Second Day in Ahmedabad

In the morning we are invited to attend the 11:00 prayer session in the prayer hall. Since there is a bit of time, I am using this opportunity to set up my head-worn in-ear microphones and record some of the street sounds, simultaneously with the HD camera. As the sound recording on the mic input of the video camera does not appear to work very well - too high sound level, without any manual override control -, I record the audio separately onto a digital recorder. It can later be synchronised to the video.


At 11:00 the students move into the hall and take a seat on the floor. Brian, Falguni, Adam, and myself are taking a seat in the front. Then we are invited to say a few words to the approximately 300 students who are present. First, Falguni introduces the rivers project. Then I talk about creative technology. I am equipped with all my gear, looking slightly awkward among all those simplicity and the emphasis on manual labor. I make a point of explaining that I use this technology for linking people and worlds. and for sharing individual experiences. Then Brian makes the concluding remarks. All speeches including the preceeding prayer were recorded on my in-ear microphones - I will publish this recording soon after transferring it to the PC.

Afterwards we visit the marvelous tribal museum on the campus. It seems not to be well visited, as we appear to be the only visitors. But it offers a very interesting insight into the different tribes and their culture. These tribes still are well functioning in the India countryside.

The women in our group visit SEWA in the afternoon, while Brian, Adam, and myself return back to Vallabh Vidyanagar. On our way back we stop at a famous mosque, where Adam has the opportunity to participate in the Friday prayers. Crossing the street is quite an adventure, as the following video shows.



In the evening we enjoy a nice dinner in the private home of Sunil Shah, who had helped me so much with getting the mobile internet connection. His wife cooked excellent dishes, combining the taste and spices of India with some of the European cooking traditions (e.g. chips).