i was feeling that itch to go somewhere. it was an early day at school and i had the whole afternoon off. the sun was beating down but i was welcoming the heat after string of cold and wet days. i hopped on the bike, went down my usual path, camera on my back, and an orange in the bike basket. as i passed the usual cows, goats, and blank stares of locals, i ventured down a narrow pathway heading straight into knitted jungle of sugar cane. it was my attempt to go a different route, but it seemed to go nowhere, dead-ending into tangles of cane. so i turned around. tired of biking nowhere, i anchored myself under a tree for a bit to eat my orange. i loved watching all the people go by on various modes of transport, watching me as i watched them. i took photos of people as they went by my tree.
i left to see what else i could find. i crossed the river and headed towards a village that i'd always seen from afar but never felt it was the right time to venture in. since that time was as good as any, i took my chances. on the way, i met this woman who clearly saw my camera and wanted me to take her picture. after a few awkward exchanges, mostly me gesturing and displaying no grasp of anything she was saying in hindi, i realized she was headed to the same village. arriving in any village around here (as a foreigner) feels like you've just walked into another time period, only your still wearing the same clothes. they looked on with big eyes in wonderment as if i had magic powers. luckily, the woman i had met on the way invited me to her house, so i was safe. i followed her as the entire village followed me. she was changing clothes, getting ready to leave again, so in the meantime i was given a chair, some tea and biscuits, as the crowd surrounded me. you would've thought that i had five heads the way they were all examining me, making comments to each other in whispers and giggles. like melanie put it once, we are the tourists and the attractions all at the same time. they were a harmless bunch, really sweet and just as curious of me of course as i was of them. they spoke to me in hindi which i either said one of three words i knew. Rajiala, my new friend, was ready to go, and so was i. the village followed us out to the road. just as i was getting on my bike, rajiala sits on the back of my bike with a big smile on her face. ok, i thought, this should be interesting. as i nearly threw her off the bike three times trying to get going, everyone including me, laughed. i had never pulled someone else's weight on a bike before. finally i got going, the village cheered and waved goodbye. it was funny to see all of the confused glances as we cycled down the road. who was this white lady and why was there an indian woman on the back of her bike? the sun seemed to have gotten hotter, and suddenly unwelcome. i was sweating profusely at this point and on the vegetarian diet i've been on here, it was not easy. fortunately, i was going in a different direction than she planned and decided to get off and get a ride from another biker passing by. i honestly don't know if i could have made it much longer. i have a new found sympathy for the rickshaw man. i never had the chance to go back and visit her but i know that if i did, hopefully she won't need a ride anywhere.
under my tree:
bike ride and village:
sugar cane path
first time i'd seen sheep here
Rajiala in her home
my bicycle
i left to see what else i could find. i crossed the river and headed towards a village that i'd always seen from afar but never felt it was the right time to venture in. since that time was as good as any, i took my chances. on the way, i met this woman who clearly saw my camera and wanted me to take her picture. after a few awkward exchanges, mostly me gesturing and displaying no grasp of anything she was saying in hindi, i realized she was headed to the same village. arriving in any village around here (as a foreigner) feels like you've just walked into another time period, only your still wearing the same clothes. they looked on with big eyes in wonderment as if i had magic powers. luckily, the woman i had met on the way invited me to her house, so i was safe. i followed her as the entire village followed me. she was changing clothes, getting ready to leave again, so in the meantime i was given a chair, some tea and biscuits, as the crowd surrounded me. you would've thought that i had five heads the way they were all examining me, making comments to each other in whispers and giggles. like melanie put it once, we are the tourists and the attractions all at the same time. they were a harmless bunch, really sweet and just as curious of me of course as i was of them. they spoke to me in hindi which i either said one of three words i knew. Rajiala, my new friend, was ready to go, and so was i. the village followed us out to the road. just as i was getting on my bike, rajiala sits on the back of my bike with a big smile on her face. ok, i thought, this should be interesting. as i nearly threw her off the bike three times trying to get going, everyone including me, laughed. i had never pulled someone else's weight on a bike before. finally i got going, the village cheered and waved goodbye. it was funny to see all of the confused glances as we cycled down the road. who was this white lady and why was there an indian woman on the back of her bike? the sun seemed to have gotten hotter, and suddenly unwelcome. i was sweating profusely at this point and on the vegetarian diet i've been on here, it was not easy. fortunately, i was going in a different direction than she planned and decided to get off and get a ride from another biker passing by. i honestly don't know if i could have made it much longer. i have a new found sympathy for the rickshaw man. i never had the chance to go back and visit her but i know that if i did, hopefully she won't need a ride anywhere.
under my tree:
bike ride and village:
No comments:
Post a Comment