The field
I went to 'the field' this week--Sayla, which is about three hours away from Ahmedabad. I am staying at the the guest house, but since I am sleeping outside and working outside, the guest house is basically my closet.

Sayla is very hot, but much more pleasant than the city, as there is a constant breeze.

There are four clusters in Surendranagar, Sayla being the head cluster office. On Wednesday we visited the Chotila cluster office. I met a 22 year old girl who has been working as the community organizer (CO) at the office for a few months now. She is outgoing and funny, and speaks English pretty well. After talking about our respective studies, I asked her where she grew up. She told me she grew up in Rajkot, which is a prosperous city a few hours from Chotila, notable for its businesses and good schools. I then asked her if she had travelled outside india; she said no. I asked her which parts of india she has been to. She said that she had never been outside Gujarat, and hadn't even been to Ahmedabad (the biggest city in Gujarat by far) until a couple of years ago when her mother was hospitalised there. I was shocked to learn that this well educated and well spoken girl had seen so little of India. I guess not many foreigners come to Chotila either, as an old man told N. that I was the first foreigner he had ever seen in his village.

On Sunday I went to observe a meeting with some shepherds. They wore short sleeveless vests and lots of jewellery, including big earing studs and necklaces. Some were very old, and all were very shy. One old man, so V. translated for me, wanted to talk all the time, and towards the end of the meeting gave AKI a boost by telling the others, 'I know these people. AKI is good people. I have worked with them before.' I know i sound condescending and ignorant when i say that the shepherds seemed like children to me--when the meeting leader asked who had been to the previous meeting, some raised their hands, others hesitated and lifted and then lowered their hands, some hid behind others, some wouldnt lift their hands until their neighbours made them. It was funny to watch--they were so impish.

After the meeting I took some photos of the shepherds with my digital camera, and they were all very excited to see the images right away. Although they are quite shy, the shepherds seemed to love to have their photos taken, even if they would not be getting the photos themselves--more proof that the desire for fame and ever lasting life is universal.

During the quiet hours I talked with Anand and Tarun, two AKIers who are not much older than me, and Anand told me that my survey was too complicated for the villagers. He told me that if I asked those questions 'they will run away from you.' 'Run away from me?!' I asked. 'Yes, they will run away...mentally' replied Anand, completely seriously. I dont know if he was trying to be funny or if was just his way of talking, but I was laughing so hard I couldnt continue the conversation for a few minutes. I couldnt stop thinking of the image of a shepherd running away from me mentally.

Anand later told me that I should try to target villages where surveys have not been done before, as I shouldnt make the villagers feel that I am 'killing their goats'. Anand says that there is some Hindi proverb about too much attention being lavished on some people and their goats somehow being killed, or something like that, but we both agreed that it was lost in translation. Again, in order not to laugh my head off I had to stop myself from thinking about killing someone's goat by asking them too many questions. I had heard that Anand was a bit eccentric, but I didnt quite understand what people met until I sat down and talked with him.

Tarun, although less eccentric, has his own peculiarities. His room contains only a bed and some clothes. He used to have a radio but he cant remember what happened to it. He used to be able to get radio karachi from pakistan when he put the radio on the window ledge. He has planted some aloe plants in his back yard, and from time to time he cuts off a leaf, peels it open, and rubs the green gel on his balding head. He says it turns his scalp green, but it 'gives the cooling sensation'. He also has some other sort of bitter-leafed tree whose leaves he chews for their anti-biotic effect. Tarun eats mangoes and milk for lunch and dinner. This is all incongruent with his stylish dress, which i attribute to his Bombay upbringing.

I have come back to Ahmedabad to register for classes for school this fall, but accidentally came back a day too early (registration doesnt start until tomorrow). Nevertheless, I had a productive day; stocking up on film, finally getting a electrical adapter for my digital camera, stocking up on shampoo, stealing lots of soap from my hotel, mailing a package, ordering some shirts, all with the help of my friend from the tailor shop, who says he has a present for me tomorrow. i hope its not the shirts i ordered last week.
- posted by aziz @ 2:50 p.m.