2.Kalap Kaleidoscope

(Continued from part 1)
From Purola we drove to Govind Pashu Vihar National Park and sanctuary. At Netwar, it was time to bid good bye to tar road and the vehicle. The network had already vanished from the phone. Contact with the outer world stopped. For the first time, I realized that I was far away from the world. We met a local 14 year old boy called Ankush who was extremely happy to see Gary, who had visited Kalap last year. They both hugged each other as if they were buddies for ages. Gary gave him a cloth bag filled with the complete set of Harry Potter books.  This time, Gary was going to Kalap to teach English and he was going stay there for a month. He was all excited about it. Our bags were loaded on mules and our trek began. Soon it started raining.

The trek to Kalap is 11km long and it can take about 5 to 7 hours. It was through paddy fields and we had to cross several streams on the way. All the while, I was worried about my shoes getting wet. At some points, I had very little control over this and I had to step into puddles of water. Soon the socks were wet because rain water was sipping in from my calves and not through the soles of my brand new shoes. We were all drenched and stopped worrying about shoes getting wet. The clothes would get wet and dry off when the rain stopped. There was no point in worrying. On the way we stopped to have Bhel puri made by Gyan Singh- our guide and chef. The group split into two with Shormistha, Gary and I walking ahead and others following us. After 5 hours of walking through woods we started seeing rustic, wooden houses and little children started gathering around us. They welcomed us and took us to the right house through rocky streams. We were served hot tea followed by soup and complete hot meal of roti-sabzi, daal-chawal. We slept in different wooden houses in the vicinity of the trust office. Water coming from streams was channeled through a tap outside the toilet.  During the trek, I managed the journey on the same pair of jeans. I would change my T-shirt and undergarments occasionally. On the way back we had stopped in Kalap again. After trekking for 6 days I treated myself to a bath with just one bucket of hot water heated on wood fire. The wooden bathroom had openings on the top and bottom. Cold air was rushing in even though it was past noon. The hot water spa was simply superb! It is very hard to appreciate these small things if you live in a city with 24 hour water and electricity supply.

The next morning i.e. on August 15, we went for flag hoisting at the local school. The function was low key due to the recent death of a young woman who had cancer. Ashwini- the Environment science teacher employed by Kalap trust dressed up in a saree and kids loved to see their “didi” looking beautiful! Here, I saw that children really valued the work done by Anshu (English teacher) and Ashwini.  These young teachers have developed a rapport with the pupils and they bring in a variety of resources from the internet into the classroom. The classes begin at 2 pm after the regular government school and go till late evening. But the children did not show any signs of boredom or tiredness. In the night, there are adults who come to learn English and they are eager to learn about the outside world. It was interesting to see how Anshu has been using Harry Potter and Avengers to kindle interest in learning English. On my return journey, I reached Kalap on Friday afternoon. That evening, after Gary’s class I taught a Hindi song which speaks about notes of Hindustani classical music. The kids were from classes 6 to 9. They were very quick in learning the song. Shormistha taught them some Kathak steps and I also danced along. We played Kathak charades. It was a fun-filled evening with a lot of learning for me. 

After dinner, a few ladies came to chat with Gauri and me. They were curious about our lives. One of the girls had completed her bachelor's in Political science but was not sure about her future plans. Women appeared to be quite bold and hard-working. They had beautiful complexion and athletic built. Their clothes were old and simple. The houses had very little stuff.  Although, they go through a tough life of hardships, their tanned faces looked happy and contented! 

 To read Part 3 click here