Slow Down. Unless You Have An Appointment With God.

The title for this post comes from a street sign that Jeff Weaver and I saw in Chennai, when we were there for the RA Meet in July. In addition to being totally absurd, it's appropriate for this post, since (as you've probably noticed) I just learned how to post photos from Picasa in a slideshow within a post (and a bunch of other things, like personalized backgrounds!), so I'm sharing a bunch of photos from Chennai that I didn't know how to share earlier (and a bunch of other photos as well, including of our apartment!).

A Free Mud Bath, Plus Exercise

*I’m following Jeff’s lead and changing my blog post titles so that they’re actually informative; sorry they’re not as cute anymore!

Last week, Jeff and I went a two day jaunt to a nearby district to conduct field research, with one of my PI’s (Principal Investigators, the professors who are our bosses). The goal of the trip was to meet with a bunch of village leaders and other government officials to answer some of our questions about how development projects are funded. This was actually our fourth field trip, but we were so swamped afterward that we never took the time to write about the others; sorry! That’s also the reason why it’s taken me over a week to find the time to describe this trip. It was such a riot that I’m taking a bit of time now to write about the experience.

Only Gents Not Allowed

When I was in Sitapur, Uttar Pradesh earlier this year, Nikhil and I ate most of our meals at dhabas. The dhaba is a mainstay of the Indian highway and nothing like it exists in the US. It is like a fast food joint without the brand name or the walls, like a gas station without the gas or the station. The dhaba is ubiquitous on all Indian highways, and all dhabas within a region serve the same food at the same price on the same plates. You could almost swear that the little boy (read: child labor) washing dishes back in Hargaon has teleported to Sidhauli to give you another roti when you really don’t want another roti. I miss the dhaba, because oddly enough, dhaba owners signed a blood oath not to set up shop within a 10-mile radius of my apartment. At least it sure feels that way. I ask everyone I meet if they know of any dhabas in the area, and they all say, yes yes it’s here, or, yes yes it’s there, but I check and it’s neither here nor there. It’s like a desert mirage, shimmering on the horizon, not just promising water but also mud floors, dim lights and Rs 30 thalis.

The TOI finds a peculiar instance in Patna where the marginal utility of food is zero

No wonder VA and I get stares for being in the same room together. And I was really excited about going to the zoo this weekend. My favorite part is about the ugly scene in the jungle area.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/patna/Kids-on-date-cops-in-a-fix/articleshow/6294212.cms

Part 1: Boring Road

You know how when you were young (read: college), you sometimes would play the "opposite day" game? Where you would pretend that everything was opposite from normal? Well, that's how I feel here sometimes - to be honest, often. I'm not sure how much of this is Patna, or Bihar, or India, or just me.