The last six weeks volunteering in the detox center have certainly been a positive experience, and have opened my eyes in many ways. Along with working in the center, I have read the Alcoholics Anonymous big book (the AA bible), as well as A Million Little Pieces (a fascinating though exaggerated recovery of an addict), which have helped me to begin understanding of what it means to be an addict. What I hadn’t really comprehended about addiction (in fact this is one of The 12 Steps) is that it is essentially an incurable disease—once an addict, always an addict—and the only way to prevent a relapse is from completely obstaining from the substance.

The statistics can make working with addiction quite discouraging: in the best facilities in the world, patients have a 15% recovery rate. The privately funded NGO where I volunteer is somewhat below this number, and the government detox center here is around 1%.

There are currently 6 patients at the NGO where I work, and they are roughly half Indian and half Tibetan. Fortunately the Tibetans also speak Hindi, so the counselor and patients who know some English are able to translate for me. Still, the patients are a testament to the diversity of the region. There are rich and poor, old and young, professionals and illiterate.

Most of the patients of the Detox center are admitted by their families, but remain by their own choice. They have realized they have a problem, and want to change their lives. While I try to inspire them through discussions, music, and “recreation therapy,” I must admit that they have inspired me as well: they have many regrets, no jobs, and broken hearts, and they come greet me with a smile and a handshake, and are willing to spend 3-6 months locked in a tiny building…all for the prospect of beating their addictions. When we are singing together or playing a game of chess or carrom, it doesn’t feel like a detox center…we’re just a bunch of people sitting around a room having fun.

Food

Let’s see where do I begin with Indian food? Well Indian food varies significantly depending on where in the country you are, so I really can only speak for North Indian food. A home-made meal typically consists of a main dish, dal (lentil dish), salad (raw chunks of carrot, onion, radish), and a bread or rice.

Some of the most delicious dishes are made in a Tandoor (clay oven). For example, Nan is a bread that is made by skillfully slapping dough against the walls of the tandoor, and is absolutely delicious…especially if covered in garlic and butter.

I took a three day cooking class here with a woman who owns one of the best restaurants in town, so I now know some of the secrets of North Indian cooking. The most distinguishing trait of Indian food is the array of spices that are used: almost every dish—and I mean everything from the main course to the sweets to the chai—contains some combination of cardamom, cinnamon, chili pepper, cloves, coriander, cumin, fenugreek, ginger, paprika, and just a few others I’m forgetting. It amazes me how such a variety of seemingly complex dishes are made with very little equipment. Just about everything is prepared on a very basic gas stove—no ovens, no microwaves, and rarely refrigerators. I’m excited to try my hand at a few dishes when I return home!

Music

I’ve been spending much of my free time practicing my two new loves: the Sitar and Tabla. For those unfamiliar, the Sitar is a classical Indian stringed instrument somewhat similar to the guitar. Like the guitar it has frets (although they are movable), but unlike the guitar the majority of the strings serve as drones—that is they are simply played open, while the melody is carried on a single string. I’ve been taking sitar lessons with a professor of music who lives in the town, and also Tabla lessons with a professional player. My knowledge of the guitar has helped me learn fairly quickly, but lessons on tuning and the basic technique have been great help.

The Tabla is a set of 2 small drums that are used to accompany almost every kind of Indian music. Unlike Western hand drums, they are played primarily by hitting with single fingers. There is much more technique involved than in any drum I have played previously—different parts of the drum only centimeters apart make different sounds, so it requires much precision. It is certainly a very subtle instrument.

I’m still struggling to get a grasp of Indian music theory. Traditionally, Indian classical music has no notation—the different musical notes and types of strokes are represented by “boles” or words (much like do re mi …). These words are meant to mimic the sounds of the instrument—for example “Dha Dha Tite Kite Dha” sounds pretty much just like that! The timing is typically broken up into 8 or 16 beats but when played at full speed they can come very fast!

Sorry, I can't find my pictures right now, you're gonna have to use wikepedia...

Holi

So let me introduce you to one of the most fun holidays I’ve ever experienced: Near the beginning of March, children and adults alike gather and arm themselves with handfuls of brightly colored powdered dye, buckets of water, and squirt guns and ballons of colored water. While people typically starts the day wearing all white, within a few minutes there is hardly a person that can be found that is not muli-colored!

It is also a cause for much revelry—the locals indulge in drinking and a "special" drink called Bhang. But mostly it is a celebration of spring and of the coming of warmer weather. People of all ages act like children in a water fight, and there are many smiles and laughs. Even the local animals were not spared, the dogs, sheep and cattle (I suppose you could call one a Holi cow!) could be seen with dye in their fur for days.

Marriage

The Indian concept of relationships and marriage are one of the hardest things for my Western mind to comprehend, but here it goes…

The overwhelming majority of marriages in India are arranged marriages, although “love marriages” are becoming more popular, especially in more metropolitan parts of India. Here’s the way an arranged marriage typically works: when it becomes time for an individual to get married (usually in his/her parent’s eyes) the parents begin searching for suitors. For those who follow the traditional Hindi system, the partner must be in the same caste (and sometimes subcast, subsubcast, etc. as well). Arranged marriage often occurs at a fairly young age…there was recently an article in the newspaper citing that roughly half of Indian women are married by the age of 17! After marriage, children are expected quickly. It seems that dating is largely taboo in traditional society. Even for those who intend to have a love marriage, the relationship remains secret until a marriage proposal makes it “official.”

Another interesting tidbit I was amazed to find is that astrology can play an important part in finding an ideal mate. For many families, if the astrological signs don’t work together, than a marriage is out of the question.

There is a thick section that comes once a week with the newspaper here that is essentially a personals designed for people looking to marry. Nearly every one seems to tout some combination of fair skinned, handsome/beautiful, Engineer/Doctor/MBA, US/UK Visa, and many give astrological details. A discount is given for the advertisement if you are do not specify a caste for your future mate.

The actual marriage ceremony (especially in wealthier families) is an absolutely extravagant ordeal: It lasts for several days, with different ceremonies occurring on each day. It is currently marriage season here because of the comparatively nice weather, and I was lucky enough to attend a small part of one ceremony. The bride and groom and were brought into the room and onto a stage ceremoniously, each holding a wreath of flowers. With solemn faces they put the wreathes around each other (and said some words in Hindi). We all cheered and then they sat on a throne on the stage and we all went up to them and said congratulations and shook their hands and gave them gifts. Arguably the best part were these trays of delicious Indian snacks that were moved around the room with impressive frequency!