January 22 Ichalkaranji, Rotary Mobile clinic, lab, weaving factory, spinning mill, Rotary deaf school, presentation.

First we went to a mobile clinic that travels regularly to the same villages to provide free medical services to the poor. It is Rotary sponsored and funded by matching grants. We also got to see a small laboratory the Rotary has for doing blood tests, urine tests, etc, free of charge. It had very basic equipment but is better than nothing.
Then we went to a weaving factory where we saw huge weaving machines that only needed people to slice broken threads, but otherwise were purely mechanical. They were so fast I couldn’t see the shuttle or the beater. The fabric was very fine quality. They export the material.
The one thing about the textile industry is that it is like the shops in the market; each place only does one thing. One prepares the fiber, one spins, one weaves, one adorns it, etc.
So then we travelled to see the cotton being spun. The fibers they dealt with were cotton or cotton/poly blend. Again, huge machines! I couldn’t even begin to comprehend the amount of thread and spools. They had an excellent system to keep the air free of dust although few worker worn face masks. They said they employ 600 workers, it is that big. Cotton is the second largest industry of India after sugar cane.
We visited a Jain temple and watched a ceremony that only occurs on the full moon. They sing and pour first milk, then curd, then sandalwood extract over the head of a statue of one of their 24 gods. It was aromatic.
We visited a “colony” of low income housing that the Rotary built. The one thing I have noticed about the impoverished people here is that they always seem happy, proud of what they do have, and ready with a smile, unlike the American poor who always seem to be feeling sorry for themselves and wanting everything. The phrase “the poor people of America are wealthy in comparison to the poor of most other countries” is very true.
We finally went to a Rotary school for the deaf. I learned that India also has a big debate on whether the deaf should use sign language or go with the oral method. This school teaches total communication, or the use of both although I felt they leaned slightly toward the oral methods. Unfortunately the entire series of speeches they we sat through were in either Hindi or the local language so we still have no idea what all the speakers said. We did hear the words “Rotary Club” a lot and they gave gifts to a few of the children, apparently as awards for something. There occasionally was an interpreter but I couldn’t understand a single word other than “walk” and “Rotary Club”. I later learned that he was signing in either Indian Sign Language or the local language. Apparently they have a different sign language in each state just as the spoken language differs. Some of the students did a dance performance to traditional music to the beat of a conductor sitting low in the crowd. It was rather strange though when the music interrupted momentarily and they kept dancing to the silent beat. They seemed to be enjoying it though.
We then rested then went and did our presentation. Bernie is having some troubles with his but the rest of us have abandoned our notes and are really getting some interest from the crowds. At the end they let the audience ask us questions. I had to answer about EMS being a private or government sector and where the funding comes from, it was easy. Bernie got pinned with the question we were coached to avoid at all costs: what do we think of the war in the middle east. Rajiv took the question and gracefully spoke that everyone is unanimously in favor of peace and spoke of the ceremonies we participated in when we first arrived in India. The ceremonies were in celebration of Sankranti, the harvest festival. One thing they do it exchange sweets (like giant non-pariels) with the words “Take sweet, talk sweet, be sweet”. The recipient is then expected to put some back into the giver’s hand and repeat the phrase. Rajiv spoke that if all the soldiers did this the world might be a different place. The crowd seemed pleased with this.
I have moved to new home because my previous host had to go away. My new host, Dev, is an actor who apparently has been in two movies and is known by many known. His family also manufactures automobile parts. They are Jain and the women are customarily much quieter and in the background. His wife and mother speak little English.

January 21 Sangli, Jaipur feet, Bharati Hospital in Wanlesswadi, Ganapati Mandir, Grape garden, presentation, pet-sitting

We went to the Rotary Club of Sangli and were introduced to their Jaipur foot project. I was so moved by the experience that I started to cry. They have made over 550 prosthetic limbs for the disabled people of India including feet, legs, arms, and hands. We were witness to 4 impoverished people received their free-of-cost limbs for the first time. I gave a leg to a man and helped him to put it on and he got up and started to walk. As he walked, his gait went from jerky to a mild limp as he adjusted. It was an incredible and very emotional experience that you would have to experience to understand! The Rotary Club of Sangli is doing an enormous benefit to their people that most people in America can’t even begin to realize.
We then went to the Bharati Hospital, another teaching hospital, where Dr. Shailbala Patil (a woman who is the Medical Superintendant of the hospital) gave us a tour. She latched onto me and quickly recognized my interests in emergency medicine. She was able to answer most of the questions I had and she asked me to send her some literature on EMS in America. I finally got to see inside of two ambulances and the emergency (“casualty”) department! There basically is no EMS in this area of India. All ambulances are owned by the hospitals and are used for inter-facility transports. They are staffed by either an “attendant” for stable patients or a physician for critical patients. Most seem to be stocked with a stretcher and oxygen and perhaps very basic equipment as I carry in my first aid kit in my car. It looks bare when you look inside. We saw an ambulance like this on the road later and it had a patient, attendant or doctor, and 3 family members stuffed into the back. A Ford Expedition is bigger than these ambulances and Blairstown Ambulance Corps’ 1960 ambulance was better stocked! She also showed us their newest ambulance which was not yet in service but seemed more on the level with a typical American ambulance. It had the oxygen, suction, cabinets for a variety of medications (I didn’t have the chance to ask what but will e-mail her in the future), and proudly will have a Lifepak 12 monitor installed in it. The doctor did say that there were a few cities far away that were just starting to develop EMS systems and a 108 (911) system and she was familiar with the concepts. She expressed strongly the need for such systems in this area and seemed to really want to talk with me about it as I did but unfortunately, due to time, we will have to wait. Ray, Bill, Scott, someone…….I want to send her some really good brochures that explain American EMS, a current EMT-B text and if possible, a paramedic text as well. I’ll pay for them and the shipping!
We then went to visit Ganapati Mandir, another old temple. This one was either 250 or 400 years old, depending on whom you asked. It looked almost as old as the 11th century one we visited the other day and just as beautiful. The people are extremely proud of their temples and enjoy showing them. There are temples everywhere! Every Hindi home has a room that is a small temple, there are miniature temples along the roads and in the fields, and full sized one for every religion (but mostly Hindu and Jain) more commonly than churches in America.
Somewhere in there we had lunch and visited a grape garden (vineyard) that is famous. I did not taste the wine but it smelled okay and I put the glass to my lips and pretended to sip. I think they understood that I don’t drink since some religions here don’t drink either. Bernie drank my wine in the end. I was still floating from my morning experiences and don’t really remember much of the vineyard since it wasn’t of interest to me as much. The raw grapes were really tasty though and the vats were huge. In a nearby village, we visited a deceivingly small cool storage place that stores raisins and distributes them throughout all of India. I really didn’t like walking on the floor upstairs as it was made of wood like a grate and even though it was solid, I couldn’t look down!
We finally went back to Rotary of Sangli’s facility were they have a large outdoor pool (very unusual for here), a gym, and a running trail. There we did our presentation. I modified mine part drastically since I now have an understanding that they don’t know anything about EMS and people seemed more interested. The presentation went much better today than last time. After we were done, we watched a presentation of traditional dance that was really beautiful. I could have sat and watched all night! More dinner, at 2200, then back to Kolhapur for the night. I excused myself as it was a long day and I came straight here to type before going to bed.
I talked with my host, Prasad Mantri, about my pet-sitting business and it was an entirely new concept for him. Here there is almost always someone home and few have pets. There is the occasional purebred dog, like the Golden Retriever, Jeni, at Elizabeth’s host’s home, but otherwise pets are rare (besides fish). He kind of took to the idea but I suspect he thought it was rather lowly work to care for animals though he didn’t say so and I tried to emphasize that there is a national certification for pet-sitting and that it is a growing luxury business. He didn’t comprehend how I house-sit or farm-sit. To him, all he knows is a woman either stays home all day as a housewife which means she would have time to stay all day at someone else’s house too, or she is in a career and again wouldn’t have time. Besides, no one ever goes away and leaves a house empty of servants to do everything that needs to be done. [Servants are another topic for another day!]

January 31 I'm okay

Hi everyone, This is the first access I have had to the internet and am posting a quick note that I am doing fine. We are having lunch at a Rotarian's home and we all spotted the computer here. Bronchitis is almost gone. In Gadag headed for Hubli and the Rotary district conference for the next 3 days. Having a great time here! I have 11 days worth of blog posts saved on my laptop that I will post when I get the chance. Sorry to keep you all in suspense! Miss you guys and love you all!

January 20 flowers

It's the little things in life. At Bernie's host's home I saw this pretty arrangement of flowers floating on water.

January 20 stores

Just a photo of a man selling peppers and one of hte pharmacy where my prescriptions were bought.

January 20 Indians and cell phones

And we though we Americans were bad with our cell phones! My host Prasad Amantri (shown here) is as bad as my previous host, Mukumb. Two phones at once! Everyone I have have met seems to have a cell phone for work, a cell phone for family, and often a third one for the house or whatever. Cell phones are always ringing and people always talking on them, even in theatres, restaurants, meetings, everywhere! I won't even mention driving and talking!

January 19 Sugar cane factory

Here is a sugar cane factory in comparision. These are very common in this area as sugar cane is one of the top crops here. Also a passing photo sugar cane which appears to be about 15 feet or so high. Also included a photo of sugar cane on the way to the factory by cart. A very common sight on the highway!