Leaving the char dam trail we continued into waves of good karma and suttle shifts in culture as we approached Himachal.
Continuously astounded by the hospitality in India the following brief stories are just some of the experiences we were blessed to have....
- We are encouraged to stay in a guest house one evening due to the sweet and sassy mama that stopped us as we cycled by her home. We had agreed to a discounted price for staying in a room yet when we went to pay in the morning her son encouraged his mother not to take any payment, we tried to give as she is running a business but they refused, calling us their guests and not seeing us simply as customers.
A bit later on we stop to cook lunch next to a roadside temple and share some chamomile tea and radish snack with the priest before he heads off to his home for his lunch. We eat a bit on edge about the monkeys running up an down across the temple grounds as they get shoed away from one persons land to the next. It's always a tricky situation to have food out in the open when monkeys are about as they often show no shyness in snatching things from your hands! Monkey see monkey do!
We are just finishing eating as a storm comes in and we get soaked huddling under a small ledge on the edge of the temple before running up to a field and home. We get invited inside for some shelter and deeply satisfying cup of chai. The family here is really sweet, made up of grandparents, their son and wife and grandchildren. Like many families in the hills they have all the grains, pulses, and vegetables they need for their consumption growing in their fields. They also have a cow providing them with fresh milk, curd, and ghee.
At home self sufficiency has become a more recent trend back to the land, looked at by many as an non-achievable fantasy but here its merely a basic logic, it's just called living.
After the rain stops we continue down the road looking for a place to stop early for the evening and dry up. In the next community we stop and talk to a family in a little road side shop that said hello and see if they know anyone there we might stay with. They have us sit down for chai and we talk of the journey and tell about each of our families. They want to help us with a place to stay but don't have space in their home or know anyone else who does so instead the husband hands Colleen 400 rupees for us to use down the road in our journey! We'd been given food, chia, and stay for free many times but never had someone give us money before. We first try to give it back but then accept it as this gift came from the goodness of their hearts and made them feel glad to be able to give something to the journey.
We ride away with a renewed commitment at the need for us to always be just as giving and not ever hesitating to provide support to others when we see the need.
Up the quiet river valley we step back in time. We leave behind the brightly colored cement houses for more widely scattered stone and and mud homes. The valley walls rise high above us, everything is green and coming to life, and the air feels fresh and clean from the rain of the afternoon.
At the next small roadside village we ask about a place to stay and get welcomed into a home.
We are given tea, sweet milk, and a completely home grown dinner and share stories, songs, and dances on the rooftop.
The Macarena was a big hit!
The next day we decide to stay through to the afternoon and help with the farming work. We help prepare and plant the rice paddies with several other women and young girls. With much singing and dancing all throughout and a swim in the river to finish off the work :)
We truly feel like a part of their family!
We have been fortunate to come to know the beauty in many places even when just staying for a night or two. It only took an hour to see the simple beauty of Purola and its people. This farming based stop through town gave a wave of genuine simplicity in every way.
*clean, affordable hotel without even a need to bargin and lovely owner and his son
*possibly the best dal from a dhaba next door whom we learned the recipie from the next day
*three invites for home made chai within a 200 meter stretch and a free bag of millet flour to cook up down the road
*what starts with a simple namaste to a shop keeper leads to over an hour of sharing Hindu songs as a shop keeper teaches us tabla, symbols and song while he plays the harmonium. Meeting his family afterwards was an additional treat!
Seems as though we could stay in each place forever...
but again off we go...
Around every corner comes a new surprise... this time in the form of a friendly young lady calling out Namaste from the terrace of her home. Here Erin and I enjoy lunch made up mainly of the families own produce from their farm... red rice with dal and vegetables with lassi from their cow. This simple way of sustaining oneself, family and community is expressed by all... each in their own way (grandma through her constant bright smile- picture with us and family).
Everyday monsoon season grows near leaving the day ahead to be slightly unpredictable in the chance of morning or afternoon showers. However this keeps things exciting as we surrender to the weather giving us the opportinity to meet the lovely families of Summerkot. First meeting the people of the village at the local bus stop while making lunch. The calm energy and generous gifts of wild strawberries and apricots were just the start of a wonderful evening. As the showers rolled in, turning into hail we were able to stay for the night with a family we had met at the bus stop. Sharing culture and stories through Hindi/English(mmm..Hinglish?), watching a Tamil-wood hit film and learning Bahari dance. As always we are filled with love and the homemade Indian khana.
Even when reaching places in the evening that don't have the most comfortable energy there are those who extend a helping and warming hand. This was again made apparent as Ronnie invited us into her home to stay as her first guests. With the energy of a laid back sister Erin and I felt very comfortable as we laughed along through family photos of Ronnie, her husband and daughter. The sense of humor that many Indians have is very grounding as nothing is taken personally as Ronnie's husband zooms in on his balding head and round belly and continues to laugh. Often these experiences are short lived (just the evening as we head out in the morning) but this time we were able to meet with Ronnie and her daughter further down the road and shared a tour around her hometown followed by lunch.
These simple acts of kindness can be found anywhere... just open up and let the universe surprise you:)
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