This Would Not Have Been Possible 2 Years Later

(Audrey) It has been nearly one year since I have updated this blog. In that time, I have been happily ensconced in Chicago, writing my dissertation. I have had no major new adventures, at least in the American-abroad genre, but I feel compelled to write because last week, the US government canceled the Fulbright-Hays grant. The Fulbright-Hays was the grant I received during the 2009-2010 academic year: i.e., what financially enabled everything written about in this blog.

The crucial facts: The Fulbright program was established in 1946, in the aftermath of WW2 for the explicit purpose of promoting peace and understanding through educational exchange. Thousands of scholars receive various types of Fulbright grants every year, both Americans going abroad and those from abroad coming to America. The Fulbright-Hays is specifically aimed at US graduate students pursuing research for doctoral dissertations and was canceled in 2011 as part of congressional budget cuts.

This blog was never part of my formal research and was thus always an extra bonus, although well in-line with the goal of the Fulbright program. The core value of the Fulbright-Hays grant for me was in enabling me to visit over two dozen Indian archives (plus several in Europe). In those archives I found unpublished texts and information only knowable from manuscripts. My first article is coming out in a few months, and therein I thank about ten Indian archives because without access to their collections, I could not have written this piece. And then there’s my dissertation, parts of which are entirely dependent on my work abroad.

There’s no doubt that the majority of my research is on archaic and obscure topics from the average American’s perspective. So, to make the easy critique, why should American tax dollars support my running around overseas, writing about stuff that nobody cares about? One real value from the tax-dollar perspective is that people like me are going to end up teaching about colonial and modern South Asia at the university level. Even those who pay little attention to international affairs surely know these days about the importance of India as an ally, Pakistan as a problematic place, and both countries as nuclear powers. After learning of Osama bin Laden’s palace-lifestyle for years before his capture, I think we all also agree on the importance of information about these places. Much of that information needs to be gathered on the ground, minute-to-minute, but we also need people who understand the history. Why did the Pakistani army apparently hide Osama bin Laden from America? I can help answer that question because it takes knowing how Pakistan was formed, the changes it went through under leaders like Zia and Musharraf, etc. Why does America put up with this kind of behavior from Pakistan, all the while funding their army? Well, that also takes some knowledge about our relations with Afghanistan (including pre-9/11), our relationship with India, etc.

The more distant past also informs the present. I primarily work on 16th-17th century north India, and this history has helped directly shape 21st century India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh. If that 5 century gap raises some doubts in your mind, think about how important America’s founding fathers are in our contemporary political debates. Going further back, early modern English civil law is absolutely foundational to our justice system and still cited by courts today. The list goes on, and the same types of past-present connections hold elsewhere in the world as well. I think this stuff matters, and not just for those in the academy. The average American may never read anything I write, but their ideas may still be influenced by what I produce. Contemporary discourse and the news media often appears anti-specialist these days, but academic findings leak into broader society all the time and inform how people think, vote, and act in the world.

All of this is why Senator J. William Fulbright thought that it was an important use of government resources to fund scholars and academics to go to and from America. In closing, let me add that the cuts this year are far deeper than the Fulbright-Hays. Title VI funding was also cut to a variety of other institutions, such as the American Institute of Indian Studies and the American Institute of Pakistan Studies. America already has a perilously low state of knowledge about many areas of the world, but this is an active choice if a sad one. Many of us are willing, excited, and grateful to find out more, if we make this a priority.

Highlights of Our Adventures Abroad

(Audrey) Welcome to our blog, primarily devoted to detailing the adventures of a young American couple as we moved across the world to India, pursuing our careers as a scholar of Indology (Audrey) and a lawyer (Thane). Unfortunately, you’ve missed us as our travels are now over and our blog concluded. Below is a brief overview of our year with links to some of our posts along the way. We hope you enjoy!

We begin in August 2009 with Thane setting up our new home in Delhi and learning to drive Delhi-style while Audrey played around a bit in Kyoto before joining him in early September. In the following ten months, we traversed the Indian subcontinent in search of pleasure, memorable experiences, and, above all for Audrey, manuscripts.

We found incredible beauty and peace floating through the backwaters of Kerala and visiting Khajuraho (Audrey take; Thane’s take). We were stunned (in a positive sense) to find wineries we could tour in Maharashtra and equally stunned (in a more mixed sense) to visit the slums of Bombay. There were various hilarious moments, surprising encounters, cultural misunderstandings, terrifying incidents, and sheer absurdities. For work, Audrey sought out some bizarre experiences, such as climbing up thousands of stairs and watching effigies of Ravana be blown to smithereens. And then there were the countless Indian archives that stretched from Calcutta to Baroda. My experiences at these libraries varied greatly. Sometimes I literally cried or was appalled, while other times I walked away awed by a library’s beauty and with a smile on my face.

By the end of June we were ready to move on. I offered a final series of reflections on the Indian population, diversity, and libraries. Then off we went, settling into a cushy life in London and ending our true adventures, at least for the time being. I hope we’ve done some justice to India and the experiences of expats therein through the record we offer here.

The End

(Audrey) This is my final blog post. My travels continue for another month or so—I’m in London until mid-August, then Paris for two weeks before returning home to America—but I feel that my blog has run its course. I’ve posted rather infrequently since arriving in London a few weeks ago. In closing, let me offer a few final reflections on life and my place in it: East vs West.

I haven’t been posting much since coming to London (and even when I do post, it tends to be India related) for a few reasons. One is that I feel my life here is not different than usual and so deserves no particular comment. I live in an average apartment, go a nice, quiet library during the day, in the evening I often go to the theater (or theatre) and occasionally a reasonably-priced restaurant, and on weekends I’m prone to exploring new neighborhoods, playing tennis, and frequenting museums. This is basically my life at home in the US. There are none of the struggles in Europe that marked my life in India—heat, lack of infrastructure, road rage involving baseball bats, not being able to communicate, frequent sexual harassment, and getting in screaming fights with strangers. My life in London also lacks the unique experiences that peppered my time in India—gliding along the backwaters of Kerala in a houseboat, touring the Bombay slums, climbing thousands of steps up Satrunjaya to a holy Jain pilgrimage spot, and going to the best restaurants in Delhi (here, here, and here). Don’t get me wrong—I prefer life in the West on a regular basis, but that’s partly because it is easy and predictable. It requires no blog to record my experiences, share different perspectives with others, and think through what is going on around me. In the West, I simply live whereas in India, every day is truly an experience.

In addition to my life lacking uniqueness in London, I lack uniqueness here. This city has no shortage of Americans experiencing it, and certainly doesn’t want for English speakers that can communicate what life is all about here. India continues to lack both, and so I had a kind of in regarding India. Here, in London, frankly, I’ve got little to say.

And so I move on to live life to its fullest, enjoying the ease of my current situation. In a sense, you might say that my adventures are over for now, certainly my Indian Adventures. Europe is great and I am loving London, but this is more or less close enough to home for me. So namaste, khudahafez, and good-bye. Thanks for reading to all.

British Library: The Honeymoon ends

(Audrey) The lustre of London wore off for me today somewhere around 11:15 in the morning. What happened? I went to ask about copies of manuscripts from the British Library. As you all know well, getting copies of manuscripts was the bane of my existence in India. I knew coming here that getting copies from the British Library is in and of itself not a problem, it costs but you can get them. What stopped me cold in my tracks this morning was to find out how they do it.

They scan the manuscripts and make you a CD of the gray-scale scanned images. Am I living in 1990? I couldn’t help blurting out at the desk, “wow, who knew that India would be ahead of England in this department, over there it’s all digital photographs.” The response from the not-so-pleased British lady, “well, we’re a public service, and we have no money.” I stopped myself just in time from launching into a speech about the wide availability of high-quality digital cameras that are cheaper than any scanner.

An event a few months earlier came to my mind at that moment—in May I was in Mumbai, near the Gateway of India, this massive stone arch that is a major landmark and tourist attraction in the city. There are always guys swarming around there with digital cameras—they take your photo with the arch in the background, then print it on the spot in little photo-printers they carry in backpacks. I asked one of them what he was working with on his camera, and the answer was 10 megapixels. That’s street dudes in Bombay, taking shots of tourists for a meager living. Technology is a beautiful thing, especially when it levels the playing field. Maybe they should fly a few of the Bombay arch guys over to the British Library to get the ball rolling here into the 21st century.

Remembering the Colonial Past

(Audrey) Last week I was at Westminster Abbey. Amongst the famous graves of kings, poets, and the unknown soldier, there were a few plaques that caught my eye because they refer to Britain’s former colonies.

First, we have India—

And Malaya—

How is it appropriate to remember the colonial past? To take the Indian case (since my knowledge of Malaya history is a bit weak), look at the dates—1858 to 1947, the beginning and end of direct colonial rule by the British crown. Both dates are marked by horrific violence. The crown took over administration of India directly in 1858 because there was a bloody rebellion again Company rule across much of the country in 1857, which cost thousands of British lives and only God knows how many Indian lives. This rebellion is referred to as “The First War of Independence” by many Indians as opposed to the favored British phrase “The Mutiny.”

In 1947 India gained her independence just as she had lost it: at a high blood price. The British partitioned India before they left, carving out 2 countries (which would later become three—India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh). The original partition between India and Pakistan was based on religion—Pakistan for Muslims and India for Hindus/everybody else. Somehow demographics didn’t fully match the lines drawn, however, and so massive movements of people caught on the wrong side began back and forth between the soon-to-be separate nation states. Add this to growing unrest and in some cases pure hatred of those Hindus who decided to stay in Pakistan or Muslims who preferred India and you’ve got a recipe for massive violence. Between 1/2 and 2 million people died in the violence of partition. We don’t know the exact numbers, but scholars often settle on 1 million, a nice round number.

So, the Brits who ruled India, “they served India well” as the plaque says? There’s always another side to the story. The Brits also gave India the framework to become a modern nation state, including their courts, laws, and railroads (all of which continue to be drawn heavily upon today). Also, we probably shouldn’t forget that when the British left India, not everybody wanted them to go. People have forgotten the minority of Indian loyalists, but they were certainly there.

In the end, the closing of the sign says it all: “What doth the Lord require of thee but to do justly and to love mercy.” One answer is that the Lord requires you give to Caesar what is Caesar’s. People deserve the right to rule themselves, and so the Brits ultimately did the best service for India not in ruling the country but in leaving it. May they should change the dates on that plaque to 1947 – all time.

Indian and Britain: Sometimes the Apple Doesn’t Fall Far From the Tree

(Audrey) There are many things that a month ago I might have said are characteristic of India, but now I see the light—they come from Britain. 200 some-odd years of colonial rule in one form or another took its toll. Here’s an admittedly light and somewhat frustrated American-perspective look at a few sometimes unfortunate and always vaguely amusing similarities between the British and Indian nations.

For starters, lack of political correctness. A few months ago, I saw this street sign in Cochin, a city far south in India in Kerala—

Then, last week, I spotted this one in the city of London proper—

Then there’s a fundamental lack of understanding what the word “free” means in respect to money. A friend of mine recently shared this little gem of an advertisement in India:

“Get FREE songs of international artists…for just Rs. 49 per month”?

It reminded me of visiting Westminster Abbey earlier this week where the museum inside the Abbey has a sign in front saying “Museum Free.” Of course, that’s after the 15 pound admission charge to the Abbey… right.

Other things are less parallel than complimentary in a certain sense. For example, most Indians can’t read a map worth a damn. Overall, Indians have a fine sense of direction and all, but try putting a map in front of an average Joe (or Raj, as the case may be) on the streets of Delhi, and you’ll get a blank look. After 2 weeks in London, this lacking ability makes so much more sense because the British can’t make a map worth a damn. The maps at the bus stops here look more like impressionistic art than a series of connecting streets, and—my favorite—they have street maps every few blocks in high tourist areas but the maps put a different direction facing up every time. Once I figure out whether west or south or whatever is facing up on this particular map and orient myself, it’s not even worth it. In short, if I had attempted to learn to read maps using not regular maps but British maps, I too would never have gotten very far.

Finally, mislabeling and misnaming things. I’ve posted frequently enough about signs in India that have misspellings and grammar mistakes. England seems to generally use it’s own language correctly (although there is that stick public/private school business), but the general Indian lack of precision in regards to signs appears, oddly enough, to have come from no other than Britain. I have been on not one but two different bus routes now in London where the stop labeled on the sign at the bus stop and that announced on the bus itself were different names. Talk about confusing! In the second case, just for fun, they threw in a third option by offering another third, different name for the stop on the printed leaflet of bus routes available for free here.

Once I would have said that such things are possible only in India, but I have learned… only in Britain.

Forget the American Dream, Give me the Indian Dream

(Audrey) There’s been a slew of articles recently about the employment woes of people my age in America, the most recent of which is this one from the NYT. The storyline goes something like this—20-something Americans have been crushed in their early days of trying to enter the workforce by a combination of unprecedented levels of college debt and lack of jobs. Sounds sad, but as usual, there’s far more to this story than the veneer of reporting lets on.

I am part of this age group (I’m 27) but have a somewhat different perspective having lived abroad now for 10 months. To me, a lot of this appears to boil down to spoiled kids not wanting to work. In the NYT article I link to above, the main guy they focus on is a 24-year old college grad still living on his parent’s dime. Has he found a job? Yes, but he turned it down because it was too low level and low paying (only 40,000 a year). And before that he was going to enter the Marines but when there was a problem and he needed to reapply he just didn’t feel like it anymore. Me and this guy are not living on the same planet.

In Delhi, I had an iron-wallah. A small family actually—mom, dad, and daughter who was younger than me—stood at a make-shift hut at the end of my street and ironed everybody’s clothes for about 10 hours, 6 days a week. They charged 2 1/2 rupees (5-6 cents) per clothing item. My landlords had a girl no older than 15 who cleaned their apartment a few times a week—her charge for several hours of work was around 250 rupees (5-6 dollars). My car wash guy, maybe around 40 years old, made our little car sparkle before 7 a.m. 6 days a week for 150 rupees (3-4 dollars) a month. In short, Indians work hard, really hard.

The NYT article is titled “American Dream Is Elusive for New Generation.” Forget the American Dream—you’ve already achieved that if you’ve got rich east coast parents willing to pay your way when you’re an adult. Why not focus on the India dream instead, the dream of not having to work in horrible conditions, not having to work so young, being able to make your own way. I agree that it’s a cultural problem in America that kids no longer need to make their own way—we’re just that wealthy as a society. But let’s not lament too much our lost children, lost in their pampered private rooms in their parent’s homes. I can attest, there are jobs out there if young Americans want them. If not, well, I personally know many young Indians that will gladly take their places in low-level 40,000 a year jobs if we outsource the work there.

What is Tolerance: A Mosque Near Ground Zero?

(Audrey) A month or two ago, plans were announced to build a Muslim community center near Ground Zero in Manhattan, on the site of a building damaged by debris from the 9/11 attacks. So far the reactions have been as expected—liberal New York politicians are lining up in support, Muslim community leaders are very much into the project (e.g.), and more liberal-leaning members of the other monotheistic faiths are also on board.

On the other side, a range of inappropriate and intolerant voices are screaming so loud that they are drowning out a much more mild number of Americans who pointedly but politely ask: Is it really a good idea to put a mosque on Ground Zero?

To be honest, I see both sides of the debate. If I were within the Muslim community, I would probably let the Ground Zero thing go and find another space. But as a non-Muslim American, I’d rather err on the side of tolerance than deny a building permit.

As a final thought, however, many have pointed out that Cordoba House (as the center will be called) is not a mosque but a community center and that it will be open to all. However there will be a separate area of the building reserved exclusively for Muslims to pray. When I read that, my mind went back to the Frankfurt airport a few weeks ago. I was eating breakfast at McDonalds, surrounded by a very diverse crowd (people the world over love McDonalds) and this dude, in full traditional Islamic dress, started praying, the full prayers where you go up and down, head to the floor, etc. That’s cool with me—it’s a public space, and hey, talk about a symbol of integration, praying in a McDonalds. In this moment, Islamic prayer was brought to me and I was expected to tolerate it, but at Cordoba House it remains important to set Muslims apart for their communion with God. It’s a small point, and I will strive to be tolerant.

Cycle-Rickshaws: Inhumane in India but Quaint in London

(Audrey) Just before I left Delhi a week ago, the news came out of a new city initiative to replace many of the cycle-rickshaws on Delhi’s street with e-ricks, i.e. electronically-powered rickshaws. As the Times of India headline proclaims: India to replace ‘inhumane’ rickshaws with e-ricks. Cycle-rickshaws have long been thought inhumane by some—having scrawny guys straining every muscle in their body to cycle several people around, often in crazy heat.

Cycle-rickshaws haven’t been in issue in the West for some time. Yes, we used to have similar things, hand-pulled devices for people even, but now? Then I spotted this in London yesterday—

Apparently rickshaws have transcended being inhumane and are just quaint and cute here, a green alternative to a limo for the bride and groom at this wedding. It’s interesting how context alone can change one’s perception of an activity so drastically.

London: Taking It Off

(Audrey) Word is that the Brits used to be conservative dressers, that they used to be uncomfortable with the human body. As the above picture, taken at a pub down the street from my rented flat suggests, times have changed. The British are now fully on board, it seems, with the idea of if you’ve got it flaunt it… heck, if you don’t got it, flaunt it anyways might as well be the national motto. Walking around here for nearly a week now, I keep wondering how women aren’t freezing (it’s only highs in the 70s a lot of days), but ladies are definitely baring it all. To top off my recent observations, today I spotted the above pictured pub sign—take off your bra and you get a free drink.

I must say I was a bit shocked by this sign, partly because I’m fresh from India where I never dared to show my legs above the ankle, never showed cleavage, no tank-tops, and even sleeveless is not a great idea unless you’re in Westernized areas. Also, I’m not a prude, but I am American… maybe this sounds insane for an American to say to the Brits, but can we have some propriety folks?

I can’t help raise the question—which country’s approach regarding women’s dress is healthier, India’s or Britain’s? I don’t appreciate being circumscribed in what I wear in India (even though, to be fair, the restrictions are societal rather than legal. You can actually wear or not wear whatever you want). But I also don’t really appreciate being invited to use my body for financial gain through free booze (even if again, it’s my choice). At least India doesn’t put the expected dress code (or lack thereof) for women on signs. Respect, anyone?