Monday July 13th, 2009 / Tuesday July 14th, 2009

I set off for the institute today, hailing a dilapidated Fiat taxi cab, which had holes in the floor that I could see the road though.  At any given moment the sky can open and it pours, sometimes for five minutes, at times continuously for hours.  The flooding can stop the trains from running, flights from landing, but not the daily lives of the people who live here.

Mumbai has been described to me as a concrete jungle, where every surface is etched from the downpour that continues for a third of the year.  Today was the first day visiting the university where I will be working as an ‘independent research scholar’.  The first leg of my project is to do research through the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), and then to have a work placement with an NGO that works with disadvantaged women and children.  The project is to examine the scope of NGOs in addressing issues of neonatal and maternal health.

While I had an idea that TISS is a smaller school, and also a nature preserve- I wasn’t expecting what I found.  The school is nestled within a mini tropical jungle, and despite its ranking as a top graduate school for social sciences and being world renowned, it is small campus with one main building where most professors have their offices.  The school has none of the sterility of regular academic institutions, and the organic environment is refreshing.

Because there are only a few hundred students, everyone is friendly and in the short time I’ve been here I have been treated really well by the people that I’ve come across.  Today for example I asked some students where I could get photos taken (needed for a library pass) and instead of giving me directions, one of the girls insisted on taking me herself.  While I have limited time to socialize here with my concentrated workload, it’s great to know if ever a break is needed I can go to the main lounge and grab a coffee with anyone sitting there.

I currently do not have housing, and am staying in a hostel.  Hopefully tomorrow if the rain lets up we can check out some flats, and work can begin.

Category: India, On location // 1 Comment »