December 29, 2011
Arrived in Bangalore at 6 in the morning. It was cool and clear when I first stepped out of the airport. The first rays of the sun were creeping over the horizon. What struck me first was the construction. Around me there seemed to be numerous structures that were being built. Billboards boasted of an expansion of the Bangalore airport.
As we drove from the airport, the roadside seemed to be chaos incarnate. Half finished buildings lined the streets. Pedestrians walked alongside the highway, not heeding the oncoming traffic. Dogs and cows roamed through the streets. Everywhere there were little stalls selling some obscure and needless goods. There was garbage everywhere. Every 30 seconds we were berated by a volley of horn blasts from rival trucks, and sometimes our own driver would blast his horn at an errant pedestrian. Overall I had the first impression that India, more than any other country I visited, was a nation in a state of perpetual adolescence . On one hand there were sign of exponential growth and development, but on the other hand there were visible signs of the effects of this new industrialization.
We arrived at our home for the next three weeks, a small campus called Visthar. Visthar is called an Academy for Justice and Peace Studies. Its primary function is the education of 70 Bandhavi. Bandhavi are daughters of women who are victims of the Devudasi. The Devudasi translates "God slave." It is a system where women become property of the temple. In the crudest of terms, these women are "temple prostitutes." Visthar saves girls from the system of Devudasi.
We received a very gracious welcome from our hosts and took a tour of the facilities.
Afterwards we were formally greeted and witnessed a performance prepared by the girls.
After dinner, most of the group having traveled for two day, finally surrounded to the blackness of sleep.
Arrived in Bangalore at 6 in the morning. It was cool and clear when I first stepped out of the airport. The first rays of the sun were creeping over the horizon. What struck me first was the construction. Around me there seemed to be numerous structures that were being built. Billboards boasted of an expansion of the Bangalore airport.
As we drove from the airport, the roadside seemed to be chaos incarnate. Half finished buildings lined the streets. Pedestrians walked alongside the highway, not heeding the oncoming traffic. Dogs and cows roamed through the streets. Everywhere there were little stalls selling some obscure and needless goods. There was garbage everywhere. Every 30 seconds we were berated by a volley of horn blasts from rival trucks, and sometimes our own driver would blast his horn at an errant pedestrian. Overall I had the first impression that India, more than any other country I visited, was a nation in a state of perpetual adolescence . On one hand there were sign of exponential growth and development, but on the other hand there were visible signs of the effects of this new industrialization.
We arrived at our home for the next three weeks, a small campus called Visthar. Visthar is called an Academy for Justice and Peace Studies. Its primary function is the education of 70 Bandhavi. Bandhavi are daughters of women who are victims of the Devudasi. The Devudasi translates "God slave." It is a system where women become property of the temple. In the crudest of terms, these women are "temple prostitutes." Visthar saves girls from the system of Devudasi.
We received a very gracious welcome from our hosts and took a tour of the facilities.
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| Throughout Visthar there are various dried wells |
After dinner, most of the group having traveled for two day, finally surrounded to the blackness of sleep.
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