Saturday, January 23, 2010

Adventure in Old City/South Street


Today, myself and a group of friends took the subway to South Street, but first decided to look around Old City for some galleries. We went into one gallery that was full of horse paintings. Although I am not a horse lover, they were AMAZING! We saw the Betsy Ross House, which I remember going to for a field trip when I was in elementary school. When we got to south street we headed straight to Phileo for some frozen yogurt. I got cappuccino and peanut butter with LOTS of toppings! After satisfying our sweet tooth, we went to the Magic Garden which was one of the most unique places I've ever been to. Isaiah Zagar is a local artist who began tiling South Street in the 1960s and never stopped, constructing the space out of cement, bicycle spokes, bottles, ceramic shards and other artistic knick-knacks. Zagar has created more than 100 mosaics in Philadelphia, with most of them located along the South Street corridor. Then came some shopping at thrift stores. I've never been to a thrift store, so this was a new experience for me. Surprisingly I bought a couple of things - a pair of jeans and a jewelry box! All in all it was a fun day, but by the end of our trip my feet were killing me! Time for a nap...

Thursday, January 21, 2010

Dancing Bears in India


Kartick Satyanran's passion is to save the wild animals of India from illegal captivity and poaching that has taken place century after century. He is heavily involved with rescuing hundreds of “dancing” bears. Kartick Satyanarayan describes how the Kalandar community of India is economically dependent on capturing sloth bear cubs and training them to "dance," by torturing them. It is a centuries-old practice and a primary means of financial income for these poor people in the Kalandar community. Once the bear cubs were captured from across the country, they were being sold for about two thousand dollars each! In addition to training the bears to "dance," they were also used to make bear-paw soup. It is important to note that the capturing and selling of these animals is an illegal act, punishable with jail time. The bears are treated cruelly - they are separated from their siblings, the mother bear is typically killed, their teeth are bashed out with metal rods, and a red hot iron needle is used to burn a hole through their muzzle. Satyanarayan tells us how a young Kalandar couple (barely eighteen years old) and their four kids depend on this one bear for their livelihood and economic income. Therefore, solving this problem in India was a huge task to take on. In 2002, there were approximately 12,000 bears and 550 were saved! The people of this community are getting educations and using other means to receive a sufficient income therefore, rising above the apalling acts of centuries before them.