Madurai is my favorite place in India so far. We are out of the big industrial cities of the north and have entered the southern state of Tamil Nadu, a state with a culture and language all its own. The houses are wonderfully colorful – one colleague said it looks like Miami Beach. There are lots of billboards and the walls of buildings are decorated with portraits of politicians.
Our guide, Sheckhar grew up here and teaches the Tamil language, among other things. He also sings in a rock band and heads the Chella Meenakshi Center for Educational Research and Services with his wife, Vidya. They are an amazing couple, full of love for their culture and a wealth of knowledge. Sheckhar looks like a cross between Spike Lee and Sammy Davis Junior. He was our guide through Madurai and Vidya led the program. Driving through the village roads, the scene is what I imagine Ethiopia to look like. Many men are wearing the traditional dhoti (white or plaid pantaloons made from one sheet of cotton – Gandhi’s outfit). Women are carrying enormous loads on their heads. We see farmers riding bullock-drawn carriages. There are rice paddies, banana fields, loads and loads of coconuts. They use coconut leaves to weave thatch for roofs and the husks to make rope. We saw huge coconut processing areas.
We visited a rural school called Iyyanarpuram run by the Association for Sarva Seva Farms (ASSEFA). Sarva Seva means serve all. It is an NGO based on Gandhian philosophy: rural empowerment and community development. One of their projects is providing free education to rural children up to high school. They gave us an amazing welcome!
We sat in on their student-union meeting, where elected officials represented their departments like health, cleanliness, discipline, and education. They also took complaints from the members of the school community. One boy complained that kids run too quickly from class to class. The president assured him that these were new-comers and they have to be reminded what school protocol is. Another girl mentioned that most students forget to cover their notebooks with brown paper, a policy to keep the books in good condition. The president said that she would work on a solution.
These students make their own chalk. The “Kutty Docotors” (little doctors) take their classmates’ height and weight and give good advice about how to take care of your hair and what foods prevent anemia. Wash hair twice a week, apply coconut oil, and don’t share your comb. Eat spinach, eggs, lentils (all of which are locally grown here). We met the woman who runs 400 ASSEFA schools all over Tamil Nadu. Sheckhar mentioned that there are more examples of Gandhi’s philosophical influence here than in Gujarat, where he lived.
 |
| Mridangam drum performance and demonstration |
 |
| Bharatanatyam classical dance performance and demonstration |
 |
| An elephant and his mahout at Meenakshi's Temple |
No comments:
Post a Comment