In Pune

So, I'm in Pune, Maharashtra now through a collaborative program between CUNY Law School in NY and Symbiosis Law School (SLS) in Pune. CUNY has a program called Community Legal Resource Network (CLRN) in New York where small and solo practices serve legally underserved communities and share resources. The founder, Fred Rooney, had made a visit to India a few years ago and connected to India so much that he set up the CLRN project at Symbiosis Law School in conjunction with the principal, Shashikala Gurpur. There are so many kinds of public interest advocacy efforts taking place in India, but it's rare to find a formal partnership with a U.S. based institution in the area of public interest law. So, I was happy to hear of this cross-cultural and educational exchange.

While I'm here, I'll do some workshops/trainings similar to what I do in the U.S. on language access, family law etc. since SLS wants students to have international and comparative perspectives on law. I'll also visit local NGO's through their legal aid and human rights projects, observe court, and sit in on classes that interest me.

So far, what I've seen of the law school is that it's a bustling place. There are about 2,000 students and classes run from 7:30 a.m. till 9 p.m. at night. In India, there are two ways to study law. One is to do a B.A. and then complete a 3 year L.L.M. course. The second is to enter a 5 year course upon graduation from 12th standard or what we call high school and obtain both your L.L.B. and L.L.M. (I hope I have this right!) SLS offers the 5 year course. So, the students here are young between 18 to 25. And in addition to the academic curriculum, there are lots of extracurriculars in sports, dance etc.

As for Pune. It's located in south India, about a two hour flight from Delhi and a 24 train ride. I have only been to south India briefly on a short visit to Mumbai years ago, so I know hardly nothing about it. Pune is a city of approximately 5 million people and with nine universities, it's considered the student capital of India. Sort of like Boston that way, I suppose? It is located in the state of Maharashtra, about 2 hours from Mumbai. It's a much more peaceful place than Delhi I have to say. People here speak Hindi and English, though Marathi is the official language of the state and what is more commonly spoken in daily conversation.