Back in Rodih

Jon (Jonathan) and I arrived on the project on Monday. I arrived at dawn and he at dusk. It started raining just as I stepped off the bus in Poreya Haat and continued to rain till a short while before he arrived on the project. So he had a little time to settle down before it started raining again.

In fact, it has been raining almost all week. I can’t remember getting so much rain in October. At times it seemed like we were in the middle of July when we get most of the torrential rains. There was a storm one night and Jon found that exciting till I told him that this place records the maximum numbers of lightning strikes in Jharkhand! In fact it is not unusual to hear that a few people have died from lightning strikes during these storms. That made him a bit thoughtful. He’s already seen too snakes so far. Both were poisonous tree snakes. So much for local belief that you can’t see snakes after Naag Panchami!

A day before I left Kolkata I was feeling feverish and tired. The bus journey did not help. And as soon as I got back to the project, I fell ill. I had fever and a constant headache. Bhola wanted to conduct a malaria check. I found it quite intimidating. I am not afraid of needles, but I didn’t want Bhola poking around. I decided to take my herbal medicine for malaria anyway. And it worked wonders. I’m feeling fine now. Till yesterday I was feeling feverish and fatigued.

We haven’t had rain for two days. Maybe the rains are over finally. About time too. It’s been bright and sunny. But also a bit hot and humid. The mornings are getting cooler and the evenings too. I am wondering if we are going to have winter as per schedule or whether winter too will be delayed this year.

The school functioned well while I was away. There were no complaints. No problems to sort out. In fact, life is quite relaxed on the project these days. Suman is doing whatever needs to be done. The children are studying and also taking care of the project. They have kept it clean and tidy and have planted marigold plants everywhere. There’ll be profusion of yellow soon. Winter is a great time to be here.

Since i have been ill, Jon has been filling in for me. He’s been teaching Class 3 and taking maths in Class 4. And of course the Class 4 children are continuing to teach Nursery and Classes 1 and 2. Well, just a few weeks more till we conduct the final exams. So I’d better get down to teaching Class 4! I’m looking forward to be back behind the desk from Monday.

There’s much to look for ward to next week. Jemma, another volunteer, arrives on Friday and Mitali arrives on the 17^th, which is Diwali Day. There is suppressed excitement. It’s a big day for all of us. It’s a sort of Foundation Day because we moved to Roldih from Paharpur on Diwali day in 2005. How time flies. We are all looking forward to lighting lamps and bursting crackers and eating sweets.

Going away from the project was good. It helped me to do a lot of thinking. I’ve come back with some new ideas regarding the future of this project and also my own future. I’ve decided to move away. Where? I haven’t decided yet. I’ll definitely set up a base in Delhi and perhaps one more in Kolkata. And I am now working towards setting up an old-age-home-cum-orphanage across the border in West Bengal, close to Shantiniketan – where Rabindranath Tagore started the Vishwa Bharati University. But more about that later. It’s all in the planning stage. I’m preparing the blue-print. It isn’t going to happen any day soon.

For the moment. I will be concentrating all my energies on trying to make Roldih a self-governing centre like Cheo. Bhola will be at the helm of affairs and I will continue to find support for the project and will visit it regularly to teach, to guide, to “set things right” if needed.

Jon and Bhola have gone to the village. It’s quiet here. I’ll sit on the veranda and enjoy listening to the birds coming home. It get’s dark very early these days. Winter is not far away.