Spring-Studies-Someday...

Afternoon classes make me lazy, as I have the whole day devoted to doing nothing. I can mull over things, sleep, stalk people, or just stare at the computer. This is the dark side of things.
OR
I can work hard, read up the literature, finish my proposal, finish up pending papers and reports, and catch up on my writing.
As it is Spring, I too will spring up and try to accomplish the 2nd half. Maybe then I will be on the bright side of it all.

Let the light be.
Let the scent of the spring be.
If I could catch it and put it in a box.
But then the charm would be missing.
And so, we shall make merry while spring lasts.
And forget the sounds of the winter gone by...

Children in an Indian Village

Place- Sastapur Village,
Basavakalyan Taluka,
Bidar District,
Karnataka, India

I have been meaning to pen down my thoughts about my time spent in my study area since a very long time but somehow the words wouldn't flow out straight. I saw a lot of things and and it somehow confused me. I went down to field with no pre-conceived notions. My advisor had warned me innumerable number of times to get rid of any biases that I may possess.

Happy..Simple joys

The NGO that hosts me also runs an orphanage. This is not any 'ordinary' orphanage in the real sense of the term. The children who live here are either school dropouts, or children who work as labour on farms or children who are just too poor enough to afford going to school. And these children are around 25 boys ranging from 5 years to 14 years. The NGO trains them for a year and then helps them with admissions into primary schools. Girls still don't have the privilege to be a part of such an institution as it is difficult to convince the parents that girls also need to study. It is indeed a luxury to go to school when one can rather contribute by earning wages by working on the fields. 

The day begins for them at 5 am. They get up with a lot of clamour as all children do and start rushing off to start the day's work. They have to clean the compounds, bring in the vegetables, wash the rice (in a huge cauldron like vessel), wash their clothes and then take a bath at the community tap. Then at 8 they start their breakfast after a quick prayer to Annadatta. It's time for studies after this which continues till lunch time.

Bathing!

After lunch they have some respite from the rigor of their studies and they sit around trying to complete some sums or just 'read'. It sure was fun to watch them play kabaddi one evening. By 5 it's again back to studies till 10 in the night with a short break for dinner. The kids are a disciplined lot. They obey their master who doesn't refrain from using his cane liberally. They fear their elders and flinch when spoken to. 

Prayers before dinner

I looked at the kids hard for 2 days before I ventured out to speak and play with them. I could only think that city kids are such a privileged lot and I was so thankful that I was lucky enough to receive the 'benefits' of living in a city and well, not a life like these kids.

On my last night I was invited to teach the children some English so that it would inspire them to keep trying to learn it. The logic being that an outsider would have greater impact on the kids rather than someone close harping about its importance day in and day out. I hesitated at first thinking that I didn't in any way want to play a part in already burdening the children but after some insistence I gave in and went.

It was 10 pm. The kids looked dead sleepy to me. A bunch of 5 kids were made to sit upfront because they were 'better' in English that the rest of the class. I mulled over what to teach such a lot because I was sure that hardly anything would make sense to them when all they wanted to do was sleep. Having no choice I started by telling them about seasons. The response was overwhelming. I could see no trace of their sleepiness and they were just so eager to soak in any bit of knowledge that came their way. Maybe the night was playing games with me.

In the classroom

The kids were very willing to sing songs so we started with Jack and Jill and Hum honge kaamyaab. And they just loved it. They followed the tone of my voice and the actions of Jack and Jill sent them into thrills.

Song singing-still looking fearful

Before leaving one boy who was 'better' at English asked me, "Tumchya sarka English bolayla kay karava lagta?" That is the point when a lot of conflicting emotions hit me-I was so touched and glad they they have the hunger to learn and yet saddened by the fact that though the hunger exists, the opportunities were not going to be easy to come by.

I say this because they previous day in one of the villages I saw one kid in his uniform roaming in the village while the rest of the children were in school. I asked him why he wasn't in school. Pat came the reply, ''Today I had to go on the field to work with my parents''.

Though these kids will be sent to school in June, there is no guarantee that they will remain in school. For most it will be back to the fields. 

Score: Me=100, them=0

Dhud-dhud-dhud-dhud-dhud..Drrrrrr rrrrrrrr drrrrrrrrrrrr...thudd thud thud thud!!!! Enough I screamed. My head was being drilled into and smashed at the same time. My ears continued to ring..first far and then slow, louder and then softer. I put my hands over my ears but I couldn't shut out the feeling. Even with eyes closed I could see the drill entering my head.
Opposite my home, 2 cranes had made my life a medley of obnoxious sounds since the past 3 weeks. Days and nights I was dragged to their horrid party. Our request to stop the drilling after 10 p.m. fell on deaf ears.  Blatant violation of the law and a cocky attitude was their modus operandi. I bet that people must have suffered sleepless nights but not one had the thought of stopping them.
So here is what happened next:

11.45- Dialled 100. Phone rings.On the 8th ring the phone was answered.
Him-Hello
Me- Hello. Main Wanowrie se bol rahin hoon. Mere ghar ke paas roz raat ko construction ka kaam hota hain... petrol pump ke samne.
Him-Aaarey madam. Te road construction asel. Te allowed aahe.
Me- Nahi! Te road che kaam nahi karat aahe. Ani te pan 10 nantar allowed nahi aahe!
Him- Okay Madam. Tumcha phone number ani naav sanga.
Me-Pranietha Mudliar ani phone number **********
Him-Okay madam. Thank you.
Me- Tumcha naav kay aahe?
Him (Long pause)- Bagha Madam. Tumhi police control room la 100 dial karun majhyashi boltat aahe. Fakta he garjecha aahe. Baaki sagla soda.
Me (Rolling eyes)- Okay. Thank you.
Now I was restless. I paced my room like a caged lion.
00.00-Voila! They came! I ran to the window. Saw them wield their power. Within seconds the crane shut itself off. Now the only sound I could hear was the men and the police talking. A group gathered around the police with a bunch of papers. The police gave some damming instructions I think because nobody dared to say anything.

Police at work

00.12- The police sat on their bike and zoomed off. The silence persisted. No sounds now, just men moving in the dark that looked like stunned shadows.

There has been no drilling today. One crane is not to be seen. Everything is peaceful and quiet once again.
Normal? Just need to wait and watch now.

The light shines...and all that.

The fact that University days are over for good is hitting hard these days. Undoubtedly this were one of the most memorable journeys that I have had until now. So many new vistas opened and every day was like a new discovery of the self. Ambitions long forgotten started being realized and the good-kind-of-feeling started rubbing in real hard. University does grow on you.
Now if I'm asked to pinpoint any particular memory that stands out everything just seems like a blurred film in fast forward mode. Rush rush rush. A curious mixture of 1 and a half years packaged into a 30 seconds. We entered, made the best possible friends and now we are on are way out all too soon.
Being out is strangely exciting, so many magical stories, worlds and people to explore and so many chances to imbibe their experiences and learn. Again the feeling of being a small fish in a big, big pond.
But this small fish will grow- That I promise you :)

LANCE-He's Back!!!

I was woken up early on the 10th by my sister calling from America. I didn't answer the call as sleep seemed too inviting to wake up and talk. I gave the call a miss. I shouldn't have done that. Later after 15 minutes I logged onto the net and checked my mail. Awesome news awaited me. Lance was coming back out of his retirement to take part in the forthcoming Tour de France!!! Quelle surprise!!! My joy quickly turned into a shouting ecstacy and I muttered incorrigible rubbish at my mother who didnt even bother to make sense out of it. Sadly my sister was not online at that time and so I lost my chance to share the excitement with her.

It's true that the tournament lost it's lustre after Lance's retirement. I never saw another Tour de France after he retired. It did not seem to have excitement and the thrill that was induced just watching him lead the others in the pack. He said it himself that the pace of the Tour seemed very slow and so he is returning to jazz it up. And jazz it up, he definitely will.

So now he's the anti-cancer crusader is back at what he's doing best- screaming and swearing while rushing down the Alpines at 75mph with the American flag on his back and the star of Texas on his helmet...