I fixed up a green, rusty bike with the words "Lady Bird" written on the front basket that radiates Arkansas 60's suburbia ((okay, what I IMAGINE to be Arkansas 60's suburbia- my brother tells me that Arkansas 60's suburbia doesn't exist)) , but my dad insists that without the fat tires it can't be from the 60'. Before I arrived in Namakkal, my impression of the city was straw huts, red dirt roads, and practiced beggars crawling to you in a mist like awoken mummies in an old horror film. Insert banana for straw, orange for red in red dirt roads, and those images are here minus the toilet paper for the crawling mummies, but this exists all outside of the city center. Right outside of my balcony, the silence when truck horns aren't beeping is precious, almost one million people are roaming to somewhere, and I, on my Lady Bird, get to ride amidst this craziness, and it is thrilling.
One statement/image, ironic, humorous, depressing, I don't know what to call it- maybe someone can help me find the word- I thought to share before but didn't. The day I walked out of the special ward which held the girl who had terrible things done to her and the man with everything soft inside of him locked in by his bone cage, I was taking around 5 retired women from Colorado who had come to see the clinic having raised some funds. Among their luggage, they had one suitcase stuffed with colorful, graciously ridiculous finger puppets which persons from their community had knitted to distribute as gifts for the children. When we walked out of the ward, there was some silence like when someone tells you that their mother died and you don't know what to say because your mother is still alive until one lady determined and confident spoke, "I'll have to go get some more puppets."
Do you laugh? Or nod and say "Yes!" this is a difference that we can make. Or know "No." this is the difference that I don't make. Or stay silent and search through the black suitcase and find a puppet with bright colors.
1 comment:
I met your dad earlier this summer at an interfaith prayer breakfast and he told me about you, the work you're doing, and your blog. It's taken me a while to get around to reading it, but I must say, it has certainly been worth my time. You are a talented writer and effectively convey the powerful emotions and questions one encounters working in a place like India. I spent the last year in Hyderabad studying Conflict Transformation, Peace Building, and Interfaith Relations, so I can relate to a lot of what you write here. Just wanted to let you know that your community of support extends far and wide.
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