So just after I ranted on this blog yesterday about how we had not been able to access the field yet, Chitra came back into our room and offered to show us a few villages this morning. Of course we said yes!
So this morning we got up and got into a Jeep with Chitra to view some villages!
The villages were small, very very small. They made the campus look huge next to it. But I was a bit surprised to find that they were also very clean and sanitary. The only things on the streets that were unpleasant were the cow dung (which weren't even that bad because they were all clearly fresh), but we were told that they were cleaned up nightly to use for the fields as fertilizer.
Mind you, the only comparison I had prior to this trip were the slummy villages next to Berhampur and Dehli, which reek of fecal matter and rotting food, and every step is a health hazard. Compared to these areas, our village visits were stunning and pristine.
The people in the villages were very curious about the clearly foreign (and white) people who had entered their villages, and would come out to look at us, smile, say "Namaskaar" and continue to look. But I don't feel like we were much of a bother to them otherwise.
They had toilets for every house in these villages, which was a bit odd to see because here were these concrete toilet houses next to tribal huts with thatch roofs and stucco-stuffed walls. But no less, these successful villages of GV were working out well, as far as I was concerned. They had electricity, water, sanitation standards, and everyone looked clean. Little kids wondered around naked and animals roamed the villages, but what else is new here?
We even got to talk to some of the village members and ask them question about their villages, water, sanitation, women, etc. They were very pleasant with us, and helped out our field research quite a bit, considering our small amount of time with them.
We also got to visit the GV school. Yes, this program has a school, ranging from 8 years to 15 years, co-ed. The school is also very clean, and the kids wear very nice uniforms of different color blues. We got a nice tour of the facilities, and even got to look at their very proud collection of awards and medals that they've received for their students' fine talents. I was not really clear on how the areas of the campus were mapped out, but I got the general gist of the whole place.
We were there for the children's lunchtime. We went over to look at how their food is prepared, and as we walked over to the kitchen we were greeted by the sight of all of the boys lined up (more like smooshed up, since they were literally stomach-to-back with each other) for their rice and dhal (things that we normally scorn at GV). As they saw us (foreigners), they started in a slow roar of "Namaskaar!" and waving at us. It was really adorable, and bit humbling/embarrassing to have gained such a reaction from the kids that we were there. We took pictures as little eyes stared and smiled at us.
The little girls were waiting for the boys to finish, so they stood across the small campus, staring at us. Maulin started taking pictures, and they began running into the pictures. Molly decided to take a picture with the girls, and they clamored over to see their faces in her digital preview, giggling and squealing at the picture. When we left, they all smiled and waved, "Bye!" to us.
We came back for lunch then.
Did I mention the landscape is absolutely incredible?
As we drove through the rolling hills, and walked up the mini-mountains, I was taken aback by how absolutely green and lush, and stunning, our view of the area was. At the first village we saw, we got to climb the top of one of the buildings on the hill, and got the most fantastic panoramic view of the viewable Orissa area. Fields were full of water, and green. Mountains rolls around the backdrop, while being touched with mists of clouds. Palm and coconut trees surrounded nearby small villages that donned Gram Vikas water towers. Trees and flowers everywhere! I took a lot of pictures.
Oh, and the flies are horrifying. I think they are the real terrorists of this area. They won't leave you alone, and some of them bite. Our team has been slapping and waving and growling at flies constantly, and I'm about ready to lose my cool on these rampant insects. They will crawl into your clothing, and even fly straight into your mouth and eyes! The GV staff shrug with a laugh and say, "What do you expect in the jungle during monsoon season?"
Clearly, not so many flies.
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