The bathroom, and once again I use the term ‘bathroom’ loosely… about as loose as the door falling off its hinges. The toilet was your standard hole-in-the-ground kind, a cracked, plastic bucket in lieu of a shower, and offered no soap and no towel. And no, we did not use mud. Fortunately found one of the little hotel soaps in my kit, bless Marriott Suites and my dupatta doubled as a towel.
Being the intrepid sort, I went in first to take a bath. I cautioned Rajshree: the first shriek emanating from the bathroom would be the cold water hitting my body, the second if I saw a spider and the sound of a thud meant I had fainted upon seeing a snake.
The villagers of Ludiya made up for any discomfort and by a long shot. Ravabhai and Koraben were the most hospitable people I have ever had the fortune to stay with. Opening their doors and their hearts they welcomed us into their homes, as did the rest of the extended family. We were shown samples of the ‘bharat kam’ the women did to earn a living. The men, when they were not smoking bidis and lazing under the shade of a tree, made furniture and sold it in the neighboring towns. The women worked relentlessly the whole day.
The children went to the well to get water. While the 12 year olds walked back to the village balancing the heavy ghadas of water on their head with the grace of a model on a runway, Rajshree and I struggled holding one between the two of us. Half the water sloshed to the ground, as we lumbered and panted alongside. So much for ellipticals and lifting weights at the gym.
Using her experience with Teach for India, Rajshree has been back several times since then, expanding on their educational goals, training the teachers on high expectations, motivation, and using creativity and the environment as tools.
A trip to Ludiya, albeit off the beaten track, is a recommendation I can make wholeheartedly.
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