Welcome to INDIA!
Oh my gosh, there is so much to write about, where should I start?
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| Chilling at the New Delhi airport before our flight to Jodhpur |
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| The services where we are staying...incredible! |
We were picked up by three Indian men, all of whom work for Jacqueline. Everyone seems to know who you are in India, which is a really interesting concept considering that India is the second most populated country in the world. Emily and I agreed however, that this is probably because the two of us stick out like a sore thumb wherever we go. Thus, when you have been sent to the airport to look for two young girls who look ‘slightly lost’, your task is pretty simple. In a way, I find that it is a slightly liberating feeling to be considered part of ‘the minority’. We are so different to everyone else in this country, which is wonderful for our cultural experience, but also quite intimidating. We have already realised that wherever we go, we will be looked at strangely, and that is normal in a way. We just have to accept it.
The first thing that I fell in love with about India was the car trips. Even though none of us wore seat belts, it is really such an amazing experience to watch what is like a film of extremes pass by your window as you drive along. From the palaces that resemble the Taj Mahal in the background, to the families of five all sitting on ONE motorcycle, it just blows your mind. We were quite shocked however, when our driver spontaneously decided to make a ‘unique’ short cut.
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| I love what it says on the back of this truck in front....HORN PLEASE! |
There is this long strip of road that starts and ends with a roundabout (similar to an Australian highway) that we have to venture along to get from out accommodation to the school. Along this strip also lies the hotel that Jacqueline is staying at. You know how on many Australian highways, there is a nature strip that divides the left and the right of the road? Well, this driver did not want to have to make the journey from one roundabout to another, so he decided to literally DRIVE ON THE WRONG SIDE OF THE ROAD in front of oncoming traffic to save like, five minutes of travel time. You have no idea how afraid I was. It was like one of those crazy American police chasing movies with Tom Cruise, with the protagonist travelling in the opposite direction to every other vehicle on the road. And I mean every other vehicle. There was not only cars that we were facing head on, but also took-tooks, a lot of motorbikes, and the occasional bicycle. What an entry into India.
Our first stop-off in India was the hotel where Jacqueline was staying. Words cannot describe how incredibly stunning and beautiful the location is. There is an aquamarine pool, that is decorated with spinning wheels alongside the pool. The spinning wheel is rich in symbolism in India, it appears as the centre-piece of the Indian flag. The orange represents courage, the white represents purity and the green represents fertility. To be honest, I find flags incredibly interesting (although I am not as interested as Sheldon Cooper, I might add! If you haven't watched that episode of The Big Bang Theory, please do!!)
The hotel has many gardens throughout the grounds, which are all little pieces of an incredible oasis. Jodhpur is literally on the edge of a desert, and you only need to drive for ten minutes out of the city centre to appreciate this. Thus, many of the wealthier occupants have their own pools for convenience. The hotel is a really interesting mis-match of British and Indian cultural icons. As you walk into the reception lobby, you are greeted by an incredibly large moose head, which was slightly intimidating!
Another interesting thing about India is the toilet situation. In every toilet that I have been to so far, the toilet bowl is accompanied by a detachable hose that is meant to be used to clean one’s bottom. This is because many Indians do not believe in the use of toilet paper, and so subsequently reserve their left hand for all ‘unclean’ duties and reserve their right hand for eating. I am trying really hard to remember this custom and to not fall back into my natural habits, because tomorrow we are eating at the school, where a lot of the students will eat with their hands, which we will be expected to do as well. When in India, do as the Indians do.
We had a beautiful lunch, that was literally my dream type of lunch. I had this awesome cauliflower curry that was super delicious, and just the right amount was served. It was interesting watching the others choose continental meals. I feel that whilst in India, I want to embrace every cultural experience possible, and that includes all the opportunities to eat Indian foods.
What Jacqueline had to say today about the work that we would be doing was really amazing. She spoke earnestly about the plight of child brides in India. There are seventy girls that we will be teaching over the next four weeks, and thirty-five of these girls have already been allocated husbands. One of the girls is only eleven, and she has already had her ‘destiny’ determined - she will be the bride of some older man that she has never actually met yet. She hopes to study hard and make it into university, but that dream may never come to fruition if she is married off at sixteen, as is the current plan.
When we arrived at the school, two of the girls (we were told that they were child brides from their dress and jewellery), greeted us with a traditional Indian welcoming. We were each given a bindi, had rice sprinkled on our foreheads and water poured before our feet. I still have to find out the unique symbolism behind these beautiful gestures.
Our school is a catchment for many of the desert girls in the region. There are four ‘types’ of girls who come into the school - the General Caste, the Scheduled Caste, the Other Backward Caste and the scheduled tribe. I already hate using these terms with a passion, and today is the first day that I have heard them in use. I just cannot imagine a democracy functioning with such inequitable divisions within the society. It just does not seem rational. The Caste system basically determines who you can be friends with when you are a child. When you are an adult, it determines who you can marry, and who you can mix with. Unique to Sambhali, all of the Castes get along incredibly well, and have not had any major hiccups in the ten years that the school has been in existence. However, this harmonious scenario is not replicated across India. Jacqueline told us of a story from last week, where a group of the Scheduled Caste was barred from entering a Temple in the centre of Jodhpur because of their lower social position as opposed to the General caste (also referred to as the Higher Caste). This kind of discrimination seems to belong in the distant history of human social development, not in the twenty-first century.
However, Sambhali is working to stop this. By creating a harmonious boarding environment for students from a variety of classes, perhaps we can be the catalysts for a new generation that is rich with acceptance and a strong appreciation for diversity. We can see that many women suffer under the cloak of oppression - unable to go out and enjoy a rich and diverse social life when they are a wife is the least of their problems. They are plighted with a lack of respect that does not reflect their rich contribution to Indian society.
It is interesting to view some of the Bollywood musical productions and compare this with the reality that goes on in India. Whilst on Bollywood the women seem to have a definite sense of control, in real life, this independence is not replicated. I am not arguing for the materialisation of these film clips into reality, but rather for a deeper respect for female respect overall.
I am really excited, because Jacqueline said that she would like to take us to see an Indian film at the cinema in Jodhpur. Apparently, everyone is incredible lively at the Indian cinema. They boo, laugh and joke around at everything that appears on screen. It should be a treat! We may also get the opportunity to attend a traditional Indian wedding on the weekend, which I am over the moon about! The only wedding I have been to was in a garden. It was a lovely wedding, but I would like to attend another one. I have heard that Henna is traditionally a symbol for women who are getting married. Moreover, many brides wear a wedding ring on their toes as a symbol of marriage.
Let me describe India for you. It is like a bath of rich, warm colours. You feel as if you are in a slight haze when ever you walk outside. This is just an observation from my first day, and may be a result of very little sleep and too much watching of Rouge: Mission Impossible and Inside Out on the flight from Sydney to New Delhi, but I think that this picture has quite a scientific explanation. Jodhpur is continually bathed in smog. Smog that is released from cigarettes, cars, buses, took-tooks, rickshaws, motor bikes, and of course, the burning of street side rubbish that smoulders every single day. Emily and I watched as fumes of smoke evaporated from the sided of the road, freely. The embers would flicker like Bollywood dancers into the air, and no head would turn. If a fire started, It would only consume yet more rubbish that was nearby, and in the minds of most people, this was a good thing. This was global warming happening before our eyes. The rubbish piles, despite the reductive process of burning, never reduce in size. Instead they grow like cancerous mounds around the city. In between each pile of rubbish stumble rabid dogs and emancipated cows and goats. occasionally, there is the odd camel, but this is rare as camels are quite expensive animals in India. I find this really interesting, as in outback Australia (where camels are not even native) camel herds abound in plentiful numbers. Haha, the irony. there is also the odd horse. This afternoon, as we drove along in our main mode of transport, the white jeep with the incredibly long number plate, we saw a man galloping along on a beautiful white horse without a helmet (no one wears a helmet to do anything in India, let’s be honest). The horse was dressed in the jewels of an Indian princess, and so Sophie (Jacqueline’s close friend from France), explained that the man was probably going to attend a wedding. How opportunistic to see such a sight! To be honest though, everything that I saw today was worth noting.
It is hard to believe, but the class that I am taking has not had a teacher since July early this year. Essentially, the foundation is incredibly short on volunteers, and I am continually reminded that every little bit of support really helps. So, for July until November, there has been no one here to help the girls with their english. The truth is, if they do not pass the exams at the end of the year, many of them will become child brides as soon as their families can marry them off. I am reminded of how much I stressed about my exams last week, and I realise that these girls have gone through so much more. Imagine having to pass an exam to stop you from a lifetime of entrapment? I have to get to work fast!
Early this evening, before dinner, Emily and I planned our method of attack for the following school day. We decided to break up the weeks into topics to focus on, which will help us develop spelling lists and themed games. We also thought of some songs that we could teach (as I brought my ukulele!) and the short stories that we could help them write.
I feel that I better sign off now - I can hear some large BANG sounds outside my window. I am telling myself that they are just the sound of a car backfiring, but somehow I think they are too loud for that. They are probably fireworks! Diwali has just finished in India, which is one of the biggest and most important festivals of the year. I cannot wait to write my next entry tomorrow!
Alvidaa,
Erica xx.
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