As some of you already know, I am in India for the next twelve weeks on a healthcare related project. These are some stream of conscious updates from week 1.

Ganesh Festival
Ganesh, son of Shiva and Parvati, is one of the most worshipped deities in the Hundu parthenon. In Maharashtra, the state which Bombay is located in, Ganesh and the Ganesh Festival is hugely popular. Ganesha is worshiped for 10 days and then in the Ganesh Visarjan (the clay idol), is immersed in the sea symbolizing a ritual see-off of the Lord in his journey towards his abode in Kailash while taking away with him the misfortunes of his devotees. Lately there have been issues with lesser quality, yet more affordable, plaster of paris Ganesh Visarjan being used which dissolve slowly and release harmful chemicals and metals into the lakes, streams and oceans throughout India.

My colleague S and I went to Chowpatty beach in lower Mumbai to watch the festival at one of the larger immersion points. The day was festive and everyone was having a good time. People were coming up to us to both explain what was going on, ask us where we came from, ask for photos and to give us candies. It was a fitting celebration on the 10th anniversary of September 11th.

Three State Research Trip
After merely two days in Bombay, I set out for a three state research trip taking me to the north, center and western states to learn more about joint replacement in public and private hospitals.

Amritsar
Amritsar is located in Punjab, 25 km from Lahore in the north of the country. English is dominant, but Punjabi replaces Hindi as the local dominant language. While the same sign or announcement is shown 3-4 ways, this time Punjabi takes the lead. I ended up going to literally the middle of nowhere (off google maps) to visit a rural village. India is a big country of tiny villages, so it was good to see places outside of urban setting.

Delhi
The central administrative center, I watched a live bilateral knee (both knees) replacement – my first surgery ever. I felt prepared after watching surgeries online and examples from my client, but I was concerned that I wouldn’t be able to last throughout the three hour procedure. Luckily, I didn’t become nauseous or sick, but oddly was extremely hungry after the procedure, which I was told is normal.

Ahmedabad
Ahmedabad is located in Gurjart in the west and was the home of Mahatma Gandhi’s ashram during his salt march to oppose British rule. We were only here for 24 hours, but was able to eat some local food.

All in all I am settling into some habits in Bombay. Luckily we have a cook come in every morning and prepare a vegetarian meal which is extremely fresh, if surprising: we don’t speak Hindi and she doesn’t speak English, so every morning opening the tiffins is like opening a present.

Week 2 has me in Bombay for the whole week, which in nice since it has been non-stop travel for the first 10 days of this project. Check out my Flickr Stream or my India set for updated India photos.