Isolated Tradition

This week we spent three days in the village area where we will be working. How do I even describe so rich an experience? We sat in the dark of night on tarps and blankets laid on the ground, 30 men and women from the small town called Rajpura and 4 Americans, talking about our customs and cultures. I felt no judgment either way, only learning and sharing. As surprised as they were about our ability to divorce, the long time a man and a woman spend together before getting married, our white skin and long journey to India, they accepted us without a question. Their hospitality was strong; when we arrived they invited us into any nook of the village, and promptly milked a cow and started a fire to make chai for the visitors.

A few favorite moments from the gathering:

-At the start, the four of us introduced ourselves in Hindi. Later one of the men said they appreciated that we were trying to learn their language. Thiswas hugely encouraging, because to us it feels like the learning is going so slowly! The next step is to also learn a little Marvarti, the village’s main language.

-One of the village members wished to explain the different colored turbans. We learned (through translators, of course) that the white clothes and any color turban both serve to keep men cool, and that castes have different rules for what color a man wears in various life stages. While he goes out for the day into the farm fields or to take the animals to graze, if he can’t come back for lunch he may store chapati (flat wheat bread) in his turban!

-When we began discussing religion, one man proudly explained to the other community members that he already knew something about our religion. He put his arms out horizontally, tilted his head and closed his eyes, and said “I know, your God looks like this.” Actually, our group is quite diverse- Christian, Jewish, Buddhist, and atheist, but as the meeting was drawing to a close and we decided explaining our diversity was best saved for another time. So for now our country is represented by a singular crucifix pose.

But the most striking moment came after one man stated, more or less, that

“This village has existed for a long time, and our families have held the same traditions for years and years and years.” I asked our translator if she could explain

“We understand our traditions must seem a little weird, but we haven’t come to impose western ideology or technology, only to work with you on a project if there is something you’d like to do.” Our translator replied to me,

“No, that will confuse them more. It’s not necessary; they don’t know what ‘western’ means. They know the word ‘Amrica’ but don’t really understand where the America is. To them it means ‘foreigner’- even someone from Japan or Kenya is called ‘Amrican.’”

I was completely baffled that they didn’t know about the US. I was also ashamed at being so baffled, because it shows my own ignorance in thinking that every corner of the world is focused on the US.

Yes, this community has a few cell phones and a store with snacks in plastic wrappers. They are not completely isolated from the outside world but the influence limited. Only one young man has ventured as far as the small city of Udaipur, only to be so scared by a train that he has never been back. When an airplane flies over Rajpura, they have a name for it that has nothing to do with its purpose. They have seen someone with white skin only once before.

There is something so beautiful and pure about this isolation- in one sense I feel like our presence will ruin it. At the same time, it was beautiful to be sitting and sharing our cultures. In Rajpura, they don’t know the typical stereotype that white skin= money, which is helpful as we set out to do a development project that is not about gifting money but about using the assets already present in the community. As long we are always sharing and never imposing one culture over another, I think we all will be better for having known these people who are different than us.