Sometimes words can’t do justice to what I experience here. There is so much color. So much texture… so many sounds, there are not enough words in the dictionary for the variety of smells in India. Every day I am amazed at what pours in through my senses. It is a delight (and sometimes not so much ;). I suppose I am as open to, curious about, thrilled by sights, scents, and sounds at home in NH as when I am here in this land, but I don’t generally post about day to day living; it’s just too… ordinary. Here, looking at life and how the people live it reminds me to relish little things more… to notice life a little more. Even the smallest things capture my curiosity.
So today a little post on water. Of course, no matter where you live on the planet, water is a precious resource. Who doesn’t carry some kind of a water bottle these days so we can stay hydrated during the day? But imagine if every bit of water you needed: to wash dishes, for bathing, drinking, brushing your teeth, for laundry–imagine if you had to walk down the lane and fill a jug at a communal spout every time you needed water vs. turn on your sink spout.
Even though I live where water is plentiful, I know the value of clean water. Perhaps traveling here so many years now and being in cities where water is scarce has really taught me the value–the gift–of clean water. Here in the Nilgiris, where we are, the locals are fortunate to have potable water from a few local springs, and there are even small streams that flow down the valleys here. Our water here at the retreat is sourced at a spring just over the hill, and it is said we could drink the water if we want it is so fresh. But it is strictly for washing, so we drink distilled water from flasks, often ported for us to our rooms by members of the wonderful staff here.
If we are out early enough on our morning walks, it is common to see people in the local villages line up to fill their water jugs. They probably think it strange that we ask if we can make photos of them holding their jugs, filling their pails… it is such an common thing–why would we want to capture such a household chore? It would be like a South Indian coming to NH and asking to take a photo of me shoveling snow, I suppose. Just the things we do because we have to do them. And yet I can’t help myself:
When we ask to make a photo, they smile and pose, promptly closing their mouths to hide their teeth. Here I manage to snap quickly enough to catch the glimpse of a smile. And every once in awhile, someone is just happy to be seen:
One morning when Karin and I are out walking up and down the mountainsides, we happen upon this lady carrying a big steel pail up a rocky trail. She sees us and stops to see if we want chai. Ladle in hand, she opens the pail so we can peek. Steam rises from the full pot, and we reluctantly say “no” and point back to the top of the mountain to the clinic. “No tea for us,” we say, and in broken English she tells us she is bringing tea to the workers, and points up the hill, smiles, and then off she goes into a band of sunlight.
With love from India,
Katie
Dragonfly Yoga Barn, Studio & Retreat 