Well and Poetry

The well-diggers are finding it hard going. I can't understand why. It's the same quality of soil. And it soaks under water and should be softer. But somehow they are finding it difficult to dig through more layers of it. The well, if they manage to dig another two feet, should be 26 feet deep. Deep enough? No. Because this morning when we used a pump to pump out the water, it took hardly 10 minutes to empty out the well! So the well-diggers are cursing and slogging away. I only hope they don't give up before it's 30 feet deep. That's the minimum depth we will need to ensure that there's water in the well throughout summer.

Village visit timings have changed. When they first started, the team was going out at 3:00. Then it was 3:30. Now it is 4:00 pm. It's getting hotter and the sun is quite strong even at 4:00. Maybe in a few days it will be sensible to leave at 5:00. But 4:00 is a good time to go as it's one way of making sure people are at home. Any later and they may all go away to do whatever they have to do before nightfall. It may not be comfortable for the team. But work is work.

Yesterday we had a grand meal under the moon. The kitchen "dining table" was taken out and we had a dinner of "litthi and chutney" -- a typical Bihari dish. Usually they are baseball sized balls made from wheat dough with a stuffing of chickpea powder (sattu) mixed with chopped up onions, chillies, ginger and pickle oil. The balls are usually roasted in an open oven. But Bhola, who made it, decided to make them like stuffed parathas. He fried them. They were delicious and the chutney (dip) was made from ground chickpea and tamarid. Yummy.

After dinner we had a meeting. We decided to give people individual responsibility for various tasks on the project. And this is what was decided:

School: NILAMBAR (to be assisted by Bansi)

Village Contact: NILAMBAR (to be assisted by Bhola, Bansi and Khagen)

Kitchen: SUMAN (to be assisted by Khagen)

Storekeeping: BANSI (to be assisted by Khagen)

Project Property and New Construction: BHOLA (to be assisted by Bansi)

Upkeep of Trees and Farming: KHAGEN (to be assisted by Nilambar)

Project Coordination, Purchases and Outside Work: BHOLA

Not everyone is happy with this arrangement. But all the new people seem quite enthused and radiating a lot of positive energy. For once, I can see a team building up. I hope their enthusiasm will remain despite the negative attitude of some. If they work as a team, I'm sure the project will move forward and break out the rut it has been stuck in for the past few years.

The children were very happy that their works have been put on the net. I forgot to take more pictures. But I'll put up a few more of their poems. Kartik wrote a poem too. And yes, like you, I too was surprised that Kartik knew so much about what goes on here after school hours. But I shouldn't be. Some people on the project have very old ties with Burhikura. And in this day and age of cell phones, I'm sure everything get's reported to certain people in Burhikura.

My Get (gate) by Choti Kumari

My house has a get

I have a pet

I drink water with mug

My house has a jug

My house has wood

I eat food

I were (wear) a hat

My house has a mat

My House by Stella Tudu

My house is a big

The colour is white and red

I live in a my house

Is mother brother and me

My sister name is a Susilla

And my brother name was Surendr

All live in a my house

It is a nice house.

A Kite by Lata Kumari

Look at kite

The kite is white

The kite is red

On the bed

The kite is small

The tial is big

The kite fly

On the sky

There's a lot more from where they came! I'll be putting up a few more over the next few days. I'll also let you know how things are working out now that people have been given specific responsibilities.

Now I'll go and see what the well-diggers are up to.