Raffles International Fashion Show

The catwalk at Raffles International fashion show

A few days ago, I was lucky enough to be invited along to the Raffles International fashion show held at the Hilton here in Chennai. Raffles is a design school and this show was an opportunity for the fashion design students to show their collections. My hosts for the evening were R and S, friends of my parents from when we lived here in the 1980s. They have continued to be wonderful friends to my family, as evidenced by their kindness towards me, and I'm feeling very fortunate that my parents made such lasting bonds during their travels.

The reception before it got too crowded for pictures

Prior to the fashion show, there was a reception attended by a surprisingly diverse crowd. I was introduced by R to the consul general's from Japan, Singapore and Canada, as well as business executives from companies like Singapore Airlines, etc. As an unemployed student, I felt very out of place! I did find it a bit odd to think that my days are spent with vulnerable and disadvantaged groups here in Chennai while my nights are spent at glittering parties. Sometimes my life here is very strange.

More of the reception 

The evening was also a great opportunity to hear more about my parents' friendship with R and S. Apparently, they were guests at R and S's wedding and were even presented with traditional Indian outfits for the ceremony. As S reports, my mother apparently wore the sari very well and looked beautiful. No word on how pretty dad looked...

S, A and R

The show itself was really professional and the collections were impressive. I thought R and S's daughter A's collection was easily the most inspired, using the violin as her inspiration. She also came across as the most professional and serious. Her parents were understandably very proud! After the show, R and S took me for a quick and tasty vegetarian restaurant near my flat. It was so good my flatmate and I ordered in from the same restaurant the next day. Paneer butter masala, you are so tasty.

A walking the final lap with her models 

Overall I had a fantastic time and am really grateful to this lovely family for sharing their daughter's big night with me! Even though I felt like such an imposter having my photo taken by the press at the event, both at the entrance and during the reception. And of course, that day was the one when we were treated to a lovely 9 to 5 power cut so who knows what my hair was doing. Figures it would happen on the one day I'm going to be photographed... Oh Chennai...

First Kathir Dhan Experience

Kathir Dhan site 

"Kathir Dhan", as mentioned in a previous post, is the most charitable of all the ECO Kitchen programs. Individuals donate funds to celebrate an auspicious day or special occasion and ECO Kitchen uses the donation to feed vulnerable people within Chennai. Often, this comes in the form of an orphanage or old age home. Recently, I had my first experience of the program when I went along to a local slum community where we were going to be serving lunch.

Selfish dog who wouldn't share the shade with me

To get from the office in T. Nagar to the site, my colleagues took their motorbikes while I hopped into an auto rickshaw. Arriving at the agreed meeting place first, I ended up waiting about fifteen minutes. During this time, I realized how much I've come to appreciate shade. Here in Chennai, there is a noticeable difference when you move out of the sun and into a nice pocket of shade. Instantly, you feel refreshed and rejuvenated. However, it does feel ironic to be dodging sunny patches as I walk now, having spent the last four years in England desperately dreaming of sunny days. While waiting for my colleagues to arrive, I spotted some nice shade under a nearby store's awning. Unfortunately, as I moved into it, I discovered that this particular area of shade had already been claimed by a very grumpy dog who was distinctly unwilling to share with me. Feeling a bit ridiculous for letting the dog defeat me, I moved back into the sun and wished it would get lots of fleas as punishment.

Setting up for the food service

Luckily, my colleagues chose that moment to arrive. Unluckily, it turned out we were in slightly the wrong place and therefore needed to drive down the road a bit further. Since the distance was so short, my colleague S suggested that I hop on the back of her motorbike instead of dealing with an auto. Having ridden with her previously down the quiet country road that leads to ECO Kitchen's headquarters, I was familiar with her smooth and capable driving technique. Gingerly, and trying not to think about the fact that we were going to drive through Chennai traffic, I hopped on and we took off, providing endless entertainment for the children nearby who obviously found fault with my death grip on S and the bike's hand holds.

River

After a slightly harrowing but thankfully short ride, we arrived at the site. The houses were mainly constructed out of woven materials and very tightly packed together. On the right there was a truly disgusting looking river, which was an alarming shade of green in the sunlight. Seeing that I worried that it might prove to be too fragrant for me to handle but luckily the wind was blowing the other direction. After setting up a little table and putting down some tarps, we waited for the food to be delivered. It arrives in huge canisters and is served directly from them. The participants were given paper plates and the whole thing was served buffet style with ECO Kitchen employees serving.

Food canisters 

My job was to bounce around taking photos and handing out pamphlets explaining what the meal service was for. Unfortunately, this meant that ECO Kitchen received some great photos while I had barely any time to snap a few personal ones.

Local kids

What struck me the most during this experience were the people. The children were all so happy and friendly, excitedly asking me to take their pictures. Practising their English, they were overjoyed when I would continue the conversation. And they were so willing to help out with whatever they could, whether it was rinsing the serving utensils or finding rocks to keep the tarps in place. Their parents were equally kind and generous with both their times and their resources. For example, as the heat started to make me feel a little light headed, elderly women kept coming up to me and offering me their chairs. Looking at them, I felt very pathetic as I was only a third their age and yet no where near as tough and capable.

The kids with their mothers

The whole day really demonstrated to me the important work that ECO Kitchen is doing and how it can only be accomplished through donations. It was a useful site visit for me because, as part of my volunteer work with them, I'll be working on ways to increase the number of donations they receive each year. If anyone would like to take part, please visit the website. 

New Flat!

My new street!

I have finally finished unpacking and moving into the new flat that I will hopefully be calling home during the rest of my stay in Chennai. At the minute, I only have the room for sure through April and possibly through May as the other girls debate whether or not to extend their lease. I'm hoping it can be extended through June and July as well but we'll just have to wait and see! (Apologies for the lack of photos - I'm having trouble uploading them on this new internet connection)


Yesterday ended up being a surprisingly eventful first day in the flat. At around 2 pm, I was sitting on the edge of my bed checking my email when the bed started to sway. At first, I thought it was the way I was sitting but even with both feet on the ground the swaying continued. More alarmingly, my water bottle (on the chest next to the bed) was also sloshing around. Turns out I was getting my most interesting welcome to a new flat ever: an earthquake. It struck off the coast of Indonesia and could be felt even further in land here in India. Having never been in an earthquake before, I found myself mentally reaching back to my Sesame Street days and remembering their advice to get under a sturdy table or stand in a door frame. However, by the time I'd thought all that through, the earthquake was over. And, I have to emphasize for my mother's sake, it was a very small earthquake here in Chennai. Nothing was rattling, nothing fell. In fact, if it hadn't been for my water bottle, I probably would have assumed it was just in my head.

So, after that lovely introduction to the neighborhood, I set out to explore a bit. The area is called Besant Nagar and my neighborhood is called the Kalakshetra Colony. Apparently there's a very famous dance school here, which specializes in the Bharatanatyam style, but I didn't pass it on my walk. Instead I just wandered up the main road and over to the little grocery store to try and get my bearings a bit. The area is much greener than where my friend's house is, which is more urban. And being so close the beach means we have nice breezes during the day - a life saver when the power goes out!

The flat itself is lovely and I share it with three girls (American, Canadian and French) and one guy (British). The guy, A, had previously lived in Kennington (where my London flat is) so we were able to have a nice chat about the area and London life. The only other person I've seen so far is my French flatmate, C. She is very sweet and reminds me a lot of my London flatmate - which of course made me a bit homesick! It was through talking to her that I found out about the tsunami warning in place for Chennai. That was a big surprise and made me suddenly less keen on living at the beach... but, luckily, the 5 pm deadline came and went without a problem and the warning was cancelled. Feeling very fortunate as all of this could have been worse! Yesterday will definitely be going to the top of my list of strange events experienced so far in Chennai.

The flat consists of a living room, dining room, kitchen, and three bedrooms on the lower floor, with a rooftop terrace and additional bedroom on the top floor. So the flat is spread out over the second and third floors of the building. All the bedrooms are ensuite and equipped with ceiling fans and AC window units. My bedroom looks so plain in comparison to the others as they've had time to decorate them properly. But, as I'm staying only a few months, I think it will be fine as it is.

There's a housekeeper who comes every day for two hours, which is really nice as she takes care of the kitchen, bathrooms, and sweeps the floors. And, as we don't have a washing machine, she'll also do the laundry if you ask her to. Overall, I'm very pleased with the flat and really like the flatmates I've met so far! It was really nice to finally unpack my suitcases as it just gives that feeling of being settled.

For the bedding and towels, I went to my friend's shop, G-Home, on the East Coast Road. I was really relieved as it turned into one stop shopping as I was able to pick up groceries as well from their supermarket next door. And of course, if you're in the area, I highly recommend their attached restaurant, Tryst. It has lots of different menu options and a delicious bakery where you can get baguettes, croissants and other treats. I went for the beef nachos and steak sandwich and all I can say is that it completely hit the spot. Sometimes you just want something comforting and familiar - and that was exactly what we had. Delicious!

Honestly, I don't know what I would have done if it weren't for such wonderful friends like R, O, and S. They have been so welcoming and helpful that I can't imagine embarking on this adventure without them. Thank you!!!! 

Volunteering with ECO Kitchen

Apologies for the lack of blog posts! This past week has been extremely busy with organizing my research, searching for a flat and getting started on my volunteer work. The organization I am working with on my HIV research, YRGCARE, is part of a larger organization called the Y.R. Gaitonde Medical, Educational and Research Foundation. Under the umbrella of this organization, there are two sides: YRGCARE and ECO Kitchen. While YRGCARE focuses on the prevention, treatment and care activities associated with the local HIV/AIDS epidemic, ECO Kitchen seeks to focus on the social issues at work within Chennai society.

ECO Kitchen's Facility

The name ECO Kitchen has two meanings. First of all it stands for Enhancing Community Opportunities Kitchen, which highlights the main role this part of the Y.R. Gaitonde Foundation as a method of improving the lives of vulnerable and underprivileged individuals within Chennai. Secondly, "ECO" is also in reference to the extreme care the organizers have taken to ensure that the kitchen is as green as possible by including many different types of innovative and eco-conscious technology. For example, the machinery is powered by 'briquettes' that are made of sawdust and other bio-friendly materials. These burn cleanly and therefore do not contribute to air pollution. Other efforts include: solar powered water heaters, a condensation recovery system, and a waste water treatment pant that irrigates the garden.

View from ECO Kitchen

There are three programs through which the ECO Kitchen seeks to serve the local community. The first is called "Kathir" and is designed to allow local women to have source of income on their own schedule through entrepreneurship. The women buy ready-made, nutritious and healthy meals from the ECO Kitchen at a very low rate and then sell these to the public from kiosks around the city, keeping the profits they make. This allows them to have a steady income, which in turn improves their home lives. The funding for this program comes primarily from the second of ECO Kitchen's programs: "Out of the Box".

"Out of the Box" is the corporate side of the organization where ECO Kitchen prepares meals for corporate canteens and provides servers to distribute the food. For example, I visited two sites where I saw first breakfast (dosa, pongal, and sambar) and then lunch (curry, chapatti, rice, poppadom, dhal and dessert) being served. Corporations hire ECO Kitchen because not only are they getting delicious food, but they are also able to make an impact through the charitable contributions of ECO Kitchen. The "Out of the Box" program also serves private catering events, which allows the message of the organization to reach a wider audience. Another way this happens is through the final program.

"Kathir Dhan" is the food donation program through ECO Kitchen. To celebrate birthdays or special events, many Indians like to give to charity in order to share their happiness with others. One way they can do this is through a donation to "Kathir Dhan". With every donation, ECO Kitchen is able to feed vulnerable individuals within the city of Chennai. Donors can specify a group of people, such a particular orphanage, where they would like their donation to be distributed and ECO Kitchen does the rest. If a location is not specified, ECO Kitchen will choose for the donor to ensure the gift is used to its fullest potential.

Staff motorcycles at ECO Kitchen

Overall, this is such an amazing program, just as YRGCARE is for the more practical side of HIV/AIDS. I've been so impressed by all the individuals I've met through these organizations: so passionate and driven to help their fellow Chennai residents in any way they can. I'm really excited to be volunteering with ECO Kitchen as it allows me to step completely out of my comfort zone and work in areas that I'm unfamiliar with. For example, the following is my current list of projects with them:

1) Creation and implementation of a training module in hospitality for the corporate and catering servers. This will focus primarily on things like customer service, presentation, etc.

2) Designing posters to help spread the word about the Kathir Dhan program, paying particular attention to upcoming festivals and holidays.

3) Brainstorming other advertising ideas that allow the existing methods to be used to their fullest potential.

4) Creation of a google-style calendar that will allow for reminders to be sent to past donors about upcoming anniversaries. For example, if someone donated last year on their birthday, it would be good to send them a small reminder to check if they are interested in donating again.

5) Creation of a small take home card to distribute to student groups who visit the ECO Kitchen which would inform parents about the mission of the organization and hopefully spread the word about the three programs.

I was feeling a bit overwhelmed with all these unfamiliar areas (Marketing?! Sales!?). But luckily, I have a wonderful colleague at ECO Kitchen, "S", who is not only capable but also kind and patient. She has been invaluable in helping me to find my feet and even gave me my first ride on a motorcycle. Despite her excellent driving, I think I'll stick to auto rickshaws!

View from my "office" (folding chair) at the ECO Kitchen facility 

Meanwhile, my research is progressing slowly as I'm currently waiting for the Tamil translation of my participant information and consent forms to come back. Really excited to get started! Once I have those, I'll meet with my mentor at YRGCARE, "K", to organize the ways in which I'll find participants and other practical concerns.

Festival on the way to ECO Kitchen

Finally, I'm moving into my new flat tomorrow! Nervous but excited to be living with other young people here in the city and looking forward to exploring my new area. Blog post with pictures of the new flat will be up soon!