Boiling and Buzzing: summer life in Delhi

things are starting to really heat up here in delhi. working as a documentation and communication 'focal point' for the UNDP has taken me to some incredibly culturally and ecologically beautiful areas of remote India (see photos from Chhattisgarh below & this 'In the Spotlight' poster and project factsheet i made..wee!). I am throwing my heart into work my hardest for the next 1 and a half months until my contract sums up in July, and that means digging really hard for the stories, processes, and lessons of the Energy & Environment Unit's Medicinal Plant Project. Unfortunately, UNDP policy has (yet again) trumped the fun and now has a rule that restricts me from travelling - despite the fact that i am supposed to document good practices, etc, i cant go anywhere!

so, i'm bringing everyone from our project states, to me.
gotta work with what ya got.

but really, besides work bubbling up, the city is getting HOT. for environmental, philosophical, and logistical reasons, we are still not using the AC at night. despite the fan, our mattress is turning into a waterbed (sorry, but really, so much sweat!).

the heat makes those daily life jobs that degree (or 10 degrees), more difficult. i.e....
1. waking up in the morning?
2. or one step further.. how about, waking up early in the morning to wash all your clothes by hand in the poorly ventilated bathroom?
3. cooking of all the activities can now be marketed as a cleansing activity in terms of how much liquid loss and replenishing water drinking takes place. and everytime i eat something that has been cooked, i graciously acknowledge the toughness of the chef to stand over any flame - (and honestly try to accept that there is most likely a fair amount of sweat in whatever i'm eating,  main kya karuuuu?!)

but on the other hand, there's something great about it.
perhaps i just like being a roast potatoe.

in anycase, even if i love the heat, i've been craving mountain coolness. This afternoon, i'm going to catch a bus up to Dharamshala and dunk myself in the Himalayan hills.

no i dont have a ticket yet, yes i think it will be fine.

 raw chickpea, fluorescent and field fresh

 my colleague Nandini holding 'raw chickpea bush'

(they come in these little shells and you pop them open!)

a fifty-couple wedding was being sponsored by the ministry of Home and Rural Affairs to help reduce the immense costs that swamps poor families for ceremony arrangements.

Part of the celebrations obviously involve wining and dining. An incredibly sustainable set of cutlery will cater this party, plates and bowls made from stitched leaves.

'Mawa' as it is called in local Chhattisgarhi Hindi, is a small fruit that is a large component of non-timber forest produce (NTFP) income in Chhattisgarh. This fruit has a very rapid ripening time, and falls from trees for collection early in the day. By 1pm, it will ferment. 

In Batawa village, i had the privilege of drinking some 'mawa wine' that was made directly in the upper branches of the tree in a dried gourd vase - yummmmm.

( i dont know what to say, some of the houses in the villages of India are just stunning)

 sweetest lil pea! the kids, just like the grown-ups in these villages tend initially to be very shy. they go to school (as evidenced by boy in uniform behind), but often have never seen a foreign person. another important note about the uniform is that these are some of the poorest villages in all of India, where it is common for the school uniform to be the only clothing a child possesses.

 house, Jabarra Village, Chhattisgarh

 a very famous local healer, his moustache is also awesome.

ever see a cat drink from a tap?

ever see a cow drink from a spicket?

men of batawa village, chhattisgarh,

organised to discuss the collection of information for a 'People's Biodiversity Register' that safeguards traditional knowledge by acting as a record of local biodiversity, its uses, and cultural significance.