India

Feb 10

As soon as my eyes flashed open I knew things were looking up. I was extremely tired, but feeling much better. I laid in bed and debated if I should go to class or not. The doctor said no and my body obviously needed the rest. However, being the ruler of my life, I find myself acting more like a dictator at times. I wanted to go to work and I thought I could do it so by nine I was in the car for my hour plus drive.

As I ducked my head under the hanging tires, tree limbs, and wires of the slum entrance I was greeted by a young couple. The first, Nikolai, was a strong rugged looking man with light brown eyes that seemed to welcome in a softer side. His hair was buzzed all the way around his head, but the top had been let to grow for sometime making in dangle down in a jagged fashion. He looked very European, with his thick corduroy pants, khaki jacket, and very well rounded shoes. His partner (whose name would be to hard to remember and to easy to misspell to include) was short and had the most piercing puppy like eyes I had seen. She had a child-like grin that went along strangely well with her wispy voice. The two were European and no they weren’t lost. They are part of a French Circus that goes in slums across the world in order to involve children and teach them lessons on different issues. How is works is this; they set up a tent, which they start to have circus lessons for the children in (acrobatics, juggling, etc.). Then they pick an issue of concern within the community to focus on (hygiene, clean water, etc.). As the children learn about these issue and what to do a show starts to form. When a month is up the show begins! Children put on their circus for the community educating them about these issues. The children and parents then both leave proud and educated.  They have done this project in many other places (their last being Morocco) and were ready for a new location. So for the next three months these two will be searching India’s slums for the next French circus show, one possibility Pappan Kalan.

As they looked around I went over countries with my older class. The two came in and out taking photos and asking questions. The children become so curious, but in fear of getting their hopes up, the possible circus has remained a secret. “Depak, Can you show me where Switzerland is on the map please?” I would quickly ask as I saw Nikolai skirt by with a hammer and steak to test the soil.

When the children finished lunch we locked up and I headed towards the women’s sewing class where the teachers all had tea everyday. I usually caught the last 15 minutes of the class and today I had come just in time.

“You just have to get out and do your dream Shama! I know it’s hard girls, but look at Indo, look at Jake, look at me. We all have to go for our dreams, we all have to make it happen.”

(Hindi) “But sir, it’s hard when our mothers and fathers don’t share our dreams. They have different ideas for us and they are going make us do what they want. I mean I want to work, but since I have no one to live with but my family and they say I can only work after I get married and even then only if my husband allows it, there is nothing I can do. See sir it’s not that easy.”

“I know!” Daniel replied, “but you have to make them understand! I have told you that these changes are going to happen over along time. They can’t happen over night. So you can either work for slow change or it’s nothing, these are the only two options. You just must realize that we are making progress; you’re here aren’t you? That was a fight; just to get you here and now you are here!”

“True Sirji” They laughed. Then they continued to explain how their mothers still had different plans for them and their disinterest in them taking this sewing class. As they finished with this the teachers all looked around and you could tell everyone had the same thoughts. Daniel, being the one who had been leading the conversation proposed the idea.

“Okay, bring them” he said throwing his hands in the air. “Next week, bring your mothers to class and we’ll all talk about girls’ dreams. We’ll compare your ideas to your mothers and try to make sense of it all.”

They chuckled and agreed with excitement. As this happened The French couple saw my excitement and the girl brought her hands together in a shared emotion as Nikolai’s lips gently spread to unveiled a very pleased set of smiling teeth. Sitting in the front with Daniel he put his arm on my shoulder and as we locked eyes he said, “this is huge, Jake.”

“Oh! I know!” I laughed.

These girls have little to no education and they have really do have fight for their families to let them attend any form of classes. If you ask any of them what they want in life they will simply say, the support from their family. They dream of an occupation and a husband who appreciates their hard work outside of the house. In a society where men like to have control and don’t like their women to be able to outsmart them this is tough to find. This along with the fact that working at home is better for a girl’s parent’s life then going to school makes these girls quest for education quite the trek.  We realize these issues, but to finally hear it from the girls themselves was amazing. In this culture emotions don’t come easy, especially with females and especially at their age.  So to hear them speak loud and proud like a woman should just gave me the biggest chill. I was so inspired as they wheeled their emotions out and totally dropped the breaks at the door. The fact that they are ready to share their dreams and life of education with their mothers is, like Daniel said “huge.”

When the handful of young girls trotted off we got to discussing the ideas about the circus. The two seemed to like the place a lot and they thought they had found the perfect spot for the tent if they were to land here. They started then asking questions about the children. We informed them about how massive this slum unit actually was and how we have 168 students in all, when really there are over 2,000 children living in Pappan Kalan. Of course they then asked why weren’t the other 1,832 in school and we told them because of lack of room. We have only three small classrooms that are each about 15’ by 18’. These small classrooms are being used all day in order to get these 168 children all in them at some time. That is partially why a child’s school day is only about two hours long. Seeing the face on Nikolai as we told him this let me really made me think that Pappan Kalan had a chance at making the cut. Daniel told me later that night that on his way home with them they expressed their excitement about Pappan Kalan and how much they would enjoy doing this project there. Of course they needed to continue looking, but this was great news.

When the finally day wound down, I went to bed smiling as I recalled the day. That night I would be dreaming about mothers in school with their daughters and fathers watching their Children in French circuses.