Introduction to Chennai

It's a bare 10 x 10 white-washed room, immaculately kept. Outside, the sound of cawing, barking, chattering, occasonally interrupted by the burst of cheesy cell-phone tunes. There's a ceiling fan, a desk and chair, a sing-person bed, one small vanity mirror, and a string to hang laundry. This is where I will sleep and work.

My assignment here will be to help compile and record the work done by DPG (Development Promotion Group) the past year into an annual report. There 6 different types of projects and 63,974 beneficial families. So where do I begin?

The organization is headed by a man name Bhakter Solomon. He prefers to go by only "Solomon" and as the name would imply, he is a devout Christian. Yesterday, he introduced me to the "secretary", Vanidha. After 30 minutes of conversation, I found out she was his daughter. She is a professional copy editor, and helps to manage the projects in the urban slums. The rest of the office in Chennai made up primarily of people dealing with microloans to SHG (self-help groups) in the city. There's a team of around 7 that record every family's saving and income. They are led by Rosy, who has a cheerful matronly demanor. Next week, Rosy will take me to the slum to witness the field work. There's also a recpetionist, an accountant, a servant and a guard dog. The latter spends most his time plooped down napping on the cool marble floors. At night he assumes the same position atop the compound walls.

Right now, my immediate mission will be to purchase washing soap. I accidentally purchased laundry soap yesterday so I had an uncomfortable bathing experience. I will write again when more exciting happenings unfold.