5:1 A Christmas Heist Begins.

When Phil Collins wrote ‘Against All Odds’ he was unconsciously channeling the essence of this project visit.

For months this remained as a question in the diary. At no stage was it reasonable to re-punctuate.

Normally, I start the blog just before departure or perhaps when travel is underway. I’m not superstitious, yet the numerous pitfalls surrounding the planning meant I was absolutely not going to commit to Blog 5 Ep 1 until physically here.

And here I am.

Assi Ghat – December 12th 2021

It was a tricky decision for us to write off half the time to quarantine but we don’t know what will happen next in this Covid world … where political tensions also influence travel policies. Consequently, after two years of not being able to visit the girls here, we decided to go ahead with the visit while a small window existed.

This visit was always intended as an assessment to set the next priorities, given the huge changes in circumstances since we were last here. Regardless of time lost to Covid, the relocation of the Disha girls to a new school means building new connections and getting a sense of the area before bringing guest teachers here in 2022.

Uday kindly collecting me from the airport

It was immediately reassuring and informative to be met at the airport by Uday who manages the work of AshaDiya foundation here in Varanasi. He is responsible for the well-being of the Disha girls as well as a range of ethical outreach in the city, overseen by Act & Help in Paris http://ashadiya.com/ In the time it took to drive across the city, we were able to discuss the status of the girls karate training and their well-being, as well as some useful information about the new school. He was also able to tell me more about some of the girls who have not yet been able to return to the project, but may come back at a suitable time for their education.

Ginger tea at Ashish – kicks like a mule but great for the immune system.

I’m quarantining at Ashish cafe (new readers: this was our previous, much beloved, project base). With the new location of the project in Sarnath, I’d planned to stay to the north of the city this time. However, I was not going to risk 7 days quarantine in a new place with no clarity over the essentials of life (food and reasonable wifi!). And, because of the horrendous impact of Covid on tourism, I’m currently the only guest here so can at least use the roof space for exercise and have socially-distanced visitors outside as well.

As we drove across the city, I couldn’t help remarking on the amount of fresh paint everywhere. Indeed, a lot of painting was ongoing despite it being Sunday. This was the constituency’s best effort ahead of Prime Minister Modi’s visit today. Roads are now blocked; the city is en-fête.

Excitement in the city as the PM is coming to town

I had ambitious goals for the visit, many of which have had to be deferred. Now there are but 3.

Goal 1: spend time training and catching up with our Disha girls

Goal 2: planning and training with our karate partners in the ISKF-UP

Goal 3: meeting our friends in the Red Brigade and working with their instructor team in person after our Zoom training.

FairFight facilitator Moyee has travelled here from Kolkata to support the visit and she’s staying nearby. Not only has she been part of three previous visits, she’s also been liaising and translating for the self defence training with the Red Brigade instructor team so it’s brilliant to have her here as we embark on in-person training with them next week.

Thanks for tuning in to the blog – and to everyone for pitching in with money and help to make it happen.

Watch this space!