Time flies by...well, sometimes.

So tomorrow is my last day in India for this trip. It seems like forever ago I got off the plane totally clueless to what the hell was going on around me. Now I have become use to everything around me, and I think it is interesting how fast you can get comfortable in not-so-comfortable situation or environments. A lot has changed since that first morning of filming with the milking of cows and bufallos. I always appreciated the little things in life, but this expereince has lifted that outlook even more. It is crazy to think that in one planet some humans are living like it is still the 19th century. I admire the very interesting people I have met along the way, and I will forever leave my heart, hopes, and best of luck to the villages I became a part of. The villagers will always be in my thoughts, and I hope to visit again in my life to witness even more positive change (perhaps I will have the money in the future to build the kids a kick ass playground).

Meeting Ishak was a great experience. He reminded me of the Indian version of the "Good ol' boy" type. He understands that life isn't easy and you have to work to make a living and be there to support your family and others in your life. I wish I could bring him back and show him how farming is done in Texas, as well as the USA in general. He is able to produce crops in one of the most harsh and unforgiving climates I have been a part of. Our conversations were limited due to a language barrier, but either way we were able to learn, laugh, and respect one another in our own regards because of our interactions.

Ishak's wife and children gave me a lot of knowledge as well. My parents raised me to respect women and understand that they are capable of as much success and power just as males. I got to witness a culture where women have a greater struggle than most places. They would work all day doing a plethora of tasks that HAD to be done every day. Here in the top photo above, Ishak's wife is making a delicious bread early in the morning to feed the family throught the day. Their daughter, Mubina, is a true inspiration. She works damn hard everyday, and I hope one day she will finally get the higher education she desires because she deserves every bit of it. I am going to miss her smile that seems to appear when it normally wouldn't for anyone else. It seems the harder her life gets....the more she smiles. Awesome.

I have gained unmatchable experience in regards to filmmaking. I am glad I will have the experience of documentary filmmaking in a foreign country before I graduate college. There was many hardships along the way that have been an incredible learning experience. I could talk about it for hours, but I will save it for a paper I write or something. Plus, I don't want to bore anyone with information on filmmaking. I would say the one thing I enjoyed a lot was showing the villagers the media and media tools. Many of the villagers considered me a human with incredible powers because I could capture time and be able to relive it again visually. It was neat watching the kids film things themselves and the excitement in their eyes. Maybe one day I will hear of an upcoming filmmaker coming out of a village in Mewat, India....I hope I motivated some of them. Each class room I visited I would say before I left, "I know at times this may bore you and you will not understand things. What you do need to understand is that nobody can take your education from you. There is an amazing world outside of your village and country, and you can see it and live your dreams if you strive for an education." The kids listened and would reply with applause....I just hope it soaked into some of them.

I am going to miss the youth I got to meet the most. I have a love for the youth and their curiosity, energy, and potential for amazing things. Interacting with kids from across the world is truly rewarding. The benefits were mutual, and I am going to miss feeling like a celebrity at times. Our world is such a crazy place and horrible things happen all of the time. It is just nice to hang out with kids who know very little english and still relive the simple entertainment activities of being young. I wish I had a ton of resources to donate to these children for the betterment of their lives. If more children in America were raised with the work-ethic of these kids....I think we wouldn't have to worry so much. I think the foundation has been a miracle in some of these villages for it will give these children a chance in their country and a chance to prosper and live better lives and the effect will snowball.

I miss Texas a lot. I cannot wait to get back and be even more appreciative of everything God has blessed me with in my life. I am ready to see so much more of the world... for the knowledge you gain trumps any textbook, thesis paper, television program, human story, or curriculum has to offer.

I cannot wait to eat a juicy medium-rare cut of beef.

Short clip on Governance Training

Here is a short clip of some of the material we have shot on the Governance aspect of the initiatives with our Sony HD camera. If it is taking a long time to load....just turn the HD off.

A meeting was held with Foundation leaders and delegates from surrounding villages to discuss the process of interventions the foundation has implemented. The meeting was held at the Sehgal Foundation's community center in Mewat. Anjali Makhija - Director for IRRAD's Capacity Building touches on how governance training can alter the lifestyle of the villagers. It is very simple, but it is just a glimpse of how some of the material will look like.

Day 20 - Governance IRRAD from UT 2009 on Vimeo.

Relaxation

Sorry my posts have been lacking. I unfortunately got sick from either some water or some lamb I had eaten and was out of commission. Long story short, I recovered just in time for a much-needed getaway. I got to visit the Taj in Agra, explore various other forts and temples in and between, and finally go to Jaipur (The Pink City). The villages were taking a toll on me, so it was nice to go visit more peaceful places that had healing qualities. The video is really random. I would like to think of it as some collected memories from my experience this weeekend. The FLIP video does not do it justice for the actual thing. I could not bring a long the HD camera because it would of been a pain the the ass to carry around, and it would have cost me a fortune to get it into most of the places. I have a lot of stories from this weekend....those who care to talk to me will hear about them.

Notki is a home

The kids of Notki are amazing. They are so curious and welcoming. You can tell when one spots you that the word travel quickly because in a matter of mintues a majority of them show up. I wish I could speak their language totally so I could hear their whole story and they could hear mine, but regardless I think our non-verbal communication speaks enough. Their way of life reminds me of my childhood. They make up their own games and use whatever they can find to turn into some kind of toy or gadget to entertain themselves. Whenever filming is going on, they understand that they need to be quiet and stay behind the camera unless I am specifically getting a shot of them. I wish everyone back home could witness the Notki village other than the pictures and videos. The foundation has helped it out soooo much and you can see it in the communities attitude and the children's eyes. They are fortunate enough to be raised around the foundations interventions so it is natural to them to be around the change. I wish I had a lot of money to build them a kickass playground or something.....maybe one day. Anyway, here are some more photos of various days in villages.




Here is some playful kids in the streets of Notki. The one in the orange is one of my favorites.....he has more energy than me....I can barely keep up with the kid.

This is Ishacc. One of the subjects in the documentary. He is a very quiet yet interesting guy. He use to be the village leader in the past, but now he farms and watches over the residence. Right now their isn't much to do in regards to farming because the monsoon season hasn't hit. It will hit in about 3 weeks, and he will then begin to become busy. He always has a lot of questions about farming in Texas, and I enjoy answering them because he is so interested in it.

This is one of Ishacc's daughters (another one of our subjects). She is 18 and takes care of many things around the house. Her day begins around 5am and she will be milking cattle and buffalo, making fire fuel from their droppings, sewing clothes to earn income, monitoring the hyper children, cooking, and doing other daily chores. She had to drop out of school at the 10th grade level because the family needed her assistance. She wants to one day finish up her basic education and possibly take it further. She had a lot to say about the foundation and how it has empowered females like her around the village and hopes more people will support the village so it's interventions can assist other villages. Her responsibilities and work ethic is truly inspiring to me. I wish more females in the US could meet someone like her because it would change a lot of their perspectives on life. She has a daily routine with basically no entertainment that I could witness, but she still managed to keep a bright smile on her face the whole time. I wish her the best.

Here is a small female child in Notki. I don't know her name, but she is really fascinated by the camera and it is really easy to make her smile. All of the kids think I am a magician because I use various classic magic tricks on them....they seirously laugh for about 5 minutes after you show them. I also verbally mimic the village animals and they get a kick out of that as well. I hope this girl can one day make it out of the village and become a famous actress or something.

Things are different in villages without the Sehgal Foundation.......

Here are some kids in the other village I mentioned in a previous blog post. I believe the village was named Nawli (I could be wrong on the spelling....If I am, I will correct asap). Here you can clearly see the amount of trash just laying in the streets. The children also contrasted the children of Notki very much. It was a totally different atmosphere that I wish I could help make some changes asap.

This is the village's vacant hospital. The sign on the left side of it is promises the government made to improve the hospital and the community but failed at executing. The Notki village has a hospital and delivery hut that is clean, well structured, and comfortable that the Sehgal Foundation has assisted them in creating......I just hope the foundation can get to this village's health center soon and empower the people to invest in their efforts.

Here is another example of the Nawli village's streets. They were filthy and the kids were not in the same state of mind as the kids in Notki. The atmosphere had an impact on me that day. I felt so uncomfortable, helpless, and sad that people were living like this.

Nothing could make this child smile.

This is the well I almost fell in. Once I gained my composure and was able to ge some shots of it, I noticed that it had very little or no water left in it. It made me think about how some people complain about not having bottled water when they have a sink in their house/apartment that is well beyond capable of hydrating them. I hope the village can find enough sweet water to last them until the monsoon season in a couple of weeks. There is water pockets surrounding the village, but the large majority of them are Saline water pockets which are not usable for drinking....only the sweet water pockets can be used.
Juan Elizondo photos.






Here is a short FLIP video compilation of the children. The camera is the size of a cell phone, so I apologize for the shakeiness. The game the kids play later in the video is like hopscotch, but you kick a rock to get points....it si really fun and interesting.

Walmart says lower prices....Dilli Haat says bring on your bargaining skills.

Sunday is our day to go as a group into non-rural areas and explore other walks of India. Today we went to see the historical Red Fort and then participated in some market shopping. It was a blast. Once you get pass not getting hit by a car...you are golden. The market is full of everything you can think of: Jewelry, clothing, antiques, crafts, food, furniture, instruments, toys, shoes, and other random things. They can tell you are American so they try to advertise all of their stuff to you using really corny, cliche advertising lines. When you touch or look at one particular thing they will offer a price to you....you then cut it about 50 percent(depending on what you are buying) and see their reaction. They will first be like "No! are you crazy?! This is one of a kind!" and then you look at them like they are more crazy and begin to walk off....their response will then be like, "Ok! Ok! 600 rupees it is sir!" I like shopping a lot here. It is a great time talking with the sellers...humerous and very interesting.

This recap video was shot on a FLIP video camera. I hope to put up some quick shot previews from the HD cameras from filming in Notki some time in the near future.

Glad I am not claustrophobic....

The documentary is going smooth in terms of characters and a central point. The Notki village is a perfect example of what the foundation has done and can do for rural areas. The family is super nice and their cooperation is allowing us to capture some great things. Yesterday we decided we wanted to go to a village that was less progressive and could showcase a contrast to the Notki village. The village leaders were very nice and granted us access with question, but I did not know what I was getting myself into. Filming in the village was an absolute nightmare. I wanted to capture the atmoshpere of the village, but the village residents went crazy about me and it was like being swarmed with people non-stop. I always try to get involved with the children and show them how a camera works, but as soon as I showed them they went crazy and were fighting each other to try to get next to me, next to the camera, or in front of the camera. Every time I tried to get a good shot of how dirty the streets were, how the village's school was totally opposite of Notki, or just how the people were living in worse conditions, there would be a ton of kids that just came into the shot. It was a true learning experience. I looked over the footage today, and I would say I can use about 10 percent of it. It was crazy to see that less than 20 kilometers away a village was living a complete 180 than Notki. It made me realize how important the Foundations interventions are and how important it is for the villages to make an effort to assist the foundation on it's own self-sustainability. It was a crazy day....to make a long story short, I almost fell into a 180 foot water well......(that would have been some amazing footage haha) ....I am even more aware of my surroundings now so Mom don't worry....

I will be in Notki again tommorow to attain footage of some of the female's daily lives, and I am very excited and the kids are as well.



This is a photo by Juan with me and one of our subjects, Ishacc. He is a farmer and we enjoy conversation about agriculture and living off the land. He was the Notki village leader many years ago.

I wonder how these children perceive a camera ?

This is a day of filming in the Notki village. I like filming here because the people understand that they need to be behind the camera when there is an interview. The current village leader was about to be filmed here.

This is the less-progressive village I was talking about. What you see is only a fraction of how many people were following and swarming around me. I am sure you can see the anxiety on my face. There was more people in front of me as well. It was a true obstacle, and I hope that if I have to go back I can make it clear that they need to be behind the camera when I am filming.

The contrasted village really needs the help of the foundation. The village leader said they need to foundation really badly. The leader said that the foundation approached them 2 years ago but he said the village as a whole was not ready to cooperate and work together with the initiative. He said now they realize how bad it really is getting, and they are ready to cooperate. It was really bad. I saw things like open defacation, a school that seemed not usable, 1 toilet for the whole village, a drainage system that was not draining but instead exposing sewage to the streets, a very low sweet water well, and just looks on children's faces that would change anybody. I am pulling for the village, and I hope they can turn things around...

"So you are telling me there is fruit in the desert?"

Today I visited an orchard in the Mewat village. The orchard was implemented by the Sehgal Foundation and is maintained by the village people. It has an advanced irrigation system that uses minimal water to keep the plants alive and save water in the well for other use. There is various types of fruit being grown in it, but I think one fruit is crazy. I will have to ask again to get the name of it, but it is not consumed by the mouth. It is so damn bitter (I tasted it and it tasted like fingernail polish remover....not that I have tasted that before) that people cannot eat it although it has advanced healing qualities. You would collect a large amount of them, put them into a tub, and then mash them with your feet until you get a bitter taste in your mouth. The juices will soak through your pores and help with medicating a heat stroke and other stomach problems. I even talked to a village man who was collecting some for his wife with a heat stroke as I observed them. This was shot really quickly with the FLIP camera I had with me...not that great of quality. I did not bring out the big HD camera today because we reserved the day for hanging out with our family that we will be documenting. I am still hydrating from the orchard visit.....damn hot.

We built this city on.......Temples

We had the pleasure to go into Dehli and experience the religious culture and history. This aspect most likely won't be included in the documentary, but I think it is just a bunch of really cool shit. Juan, my vato, took these photos on our journey that day. Here is some combined information from us recapping the eventful day.

Today we visited the Chattarpur Temple and it was beautiful. We could not take photos while in the temple, only outside. The temples are really detailed, and it is hard to imagine the amount of work it takes to create them. The entire place was like a city of temples as if you were somewhere else in the world. John describes it as a heaven and it really seemed as if it was a heaven for those people. We had to take off our shoes and while walking inside the city of temples and are feet became hot from the sun's intense rays hitting the floor. So we were rushing to enter one temple to the next. Inside there were life size Hindu gods with the skin of gold. It was awesome and hard to grasp at the same time. The thrones had extravagant details and the gods were dressed beautifully and the Hindu people would add more decorations to them in respect for their Gods. Too bad we couldn't take photos to show you.

There was a huge monkey god-like figure named Hanuman in the middle of the city. It was awesome and seemed like we were at the feet of a living giant. He had a significant story in Hindu culture, but we couldn't recall it exactly because of eveything else we imbibed that day. The mother god also had a detailed bedroom. It was as if the gods sit in their throne waiting to become alive. The atmosphere felt calm and peaceful in the city of temples. The contrast to the crazy city life is amazing that is just a few feet away.

We also visited another site which was Qutb Minar and it was an area that was in ruins. I love walking in the past. I love to imagine the past and how wonderful and peaceful it must have been during the time when the civilization was in its prime and before capitalism stepped in. The site is notable for being one of the earliest and most prominent examples if indo-Islamic architecture. The site was destroyed and the stones used to build other sites. The tower has so much details, it's amazing. You can see that the top is slightly altered than the rest of the structure. That is because it was struck by lighting twice and both times the top two parts of the tower crashed to the ground!

We also visited a Sai Baba Temple who was a holy man in India. Below are photos from the temple. Our driver (We call him Sing-is-King!) took us to the temple because he holds Baba true to his heart because Baba has helped him through a very difficult time in his life. Our driver is a very nice man who is always joyful and has one of the most optimistic outlooks on life.

With a documentary you have to have Character(s)...

After meetings with the Foundations and observation of the villages and interventions of the foundations, we have come to a conclusion of what the documentary will consist of. A family will be documented in a village known as Notki. This village is significant because it is a model village that has become quite progressive. The family is significant because each member of the family will encompass a particular intervention that the Foundation initiated (example: The father will have a story on how the Income Enhancement program has advanced his life as well as the families, the mother has become independent and is teaching other village women on health and other issues because of the Women's Empowerment program, and the children have benefitted because of the Education initiatives of the foundation). This will work great because we can include a number of the several different interventions the Foundations takes on instead of just covering one told by one individual. Mewat, India consist of primarily Meo Muslims, so there will be a thread with that topic as well.

You never know...

This is a vehicle similar to eighteen-wheelers in America. The crazy traffic, lack of rules and order, and rushed driving could have been a reason for this tragedy.

No Seatbelts..

It is amazing how far people will go to get transportation in these rural areas. It makes me think about how some people complain about not getting the front seat or having to sit in the middle in a car in America. Here people are willing to sacrifice their lives by sitting on the top of a small cart-type vehicle because that could be their only chance to go into a small town and gather the necessities they need for the day/week.

Here is some more pictures of one of the schools in one of the model villages that the Sehgal Foundation has stepped in and assisted. The specific village is suppose to motivate and empower surrounding villages to become more self-sustainable.

Curiousity is common around here...

I find that age is a lot different here than anywhere else I have experienced. The young must begin their adult life very early and some even get married at the age of 12. The old seem to never retire or take their well deserved break from a hectic life. Everyone begins working as soon as they are able to, and they keep working until they absolutely are not able to.

5-29-09

Here is a short video update on the day. It was shot on a FLIP video. I apologize for the resolution quality.

Imagine school in 100 degree weather...

Juan Elizondo

Day 3: Schools

Today we visited two schools. There were a number of small children and village people who were excited to have us. Once we started taking photos they began playing with us and were very curious of our purpose.

The first school we visited had 327 students which 150 are young girls. They learn reading, writing, the english alphabet, math and other subjects in standard education. The administrators hope that one day they will have all of the young girls in the villages enrolled.

The funding the government pays for the students to attend school is 225 rupees per student which is about 5 dollars each. I really was surprised how cheap it was, but as well as how many still don't have an education. The school has a shortage of teachers and textbooks.

The second school we visited I was surprised that they were reading about Abraham Lincoln. I wonder what they would think if they were told that the US education really doesn't have a lesson plain about Indian leaders. I can't really remember studying any.
The foundation has helped advance the physical appearance of the school such as fresh paint, restrooms, and they have added to the structure of the school so that the students may have a better learning environment such as a water tank.
When comparing and contrasting the education of the US urban poor
(well at least from my personal experience) with the rural poor in India I thought of it to be funny that there is laws in the US that make children attend school and many rather not attend. However, in India their education is something their parents value the most. Two countries with poverty, but both have different values.
The other day in the village a man asked if the states had programs that will send poor people from our country to visits their village because only rich people seem to visit. I think thats a wise decision

Here is a short video compilation of some footage from the journey to Ghagas. It was shot in HD, so I hope you get to enjoy it in that format. It is just a short video compilation...no structure...my apologies.

If you could only feel the heat...

.....you would wear clothes like this.....

Photos: Megan Peyton