Week 1 in Mysore — Public Health Research Institute of India

Hi Everyone! I just wrapped up my first week in Mysore and it has been such a unique and rewarding experience. To provide some more background information, I will be staying in Mysore for the next 6 weeks working on an Impact Evaluation project assessing ASHAs and AWWs on the cervical cancer screening program that Public Health Research Institute of India (PHRII) conducts.

Monday

Monday was my first day, and we started off with a tour of the building with Ms. Jay, and were introduced to most of the staff. The building is really unique as the entire bottom floor and parts of the top floor have been converted into a workspace, clinic, and a lab. The other parts of the top floor serve as the bedroom for the paying guests. The staff members were all so kind, and it felt really special to be a part of a workplace that was mainly comprised of women. I could already tell that space felt like a safe place for all the women who all seemed very hardworking and supportive of each other.

The rest of the day I worked on developing my semi-structured interview questionnaire that I would be using to survey the ASHAs (Accredited Social Health Activists) and AWW (Anganwadi Workers), and after speaking with Ms. Jay I was happy to learn that I would be able to interview at least 15 of each group. I also learned that since I was able to speak Kannada pretty fluently, I would also be able to interview the women myself which made me super grateful for all of the years of my parent’s insistence on speaking Kannada at home.

That evening my roommates and I decided to venture our first Swiggy experience together, and we ordered some Dominos. There was some interesting flavors that reminded me of the Indian pizza places back in California, but the pizza fell pretty flat. I don’t think we will heading back to Dominos anytime soon.

Tuesday

The next day, we received a long orientation presentation given by Anisa on the history of PHRII, and the different projects that have been done in the past. It was both informative and interesting to hear about all the various projects that have been conducted and led by different visitors/interns at PHRII.

The rest of the day I worked with Fazilla on refining my questionnaire, so that it could be more easily translated to the level of Kannada and knowledge that the ASHAs and AWWs would have. I was really grateful for both her and Dr. Vijaya’s help especially as my project mentor, Dr. Kiran, was out the whole week.

That night we tried some Indochinese food which was a lot more appetizing than Dominos, and I also tried American Chop Suey. I’m unsure if the exact recipe made is really even offered in the United States; however, I was not a fan of this dish as it felt like eating uncooked Maggi noodles with ketchup. Aside from that dish, the rest of the meal was great!

Wednesday

This was the busiest day of the week, as on Wednesday we went out into the community! Maiya and I were heading out with the Counselors for Priyanka’s project on Beedi worker women and the impact it had on reproductive health.

After a quick breakfast, we got ready to leave as the journey was 90 minutes long. We arrived to a village in Hunsur where women were called to complete a survey prior to the focus group discussion (FGD) the following day.

The women were working in the midst of the field, so we left the car and walked into the field which was when Shivamma mentioned that last week they saw a cobra on the road, and informed us to be careful while walking as a lot of snakes had their homes in the fields. I felt my stomach drop a little, but we safely made it to a shady tree, where 5 women came up to us. The counselors started talking to the women tobacco farmers, asking about their tobacco work and when they started it and in relation to when they had kids.

The counselors confirmed that during pregnancy the farmers were involved in growing tobacco, as this was a qualifier for the focus group discussion (FGD). In addition, the counselors also kept trying to make sure they would come in the next day, and kept insisting that they freely talk during the FGD and not be quiet or shy when talking about their problems. They also probed the women on any other reproductive health challenges they may have faced. Most of the women were willing to answer the questions but were really hesitant to answer the household income they raised as it seemed they were some issues in income split and money loss by husbands.

We hadn’t been able to meet all the women that the counselors had wanted to speak to, and so we started looking for them villages. I was shocked by the persistence with which the counselors looked for the remaining women. We arrived at the village, spoke to a neighbor who led us to the house, then talked to the women’s son, and then had him lead us to his mother. The remaining women were working on ginger fields today, and I learned that some farmers had transitioned to ginger fields as it was more profitable than tobacco. Yet, the tobacco board would often make visits to the villages and attempt to persuade the farmers to go back to growing tobacco.

Afterwards we went to an Anganwadi which is akin to a government daycare where kids stay while their mothers work. It mainly serves kids 2–5 years old and also acts as a preschool or kindergarten for the children. When we arrived, there were many kids finishing their lunch and taking naps, and they didn’t seem too distracted by our presence. In addition to serving as a place for the children to get fed, the Anganwadi also provides nutrition to pregnant women. I learned that they used to deliver rations to the homes of these pregnant women families, but it was often eaten by other family members and not the pregnant women. To resolve this, the Anganwadi tries to ensure that the women arrive at the center themselves and eat their rations there. The Anganwadi centers also provide postpartum and antenatal care for the women, and help keep track of the pregnant women in the community.

It’s amazing that they have these centers for women to receive free childcare, as well as services for themselves. I’ve always appreciated how much communities in India rely on each other to help each other out, especially during vulnerable times. Growing up mostly in the individualistic nature of the United States, I was struck by how much more free support all women are able to get access to and how it enables the women to be more capable of earning a living. In addition, by having an onsite kitchen the children had access to nutritious food at such a critical time period for growth. I can only wish that the US is able to learn and adopt from these models, but in recent times it feels like a far-off dream.

Finally, before we headed back to the clinic we stopped at Tibetan monastery, the Gyudmed Tantric Monastery, which was inside a village which serves as refuge for Tibetan people who are living in exile after the Tibetan Rebellion and Cultural Revolution in Tibet. The architecture was beautiful, and when we arrived the monks inside were praying. Maiya told me that the day before there was no one inside the monastery, and that the whole building was very quiet. We also learned that the Dalia Lama himself comes to this monastery at least once a year, which left quite an impression on me as I wondered if they visited each and every Tibetan village in India as well. In addition to the monastery, the village was very self-contained as the people had their own school, post office, hospital, and bank. In addition, the people continue to speak mainly in their native language and Hindi, and only the rare person knows Kannada. It was really compelling to hear how much they’ve attempted to preserve their culture in a place so far from their home, and it was really admirable to see the way they’ve been able to thrive in Karnataka.

After work, the fellow undergraduate interns and I went to High Park for dinner. It was a one-of-a-kind restaurant, as the top floor revolves around so that you get 360 views of all of Mysore throughout your dinner. The food was delicious as well, and we even got to see the Mysore Palace light up during dinner.

Thursday

Most of the day we worked on Maiya’s data on the vaccine hesitancy project. This was tedious work as we were cleaning a lot of data, but thankfully we found some useful Excel functions to get through the massive amounts of data faster.

After work we walked to a local supermarket and also stopped at Mahalaxmi Sweets for Maiya to purchase some sweets for the clinic.

Friday

This was such a fun day! Since Maiya’s is going to be getting married in the US soon, the clinic decided to host a haldi ceremony for her. The staff all helped her get dressed, decorated the clinic, held the ceremony, catered food, and danced to Bollywood and Kannada music.

It was a really wholesome experience, and it was so unique to see all of my coworkers in a more casual setting and come together to develop something so special for someone who was here for only 2 weeks!

Weekend

Over the weekend I went to my grandma’s sister’s home, and it was so lovely to reunite with them after 5 years. We spent a lot of the weekend eating some great Chaat food, playing Carom, and catching up on all our lives.

Sunday night, we visited the Mysore Palace in the evening to see it light up. I had been to the Mysore Palace during the day to tour the grounds, but it was so different to see all the lights and it was literally breathtaking — the crowd gasped when the lights turned on.

If you made it to the end, wow! Thanks for reading this lengthy update, I promise the next few will be shorter :)