Ramblings on the Rann

As the academic year draws to a close and hectic school life starts to unwind, the occasion is marked by the annual Sri Rajni trip away to the Rann.

The Little Rann of Kutch is a vast expanse of desert, home to an abundance of wildlife (notably, it is the only place in the world where the Indian Wild Ass is found) and supporting the livelihoods of the many saltworkers who reside here (and produce 30 percent of India's salt). During the monsoon (June to September), the sea rushes in and the entire area is submerged in around 4 feet of water.

As is Srirajni custom, around fifty students and staff piled into two open-topped tempo trucks and headed out into the Rann. I was placed in charge of the younger ones; we whiled away the journey singing songs ('If You're Happy and You Know It', 'Heads, Shoulders, Knees and Toes'...), playing 'I Spy' and having 'Thumb Wars', as
well as sharing snacks and looking out across the barren landscape. A chorus of "Ma'am, look!" resounded at every sighting of a sheep or bird, and I even managed to acquire a temporary 'Kung Fu Panda' tattoo which one of the students had brought with them.

Stopping off enroute at salt farms and notable viewpoints, the short walks were a good opportunity to
stretch legs, mess around and collect interesting rocks. Boats littered the landscape, left behind in the dry season by fishermen, which we all clambered into, and running races were organised.

After a long day, we admired the beautiful desert sunset and headed back to camp; we would be spending the night in koobas (traditional mud huts) at an Eco Tour Camp. Away from the streetlights of town, the stars stretched across the sky like a planetarium, as we pointed out the major constellations, such as 'Orion's Belt', and spotted the planet Venus, as well as gazing at the astounding red-yellow colour of the Moon.

Fooled by the misconception that the children would all be tired out, the anticipated early night did not happen, with whispered conversations continuing until the early hours; I can now empathise with the irriation my teachers must have felt on residential trips away as we refused sleep and stayed up long into the night!

Up early and after a quick chai, it was time to hit the road again and head back to school. Arriving back exhausted but in high spirits, I'm sure the trip will be the hot topic of conversation on Monday morning.

Winter Holiday (PART TWO)

Having reached Kanyakumari, we sleeper-bused our way through Tamil Nadu to Pondicherry. India's only ex-French colony, the cultural Franco-Indian blend makes it a unique destination. Situated on the east coast, we whiled our days away munching on croissants, walking along the beach promenade and cycling along leafy avenues.

With an au revoir to Pondicherry, next stop was the ruinous kingdom of Hampi, Karnataka. A dynamic landscape of boulders, rice paddies and leafy banana palms acts as a backdrop to the multitude of ruins which dominate the area.
Once a Hindu capital, the city fell into disarray after it was besieged by Muslim forces over 500 years ago. As such, many of the ruins are of a religious nature, with temples dotted along the river and upon the surrounding hills. My particular favourite was the Hanuman temple (dedicated to the Monkey God); perched atop a rocky hilltop, the 570-step climb is truly worth it for the spectacular view of the landscape spread out below, particularly at sunset, as multitudes of monkeys mill all around. Running through the heart of the heritage site is the Tungabhadra River; with the only bridges located at an inconvenient distance away, the most popular way to cross the river, from the Virupaksha temple to the main guesthouse area and other ruins, is by ferry or woven-raft.Staying in Hampi feels as though you have stepped out of the modern period for a brief spell and into another world.

 Although sad to leave Hampi, our time in Mumbai (the last stop on our Grand Tour) was far from dull. One of the most densely populated cities in the world, we had been warned to expect chaotic bustle, excessive pollution and dirt. Whilst Mumbai may live up to this reputation at rushhour, with gridlock traffic and overflowing commuter trains, for the most part it is relatively negotiable. Spending five days there, we mastered the local trains, familiarising ourselves with the gothic surroundings of CST (this iconic architectural facade is one of the busiest stations in the world), venturing out to the Dhobi Ghats and Haji Ali Mosque at Mahalaxmi and over to Chowpatty Beach on Marine Drive. To complete our full Mumbaiker experience, we even managed to worm our way on to a Bollywood film set, working as foreign extras for the day.

As the final stop, Mumbai marked the end of our trip. The Gujarat Mail train brought us back into Ahmedabad, ready for the term ahead and the next stage of our India adventure.

Chowpatty Beach

Winter Holiday (PART ONE)

Following the end of a hectic term - adapting to life as a teacher at Srirajni and learning the ropes, topped off with the marking of endless terminal exams - we well and truly felt in need of the winter break awaiting us. Our five-week holiday saw us embark on an adventure around the southern tip of the Indian subcontinent.

Passing through Mumbai on our way south, we took a 16-hour train cross-country to Hyderabad to stay with our Project Trust Rep, Bharavi, and his family, enroute to Christmas in Ongole.  A small town in Andhra Pradesh, Ongole did not what had hit it when 14 volunteers, from various corners of the country, descended upon it to celebrate the festive holiday together.

Arambol, Goa

Doubling back on ourselves, a group of us headed back to the west coast to enjoy the delights of Goa over New Year. Beautiful beaches, lazy days and all-night parties, Goa was just what we needed; it offered a brief break from the daily intensities of life in India. We welcomed in 2016 on Anjuna beach, releasing a Chinese Lantern over the Indian Ocean.

The Chinese Fishing Nets, Fort Kochi

Waving the others goodbye, Katie and I continued our journey down the coast, heading towards Kanyakumari, the southern most tip of India (the point at which the Indian Ocean, Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal meet). We passed through Kerala, ambling around the peninsula at Fort Kochi before heading on to Alleppey. Situated on the Keralan backwaters, we took a canoe out on to this elaborate network of canals and waterways, lakes and lagoons, lined with rice paddies and remote villages, and frequented by a constant stream of water vessels.

The Keralan Backwaters

Having arrived as far south as it is possible to go on the Indian subcontinent, we slowly started to make our way back North from Kanyakumari, working towards Pondicherry, the ancient kingdom of Hampi and onwards to Mumbai.

Mattancherry, Cochin

Travels

Whilst I have been eager to dispel misconceptions that my 'Gap Year in India' is a sightseeing excursion with a bit of light volunteering, that does not go to say that we are confined to the limits of Srirajni and Dhrangadhra for the entirety of our year. We are given the opportunity, at various points throughout the year, to embrace the traveller experience and work our way around the subcontinent. During term-time, we work 6 days a week, staying on beyond the final school bell to do lesson prep and marking, but this is rewarded by long holidays which give us plenty of time to travel.

During our break over Diwali (about a month ago), we travelled North to Rajasthan: the desertous land of ancient fortresses, lake palaces and camel treks. The overnight sleeper brought us into Udaipur, a city easily recognisable from the set of 'The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel'. Following this, we headed on to Jodhpur, often referred to as the 'Blue City' due to its abundance of traditional blue buildings which reside within the old city walls. The city has sprung up around the old fort which, situated upon a rocky outcrop, dominates the panorama from every angle. An imposing landmark, wandering around its battlements transported us back to earlier times of the Indian Maharajas and their royal courts, as we gazed at collections of palanquins (litters) and howdahs (traditional elephant seats), amongst an abundance of other riches.

With only 10 days off  before we had to head back to school, we felt robbed of time, so we're hopefully going to return in the summer. For now, all thoughts are turning to our five-week Christmas break and plans to travel South India.

School Trip!

Today was our first real experience of  a Srirajni school outing, with the annual school picnic. When first told about this, I had assumed that this would most probably involve a short walk, out of town and into the surrounding countryside. Instead, with an early morning start of 6:30am, teachers and students piled into the back of a truck (covered by a tarpaulin) and set off on the 3-hour journey  to Than.

Packed in like sardines, sitting on each others laps and clinging on for dear life, everyone was in high spirits. The roads in India leave a little to be desired so, as expected, it was far from a smooth ride, but this was more than made up for by the singing, conversation, clapping games and sharing of snacks. Every opened packet of crisps or snack box was thrust at us, accompanied by a forceful "Ma'am, do you want some?" and the refusal to take no for an answer (one boy told me that if I did not accept the crisp crumbs he had dug out of his pocket then he would not talk to me for the rest of the day; thankfully, he relented). I was even given the opportunity to earn extra 'teacher points' as I was assigned the less-than-glamorous task of cleaning up vomit.

Our final destination was a nature reserve near Than, arriving at a jungle-like microcosm, teeming with peacocks, and various other birds, as well as a multitude of insects.We started our walking tour, casually informed of the possibility of spotting snakes and jungle cats, and chaperoning a winding crocodile-line of students. Venturing out of this leafy cosmos into the more desertous and barren surrounding landscape, we scaled rocky outcrops, scavenged for berries and peacock feathers, and searched for bird's nests.

For many of the children, school trips are the only time that they venture out of town and experience the wider environment; it was wonderful to see them so enthusiastic, engaged and animated. I loved chatting to them on the way round, and messing about, being asked countless questions such as "Ma'am, who will you marry?" and "But Ma'am, WHY?". I really enjoy teaching them, but it was nice to be able to relax a bit, outside of the usual professional setting, and just appreciate their company.

After a packed picnic lunch and a play, we crammed back into the trucks and started the long journey back, stopping off at a temple en route. The children and I discovered that we have a mutual knowledge of Beatles' songs, notably 'Yellow Submarine' and 'Let It Be', which we belted out, arriving back exhausted but elated. Today has definitely been a real highlight of my time so far.

Diwali

Ever since I learnt about Diwali at primary school, I have wanted to experience it for myself. Also referred to as the Festival of Light, Hindu teachings tell us that earthen lamps (known as diyas) were lit and firecrackers set off to celebrate the return of Lord Rama, after 14 years in exile and his defeat of the demon king Ravana. These traditions have continued to the present, with Diwali becoming the biggest festival in the Hindu calendar.

Billed as 'Indian Christmas', anticipation has been building in Dhrangadhra and at school for weeks, as fairylights and decorations have been put up, street stalls have emerged and cards have been made. The children have been in heights of giddiness, as the 'end-of-term fever' set in, making teaching somewhat difficult.

At Srirajni, the festivities culminated with a special school celebration on the evening of the last day of term. Arriving early, the older students and teachers were divided into groups, with each group given the task of producing a rangoli. Rangoli is a traditional Indian art form consisting of  symbolic designs made from coloured sand/pigments, which are used to decorate public areas during Diwali. Dotted around school, the bright colours and intricate designs were truly beautiful. Alongside rangolis, little red footprints, representing those of the Goddess Lakhshmi, were painted outside doorways, diyas were lit and fairylights were turned on. By the time darkness descended and the younger children had arrived, the school was awash in light and colour.

Sweets were shared and the evening was brought to a close with a fireworks display. Needless to say, my first experience of Diwali did not disappoint.

The Desert

Gujarat is a dry state. This means one of two things; first, alcohol is illegal, and second, we live in a desert. Whilst our days are mostly limited to the parametres of the courtyard where we live and work, the cooler evenings are ideal for getting out of town and going for a walk. The desertous landscape is astoundingly beautiful, with its orange-red dusty terrain interspersed with patches of green. The low-lying shrubs seem to almost transport you to Africa for a minute, before the various native wildlife species make an appearance and bring us back to India. On a typical walk, we see blue bulls (a very weird animal which appears to be the result of a cross between a cow, deer and horse), buffalo cows and wild asses. This is the only place in India where you can spot the Indian wild ass, as it has all but disappeared from the rest of Asia. Upon entering an area of protected land a few weeks ago, we were casually informed by our host told to stay alert and keep the dogs on their leads as there could be wolves about. A little unnerving!

Our evening walks usually coincide with the Sun going down, setting the desert sky on fire. Awash in a multitude of colours, from pastel pinks and powder blues, to brilliant oranges and reds. The sky appears almost continuously on the point of melting. It really does take your breath away.

Life at Sri Rajini is pretty intense, with busy days and a heavy workload, so our evening walks provide a necessary contrast. They are a welcome release, putting things into perspective and rebooting energy levels. They are yet another part of my life here that I have started to treasure.

The Indian Wild Ass