What Would Gandhi Do?

Captain: hello everyone, this is your captain speaking. As we approach Mumbai, they are asking that we spray insecticide around the cabin. We will be coming by shortly to do so. If you know that you will be bothered by the insecticide, it is advised to cover your mouth and face. Thank you.

I had 2 samosas for 50 Rupees ($1) in the Mumbai airport. My first taste of authentic (airport) Indian food. Already my nose was running from the slight spicyness. This can't be a good sign.

30 minutes after landing, as we pass through customs, I see an older Indian man slip the guard a wad of cash as he passes through security. Oh man I read about the bribery but didn't expect to see it so soon. Shite.

The Indian woman who looked about 70 years old sitting in front of me on the Mumbai-Ahmedabad flight was wearing High School Musical sneakers.
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We have arrived at Kochrab Ashram after 44 hours of travel. It is a calm oasis in the middle of Ahmedabad, the largest city in the western Indian state of Gujarat, 7th largest city in India, population 4.5 million. There is no alcohol or meat allowed here, people can stay for free and come and go at their leisure, and you clean up after yourself in all respects. For the next month however, the place belongs to us. We take a tour of the ashram and learn that it was started by Ghandi in the 1920's. He lived here for 26 months before moving to another one. It was at this ashram that he began the first organizing for the non-violence movement that he would later become famous for. There are original pictures of him everywhere, as well as copies of his original writings where he detailed the 11 rules of the ashram. We saw the meeting room where he would have his meetings and the original chair and spinning wheel he used.

It's nighttime and it's time for my first shower in a while. And what a shower it is! One big bucket, one smaller scooper pail thing. And that's it. The water is nice and cool though, and works well with this 100 degree weather and high humidity. In fact, I have moved from the outhouse structure to the outdoor tub thing and now take my showers under the stars each night. YEA.

I gotta go #2. Get ready for the Indian style squat toilet. Some foot rests, a hole, and another bucket and pail to gather water to flush it down. No handle or Western style flushing. It's simple, but it's hard on the quads. My roommate Gabe and I have been discussing prime squatting positions for days now and can't come to a consensus. This is going to take months to learn.

In every single room that we enter, we must remove our shoes. Everyone's feet are black already.

We eat meals together, on large silver plates. No utensils. Right hand only. The proper way is to actually stick your fingers in your mouth. It's hard as hell to eat with one hand. We sit in a large circle on the grass of the ashram, legs crossed. The cuticles on my right hand have been stained yellow from curry for 4 days now. Everyone cleans up after themselves, washes their own plates, sweeps up leaves in the morning, cleans the toilets.

My bed is hard, and I have one simple blanket, one pillow. Our room is bare. I've had a few ants in my bed the last few nights, but some quick insect repellant spraying pre-bed has gotten rid of that problem.

On Day 3, in the afternoon, I attempt to conquer the first challenge of India: Crossing the Street. Holy shit this is scary. There are auto rickshaws, bikes, motorcycles, huge trucks, cows, camels, and carts coming at me at all speeds, with barely any gaps in the traffic. But then, you just walk. And you stay at one steady pace, looking right (they drive on the left side of the street here), attempting to make eye contact with the people coming straight at you. AND YOU KEEP YOUR PACE, and let them drive around you. Don't double guess yourself or your pace or direction, or it's all over. So I make it to the the median. Then I gotta do it again. Scary central.

We then walk 2 hours through the old city of Ahmedabad, crossing a huge bridge and seeing the disguntingly polluted river below, characteristic of most rivers in India. We visit Apme bazaar, see hundreds of stalls selling everything imaginable. Did I mention it's hot as hell with humidity? We see signs everywhere advertising "STD". No fear, it just means international phone calling here. Hah. We stop and get kulfi (Indian ice cream bar), which costs only 5 Rs ($0.10)! We return and who is waiting outside the gate? A huge white monkey just hanging out watching traffic. He is atleast half the size of me. This country is crazy.

On day 4, we take a trip to the fruits and vegetables market. We get our first taste of haggling, and it's fun! Indians are super nice and although hard to bargain with, once you settle on the price, everyone is smiling. We get 1 kilo of apples for $1.75 US, 2 kilos of tomatoes for about $1 US. I thought Guate was cheap but prices here are about four times less. Time to live like a king.

In our first session together on Day 2, we all try and come up with some general rules for the group during this orientation month. After shouting out 15 or so, I raise my hand to give my suggestion. "Just think to yourself, What Would Gandhi Do?" I think that's the best rule.