Day 7 - Thursday 16th Nov

Submitted by Michelle Baharier on November 22, 2006 - 05:17.

I am dyslexic – your problem not mine!

My bloog day was Thursday and today is Tuesday that’s just a reflection of how busy and packed our schedule is. I have been struggling to make time to do this and it’s past midnight so here we go.

Schedule for the day:
Full day trip to Gudalur
Visit hospital
School
Meet with key team members
Visit tea factory
Have an impromptu visit to Stan’s house stay for supper
Drive back to jungle retreat and meet elephants.

Thursday was our first day in the jungle in the Nigrili hills, a really beautiful setting, and we were in the clouds literally it was stunningly beautiful. We had already meet with Stan (a very passionate man) in Mysor and discussed some of the projects and been given information prior to our visits, we also meet two colleges of his Ram and Rammer who where two stunning people who have worked with people in Indian for a long time.
    
What had already struck me was the love that radiated from theses three people when they spoke about their projects and I felt very privileged to have met them. They where running projects that surpoutered the tribal people called Adavissi who lived in this region, they had a very philpsocaill approach their work and they all made us feel at home.

Unfortunately I had had a bad night’s sleep due to a doggy tummy and when I woke up I was debating if I could make it out in case I could not get to the toilet in time. I took a nux vom homeopathic remedy, and hoped if the worst came to it I could ask the jeep driver to stop and I would risk the jungle floor.

Our visit began by going to the Adivasi School, this was some way away from where we staying and it felt like we where late and we got lost but I could have misread the picture.

We arrived at the school and I visited the loo immediately, I was still able to hold it together and then went back to the gate to join in a welcoming ceremony with the rest which include some drumming.

I was very conscious I had volunteered to run an art workshop with the children I was looking forward to it and I had already planned it and brought my materials and was reading to go.  

The school was modest it was a small building and we were invited into a room where the children had all sat down,

The visit began with a small precession and some drums then we walked to the school where we all squashed into a small class room, which had shelves full of books in different subject, matters.

First the children said prays in all their launages as the Adivvasi Tribal people belonged to  
PANIYA
KATTUNAAYAKAN
BETTAKURUMBA
MULLAKURUMBA
IRULA

Any way each of theses tribes have their own launage and the children said a pray in them all including French for Martine, and English for the rest of us.

And more difficult there is 5,000 years of Hindu history but the tribal people are not Hindus yet they pray at every religious site? Then there is Indians complex cast system, which we have discussed but not claffied if there is a difference between racism and castism?

I was conscious I was with the tribal; people and that we where entering an unknown world of children who spoke many launages I’d never heard of, and with five of their own. Then they sang in English followed by French especially for Martin a member of our group from Paris.

Next we went out side to dance, where the children had prepared several dances which we watched and then on we joined in on, I was surprised by the closeness of some of the foot work to my own Jewish cultural steps and it felt all I needed to do was encourage people to join hands. And Alex one of our group sang a song called Donkeys versus Monkeys which we now know the children are still singing. (If you’re thinking this is for next year get performing.)

After the wonderful dancing stopped we spilt up into groups. Alex went and did a puppet workshop, Caroline an Irish dancing one for the teachers and I was doing an art workshop. I had not really known what materials would be advailable and Rama had said their would be paints so I knew they would have some colours. I proposed an idea and asked them about their favourite flowers and suggested after showing them mine they would like to draw a flower with themselves next it or in it or some how having themselves in it as in it how ever they like to he class was also free to actually do any thing they liked. I showed them some work I had done it an image of some daffodils.

I did a collage and showed them also how to work with cut outs, it is always difficult going into any situation with people when you have no idea what methods they use weather it be straight drawing or imaginative work. So I was very impressed with the children’s take up of the idea I chose flowers because I thought so much of Indian culture uses flower motifs and as the children lived in tribal communities I hoped they could related to flowers, and I was hoping it may be a common point of reference. I was lucky it was we had roses Hibiscus and the daffodil which I never found out weather it grows here or not.

I did tell the children my name and I asked them to tell me theirs they called me auntie and I had great difficulty remembering their names. We had a really enjoyable time, and at the end of the session some of the children gave me some of their pictures and I will hang them in my office at Cooltan as a memory of working with a group of tribal children. I was very impressed as when Ram and Razmer told the children to give me their pictures as I was really concerned as they might want to give them to their parents, so I gave the children the option and the children who wanted and where very happy to give away what they had made did. Whilst I was there I made a picture for them and showed the teacher how I do cut outs which she had a go at as well.

Next we visited the hospital. Which was a permanent building they had built with various concerns about heat and light which was especially to the climate. I was having to visit the loo due to the condition with my stomach but hanging in their. Stan was speaking in a very animated way about how they got the hospital built it uses allopathic medicine and yet the doctors running it were actually having so ayavidic treatment some where else. Stan was explaining about the way doctors had act with the tribal people so that they believed them. in a way concerned with traditional practice he explained about their culture and talking to the ancestors and so and hoe they worship all religions it does not matter what religion but they will stop at any religious place and give a affirmation as is my understanding because rather than a prayer as we understand the difficulty is I can not understand about the tribal peoples complete way of life in a few houses s so we all we are doing is scratching the surface.

We ventured inside the hospital which also treats the poor as well as tribal people but only on certain days. By this time I was flaking and had to sit down I was fasting to get rid of any bug but the smell of the hospital and my stomach did not mix and I felt I was going to faint so I went and slept in the bus. I did wake until late in the after noon when we went to visit the tea plantation, so I missed the meeting with the animators who where the tribal people who helped in the push for land rights for the Advissai.

So this gave us the context of vesting the tea factory with a sing clearly saying tea break. What was most amazing was the fact that tea has a bib product of sand as they dry the leaves so all around this factory was piles of sand.

I was also very hot there was a lot to take in. I was still flaking, and had to find the factory toilet, I must have visited a lot of toilets on this day.

After the tea factory we went on a drive to Stan’s house which was outside the town on the side of a hill, so anyway I we went on the bumpy road journey eventually we reached Stan’s his house is on the side of a hill and we where made extremely welcome and the food looked delicious. Knowing what I what about bad stomachs I opted to eat only some rice plain boiled but I did take some of the fresh, cabbage it was very nice but I could not eat a lot.

The evening was really great we talked and talked but also sang as group came out with some real jams----Jo sang some victoria wood school kid song, Stan sang a Tom O’Leary rickeryty tickerty tin and I kept with a germ free adolescent.

What an interesting night. Of conversation and song, micro finance, tribal rituals and on and on and I could probably write a book.

BUT I HAVE TO ADD ABOUT OUR DRIVE BACK TO THE JUNGLE RETREAT WHICH INCLDED MEETING WILD ELEPHANTS ON THE ROAD SIDE AND HAVING TO SIT IN OUR CARS AND BACK UP ESPECAILLY AS ONE WAS A BABY ELEPHNTE WITH THEIR MUM ON THE OTHER SIDE. WHAT A NIGHT!

But I have a stomach to fix and schedule to keep to.

india