Road Trippin'

Two weeks ago was another holiday weekend, which called for a Cuckoo road trip to the west coast. I say this from prior experience: if you want to get to know people and have an unforgettable time, road trips are the way to go! My family will know which previous trip I’m referring to LOL. As expected, this trip was no exception as six of us piled in a car, dreams of sun and sand in our heads as we made our way to Gokarna. 

It seems that third time is always the charm as it took three tries to find the correct turn for overnight parking. But we found the right place, unloaded, and followed the path to the beach. Once there, we met up with a friend of mine who was also staying there and checked into our cottages for the weekend. As expected, our time was filled with sandy beaches and sun… though a bit too much of both as our clothes and hair still had sand upon our return home on Tuesday. Two of us also sported a nice sunburn as well (thank goodness for aloe vera!).

But let’s back up and recap… We spent two full days in and around Gokarna and one day driving back along the scenic route.

Our first day was by far the sandiest as we sat on the beach during high tide. Unfortunately, this was frowned upon as the tides can be dangerous during monsoon season. We wandered farther down the beach after being reprimanded by multiple lifeguards and eventually found a beaten path that led to an overlook (called Kudle Beach View Point on Google Maps for those who are curious) and small temple. The view from the top was overwhelmingly beautiful – one that took several moments to take in and appreciate. A peahen even wandered by while we sat there which was pretty cool.

 

The rocky outcropping below was too tempting so we trekked down the hillside to where some locals were fishing. As the sun began to set, we sat with our feet in a tidepool and watched the waves roll in.

Not wanting to get caught there when the water got too high, we made our way back up to the clifftop. At this point, there were more tourists stopping by but we had already worked up an appetite – one that needed to be satisfied ASAP. We hit up the nearest food joint, Cafe 1987, to rest and refuel before heading back for a relaxing evening at our cottage.

Our plans for Sunday were abruptly changed (darn monsoon, again!), so we walked with some friends to the nearby – and by nearby I mean about 2.5 km away, one way – Half Moon Beach where fewer people would go and swimming was allowed. We trekked for the better part of an hour, across the beach and through the forest – all the while being motivated by the humming of “In the Jungle” from my fellow road trippers. The long haul was again worth the walk as we came upon an almost empty beach where we could relax and play in the Arabian Sea. 

We spent hours just floating along, riding the waves as they rolled in, and later tossed around a coconut in an intense game of catch/don’t let it fall into the water – the latter of which resulted in a few cuts and bruises on the hands, mine included. We wrapped up quickly as the sun went down and made our way back to Om Beach for dinner.

We enjoyed a late breakfast at Dragon Cafe before saying goodbye to Gokarna on Monday. The drive home was made more bearable thanks to a few stops along the way. Our first break was an unplanned stop at Sharavati Suspension Bridge which, as its name suggests, is a suspension bridge over the Sharavati River. As a civil/environmental engineer, I enjoyed looking at the bridge almost as much as the view.

Despite the number of people and two-wheelers using the bridge, it was still a great place to stop and stretch for a bit. It was also fun to see people going for short rides in a speedboat and having such a good time. It seems like such a common thing to go out on the lakes and rivers at home for fishing or watersports and sometimes we take those things for granted. This is one of those little things I will remember to appreciate more.

The final pit stop was Jog Falls, the second highest plunge waterfall in India during the rainy season (it’s not technically a “plunge” waterfall during the dry season). The Sharavati River plunges down approximately 830 feet in four separate falls: The Raja Fall, The Rover, The Rocket, and The Rani. The view from the top of the falls is cool, but I had to get my foreigner fee’s worth and so we decided to go to the viewing platform at the bottom of the falls. After about 1400 stairs, we made it the base of the falls. We snapped some photos and rested our sore feet in a small pool of water where we were treated to a free pedicure courtesy of what may have been Doctor Fish.

Then came our walk back up the 1400 stairs… it probably took three times as long as our descent, though two of the guys made it back to the top sooner. Luckily, they were thoughtful enough to buy us all some cold water and had it ready by the time we crawled up the last few stairs. The rest of the ride home was a blur of passing road signs, naps, dinner (with a special eight-legged guest), some sort of festival with men and torches, and rain.

While exhausting, it was an amazing weekend both because I got to see another part of South India and also because I got to spend time out of the city with my friends and housemates. 10/10 – would definitely recommend it to others.

XO

World Heritage

And I’m back! I took another short trip out of the city just over two weeks ago (plus one this last weekend - so stay tuned for another update from that!!) and have been catching up with work since then. Some of you may have heard of this place, it is a UNSECO World Heritage Site after all. That’s right everybody… I went to Hampi!

We left Friday evening and traveled via A/C sleeper bus to Hampi, arriving at about 6:00am at Hosapete (aka Hospet). A 30-minute auto-rickshaw ride took us into Hampi where we freshened up and dropped off our bags before heading out for the day. 

Luckily enough, guest houses in tourist towns attract autos, so it wasn’t much trouble to find somebody to give us a tour. Most of the ruins aren’t open to visit until about 8, so we were taken to Tungabhadra River where the temple’s elephant goes to bathe each morning. Like clockwork, Lakshmi the elephant lumbered down the steps and waded into the water for a bath. Our driver led us by foot across the rocks for a better view of this daily ritual.

Coming from a place where elephants are only seen behind fences, I have to say this was pretty awesome to watch.

From there, we headed off to the ruins and visited so many I can barely remember how many or all of the names. Suffice it to say, they are all part of an ancient and important history, but I will endeavor to describe a few of them in some detail (I may cheat here a bit and use the descriptions posted near the site). 
1)      Krishna Temple & Bazaar

2)      Lakshmi Narasimha (also called Ugra Narasimha)

3)    Queens Bath is located near the royal enclosure and has its own complex of changing rooms and a bath. It was built in the Indo-Islamic style of Vijayanagara architecture, though the interior is stucco and plaster. The building is 30 square meters with a 15 square meter bath of 1.8 meters deep.

4)      Zenana Enclosure - Lotus Mahal

5)      The elephant stable would have once housed up to eleven elephants.

6)      Vitthala Temple & Stone Chariot

7)      Sasivekalu Ganesha

We even saw a wild peacock while we ate lunch! My travelling companion had her entire trip made after seeing him walk by our table. The temples and everything were cool too, of course, but the peacock was the highlight LOL.

Our second (and last) day was spent on the other side of the river looking at a few other temples. FYI, if any of you want to visit Daroji Bear Sanctuary, they recently switched their hours so they don’t open until 2 pm… which we learned the hard way. Anyways, all of the temples were cool, but the most memorable would be Anjanadri Hill Temple, probably because it was a 575-step climb to the top.

If anything, I did get a lot of walking in over the weekend! This place is said to be the birthplace of the monkey-god Hanuman as it is near the village of Anegundi. Anegundi is believed to be Kishkindha, which translates to a forest where the monkeys lived.

On our way back to town, I even had a chance to learn to drive a rickshaw under the tutelage of our guide. It actually was not too difficult as the clutch and gears are both on the left handle and the accelerator is on the right, it’s just a matter of remembering which gear you’re in.

For anybody that is interested in ancient history, particularly that of Asia, I would highly recommend a few days in Hampi where you can see what’s left of that civilization! If anybody is going, message me and I can send you the number of our guide who would be happy to show you around 😊

Life's a Beach

All work and no play makes for a pretty dull existence. So, I took a trip to the eastern coast of India! There were four of us in total; me, another young woman from England, and two young men from India – all of us had been staying at the same hostel in Bangalore and got on pretty well. One of the men is originally from Tamil Nadu, the neighboring state to the southeast of Karnataka, and invited us to travel with him for the weekend. None of us had any plans, so we jumped at the opportunity to get out of the city.

On Friday evening, we canceled our previously booked train tickets and instead rented a brand-new Volvo to use for the entire trip. Sometime around midnight, we packed the car and hit the road. After hitting a few tolls and getting out of the city, we stopped for some light snacks and a bathroom break. At this point, we had another 5ish hours to travel so it only makes sense that we’d try to catch some sleep so we’d be ready to go come morning. Now, I am one of those people that cannot sleep when it is warm… however, one of the others in the group doesn’t like the cold. Add together the facts that: 1) it was really warm in the car, 2) I had no room to get comfortable, and 3) the roads are shit, and it’s not hard to guess that I did not get any sleep.

Around 4:30 am, we arrived at Arulmiga Arunachaleswarar Temple. The temple opened at 5, so we took a few minutes to rest. While our driver slept, I found a nearby shop that had bathrooms to freshen up. I am forever grateful for the long days of hunting in the woods or being outdoors all day which necessitate popping a squat behind some bushes… Those experiences prepared me for the squat toilets here which are quite common. Because of my preparedness, I’ve avoided some unfortunate mishaps that have otherwise befallen a few of my acquaintances. Once the clock struck 5, we found a place to remove our shoes (as is custom), and made our way to the eastern entrance. What we didn’t know was that it was the weekend of the full moon, so the temple was only open for worship… meaning the rest of the temple was closed to tourists. Such a bummer, yet understandable. We snuck a few pictures and then piled back into the car for another two hours of driving.

And finally, around 8 am… We made it to Pondicherry! Technically we weren’t in Pondy while staying at Vedanta Wake Up! hostel, but Auroville is right between parts of Pondy, so they’re basically the same place. Our exhaustion got the best of us and we slept for a few hours until it was time for lunch. We hit up Auroville Bakery for a light meal and then set off for the city. For those who don’t know, Pondicherry was a French East India Company colonial settlement which is still apparent today. There are three other French colonies scattered across the South Indian coastline which make up the Puducherry Union Territory. There are currently seven union territories in India which are ruled directly by the Central (‘Union’) Government rather than the states in which they are physically located – sort of similar to Native American reservations back in the United States. The territories of Puducherry and Delhi are unique in that they have partial statehood with their own elected legislative assemblies and councils of ministers. In fact, Delhi is now the National Capital Territory of India. It was fun to see road signs in both French and Tamil and so many places/restaurants with French influences.

Once in the city, we walked around Bharathi Park, saw a few different statues – one of Gandhi, and an old lighthouse. We looked around Promenade Beach, but it was busy so we drove for a few minutes to one that is frequented by fewer people. 

We ended up somewhere between Auro Beach and Pondicherry University Beach which was so empty we had a small stretch of it to ourselves. I did a bit of wading and collected a large handful of shells while the boys enjoyed the waves for an hour or so.

Back at Vedanta, we had a mix of pesto and classic tomato pasta before letting sleep overtake us again – this time we had A/C though!

Sunday morning, we got breakfast at Bread & Chocolate – I know, it definitely sounds like a place I wouldn’t enjoy, just kidding. But seriously, it was so good! I had poached eggs over homemade sourdough toast and a chocolate herbal tea. I would love to find a place like that here in Bangalore. The three of use that hadn’t been to Pondy before went to Auroville to see Matrimandir (a big golden dome that reminds me of Spaceship Earth at Epcot). They’ve got a lot of really cool stuff going on in Auroville but I’m not sure walking two kilometers (1.25 miles) in the hot sun to stare at a golden ball from a quarter of a mile away.

Luckily, we didn’t have to pay to see it. We had just enough time to stop at a few shops on the way back for lunch. I found a nice skirt and found a small place that made shoes.

It was so cool to see the men working the leather, cutting rubber, and attaching the soles right there in front of me. It makes you appreciate the hard work and skill it takes for those jobs when you see the effort that is put into the end product. Dinner was a simple affair at a pizza place before we headed back to Bangalore.

One nice thing about the return trip was that it was earlier, so it was still light out for most of the drive. We went back past the temple and also caught a glimpse of Gingee Fort from the road. For my first time navigating the Indian roads on a longer trip, I think I did pretty well – only two missed turns (which weren’t even turns but were more like ‘get into another lane’ based on Google Maps) that ended up not causing any delays or U-turns. I’d call it a success 😊

But then it was right back to that daily grind. In this place, however, there is never a truly dull day if you keep your mind open to the sights, smells, and sounds around you.

Cheers to all and don't forget to say hi in the comments!

Another Day At The Office

As many of my Facebook friends may have seen, this past Saturday (the 24th) marked the seven-year anniversary of my relationship with Trae and I was able to brighten up my room with a bouquet of flowers. I won’t get all sappy here, but want to again acknowledge how incredible he is as a person and fiancé. 

My anniversary gift, filled by a local flower shop!

Aside from that, this week started out similar to the rest– work meetings, typing up some reports at Cuckoo, Skype calls… the usual. Also typical of my schedule was my visit to Dorekere Lake (also spelled Dorai Kere on Google Maps or Bing, in case anybody wants to try and find it), though this time we arrived within its open hours. 

Not sure what this is, but still cool - looks a bit like a dementor tbh

I was immediately struck by the number of people using the area to go for a morning walk/jog or use the open outdoor gym to exercise before work. This set up worked out well for two groups: the residents were able to spend some time away from the bustle of the city and the street vendors set up shop outside of the entrance to cater to the hungry and thirsty crowd. This also gives people time to relax and connect with the environment and their community in a way that they are otherwise unable to. This connection is important for our own well-being as humans while also giving us more of an incentive to take care of our environment.

Since I arrived early, I parked myself on an open bench and attempted to read more of Askew while also observing the people. The diversity in the individuals using the facilities was cool to see – old and young, men and women, in shape and those working on it. By now, I’m also attempting to blend in a bit more by wearing Indian clothing (I wore a pink, knee-length kurta over white pants) though several of the girls my age wear Western clothing. I found that I prefer to wear Indian clothing here as it’s super breathable, comfortable, and fairly flattering. Despite this, I still received a few curious glances as I sat there waiting for my partner to arrive – probably just people wondering why a white girl is sitting by herself in a local park and reading a book, as I’m fairly sure it’s not a common sight.

Once Shreyas arrived, we made our way to the sewage treatment plant (STP) to gather some information. Both of us have Environmental/Civil Engineering backgrounds and like to spend time discussing the various water treatment processes, so don’t mind me while I put on my nerd hat and go into a bit of detail about this one… As I mentioned in a previous blog, the city has been making an effort to rejuvenate several of its lakes which includes Dorekere. In 2010, the lake was fixed up and an STP was constructed to treat about 1 million liters of sewage each day (MLD). I later discovered that this area actually receives about 10 MLD but it was said the lake can only handle 1 MLD, so the remaining 9 MLD gets diverted elsewhere in the city for treatment. Seems a little odd, but I don’t yet have enough information to know what other options may have existed at that time. It was refreshing to see a system that used conventional processes like we typically design in the US – headworks (where they get rid of the big nasty bits to protect equipment), aeration, two clarifiers: a primary one followed by a clariflocculator, and final tertiary treatment (filtration followed by disinfection). As a note for those not in the know – probably most of you – flocculation is where small suspended particles join to form a larger ‘floc’, usually due to the addition of chemicals, which will then settle to the bottom of the tank leaving the ‘clarified’ water on the top which is sent to the next stage of treatment.

STP process layout... We spent more time than I care to admit discussing it 😆

The treated water is then sent to the lake, which normally isn’t a huge problem. The biggest issue they have is nalas (open sewage and/or storm drains) which will overflow and cause untreated sewage to enter into the wetlands and eventually into the lake itself.

My office > Your office

One big difference I learned is that at this lake, their sampling requirements to ensure their effluent quality are not as strict as those in the US. In fact, we were told they don’t do regular testing which would result in major fines at home. While these regulations can be a pain in the butt, I’m thankful for them as they protect our waterways – and in turn, us and the environment as a whole – in a way that many developing countries struggle to do. Despite this, I’m encouraged by the number of individuals and groups that are taking interest in these issues and are slowly but surely creating positive change.

We continued on our way around the lake – almost 1 mile in total – to note the various inlets, outlets, wetlands, and quality of the lake and grounds. A little over half-way around, we were stopped by a resident who was interested in what we were doing. I’m guessing we looked a little odd since we were frequently stopping to point at things, jot down notes, and take pictures. We were advised to be wary when walking along the fence as there are, you guessed it... cobras! I should maybe mention that neither Shreyas nor I are big fans of snakes. This man then walked us over to a termite mound and informed us that cobras will often use the mounds as their dens. My mind immediately went back to when I stood right next to tall termite mound at Navadarshanam and the fact that somebody had seen a cobra in the bushes about 15 feet away. I’m incredibly thankful one didn’t slither out of or into the mound while I was there, otherwise I would have been the first person to get back to our rooms for the night. He then went on to share more about these snakes and a bit of their significance. In fact, on the other side of the fence was a temple which has a large, decorated termite mound where Hindus perform pooja (worship) to the nagas (snakes or deities that take the form of a snake, particularly a king cobra). 

Kinda visible - Cobra den saved from the elements by a large roof and trees

This is done because the cobra has made the mound into its home there and people may offer milk, incense, or sweets for the snake during worship. Snakes, particularly the cobra, are important in the Hindu faith and can be seen all around. Some examples: 1) killing a cobra is believed to result in bad karma; 2) God Shiva can be seen with Vasuki, one of the nagarajas (king of all nagas), coiled around his neck; and 3) the bed of God Vishnu is actually Shesha, a multi-headed nagaraja. Random nerd fact I just learned: A female naga is a nagini… this word may be familiar to all you Harry Potter fans because the name of Voldemort’s python is Nagini!! I think the symbolism of so many things and the intricacies of Hinduism are fascinating and beautiful in a way. If you’re curious and want to know a bit more about what I’ve mentioned, feel free to do a quick Google search – I used these websites (copy and paste) as additional background so I sound like I know what I’m talking about: http://www.hinduwebsite.com/buzz/symbolism-of-snakes-in-hinduism.asp, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vasuki, and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shesha. 

As we made our way back to the entrance, we passed by another area of significance – a kalyani. A kalyani is a stepped bathing well, also called a temple tank, which were intended for bathing and cleansing activities prior to pooja.

Start or end the day by walking around a peaceful kalyani.

I suppose it was just another day at the office full of learning – technical and non-technical – and lots of fun. 

If I got something horribly wrong or anybody wants to say hi or ask any questions, leave a comment at the bottom of the page 😊 Thanks for dropping by!

Happiness On A Plate

After my first Uber failed to arrive after 15 minutes, I canceled (they waived my cancellation fee due to the wait... thanks Uber!) and got a second one. I was already running late as I slid onto the backseat at 10:33 on Wednesday morning. Five minutes later and I was stuck in traffic. Literally not moving more than 100 feet in 10 minutes. So, my driver made a U-turn at the next available spot and headed off to my destination. Twenty minutes later and we were stuck in traffic again. Luckily this was only for a short time which didn't cause any unexpected delays.

During this whole ordeal, I was sitting in the back reading Askew when I came across a short paragraph that struck me as timely and broadly applicable to multiple places.

" 'You need expertise to be able to understand issues and work out solutions. We do not have a single subject specialist in our administration. No bureaucrat has the humility to say  "I don't know. I need help to find answers". Instead they assume that they are authorities on every subject.' " - V. Ravichandar as quoted by T.J.S. George in Askew 

I fully recognize that this is not the case everywhere and I do not intend for it to be taken as an all-encompassing blanket statement. It is, however, a concern which has been growing in several circles such as the sciences (my field - though technically I'd be in the applied sciences). Politicians with a science background are pretty uncommon and lobbyists may sway decisions regardless of what the science says. So what can we do? In the short time I've been here and after reflecting on the last few months in the US, I've realized that these types of situations leave a lot of space for expert individuals and citizen groups to make a difference. Get active in your community; whether it be small 'spot fix' projects, activism, or just attending city council meetings to lend your voice on a topic you're passionate and knowledgeable about, even small actions can make a big impact on somebody's life. Sure the changes might happen more slowly, but sometimes a grassroots approach can make a positive long-term change. 

The actual visit to the layout was short and sweet since my partner for the day had previously visited it. I still enjoyed walking around and observing the current infrastructure - specifically everything related to their water systems such as storm drains, water lines and storage, and sewage lines.

We wrapped things up there and headed to a nearby restaurant that served up an amazing North Karnataka-style dosa and chutney. After a filling lunch we walked to her place and chatted about everything from books to comparisons of water rights and regulations to the development of Bangalore while drinking a hot cup of chai. 

I made it back to Cuckoo in time to catch some other long-termers coming back for the evening. After confirming I had not yet eaten dinner, I was then asked if I wanted food and happiness in my life. Who would say no to that?? Our destination was a mystery to me but at 9:30 pm we arrived at Ramzan Food Mela.

For a bit of background, we are currently nearing the end of Ramadan - the month of fasting - which is being observed by Muslims from May 27th until June 24th. Observers will not ingest any food or drink (old-timers may also spit out their saliva) during daylight hours and then eat after sunset and again before sunrise. For many, the fast also includes refraining from smoking and sinful behaviors. This mela, or gathering, was set up close to a mosque as a place for Muslims to come together and break their fast. 
I've been waiting for some beef for a while now, but this was honestly some of the best cooked meat I've had in a while. Happiness on a plate, indeed! We shared a variety of dishes such as patthar ghosht - meat cooked on a stone, beef seekh kebabs, grilled rabbit, and an assorted platter of beef with Afghani beef chops and string hoppers (rice noodle-tortilla things). If you're a meat-eater and haven't visited a place like this, add it to your list.

These plates were followed by paan, which I cannot really begin to explain... The version I had was a betel leaf stuffed with shaved ice, a betel nut, gulkand, and covered in chocolate. This whole concoction is intended to be eaten in one bite, an endeavor at which I failed. Very messily. If I ever try again, I'll prepared and may have better luck. All-in-all, a sweet end to an eventful day. 

I'm still super new at this blogging thing so please leave a comment and let me know what you think or just say hi! 

Hit The Ground Running

Well, it’s been about five weeks since I arrived in Bangalore, India. Beautiful Bangalore.

Just hiking at Turahalli Forest. This looked like a good spot for a pic.

Over the course of the past month, I’ve gleaned some information on the history of modern Bangalore and it’s quite the story. Kempe Gowda built a mud fort in 1537 with instructions from his mother to build lakes and plant trees. The fort was split into petes, aka markets, and had four watchtowers marking the boundaries which can still be seen today. Over the next ~250 years, the city underwent a few changes in rule, such as the Mughals, as various kings and conquerors swept through the area. Then, in 1809, the British enjoyed the moderate climate here and decided to build a military cantonment here that would be used as resting grounds for their troops. As was typical back in their home country, the British began lining the roads with trees – this is part of why Bangalore became known as the Garden City. This was followed by the IT (information technology) revolution which led to a massive influx of workers and all of the development challenges that come along with unplanned growth. For more background on Bangalore and how it’s developed, I’d recommend reading Askew: A Short Biography of Bangalore by TJS George (I promise it’s a light read!). It’s really a fascinating place to hear about and I’m sure there are more resources online that can explain it better than me.

The view from Manipal County. Looks like rain!

Just over two weeks have gone by since I’ve made Cuckoo Hostel my home-away-from-home. Please enjoy a small photo tour of my room and some of the meals I've had (see below).

The food pictured above was actually garbanzo beans (chickpeas) and sauce with roti. I was pleasantly surprised to find out that I liked it.

As difficult as it can be to be here on my own, this has really forced me out of my comfort zone and helped me to try and make new friends. The atmosphere here is very hippy, free-spirit, and really inspires creativity and learning in various forms. Everybody has a different background and brings a new perspective to any conversation whether it be about our work, politics, culture, sports, or any other topic that may come up.  I definitely lucked out with this place! 

Around the same time as moving to Cuckoo, I started my internship with Biome and began the first phase of piloting Monsūn! Both have been going well so far and I’m excited for what the next several months have in store. The first week or so was primarily shadowing others on their site visits to get a feel for what sort of projects people are doing and what the approach is. Surprisingly, but also not, each person had a different style of interacting with potential clients and looked at various aspects of water management.

And now... pardon the long summary, but this is about two weeks worth of notes. It shouldn’t be as bad in the future. Some of my visits for work included:

A World Earth Day presentation on water management and conservation. This ended up being really fun to listen to and I learned quite a bit more about Biome, what they do, and Bangalore’s water issues. There were also a few young men from Bangalore listening and I was impressed with their knowledge of their water sources and insightful questions and comments. I know many people who don’t know where their water actually comes from or how it gets treated before leaving the tap at home, so it was refreshing to see people who were aware of these things.

Three government schools which are interested in rainwater harvesting. At our first stop, one of the government officials happened to be there and was quite excited to hear that I am from the US. We chatted a bit while drinking coffee (the automatic assumption was that I LOVE coffee since I from the US… joke is on them though, I don’t drink coffee). After dodging a very insistent, and slightly awkward invitation to eat a sponsored lunch with him at a Marriott (sponsored meaning on his tab, and I didn’t even know you dining at hotels like this was a thing), we snuck out and headed to our next stop. At the second school, all of the children were on a recess of sorts and I was a popular attraction for the girls that were running around. No matter what I wear, it’s hard not to stick out when I have light skin, light hair, and blue eyes. Fortunately, the kids were usually just curious so it wasn’t really a bother. 

A few unsuccessful trips to the sewage treatment plants at Dorekere and Uttarahalli Lakes. Both of the lakes were technically closed to the public when we arrived (this was mid-day, fyi) and required some sort of permission. The time restrictions on these lakes was a bit surprising to me since they would generally be open to the public at all times back at home. I was later told this is for security reasons - because the lakes are less busy during the normal work hours, there is a greater risk of unsavory things occurring there, so… they just lock everybody out instead. According to a few articles, Uttarahalli Lake was revitalized around 2013. Prior to the rejuvenation, the BBMP did an interesting lake score study which rates the lake on various parameters such as having an STP, fences, security guards, walkability, etc. This sort of assessment reminds me of others used at home and I can definitely see the benefit of using it as a way to understand the quality of lakes from a human needs perspective while also prioritizing which ones to work on improving next. It’d be cool to see this further developed to account for the quality of the lake from an environmental and ecosystems perspective.

Two layouts (essentially these are gated, planned communities) in two consecutive days. Both seemed like they were pretty nice places in general, though they were beginning to experience water scarcity. Recommendations for rainwater harvesting – both for household use and groundwater recharge, wastewater treatment and reuse, and demand management tend to be at the forefront of our holistic water management proposals. While most of our water is handled centrally in the US, I think that doing more to incorporate this decentralized approach would be beneficial.

Went to Senapathy Whiteley, and industry outside of Ramanagaram which is south of Bangalore towards Mysore. This place was really interesting to visit – we walked through a few adjacent factory properties, each of which does a different process. While making our way from one property to the next, I noticed that the coconut trees were are all numbered. 

#6 out of dozens

Any guesses as to why? They keep track of how many coconuts they get from each tree so they know how many to harvest throughout the year. Learning new things every day here! It’s been over a year since I left Dubuque Works but it still felt right and familiar to be stepping into these factories. As a side note, not many people here that I’ve spoken to are not familiar with Deere, though one recognized the logo on my cap. In fact, most of the equipment I’ve seen is JCB. It was fun to see their industrial wastewater treatment plants and their RO systems. They make a specialized paper product which requires high quality water, so having the RO filters was extremely important. As we were walking through the underbrush, my supervisor thought it would be helpful to let me know that four different types of snakes live in that area… my response: thanks for the info, let’s walk faster 😅 

This place was gorgeous! Just beware of the snakes...

All in all it was a good day and I left with a new connection who was really interested in water policy and management in the US. 

I finally met my project partner, Shreyas, whom I will be working with for the duration of my stay here in Bangalore. We visited Manipal County which is both a resort and an academic campus on 11 acres and is looking for assistance for water management. This place just bought a new chapati maker which can turn out 300 chapati in an hour! They just had to bust out a wall to fit it in the kitchen, no  big deal. But for a place that has to make about 5,000-6,000 each day, I definitely wouldn’t mind having a machine do it for me. 

Just a minor patch job and it'll be good as new!

We got our assignments from Biome the other day as well, which are separated into two categories: a long-term wetlands program and then working on plans for about 5-6 small communities. The smaller communities will essentially be RWH or water management proposals. Our main tasks for the wetlands program are:

1.       Document the state of the TGHalli reservoir – the water quality of the reservoir and the quality/quantity of the inflows

2.       Document the state of wetlands at 15 lakes, including their purpose and quality improvements

3.       Document the state of BWSSB and BBMP STPs 

I am actually looking forward to these projects, especially working on the wetlands program as it is something different than what I’m used to doing.

If anybody has heard of anything cool to do or places to see, drop a comment and let me know! As always, feedback is awesome 😊