Records and reports by ARI staff sections
Sunday, February 23, 2025 Another road trip! At breakfast, Reeta and Surender gave me a book, signed by both of them, as a memory of my visit. It was a history of MGVS called Water for Pabolee. This history of MGVS, I found as I read it, is the story of Surender’s life. I see why he wanted me to have it. Surender then took me to the Aketa Hotel where Harish Chotani (1981 ARI Graduate) was waiting for me. I hope you are ready for one last road trip, … Read more
With the name “Asian Rural Institute” and a program dedicated to training rural leaders, there can be no mistake about ARI’s commitment to reaching the rural regions of the world and the people that live there. But interestingly, one conversation that frequently arises at ARI is, “What is rural?” During the annual Rural Community Study Tour, participants spend two weeks traveling through northern Japan meeting organic farmers, staying in their homes, and working together with them on their farms. They experience how these farmers and farming communities lead simple, respectful, … Read more
Saturday, February 22, 2025 The Himalayas “Steven, we can see the Himalayas. Shall we go and look?” was Surender’s excited greeting to me as I walked out of my room into the crisp mountain air, the sun illuminating the whole valley below. Absolutely. If those mighty peaks were going to be kind enough to reveal themselves, I wasn’t going to miss it. So, we headed up, almost running, to a place Surender knew to be the best vantage point. You never know how long the clouds are going to cooperate … Read more
Friday, February 21, 2025 The old mission road If there is one thing you need to know about Surender, it is that he loves trekking. He was born in these mountains and there can’t be a single spot that has not at some time or another held his footprint. And so, before the sun woke up, we met in the compound and headed up a mountain road that Surrender had walked a thousand times, but to me held the excitement of a path unknown, into the lands of a foreign … Read more
Thursday, February 20, 2025 to Uttarakhand Today I head to Uttarakhand. If you look at a map, you may notice that it is not at all in South India, but way in the north in the Himalayan foothills. So how did it get on my South India itinerary? Well, there are two cool graduates there whose work I know a little about from their social media posts, and since no ARI people had visited that part of this country in many years, AND since internal flights are not expensive, I … Read more
Wednesday, February 19, 2025 Nice road This morning, we were up at 5:00 and out the door by 6:00. Not bad! Kindly, Roy David had arranged for Wajid to drive me all the way to Bengaluru where I would continue my Indian adventures by flight. Briefly, we stopped to say goodbye to Channappa and Chitra and then disappeared into the morning mist. So dense was the fog, that oncoming trucks could only be identified by ghostlike headlights flying toward, and then thankfully, past us. Eventually, the haze lifted, but then … Read more
Tuesday, February 18, 2025 Hot water and water dosa Roy, Wajid, and I bunked up at the Chinthana Foundation, Channappa’s organization. In the morning, I saw Wajid holding a massive electric coil and a bucket of water. I thought he was about to embark on a risky science experience, but it turns out he was kindly heating water for me to wash. We took breakfast at Channappa’s place, a refreshing plate of fresh fruit and water dosa, a kind of thin crepe. Just before entering his house, I glanced over … Read more
Monday, February 17, 2025 Fasten your seat-belts The mission for today was to drive north to the district of Chikmagalur to meet Channappa (2006 ARI Graduate). The trip proceeded without incident, for which I give my gratitude to Wajid and his perfect driving. Despite travelers’ fears of exotic diseases or bug bites or getting swallowed by a python, the most dangerous part of travel abroad is the roads. That’s why I always wear my seat belt, even if no one else does, even if it offends the driver. Sometimes a … Read more
Sunday, February 16, 2025 The Unkillable Roy David Roy has come close to suddenly departing this world a number of times. The most recent case was a massive heart attack in October of 2023. He was taken to a local hospital where they gave him critical first aid and then rushed him to a specialized heart center in Mysore, where they found only 20% of his heart functioning. Coming to terms with the fact that his habit of smoking heavily was not doing him any good, he quit cold turkey … Read more
Saturday, February 15, 2025 Local breakfast This morning, I didn’t manage two breakfasts, but instead got to eat at a very local place with Roy David. It was small and absolutely packed with people jostling to the front where the food was being cooked and served steaming hot, and then jostling again to get a spot at a table – organized chaos. Cheap and good was the place’s attraction. Both our meals together cost about a hundred rupees ($1). The previous night about a thousand kids came stamping and shouting … Read more
