The Sweetest Little Village

Hullical is the sweet little tribal village that shares the tippety top of the mountain with our retreat center. It’s just a stone’s throw across the tea, and if we step out the back gate and scoot up the path to the twin trees and the blue temple, we can be there in less than two minutes. The people are warm and open, they are always asking if we can come for tea, and they have the purest smiles–it is just a wonderful thing to see people living so simply, so peacefully… so presently. A couple other teeny villages sit on the slopes of the mountain where little plateaus stretch out just far enough for a row of terraced houses, each unique, some decorated with chalk mandalas, some with laundry, and others with dishes drying in the sun.

I love how the gentlemen come out to sit in the sunshine every day. This smiling man is taking a break from tiling his entryway. His kitty cat certainly enjoys his company!

Whether resting, walking, or carrying a 50 lb. bag of tea, each of these men share a warm smile and engage us in conversation: “Namaste,” “Vanakkam!” (hello), “Where are you coming from?”

And then there are the ladies who sit in doorways, rest on stoops, pause in the shade after hanging laundry or putting dishes out to dry in the sun:

Each house is brightly painted, some in need of much repair, some kept tidy with the doorway decorated, some seemingly vacant while others are a beehive of energy with people in and out, babies, kittens, and a tiny puppy all adding to the thrum of life in this happy village where we have been met with so many smiles.

These two ladies just came from the tea fields with their “cut” for the day. Each bag gets weighed and then added to the overall harvest.

There is a family of women who come out to greet us nearly every day. The young girls, Karthiga (14) and Bhavya (12), ask us about our families, wanting specifically to know about our sons. We scroll through photos and show them pictures of our husbands, and when we get to our sons, they call their mothers to look at the photos and croon with “ahhhs” and “ohhhhs.” Karthiga asks what our sons do for work, and the younger sister tells us if they are not married next year, we can talk when we come back to visit!

We see these old friends sitting most days just resting and talking:

I have so many photos of houses, doorways, and beautiful faces in this little pastel village, that I could fill a hundred posts just like this one. We have all loved walking here and visiting with our new friends that have made us feel so welcome here. Blessings on everyone here in this peaceful place.

With love,

Katie