DAY 4
Martalli, visited Ramapura and Hannur
Not a bad day...but not that great either.
The day started quite early for me. 7 am, to be precise. I was quite energetic and enthusiastic in the morning and decided to go to Ramapura Police Station, the nearest police station from here, to find out about the Crime Record in Martalli and surrounding villages. I boarded an alien bus at 8 am in the morning, after having had coffee at Bosco’s place.
Bosco is one sweetheart that we’ve come across in these few days and he’s one person I’ll remember forever. We had the most awesome supper at his place yesterday. Chapathi, mixed vegetable, chicken curry (which I did not taste owing to my vegetarian vows), hot rasam, hot steamed rice, boiled egg, fresh yogurt and fresh apples for dessert. I swear I’ve never hogged on so much food before at a stranger'splace...and yet it felt like home.
I just couldn’t stop myself looking at the sheer variety of food that was being offered in a platter FREE of cost. Yeah, you can call me a cheap pervert. But, where else do you get a man who’s willing to offer you good, free home-made food to 5 complete strangers who’ve come from as far as Bangalore? To come to think of it, I don’t think a city dweller would have entertained us. That’s where the difference between a city-dweller and villager comes up. I don’t wish to draw any conclusions...but it’s just a general observation I couldn’t help sharing.
Anyways,
I visited the Ramapura Police Station in the morning only to be told that the sub-Inspector will not be available until 11 am. In an alien city, with people speaking less of Tamil and more of Kannada, I was quite lost and clueless as to where to go. I decided (please note that I DECIDED) to proceed to Hannur and contact the Block Education Officer there to get some useful information and statistical data about the education sector. That wasn’t really a flop...we (me and Gaurav) did manage to get some preliminary information. But, as I said earlier, as days are passing by...I’m getting all kinds of information from all kinds of departments making me confused about what to use and where. Every time I meet someone, I get his/her contact details, talk about the problem areas and issues and proceed for the next stop. At this rate, my ‘contact’ list is increasing in an alarming rate...I need to urgently sort that out.
From tomorrow, we start working individually on our Masters’ project. I’m quite looking forward to it (despite being unsure and not-so-confident, which is a case on all my beat days anyways). It’ll be a different experience to now work on our own...
People in my group are coming up with multiple story ideas and discussing them with me, the reason being that I’m the co-ordinator. And since I'm one, I am assumed to be the best person to be contacted for feedback and criticism.
Someone famous once said: Never assume.
For all those reading my blog, make note of these golden words. It will help you all your life...trust me.
