Letter #1 from India, via Dubai (October 3, 2006)

Salaam, Namaskar, and Sat Sri Akal,

Live, from Jalandhar and Delhi (via Amritsar and Chandigarh), is your latest mass update. To mix things up, I decided that each topic should be accompanied with its own totally inappropriate/quoted-out-of-context lyric lifted from a Punjabi folk or pop song. Beneath it is a translation* into Californian slang with a hyper-emphasis on syntax from Clueless, one of my favorite revivals of 19th century English lit. Isn't it amazing what you can do when waiting for a connecting flight?

1. Wedding Season in Punjab
2. The Best Jalebwala East of the Border
3. Favorite Punjabi Words
4. Why I Love Delhi
5. An open invitation to Kenya

1. Aaj Mausam Bada Beimaan Hai
(Californi'slation: There's, like, something in the air. No, not smog.)
If August is wedding season in Busia, then October certainly marks the beginning of the wedding season in Punjab. While my universe revolved around my cousin's plans, at least 5 other weddings took place this week in the immediate neighborhood. A nice byproduct were the awesome fireworks displays as people lit rockets off their roofs (I guess the proverbial roof was on fire?).

While a week of wedding events is a bit longer than the normal average here, the extended version meant a) a lot of really good food, and b) a lot of dancing, particularly of the bhangra/giddha variety. Can I get a bale bale?


2. Mai koi chuth boileyaan? (Koi naa!)
(Californi'slation: What, am I lying? Uhhh, no!)
Having never been to Pakistan, I cannot speak for the sweet-making skills of confectioners west of the border. However, by far the best Jalebwala in north India (and perhaps all of India) hangs out in the Amritsar market, about a block from Harmandar Sahib (commonly known as the "Golden Temple"). If you're in the area, he's at the first major market intersection as you head at a 30 degree angle left away from the main entry to the Gurdwara Sahib.

So first, a few explanations for those who are not familiar. A jaleb (plural: jalebi or jalebee, depending on your transliteration) is dough that's fried in an oil-based sugary glaze. It turns a bright orange color and is slightly crunchy -- it's not thick like a donut --, and a lot of the skill is based in flavor, consistency, and intricacy of the spirals made to hold it together. Its overall shape is usually like a donut, but the insides are full of designs. A jalebwala is someone who makes jalebi. Amritsar is a city about 20km from the border with Pakistan -- this is where people head out from when they want to see the changing of the border guard when visiting India. It's home to a lot of Sikh history and a relatively new international airport, but it's also home to my Naniji (maternal grandmother)'s side of the family. And to the jalebwala!

About two years ago my great aunt referred me to the Amritsar market for jalebi. I was having a difficult time balancing personal allergies against a major sweet tooth, especially with all the amazing Punjabi desserts around me (e.g. gulab jaman, barfi, ladoo, gajrela, kulfi, kheer - the list continues). Just fyi, I'm allergic to dairy and all of the aforementioned desserts -- in fact, every Punjabi dessert I can think of, sans jalebi, gud, guchak and shukar pare -- are milk based sweets.

So finding a person who makes good jalebi is a pretty sweet deal. The Amritsar jalebwala can make any kind of jalebi you want. I once ordered a 1 kg jaleb from him (obscene, I know). Why? Because I could. Keep in mind, jalebi aren't even my favorite Punjabi dessert, but this guy catapults them to the top of my list. The added bonus of having (and visiting) family in Amritsar is that a requisite stop at the jalebwala is not too much to ask.


3. I have no clever lyric for this topic and was too impatient to find one
One of the best things about being in Punjab is that I get to practice reading Punjabi. Sometimes I stare at walls like an idiot for what feels like painfully long seconds sounding out words phonetically. I dig through my memory for the closest vocab approximation, when I realize that it's not Punjabi at all -- it's transliterated English. Here are some examples of my "favorite" Punjabi words (transliterated back to English) with translations in parantheses:

naishunal (national); vain (van); beesaaeecul (bicycle); bee bee see (b.b.c.); bus (bus); edooceshunal (educational); skool (school); midul (middle); (s)teshun (station); staind (stand); mainejar (manager); cumitee (comittee); caampaanee (company); seemaint (cement); Motorola (Motorola)


4. Aaj Mera Jee Karda/ Mai Udajaa Nal Havavaaaaaaa/ Mera Jee Karda
(Californi'slation: I like Delhi so much it hurts. Or, as Kanye says, "I'll fly away." Actually, Puff Daddy and the Family said it, too, in their tribute to Biggie, but that's what happens when you sample gospel)

There are many people who find Delhi polluted, overcrowded, claustrophobic and chaotic. I agree, all of those things may be true, but I love Delhi. I don't love driving in Delhi, but I don't think things are so bad once you get out of your car or autorickshaw. The extent to which I love Delhi is probably obscene. Here are things I like:

1. My great-aunt and great-uncle, who live in Vasant Vihar, one of my most favorite neighborhoods ever.
2. I can spend weeks here and still have tons of city to explore
3. I often feel like I'm walking through history. And I am!
4. I like the diversity of seeing all sorts of people from all over the world interact and hang out
5. I understand what people are saying, and they generally understand me (despite my very bad American accent)
6. The food!
7. The names of streets

5. Karibu Kenya!
Ok, I know I have been ramming this down people's throats, but I thought, why not do it again? There are many exciting things going on in the world, one of which is being hosted in Kenya, and that is the World Social Forum 2007. Here is the link: http://www.socialforum.or.ke/.

What is the World Social Forum? you might be wondering to yourself. The World Social Forum is an alternative to the World Economic Forum held in Davos (Switzerland) every year. The World Economic Forum concerns itself with decisions often associated with traditional neoliberal globalization - free markets, free tariffs, free export processing zones, freedom to degrade the environment, human rights, people's indigenous livelihoods, and labor rights in the name of corporate and (first world) profit, productivity, and efficiency. For example, if you attended or tuned into the Live8 concerts that happened in 2005 (hint: Bono was the face of the concerts), people were talking about debt relief at the latest G8 meeting. While the World Economic Forum is not a G8 meeting, it is quite similar in the topics it discusses and the impact it has on people's lives.

The World Social Forum is concerned predominantly with an alternate approach to globalization, and it emphasizes a focus on social issues. This means there's an amazing diversity of people from around the world who gather to share ideas, organizing principles, etc. This includes NGOs, human rights organizations, refugee relief & food security people, and also mass social movements, particularly from the "third World." There are also a lot of local NGOs and people who gather to set their agenda for building a more just global society. I think it is absolutely worth checking out, and it is only a week long. It is also not that expensive, and for those who are still students there are lots of funding opportunities for something like this.


Or, if you are completely disinterested, you can come join my heathen self over Christmas, and we can go to Mombasa, Lamu, and Dar-Es-Salaam together. Nothing says Happy New Year like the Indian Ocean coastline :)

See you back in East African Time,
Camille


* If you would like real translations, just let me know :)