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That’s right. You heard me. Through the vapours of my steaming hot shower after the comforting click click click bruuuum of the automatic gas powered shower. I’ll admit, at first I was dubious: the blue plastic hose that hangs across the bathroom wall and goes through the open window at the back, the “switches” on the unit that are more for decoration than anything else, and the weird digital read-out on the front that has 3 lighted up backwards and skips from there to 9 as the flames take hold. From arctic iceberg to boiling lava in just a few clicks. Leaving the soaped up showeree a 1-2 second window to get some water out before risking 3rd degree burns. Still, I’ll take it over an electric shower, or any electrical appliances, any day.
HA Literally as I typed that last sentence my emotionally sensitive inverter pip pip pipped its disapproval followed by the sound I’ve come to hate: the eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee that means no more juice for the rest of the day. Or headlight and candles, if it’s past 5:30pm. It’s Saturday morning for crying out loud! Lesser mortals might check the loadshedding schedule, or even figure out which group of the city they’re in to strategize an electricity-efficient plan. Not me. If I’ve learned one thing out here it’s that you can’t predict anything. Even if it’s written down. Especially if it’s written down, in fact. It’s the land of shrugs and head shakes (side to side meaning positive – there’s nowt negative out here – not superficially so, at least – the classic south asian “side nod” TM), not timetables and schedules. Call it a buddhist, non-grasping approach to energy consumption.
Yes, yes, the kettle does boil a million times faster than a stove top, yes, it is nicer to have light that you can point where you want it, BUT if it comes out of a socket, you just can’t trust it. It’s like the flakey friend you always invite over, who’s amazing company when they’re with you, but who always makes their excuses early or sometimes doesn’t bother showing up at all. I say give me the moderately interesting rounded orange top you can rely on every time. Yes, you, my chipped, rusting gas cylinder buddy. With a flick of your yellow switch we know where we stand.
All I need now is for Al Gore to rise out of the cistern on that extendable crane he used in An Inconvenient Truth. Preferably when the electricity’s back on, as otherwise the water doesn’t get pumped in. Did I mention that?
I’m typing this by candlelight in the midst of daily load shedding as my inverter (battery backup when the main power goes out) squeals in disgust when I even look at my desk lamp. It’s headlights and candles all the way, which was romantic at first, but the novelty’s well and truly worn off after only a few days. Ysee, when I moved into my new place in Kathmandu, I thought I had it made: large lounge/work area, big separate bedroom, hot water HOT WATER I tell you…of course it’s the little things you don’t notice on the first walkaround that get you. Like the fact that the flat is flanked by a ironmongers, who fire up their welders late into the night, ironically providing the only bursts of actual light in the entire neighbourhood , albeit like a pissed up firefly. There was I thinking I’d stumbled across enlightenment while meditating in the dark…With all this power outage jiggerypokery (up to 14 hours a day, though apparently the PM’s pulled strings to bring it down to a miniscule 12 hrs now, which will mean 18 hours of darkness once he finally sashays out of power) I find myself rationing the minutes on the computer’s battery life, juggling the russian roulette of wifi connection, which is not ideal when skyping into a conference call with a potential funder, let me tell you, and slowly realizing that perhaps this is the universe’s way of telling me to stop drawing pages after 10. Or at least, stop starting to draw my daily page after 10pm. Speaking of which, new coloured artwork is now up over at Freedom Matters, an anti-trafficking NGO I’m partnering with who are the pioneers behind Circus Kathmandu, which takes kids who were trafficked into the circus in India and gives them training from an international cast of big top performers from Columbia and the UK among others. UK folks they’re coming to London in March – details on the FM blog via the link above.
I’ve also spent the last week pasting several different translations into my new comic due out for the BBC very soon – so any Urdu, Arabic, Kyrgyz, Uzbek, Ukranian, Persian or, of course, Nepali readers will be able to check it out in their native tongue. Funny how some languages take 5 lines to say what another says in say, 3. In case you were wondering, Ukranian is the most space-friendly of the contenders, and Persian proved most greedy in the caption-box-filling stakes.
I was going to close by saying at least the beauty of the blackout is the quiet stillness that comes from everyone being off the streets, but right on cue some entrepreneurial spirit has just started his midnight shift next door. Cue the accompanying chorus of stray dogs.
I’m now a few months into my Nepal project (for more, click the links below), which has seen me moving around the country interviewing survivors of human trafficking. The highly flattering picture above is with an interviewee who was tricked into selling his kidney, only to then be short-changed and left with permanent health defects. I’m posting pages from my graphic novel in progress on the Nepal Extras page, though you’ll have to pay a princely $5 for access – all proceeds go towards the Daal Bhaat (rice and lentils in Nepali) fund/living expenses while I’m out here until May.
A brief interlude away from the Nepal trafficking project to share my latest interactive piece done for Stanford University’s CISAC. Wondering what the difference is between a worm, a backdoor and a trojan? Or why you should break that habit of naked skype conference calls? Then read the comic here. Roll over the red dots when you hover over the pages to call up interactive markers housing audio, video and hyperlinks.
Last week I was in Mahendranagar, way out on the far western border of India and Nepal. The above sketches were done “live” by the Maiti Nepal outpost, where Maiti staff watch for suspicious looking folks who they think might be attempting to traffick girls across the open border. Just as I arrived, one of these very cases happened right in front of me – the young boy and the girl had two very different stories and it reeked of foul play. For more sketches from my recent trip, or a glimpse at my graphic novel in process on human trafficking in Nepal, click on the button in the right hand sidebar (it’s $5 for access, payable via Paypal).
Another interview from the far western region of Nepal where I’ve been this week, working with Nepal Youth Foundation to speak with ex-Kamlari girls who were once forced to work as domestic servants. Leela (pictured above) actually sold herself to pay for get school fees. Hit ‘previous’ for more info on the Kamlaris and to read other sketch interviews from this week. Comics from the open border at Mahendrenagar coming tonight.
Click on the Nepal project panel in the right sidebar for how to support this project via PayPal, or watch the intro video via the Kickstarter link on the left.
Continuing my experiment of posting from the field, this was sketched directly in ink while interviewing Sharada this morning. For background on the Tharu community, hit “previous” below and read yesterday’s post. I’m finding time and time again that drawing live creates a curiosity and connection with the subject that I just don’t get when I take their photo. It just feels more respectful, and somehow allows the shyer girls I talk to to come out of their shell as I draw them. Especially as they see me with pens in my mouth, a watercolour set on my lap and ink all over my fingers. Off to Mahendrenagar on the far west border with India first thing tomorrow to see just how porous it really is.
Continuing my experiment of posting from the field, this was sketched directly in ink while interviewing Sharada this morning. For background on the Tharu community, hit “previous” below and read yesterday’s post. I’m finding time and time again that drawing live creates a curiosity and connection with the subject that I just don’t get when I take their photo. It just feels more respectful, and somehow allows the shyer girls I talk to to come out of their shell as I draw them. Especially as they see me with pens in my mouth, a watercolour set on my lap and ink all over my fingers. Off to Mahendrenagar on the far west border with India first thing tomorrow to see just how porous it really is.
I’m writing this from Lamahi in Dang district, western Nepal, where the Tharu people have just celebrated Maghe Sankranti, their New Year. I’m on the road with the Nepal Youth Foundation covering their work to eradicate the practice of bonded slavery of girls in the Tharu community, known locally as Kamlaris. Together with NYF President Som Paneru (and his wife and extremely sweet 3yr old daughter) and Program Coordinator Man Bahadur I’m traveling from village to village doing interviews and checking on the status of entrepreneurial schemes they’ve set up to give former Kamlaris an economic route out of slavery and towards autonomy. The sketch is from Kalika VDC, Bardia district.
I’m writing this from Lamahi in Dang district, western Nepal, where the Tharu people have just celebrated Maghe Sankranti, their New Year. I’m on the road with the Nepal Youth Foundation covering their work to eradicate the practice of bonded slavery of girls in the Tharu community, known locally as Kamlaris. Together with NYF President Som Paneru (and his wife and extremely sweet 3yr old daughter) and Program Coordinator Man Bahadur I’m traveling from village to village doing interviews and checking on the status of entrepreneurial schemes they’ve set up to give former Kamlaris an economic route out of slavery and towards autonomy. The sketch is from Kalika VDC, Bardia district.
