So we might have crashed a fashion show - Part II

A fashion show that's touted in the business news...

Perfect. 

 Rajesh Pratap Singh is the Victor & Rolf, or perhaps the Jean Paul Gautier of India--upscale and edgey. (Pratap has a thing for sculls and crossbones). But his established reputation earned him the honour of designing an exclusive line to show off a newly developed extra-soft denim at this show in Bangalore. 

What follows is a short chronicle of the day leading up to his show at the Bangalore Palace, and my first time walking the ramp. 

Setup was already well underway when the models arrived around noon. We practiced walking the ramp and sorted out who would wear what and the sequence. The scene reminded me of cheerleading competitions from high school:  lots of pretty girls and ripped boys, blaring music and the perfectly uniform hair and makeup so we'd look like little carbon prints of each other. Well, almost. I was the only blond.

The look for our hair was straight and slicked back...even for me. A few minutes into the straightening process I had to confess to cutting my own hair as the stylist unwound the curls to reveal a choppy, jagged edged cut underneath. It took them an HOUR to finish the job. The model waiting behind me is a professional pole vaulter--and Natalie Portman's doppleganger. 

Then came makeup. A view backstage. Most of the day is spent waiting around, which afforded opportunities to talk with the other girls. One was a former investment banker with Reuters. Another studied dance at the Boston Conservatory, and invited me to her solo performance of "The Lady of Burma" about the Burmese democrat, Aung San Suu Kyi, the following night. (I went. She was amazing.) Style, and substance!

Presto, change-o...

Ack! Who's that?

Friends came out to crash...errr support. My alter ego, Tour Guide Barbie, showed them around. 

When I  first moved to New York without a job in 2008, my roommate and I were on the poor girl's CPD diet (Calories Per Dollar). Three years later--freelance model or not--I'm still a scrappy NGO worker in a developing country who can't say no to a free meal!  My outfit had tons of ruffles down the front...perfect for concealing a food baby...

Time to change for the show. Brogues! Love them in concept, but they don't do a girl's legs any favours.

The runway was exceptionally long and covered in leaves. Oh good, more opportunities to trip. 

Seriously, it's harder than you'd think! The lighting makes it nigh impossible to see. Imagine staring into the sun as you strut in front of 200+ people. 

Home stretch!

See? What'd I say about the brogues?

This girl was legit.

Pashmeena on the left gave me a lesson on walking. She should have taught me how to look pissed too. That expression didn't come naturally. Must. Practice. :-)

Remember this picture? Even though I was the only non-Indian on the ramp, I think (I hope!) I was able to blend in more.   

After the show they served dinner (It was 10PM, no problem!) And we snuck back to the runway to take some pictures and play in the leaves. 

Pin the Tail on the Sacred Cow - A Tale of Cultural Fusion

Before coming to India, I was told everyone experiences a certain amount of culture shock, so I should be prepared. Apparently, there are 6 stages to the process: 1. Honeymoon, 2. Disillusionment, 3. Crisis, 4. Adjustment, 5. Accomodation, and 6. Productive. 

Accommodation (Stage 5) is characterized by "accepting yourself and your own culture as you can equally accept  your hosts and their culture." The following chronicles our prep and partying, in celebration of my roommate's birthday which was officially March 5th.  Please use the vignette below to analyse which stage of cultural adjustment the residents of 106 seem to be at (and pardon the dangling participle).

 

Dear Friends of Kristen,

If there’s one thing I’ve learned while in India, it’s that anything worth celebrating…is worth celebrating for a minimum of 7 days. (Indians…also…love…ellipsis…and exclamation points!!! :-) So, in true Indian fashion,  I hereby declare this auspicious occasion…

“Kristin’s BirthWeek BreakFeastival!!!”

which will culminate in a party at 7PM on Friday, 11 March.  

It is a little known fact at IJM Bangalore that Americans do breakfast better than Indians (::gasp::) and Kristen, being the bleeding-heart-social-justice-benefactor-philanthropist that she is, selflessly  wanted to dedicate her birthday to raising awareness about this issue. To this end, we will be serving a proper American breakfast--for dinner. Complete with scrambled eggs,  chocolate chip pancakes,  fruit salad and the choicest meats (when I say that, it that always means bacon!) We also may play some classic—albeit inane—American birthday games.

Please do let us know if you’re able to come experience the best of both worlds this Friday night. You just might go home convinced it’s best to start your day…the American way ;-)

Peace, love and maple syrup,

106

Kristen at the helm in her party dress by Calcutta desinger Ritu Kumar! There are 36 eggs between those two pans!

 Giant white walls call for my signature clothesline decorating trick! 

American breakfast--for dinner! An absurd amount of food.

 We promised  inane American birthday games in the invitation, so I stayed up the night prior creating a culturally relevant version of "Pin the tail on the donkey"or rather, "Pin the tail on the sacred cow". (So close!)

You don't get no respect here without a moush, so Troy decided he'd blend in better by concealing his upperlip beneath that critter.  

Not quite Troy.

The result? It looked like my sacred cow was being attacked by sperm! We had this up as-is for about a day, then I had to take it down because I couldn't get this song out of my head. 

It may seem like all we do is throw parties and chase wild elephants and hang out with fashion designers, but sometimes you find your self sitting staring at your dinning room wall for 45 minutes figuring out all the things you can spell with the letters in "Happy Birth Week" (perhaps while authoring a blogpost). My favourite above. 

Keep it clean please. There are children around!

Today is World Water Day!

A few facts courtesy of  The Adventure Project :

• 1 in 8 people don't have access to clean water
• 4,000 children die every day from lack of clean drinking water
• Tragically, 1/3 of all wells drilled in the last 20 years are now broken

Our well is no exception.

We aren't a development organization, we're a human rights agency, but this tank was built to provide clean, safe water to a village that is home to over 80 of our clients. The project was funded by a grant from Intel in cooperation with The Remnant Enviro Engineers (TREE), a local NGO. The tank was only filled once, by running an electric pump which drew water from the well we built 300 meters down the hill.   Since that day it has remained completely dry because there is not enough electricity to power the pump.

So villager women have to walk 1.5 km every day to fetch water, even though they technically have a well, a pump and a tank.

We go off in search of the well. Neenu leading the way.  

We happened upon this stream about 200 meters from the village, but the water is contaminated and villagers have to walk upstream much futher before the water is safe. (And still only safe after they boil it.)

The well! Just kidding. This hole houses something other than water, and I don't want to meet it's inhabitant.

This is the well. No, really, it's there...and completely overgrown. ::blush::

The aforementioned DFO (See: "One Aftercare Safari") sent two of his officers with us to decide how their department can help.  Here one officer discusses the exposed piping and seemed very motivated, saying: "If she came all the way from the US to  help these people, we can certainly do this small thing for them." Wow!

An enterprising villager had cut and sold a vital electrical wire, rendering the electical box above a mere sculpture. So what can be done? After the site visit, we made a stop at the electricity office. We had filed a petition seven months back and hadn't heard an update since. Now, with the support of the DFO, they promised to supply sufficient power for the project within 30 days. That was yesterday. Today they called saying they would raise the voltage by next week! (Double wow!)

The villagers are skilled rock breakers (some of their handiwork above), and we will be able to employ them to deepen and widen the well so it can supply enough water to irrigate their land for farming. We also plan to train villagers to maintain the equipment and the value of guarding against theft.

Our little well is on it's way to a second life, but may wells around India lie broken, without skilled mechanics to repair them.

The Adventure Project: has vowed to address this issue. Instead of drilling more wells, they’re using  charitable gifts for something revolutionary – to train and employ handpump mechanics. The mechanics earn an income, bringing themselves out of poverty, and they save lives – turning clean water back on for thousands of people each year.

Their goal is to raise $10,000 in one day: World Water Day. Please consider donating $20 to The Adventure Project to help restore clean and safe sources of water for the people of India. You can do so HERE.

 

Coming next: The latest trend in local fashion: accessorizing your sari with a hard hat. So hot.

"Now Stacie, I want to see your best corpse impression..."

India has been one unique experience after another. One of my favourites so far? Modeling my friend  Julie's Indo-western summer line. Given this project's all white colour story, it's not surprising she needed to find... someone like me!  Though I've lived in constant 75 degree weather for the past 9 months I still look like I spent a winter in London. Shockingly, I wasn't fair enough and Julie kept covering me in chalk powder.  Sometimes, it's  OK if you pale in comparison.

To get this last expression, Ronny the photographer smeared my face with chalk and told me: "Now Stacie, I want to see your best corpse impression..." How'd I do? 

On a separate note: India has so much to contribute to the design world. New York friends, don't you think Anthropologie would just love to get a hold of her stuff?

"Where's Waldo?" That tool...

While on a trip to open bank accounts for 6 of our clients, we were in the bank for over two hours because around 1:30PM the entire bank staff had to take their lunch. (A sacred ritual) During that  time a women's microfiance self help group  gathered in the bank for their monthly meeting. I think my presence proved a bit of a distraction, because when I looked up at the group, all 15 members eyes looked back at me, including the slightly exasperated eyes of the nun attempting to guide the meeting. Three women promptly sprung to their feet and dragged me to the group to take a picture with them, clearing a spot at the center for me.  We took one picture, then they insisted I put on the sunglasses I was holding for another photo which makes me look like a total tool* so I wont be sharing that one.  This first below.

Despite Bangalore's reputation as the "Silicon Valley of India" I encounter surprisingly few foreigners around town (outside of certain expat watering holes). I find it hard to blame these women from rural villages for staring, because whenever I come across a foreigner, I'm so shocked I stare too!

*Definition of "tool" according to the Urban dictionary: "A person, typically male, who says or does things that cause you to give them a 'what-are-you-even-doing-here' look...The tool is always trying too hard to fit in, and because of this, never will." (Rating: 5548 Thumps up, 1157 Thumbs down)
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=tool 

(Please note the sink in right hand corner of this bank's meeting room. This is one thing I really appreciate about Indian culture: 1.3 Billion people who are OCD about handwashing. Especially helpful when you forgo a knife and fork because everything is considered finger food!)

When does it take months to pay off a $22 loan?

Check out CNN's coverage of bonded labourers in a brick kiln in the State of Uttar Pradesh, in North India. The system of giving an advance to a labourer, then having them come work for you to pay it off is common and legal in India, it's only when the element of force is introduced that it becomes an abuse of human rights and a punishable criminal offense. From owners forcibly returning escaped labourers to the kiln, to paying below minimum wage (As little as 11 rupees a day! ~$.25) to using beatings as a means of intimidation...CNN really does the issue justice. (About 5 minutes long.)

I love the irony of the supervisor's demand to be paid for giving a brief interview to the reporter, yet is guilty of withholding wages from the labourers. Typical.

My only addition to this report would be that often labourers have repaid the loan multiple times over but aren't aware because the principle/interest payments are withheld from the workers wages, and most labourers only have a couple years of schooling behind them so they are unable to calculate their payments.

Minimum daily wage* for an unskilled brick maker is 151 rupees ($3.35) in Uttar Pradesh, which means Durgawati, her husband and daughter should have been able to pay off her 1,000 Rupee loan within 3 days with both parents working. Instead they've been working 6 days a week for the past two months with no idea they have repaid the debt 17 times over. A 8000 rupee debt could be repaid within two months, instead of years...

Please join me in praying for India's modern slaves, that the rule of law would be strengthened in India so these labourers could access the legal protection from exploitation due them. 

Thank you CNN for raising awareness through your thoughtful work on this issue! 

*http://www.paycheck.in/main/officialminimumwages/uttar-pradesh
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If the video doesn't work you can also view it here:
http://thecnnfreedomproject.blogs.cnn.com/2011/03/08/generations-pay-off-debts-through-slavery/

One Aftercare Safari

A government meeting turns impromptu safari when the official takes us off-roading in search of 22 wild elephants!

Our office secretary read about 22 elephants on the loose in the morning's paper before we left on our trip.  Story here: http://www.hindu.com/2011/03/14/stories/2011031452960700.htm Little did we know we'd get to meet them later that day.

We met with the DFO to discuss a village watershed project we are implimenting in partnership with Intel, but the meeting was cut short when he asked "Do you want to see 22 wild elephants?"

Following the Department of Forestry Officer. Our little sedan struggled some when we got to the unpaved  mountain roads but there was no way we were going to miss this!

A view of the surrounding area. I love indian mountains. They look so different from the ones at home. Most of them rise abruptly from the landscape.  

We piled out of the car and continued on foot.  Neenu giddy with excitement!

You can see the elephants on the top of the ridge in the right hand corner. Follow the lightly colored dots (villagers) through the next few pictures as they trail the elephants from a distance. Seems the city folks weren't the only ones excited by this!

The elephants carefully picking their path down the mountain. Villagers watching from the ridge. The pictures are a little hazy because Forest Department Officers were using firecrackers to drive the elephants back to the forest.

The first of the elephants makes it down. Villagers streaming down the mountain after them.

Wow. Pinch me!

 I love how close we were allowed to get to them! None of this: "Elephants are wild animals and potentially dangerous, you should stay in the car girls."

My face was like this the whole time. That's the DFO on the left.

He's my favourite government official. Hands down. Looking forward to working on the watershed project with him!