You are not alone

Profound thoughts (all of which were in Hindi) of a Thursday morning Cabbie in Delhi that would not let me sleep:


“Madam, you are late.”

“I know”

“You are not from here”
“I’m from the US”
“But you are Indian”
“Yes”
“How funny. A foreigner that is late for her cab. I mean if you were Indian, I’d expect it. But a foreigner that is late? Good thing the company told me you are a loyal customer. Otherwise I would have left.”
“Thank you.”
“So where are Mom and Dad?”
“Back in the US.”
“Well, this is the greatest thing about life! When our children see our homes. Indian children coming back to India… I’m telling you, when you see this place, you understand your roots. That is the greatest understanding. I bet you do not want to leave. I am sure your parents have known this all along.”
“Yes, haha”
“Madam, no matter where you are from or where you go, the love you will discover in Hindustan, you will never find anywhere else.”
“Yes”
“Do you have a brother? Sister?”
“Not here.”
“Family?”
“I’m alone”
“Never say you are alone. You are not alone. I am here. [pointing at his chest] I am your brother. Do you know what I mean by that? If you need anything, ANYTHING, at any hour, do not get worried. I will take you. I tell my wife and son this everyday. Don’t you celebrate Rakshabandan? As long as we have our brothers, we are never alone. Anything you need Madam, I am here. Never say you are alone.”

Mark of a Man

Off with the entire staff to Dehradun for Futures Group and USAID's End of Project Dissemination Symposium for the state of Uttarakhand. This is the first of four day long events to share the lessons learned of 20 years of family planning and reproductive health interventions (including a system of mobile health vans in the hills, mobilizing and training ASHA workers in villages, making adolescent health a priority for health providers, creating national TV spots and radio spots for behavior change, and designing a multifaceted voucher scheme for low income pregnant women) with ministers, policy makers, and donor agencies in India. So ends a huge health project funded by the US government in India that hopefully inspires a few more. Excited and nervous for my colleagues!


See below for one of our TV spots, designed by my first mentor here. It's a very creative way to encourage fathers to play a role in the delay of age at marriage in rural populations:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3X5PEnyo1cY 

A million questions

When it comes to living somewhere only for a short time and meeting individuals that will probably leave a lifelong impact on me, I sometimes feel like a poorly trained journalist ruining her first celebrity interview. There are a million questions that i want to ask you, but I'm so in love with the moment, I only remember them after time is up, the mic is off, and you've left your seat.

Finding Home

Despite how harsh this city can be, I have great faith in humanity here.


And this I owe to the kind old auto driver that rang the bells of at least five houses until he found the one I was supposed to go to, saying "dont worry, I'm here" and shooing away strange men; the chemist aunty that grabbed my hand on my way out and gave me her number - and as though she expected it - took my frantic 11pm call about my latest fear of unprescribed medication; and the flower shop man that made a beautiful bouquet of yellow and pink daisies for me when I only asked and paid for two.


Tell me they have ulterior motives, and maybe they do, but today, for whatever it is worth, they made me feel like I have a home in a place that keeps trying to tell me that I have overstayed my welcome.