Empower a child through Education. Support Asha!

As some of you may know, I climbed Mt. Rainier via the DC route on July 20th/21st to raise funds for Asha, Seattle. Since Feb 2012, I've volunteered my time and skills to support Team Asha climb Rainier. We had a successful climb: every member summited Rainier. Now comes the difficult, yet the most important part of this endeavor - asking for your donations to support Asha. 

As you may know, I've previously volunteered with several children's charities in India during my travels there in 2008/2009. Someday I would like to volunteer more of my time and resources towards empowering people (especially kids), working on issues of social justice and education, work more directly with kids and people in the marginalized sections of society. However, until I become independently wealthy or drastically change my lifestyle, both of which are unlikely in the near future, I must send out emails begging for donations to support projects like GRAVIS.

For every $20 I raise, I will contribute $5 towards Project GRAVIS - up to a max of $500. For the cost of pizza, you can make a difference and get a 25% match on your donation. If you haven't made that charitable donation for this month, here's your opportunity,support Asha, support Project GRAVIS.

Click on the Donate button to donate via a credit card or check. In the comments field, please write: 'For project GRAVIS.'

I firmly believe that we all achieve our dreams with the support of others - never alone. Many of us are fortunate to have that support in the form of a loving family, friends, colleagues - at work, at school and so forth. However, in addition are things we take for granted like the right to education, basic health care, easy access to clean water, adequate food, a sense of security - things that all children should take for granted but which they are denied simply because of where they happen to be born. Asha supports local groups in India, working at the grass roots level on these issues of social justice. 

About Asha:
Asha is a non-profit, voluntary organization working to empower underprivileged communities in India with main focus on education.Asha is completely volunteer driven and 100% of your donation goes to the projects. Charity navigator report on Asha.

Project GRAVIS:
It is aimed towards improving the quality of life for the dessert communities in the Thar dessert of Rajasthan, India. My colleague, Sandeep Nain, the main force behind the Rainier Climb for Asha is the primary steward for the project. He has made two site visits and seen first hand the impact of the Asha funds in these communities:

1. GRAVIS site visit 2008
2. GRAVIS site visit 2010

Need another incentive? Check out this awesome video made by one of the 2012 Asha climbers, sure to inspire:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HPrPDVLa49Q&sns=em

Our goal in volunteering with Climb for Asha:
- raise money for Asha!
- climb mountains while raising funds for Asha!
- organize, train, volunteer our time, share our passion for the mountains, to safely and successfully lead climbers up Mt. Rainier .. to, yep, you guessed it - raise funds for Asha. Each member of the Asha climbing team is raising funds for Asha!

Support Asha, help me make that $500 matching contribution - every contribution - big and small - makes a difference!

Let's do it!

Donating through Microsoft GIVE

Go to http://give. Click on the match now button on the right side of the page - This will redirect you to the Easy-match site.

1. As part of the first step of "Select an Organization". In the "Find an organization" text box, enter "Asha for Education, Seattle Chapter" (Organization ID 005594). Click on Search and once found, add it to the cart . Click on Continue.
2.  Now as part of the 2nd step of Enter Giving Details -
1. Enter Cash/Check amount and request to match with Cash. The donation should be more than $25 for Microsoft to match.
2. In the purpose field, write "Climb for Asha 2012: Jasmine. Project  GRAVIS"
3. Click on Continue

3. In the Confirm giving details page, click on the "I agree" checkbox and click on the Confirm button

Climbing Mt. Rainier and raising funds for Asha

Support Asha!

11:15 pm, Sat 6th Aug - my tent partner wakes me up - It's 11:15 Jasmine, I think we better get up. I can hear the wind and my thoughts wander between the various mountains I've had the opportunity to climb or attempt. How do I feel? Is my headache gone? Will be cold like I was on Pico or physically ill like I felt at Island peak because my normal bodily functions didn't work as well. Jackie is already outside, she pokes her head in and tells me it's surprisingly warm outside. I have to pee, time to get up and see what it is really like.

It is surprisingly warm, and I feel great. Thanks to the good sleep I got yesterday and the Ibuprofen that Jackie brought me for my headache despite my protests. That was a good idea. It is a beautiful night, can't see the moon, but there are a million stars and it is indeed fairly warm outside. It is going to be a beautiful day on the mountain!

By 12:30, our three rope teams are moving up: Jackie, Erin, Katie led by Shelia; Rob and David led by Lawrence; Srijan, Aparajita, myself led by Sandeep. Sandeep is leading the effort. He has climbed some very exciting routes on Rainer including Liberty Ridge earlier this year so this is more of an organizational challenge for him . To coordinate 11 people, some of whom are climbing together for the first time; ensure everyone is safe and achieves their own goals is a bit stressful I imagine. Climbing conditions are great as the snow is firm and the boot path is easy to follow. We jump over small crevasses and make our way to our first obstacle. It is a big, broken up crevasse or maybe a bergshrund: a big crevasse formed when the moving glacier below separates from the static glacier on top. It is generally found higher up on the mountain. Sandeep takes the lead and starts setting up protection; pounding in pickets in the snow and passing the rope through as he moves. Each rope lead must pass their rope through as they bring their party across and the last person in the last rope team cleans the pickets. We have a few minutes to admire delicate ice formations along the way.


My mind is wandering. The process of climbing a mountain or even hiking is interesting. There is a lot of time to go within the self and think. I'm cold and am wondering why I would want to wake up in the middle of the night and be cold. It is definitely time to get back to rock climbing - it is warm, the process, the activity and the adventure is completely different. There is a body movement and fluidity of motion that I miss. Before long we see the colors of dawn, there is something awesome about standing on a glacier, up a mountainside watching the beautiful sunrise. I guess those are the moments for which we wake up in the middle of the night despite the cold. Of course it is also personal ambition, wanting to discover and push beyond your personal limits.

Enough digression, back to the business at hand, by 7am, the girls team is on top. They are by far the strongest. Lawrence is not feeling so well at altitude but being a strong climber, he has experienced this before and pushes onward. The pace maybe a bit brisk for Aparajita but there aren’t very many rest stops and we want to keep moving to avoid getting cold. She missed climbing Rainier last year and is determined to do it this year, she wills herself to continue. By 7:30, everyone is on top - all 11 of us. The sun is now up, it is warm, we can see the beautiful mountains all around. Amid the cascades are the prominent peaks: Mt. Adams, Mt. Hood, Mt. St. Helens in the south and Mt. Baker, Glacier peak in the north. We feel great and grateful to have access to such beautiful mountains - Seattle rocks!

Most everyone in the group



Fund raising for Asha for Education



Onward ...

Shelia and Jasmine - goofy (yoga) summit shot.

Below are more photos of some beautiful ice / snow formations we saw along the way

Wings of Fire

Wings of Fire

"How can a country with nuclear technology be considered a developing nation".

Wings of fire traces the research and development of the aerospace industry for defence as well as civilian applications of an indigenous launch vehicle. It spans roughly 30 years (1963 - 1991) of the history of rocketry and research and development of missiles in India.

From reading this memoir, you get a sense of what a giant achievement it has been for India to develop indigenously the hi-technology, the infrastructure, the R & D labs which have culminated into such successful projects. The accomplishment is all the more inspiring when one considers the nonexistent aerospace sector and limited R & D in the 60s whey they started working towards a collective goal. It also requires an enormous amount of money, and yet again a poor country like India, has managed to establish itself amongst the small group of developed nations with a successful space program.

APJ Abdul Kalam will be remembered as one of the great men in the field of Aerospace Engineering. In reading his recollections, you are inspired by his unfaltering dedication, perseverance, determination and hard work towards achieving India's independence from foreign technology in the defence and space industry. In this industry, the projects are big: in terms of what you're actually building (ie launch vehicle), the money involved, the time frame required; plus the number of people, organisations, systems and subsystems that must function together in order to achieve success. The development of a space launch vehicle and a multitude of missile technology achieved by successfully building upon a strong foundation illustrates the vision and determination of the pioneers in realising their dream.

Building these complex systems requires sophisticated state of the art technology for subsystems, like guidance and control algorithms, navigation systems, structures, and most importantly visionaries to successfully bring these pieces together.

First come up with a bold plan, then see it through over the long term in implementation.

As the saying goes, those of us who say it can't be done should stop disturbing those of us who are doing it. They did it!

The larger and more subtle accomplishment is the foundation of research labs, fostering research in academia, creating an indigenous industry from which to procure parts, develop algorithms etc. This has the long term impact of having in house knowledge, creating good job opportunities in the hi-tech industry, and building an environment for finding creative solutions to the problems faced by our ever changing world. That is vision!

==============================

Ethics .. Defence Applications
-------------------------------
After reading this book, I found myself excited and very hopeful about ISRO (Indian Space Research Organisation). The more people working towards making space more accessible the better. Given my background in aerospace engineering, I often find myself wondering about the ethics of working on defence applications, primarily weapon systems.

Having had this conversation many times in my head and with others and also having amended this thought process after reading `Wings of fire', here's how things break down for me:

point:
weapons have the express purpose of destruction and killing. If you don't want to work on destructive technology, then don't work on weapons systems.

counterpoint:
ICBMs are intended as weapons, but are used for launching satellites into space, primarily for peaceful purposes.

point:
anything you work on can be used for destruction. A person can kill with a hammer.

counterpoint:
yes, but a hammer is not created for the purpose of killing.

point:
war is inevitable. If we require our soldiers to fight for us, then they should have the best technology at their disposal.

counterpoint:
I have none, which is one reason I'm happy to pay taxes, some of which go to defence contractors. However, I think fighting poverty is a much more effective way of decreasing conflict; although, since it does not make a small number of people very wealthy it's not considered viable. It also does not directly effect ideological conflicts: meaning, the power struggle between different groups resulting from each of them believing their vision of society or their vision of a more peaceful, prosperous world, is ultimately correct.

While I don't know how one fights such ideological battles, I do think if most people are satisfied with the status quo, then it is hard for such elements to gain support. As an example, in the US, there is a socially conservative base, generally called the religious right, they believe in a more conservative culture. However, since most people, especially in cosmopolitan areas are happier with a freer society, the more socially conservative ideas don't generally take hold.

point:
in developing and supporting hi-technology for military purposes, countries (like India) achieve technological independence. Therefore, the military and diplomatic decisions of a sovereign nation are no longer dependant on other nations from whom you obtain hi-technology.

counterpoint:
since the country does not rely on anyone else for strengthening itself, the world does not exert any control over the actions of this nation.

REMARK: The end effect of becoming independent in this area is that the country becomes an equal partner on the world stage. This requires the nation to be strong economically and militarily. In the end, the destructive power of our latest and greatest weapons is equally (un)safe in the hands of politicians in the East or the West.

Most people you meet in this country will openly tell you that our politicians are dishonest, self-serving, corrupt, and most are criminals. There is an inherent distrust of government here. While one can question the implementation of democracy in India, and wonder whether we want such corrupt politicians wielding so much power - the fact remains that till date the US is the only country that has used a nuclear weapon of mass destruction against another nation (in WWII against Japan). Why is this relevant? Because, given the unilateral decisions made by our politicians under President Bush, would it be better to have more independent nations on the world stage - even at the cost of the world having more weapons?

Jungle trails of Mahabaleshwar

01.22.09
9:00 am

Jungle trails of Mahabaleshwar

Mahabaleshwar has these beautiful paths in the forest from which you can access remote lookout points. Since it's a bit of a walk to get to these, you'll generally find complete solitude at these places. I walked back from Old Mahabaleshwar yesterday evening - it was a lovely 2.5 hour walk through gentle trails in the forests with a couple of detours along the way to check out a lookout point and Dhobi waterfalls. The waterfall wasn't spectacular, I imagine it's much nicer after the monsoons in sept/oct. However, the place where I was sitting was spectacular. It was a nice open plateau overlooking the waterfalls, the forests below, the ghats and the Konya valley off in the distance.

Sitting by the cliffs, I could hear langurs down below. I was straining to see something in the trees, when all of a sudden I see this flying monkey on the tree canopies far below. It was beautiful. Then he disappeared, except for the movement of the branches. I didn't see any other wildlife other than a possum like creature. The jungle paths are used by locals that work on the bee farm, so they're only busy in the evenings. During the day, when I was walking, I didn't see a soul for the most part except around 5:30ish I started to see people. I did hear horns and cars so I knew I was close to the road and going in the right direction - though I imagine it is pretty hard to get lost here.

I would recommend exploring Mahabaleshwar by taking these long walks in the forest!

Temples of old Mahabaleshwar

01.21.09
03:15 pm

Temples of old Mahabaleshwar

Old Mahabaleshwar is small. The buses stop right in the main gate. It is full of stalls selling touristy things. As you wander up the steps, you notice a number of old Hindu temples. They are made of the same dark stone I saw in Nasik. They are quite clean and lovely. It is a peaceful place.

One of the main temples is where 5 rivers originate - perhaps a sangam (meeting) of the 5 rivers. It is a holy place, I saw pilgrims praying and drinking the holy water flowing in this temple. There were two triangular windows up top. A column of sunlight through the window was the only source of light. When the light reflected off the oily film on the surface of the water, the individual sun rays looked as if they were dancing. It was beautiful.

If you walk up the steps behind this temple, you reach a higher ground from which you can see the village, the temples, and the ghats in the distance. There is a Hanuman temple up here and loads of big trees under which you can sit and soak up the view. On my way down, I wandered through the village, I found it to be quite clean. Only one discarded pepsi bottle and some plastic wrappers.

After walking around for a bit, I came back to the shops at the entrance and started chatting with a young woman who was running a shop:

me: what do people in this village do?
woman: mostly they own these shops. This is one of the shops that
her husband's family owns.
They also work in the strawberry fields
me: Are you from this village?
woman: No, I'm from Puna, I've been here for 3 years since marriage.
me: yes, but is your husband's family from here? The reason I ask
is because I found this place to be quite clean and I was wondering
if that's because most people in this village have
lived here for generations?
woman: Her husband did grow up in this area and their family is from
here.
Aapko yeh jagah saaf lagee (You found this place to be clean?).
me: I did find it quite clean, at least the areas that I wandered
through.
woman: I don't like the people here, they're not nice. I don't like the
place either, it's quite dirty.

me: amused by her perspective and our different views on this place.
I wish I had more time to chat with her about why she does
not like it. But there is a customer at her stall, so
I wish her well and continue on.

Old Mahabaleshwar is about 10km from Mahabaleshwar. There is a tourist bus run by MTDC that leaves the bus stand at 2:30pm, visits multiple view points in the area as well as the temples of old Mahabaleshwar, then returns around 7:00pm. It costs only INRs 72 so it is a good way to see the area. I wanted to be a little more independent so I just took the local bus around 1:30 PM and came to Mahabaleshwar. The return bus is around 5:30. Since I wanted to take a walk and wander around for a bit, that works for me. Currently I'm sitting in the patio of a Punjabi dhaba enjoying a cold drink.

Strawberries and cream

01.21.09
10:00 am

Strawberries and cream

Fresh, locally grown strawberries and cream is one of the best breakfasts you'll find in Mahabaleshwar. It's a sleepy little hill station, sleepy right now because it is not really the season for tourists. It lies at about 1400m, weather is nice but still fairly warm in the afternoon unless you're walking the forest trails under a canopy of deciduous trees. Then the temperatures are just right with the slight breeze. A lot of jams, and honey is locally produced, hence the large berry production. Street vendors sell strawberries by the kilo and they're all so sweet. I'm generally not a fan of raw strawberries because they're sour, but here I can't get enough of them.

I came here on Monday, found a simple place to stay called Hotel Dwarka - it is undergoing some renovation and the rooms are simple. The main reason I decided to stay here is that they have a lovely garden overlooking the forest covered hillside. There are two swings outside, where I generally sit in the evening and enjoy the cool night air, the sky full of stars and write about random things while listening to music. There's an odd Canadian fellow staying here, I'll on occasion talk to him about the state of the world - though he drinks and smokes a fair bit and the level of conversation is not engaging for too long, plus I need my alone time.

The place is run by a Gujarati guy, Paresh, he's nice, though he was very keen on showing me the sights at first. I think he's just a little bored and looking for company. I generally keep to myself, especially since I'm here for a short time - I'm inclined to spend it exploring by myself. Though he's a totally nice guy, since he realised I'm content spending time by myself, he wishes me well when I see him but no longer tries to take me around. Pandav Yadav is another guy who works here and ensures the guests get their tea, food, hot water etc. I was taking a nap yesterday afternoon and he woke me up with a knock. When I opened the door, I saw this beautiful sunset, and my first comment was about the sunset. He promptly said, `Don't be offended, see that's why I woke you up. Would you like some tea?'. I did have some tea and we chatted, he said he was going to come talk to me yesterday but thought I might not like it so he didn't say hello but today he decided to come chat anyway. I said that was good since it was very nice to talk to him. His village is a ways away so he doesn't get back there often, but he lives here with is wife and two kids. He's very nice to me, brings me two buckets of warm water in the morning. People in general are very curious and friendly here, and we Indians are basically a social bunch and somewhat emotional. In general, I've found most people, the taxiwallas, the auto drivers, the bus drivers, the restaurant workers, villagers and so on to all be incredibly generous and open. If you are polite and treat them with respect, they will go the extra mile to be helpful. They are generous of spirit but you have to respect that spirit within in your social interactions.

There's a small street food place where I stopped by for idli (south Indian ricecakes) on Monday. The guy who runs it was also very hospitable and friendly, so I had upma for breakfast along with chai yesterday morning. He takes great pride in his place, and greets you with a big friendly smile. I noticed they advertised espresso, so I figured I'd try it. It's not really espresso, it is instant coffee which is what we have all over India. Though he uses the steamer of his espresso machine to froth it up and top it off with chocolate. It was good. Evidently the espresso machine is broken so he can't use it to filter fresh coffee.

I have been walking around here a lot. It's the perfect place to hang out for awhile and enjoy the natural landscape. Yesterday, I discovered the tiger trail which is a footpath for the locals that work in the area. It is a cool, shady path, that wanders through the jungle - the locals use it to get around. As I was wandering, I heard a loudspeaker but I couldn't understand what was going on since it was in Marathi so I followed the noise up a small path. It exited at a polo ground where they were having a cricket match. I came out of the forest close to a couple of guys standing by their car, and another guy who'd brought them tea. The guy who was serving tea had a slightly amused smile on his face when he saw me emerging out of the jungle. I asked him, in my perfect Hindi, what this place is, what was going on and some directions. I imagine I must've been a funny sight for him - his look put a smile on my face as well, as I wandered towards the main road onto the MTDC tourist office.

Shirin's Place, Magarpatta City, Pune

01.14.09

3:30 PM

Shirin's Place, Magarpatta City, Pune

I landed in Pune on the 31st, met Shirin after almost 18 years. Wewere in school (AFGJI) together in class VII. In class VIII I ended upin a different section, however, we caught the bus together so weremained good friends. Even so, that was a long time ago and we werekids back then. It has been fun getting to know my friend all overagain - we get along great - perhaps one of the reasons I've stayed inPune for so long.Life works in funny ways, not in a million years did I imagine I'd bespending new year's with Shirin. We went out to Post 91, had a nicedinner with good company. Last week I was out travelling but Ireturned on Friday. This week I've been chilling in Pune. It's a neatcity, full of young people. Shirin lives in a lovely community calledMagarpatta city. It is mostly residential with some IT companieslocated within the city. Everything is walkable, very secure, cleanand green. There is a local market about a 10min walk and a nice parkwhere I've gone running on occasion, so you really don't have to leavethis area unless you're looking for entertainment in the city. Thefirst weekend, Shirin's friend Sonia along with her daughters, took usaround Pune University and other historic places in the old city. Wethen ended the evening playing dominoes with a teenager and a 4 yearold over a cup of chai and cake. It was an excellent day!The Kelkar museum is also a must see in Pune, it has a lot of art andthings from all over India all housed in one location. The Osho ashramis located at Koregaon park; I visited the Osho garden - lovely gardenand wandered around looking at the mansions in Koregaon park. There'sa German Bakery in this area which has good bread, cakes, andsandwiches - it also has fast internet, a PCO for local phone calls, agenerally good vibe and is a nice place to chill if you want to hangout for sometime. A lot of backpackers, local college students andyoung professionals hang out here on occasion so you're likely to haveinteresting conversations with people. Though if you're looking forsome solitude, it might be hard to find here.Shirin rents a flat on the 9th floor, with a lovely view at night.It's a nice two bedroom apartment. In spending time with her here,I've found her lifestyle in certain broad terms to be similar to minein Boston. While the cities are different, the climate is different,the food is different (the food here is very good); the long workhours, general lifestyle habits of 30 something professionals and therelationship struggles are the same. Shirin is also an excellenthousemate. She's been incredibly generous in sharing her space. I feelquite at home already - I made dinner for her and another friend lastnight. She went to Mumbai for work early Monday morning, and on a whimmade me sprouts for breakfast before leaving - it was a nice surpriseto wake up to. She's a really sweet person and kind of quirky - we'rehaving fun together in Pune! I feel like as if I've already got acommunity of friends here.