October 25, 2010
On my final day visiting one of my project schools, I stopped in to see a couple of the staff to bid farewell. One man, whom I first met five years ago, asked the question that
October 22, 2010
Bhubaneswar bills itself as the City of Temples. So my hosts took me on a brief tour of some well-known landmarks. As evening set in on that day, we stopped by temple atop a small hill.
October 17, 2010
A couple of month’s back I made contact with the director of a socially-based theatre company located in Orissa. Through e-mail, we discussed the possibility of me visiting his group and facility. On Oct. 12 I
October 10, 2010
My sandals have endured the rain and its puddles far more often than I would like. No matter where I seem to set them, when it rains, they get significantly wet, such that the next day
October 3, 2010
Wondering what the specific exploits of a Fulbrighter are? For you with the curiosity, I trust the following will satiate that interest.
Thursday, Sept 23
After popping in to visit students I taught a month ago, I met
September 29, 2010
Late on Monday, two young college students showed up at my house to deliver an invitation for a workshop I would be teaching the very next morning. They repeated several times how much they were looking
September 21, 2010
SNIPPET ONE: As the final day came to a close, a number of the young students pulled out little slips of paper, small wrapped boxes and pens. They handed me these gifts with thank you’s and
September 13, 2010
As I sit in the living room of a good friend of mine here in Kerala state, enjoying the cool of the fan above my head (more about the significance of that fan coming) and listening
September 7, 2010
I met the mother of one young student. Dressed in a burqa, her sudden presence reminded me that the student is Muslim. What that means for the young person, I do not know. I never asked
September 2, 2010
I walk to the right. Not politically, but as I pass people along the street. It is my natural inclination. It takes thought on my part to move to the left of oncoming pedestrians. I’ve driven
August 30, 2010
A friend and colleague here suggested I submit an abstract to an archaeological congress that would be held in Sri Lanka as a way to introduce my work with history, mythology and drama and also get
August 24, 2010
The e-mail from the Fulbright office bristled with excitement, if such is possible. The PSBB schools invited me to be their 53rd Anniversary celebration Chief Guest/Guest of Honor. Although I it meant little to me at
August 14, 2010
Sitting at the Hotel Saravana Bhavan, a restaurant chain, I strained to listen to the fascinating young woman sitting opposite me as we sipped our fresh lime sodas (oh, boy, I love those things). Not that
August 8, 2010
This is a moment I need. A fair warning to those queasy about self-congratulatory moments like the one that will follow. Look away, hold your nose, prepare to chuckle, or to stop with this sentence; whatever
August 3, 2010
Using the parlance of this place…Shall I talk about food? Truth to tell, I am not sure I am qualified to do so, despite the fact that many people will utter their disappointments that I am
