Kathgodam, Uttarakhand - 4th March 2011

We arrive bright and early in the morning to find a large gathering of people waiting under the tent thing for our interaction today. Today’s session is unique as Rakesh decides to mix it up and try something new. He gives a small talk. The subject today was poverty. What is poverty? Have you ever been in poverty? How does it affect a person mentally, physically and emotionally? Instead of a regular interaction, he told everybody to divide up into about 10 groups and then each group should hold a discussion. Ravi and Prashanth and all assisted as the mass of people segregated. Ravi took the mic.

“Haan, to hum sab bhai-behen 10 groups banayenge. Jin sabka group number 1 hai, vo sab yahan (waves hand right) par aa jayen.. Yahan par.. Yeh.. In do cheezon ke beech.. Yeh, kya kehte hain? Father, in ko kya bolte hain? .... Haan, in ‘poles’ ke beech aa jayen” (embarrassed smile).

A smatter of laughter followed from the crowd. Ravi’s childishness was unexpected, but it helped loosen them up, especially since topic was so heavy.

Each group elected a leader and a general secretary. Then they held their discussion while Rakesh, Ravi and Prashanth fluttered between groups and joined in. Once the time was up, the leader and general secretary came up and shared what the group felt for each of the questions.

It was interesting to note how different all the answers from each of the groups were. Sure there were some things that overlapped, but overall, most of the answers were distinct from each other. But the end was most insightful. Rakesh spoke about the Millennium Development Goals (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Millennium_Development_Goals) and how they were all linked to poverty in some way or the other. So in order to develop any country and help eradicate a whole lot of its problems, you have to start with poverty.

What perspective! I hadn’t even seen that coming.. How everything can be tied to 1 thing. Really makes you think..

In the afternoon there was a diverse cultural program where there were dances and there was a skit on saving the environment and there was also a qawali sung on national integration. The chief guest was a young lady councillor, Ms. Renu Adhikari, who, when she addressed the audience, said how important the issues we were bringing up were and how inspiring it was to see young people taking the lead in tackling them. It was nice to watch her on stage. She was wearing a pretty blue sari, and had a very confident quality about her. She wasn’t afraid to be who she was and she projected that really well. Something to embibe..

Another young lady, Ms. Richa Raj, gave an inspiring speech. They announced that she was an Assistant Professor at St. Stephen’s College in Delhi. She just looked soooo young! Like a student herself! And she spoke so well about country and how we, as young people, can make a difference.

A young gentleman, Mr. Bishen Singh Bhisht, took the stage soon after and spoke in crisp Hindi which was equally motivational and fiery. He was also a professor in a place close to Kathgodam (I forget the name). He’s done many collaborations with various NGOs and all and arranged programs for school and college students. He told me later he had only written half of what he spoke, the rest just came naturally. I realized that he just felt so strongly about it that he spoke from his heart. That’s how it ‘comes naturally.’

Just seeing the energy of these youth in their respective fields was inspiring in itself.  I guess sometimes, we don’t need a famous personality to give us that push within and derive inspiration. These people showed us that.

Our girls performed their dance drama today. In many places they performed a Mother Teresa prayer dance, now we got to see the whole dance drama of which this was a part of. The Mother Teresa piece was moving on its own, but seeing as part of this larger drama, it reached a whole ‘nother level. I remember quietly wiping away a few tears while watching them.

Hats off to our girls! Only a job well done could trigger that response..

In the evening after the program, a bunch of us head down to visit the Gola Baraj river close by. It was so pleasant! And not to mention so beautiful! After so many long days of travel and non stop programs, this was a very refreshing touch to our stay here. And especially since we came with the intention of leaving work behind for a bit.

On the way we picked up some samosas and pakoras. The weather was cloudy and a little windy, as though about to rain. (What some in Delhi call ‘India Gate Weather’) Having the samosas and pakoras here and now was the like the ultimate enjoyment. As they say, It doesn’t get better than this.

And it doesn’t.

Haridwar, Uttarakhand & On The Way To Jalandhar, Punjab - 5th March 2011

Guess what?? Our program’s in the local paper!! That is sooooooooo cooooooool!!

And we’re on the road again, this time to Jalandhar, Punjab. It’s a looong way off, but there are no bets this time about when we’ll reach. Learning from past experience (see On The Way To Lucknow, 1^st March) everybody is just going with the flow.

As we head out, we’re leaving the hilly Uttarakhand and moving on to warmer weather. Everyone says how much they like winters and hilly areas for the coldish weather, but I’ve always loved the warmth of the sunshine. I might tan easily, but even standing with your back to the hot sun, and letting it collect and rest against your skin – I can take that anyday. But despite that, I enjoyed the cool breeze today morning with the light sunshine as we drove past the green fields and plains towards Punjab.

We reach Haridwar on the way and one of our pilots, Swami chetta, expresses his desire to bathe in the holy waters of the Ganga. So we stop for a while and accompany him to the bathing site. On the way up, Ravi asks me about why this river is special and so revered. I tell him about how, among the Hindus, the river is considered sacred and that by bathing in it all your sins are washed off. Ravi started to laugh. It was fun to see someone who considered such a notion incredulous and found it funny. But there are soooooooooo many people who believe in this with their whole being and practice it with full sincerity. They even believe that by bathing here you’ll attain Moksha, or be released from the cycle of life & death. I wonder whether to tell Ravi that or not.

I look back at him. He’s still smiling.

We reach the river where people are in various stages of undress, fresh from just immersing themselves or just about to go in. It wasn’t as crowded as we thought it would be, but I guess those times also have their seasons. None of the rest of us are quite inclined to go in ourselves, but I’m up for dipping my feet in. Just to see how it feels.

 The river was so clean and fresh and inviting, and I went and sat down on the steps there and put my feet in. Yikes! It’s sooooooo much colder that I expected! It felt like the ice just melted and flowed down to where we are. It doesn’t look cold. And no one around seems to find it too intolerably cold. I wonder.. I think it’s deceptive because the sun is nice and hot and you’re a little baked as you’re standing under it. So you think it’ll be baking the water too. It was the strangest feeling! My feet were in this ice cold water and my knees were feeling like an oven heating under the jeans. But whatever it was, it was a fun experience.

Shortly after, a lady comes with a bucket full of milk and tells me to offer a cup of milk to the river in the hope that this act will complete any wish I might have. I told her that I didn’t want to. She insisted. Then I told her that if you don’t believe it in your heart and aren’t sincere about it, then doesn’t it become meaningless? And she agreed.

But then she still asked me to offer a glass of milk. Some people I tell you..

That leads me to start thinking about all the people who are taking a dip in the holy waters. How many of them are actually doing it to become sin-free? To become sin free would mean that your previous sins would get washed off by the bathing, but you should be turning over a new leaf in your life to not commit any sins after the bathing, right?

Right?

What’s the point otherwise?

It’s nice to just sit here for a while on the banks of the Ganga and observe the people around you. I notice this young boy (must have been 11-12 years old) who wading through the river nearby the steps of the banks that are flanking it. He’s got this pole and he catches some pieces of runaway cloth floating downstream and puts it aside on the steps. Then I realise he’s helping keep the river clean. At the end of his pole there’s a round black magnet which he uses to pick stuff off the riverbed with. Including money.

Interesting.

We decide to have lunch here somewhere and while we’re waiting, John’s looking out the window of the dhaba and all of a sudden he blinks rather forcefully with a minor shocked expression, then smiles.

“Yaar, main ne vahan par dekha– Seedhi utar kar saamne aaiye’ (सीढ़ी उतर कर सामने आईये), aur pata nahi dimaag thoda ulta chal raha hai ya kya, usko ‘Saadi utaar kar saamne aaiye’ (साड़ी उतार कर सामनॆ आईऐ) padha.”

Hahahaha hahahahaha hahahaha haha!

Never expected to find something like this here. I wonder if they only serve blood... Hehehe..

We hit the road again after lunch, hoping to reach Jalandhar sometime soon. We get on the highway and it’s a good thing because the road is smooth and we can speed up to reach faster. But the bad thing was that there were no milestones to let us know how close or far we were from reaching. After a very loooong drive, a lot of sleeplessness, we finally arrive at 2am.

And guess what? To accompany dinner of chapaatis & mutton, there’s milk!

What fun! Balle balle!