Sarab Talla Visit #3 - village issues - documentary

(Grandma making puree's)

This weekend, Meenu and I went to my activity week village Sarab Talla for my third time. Meenu's grandparents came from a village and her parents' generation branched out; Meenu is the quad librarian. Anyhow, we stayed at Grandpa's house and had some really good chats with Grandma, Rita, Rina, Nagendra, and his wife. Grandpa was away on family obligations, since the village started their Diwali this weekend, a break from farming and a time for relaxation, visiting family, having marriages, etc.

(Meenu and family in the kitchen)

(Rita, Grandma, me, and Nagendra's wife)

Sanjeev and his cousin joined us. Why does Sanjeev keep joining us on these trips? It's because he is an activist in his own right, trying to bridge the gap between village life and the urbanizing world. He is the main link between the local villages and Woodstock, and like I said before, organized Activity Week for the grade 9 students. Sanjeev was part of an organization called SIDH (Society for Integrated Development of Himalayas) for 11.5 years, but had to branch out on his own to seek a higher income for his joint family (all generations) at the village. His home and heart will always be at Khaas Kudoan.

(cousin and Sanjeev)

There is a crisis. Why would a person want to stay in the village? Can a person stay in the village? What are a person's choices? Issues include: types and equality of education, influence of media, deforestation, global warming vs. traditional farming practices, health care (or lack of), caste system, water supply, need for money, gender equality, temptation of the city, etc.

I'm trying to make a documentary, to begin shooting in Jan/Feb 2008. It was supposed to be about the women of Sarab Talla and women's rights, because Grandpa had been so adamant about equality and using media to enact change. However, after repeated visits to three villages and talking with Grandpa's family this weekend, Meenu and I realized that the bigger story is about the survival of the village. I have a team of 15 hindi-speaking, female, high school students, and 5 teachers ready to make the production. Sanjeev is onboard too! In the next few weeks, I might put up some kind of a fundraising link for this project. The equipment is really expensive.

(at the family's extra house where they have oxen)


(Diwali cricket game in progress -- 10 different villages joining.

This is where we camped during Activity Week)

Well, my camera has officially died. These pictures were taken with a Hanifl Center camera. Hanifl Center is our building for environmental and outdoor education, it's so cool.

Why am I so interested in this project? Why am I so passionate about it? 1) I love the villages. The trust, warmth, and welcoming that they share is so awesome. They are the true sense of independent, but at the same time, constrained by the outside world. I feel that loyalty and integrity are so important. 2) I love nature. The villagers have a direct relationship with the trees, the seasons, the earth, water, and fire. I want to keep learning about their wisdom and knowledge. 3) Take a look below. This is a picture of a picture -- of my grandparents' old village house in China, directly in front of the skyscrapers that are about to replace it (summer 2006). I hate cement!

Gaird Village -- portrait photos

First, here is a sunset from this week.

So, the highlight of my experiences in India have definitely been visiting the villages. This weekend, I was lucky enough to visit a third village -- Gaird. This is the village that Rachel went to for her Activity Week, so a bunch of us joined her in seeing her new friends and bringing scarves and goodies. It was Rachel, Christina, Kyle, me, and 2 students, and also Sanjeev and his friend who both acted as our buddies, interpretors and guides. We stayed at Mr. Singh's house, who is a teacher at a new school near the village. He was so nice in allowing us to stay in his bedroom.

(Azeet, Sanjeev, Mr. Singh)

One of our activities that night was taking official portraits of family members. I don't know how special it is to give and take photos, but I have a feeling that pictures are harder-to-come-by to a villager than a city person who can just snap a few and stick them on a blog. The thing is, even though people with cameras have the opportunity to capture special moments, it doesn't mean they are always captured. Photos represent memories, stories, and pictures of loved ones. Therefore, at least I can do something I am starting to love -- take photos -- and give them back to people.

Here is some of the fun we had while taking photos:

(1st is 10-second timer. 2nd & 3rd are 2-second timer.)

Here are some of the actual serious photos. These pictures are starting to look more and more like portraits because I am learning how to take them and my awe is being replaced with the comfort and contentment of being in a village. I can start getting to know the people; they are cool.

Actually, I'm a little confused, because our 8-year old pal Deeraj was becoming a pro at using a camera and acted as my camera assistant, and so I think he actually took some of these pictures, like the girl in the orange sweatshirt.

(deeraj & me)

(sanjeev & children)

One cool activity that was happening at Gaird was that people were preparing for Diwali, which happens a month later in the villages, to celebrate the end of the harvest season and the new abundance. Everyone was roasting and pounding rice. It tasted like rice crispies, really really hard ones. Sanjeev brought me around and explained everything -- you soak the rice for a day, then roast it and pound it while it's hot -- to deshell it. It looked like a pounding party!

(Sanjeev took the above picture)

Here are some pictures of the men and boys:

Our activities that day consisted of playing with the children and taking pictures, teaching at an elementary school, and then visiting another elementary school. I won't include too many pictures of those events here, but you can CLICK HERE (~200 pics) to see what we actually spent our time doing. It is not represented in this blog.

Here are some portraits from the second elementary school, of kids molding the clay that Christina brought.

(this boy reminds me of the kid at the end of the movie "Kungfu Hustle")

One of the coolest things was watching a show that the students put on for us. One girl basically danced while another girl prepared tea on her head. Notice the fire!!!

Here is the final group shot.

Why do I love the villages so much? I suppose the people there are so sincere. They are so nice and welcoming, and they live off the land -- farming, gathering, etc. They are so close to nature. They are so down to earth -- literally and figuratively. I asked Sanjeev what the most important thing about living in a village was, and he said family and values. It's true.

We have a lot to learn from the villages, values and ways of life that we might have lost in the past few generations. Community. Independence and self-reliance. These villages are in flux, adjusting to the "modern" economy, technology, politics, environment, etc. In the next few posts, I might mention the issues I am learning about and the project that I want to do.