A Picnic in the Hills
We congregate at the office at 6:30 in the morning, pile our gear and ourselves into three jeeps, and drive three hours to a picnic spot by a river. It is hot and much more humid than in the city of Darjeeling itself. We start a fire and pitch a tent for shade. I sit [...]
10 Things I Love About Garhwal
1. The buffaloes bathe more than the people do No, I don’t bathe everyday. And I am proud of it. You are lucky if you see me pouring a bucket over my head once every week. This would horrify most of my friends and family and most of the AIF team, but I very quickly [...]
Thank you, India
My ten months in India are coming to an end, and I’m grateful. Grateful for the opportunity to live in a country that has long fascinated me. Grateful to do human rights work—my passion, my dream. Grateful for the many ways I’ve grown and the many things I’ve learned. But most of all, I’m grateful [...]
Profile: My Friend Parthi
My auto driver Parthi has become one of my best friends. He knows Madurai better than just about anyone. He’s also apparently immune to greed because, when I first got here, he gave me the right fare without bargaining (in full view of my white skin). Here’s a little snapshot of the man who [...]
Families, Human Rights, and Mrs. Chandaram’s Unwanted Pity
I sat with Mrs. Chandaram in the poorly ventilated, 107 degree Foreign Registration Office at the Madurai District Police Station for more than four hours. As US citizens who spent more than 180 consecutive days in India, we were required to get a signature – a single squiggle of a pen – on our exit [...]
Dear India, I miss you already
Aside from the ache I have to see my family and friends again I miss the silliest things about America. I miss driving my own car; I miss 24-hour supermarkets. I miss the security of American sidewalks where I don’t worry I might plunge into a giant hole in the sidewalk and end up in [...]
Mango Season and Learning to Let Go
I am officially changing the name of this month to Mayngo. It is mango season here in India! And it’s amazing! May is the month of over indulgence with anything containing this fruit – mango chutney, mango pickle, mango juice, mango and rum, and of course fresh mangoes, which I eat an average of [...]
A Story From Kumbh
My propensity towards schizophrenia is positively correlated to how much time I spend waiting on platforms at Indian railway stations. Stay 20 minutes and you’ll be able to cover just about every corner of the human condition. I say ‘every corner’ to be diplomatic because the vast majority at the station are firmly rooted in [...]
Single White Female Traveling Through India Seeks Adventure, Risk, and Reward
One of my favorite movies is Paris Je T’aime. It is a series of vignettes set in various quarters of the city, each with its own distinct story and personality. This movie is regularly in my ‘top ten’ for a variety of reasons – I love Paris, the movie has some hilarious and thoughtful stories, [...]
Overcoming My Fear of Cold Water and Elephant Snot
I sat on the back of Laxmi – a two and a half ton Asiatic elephant – and expected the worst. She placed the tip of her trunk into an icy pool and slowly drew several gallons of water through her nostrils. Waiting for the inevitable drenching, I wondered how cold the water would be. [...]
Life in a TCS Guest House
For the past two months I have been living in a TCS Guest House called “Trinity House” in Kakkanad Kerala. It is located just 4 km from the largest Info Park in the region. It has been an amazing experience to live here, to learn here and as Ryan (my husband) puts it to come [...]
What the future holds
The past few weeks have included a healthy dose of self reflection, especially as people have started asking, “So, what will you do after the fellowship?” A simple question with no easy answer, filled with possibilities and emptiness, just as exciting as it is panic-inducing. I know a few of the other fellows are in [...]
A presidential rendezvous in the city that never sleeps
When I first learned that I was among the group of AIF Fellows meeting President Clinton, just like the rest of us, I was in complete disbelief. But as the day to meet him came closer, we received an email about the details of the forthcoming meeting with him. In the email, we were informed [...]
DOES ELEMENTARY EDUCATION BUDGET CONNECTS WITH SCHOOL NEEDS??
Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) There are three types of grants provided by the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) program to all the government schools in India, and they arrive in schools with very clear expenditure guidelines. School grants in Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA), which is the Government of India’s (GOI) primary vehicle for implementing the Right [...]
The Price of Human Rights Work
When you work in human rights, you see a lot of sad faces. A ten-year-old girl describing when she was raped. A father explaining that his son was murdered. A torture victim detailing sadistic acts meted out by police. I’ve learned to expect the sadness, and I try not to let it break my heart [...]
About the AIF Fellowship
AIF's William J. Clinton Fellowship for Service in India provides a select group of young Americans and Indians the opportunity to work with non-governmental organizations for 10 months, in order to accelerate impact for marginalized and underprivileged communities in India.
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Latest blog posts from the Fellows
A Picnic in the Hills
We congregate at the office at 6:30 in the morning, pile our gear and ourselves into three jeeps, and drive three hours to a picnic spot by a river. It is hot and much more humid than in the city of Darjeeling itself. We start a fire and pitch a tent for shade. I sit [...]
10 Things I Love About Garhwal
1. The buffaloes bathe more than the people do No, I don’t bathe everyday. And I am proud of it. You are lucky if you see me pouring a bucket over my head once every week. This would horrify most of my friends and family and most of the AIF team, but I very quickly [...]
Thank you, India
My ten months in India are coming to an end, and I’m grateful. Grateful for the opportunity to live in a country that has long fascinated me. Grateful to do human rights work—my passion, my dream. Grateful for the many ways I’ve grown and the many things I’ve learned. But most of all, I’m grateful [...]
Profile: My Friend Parthi
My auto driver Parthi has become one of my best friends. He knows Madurai better than just about anyone. He’s also apparently immune to greed because, when I first got here, he gave me the right fare without bargaining (in full view of my white skin). Here’s a little snapshot of the man who [...]
Families, Human Rights, and Mrs. Chandaram’s Unwanted Pity
I sat with Mrs. Chandaram in the poorly ventilated, 107 degree Foreign Registration Office at the Madurai District Police Station for more than four hours. As US citizens who spent more than 180 consecutive days in India, we were required to get a signature – a single squiggle of a pen – on our exit [...]
Dear India, I miss you already
Aside from the ache I have to see my family and friends again I miss the silliest things about America. I miss driving my own car; I miss 24-hour supermarkets. I miss the security of American sidewalks where I don’t worry I might plunge into a giant hole in the sidewalk and end up in [...]
Mango Season and Learning to Let Go
I am officially changing the name of this month to Mayngo. It is mango season here in India! And it’s amazing! May is the month of over indulgence with anything containing this fruit – mango chutney, mango pickle, mango juice, mango and rum, and of course fresh mangoes, which I eat an average of [...]
A Story From Kumbh
My propensity towards schizophrenia is positively correlated to how much time I spend waiting on platforms at Indian railway stations. Stay 20 minutes and you’ll be able to cover just about every corner of the human condition. I say ‘every corner’ to be diplomatic because the vast majority at the station are firmly rooted in [...]
Single White Female Traveling Through India Seeks Adventure, Risk, and Reward
One of my favorite movies is Paris Je T’aime. It is a series of vignettes set in various quarters of the city, each with its own distinct story and personality. This movie is regularly in my ‘top ten’ for a variety of reasons – I love Paris, the movie has some hilarious and thoughtful stories, [...]