Documentary Scholarship Trip

Gallery: India

davidw — Mon, 3 Nov 2008 14:53:00 GMT

Delhi again

davidw — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 16:17:00 GMT

We arrive at Delhi train station. Porters with necks of steel carry some of our bags as we weave our way through the crowds to the street. Onto the bus we drive, and drive, and drive, 40kms out of Delhi to our hotel. Called the Clarke Green it is extremely difficult to find but nice when we get there. We head to the restaurant for breakfast, which is like a skit from Candid Camera India. In short it involved a stern but smiley waiter who was insistent that poached eggs were the same as fried so eggs would be fried, an incident with a coffee cup where said waiter felt betrayed and a 40 minute wait for mango juice which was tantalisingly within reach. This paragraph does not dot he whole ordeal justice, you had to be there and if you ever are and can find the Hotel Clarke Green it’s worthwhile putting aside half a day for the breakfast experience, just make sure you eat before you go. After breakfast we headed into Delhi for one last look around before jetting out tomorrow. At 6pm a few of us regrouped at the Imperial hotel, the swishest hotel in all Delhi. After a few beers at the bar we decided to head out for dinner and called for the bill. It came. Jaws and credit cards dropped. AUD$20 a beer – surely a record! A strange day indeed but a fitting one on which to finish a fabulous trip to India.

Bikaner

davidw — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 16:16:00 GMT

After a mornings camel riding we spot the bus in the distance. As it gets closer my thought turn to the marvel that is air conditioning and I silently thank its inventors. We say goodbye to our camel teams and drive to Bikaneer where I go to the barber for a shave and a brutal massage before retiring to our hotels rooftop bar for a beer and views over the town. After a quick dinner it’s back on the bus as we head to the train station for the overnight express to Delhi. On the train chai comes in plastic cups but for 5 rupees I’m not complaining. After finishing my book, “Married to a Bedouin” – an easy read, I’m rocked to half-sleep by the movement of the train. Middle of the night. The lights go and an intense discussion I understand none of occurs. Lights go off and I half-sleep as the train speeds towards Delhi.

Camel Safari 2

davidw — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 16:14:00 GMT

Back on the camel cart. Hot again, we slowly make out way through he desert and stop to have a cup of chai in a small dung house. With smiles all round we check out the kitchen and bedrooms and storerooms and then jump back onto our camels to ride to lunch. The musicians play throughout the day, catchy upbeat songs which I now feel I know. Arriving at camp I interview on e of the camel drivers who has an interesting take on tourism, its benefits and where I come from. Later we sit down for our last desert meal and enjoy coldish beers as the sunsets over the dunes.

Camel Safari 1

davidw — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 16:14:00 GMT

My advice to all potential camel jockeys is never to wear jeans when riding them in 40-degree heat. After suffering some rather unfortunate chafing I opt to walk and ride the camel cart for the rest of the day. As I’m a fairly big person my camel and its driver seem happy with this decision. On the cart I have the best seat in the house to hear the musicians play their tunes and after plodding thought the desert for a few hours am glad when we stop for lunch and rest under the shade of another welcome tree. Even when you think you are in the middle of nowhere in India there are always houses and people and kids who need pens. We arrive at our camp where the tents are already set up and dinner is on its way. After a quick bucket shower and a look at a bowl of scorpions, caught many miles away from our campsite I’m assured, its time for a beer, some food and a little dance around the campfire.

Jamba 3

davidw — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 16:13:00 GMT

Woken by the call to prayer I decide to head to the village mosque to record the sound and have a chat with eh muzzenein. He is this amazing looking guy with a beard-streaked white, red and black. Very friendly he talks to me about the village and how it has changed and how the Hindus and Muslims live happily together so close to the Pakistani borders. Some kids show me around their houses and a buffalo tries, unsuccessfully, to impale me on its horns. Back at the school the finishing touches are made before the kids and teachers thank us for the work we have done. Afternoon tea is taken at MP Singh’s house where some people have henna applied to the their hands and Trent and I interview MP Singh about camel safaris, the project and Jamba village. Dinner under the stars tonight and beers. Talk turns to camels and the art of riding them.

Jamba 2

davidw — Sun, 19 Oct 2008 16:12:00 GMT

Earlier start today to beat the heat. Still hot though. I head into he village and have a chat with the temple priest and his son. He has some good things to say about the projects and shows me around the temple, which is interesting. Then I chat to the tailor whose son also goes to the school. Jamba is a pretty small village and in the heat of the day the only things moving through the streets are peacocks and a few stray cows. Back at the school the painting has been knocked up a notch with the introduction of red, green and white paint. The exterior of the school is to be painted in the colours of the Indian flag and unlike whitewash this paint doesn’t wash off so easily. I find myself with a bucket of blue paining windowsills and doors. It’s beginning to look fresher already. Before midday we wander back to camp for lunch and a rest under the tree to wait out the hottest part of the day then its back to paining. I head into the village to shoot (with the camera) some village life and talk to some more people about the project, Jamba and camel safaris which are becoming the main industry here. Night. Stars are out in force again as we sip beers and wonder what tomorrow will bring.

Jamba - start

davidw — Sat, 18 Oct 2008 16:11:00 GMT

Up early for breakfast and we walk a few minutes into the village to the school. After a quick briefing on what has to be done, painting classrooms and the outside of the building we get to work. Whitewashing walls is a messy business but everyone is excited to get started and soon the transformation begins. As I’m here to make a film I alternate between painting and using the camera. The school principal wanders around with a wide smile and seems very happy we are here. There are no students today so I arrange an interview to find out a bit about the school, its history and what he thinks of the upgrade. Things go well but expressing yourself in a foreign language is difficult so I decide to interview others in Hindi with Angchuk as interpreter. I’ll find out exactly what was said when I get home and have the interviews translated. We break for lunch and head back to the camp. By now it’s searingly hot and after food we retire to the shade of a tree to wait out the worst of the heat. Dinner again is a smorgasbord of flavour and we can only marvel at the fact that such delicious food emerges from such a small tent, Tonight a billion stars watch us as we look for satellites and shooting stars. After a quick scorpion check it’s into bed.

Arrive Jamba

davidw — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 16:10:00 GMT

We drive to Jamba village. The roads get progressively narrower until we arrive. First stop is MR Singh’s house. Formerly the Raj of the village, he now has little power but is revered by the villagers and is the acknowledged head of Jamba. It’s here that we meet Trent and Amanda. Trent is here to shoot a documentary about the project and to mentor me in the making of a documentary about the village. Amanda is from World Nomads and put together the documentary scholarships and is narrating the film Trent is making. After introductions, a cup of tea and welcoming drums we head a little way out of the village to our camp where the World Expeditions staff are busy preparing our dinner. This was camping for those who don’t like camping. Tents already set up, warm water to washing morning and night, 3 course lunches and dinners and morning tea or coffee to wake up to. Tomorrow the project starts.

Jaisalmere

davidw — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 16:09:00 GMT

Today we saw Jaisalmere up close. First we went to an artificial lake filled with hungry catfish. These fish were as big as my arm and swarmed on top of each other to get at the bread we fed them. Hypnotically grotesque. Don’t thing the pics do it justice. Into the fort, through the many gates, past peoples houses and numerous souvenir stands. Jaisalmere fort also contains some amazingly intricately carved Jain temples. The Jainism is an ancient religion whose followers revere all life as equal which means they are strict vegans with most jains avoiding eating Potatoes, garlic and onions in addition to all meats and animal products. From the temples we wandered through the winding streets to see Jaisalmere’s famous havellis. Havellis were the homes of rich merchants, These amazingly carved mansions are now preserved for all to enjoy and Indira Ghandi, who is largely responsible for putting Jaislamere on the tourist map, even knocked one down (not personally of course) so that the havelli on the other side of the narrow street could be fully appreciated. One of the havelli’s has been conveniently transformed into a fabric shop where we spent some time drinking thumbs up cola and of course shopping. Dinner tonight was at a roof top restaurant with a beautiful view of Jaisalmere fort and cold kingfisher beers…a wonderful way to end the sightseeing part of the trip before we head to Jamba village tomorrow to start upgrading the school.

Jodphur - Jaisalmere

davidw — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 16:07:00 GMT

5 hours drive through the desert brings us to Jaisalmere, the golden city and the only fort remaining in India that is still inhabited. As Jaisalmere is quite near the Pakistani border and as India and Pakistan don’t see eye to eye on all things there is quite a military presence in the area. We pass army-training camps in the desert and overtake more military trucks than I can count. We are staying a little out of town in another great hotel with another great pool and a fabulous view over Jaisalmere and of the sunset. By the time we arrive and put our bags in our rooms, there’s only just enough time to grab a beer and a seat to watch the sun set over the Thar desert. Beautiful.

Jodphur

davidw — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 16:06:00 GMT

Thankfully feeling much better today as we head to Merengah (sp?) fort. Unlike the Amber fort in Jaipur this one sits in the centre of town. From the top its easy to see why Jodhpur is called the blue city, many of the houses are painted blue, apparently to signify the homes of Brahmins, the highest if India’s castes. The caste system is too complex to attempt to explain; I tried once and won’t try again here. Let’s just say that Brahmins particularly those that live in Jodhpur like to paint their houses blue and from the top of the fort it looks great. Strangely enough its’ here in Jodhpur that I run into the neighbours of some friends from home…small world.

Jaipur - Jodphur

davidw — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 16:05:00 GMT

Long drive from Jaipur, pink city to Jodhpur, blue city and home of course to jodhpurs…. We arrived in the afternoon and checked into another beautiful old havelli hotel. There’s to be a wedding tomorrow in the grounds so decorators and busy making things beautiful. After a club sandwich I retire to my bed with a mild case of Delhi belly while the rest of the group head downtown to look around and buy turbans and camel leather shoes.

Jaipur

davidw — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 16:04:00 GMT

Arrived Jaipur yesterday afternoon and took a walk into he old town with the whole group. Camel carts (which I am later to become very familiar with), dogs, cycle and auto rickshaws and kids who call out “hello pen”… We are staying at a heritage hotel, a beautiful building with loads of character called a havelli. It also has a great big pool, which is fantastic as it’s hot. Headed out of Jaipur a little today to the Amber Fort. On the way we drive through he old city, painted pink in 1853 to welcome prince Albert, we stop at the palace of the winds. A giant façade whose intricately carved screens allowed women privacy as the watched the action no the streets. A few kms more and we rounds a bend and can see the fort for the first time, it sits perched on top of a hill looking commanding, beautiful and impenetrable at the same time. We climb into jeeps to drive to the entrance past brightly painted elephants that also carry tourists up the steep roads to the door. After a great tour it’s back to the hotel and pool via a carpet and fabric emporium…there’s always something to buy in India. Weirdly my big toe hurts.

Agra, Agra, Agra

davidw — Sun, 12 Oct 2008 16:02:00 GMT

Up before the sun, into the bus, drive through the already busy streets of Agra, off the bus, “no I don’t want to buy bangles, postcards, miniature chess sets…’ onto small electric bus, past monkeys and cows, stand in line, wait for tickets, jostle with big group of Germans, through the metal detectors, into he compound, parrots and chipmunks, through an arch covered in elegant Urdu script, the Taj Mahal. It really is beautiful. Wander around for a bit, listen to the history take photos and put on cotton shoe covers, go inside where it smells like bats and pigeon shit, dodge Agra’s enthusiastic souvenir wallahs, then on the bus and on our way to Jaipur. The Pink City.

Dehi

davidw — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 15:58:00 GMT

As the winner of this years World Nomads/National Geographic documentary scholarship I headed to India on a World Expedition Tour. A great chance to see some sights and to make a film during the community development phase of the trip with the help of filmmaking mentor Trent O’Donnell. Arrived yesterday morning into the heat and madness that is Delhi. At the airport I saw something that always h makes me smile – my name on a sign. Whisked to the Connaught Hotel near Connaught Circle in New Delhi, I took the option to relax for the day before heading out for dinner with Peter, Anne and Walter – fellow travellers on the World Expeditions Jamba School Project Trip we were about to undertake. I’ve been to Delhi a few times before and have always admired the dedication and enthusiasm of Connaught Circle salesmen and women, particularly those selling miniature chess sets. Phew! This morning we met the rest of the group and our tour leader Angchuk and after a quick briefing we were on the bus to Agra. Home of the Taj Mahal, Agra Fort and a million hawkers selling everything from puppets to bangles to postcards, postcards, postcards. As we drive through the streets of New Delhi Angchuk mentioned that the Commonwealth Games are to be held here in 2010. There’s a new metro loads of construction and I saw on the TV that the govt is trailing a new system to rate the cleanliness of individual street food vendors. Taming Delhi, what a job. So we arrived in Agra and went straight to the Agra Fort for a bit of sightseeing action. Our guide took us through he whole sordid history of the place, opium, harems, eunuchs.... but the highlight was the view over the river of the Taj Mahal. The view that the Taj’s builder saw everyday when he was imprisoned in the Agra Fort by his evil? Son Aurangzeb. Called the greatest monument ever built for love, the Taj was the idea of this guy called Shah Jehan who was madly in love with one of his wives called Mumtaz Mahal. In short, she died; he was upset and built the Taj as a mausoleum and monument for her. We head back to the Holiday Inn, via a marble emporium, and have an early night in anticipation of seeing the Taj Mahal at sunrise tomorrow