Happiest New Year

Where did I leave off? It was the last day of 2005 and I was set to be on night bus for 2006's entry, and in a small beach town by morning. As usual, my presence was something of a spectacle for those at the station, and the men(always men- because the women are at home) that spoke to me were worried that I'd have trouble finding my bus or procuring a ticket. Sometimes it feels nice to be cared for in this way, but most of the time it is frustrating being treated like a feeble child. I walked away from a group of gentleman and one of them later seemed to be following me. "Don't go to Diu," he said, "come with me." I'm not sure what I first felt- I suppose a mixture of suspicion and a condescending and sarcastic 'oh sure.' But, we began talking, and he was sincere in his curiosity and interest in me- plus he lived with his wife and two children, whom he phoned and let me speak to. It was with some trepidation that I said yes to this strange offer, promising only one night to him, and to myself that I could abandon our bus if I felt unease.

Hitendra lives 1-2 hours east of Ahmendad, a filthy and congested Gujarati hub of activity. We arrived in the smallish (population 50,000) city late in the evening, the last day of the year. His home is a simple concrete structure among 143 others, their "society." His wife, Rama, and son, Bittu, were up when I got there, but daughter Milu was sleeping. It was a friendly atmosphere, but I was reserved. The word of my arrival spread quickly and soon there were friends and neighbors peeking through the window and knocking on the door- as many as 30 or 40 the first night.

Having finished a wonderful homemade dinner, sitting with this lovely family, it was the perfect way to look and and see the new year had begun.





I stayed there for several days, each day they took wonderful care of me- setting out a place to sleep and cooking for me, taking me around town and even out for special visits. Hitendra is a primary school teacher and asked me to give a lecture to the faculty on my areas of interest (with 2 hours prep time!), anthropology and HIV/AIDS. It was wonderful to give a lecture after all this time and it surprised me how much I enjoyed it.



You know, this is why I don't want to be a writer, this is why I couldn't be a writer- I can't (or maybe I'm just too lazy to) find the words to describe what I experienced there. One of the best things was just being able to spend time with Indian women. It just seems as if 90% of Indians are men because they are represented well on the streets and in public. The women of the society were kind and generous, affable and forthright. The children hugged me and gave me small gifts, played games with me and asked me to dance and sing for them. Maybe some more photos can express what it was like there...