with other friends/
Will have food provision with similar food like others.
5.You will get mosquito net and mattress to sleep on the floor/
We avoid use of wood since 1986 when we did play about deforestation/
So there is no proper wooden structure of beds/
You will not get any special room of your own/
You will be in a common room with own bed with mattress/
We would advice you to have lock and key system of your luggages/
There are not thieves around you/
We will be in a family like situation/
But who knows if there is an anxiety to see something from your luggage by one of us in your absence/
6.It is always advisable to avoid using typical western clothes/
You may find it easy/
interesting/
cheaper and comfortable/
to use Indian clothes which you can buy after arrival/
We are known in the world for a typical textile which is hand made and is seen only in Indonesia and South America/
not even in other parts of India/
This will not strengthen the taboo about Europeans that they are too Rich and one should behave like a King/
However you will draw attention and get emphasis from our friend circle or
from even eminent persons also/
So it is your opportunity but to minimise this image of Colonial Power/
When outsiders here will see you as one among us and you do not demand a special care or attention/
rather prefers to like India and Natya Chetana Theatre/
then they will be surprised and then try to be opened up with you.
7.The weather will go out of Rain and get into winter for us/
This winter may be a summer time for you/
But this winter also can put you in flue like health problems/
Better to have some warm clothes/
may not be heavy coats/
but sweater/
We have herbal medicines for any treatment and avoid modern medicine/
We are shifting today to Natya Gram (Theatre Village) to start working from tomorrow/
This is all for now/
Thanks and we remain/
Yours truly/
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