India #5 - The People

I could write at least another 5 weeks about my experiences in India. But will close this five-week series on the subject that touched my heart the deepest – the people.

I interacted with people from all walks of life. Young to old, highest in the caste system to the lowest of the low housewives to working women, laborers to holy men, and those who spoke great-broken English to those who had yet to speak a word of English.

But one thing they all had in common – a happy disposition and a beautiful smile. No matter what card they were dealt in life, they appeared happy and content. They were kind, gentle and eager to meet us. They were a novelty to us and we were definitely a novelty to them!

The pictures tell the rest of the story.

Thank you for joining me on this journey!

India #4 - The Tribal Village

One of my jobs on the trip to India was to be a spokesperson – I spoke at schools, planted trees, cut ribbons, administered polio vaccines, spoke on the radio and attended many dances, both traditional and tribal. One special evening we were visitors at an annual multi-tribal celebration. We were given the opportunity to meet with various tribes while they practiced. Two words describe the experience: Soul Stomping. The room was filled with vivid colors moving quickly in a controlled choreography, the passionate chanting and singing, and the beating of drums matching the movement of the tribe. It overwhelmed all of our senses and created unrelenting energy.

What we did not know was that the next day we would head to the mountains to visit a remote tribe, and experience a different facet of tribal life. We traveled for two and a half hours in a caravan with the tribal leaders of the Eastern Ghat tribes into the Eastern Ghat Mountain Range. We stopped at the social services headquarters and some of the tribal leaders stayed for meetings while others accompanied us by boat to visit the Konda Dora Tribe. After a lengthy boat ride we arrived at shore and were told “now we must walk.” Without a water bottle in hand, we traveled by foot for an hour through dry, dusty and uneven terrain. We arrived at the village, only to be gawked at – we were the first westerners they had ever met – what a sight we must have been to them!

The village had two long houses that held four families each; each family had one room. The houses were built with sticks and hay, with a connecting porch and an entrance to each room low to the ground, but once inside you could stand up. Other structures were for the animals and the village well. The village was sparse but, clean and well maintained. Babies laid in hammocks, children hid behind the women, and the women crouched behind the furniture on the porch. Everyone was scared of us!

We hadn’t eaten in hours, we were thirsty, we were dripping wet and we had another hour walk back to the boat! Once back to the boat they offered us a warm beer which we accepted shaking our heads. With our entourage of tribal leaders on the boat, we headed back to the social services office. The leaders pulled out the drums and set about to keep us entertained. The sensual beat of the drums, the hot sun beating down on us, the warm beer and the movement of the boat gliding across the water created an unforgettable experience. Along the way we dropped off the tribal leaders and were humbled when we found out the leaders had anywhere between a one and three day walk home.

Hours after we left our home stays, we returned still hungry, hot, tired and thirsty. Although we would not trade the experience for anything, we all agreed we needed to start finding out what was planned for each day before we left for the day!

India - The Factory

One of my jobs on the trip to India was to tour the local companies, factories and businesses of the towns and villages we visited. We toured glass cutting factories, chicken farms, slaughter houses, shrimp farms, and rug making factories, just to name a few. Although many of the scenes I experienced in the factories are etched in my mind forever, one manufacturing company stands out because of it’s interesting “benefits” and “practices.” As always, the men controlled the company and the women were merely pawns. The women had to sign a contract before starting employment stating that they would meditate each day, conform to the company uniform policy and agree to be a subject of bio-feed back each quarter. Not bad for a steady job in a horrible economy – but once they were there other tests were performed too…

The company provided a day care for the women’s children while they worked: 15-20 kids in a small room – but they were monitored very closely, you see they were all test subjects while in their mother’s wombs. Once a female worker conceived (we didn’t ask how) she spent her lunch break for nine months watching television, either violent movies or religious propaganda (of course, with sessions of bio-feedback.) Once the children were born, they were divided into two groups and separated; mother’s who watched the violent movies and mothers who watched the religious propaganda. These children were being monitored for their behavior. Did the movies their mother‘s watch influence and affect the children’s behavior after birth. It was all a big human behavior science project. Yikes.

All was not bad – each female worker received a free facial every quarter.

India - The Canal

My first memory of India occurred after landing in the town of Vijayawada. Upon arriving we were given an afternoon to relax and recuperate after the 36 hour journey. One of my teammates left our secure hotel for a walk outside, but soon rushed back to get us. He said “you have to see this..” We had to sneak out of the hotel because we were headed to an area our host did not want us to see; we traveled by foot to the streets by a nearby canal. We meet up with Sebastian, a teacher who left a job at university to teach the children who lived on the streets. In Vijayawada alone there were 23,000 children who lived on the streets. We met the children, played with them, and spoke English with them. These children were dressed—some in rags, some barefoot or in shoes too big. But the amazing thing is that they were still happy and smiling. They loved us and loved posing for pictures!

We let the children get on with their studies and headed to the canal. Hut after hut lined the canal—one room straw huts held a family of 4 or more. Many had 3 generations living in one hut or one husband and several wives and children. The amazing thing – they were happy, proud and clean. They were excited to invite us in into their home. The huts were cleaned and all their material possessions filled the corners.

The canal was their main water source. In the canal, men, women and children could be found washing clothes, taking a bath, washing dishes, fetching water for their homes and staying clear of the bathing cows.

We were amazed; we had not even reached our final destination, the poorest area of India. We all took a deep breath and realized that our five week trip was going to be an emotional roller coaster.

India - Reflections #1

Reflections After Slumdog Millionaire - When I close my eyes, I immediately see the pictures forever sketched in my mind of a trip I took to India years ago. Over the next month, I will share with you experiences from this once in a life time trip. I say once in a life time because I will never be able to retrace my steps – the steps were designed especially for four of us to travel on a business exchange to India through Rotary International. My boss recommended me and I was given a five week leave to represent the bank as we toured the poorest region of India, Andhra Pradesh. We traveled by plane, car, taxi and train to remote areas of Andhra Pradesh; we stayed with Rotarians in small villages, gave talks at Rotary Meetings almost every night, spoke at schools, toured glass cutting factories (with out mask on), wound our way through poultry farms, attended parades and dance festivals, shared holy time with a famous shawmi, played with the children at an orphanage, learned about ourselves with a visit to a famous astrologist, planted trees and watched the sun rise over the ocean. We didn’t have a day off until the end of the trip when we were in Delhi and traveled by train to see the Tja Mahal. We were weary due to the endless days of morning to night work, the overwhelming sights of poverty, and the constant assault to our senses. Despite the exhaustion, we met lovely people who had nothing but were happy, who lived in shacks but kept them spotless, and who were fascinated with us – for some, we were the first westerners they had ever met.

Join me over the next week few weeks as I recount special memories of this trip.