Village Pannithittu - revisited

On the day we first arrived at Pannithittu Village, we were anxious, apprehensive and eager to see the village we had helped to pay for and what would be our "home" for the remainder of that week. Our first impression was embodied in a huge banner announcing the recent dedicatory ceremonies, which occurred in mid-December, 2005. As explained in an earlier journal entry, Pannithittu Village was the first in all of south India to be approved, and to be dedicated (actually prior to completion). Not only was Swami Chidanand Saraswatiji pleased with this, but also the various public servants, including Governor of Pondicherry, H.E. Lekhara, the Governor of Uttaranchal (and fellow Rotarian) H.E. Governor Agarwal, and so many others, not to mention the villagers themselves. The fortunate ones who were invited to occupy the first dozen or so homes must have been thrilled beyond comprehension.

Imagine for a moment that you and your family had your lives overturned, literally and figuratively, by an enormous and treacherous wave from the ocean, sweeping hundreds of family and friends out to sea, never to be seen again, and taking with it most if not all of your possessions. Once the initial shock had receded, along with the waves, you were relegated to live the best you could in a 10' x 10' shanty, constructed of sticks and palm fronds, with dirt floor. This would be your home for the coming twelve months, leaving you to wonder if you would ever be able to restore some normalcy and dignity to your lives. Heat came and you baked within the confines of your temporary shelter. Monsoons came and flooded your home, causing you to sleep and eat on the muddy floor. Winds came and you wondered (like the three little pigs of your childhood stories) whether or not your shanty could withstand them and remain upright.

After some eight or nine months, the families in this village were told that through the cooperative efforts of Project Hope, the India Heritage Research Foundation and Rotarians and Friends of Rotary from the USA and UK, we were going to construct 100 new homes, to be occupied by some of the families who had been permanently displaced. In mid-September,the land had been identified, acquired and paid for, and construction began at the site. Imagine that within three months time, most of the rough construction was completed and several of the homes were ready for occupancy!

One of the first sights we saw was a woman at the community well, pumping water into a bucket and cleaning recently caught fish. When she was through with this task, she purposely dropped the fish heads and entrails onto the ground to be quickly gobbled up by the free range hens which stayed under the shade of the enormous ficus tree, waiting until the woman left, before flocking to the newly dropped morsels. Nearly each morning, when we arrived and Kumar parked the coach beneath the same ficus tree, we witnessed the same daily chore being performed, or watched as one or two of the villagers came to the same water faucet and brushed their teeth or washed out a lunghi or a shirt, to be hung over a clothes line running from the same tree to the nearby house.

We proceeded through the enclave of homes, set in groups of eight buildings, containing sixteen units. We passed by the cement mixer, which had long since been "frozen" solid with leftover cement, that someone had failed to clean out properly the night before. One of the workmen worked diligently to chip away at the residue, in hopes of being able to use it to mix the cement and sand and stones, rather than having to accomplish the same task by hand. This was not to be, at least for the time we worked that week. However, as we passed and stacked some 15,000 bricks (Mark's estimate) during those days, we witnessed a team of young men who like a carefully choreographed ballet, attacked the piles of sand and cement and stones, making a tall cone with a moat, and filling the moat with water, and then mixing the contents in a musical rhythm, which could easily rival that of the mechanized mixer, had it been in working order.

On that last afternoon, when we returned to the village for one final look, the memories which had been crammed into one week - a week of considerable heat and dust and sweat, and yes, even a few tears - we were almost overwhelmed when we walked around the village homes, and gazed upon all of the work which had been accomplished during our "tour of duty". Outside steps leading up onto the flat roofs of the buildings, that would serve as patios for the occupants of the homes below, had been meticulously smoothed by one of the workers drawing a screed over the newly applied concrete mixture. Corrugated cement roofing sections had been attached to the framing set in place to create a shaded veranda in the front of each unit. Special roofing tiles had been poured and were to be placed onto the surface of the rooftops in order to create a pleasant sitting area for the famillies who would occupy the new homes. Ditches had been dug throughout the entire complex to provide proper sanitation through the use of septic tanks and toilets and lavatories at the back of each unit and that had been connected to the general system. Electrical systems had been brought into each of the units and soon lighting fixtures would be installed. One or two of the workmen had been working diligently on the assembling, sanding and staining of the frames which would house the louvers to be installed into each of the window openings. And much like the "A-TEAM" of American television, we were also pleased to state, "We LOVE it when a plan comes together!" Even one Western-style toilet had been installed in a unit close to the entrance to the village, to be used by visiting dignitaries who preferred this style to the typical Indian style toilet. Obvious to each of us was the fact that not only were the villagers eager to inhabit their new homes, but they also would welcome visits from each of those who so generously donated funds to pay for these homes.

From the rooftop patio of one of the homes, we could look about the entire village and assess the progress that had been made during our week of service. It was heartening to see that perhaps the augmentation to the labor force by Rotarians and Rotaractors definitely impacted on the progress made during that week. Although we may not have actually constructed the masonry walls, or installed the plumbing, or placed the louvered windows into the frames, we had provided a sufficient number of hard workers to continue the vital construction process of moving bricks and mortar into place, so others who might have had to do what we were doing could move to other areas which required their special talents, in order to complete the project sooner than later. Soon enough, the piles of sand which provided resting places for our team would be reduced to nothing more than a memory and replaced by plantings of shade tree saplings, or walkways to take the villagers down to the local beach for a swim or to welcome the fishermen back from the sea.

As each home is completed and dedicated and then occupied, it is our hope that somehow the families living within will know that people from the United States and England have generously contributed to their well-being by helping to pay for their homes. Perhaps, as naming plaques are affixed to the wall near the entrance to each home, the families will have some understanding of Rotary International and of the caring and service of Rotarians and Friends of Rotary from far reaches of the globe. Will some of them remember the week when Rotarians from Australia came and helped on the construction of their village? Will they remember the week when two Rotarians, once from the USA and one from England came, joined by a lovely young English girl who just wanted to volunteer, along with a dozen or so members of the nearby Rotaract Club, worked tirelessly to make a positive difference?

One often dreams of the future and wonders what will come to pass... will the villagers work together within their own cluster of homes to create garden spaces to raise some of their own crops? Will some of the ladies be able to learn stitching skills on sewing machines donated by Rotarians from other parts of the world, in order to supplement the family income, so folks are not solely dependent upon fishing for their livelihood? Will the children continue to attend the local schools and perhaps someday, strive beyond the geographical borders of their village to reach new goals that may take them to higher education to become the architects and the builders of other communities, or to become involved with various technologies with global impact? Someday, will this little community provide the workers to take care of the golf course and resort, which may be built adjacent to their picture postcard community? Who knows???

This year, the beginning of the Second Century of Rotary International, President Carl-Wilhelm Stenhammer has as his theme, one of the basic tenets of Rotary - SERVICE ABOVE SELF. In some small but significant way, Mark Little and I, along with Melpo and the members of the local Rotaract Club, sincerely hope that we have served others, placing their needs before our own, and that our week of work will prove to be of some value to these folks who have suffered so much, but who with smiles returned to their faces will move forward, reaching fwell into the future. Perhaps, someday, they too will have the opportunity to serve others.

Sunday evening, January 22, 2006

Following our meeting with the Governor of Pondicherry, we drove south for one last time. We stopped at the village where we had worked all week long, and assessed the progress which had been made from when we first arrived. (There will be a separate entry for this side-trip).

From there, we continued on to Cuddalore and went to the home of Arunachallam and his two sons, Rajan and Umasouthan. We had expected to meet all of them and have them ride with us to a very special dance program, which was sponsored by a dance master, who is currently the president-elect of one of the Rotary Clubs in Cuddalore. She had met us earlier in the week and personally invited us to attend. Her students ranged in age from about six years to sixteen. When we arrived at the home of Arunachallam, we were invited in for tea, but we told the two sons that we did not really have time for tea, if we were going to make the dance program on time. They told us their father had not yet returned home from another function, and we should come in and wait. We entered their yard, just as their father was arriving home, and so I wandered to the porch, where their grandfather, formerly a Brahmin priest, was sitting. He was pleased to see me, and although I speak no Tamil and he no English, we communicated well, and before I left, he took my hands in his and offered a prayer of thanksgiving and one for safe passage back to Delhi and then to home. His great-granddaughter, Ajita, told me he also prayed for my long life, and I thanked him.

Time to get back on our coach, along with the entire family, and head for the Dance program. Well, as usual, that was going to be delayed somewhat, because Arunachallam insisted that we attend (just for a minute or two) a handicrafts show, which was being held right down the street from where the dance program was. Naturally, if you attend a handicraft show, you can not simply poke your head in the door and then walk out, you must show proper respect and walk around, visiting all of the exhibitors' booths, and then go once more around to see if you want to purchase anything from them. I found one or two small items and we proceeded to leave, but had to join the line of patrons leaving, as the exhibitors did not take payment, but rather the person at the exit took all payments, once the items had been brought to them by a runner from the exhibitor's booth. It is really quite an efficient system, employing far more people than following western practices. We finally checked out and then walked back to the coach, which Kumar drove to the location for the dance program. We were concerned that we were very late, and that we would be interrupting the hall during a portion of the dancing, but to our amazement, the program had been held up awaiting our arrival. Another somewhat embarrassing moment...




When we entered the hall, we were greeted with blessings, a sprinkling of holy water from the Ganges River, and then escorted to our seats. We watched as tiny girls in very elaborate costumes were brought onto the stage and placed in what appeared to be giant lotus blossoms. They were each tucked down into a hiding position, to be brought out later on. In the meanwhile, as we sat in the front row, we watched as various chapters in the life of Dancing Shiva were depicted by the different age groups. The first chapter lasted for nearly a half hour, and when we looked at our programs, we noticed there were six chapters to be danced that evening and we were concerned that we would be leaving terribly late from Cuddalore to return to Pondicherry, to pack and prepare to leave very early the following morning. Since Arunachallam was sitting next to me, I turned to him and inquired if there might be a way we could leave very quietly and unobtrusively so we could return to Pondicherry. He told me he would check on it. When I turned to look across the aisle at Mark to bring him an update, I found that one of the youngsters from the village had found a perch on Mark's lap and was enjoying the program from that vantage point in the front row! How wonderful to see the innate trust in a little child, to know that she was safe sitting on the lap of a total stranger, without the least bit of hesitation. We could take a number of lessons from the Indian culture.

Word was passed on from Arunachallam to a young gentleman, who then spoke with the husband of the dance master, who then relayed the request back to the dance master, and then, in turn, word was passed back through the chain of command to Arunachallam, who informed me that we would be leaving quietly through the side exit within the next fifteen minutes. As I looked toward the exit, I was pleased to see the Rotarian from Cuddalore - Central who administers the orphanage, where we had taken the clothes the day before. She whispered to me that most of the children from the orphanage were upstairs in the balcony, enjoying the program, wearing their new clothes! Just as I thought we were ready to leave, the program was brought to a halt, and Arunachallam was invited to the stage. He began to speak, and in three languages - Tamil, Hindi and English. He proceeded to tell everyone (well over five hundred people attending) that he was welcoming us to the stage and introducing us. He told those gathered why we were there and what we had been doing all week in Pannithittu Village, and that through our efforts in the USA and UK, we had been able to raise funds to pay for nearly one-half of the one hundred permanent homes for the fishermen and their families in Pannithittu Village. This brought a round of applause. We were then presented with framed prints of several of the Hindu gods. So much for a quiet and unobtrusive exit, stage left!!!

We descended the steps from the stage, and as we were doing so, we looked to the back of the hall, and up into the balcony, where the children from the orphanage were waving to us, and calling to us to come upstairs to say one last goodbye. We went outside and along the colonnade, and then around to the other side of he building to be admitted to the balcony stairs. We all went upstairs and were greeted by the children, with many hugs and hanging on to our legs. They all had smiles on their faces and it was pretty difficult to simply turn and leave. We took a few photos and then Rajan told the children we had to leave. We said goodbye and told them we would be back again, someday. They knew we would return, but when was the question. I know Mark and I both plan to return to this part of India in future, whether it be with another work party, or just on our own. Plans are already in the works for future projects in other parts of India, but for each of us, I know that a part of our hearts remains with the children in Cuddalore. Farewell...

Sunday, January 22, 2006

Rotary Club of Pondicherry Beach Town

After breakfast and some postcard writing, Kumar met us at the entrance to the hotel and we drove south, as though we were going to return to Pannithittu, but stopped far short of that distance. We had been invited by Past District Governor Purushothaman and Club President Anil Kumar to participate in the dedication and distribution of several tricycles and wheeled chairs for disabled adults who live in the communities surrounding Pondicherry. Through the efforts of PDG Puru, as he is fondly called, tricycles made from recycled bicycle frames and other parts were purchased and shipped to Pondicherry especially for this day. Rotarians from Australia had fashioned the wheeled chairs from recycled parts and had also shipped a number of them to Pondicherry.

The tricycles are not what one would normally think of when remembering when we were youngsters and got our first set of wheels. These were going to serve the recipients as basic transportation, as well as a means to possibly travel the streets, and become productive members of society, where the recipients might possibly be able to create small businesses for themselves, selling items from their tricycles. Most of the recipients were victims of paralysis as a result of polio, and the paralysis affected the lower half of their bodies. With the tricycles, they would be able to “pedal” by using their hands and arms, rather than their frozen legs.

We had been contacted several times during the past several days by Club President Anil, and advised even as we were ready to depart from the hotel, that the program had been postponed by an hour. Evidently, PDG Puru, who resides in the city of Salem, in Tamil Nadu state, left his home at 5:00 in the morning, and rather than taking the normal three or four hours to drive, had taken well in excess of six hours! The highway system in India is being expanded, and therefore, construction work narrows the already overcrowded roadways, clogged with trucks hauling sand and cement, crushed stone, and all of the other components of building roads and bridges. This along with the normal everyday traffic caused serious delays for everyone.

We arrived at the site of the meeting – a wedding hall about fifteen minutes from the center of Pondicherry, and were greeted heartily by the Club President and other members and guests. We went upstairs in the hall and were reunited with our dear friend, PDG Puru. It was so good to see him again, particularly because he was so instrumental in facilitating the process of connecting with Swamiji, as well as shepherding our joint efforts for the construction of the homes in Village Pannithittu in an orderly manner. It was obvious to the three of us that he is highly respected and dearly loved by the Rotarians from his district. Also in attendance was another Past District Governor, PDG Balu, who had served his district in 2001-2002 when the theme for that year was MANKIND IS OUR BUSINESS. Although I had never met PDG Balu, it was as though we were old friends, meeting once again after the passing of time.

Once we had arrived and gotten somewhat settled, President Anil announced that we were only awaiting the arrival of the recipients of the tricycles and wheeled chairs. Due to the fact of it being Sunday, and moreover that these folks lived in a bit of a scattered pattern from the central part of Pondicherry, the Club had arranged to have them picked up by a rather large open bed truck, which went from village to village to meet them. About a half hour following our arrival, we heard the honking of a truck horn, and went to the upstairs balcony of the building to see the arrival of the truck carrying about a dozen of the recipients. Each was gently lifted from the bed of the truck and carried up the two flights of stairs to the meeting hall. A few of them were able to climb those stairs using only their hands and arms to lift them, one step at a time.

Everyone settled into his or her seat, and the program began. President Anil welcomed all of us, and asked that PDG Puru and I join him on the dais. We did and as is the tradition in India, we were each welcomed with ceremony and presented with a bouquet of flowers. There were a number of presentations and recognitions, and the program began. President Anil Kumar addressed those in attendance, speaking of this project and how it evolved. Past District Governor Balu was then introduced, and spoke not only of the project, but also of the creation of this Beach Town club. Originally, it was chartered during his term as District Governor, 2001-2002, and its members consisted only of people under the age of thirty-five. Initially, the idea caught the interest of so many young business owners and managers in the area. However, numbers dwindled a bit, until finally PDG Balu himself, joined this club, and invited several of his contemporaries to be a part of a very vital and vibrant Rotary Club. There is a great deal of enthusiasm within the membership, and they seem to take on one fundraising and/or community service project each month!

PDG Puru and I were in turn introduced and addressed those assembled, but were eager to get to the real purpose of the meeting – to dedicate and distribute the “tricycles” and the wheeled chairs to those who had been transported from the outreaches of Pondicherry. It was very heartening to see the appreciation on the faces of those who received these new means of transportation, and it was quite evident that those who were presented the tricycles, would be looking at them not only as a means of transportation, but also as the basis for becoming productive members of society, through use as commercial carts to sell vegetables or trinkets or other items to those who lived in their immediate areas.

Following the formal presentation, everyone adjourned to the lower level of the building and we were treated to a typical South Indian meal – served on banana leaves. During the week, I found I had become reasonably adept at eating with no utensils, but using only my right hand to gather up the food from the plate or the banana leaf. The meal was very hearty and delicious. We left following lunch and returned to our hotel.

During our stay in Pondicherry, we had attempted to arrange to meet with His Excellency, Lieutenant General (Ret.) Lekhara, Governor of the Union of Pondicherry. I decided to make one last attempt by calling his residence and speaking with his Aide de Camp. About mid-afternoon, I received a telephone call from his Aide and a meeting was arranged for that afternoon, at 3:45. We showered and dressed and Kumar drove to the governor’s residence. Due to the upcoming Republic Day celebrations, scheduled for January 26, barricades and checkpoints had been set up surrounding the governor’s residence for several blocks away. However, word must have been passed along, because we were cleared at each point and drove directly to the front gate of the residence. Additionally, taxis and private cars are relegated to park a few blocks away from the residence, but Kumar was allowed to park his vehicle directly across the street from the gate!

We presented our credentials and were escorted into the residence and upstairs to the private quarters. The formal reception room is located just off the private quarters, not so dissimilar from our own White House, and we were asked to sit and wait for the governor to appear. As a side note, I had met Governor Lekhara on a number of occasions this past year, in April 2005, and when our team was about to depart the area, he invited us to a reception and tea, and commended us upon our accomplishments. Governor Lekhara entered the room and greeted Mark and me very warmly and we introduced Melpo to him. We enjoyed tea and some very special snacks, including miniature samoosas, which the governor informed us, were only made at the residence.

There were a number of issues I wanted to discuss with the governor, most centered around the construction site at Pannithittu Village and the progress, which has been made, to the greatest credit of his intervention on the project. Being an independent union, Pondicherry seems to function with more efficiency. This can also be attributed to the fact that Governor Lekhara is a retired Lieutenant General from the Indian Army, and he is very decisive in the manner in which he carries out his duties. Land was quickly identified, purchased and the project begun much more quickly than most in Tamil Nadu. There are still areas, for example, where land is awaiting approval as a location for rebuilding homes, to say nothing of being purchased and cleared, so Governor Lekhara is to be commended and congratulated for his intervention. Mark, Melpo and I had considerable concern regarding the hygiene, which was not being observed by some of the villagers, the lack of toilets, and the lack of clean water. We discussed each of these topics and were assured by the governor that proper toilets were not only installed in each of the new one hundred homes where we had been working all week, but in addition, his government had subsidized the installation of toilets in several hundred homes which already exist in the area. This, along with some serious education, will make a tremendous impact upon the cleanliness of the area, thereby making the beach areas safer for people to walk on and enjoy.
Governor Lekhara thanked us for our continued involvement, and for the generous support shown by Rotarians and friends of Rotary from throughout the world, for the construction of these homes. We thanked him for his hospitality and his personal intervention in this project, and left to drive south again to Pannithittu Village for one last look.