Freeing to walk the Villages

Blue skies, fresh air and peace

Endless fields sprinkled with rows of palm trees

The word village will always bring me wonderful images of kind people doing simple things, working hard and welcoming me into their humble spaces.  One of my favorite experiences was walking through the villages nearby.  Last year this was prohibited for volunteers.  This year it was different.  I enjoyed the freedom of walking through the countryside.  Rising Star is surrounded by a peaceful, rural vista.  It is far removed from the hustle and bustle of the city.  Being out here I found myself focusing on the beauty of the nature surrounding me.  I saw the beauty in people doing simple tasks in order to function in life.

I love the fields of green

This adorable girl was bringing in her two goats for the night.

This is not an uncommon site

Rice paddy field

So India-The women work so hard here to live.

The things carried on heads continues to amaze me.

I drank in the miles of green fields growing rice, bananas, sugar cane and a variety of vegetables.  I smiled at people herding goats and leading cows to water.  I took in the contrasting colors of brightly clad women in saris gathering brush, bringing back water or carrying food on septis on top of their heads to share with family.  I noticed different things on this visit back to a country that I love so much.

When walking down the streets of the villages I always was welcomed by people smiling at me and saying “Vanakkum” as I passed.  Many offered water or put their hand to their mouth making sure I had enough to eat….willing to share.  People with so little compared to me wanting to share what little they have continues to touch my heart then but also in my reflection back.

This mother was really sweet.
 Most little kids are minimally dressed in the hot weather.

Grandma's are proud of their little ones the world over.

This happy family was full of Vanakkum spirit.  They wanted  to feed me.

I didn’t always intend to take pictures but was always coaxed into pulling my camera out by mothers and children.  When they see white people they always assume we have one.  Many love to have their photo taken and to look at it as soon as it has been taken.  Most do not have gadgets like this and appear as if it is the most amazing invention ever.  A simple Iphone.  I won’t even mention the reaction video gets.  I was thrilled with the joy this would bring to some of the people.

A beautiful grandma

I tried to get the kids to gather around her but she ended
up peeking in between them.
 The children in the village that do not go to Rising Star speak limited English.

Precious.

Some of my favorite picture taking moments were of mothers, grandmothers, families and babies.  Some would be insistent in my taking their pictures so they could view the portrait of their faces together.  They would smile at me and usually I would say, “Alamuela”…beautiful or “Bubbalu” for cute towards the baby.  The look exchanged from one mother to another was priceless.  Many times I thought about what the need was behind seeing oneself and her child on someone else’s camera.  They know that they most likely will not receive a copy of this moment.  Maybe it is simply to know that their history is being recorded somehow on an image that will last.  I only wish I had a polaroid.  I would be the most popular person in any village.

This cute little family turned around just so I could click a picture of them.

This family was so friendly.  The son on the left could speak some English
 and invited me to come into their home but I just took a picture and moved on. 

This is a little Christian church at the edge of the village before we turn off to
Rising Star.  It is in such a quaint setting.

This was a little Hindu worship temple and than they built a bigger one....

The picture doesn't do it justice but it was brightly
 colored and freshly painted. 

This worship spot is at the crossroads in one of the bigger villages.

In every village there is small churches and worship temples.  Gifts of rice, spices and other things are left at many of these places.  India is a very faithful place and also very accepting of all faiths.  I enjoyed seeing the different styles of structures erected and decorated simply to show gratitude for the Higher Being they worshipped.  This society appeals to my nature in the way they show humble gratitude for all they have.

I am India royalty!

Cows are held in high regard.  The more cows there is in a village, the far better off they are perceived to be.  They are well taken care of and their presence is noticeable and not only in the presents they leave behind as they strut through the streets.

Taken when driving through the village.

Taken in a place called the Junction

I took this outside of my window on a rainy day as we drove
 down the road away from Rising Star.

On this trip I was fascinated by ox pulled carts.  The carts were usually blue in color and the horns on the ox were colored red, green or blue.  Sometimes at the end of the day you would see a whole train of them rolling down the road making for home after a hard day’s work.  It seems so old fashioned and refreshing to me. Many times in India I have felt like I was living in “The Little House on the Prairie” times.  I loved those books as a child and the kids here in India like these books too.  It is probably because they relate to some of the situations.  Those books are about people doing hard things to build their lives to survive.  This is what village life in India is like.  One of our volunteer coordinators, Julie Domm,  in conversation, one day said something that summed up what I think about here in comparison to America.  “The people here work so hard to live.  We (as in Americans) work so hard to play.”  So true.

Come and get your meat for the week!

These were big pots of Chicken Buriyani and it smelled good.
They had the music cranked up and people
 were arriving with bowls in hand.

The village life is very simple.  Many people cook outside, campfire style.  You also will see them with basins of water washing clothes in the old fashioned way.  Sometimes you will see someone who is making a lot of food to share with the village.  On Sundays at the edge of town you will see someone butchering meat and piecing it out to share with those that want some.  it is usually goat. 

One of the fancier houses in the village. 

An elderly lady stands outside her quaint home.

An add on addition.

It is not unusual to have a family of seven or eight in a hut like this.

The low thatched roofs keep it cool for the hot days.

Notice the satellite....old with new.  Sometimes a hut will have one on it.

  There is a variety of different types of homes.  They range from a simple lean to hut to a brightly colored cemented structure with marble tile inside.  In most homes the belongings are sparse and kept to what is necessary. Once in a while you will see a satellite dish hooked up to one of these places.  It looks so foreign but as I have said before, India is a conflicted place.  They struggle to integrate the old with the new.

I am a part of the India kaleidoscope in this picture.

 What I notice most is that the people are always out front interacting with one another and enjoying the company of their neighbors.  On one of my walks seven or eight women of various ages surrounded me and commented on my jewelry and what I was wearing.  They showed approval by saying; “Super” (pronounced "Supah") as they pointed to whatever captured their eye.  The word "Super" is the same in both languages.  At one point my wedding ring was pointed out.  I said, “Marriage ring.”  One of the elderly grandmas laughed and pulled the rope around her neck saying, “Marriage rope. I want one of those instead.”  I pointed to her toes and said, “I want one of those.”  When women are married here they wear a rope or, if wealthy, a golden rope around their neck and toe rings around their middle toes.  We laughed and continued to converse in the limited English they knew.  I would have loved to have taught them more English if I was here longer.  What a fun group of women.

Nandha is one of my happiest students.  He had to show
me where he lived as soon as he saw me.

The girl in the center is an albino student, Nisha. She is very sweet.
They were drawing pictures when I saw them.

I told them to hold their heads up.  One understood.

These boys were so much fun.  Notice the flags:)

He was showing me his skills.

The kids in the village are always outside playing.  I took joy in a group of boys playing a stick game.  They performed all kinds of dancing and gymnastics in front of my camera so they could watch themselves on video.  I would hear them calling, “Auntie, over here!”  It is often that you will see kids playing Cricket with whatever they can find to be a bat and a ball on an open dirt or grass field.  I would also see kids riding rusty bikes all around, some too big for them.  Many of the little kids would wave and yell to you from doorways.  Sometimes you would get older kids that would want you to meet the members of their families.  Human connection is what a walk through the village is all about.

This was Ashwin's family.  His mother, standing next to me,
has Vanakkum spirit.

Two lovely young women

Spending time with these students was a highlight.

Bala and Ashwin

My village tour guides

My village students were so honored that I would want to visit their homes and meet their families.  They loved being my tour guides and pointing various things out to me that I may not notice.  I am sure it is similar to the joy I feel when I am able to be a tourist in my own town when people visit me.  They also like to tell everyone that I am their English Miss.  On my last Sunday I decided I wasn’t going to drive in to church...an all day event.  I wanted to go to the village and see my students.  Some of them were home.  Ashwin’s parents welcomed me in by giving me fresh coconut juice out of a freshly cut coconut.  I also ate some of the flesh from it.  They brought out cookies on little tin plates while visiting with me.  Many times my students had to interpret to them what I was saying or visa versa.  I came to realize why this boy has such a radiant smile.  He is loved by a beautiful and happy family.
 

Some of my fantastic village students

My most cherished experiences I will reflect on will be my walks with these wonderful kids by my side, playing with my camera and me listening to their dreams and sharing funny stories as we enjoy the peace this place brings to me.

Vanakkum Spirit

Vanakkum is the way the people in Tamil Nadu greet you.  They usually put their hands together near their upper chest and say this with a beautiful smile and a slight bow of the head.  It also can mean do you have enough to eat.  I love this word and the love that is behind it.  

Today I went to the Moot Colony.  There are only a few patients there they sure do have the "Vanakkum spirit."  There was one beautiful lady that was on the road saying this to us as our medical vans pulled in.  Her small, leprosy affected hands were held together near her charming face that had a warm smile on it.  She told me her name, which has left my memory, but her face will always be there.

Some of these patients are deeply affected by this disease.  Krishnan is one of them.  He places his body most times on a wheeled cart and moves himself around.  When not on it he is able to navigate on all fours in a crab crawling fashion.  The disease has taken away his hands and his feet. 

 His sweet wife takes care of him.  She is leprosy affected as well.  The disease has taken away her sight completely on the right side.  All four limbs are affected but she is still able to take care of their basic needs.  She is a tiny woman and her caring spirit for her husband is evident.  I have witnessed this time and time again.  Those with less offer so much to others.  The Indian people have a wonderful way of showing affection.  Many times over I have received a kiss from them.  They do this by kissing their fingers and putting it on your face.  I have adopted that sign of affection.  This woman gave me a kiss like that and I received it and returned one to her.

She had her small  foot bandaged and also had an ulcer on the knee.

My job was oiling the feet.  I love doing this as it is such an intimate way to show love for another.  While I was massaging the small feet and rubbing the oil on the patient's affected limb I was internalizing how this small act makes me feel inside.  I felt love not pity for these people.  My goal was to make their feet feel clean, massaged and show that I care.  I know the act is simple but it is looking into their eyes while doing it that is more powerful.  I may not speak the language but my eyes do.

Carl clipped off bandages and washed feet.

Miranda assisted Navumani with bandaging

I didn't get to do many feet today but as I sat there quietly and watched and listened to what others were doing and saying, I was filled with gratitude and love for the people I was serving with and the people we were visiting.  I saw one of our patients, Jayraj, lifting up the spirits of others by sharing his gregarious laughter and love of song.  He entertained us all and does not allow leprosy to bring him down.  The power of a positive attitude was evident in the way he lives life.  I saw Miranda making friends with a small girl.  I saw Berlyn, Callie and Carl making jokes and putting smiles on our faces. I saw Julie quietly taking pictures and socializing with the people.  I saw the nurses looking out for everyone and taking great care that we all were safely administering care and that the patients were getting all they needed.  I saw Anandon and Velu, our drivers, be at the ready for anything that was needed.  The people that surrounded me today are the embodiment of what my Savior and our living prophet have taught us to be like. 

Berlyn took blood pressure today with every patient.

Jayraj made our time there so much fun!

Isn't she lovely?  They all are.

As we backed away from the colony, I sat in the front seat next to our positive, kind driver, Anandon.  I made eye contact with that same lovely woman who greeted us.  She waved goodbye and blew a kiss.  I felt it and I never want to forget that connection.  Once again, the people of India continue to make their way into my heart ever deeper than the day before. Vanakkum spirit.