I met Vinod while I was in Varkala last year - he was working in Cliff Manor where I was stayed for a few weeks. He's like a little brother and he kindly invited me to met his family last year - fyi it's a huge compliment to be invited to an Indian family home don't you know....
At the time I did my bit to improve relations between Britain and India by getting pissed on coconut toddy (deadly stuff) with his dad, smoking untold amounts of fags (Keralan woman never smoke so it was right up there in the inappropriate behaviour category), while trying to contain my laughter as his father did a very good mock-moshing impression to the Prodigy's 'smack my bitch up' which blasted from the stereo. I then passed out on the bed. Classy.
My days of generally humiliating myself (while under the influence at least) are thankfully well and truly over. So when Vinod invited me to stay overnight at his house, I was determined to make a more respectable impression second time round. Naturally this first involved buying a new outfit so if I did stumble on the unfamiliar path of respectability, I would at least look semi decent in doing so.
First stop to Suka's shop to purchase the necessities. Mindful of my historic tendency to fully embrace the traveler look I gave her a strict brief i.e. nothing florescent, or featuring any Hindu god, or slogan led or too ethnic looking and absolutely no Ali Babba trousers. She looked puzzled but I think she could sense the severity in my tone of voice and stuck firmly to brief. I settled on a beautiful silk skirt, tee and sandals. Simple but effective - I hoped. And more importantly I didn't look like I'd just left a rave on Anjuna beach.
Vinod lives in a fishing village on the out skirts of Alleppey. His father and brother are both fishermen and life is tough for the family. They have very little money and I don't mean in the sense of not being able to afford to go on holiday, buy a new car, go clothes shopping or debate on whether to cut back on the number of take away's they order each week. I mean they properly struggle. Their life style is beyond basic by anyone's standards and I'll be honest I really didn't anticipate the experience I would have. It was a huge reality check for me and at the same time it was really touching, rewarding and heartfelt. An unexpected combination.
The family home is built with breeze blocks and the roof is made of corrugated iron. There are two rooms - a kitchen which is about 8ft by 4 ft and has a tiny two ringed gas stove and a sink. The bedroom/sitting room is roughly the same size with a small double bed and the large TV is the focal point of the room. The small hallway, which separates the two main rooms, is adorned with pictures and mini statues of Jesus. In fact it's like a shrine to Catholicism with the bible laid open on a make shift altar. Even the light switch is surrounded by an image of the Pope.
Naturally I have to comment about the loo situ. You have to walk through the kitchen so the door itself is outside - it's Western style and it's spotless but it doesn't flush so you have to pour a few buckets of water to move anything down the system. You can wash in there too but there isn't a shower as such so it's totally traditionally ie pouring water over yourself from a bucket.
I knew all of this before I arrived so going back wasn't a surprise in terms of the layout, their lifestyle and so on. What I hadn't bargained for was just how much I was going to get a real taste of Indian family life. I'd heard on many occasions how you're never alone in India, rolled my eyes when I was queuing for a train ticket and had zero personal space as I was pushed up against the person in front of me. I never truly understood the meaning of never being alone in India. Nor did I have an understanding of how the tiniest cultural difference which didn't seem like much on paper but was monumental when I experienced it for myself.
No comments:
Post a Comment