All things must end

Today, we have completed 4 weeks of our 7 week internship and it feels both like we have been in India 4 years and at the same time only 4 days. I have in these four weeks seen and learned SO incredibly much about India, handicraft, dyeing, the culture, people close to me and myself. I am so grateful for this opportunity and also look forward to being with my family again. I wish so much they could have been with me on this trip.

Family is everything in India. Last night, we were invited to Kishore’s home and he lives in a house with his family and his brother’s family. Their kids grow up together as brothers and sisters. In fact, whenever I ask about relationships, it is always “my brother”, even when it is some distant cousin. He looked at me puzzled when I asked how long he had lived there and replied “Six generations, of course!” The loyalty to both family and community is so natural that it is the foundation for the belief in giving back to your community.

So many times we have heard stories about people going off to Bombay or other places but their names would surface because of something they had done for their home community. You never cut the ties with where you are from. This reminded me much of what both Hetal and Komal said. Hetal explained that, even though you move away from your birth area, you make it a point to know your regional language and customs and visit regularly. Komal, the lady I met in the train, was taking a trip back to her ancestor’s home, a ritual not to be neglected.

Like with everything else, there is a healthy middle, a balance. There are benefits from being more fluid and benefits to remembering your roots. But in the middle of it all is family! I miss mine terribly.

This morning, I woke up much too early again (4:00am!) so I decided to go sit at the dining table I have come to really enjoy. All things have a cycle and it is time for us to leave this beautiful place and return to Bombay. I think we are leaving just in time, because the monsoon is slowly creeping its way up here and the humidity has increased much since yesterday. With the humidity, the bugs have also increased……

We started the day with a meeting with Kishore and Vasand. It was interesting to go from being partly an observer of the delicate dance between social chit chat and business to be an active participant. The purpose of the meeting was for us to tell them what our findings had been for the week and I was so glad I spent those early morning hours writing down everything gleaned during the day.

During the meeting I found out that Vasand and Kishore had worked together for many years and they have been instrumental in so many implementations of development in Kutch. The one that really shocked me was when Vasand told me how he had been part of inventing a simple restroom facility for women. Huh?? He continued to explain that until the restrooms had started being built all over the area in 1995, women would not have anywhere to take care of “things” and would hold it all day until dark!! I was shocked!

Vasand has a huge love for his country and especially Kutch. He told us about the history and called his wife to bring some of the old coins used in Kutch until the unification. His eyes lit up every time he thought of something new and ended by saying: “I hope I haven’t bored you. I am an Indian at heart but I will always be a Kutchi!” How could I have been bored?!

We left for Bhuj in the late afternoon and before we boarded I got to taste the delicious Dabeli (served on half a magazine page) one more time. Then Kishore took us through a market area so we could get some dried fruits and nuts for the trip. My eyes feasted on the colors, sounds, smells and sights and I wish I could have spent some more time there.

Once on the train, we initially had the foolish thought that we might have some more space than usual. At first, we had the “compartment” to ourselves, but that would soon change. A horrific dream I had had before our trip to Kutch just about came true when nothing less than a very colorful Indian rural family boarded and were part of our fellow companions for the next 16 hours. After packing the little space left with an incredible amount of luggage wrapped in very creative bundles, the head of the clan decided it was time for some music. We had a true cultural immersion for hours in rural Indian music as he turned on his little tape recorder and played the music as loud as he could. I think I have found a market for headsets!! All that was missing from my dream were the goats, and I wouldn’t have been one bit surprised to have found them in the bathroom. I didn’t.

I had had a wonderful time in Kutch. I not only learned so much valuable information for our mission here, but Kutch is such a beautiful area and has equally beautiful people. We might not have had A/C, Internet, and living of vegan meals for a week would for an ultimate carnivore like me be unlikely, but the people took the raw ingredients and turned the entire week into a wonderful experience. Including the food.