Ever heard of a lakh or crore?

Hunter's Beach - worth the 2km trek

Z Hotel, Puri - once the home of the Raja of Serampore

Jagannath Temple in Puri - we were there for the Durja Puja festival

My first month's work has mainly involved researching the activities of Gram Vikas - familiarising myself with MANTRA (Movement and Action Network for Transformation in Rural Areas) and the various departments within the organisation (we employ over four hundred people in Orissa). I’ve also managed to get involved with hardware too; Indian website www.donateyourpc.in will shortly be supplying us with twenty PCs for schools run by Gram Vikas. The problem at the moment is that they need collecting from Hyderabad, only 880 kilometres away! Sounds like a job for one of our Mahindra Marshall jeeps (I won’t be driving). As we’re dealing with large numbers I’ll share with you the South Asian numbering system. You can skip the next few sentences if this is a bit nerdy but in addition to thousands and millions they also have lakhs (100,000) and crores (10,000,000). Numbers are written 3,00,00,000 instead of 30,000,000 – all very confusing. Their biggest number is known as “Adant Singhar” which is the equivalent of 10 with 41 zeros on the end. I guess such a large number is needed when you’re issuing Indian traffic violations! OK nerdy bit over. You may have noticed a new button (on the right of this page) which will now allow people to donate money to the Gram Vikas - we're using www.charitygiving.co.uk as our agent. In the next few weeks this button will also appear at www.gramvikas.org. Fellow volunteer (I was going to say VSO) Olive Fives will shortly be returning to Ireland and I'll be attempting to carry on some of her invaluable organisational development work. I’ll be process mapping (whatever that means – only joking Olive) the key functions of the organisation. Ultimately this may well lead to a return to The Gambia as project MANTRA will soon start providing help to African villages.

At the beginning of October (only a few weeks after my arrival) Hindus celebrated Durja Puja, one of the major festivals of the year. As the office was closed for the week I took the opportunity to visit Puri, a short (by Indian standards) five hour train trip to the north. Puri, as well as being a beach resort, is also home to one of the four main Hindu religious sites or “dhams”. The Jagannath Temple (interesting fact - this is where we get the word “juggernaut” from) is a very impressive 215 feet structure, during the festival only accessible by Hindus. The Rath Yatra celebrations in July include large towers that move along the streets with an "irresistible, destructive force" (a bit like the water buffalo on the small country lanes surrounding our campus!) I managed to get a room at the Z (pronounced Jed) hotel, an impressive mansion, once the home of Raja of Serampore). I paid a few rupees extra for AC, well worth it as this place has the coolest air-conditioning in India.

The following day we decided to head to the remote “Rangers” beach - so remote that we only knew it was just off the road to Konark (another impressive temple). We managed to get a willing auto-rickshaw driver (who charged two hundred rupees despite not knowing where he was going) and headed off. When we spotted Rangers' Restaurant we knew we weren't far; the remainder of the trip had to be done on foot. We trekked the final two kilometres making sure we kept a look-out for the white faded markings on the pine trees and the large wolf spider burrows in the ground. The hike was well worth it - as we approached we could hear the roar of the crashing waves from the Indian Ocean. We found a completely deserted beach, with a small beach hut made from palm leaves for shade.

As a requirement for my employment visa I had to register with my local police station within fourteen days of arrival. Other volunteers had warned me that this would involve numerous lengthy visits and multiple copies of paperwork (five of everything plus photos!). I only finished this process yesterday (I reckon on the sixth trip) and now have a full residents permit. On the plus side the office we sat in has a TV permanently set to Star Movies, which this time was showing The Chronicles of Narnia, the Lion, Witch and the Wardrobe (usually they show Bollywood stuff). We managed to watch most of it during our visit – I was there to only sign one document.

Having come to terms with the lack of "Indian" tonic water in Orissa I was in for another shock when I drank my first glass of Indian beer. It has a strange sweet after-taste that's the result of the addition of glycerine, which acts as a preservative. Even when you buy a recognized brand such as Carlsberg or Fosters you can't get away from it. We'll be heading to Calcutta soon to watch England in the cricket - I'm seriously hoping that I can get some unadulterated imported beer. I think there's more chance of England winning to be honest (maybe not, 5-0 in the ODI)! The only other option is to try and remove the glycerine. The technique is very risky and involves opening an upside down bottle under water (without shaking). As the glycerine is heavier than water (and alcohol is lighter than water) a yellow dollop of the offending preservative should slide out the upturned bottle. I'll let you know if I end up with any beer!

I hadn't been back to Bhubaneswar since my arrival in India. As it's the capital city of Orissa (with a population of 1.5 million) I seized the opportunity when invited to a party for NGO volunteers/workers to watch the rugby world cup final. It's only a four hour trip up the railway line, so a local trip really. Another part of Indian culture I hadn't experienced yet were the gangs of transvestites who harass travellers on trains for money. They are usually invited to weddings as a symbol of good luck and fertility – I guess they make extra money when they travel? Fellow volunteer Jack had a close shave when he tried to "stare-out” a gang member – problem was I think he smirked at one point (not recommended). I kept my head down and concentrated intensely on my book (sorry Jack).

We returned to Mohuda the following day - this time getting a local “express” train that stopped at every station – averaging a not particularly rapid 20 miles an hour. The train was absolutely packed (with no transvestites in sight to our relief). I ended up sitting on top of a luggage rack - I made the cardinal sin of leaving my sandals on as I climbed up. The guy below me went ballistic. After apologising profusely I was eventually invited back down (as the train became less crowded) and told to put my sandals back on! Uncertain if this was another custom I obliged.

As today is Diwali (Hindu festival of light) the office is closed again (a bit like The Gambia) - a good chance to catch up with the blog. We're heading into Berhampur later for a meal and to watch the fireworks - hopefully we’ll avoid getting blown up by firecrackers - fingers crossed. The jeep driver says we should avoid returning before nine as this is when the most of the carnage occurs!