We had a distribution today outside Belgaum, and left our accommodations by 8a.m.
and boarded our repaired van which we had last seen,broken,on one of
the mountain roads as we were heading from Goa,to our new distribution
centre, Belgaum.
It is a tidy little vehicle and we were happy to see it back at our disposal.
We were not too far into the countryside when our driver, Manju, pulled
to the side of the road with one of the rear tires punctured! We stayed
on board as he repaired the tire.
We had stopped in front of a farm house that was beautifully built of
hewn stone -and various family members appeared on the lane way as we
waited. First was a young girl who did her ablutions with no ado near
our van. Then appeared the 2year old,walking on his own, with no
apparent parental hovering. It is winter here in India (only 27degrees
today), and he had the ubiquitous pointy wool hat with earflaps. And
the earflaps were in position to keep the ears cozy warm, and maybe to
prevent the youngster's ears from hanging too loosely from his head. He
was a delight to watch as he wandered the lane in his own little world.
Meanwhile, passing to the side of our delayed vehicle was a series of
possibly 25 women, in saris, carrying huge bundles of grasses -hay?- on
their heads,all walking at a sedate pace, in flip flops or barefoot.
No chit chatting. No lagging. Seemingly in no special hurry.
And in the farmyard was a lively number of chickens with their chicks
and they too were going about their daily routine. A number of
variously abled dogs and one old cat made an appearance.
Once repaired, the van,about an hour late, took us to the distribution
where the youngsters delighted us with their enthusiasm over their new
'slumber' kits.
Another good day, on the road!
Mary-Jo Lang for Team Mumbai/Belgaum 2014
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