Description:
UDDER-STANDING INDIA - A mum journalists' blog on modern India, its changing economy, travel tips, living in India, jobs, news, analysis, poverty, property and more.
Contents:
Ta-da! Freshly squeezed baby...
It's hard to believe that my little girl is already more than a month old (how fast babies grow!) She's certainly more alert - staring at windows and lights- using her unpractised little eyes more and more. She's beside me in bed as I type, mewling noisily.... I'd never have believed child birth could be so simple, calm and joyful if I hadn't just experienced it myself. Judging from some of the reactions I've had, though, you'd think I'd jumped from a plane without a parachute! It's made me realize how 'Hollywood' our expections of birth are (hospital wards, doctors,...
Homebirth! Here we come!!!!
There's nothing like regular contractions to make a couple drop everything and finally get ready for a birth! The Christmas tree is up, and the birthing pool (rummaged last minute from a friend) is inflated... One mum's last-minute scramble to mentally and physically prepare for the miracle of a new baby!
Beautiful hand-made baby gifts
Looking for absolutely unique, hand-made, yet affordable baby gifts? Here are two fantastic leads you won't find anywhere else!
Who do you think you are? Tracing my Hindu ancestry
Seven months pregnant with her first child, an Indian-American journalist makes the pilgrimage of a lifetime to uncover her Hindu family history in the holy Indian city of Haridwar. Anu Anand Hall tells how, armed only with her grandparents' names and a vague sense of where they were from, she recovered ten generations of her family's ancestry from the paper scrolls still kept by Haridwar's 'pandas', or hereditary Brahmin priests. But the search wasn't easy...and in the end, it was a indeed a 'family tree' (of the arboreal kind) that helped lead her to her genealogical roots!
Don't let the wonder of pregnancy pass you by
Google the phrase 'wonder of pregnancy' and you either get details for all the bodily changes that occur... or sarcastic comments about the 'joys' of heartburn, fatigue, nausea and water retention. Pregnancy is hard work! And we're taught to focus on the most practical, material, aspects. But never mind. Here's my wish for all you pregnant mothers out there: just for a moment, just today... close your eyes... lie down... put your hands on that giant, gorgeous, vexatious belly... and bask in the beauty and sensuality of being pregnant. That ripe, round tum holds a whole world of youth and happiness ... and you'll only be its sole custodian for a few short months!
Teaching your child Hindi in an English-dominated world
One mum's quest to make sure her son speaks Hindi is proving challenging. Where can you find good Hindi storybooks for toddlers??
The X Chromosome
Here in India, that microscopic thread of X chromosome can prove deadly for a baby girl. Female foeticide is getting worse, spreading to areas where it was previously uncommon. But why on earth does the idea of having a daughter engender such loathing in some prospective parents? I think it has far less to do with poverty or economics than most people think...
Whose party is this anyway?
Ahhh, the vagaries of expat life. I find myself pondering the challenges of having a birthday party for rambunctious but still unaware 2-year-olds in tropical summer heat. In case you're interested, here's what I learned. If you're going to make your own cake, beware that it's difficult to find extras like shaped cake tins and food coloring. I still managed to pull off an elephant shaped cake for Maurya, but not without several last minute crises. I found food coloring after three shopping trips (black at that, what luck!) but on the day, the pan wouldn't fit in my oven!!!!...
Finally.... justice for one Indian.
Four years ago, an Indian pediatrician working in one of the country's poorest areas, was arrested for aiding local insurgents. In December 2009, the Indian state of Chhatisgarh sentenced Dr. Binayak Sen to life in prison on flimsy evidence, ignoring the pleas of forty nobel laureates, the EU, India's most respected lawyers and scores of human rights activists. Today, justice prevailed. India's Supreme Court released Dr. Sen, saying that the mere possession of Naxalite literature did not make him a criminal. DUH?! I just spoke to one his life-long friends - a man who's dedicated his own life to preventing...
Dastangoi: The Return of Urdu Storytelling
Listen to my piece on the revival of an ancient Indian storytelling tradition, as aired on the BBC's From Our Own Correspondent. Read the extended piece here.
India's 'Tahrir Square'?
Can 1.2 billion Indians achieve a revolution? Tonight, riding home from the BBC offices in central Delhi, I saw scores of young Indians, some waving flags (bizarrely, some wearing devils' horns - maybe to represent corruption) as they marched towards Jantar Mantar, the 18th century observatory where Anna Hazare is holding his fast. All day, Indian TV channels have been showing angry, motivated Indians, from movie stars to students to grandmothers, marching in Delhi, Jammu, Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Bangalore and other towns and cities, demanding an end to corruption in public life. Anupam Kher, the veteran Indian actor, looked visibly upset...
India's modern Mahatma
Funny that my last post and all the headlines in India this past week have been about India's World Cup cricket champions, when it's been rightly pointed out here that Indian cricket is an absolute hotbed of corruption and ugly nationalism. Nor was the victory, according to Manu Joseph, writing in the International Herald Tribune, a moment that united India. So for an antidote to corruption and skin deep national pride, look no further than this diminutive man, Anna Hazare, an Indian war veteran who's begun a fast unto the death this week. He's campaigning, along with India's other brave,...
They did it!!! Hooray for India!!!
THEY DID IT!!! India beat Australia in the World Cup, breaking a 14-year-losing streak to the ever-dominant Aussies! Just got back from a club where exuberant Indian fans erupted in a spasm of joy as they watched India win it!! There was a tense moment just before the final bat that put them over the top.... but they came through!!!! Anyone got any spare tickets for Mohali??????!! The excitement has been electric today. All across India, in shops, offices, schools and homes, the cheers and groans of cricket fans watching the World Cup has been impossible to miss! India was...
Indian Summer on its way!
Ooooh, I can feel the heat building now in Delhi. Suddenly in the last few days, the blankets have all been kicked off... the fans are on ... the coconut oil in the bathroom has turned from a thick, milky solid to a clear, oily liquid... and the light outside is much harsher... You break into a sweat going up the stairs and the plants are getting thirstier more quickly! It's nearly Holi, when water balloons mysteriously start landing on you from above as you walk along. Suddenly, I'm wondering if our air conditioners work and noticing all the gaps...
10 Indian Ayahs get First Aid training
It's not saving the world or anything, but I'm quite proud of the first aid session today at our house, where 10 ayahs (child-carers) got the opportunity to learn basic first aid. Many of them are semi-literate, which is a fancy way of saying that they are robbed of the opportunity to pick up vital information just by glancing at things, in the way most of us do all day, everyday. They are robbed of being able to casually glean opportunities to make their lives more comfortable, equitable, healthy and fun. This lack of literacy is akin to a physical...
Japan...
I was going to blog about visiting the gardens at Rashtrapati Bhavan - the Indian President's House today. (In a nutshell, great summer flowers, nice fountains, no water/cameras/food allowed inside; and fascist security men who bark at children). But then I came home and saw the images of Japan on TV. I covered the aftermath of the Indian Ocean tsunami in 2004... scenes of devastation and displacement. Sad to see it again - but heartening that Japan was so incredibly well prepared! I was explaining to Kavita, our ayah, what had happened... the earth's tectonic plates, earthquakes, how the Himalayas...
Hurray for positivity!!!! Even when there isn't much around...!
One of the wonderful things about living in India is to be reminded everyday just how lucky we are... and how much we can do to help others. It's all too easy to whinge about this place - god knows I've done it! - but being here constantly puts into sharp focus how much we have to be thankful for. It sounds trite- but not being hungry, being able to read and write, having opportunity and money to spare, not to mention travel, access to credit -- is rather priceless! In the past few days, I've been reminded of this...
Why BBC Hindi matters.
Excellent piece in the Guardian by former BBC journalist Sam Miller and author of an excellent book on India's capital, Delhi, Adventures in a Megacity, on why the BBC's Hindi Service matters...
BBC World Service gutted...drinks are on the UK Foreign Office
The BBC World Service is facing massive cuts and the shutting down of several language services, as part of budget cuts by the British government. In order to keep its foreign and commonwealth office budget intact (soirees and all)... as well as to EXPAND its international aid budget (really, does India need British aid??).... the government has taken the easy way out: cut the world's most unique, impartial and truly global news service. If you value listening to the BBC World Service, please please take a moment to sign this petition. Here is what the cuts mean for millions of...
Corporate women - benchmark for progress?
~By Anu Anand Hall I have a major objection to the way India is covered in the international news media (I have a real problem with domestic Indian news too, but that's entirely a different story!) Nearly every story sings the praises of India's booming economy... few can be bothered to qualify those impressive figures with a dose of reality. The biggest culprit, in my view, has been the Economist, though reporting recently has changed for the better... and the biggest hero (ie overall best, balanced coverage) is The New York Times, which consistently devotes many column inches to a...
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