We took a recent weekend trip with some other AES families to Laksh Farms, an organic farm outside of Delhi, to breathe some fresher air, see a little more of the country and generally take a break from school life. It was a really great experience that reminded me a lot of my time in the Peace Corps in the way that we had the chance to culturally explore a little bit and interact with the locals while eating lunch and at a local wedding celebration.
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| Lights on, hoods open to prevent rats |
Each family was given a small cabin to sleep in and Maya and Naila loved playing with the other kids that came along. We got to see a lot of farm animals, eat delicious and organic food, and hear the stories that our hosts regailed us with.
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| Dung decorating--used for fuel |
One highlight of the trip was the tractor tour that we took through the local town and into the hills to see the oldest primary forest left in this part of India (according to our hosts). We were quite the spectacle as we all piled into the trailer pulled by a tractor that Laura and others could easily keep up with on foot while carrying and nursing Naila. Of course the trailer that we were riding in had zero shocks of any sort and we felt our backs breaking and with every bump.
Here are some pictures of the crowd that Laura and Naila stirred up while trailing the tractor. They were quite the attraction.
When we reached the forest and as we drove higher into the mountains we saw many wild animals--cows, pigs and more exotically--the famed peacock of India. Really we see peacocks quite frequently but the brilliance of their beauty never gets old.
Finally, as a big walled fortress-looking building appeared the tractor stopped and we all were relieved to get up and walk around a bit--our hams were needing a rest. The first huge attraction was a massive statue of a calf sucking the teat of an even more massive cow. We decided to grab a picture of that. Then a few of us ventured up the stairs to see what was to be seen in the fortress of solitude. It turned out to be a temple and an old sufi was sitting on his blankets presumably contemplating life. He looked at Drew and me and invited us to sit and while I was reluctant I did not want to offend. I sat down with Drew and started to make small talk.
So...have you been sitting here for long? Whatcha up to? As it turns out there was an amazing LACK of any understanding at all between us. All I heard was a series of sentences in Hindi with one word that stood out--dude. He then gestured drinking something and I understood that he wanted to share something with me. Inside I recoiled. I had been warned that drinking anything but the sweet deliciousness of bottled, clean water would bring a hailstorm of relentless bathroom visits. I was about to make up an exuse when Drew got up and walked away. I was stuck. I kept glancing at my watch in hopes that this man, whose mission in life is to sit and contemplate life with no care given to the hours or days or years as they pass, would realize that I urgently have to go and thus can't enjoy his dude.
Finally one of his attendants came with a cup and gave it to me. I realized what I was to drink--dood--is the Hindi word for milk. I was going to drink warm sweetened milk. I figured that I had better just get it over with so I could run down the stairs and retreat to life that I understand.
I gulped the dood down and then began to get up. But my new friend, perhaps understandably, thought that since I drank down my dood so quickly I must have loved it and of course I would want more. The attendant began pouring another glass for me before I could make my escape. All I could do was smile as I drank down my second cup. Then I stood, thanked them, and then walked back to the staircase and to the tractor for the long ride back to the farm.
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| The official 11 month pic--taken when we got back. |
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| Naila on the peas that we peeled for dinner. |
