'Guest is God'

‘Guest is God’

This is what my lovely host Padmini told me today, I don’t remember the Hindi for it, but it’s certainly true. I’ve been treated so well both here in Koraput and in Bhubaneswar – food has been amazing and plenty of it. Sometimes I feel very British and like I’m in the way but things are just different here – guests are welcome whenever.

I’m getting into the  Indian pace of life, taking time to nap and sit, visiting people for chai and chatting (although most of the time I sit there wondering what the hell’s going on due to my extremely minimal knowledge of both Hindi and Oriya). Oh for a Babel Fish!

This afternoon I went for my first pedicure, with Padmini, at the local beauty parlour. Photos were taken of me, being the second foreigner after a Nepali woman last year. Tomorrow apparently we’re having henna and a ‘hair spa’. My general reaction is to say ‘yes’ and ‘why not’, after all anthropologists are supposed to immerse themselves in the culture…

I had planned to go from Bissamcuttack from Bhubaneswar, which I hope will be the base for my visits and hopefully stays in Dongria Kond villages. However there’s been a hold up with getting permission to stay there, from the local development agency. So I thought I’d come to Koraput, where I had a contact – a couple that wrote a book on the Dongria about 10 years ago. Mihir works for an NGO now (Foundation for Ecological Security) and Padmini co-ordinates the hostels for girls from tribal areas, and ‘self help groups’ for women from tribal areas too. There is one of these hostels just around the corner which I visited yesterday. It’s Christian run and pretty sad to think of the girls being moved away from their villages to be there full time. However who knows the backgrounds of each of these girls and which life is better for them, it’s a complex situation. It was hard to tell on such a quick visit but they seem happy and to be well looked after there. I was placed in a chair in the classroom in front of about 100 expectant faces. Wondering what to do I told them my name, so in turn each girl stood up and told me their name! We then did some singing and dancing. After listening to them chant some Christian and Hindi songs I attempted ‘Blowing in the Wind’ – I’m really glad none of you were there! Mihir and Padmini’s daughter and her friends then performed some Bollywood style routines, then asking me to do some Michael Jackson. I ducked out of this by getting everyone to get into a circle and do a simple dance that I’d learnt from the Dongria girls last week (see video below) I think they thought I was pretty ridiculous, but hey I’m getting used to that being a unmarried English girl travelling alone in rural India!

I’m quite tired of writing what with writing fieldnotes whenever possible, so here’s a list of things that cover some of the last week or so:

Mosquitoes

Birdsong

Smells from drains to perfume to curry and every which way in between!

Colours of the vegetables at the weekly market 

Shaking heads, friendly faces and many stares

The beautiful and cool Juggernaut temple in Koraput

Calls of ‘Amy Didi’ from the children

Rice paddies, farmland and factories seen from the train

Feeling as if I have no idea what I’m doing or what’s going on and the next minute feeling incredibly lucky to be here

Reading and enjoying having all this time to focus on one thing

My new silver toe rings

Smoking Indian ‘biddi’ cigarettes and pretending I’m not getting addicted, whilst also hiding from public view – smoking not really accepted for women in Orissa, but then quite often I think I’m considered somewhere in between a man and woman anyway!

Watching my first mosquito net protected film (District 9 – don’t bother if you haven’t already)

Soaking up as much information as possible each day and trying not to ask questions all the time

Increased toilet time

Ta ta for now, hope all’s well at home xx

I wrote this last night, this morning I have a connection, and some good news. Mihir’s friend from a Dongria village is going to help me get to the area earlier than I expected, so the plan is to head there this Wednesday. So this could be it! I’ve got a feeling that it’s going to be quite a formal set up, with ‘informants’ being provided. However with the relatively short time I have this is really valuable, and who knows what I could build on. Apparently a local schoolteacher is happy to be my translator, perhaps not staying with me all the time but basically I’ve got local people on the case, who know what I’m doing. There’s been so much research done in the area, the effect of this is definitely something to consier. Because the Kondhs used to practice human sacrifice, they have been a popular group for anthropologists to study for many years, since British colonial rule. Quite often it was the colonial administrators or missionaries doing the research in those times too, so this is the kind of act I have to follow! Since then there have been a lot more progressive studies too, but there's still a very traditional style within most Indian anthropology, not going beyond seeing people as 'primitive tribes' - this is how they're officially classified.

So a couple more days here. Tomorrow is UN International Womens Day so Padmini is involved in an event for that which I'll be going to. Still haven't made much of a dent in all the reading Mihir gave me but I'm here to experience not sit reading all day!

Happy Monday and will write soon...