Summer in South Asia Fellows Blogs

My flight out of Detroit is in 6 hours. It's been a stressful week trying to make sure I have everything in order and discovering new things I need to pack every day, but I think I'm finally ready. My cousin who lives near Mumbai is going to meet me there tomorrow night when I land and we will spend some time together before my internship starts next week. I'm looking forward to having a few days to explore the city and get accustomed before work starts up. I have some books and movies ready for the flight, and am hoping I can keep myself entertained, since this is the first time I've gone on such a long flight by myself.

I've gotten in touch with a friend of a friend who knows about student organizing in Mumbai and I'm really excited to keep talking to them and learn about the organizing scene. I want to get involved with it in whatever way I can and hopefully share lessons from organizing at U-M and learn about the unique issues they face in Mumbai, especially in struggles against local government. In my first weeks, I want to try and go to as many events as I can and just immerse myself in it.

In terms of my internship, I don't really feel like I have a great handle on exactly the type of work that I will be doing yet which is making me a little nervous, but I am hoping that things will become a little more clear in the first week. I'm going to take some time on the travel to go through the work that SPARC does a little more so that I have a strong understanding by Monday. 

I'm about 10 days into my trip, today I got hit by a stomach ache so I missed a day of work. It's been really cool to explore Mumbai so far and I feel like I've seen a lot of the city but there's still a lot more that I want to see. Last week on Thursday, we had our first Focus Group Discussion with one of the committees that SPARC is working with. It was super interesting and I feel like I learned a lot just by listening to them answer the questions. Something I've been struggling with is how to become more invested in SPARC when I'm only working with them for so little time, I think I need to just ask if there's more field work that I can help out with and try to put myself in different types of work, but it also does feel like I'm more of an observer than an active participant sometimes. Hearing the committee talk about how they've taken the initiative to improve the health, sanitation, and hygiene of their community was deeply inspiring, and I really admire the way that the staff at SPARC carefully facilitate the committee's work by connecting them with resources and skills to make change. I am going to be sitting in for a few more committee meetings this week so it will interesting to see how they compare and how their goals and achievements are similar and different. Other than work, last week I explored the Ambedkar memorial site, Shivaji park, one qawalli and one dastangoi show, a trip to Madh Island and lots of yummy food, like seafood and a Vietnamese place. I also visited a cool bookstore that I want to spend more time in and try to meet people there!

I depart for my flight to Bangalore in a few minutes. I have mixed feelings of nervousness, but more so excitement. Most of this experience feels surreal. I don't think I have fully registered that I'll be in a completely different country in a few hours. It feels like it is all happening so fast. I guess I did not fully register this trip until now because I finished finals and spent a very nice and relaxing few days with my family before the trip. Although I have traveled internationally alone before, I was with a group of 20 other American students. This feels like a completely different experience given the ruralness of my internship location and my independence. I do wish I had more time to learn the language and gain a better handle on the culture, but my cursory Google searches and binge-watching India travel videos will have to suffice for now.  I am excited to see what Swami Vivekananda Youth Movement has in store for me as I complete their Medical Student Elective program. I initially chose this program because I found that it was the most unique experience where I got to see how rural medicine works in India as the NGO works with Indian tribes to deliver healthcare to underserved groups in and around Karnataka. I had been looking forward to getting experience with global medicine and this fellowship was the perfect opportunity to explore this passion of mine. I am prepared to be busy with an individual project alongside day-to-day shadowing with doctors in the hospital and field visits to their rural clinics. However, I hope I can work out my day-to-day with the program as I plan to explore other cities like Mumbai on my free weekends. 

I have spent around 11 days in India and about a full week at the Vivekananda Memorial Hospital I work at in rural Saragur, and hour and half drive from Mysuru. Before my internship started, I toured the main administrative operations in Mysuru where they are completing research on maternal health and a project on HIV prevention for migrant workers in the Karnataka state. I have also had the chance to visit the Mysuru palace, St. Philomenas Cathedral, and Chamundi hills. From the annual 10-day Dasara festival in  the Hindu month, Ashvina, to its nationally renowned sandalwood and silk, I am amazed by the rich royal history the city holds. As for the food, I have been blessed with a strong stomach and a high spice tolerance so I haven't had much problems with adjusting to the food here. I am roommates with another pre-med student, Thomas, from the University of Utah who is doing the same internship as me with the NGO, and we have made a few local friends who have been helpful in showing us around Mysuru. 

As for the Vivekananda Memorial Hospital, I have seen a wide range of specialties, including ayurvedic medicine. It is very interesting to see how the hospital continues to provide allopathic medical services while simultaneously maintaining an ayurvedic medicine ward for patients who opt for that treatment. While on surgery, I observed two C-sections and ORIF surgeries. I have also been on health camps where they have a healthcare team travel to smaller towns, and doctors hold consultations for any patient who shows up to the "pop-up" clinic. I am now posted in the emergency room where I have been shadowing the doctors here. I even had the opportunity to practice suturing here. I have been concurrently working on a research project to track the consistency of care among patients with the same diagnosis. I have had a busy week here, but I am glad that the internship has been fruitful. 

I have definitely seen a gamut of things from a variety of doctors this past week. I saw laparoscopic surgeries in general surgery and treatment for a diabetic foot ulcer in the emergency room. I even got the chance to travel outside of the hospital this week, where I joined their Mobile Health Unit, and we traveled to nearby tribes. We essentially drove in an ambulance around the tribal areas, using sirens to announce our presence, and different people would come up to get any of their ailments checked or questions answered by the doctor. This was a really eye-opening experience for me. It reminded me of why I wanted to go into medicine in the first place. There was a seizing baby at one of the camps, and we did not carry injectable lorazepam to stop the acute seizures. However, the doctor was still able to convince the parents to take the baby to the hospital first instead of the temple, as they believed the seizures were caused by spirits. I am amazed by the organization's ability to communicate to the tribal populations the importance of seeking care. They speak a completely different language to Kannada, the Karnataka state language, and carry different values. Many of these patients are only concerned with surviving today and are unable to see the benefits of preventing illness in the future. I also went into rural towns on the team's palliative care rounds. I even correctly diagnosed a patient with an onset of diabetic foot ulcers here! 

For my one-off day, Sunday. My friend, Thomas, and I traveled to Ooty. A resort town in the neighboring state, Tamil Nadu. From the vast tea gardens to the homemade chocolate, the landscape is not something I would expect from a trip to India. It was so interesting to see elephants, all types of monkeys, and wild boars on the drive there. 

I cannot believe that I am already nearing the end of my internship. My time at the Vivekananda Memorial Hospital in Saraguru was brief but I learned a lot. While the first few weeks were mainly focused on gaining exposure to the hospital's vast specialties, from orthopedic surgery to Ayurvedic medicine, shadowing doctors can get repetitive. Although the extent of clinical help I can provide is limited, I figured I would try to create something useful both for my learning and the hospital's efficiency. Recently, I was able to pilot the project I have been working on. I have created an Excel-based tool to improve patient tracking and data analysis in the Emergency Department. I was originally tasked with a 3-month study of the top diagnoses in the ED and follow the patient's prognosis to ensure that the correct procedures were taken. However, I quickly realized the patient data was disconnected and inconsistent. The main problem was inconsistent data entry from the analog sheet into the spreadsheet. I virtually have no experience working with Excel but I learned that I have the time, and tools to learn. So, I aimed to created a pilot spreadsheet that can run alongside the analog sheet while the staff can get familiar to with digital tracking. While I will not be here long enough to truly pilot the spreadsheet, I have high hopes for the hospital's patient tracking system. I will be presenting my final project to the staff which will include a tutorial. The program is also looking towards implementing some form of my spreadsheet into their hospital wide medical records system called AppSheet which works similarly to Excel.

Outside of the hospital, I was able to see the Mysore palace at night! I went on a few runs at Kukkarahalli lake and also visited the Jin Min Cat World Museum. I watched Obsession, the horror movie, one of the best horror movies I have seen. Something I learned was that Indian movie theaters have intervals where they pause the movie for 10 minutes so the audience may use the restroom or get refreshments.

I have been in India for ten days so far, and I already feel as though I have gained way more than I imagined through this experience. While the startup I am working at is based in Bangalore, a lot of the field work and community integration happens in a smaller city called Udupi. Early on Sunday, one of my coworkers asked my to come to Udupi so that I could be engaged with a lot of the field work that the startup engages in. I took a night sleeper bus that night, and got to Udupi at 6am the next morning. 

My week was full of meeting different stakeholders and vendors. I had lunches and personal conversations with leaders in the local fishing industry, local entrepreneurs, and a rural program manager who had implemented software from my startup, and then deployed it to 123 local villages for access to microloans. One day, we even went on a day trip to a local village to see the implementation of the digital system. Outside of work, I ate at local fish shops, met many people my age, and even had breakfast in a grandma's one room house turned restaurant! I got to explore the extremely famous temples in the area and the beautiful beaches. It was so incredible to experience such a vibrant and tight knit community culture.

One of the biggest takeaways that I had was that commerce was incredibly personal and relational. Microloan systems were built on how well the lendor knew the family, and the fishing industry was generational. It made me realize that when trying to digitize areas in international development to develop them, this localized and personal dynamic must remain intact, because that is the heart of the commerce system. And this is something that centralized digital platforms largely take away from when they take away data sovereignty of developing countries. I also learned that one of the biggest obstacles to development through technology is not the actual development of the technology or even access for that matter, but rather the behavioral element. Because so many industries have been operating for decades with many workers still illiterate, workers were against deviation from the status quo, and how they had practiced their business for years prior. 

I learned so much this week!

What a week! Just when I thought last week I had grown so much, I realized there was so much more learning and growing left for me. I am so excited to be working in India to learn about digital public infrastructure— each day I find myself amazed at the scale at which technology has been deployed to help everyday citizens and integrate social networks. Today, I had a funny conversation, where a auto-rickshaw driver chuckled when I said I don't have UPI, the digital payment system. He said, "how do you even live here?"  But to me, it also really signifies how integrated these systems have become into every different area of life— and it’s allowed for so many people to get access to payments! This week I met with leaders in the Digital Public Infrastructure space in Bangalore, while working in Bangalore. Much of the technological development in India comes out of Bangalore, so it was exciting to be in such a dynamic space, and talk to many individuals who have created start ups of their own. Some unique perspectives that I heard from this week were the auto-rickshaw union leader, Pramod Varma the architect for Aadhar, which is India’s central digital identity system, and Priya Jayarmana, the communications director at EGov. I was able to get started on my bigger project for the internship, which was creating a white paper proposal for the Udupi District Commissioner to integrate software as an interoperable digital public infrastructure for the community as a whole. This proposal will then be taken to the district commissioner, and hopefully Udupi can be a model for what is integrated in other Indian states, and countries across the world.

The people I have met here have absolutely been a highlight of the week. I am constantly surprised at how personal every interaction feels. I was looking for a temple on the way the other day, and this older man saw me looking confused and walked me in the direction of the temple. I have constantly been met with acts of kindness and a genuine curiosity for what I think. Even the people I have been working with have been really invested in my learning and growth. It’s been nice to hear about their thoughts on spirituality, the presence of religion in daily life, and many more nuanced discussions that have allowed me to understand life in Bangalore in full color.

Outside of my work I was able to enjoy  what Bangalore has to offer for the first time. I walked around Cubbon park and read a little bit. I also went to Bangalore’s famous Chickpet Market and Church Street areas to do some shopping. Bangalore had a lot of really nice coffee shops that I did a lot of my coffee chats with people in— my favorite was Araku! After finally being able to spend an entire week in Bangalore, it felt nice to settle in and adjust to the pace of life here. It's the simple things; I really enjoy my walk home— I am living in Indiranagar, which is an extremely lively area with vendors, stores, and lots to do everywhere around me. It’s also mango season! I have been bringing home a kilo of mangos with me everyday from work, it’s my favorite snack and dessert!

My time in India has been an absolute dream so far. I constantly find myself stimulated by what I am learning, both culturally and intellectually. 

This week, my boss recommended that I work remotely and travel somewhere to learn about how these digital systems expand beyond just Karnataka. So this week, I chose to spend some time in Pune, and it was the best decision ever! Pune has a very different pace of life than Bangalore has. While several streets like Deccan Road and the Karishma complex are busy areas, there is substantially less foot and street traffic than there is in Bangalore. I also learned that Pune has a lot of history, especially from the period of the Maratha Confederacy. I was able to visit Shaniwar Vada and learn more about the history that Pune carries. 

I was also able to learn a lot about the differences in DPI across states. For instance, in Bangalore, Namma Yastri is a popular ride app that is used to get auto-rickshaw rides at a fixed rate. After leaving Bangalore, I learned that Namma Yastri is an app that is used in Bangalore but not in other Indian states. Rather than Namma Yastri, several other Indian states use platforms such as Ola and Rapido for ride hailing. I found this interesting because it provided a real world example of a central principle of Digital Public Infrastructure, interoperability. India’s Digital Public Infrastructure is built open source, and many different platforms can exist for similar functions on the India tech stack. It is because there is usage of multiple platforms, rather than a culture of competition, that so many Indians have gotten access to so many different services. 

This week was also important for the writing of my white paper. I finished the first draft, which integrated findings from my conversations in both Udupi and Bangalore. I recommended the district commissioner of Udupi to implement pilot programs to implement the tech stack as a digital public infrastructure— first in the fishing industry, and later promoted through local educational institutions. I was able to receive feedback, which I will work on implementing throughout the next week. 

Looking back on the last three weeks, I feel really grateful to have had such different experiences each week. Not only was I able to really experience India in a variety of different ways, but it has allowed me to understand Digital Public Infrastructure in a nuanced way that spans several different perspectives.

It’s May 10th – Happy belated Mother’s Day! I am currently spending some time with my family, celebrating my mom, before I leave for the Bruno Mars concert! I leave for India tomorrow. If I am being honest, I have been so busy leading up to my departure that I haven’t had the time to feel excited. But now the stress is slowly morphing into excitement as I have been moving out and packing my suitcase, making this trip feel more real. I’m glad I was able to spend Mother’s Day with my family – it’s a nice way to say goodbye and start my journey to India. I will be gone for 3 months, which will be the longest time I have spent out of the country! 

I will start my trip to India by visiting my grandmother, or Avva, in Hyderabad. I’m glad I can start my trip by visiting family. I haven’t seen them in person since the last time I visited India, which was in 2018. I know Hyderabad has changed a lot since then, and so have I. I am hoping that since I am older, I’ll have a greater appreciation for India and develop deeper connections to my heritage. 

As far as my internship goes, I am excited! I don’t fully know what to expect, but I know that I’ll be working with the Aaladamara Foundation, a non-profit that delivers mental health services to communities in Bengaluru. I will be working at an Emergency Care and Recovery Center that helps people experiencing mental health crises. I think this will be a very informative experience, and I am looking forward to exploring Bengaluru!

I've been in India for a little over a week now, and I just finished the first day of my internship with the Aaladamara FoundationLinks to an external site.! Before I got to Bengaluru, where my internship is, I visited my family in Hyderabad and traveled to Goa. It was so nice to see my family again! I missed my grandma and cousins. I already miss my grandma's chai. Also, my favorite fruits are mangos, and the mangos in India are so much tastier than the ones in the U.S. Goa was also amazing! It has been on my travel bucket list for a while. I visited North Goa, where I went to the beach, walked around local markets, and visited the Portuguese tourist sites. It's interesting to see the Portuguese influence in the architecture, religious buildings, and food. 

Now I am in Bengaluru, which is where I'll be for the next month. It's a very busy city, so I'm excited to explore! And I think I will learn a lot in this internship. The Aaladamara Foundation provides care and support for people with mental health conditions experiencing homelessness, and they have a very holistic approach, which I appreciate. Not only do they provide people with their basic needs, but they also have job search support, family tracing, dance therapy, art therapy, the ability to take leadership roles, and help out with operations. I value their person-centered approach as well. I am on a weekly rotation, so I will be visiting a different site each week. I am currently at the HBS hospital, where cross-collaboration occurs with psychiatrists, general physicians, pharmacists, nurses, case managers, etc. As a Public Health major, it's interesting to see multiple disciplines in action to provide support that extends beyond just medicine. 

I am at the halfway point of my internship at the Aaladamara Foundation and my stay in Bengaluru. This past week, I had the opportunity to intern at Thanal. This was a unique experience as it is an all-women’s clinic, which gave me a lot of insight into the unfortunate issues that are shared among many women. I was given a task to create discharge summaries for past clients at Thanal, where I summarized their materials into a document describing their intake history, their progression during their time at the clinic, past. mental health history, mental health status upon admission and discharge, and the medications/recommendations for their discharge. Writing these made me learn about many past experiences and traumas that women have faced. It is, unfortunately, a very common experience for women to be in abusive relationships and have no familial support to turn to, leaving them with no other option than to be homeless. This makes me wonder how many women are out there who weren’t able to seek the services from The Banyan or Thanal. Reading through the files made me reflect on how our society is inherently male-centered, leaving the burden on women to be stronger, more resilient, and having to challenge societal norms themselves instead of placing the burden on men, the perpetrators.  This week has reminded me of why I chose to pursue public health in the first place – I want to address the root cause of widely shared problems and prevent them from happening. I am glad Thanal exists to give these women a place to rehabilitate and be able to live without the fear of being hurt, but it is heartbreaking that this is even an issue in the first place. 

Hello from my dining room! In less than 24 hours, when that plane takes off from O’Hare, it will officially mark the beginning of my eventful summer in India. And I have a few words to spur. 

I want to sit here and tell you about how stoked I am to be one of those cool solo travelers you see on Instagram. But, quite frankly, I am more overwhelmed with anxiety than anything else. After wrapping up my finals yesterday, I came home and decided that now would be a good time to start worrying about my first international solo trip (technically second, but who’s counting spring break in Costa Rica).  Now here I am, hoping that when I read this back at the end of my experience, I ask myself what I was so worried about.

I can’t answer that now, so I’ll instead write about what I’m excited for. I will be volunteering in Udaipur, Rajasthan, where the organization works in three sectors: Maternal Wellbeing, Child and Neonatal Health, and Elderly Healthy Aging. Their work targets those in the larger rural Udaipur area, so I’m particularly inclined to look at how distinct cultural values intersect with the perception and recievement of medical care. With ARTH’s dual focus, I also hope to focalize on how maternal wellbeing is shaped and addressed in these remote vicinities, and how that ultimately intertwines with child health. Outside of the organization, I will most definitely be engaging in typical tourist activities in my free time. Udaipur, deemed “The City of Lakes,” seems to be a popular tourist location dressed in sunset boat rides and a buzzing shopping scene. 

With all these thoughts and emotions circling, I truly hope to have some solidarity by this time next week… but for now, see you soon, India!