Early in the week I had a meeting with
someone who was to be a key Jain connection here in Jaipur. Our phone
conversations had failed miserably but I had heard he was a wonderful person so
I went in with an open mind. I arrived near the Jain compound early and from my
previous stay in this area I knew there were momos to be had in the mall across
the street. Inside I saw the same momo-stand but they only had veggie momos and
I had a hankering since the previous day and went for a Subway deli-sub
(without the veggies, of course…the mistake of assuming veggies of
international chains are somehow safer got Alex into trouble in the Delhi
airport in 2010 and made for her longest airplane ride ever). The compound was
a bit desolate and it looked like they were cleaning up the aftermath of a big
celebration. The compound has a temple in the central courtyard, 2 huge grassy
areas, one beside the residences and the other beside what seems to be the main
celebration hall. I wasn’t sure where to find Dr. Sogani but went upstairs to
the area where the canteen and lecture hall is and found three people at a
table. I poked my head in and made a gesture like I didn’t want to interrupt.
Dr. Sogani invited me in and the two people with him said they were just
chatting. The people with Dr. Sogani, an erudite Jain scholar and language
teacher, said they were from Sydney, Australia and were studying Prakrit with
him. Dr. Sogani was friendly and I learned that he is in his 80s so some of my
irritation from our earlier failed communications melted away. The pair said
that they do 2 hour sessions with him and then he gets tired. He was very
friendly and smiling but we both had language barriers with each other. I told
him that I had found
a place to stay and thanked him very much for discussing accommodations with
me…he said something about the rooms there being over rs 700 and I told him I
had a great place for a good price in Gopalbari (I have since found out that
there are researchers staying there now, but I’m happy where I’m at). I then
told him about my project and he looked perplexed. He asked what I was
researching and I said Jainism and health. I also told him we both appeared in
the same book, and gave him the details of a publication we both had articles
in (mine on Jain Voluntary Fasting unto Death or sallekhana)…hoping that would lend some legitimacy. Nope. No idea.
I handed him one of my info sheets and he said he had read it…I then realized
that one person I was emailing with about interviews was his assistant. I asked
if he could help me find people to interview and after telling him I
interviewed Dr. Shugan Jain in Delhi he handed the paper back to me and said
that if I interviewed him that certainly was enough. My heart sank and I told
him light-heartedly that I was looking to do about 50 interviews in India and
50 in Canada, and the female of the visiting pair tried to explain the
ethnographic nature of my project (one spoke some Hindi), and he looked
surprised. I asked if I could interview him and he said maybe after working
with this pair in the middle of December, and when I asked if he had any
suggestions for other people I could interview he gave me a few names and
addresses, a partial phone number and no emails of course. I asked if he could
put up a poster for recruitment (with detachable email leaves) and he handed my
papers back to me shaking his head. I asked if he was willing to be interviewed
and frowned and waved me off saying not really. I suppose one only gets time
with him if one is studying Prakrit with him. I think the language barriers
between us were factors also. At least he was straight up with me. He was indeed
warm in person but I found him dismissive and resolved to not be discouraged
and to find my own ways to get recruits for the study. Many recruits have come
from meeting people in person, word of mouth and from social networking.
The next day I had a meeting with a
well-known Ayurvedic doctor who I was told about by an amazing fellow in Delhi
that I came into contact with through a Jain youth organization online. I
hadn’t slept well so was tired and cranky and as we passed the Pink City gates...
...started living through another example of
directions gone wrong…one part of the directions sent me to one place, another
part of the directions to another area completely. I had seen one landmark that
was described to me and knew in my gut that was where we were to go but let the
rickshaw driver ask several people for directions, as they are wont to do.
Fortunately I leave lots of time to get to appointments and eventually we ended
up back at the right lane in the Pink City.
Several people down the narrow lane
pointed me towards the clinic and I arrived at a yellow archway leading into a
courtyard.
I was told to take off my shoes and went down into a waiting-area
with quite a few people sitting quietly on metal chairs. I checked in at the
desk and sat to wait, noticing the table splitting the room had hard-cover folders
with reading materials in them. Almost instantly I was brought into the back and
sat in front of a desk. Not knowing what was happening I pulled out my computer
and someone told me to put it away because he was coming. As Sri Sushil
Vaidya-ji entered the room there were about 8 people inside a small office, women
and men all well-dressed and bowing slightly and hushed. The Vaidya was quite
frail but energetic, wearing all white with glasses and a bit unshaven. He sat
beside me and I sat after him and waited for someone to guide me as to the
protocol. Nothing happened so I said I was doing research on religion and
health and would like to interview him, handing him and info sheet which he
read and nodded while doing so. He handed it back and started to leave, and I
got up also, and he must have noticed my confusion and he put his hand on my
shoulder and said warmly with a huge smile, while looking right into my eyes:
“wait and we’ll talk soon, ok?” Sushil Vaidya-ji left the room and I was taken
into another room with empty patient beds and blue and orange curtains. I was
sat with a female volunteer as Sushil Vaidya-ji’s daughter Dr. Kala Kasliwal
was busy seeing patients. I told the volunteer that was currently babysitting
me, Poonam, that this was a bit awkward for me because this was a patient care
area and the doctor seemed to be very busy, but nobody was concerned about
these things. In fact, she asked about my research and after I told her a bit
about my project she said that it would be interesting for me to observe how
religion is incorporated into the care delivery. Poonam told me that she was
new there and learning what she could, asked my religion and told me she is
devoted Jain Svetambar (Murtipujak). I asked her if I could interview her and
perhaps some other staff as well and she said it would be up to Sushil
Vaidya-ji. I noticed patients being massaged, wiggled and percussed, and Dr.
Kasliwal taking a history from a mother about her son who was coughing and her
assistant busily scribbling notes when the doctor spoke. At one point Dr.
Kasliwal lifted her arms and swung them around and said “this is my theatre!” A
fellow walked in and greeted the doctor and she introduced him as her senior,
and the fellow promptly sat down all smiles and wanted to chat with me. He asked
if I believe in rebirth and told me about meditating on parts of the head for
different purposes, mentioned a worker at the clinic remembering being a
peacock in Jain temple in the immediately preceding life, and mentioned Jain Samadhi Marana (death in meditation). I
told him I have spent time investigating sallekhana
and he said many think it is not good but he thinks that it is good way to die,
one that all Jain saints hope for. I looked at Poonam and told her that this
was the kind of conversation I was looking for in my interviews! I asked the
fellow, named Naveen Jain, if I could interview him and he was overjoyed and we
exchanged contact info. He asked if we could do it that night but I told him I
had another interview that night and that the next day would be best. He is the
first recruit so far that planned on coming to me for the interview, as the
area I’m living in is on the way for him when he returns home from work. More
on Naveen later…he has turned out to be a very compelling respondent and a new
friend.
I was then ushered into a small
office and met a tall block-faced older fellow in a brown suit. He shook my
hand warmly and looked me in the eyes and said “you are most welcome!” The
Sushil Vaidya-ji entered with some other people who left, and he went straight
to sit on a small metal chair rather than the chairs with woven wicker padding
despite the fellow and myself trying to get him to a better chair. We all sat
down and I soon was told that the fellow was Sushil Vaidya-ji’s younger
brother!
TO BE CONTINUED!
- - Meeting
Sri Sushil Vaidya-ji
- - Arogya
Bharti Tour, tea, photos
- - interview with Jain philosopher in a Pink City apartment
- - Naveen
chases me in the street to give me a text, we have 2 interviews, he brings me
for a Jain family dinner
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