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).

First Day in Ahmadabad

On Thursday morning, our group left with two cars from the university in Vallabh Vadyanagar to Ahmedabad. Our first stop was the Gujarat Vidyapith (Vidyapith, a sanskrit-turned-Gujarati word means a University; the university was founded in 1920 by Mahatma Gandhi), where we were welcomed by the VC Sudarshan Iyengar. He explained to us the significance of this university, which follows strongly Gandhi's rules for simple life and rural revitalisation. Technology is seen here as something not very possitive, just barely a necessary evil for some of the communication needs.

We move into our rooms in the guest house. The rooms are designed to host two people each, and we are asked if we would mind that. However, as we Westerners cherish our private sphere around us, we are then offered each an individual room.


We drive to the Gandhi Ashram at the bank of the river Sabarmati. There are Gandhi's house and a museum devoted to his life and work. At the river, there is a lot of construction going on: large concrete slabs are erected at the river banks, and some structures indicate that this river would be converted into a flood-controlled long lake.

Here now, our actual work regarding this project begins. These days before were very fruitful for networking and engaging with the people at the Anand University, but now we are conducting our actual project work. A workshop is held with poetry readings about the river. The participants should write something about the river which then is shared. Further, a translation workshop is held, highlighting the difficulties of translating Gujarati into English and vice versa. My role here was to record some of the activities for our project documentation.


A very interesting part of this activity is the conduction of interviews with people who are somewhat affected by the river and its transformation. We meet an elderly person who defends the project, saying it will bring water regulation and is beneficial to all citizens. But there are also sceptics who argue that this work destroys the coherence of the river with its banks and the surroundings.


In the afternoon we visit a woman who is working for the organisation darshan. They create street performances about critical issues, as they have been banned form performing in regular theatres. One issue which they have addressed in the past is the violence which had erupted between Muslims and Hindu in 2002 and the following years.

Live from the Sabarmati River, Ahmedabad!

We are right now at the banks of the Sabarmati River, at the Gandhi Ashram in Ahmedabad. We just held a workshop about poetry and the river Sabarmati, and now we are conducting interviews with people whose lives have been in some way influenced by the river.

Earlier today we stopped at Gujarat Vidyapith where we were hosted by the VC. We will stay the night there in the guest quarters.

This live blog update is possible because of our mobile internet connection. The new Panasonic Toughbook CF-19 comes quite handy now, to edit and collect data on the outdoors.