This morning I walked through a neighboring Village, Thottenhavel. Animals roam the street, kids run about and the women are busy at work.
Through the lens this place looks beautiful, right? Fantastic colors jump at you everywhere you look. Friendly faces wave at my camera as I stop to take a photos. These people get up early to gather water and enjoy the cool air for the short time it lasts. I saw dogs, chickens, kittens, and lets not forget the “Holy Cow” rule the street. The animals have the right away to the streets here, especially the COW. Cows really are Holy here. They defiantly don’t eat them! Instead they worship them. (Something the Americans should look into..ha!) Everything about the cow is Holy. Right down to it’s Poop!
I caught a picture of a woman loving stroking her cow as it was being milked. It was sweet.
I so badly wanted to prod a bit more into their personal space to take pictures but I didn’t. I took what I could get as I walked through. Once I returned and looked over my loot I discovered I captured more beauty than expected. The beauty that came through is of the people. The friendly children who run to the street and wait for you to take their photo.
The women doing laundry or carrying a child just like I do back home.
The beauty is in who they are not where they are.
If you were to take a step back you would see filth. Homes with dirt floors, built out of scraps and garbage everywhere.
There is nothing civil as I know it. Nothing is in order, nothing is new.
They pump water from a well
and hang their clothes to dry, but when you make eye contact with them they light up with a smile. (with or without teeth,)
This is life to them and it is a beautiful life.
Just look at the kids in my photos and the women- they are a happy people. It’s not sad.
What IS sad is the thought that people think they NEED things to be happy. I didn’t see a single thing in this Village, except the bike, that I have at home. I wonder what they would think if they saw how I live.
I thought about the many rooms I have in my house as I looked through the door of a hut and saw right through it. I thought about my many loads of laundry I throw in a machine and walk away as I watched a mother hang her laundry on the line with a smile.
I yearned for the pace of life I saw on the street as two women sat to braid hair, and the men looked yonder. The simple life is not sad. They use what they have and have what they use. I like that.
I could do better.
This afternoon at lunch, I was so hungry. I spent the morning doing Construction with my group. We hauled sand and rocks in metal disks, on our head, to a few homes in order to build bathrooms. Oh! The sun was HOT! I loved it though.
Locals would pull up a chair and watch us pace back and forth with each load over our head. They were happy to have us there. Again, at first glance the place looked terrible. After walking the street all morning I discovered beautiful doors, gates and drawings on things. Beauty is everywhere here, but first you need to look beyond yourself.
By the time I returned for lunch I had worked up a hefty appetite. I dished up a plate of rice and a few other things to go with the rice and sat down to dig in. Once I tasted it I knew I wanted more! This was the best dish so far this week. (and all of them have been good!) I returned to get more rice then happily sat down to eat. I soon realized my eyes were bigger than my stomach! Then I felt ashamed! I did not need that much food nor will I do that again!
The day ended in a beautiful way. There is something magical about being in India and dancing in the rain! AHhhh!
Tomorrow we travel into a different city to shop and play at the beach. Looking forward to the Photos!!!!
PS~ People keep asking me if I’ve heard from the family. I have to keep telling them No. I check my email everyday and get NOTHING!! What’s going on at home? Hello....anyone there?
Party with Grandma, I guess? :) No News is Good News, right? Maybe this Sunday we can iChat
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