Digoli

Last Monday I hopped in a jeep and we drove for an hour or so, partly on a road that was so bad that it felt like we were a boat rocking in an ocean storm. Then we hiked through the mountains for over two hours, passing through the quiet forest, several active villages, and many an animal. AVANI, the NGO I am staying with, has a cabin-like field center in the village of Digoli. Everyone in the village was so incredibly welcoming. I averaged between five and eight cups of chai (tea) a day, as everyone would offer it when we were doing interviews. I also gave my jaws a good workout by chewing on a lot of sugarcane. I had a translator with me, which was very helpful, and this guy was really interesting. He has acted in two Kumaoni films, does stunts such as leaping from tree to tree, knows martial arts, sketches, dreams about opening shelters and hospitals for animals, women, and children, and wants to live in a treehouse. It was fun to hang out with him when we weren’t interviewing. This place was so beautiful and when sitting on top of a roof, drinking chai with misri (like a sugar cube), sugarcane nearby, waving to kids and watching them giggle, I loved the fact that I am getting college credit for this.
Another thing that made Digoli unforgettable was experiencing my first Indian wedding! There is actually a French woman, Catherine, who has been filming a documentary about this one family in the village, and she was staying at the field center. So I went with her and got to spend time with the bride, Hema, and her family as they spent the week preparing for the wedding. The night before the wedding, about 50 people crowded into one room as Hema got henna designs done on her hands and feet. Henna is an herbal dye that is used for decoration. The next day my two French friends my age, along with an American couple from Tennessee, who are all interning or volunteering with AVANI, arrived in the village. The wedding night itself was full of color, food, dancing, gifts, ceremonies, and people. The Hema’s family fed everyone and just watching these preparations was amazing. The house was painted, a multicolor tent covered the yard, lights were strung up, and kids were everywhere. The groom, from a village about an hours walk away in the valley, arrived on Friday night and the ceremonies began. Hindu priests chanted and did blessings, and family members also blessed them with their hands, water, and flowers. The cattle usually stay in the open rooms under the house, and these rooms were cleaned out for a ceremony in which the bride and groom give each other many gifts. They sat at opposite sides of the room and would meet in the middle to give and receive. This lasted about three hours, and the priests did a lot more chanting of prayers. The Hema’s parents sat on either side of her and would help her with certain things. Once her mother poured milk from a little pot into her daughter’s hands from above and her husband kept refilling it with water. The Hema’s sister helped her put in the large nose ring that signifies a married woman. There was another ceremony outside, but by this time it was almost 2:00 a.m. so we headed back to sleep. The next morning we ate breakfast with everyone at the bride’s house, then it was time for the bride to leave with the groom. It is very sad for the bride and she cried a lot as she said goodbye to parents. She is carried in a colorful chair and the groom leaves on a white horse as drummers and dancers with swords lead the procession down the mountain and out of the village. We actually left with the party and walked through other villages where everyone had heard the drums coming and came out to see the procession.

These three weeks have been wonderful, but I’m sad to leave friends here. I am looking forward to my journey to the next state over, Himachal Pradesh, where I will be staying in Dharamsala! The Tibetan government is in exile here. I will be writing my paper, eating lots of baked goods, and hanging out with a friend from Davidson who will be there. Then I will go to Amritsar, where the major attraction is the incredible Sikh Golden Temple (thanks, Greg!). From there I will take the train back to Jaipur, where I can’t wait to see Papa Ji and Mami Ji, and bask in the sharing of stories with my 15 classmates.
Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving!