the bloody flux

dysentery is a major issue of public health. it looks pretty, but its not.


basically spread by contaminated water, bacteria and amoebae enter the body and take up residence in the intestines. this causes a variety of unpleasant symptoms, the most critical being the resulting dehydration and nutrient deficiency that comes from not being able to retain food. this can be fatal, especially in children. in its less advanced and less severe states, its still not fun. headaches, confusion, stomach pain, the runs, on and off. the amoebae can take up residence in your gut, and although there may be no overt symptoms, its hard to be 100% well.

'a clean body cannot reside in an unclean city' - mk gandhi

so what to do? i dont really like the idea of dysentery, or amoebas in general, and its something id like to avoid in the future. however for some reason i seem to be a good host, and its been back in typical form for the last couple of weeks. beyond that though, its popularity here is evidence to a link between public health and urban development.

mumbai is not the dirtiest place i have ever been to, but its not the cleanest either. surface sanitation is one thing, but the problem with chronic conditions like contaminated water lie in the systems that set up the framework for life here. drinking water supply, ground water run-off, and sewer combine on a regular basis through overlapped networks and breaches in their respective boundaries. add to that an informal system of gathering, cleaning and eliminating, and probability for infection increases exponentially. mumbai has a combined ground water and sewer system, meaning that what drains off the streets, gets mixed with sewage, on its way to disposal. this also means that in times of severe rainfall (monsoon) this system overloads, and backs up, back to the streets. (this also happens in washington dc and boston, minus the monsoon). proper drainage systems, and separate sewage routing would decrease the level of contaminated groundwater, which would be a good start to avoiding the contamination of drinking water. as the drinking water supply is channeled into the city via pipelines and tanker trucks, it frequently comes into contact with the other system, of groundwater and sewage. sometimes by proximity, mostly by breaks (either leaks or informal taps) in the security of its containment. once things are combined, its hard to separate.

mumbai obviously cannot redesign an infrastructure over 100 yrs old, but there may be ways to remediate the system. concentrating on developing proper drainage for the most densely developed areas would help alleviate the pressure on the stormwater system. increasing safe public toilet facilities would help with the problem of informal sewers. ensuring that drinking water pipelines remain intact would reduce the probability of contamination. rainwater recycling could charge the toilet systems. requiring that new buildings have an adequate percentage of pervious open space might help absorb more run-off. constructing restorative landscapes in the large tracts of undeveloped land and turning them into park spaces may foster a sense of environmental stewardship.
sigh. this is all very simple, and not very realistic, when put into the context of how the city actually functions. so maybe there is a way to scale back, make the changes or modifications smaller, in the spirit of how most shortcomings are compensated for here.

im not sure, but its on my mind. in the meantime, i need to find some meds.


and make sure im drinking the good stuff.



* amoebic image from wikipedia.
* and despite the name, this is recommended for hangovers, and probably hard to find outside of stuttgart.
* is there a 75% less? its still better than any diet i know.

fest

quick trip to the southern vaterland:


5 fast days of planes and trains, cookies and cooking, and the comforts of a home not quite so far away, yet in some ways the absolute opposite of the world i live in now.

hit or miss?

global trade.

theobroma christmas stollen. stollen is a traditional christmas bread. usually hard to find in good quality in the states, and hard to avoid in germany. unlike fruitcake, its drier, yeasty, and not overwhelmingly sweet. to make one properly takes a lot of time and energy, and just the right ingredients, so sometimes the store-bought ones are more reliable.
at the beginning of the month, they showed up at theobroma, looking fairly legit. to be seasonal (and have a little taste of christmas) i picked up a few small ones and gave them away, saving one to take to germany, to the fussiest stollen critic i know. the verdict was 'not bad'. kind of overly sweet, and the marzipan inside was double the size that it needed to be, but overall, A for effort. for that, and the novelty of hausgemacht stollen in india, it was a hit.


thank you theobroma, for trying.

hiatus

the elephants, and this blog, have been on hiatus since the end of september.
im going to attempt to catch up and fill-in-the-gaps (by way of post-dating, and finishing drafts started) upon return to mumbai on 29.12.08.
happy holidays.

back

we arrived back in mumbai early this morning. i feel like ive been away for months, not days. the timing of so many events in the past two weeks has been eerily uncanny.
the city, at least in the north, is quiet and much calmer than i remember. it was raining when we landed. there is a tension in the air, but things are moving. armed police are present, all around the airport and train stations, which is a relief.
it feels good to be back for now. im not sure i can begin to read the papers yet, and its nice to be without the television news that replaced sleep for the last three nights.
all this upset has just secured a sense of gratitude for safety, in friends and family and communication. this place has been a good home for the last 8 months, and its heartbreaking to realize its vulnerability, and the degree of violence it was subjected to. im not sure what it will be like to stay here for the next few months, but i want to give it a chance.
someday, maybe, there will be an understandable explaination. but in the meantime i want to trust that things will start to rebound, in strength and spirit.
thanks to everyone who is out there, helping all of us feel less alone.

safe

the timing of the fall fulbright conference means many of us are safe in ahmedabad tonight.
i hope the violence in mumbai will be over when i wake up.
please please stop.

halfway

today is the just-past-halfway mark for distance (24k), and relative training time for the race. thanks to better weather and some increased motivation marine drive is turning out to be a pretty good place to run these days.
crowds of adolescent males aside.
one day, ill go back to a place where a female can go for a run, mostly without harrassment.
but for now, im trying not to let that part of the adventure bother me, and to always have some extra air in my lungs to yell. at least it makes me have to break into a faster pace every so often.

'a national catharsis'

as reported by the new york times, and followed by one homesick girl in mumbai.



a little disbelief, a little suspicion, a little relief. lots of hope.
due to the time difference, it felt a little like christmas.

progress check

a lot has been done, planned, scheduled, and thought about over the last month (and more), and finally there seems to light at the end of a very hazy tunnel.
or at least a clarity of structure to the remaining work and things-to-do.

some ideas:


some pictures:


some inspiration:




and some fun stuff from this book of maps.




in another week i leave for delhi, to meet my parents for a quick trip in a world they have never seen. shortly after that, there is a conference in ahmedabad, and then it will be december. its amazing how time flies, and i am very conscious of the fact that without the extension, i would be headed home in 6 weeks.

im grateful for the reminder, at the same time realizing that in so many ways, id like to stay, i want to stay. ive become fond of this place.

so back to work it is.

daylight nightmares

diwali is kind of amazingly beautiful and terrifying at the same time.

at eye level and above, imagine hanging lanterns, lots of lights, fireworks everywhere, crowds of people dressed for the holiday, festival tents at all the major temples.
at street level, more fireworks, dogs running crazy because of the noise, quiet little oil lamps outside of doors, fruit and nuts and sweets to buy, sparklers that spin just a few inches of the pavement, and little kids with noise-maker pistols.

running on marine drive at the beginning of the week was a treat, and a challenge, because while focused on the amazing fireworks all over the sky, i sort of forgot that a lot of them also originate on the pavement, and if not careful, quite close to your feet. also, at least in most places, all the trash is left behind. which makes for some amazing rubbish piles until the rubbish sweeper comes along.

yes, its pretty. but sadly, the air is possibly the worst ive experienced here, and the noise is incredible. for the first time, waking up to daylight was almost scary, because for a moment, it was hardly clear if the light was from the explosions that i fell asleep to, or actually the sun.

it was nice just to stay in.
and also nice to go out in the middle of it all. kind of like running around in a video game.

these ladies went out:

im not sure if its holiday dress, or out to zenzi for ladies night (the picture does not do justice), but the outfits were as glittery as the rockets.