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Bagar, Rajasthan
I have been wanting to blog a proper post a while. With pictures, dying to put up pictures.
Even typed up a quick list of possible blog topics a little while ago. No kidding, this is from a file on my computer called possible blog postings.txt:
- I figured out the Hindu calendar
- Radhikkkkka
- Random other pics
- Kuharwas visit
But instead, I'm simply going to write about today.
Today started different from any other day - I didn't actually wake up in my bed. I'd been invited to visit one of my students, Sushil Kumar, who’s really taken an interest in the class. He’s bought a computer, and is really raring to learn it. Just recently, we even hatched a business scheme. Looking to DO something with what he was (slowly) learning in my class, we somehow came upon the idea of him downloading and printing board exam results. These results are published on the net 3 to 4 days before they’re available in the schools. Anyways, he was going to sell it at Rs. 10 a pop, which is half the street price. I was going to charge him Rs. 5 (since my computer, my electricity, my internet, my printer), and the rest would be his. He did alright, for a 16 yr old – found 21 people to make money offa, in one night.
Anyways, the other day, his father had invited me to come over. It was Amaavasya, the new moon (no moon) day, which when apparently people in his profession (carpenters) take off. So I went after class (and a run in the hot winds). It was good talking to them, and having some great food. And having a good night’s sleep for a change (we slept outside, which makes an INCREDIBLE difference in temperature). Anyways, there’s a LOT more to cover, here’s me with Sushil and his family. Sushil’s the one in blue:
Got back, and then cleaned up, called Vijay (my staff support), for our weekly call, but I guess he was busy so it didn't happen. Then my regular English tuition kids didn’t come (their exam is this week, so I guess they’re just buckling down and studying). After lunch and everything, went to the Piramal school next door, which I’m working on computerizing.
The principal, Mr. Ojha, is all gung-ho about computerizing the administration. Even bought a nice new computer. Today was a downer in that aspect though. Out of the three guys, one of them plain flat out said, “I’m retired, I’m just doing this as a temp job to keep busy”, and “The other guy is retiring next year” and “you should do something for the future, not for us”. So that leaves me with one guy who knows something about computers, and I’m just not convinced he wants to do any more work than is absolutely minimally required for him to keep his job. Anyway, here’s Ojha Ji (with glasses), in a file photo with my dad (who came with my mom to visit in first week of December):
It was a big deal for my dad coz, by sheer and amazing coincidence, he went to this school himself, 33 years ago. Yah, that deserves a big blog post in itself.
After that, I headed out into the market to hit up the bank and the phone guy etc, because it had been windy all day, and not as hot (so, probably just around 100F/38C). Came back, and realized I had told my kids they could come to class an hour early (3:30 instead of 4:30), to practice typing, coz I didn’t have time for them otherwise. 8 out of the 9 kids who eventually showed up actually came an hour early. Issue was, some tractor had earlier knocked over an electric pole on the main highway, so we didn’t have electricity.
But they were there, and I wanted to use this time. In one of my lessons (actually, on Windows Security and why and how user accounts are created), I had incorporated taking a photo of themselves (to teach them how to use a digital camera, to use it as their User Account photo, and later for an ID card they’ll make). So, we all went to the tree in our garden, and I showed them how to use it, and divided them up into pairs and got them taking pictures of each other.
This picture is of Gaurav Tailor, a kid in 8th grade, who’s family our group is pretty close to. Notice me mulling over something in the background – probably what they hell to do next without electricity. Also notice the girls – its probably the first time in Bagar that girls are in a computer class. Turns out there’s a lot more of them interested – two of them came this evening begging to start right away. I told them I’m going to hold Bagar’s first all girls’ computer class in the summer, starting 16 May.
Class ended early (I still managed to keep them for two hours, even without electricity). Then the 3 girls and Gaurav hung around (I think I forced Gaurav into it) to do some ‘spoken English’ – one of the girls brought it up and was real interested in it. I think she has a lot of potential. Real smart girl (book smart at least), really sincere learner, and has somewhat decent English. This is a girl who, with some coaching, could do some major stuff in the future. Maybe she could be Bagar’s first female programmer :-) Ah yes, I dream, I dream. Anyways, while they were ‘describing the garden to me, in English’, I asked them to tell me how many types of flowers there were, and then they proceeded to show me that there were 7. The following photo is of one such wild flower (and was taken by accident, while I was demonstrating to them the close-up function on the camera). I particularly like this flower, but I particularly like this photo of the flower, on my khaadi bag, with the Indicorps logo in the back. I kept thinking of names and ideas and something poignant to address it by, coz it demands a name of substance. I welcome suggestions, but for now, I call this Indicorps in Bloom:
Anyways, spoken English ended with call for dinner (which was fantastic – कैरी की सब्जी – kairi ki sabji – dish made of green mango). It was a most welcome change from the usual, nutritious but repetitive fare. For the food. And also because that’s when the weather changed.
The clouds had snuck in during class, and now they were getting ominous, and rumbling. Coupla drops fell, but nothing came offa it. When I came back, we were sitting upstairs, and mulling what to do without electricity. And while sitting there in the beautiful breeze, that’s when the sandstorm started. At first its breezy, a little windy, and then out of nowhere, BAM, it pics up, and 10 seconds later, its sand EVERYWHERE. Visibility is down to like 30 feet (and you know it some for us because we’re on cemented/developed land). Then the lightning started coming, and then the rain. The pics of the initial few minutes are on Preeti’s camera, and I’ll try to post something on a later date. But these are the ones after the rain started coming, and Lisa came out, and Radhika came back. These pictures speak for themselves. I’ll keep the commentary to a minimum.
Sandstorm
We decided to move up to the terrace. It was night, no electricity, wind is howling, sand is everywhere, and now it starts to rain. Tree in the background, if you can make it out, gives you an idea of the storm:
Can’t help but be goofy when you’re in the rain. Here’s Preeti recommending a Marilyn-Monroe-skirt-blowing-pose, and me obliging:
Goofiness aside, it is just incredible being in the rain in India. As Lisa put it, “I don’t know why it is, but the rain in India is incredible”. She mentioned the big drops, but I know it’s a lot more. It’s the big drops, the warm rain, the cool wind, the sweet smell of the parched earth (in Hindi, the सौंधी खुशबू– saundhi khushboo). It’s like the earth wants everyone to know how sweet it is, the rain. This is me savouring a bit of that sweetness:
Side Note: If any of you want a sample of that smell, I think I might have figured out a way to send it all the way. Let me run some more conclusive tests on my theory first.
We finally came back down from the terrace (aka roof), because the girls didn’t want to get too wet, and it was getting damn cold. I guess I couldn’t stay out for too long:
The lightning during the storm was a spectacle. On a completely dark night (because of the power outage, and the day after new moon day), you could still see every 5 seconds. I just had to find a way to capture it. So I left my camera on a ledge, set to take a picture every 10 seconds, with no flash. The first pic didn’t show much. This one is after the first 10 seconds. You can barely make out the tree in the garden, the building to the right, and a bus passing by the school campus:
The next two shots didn’t yield much. But 30s after this previous pic, well, you can see for yourself:
Isn’t that incredible? This is the same as before, but 30s later, taken at 7:37 in the night to be exact! I guess this is what it would be like if God used the flash on his camera.
The aftermath of the storm, well, wasn’t all that much. Sand everywhere, in our hair, in our rooms, and stuff scattered about. Here’s the verandah upstairs:
Just another day in India? No, definitely not. Not every day is quite as special or as “exciting”. Some days are mundane, like any other day at any job anywhere in the world. Many days just go chasing down a to-do list that always manages to escape.
Days like today though, force us to open our eyes wide, and remind us to take notice of the incredible in every day.
