Breaking the Camel's Back

Shalom friends and family and warmest of greetings from Udaipur! Welcome to the last leg of the “Up North” road trip – we conclude this epic in Rajasthan, the largest state in India, rockin’ out the deserts of the country (think camels everywhere!) The city of Udaipur is a pretty unique place – it’s kind of the oasis of the entire state. It was constructed on two lakes in the middle of an arid land. And this geography makes the region super distinct and an ideal place to start our last course called “Environment, Ecology, and Livelihood”. I’ve decided to present the events in glorious Photo Essay format – hope you enjoy these adventures!

Hello Udaipur! This picture was taken from the City Palace – Rajasthan is keeping some sort of monarchy alive with these folks called Maharana/Maharaja. They basically have lost all constitutional sovereignty of the area – now the Maharana runs a group of 5-star hotels in the city, but hey, someone has to do it.





A Sunday luncheon with KatyAnna, Alye and Jonathan, next year’s SJPD faculty lead. On all accounts, this place is straight-up touristy – there are a lot of shops to buy traditional Rajasthani artwork and lots of these funky rooftop eating joints. Now during tourist season (Mid-November to February), all these places are busy. When you’re taking supper out there, remember to bring your authentic Pashmina shawl; it gets downright freezing here at night (around 47 degrees). :)

Jessica and I are a great team – we usually score big when we stick together. This is one example; off to the side of our uber classy room, there is this wickedly regal terrace. There are soft places to sit all over the place and the space is basically the ultimate pillow habitat. So comfy (like wools socks and woodstoves in MN come Christmas time!)!

My new bestie, Tinkerbell. This little guy is the hotel dog, just trotting about the grounds, laying on the grass, usually being totally dog-like. I’ve really just been in my element with Tink – I’m missing those furry companions of mine a lot. He still doesn’t have anything on my favorite Daschunds from back home (how could I forget handsome Haunsel?).





Part of the program is to split up into small groups to go out into the field and study some special topic; I volunteered to check out the local watershed. A major place for concern regarding the water resources is royally poor law implementation. For example, detergents made with phosphorus are illegal in most countries; they have been banned because when phosphorus is introduced to an aquatic system, it becomes a source of nutrition for small organisms and encourages hyper-speed algae growth (called eutrophication). In India, the law isn’t enforced; maybe due to economic disinterest. Domestic waste water doesn’t go through any sort of treatment; water that has been used leaves houses through pipes to these sewer facilities that are just basically glorified cement ditches – it all eventually winds up in the lakes. Think about how this compares to some of those 10,000 lakes in MN – have you ever seen something that resembles this?


Water is in a state of emergency here. And I don’t think there’s enough civic engagement. Or at least that’s what my small field group told the two local newspapers that interviewed us as “American research students studying the condition of Udaipur’s lakes”. Get this: photos were snapped of Kelly Anderson, Michael Paulson, and me really analyzing the status of aquatic habitat. We looked super intellectual; bummer the headline for one of the papers read “Oh My God, what a bad condition for lakes!” (that was the paper quoting one of us apparently). I’ll have to bring the clippings home and hang them on the fridge (they’re in Hindi, though, so I guess I could just totally make up the whole text of the article and say something profound)! Definitely not experts here in any sense of the word, but we were asked to formulate some sort of potential solution for the problems. That’s where the local advocacy came in – and although I might have felt like some sort of media-pawn, it kind of just came down to if us clueless yet concerned students help draw awareness to the situation through a few articles in the paper, then I’m alright with that. My hope is that the groups that are really devoted to this mission are highlighted for all of their incredible and tireless work.

Trivia for the day: Which James Bond movie is this world famous hotel the setting for? I’ll think of a prize later – maybe something masala-fied or curried.









This shot is for my mom. Check it – look at all those tomatoes! I ate that entire bruschetta. Shows you how much I’ve adapted to food here (who ever expected I’d warm up to that food item in India?!) :)

In Rajasthan, a major industry is marble processing. After the cutting of the marble slabs is done, there are copious amounts of this fine white powder that need to be disposed of. Companies cut this powder with water which essentially turns it into a smooth cement. Here’s the kicker: where to put it? There are governmentally sanctioned dumping grounds for the substance adoringly called “slurry”. But the economic incentive of ignoring the law and disposing of the industrial waste 8 km away from the lakes is just so strong. A huge issue with this is that the “Marble Mafia” is getting rid of the stuff on hills within the watershed of these lakes. So when it rains, the slurry percolates into the ground, contaminates the groundwater and serves as a seal for the aquifer. Citizens of Udaipur have noticed recently that their personal pump wells are getting coated with a fine white material; the day we visited this site was the first time that some of these people found the source.

Over the last two years, marble companies have successfully dumped enough toxic sludge to cover the land with a 25 ft thick layer. It looked like some evil paint volcano just erupted all over this supposedly “worthless and unutilized” land. Thing is, this region used to be fertile, could actually support some flora and fauna. But nothing can grow in this death cement.





Once other companies find out there is a place to get rid of hazardous materials in close proximity, this area becomes a dumping ground for other industries. While we were there assessing the situation, a truck pulled up, the driver opened a valve, and let loose gallons of acid waste.





Astha and Bhuvan, both Business Management students in Udaipur’s university, were our guides for the lakes tour. We had a great time hanging out with them and getting the perspective of our generation living in Udaipur. Let's hear it for new friends! They are an absolute blast.





After seeing so much degradation, Astha thought it would be good and educational for us to visit one of the more pristine lakes. Basically, I think we just wanted to have a picnic lakeside, so we traveled 10km out of Udaipur-proper and came to this place where I couldn’t see a single building. Very tranquil – ate some food and taught Astha and Bhuvan how to skip rocks Boundary Waters style.




Inside reads: “Arbind Singh Mewar [the Maharana aka Udaipur’s royalty] cordially requests the pleasure of the company of Ms. Angela Magnusson [that’s me!] for cocktails [His Highness really likes his drinks] at Shambhu Niwas Palaca [the Prince’s out-of-site crib].” Professor Doug really worked hard to get us invited to visit with the Maharana. He accepted, and one night, all the girls dressed in Indian saris and salwar kamiz (long shirt layered over matching pants) while the gents sported kurtas (the long shirt). It was a real big deal – we spent nearly 2 hours speaking with Arbind and his two children (who are in their 20s). We asked him about the condition of the lakes, how he sees environmental sustainability in the area – it was great conversation, but it was hard knowing what’s real. The Princess told us that their family was just on the cover of India’s equivalent to People Magazine (called Hello) – she was careful to tell us about having to censor what she says because journalists contort words. So when I asked her dad about his vision for Udaipur, it just felt a little rehearsed. But man, were they well-versed in social graces!

I guess this is the first time all semester where I have felt in a complete state of emergency. I’m livid, I’m indignant, I’m going to scream – I hope these pictures better articulate my anger in a little more tactile manner than me just writing about it. Seeing that absolute disregard for social responsibility and ethics and management of something so sacred and beautiful was just the last straw for me. All semester we have seen injustices done to those who aren’t quite able to counter the exploitation – people lacking resources, women being used as a domestic utility. It’s just seeing the inept leadership taking advantage of people and natural settings that throws me over the edge. It’s like “We’re fed up with these political games” sort of thing, and when you finally have resolved that something is absolutely wrong with one thing, then it makes it that much more urgent to do something about it.

Back in Bangalore for a week and a half of concluding and goodbyes. Whoa, can’t really believe that it’s time for all of that – a little bit surreal, a lot a bit bittersweet!

peace and love