The past week has passed in a blur of life-changing moments. I’ve secured an internship with Maitri and subsequently begun work on a fundraising project for flood victims in the northern Indian town of Leh, visited the ancient masterpieces of Daulatabad and the Ajanta and Ellora caves, and managed to get my cell phone to call my grandfather and one of my closest amigos halfway around the globe. I wish I could even partially capture how blessed I feel, but I know as well as you that it’s impossible. So, I’ll give a few brief descriptions and hope that, sometime in the future, we can sit and talk late into the night of life and all the amazing opportunities it brings. Last Tuesday I went on a bit of an escapade trying to find an NGO based in Pune. The rickshaw driver didn’t speak English, my Marathi was way less than functional, and the little slip of pink paper Shruti had scribbled an address onto was doing little to assist either of us in locating the destination I had in mind. After driving in circles for a good twenty minutes we were both lost, confused, and had begun to resort to broad smiles, head nods and exaggerated hand gestures to communicate. Luckily I’d been fortunate enough to find one of the few drivers in the city who was more concerned with delivering me safely than quickly (not that I blame them for wanting to work fast - they have to earn money to feed their families, and with the pitiful amount they are paid they don’t have much of an option but to boot the unfortunate individual who has no idea where they are going), and he stopped multiple times to get pointed in one direction or another by people standing along the street. Eventually I landed at the doorstep of Maitri armed with an embarrassingly small amount of information on the NGO whose manager, Vinita, will be guiding my HIV research. It didn’t take much prodding, however, before I was being briefed on their programs working in various remote tribal areas to eradicate childhood malnutrition, provide basic education, contribute to functioning healthcare systems, empower citizens to advocate for themselves, and to assist in disaster relief efforts throughout the country. As Vinita learned of my interest in HIV-related work we even began to discuss the possibility of reviving the HIV programs they’d recently cut from their workload. By the end of two hours I’d been offered (and gladly accepted) an internship with the organization, put in charge of setting up the US branch of fundraising to support their relief efforts for flood victims in Leh (stay tuned for more info!), and departed with promises to begin work and attend meetings the following day.
The next evening, standing in darkness and being soaked to the bone by unrelenting rainfall, I learned what Maitri is really all about. Halfway through our meeting a young man, probably not much older than me, made his way across the park and joined our small circle of dedicated activists. His overwhelming excitement made me forget the chill of the night as he effortlessly sucked me into the world he’d recently experienced. He was so eager to tell his story he couldn’t possibly get the words out fast enough, but any details that were lost in the jumble were made up for by his ecstatic hand gestures and smile that threatened to wrap clear around his glowing face.
Everything was told in marathi so this account might not be completely accurate, but here’s what I could piece together from his story: Two weeks ago he went, under the supervision of Maitri, to visit a remote tribal area. He wasn’t interested in much more than seeing what the lives of these people were like, but within hours of arriving he realized that he was here for much more than mere observation. The community’s water source, located between two hills, was being flooded by monsoon rains. Rising water levels were forcing people and animals alike to walk through the water flowing into their well, contaminating it in the process. There was only one solution - a bridge needed to be built immediately. And so thats what he did. In ten days. Realizing the task was impossible to complete alone, he went from house to house and literally pulled people from their beds to come and help. Even the children pitched in after being bribed with sweets. They worked all day. At night he stood guard to prevent the animals from trampling whatever progress had been made. There was no light, no electricity, no running water, no cell phone service, and no transportation save a single ambulance. But by the end of his stay he’d used the little engineering knowledge he had from college coursework coupled with incredible amounts of determination and dedication to solve one of the most pressing sanitation problems the community faced. Now they have clean water, and his life’s been changed forever. He says he’s going back to build more bridges, save more lives. Just goes to show that one person’s efforts can push the world a little bit closer to perfection. Welcome to the Maitri family.
Bright and early Thursday morning ACM staff rounded up all the students and packed us into a bus for the six-hour journey to Aurangabad. I’d planned to sleep on the drive, but the countryside proved far too fascinating. I saw so many strange and wonderful things: goats, sheep, and cows competing with cars and rickshaws for space on the road, children running to school, roasting corn and chapatis, shopkeepers opening their doors for the morning rush. Other sights were vivid reminders of the inequality that’s so painfully obvious here: naked, dusty children looking longingly after the ones running to class, men surrounded by mud and trash as they used buckets of cold water to bathe on the roadside, women picking through trash for food or anything that might be sold... And, as was to become a frequent experience throughout the trip, at every toll booth all the men came out of their stations to stare, point and laugh at the group of Americans. Finally we reached Daulatabad (previously Devgiri), a fort built in 12th century A.D. by the Yadava King of Bhillama V. It remained one of the principle strongholds in the region after the conquest of Devgiri in 1296 A.D. and, in 1327 A.D. Sultan Mohammed-bin-Tughlak decided to move his capital from Delhi to Devgiri and renamed it Daultabad (“The City of Fortune”). The defense system at the fort could only have been constructed by military geniuses. It was combined psychology with practicality to create a structure that was virtually impregnable. Only 7 of the 50+ doors were functional, the rest opened into passageways that dead-ended in deadly drop-offs or impassable walls. In addition, there were ingeniously built mazes with a complex arrangement of entryways, deep rock-cut moats and trenches that could only be crossed at a single point. While marveling at the incredible structure, we were also able to see the the Chanad Minar and Royal Palaces located on the mountainside above the fort that was once a favored summer residence of the Mughal emperors.
The rest of the weekend was spent exploring the region’s main attraction: the Ajanta and Ellora caves. It was an incredible experience. Seeing and touching 2000 year old paintings, meditating in the caves where Buddhist monks searched for nirvana 1500 years ago, walking through temples that took 6 generations to carve into the mountainside...
Ellora is composed of 34 “caves” that were carved into the face of the mountain between the 5th and 10th century to form Buddhist, Hindu and Jain monasteries. Ajanta was carved even earlier, between the 2nd century B.C. and 8th century A.D., and contains paintings and sculptures that have become well known masterpieces of Buddhist art. It’s obvious why both have made the World Heritage Site list. It’s impossible to describe the mixture of feelings that overwhelmed me while I walked through these places; comprehending something so magnificent is almost beyond my reach. I think with time what I’ve experienced will really begin to sink in, but for now I can just marvel at the awe-inspiring beauty of human capabilities. How the British ever thought these people were “uncivilized” and “unsophisticated” is beyond me...
I’ll try to write more soon! For now I must be off to my first Bollywood dance class and another life-altering Maitri meeting after that.
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