viva la revolution

a quick recap of friday the 13th. it was a day of firsts and not a day of unluck thankfully.

we went to an amazing seminar about identity based conflict and Dalit issues. Laha Gopalen came to speak to us and turns out he is the leader of a 27,000 protest for Dalit land. these people are currently living on a piece of land that they were promised, but the government refused to give to them. they are living in huts and have been involved in this struggle for 315 days. it is a non violent protest in the fact that they do not threaten the police that attempt to kick them off the land, however each and everyone of the 27,000 are prepared to commit suicide by either burning themselves or hanging themselves from trees. when asked if this self harm threatens the 'non-violent' struggle they have he responded "every day they are being killed" meaning by society and injustice because of their lower caste standing. they are fighting to simply "live like a human." these 27,000 are committed to overcome all differences and fight united until death if needed to receive the land that was rightfully theirs. he was an amazing man and a testament to the issues of social class still deeply affecting india. if i had a normal speed Internet connection i would google the story and provide you with a link but i'm going to assign that to you as homework. oh, they also taught us one of their chants and i thought it was interesting enough to share.

"zindabad zindabad- sadhujanaikyam zindabad"

zindadbad- means long live the revolution.
sadhu- means poor but also means the right and valued people
jana- means people
aikyam- means the unity of these people

after this seminar we had to go register ourselves with the police. yeah, it made me a little nervous too. but nothing to worry about, thus far it went smoothly and it appear that they will allow us to stay. however the real fun was that we got to take the bus to get there. now i'm a fan of public transportation, even more so when it costs about 5 cents, however this was an experience. an enjoyable, crowded, smelly experience. the bus was packed. and more and more people got shoved on at every stop. if you are sans seat, you stand. and hang on for dear life. and i do mean hang on. all that have traveled to any developing country already know the joys of travel and driving habits- and lack of rules and regulations. add in the joy of standing amongst countless others all trying not to fall. imagine sardines meets rag doll. we were thrown about and thrown into each other and of course, stared at all the while. my favorite experience was when i actually found a seat and found that sitting below armpits was slightly (extremely) less enjoyable than standing. and let me tell you, the second you shift in your seat you find a women scrambling underneath you to claim that seat. only women by the way, because the buses are segregated. men in the back, women in the front. lots of closeness. and something that we get to experience daily. such joys.

in other news, we finally start maalyaam classes monday. really looking forward to getting a handle on the language so i can argue with rickshaw drivers when they try to rip us off. and- great news- monday i start yoga classes. and i have classes every single day. so excited. i am going to be a master when i return home.

and that more of less was the highlights of the day.

zindabad!