Few snaps from India

Breakfast at Srijita's parents' house in Kolkata.
Sweet way to start the day!

With Amanda at the Dkashineswar
Kali Temple, in Kolkata. 

The hills of Orissa on a rainy day.

For many women in Orissa, bringing water up to the village
is a daily task.  These women now have piped water and taps
in their kitchens and bathrooms.

Large parts of Orissa are vulnerable to cyclones.
All homes in this village were constructed
in a disaster-resistant design.

Formal opportunities for women to work are rare in Orissa.
Women and girls shell cashews all day for about $1.50.

We stumble across a tree that's at least 200 years old.

Traveling from Brahmapur to Bhubaneswar (Capital of Orissa),
we sneaked up to the sleepers' class where we could sit comfortably.
There were a steady supply of vendors with tea and tasty snacks,
like this freshly made jhal muri.

A quiet Saturday morning on College Street, back in Kolkata.
Nice to be back in a place where no one really stares at us,
and everyone speaks Bangla.

Self help groups are a popular strategy to help women
become more involved in family finances and save money.
This is a group of women from the slums of Patna who help
each save about $4 monthly.

A government school in Patna, where most of the students are
the children of informal workers--domestic aides, rickshaw
drivers, street vendors--living in nearby slums. 

A community library in a Patna slum.  Clearly no shortage
of talent and energy here.  Once time this slum was
brutally evicted, and the community members stood in front
of the library and said, "you can destroy our houses, but
this building, we will protect."

One of the first areas of Patna declared a "vending zone."
Here the vendors can sell produce free from police
harassment, extortion from contractors and local
gangs, and with ample space for customers.

Bihar may be famous for its mangoes, but I loved the guava.