Hi friends! Sophia again, we are currently in Jaipur, getting ready to leave for Udaipur tonight. We’ve kept ourselves busy this past week: eating glorious meals with our host families (and losing many games of chess), we’ve visited numerous organizations that have opened our minds and hearts. We went to a paper production factory on the first day. It gave me a new appreciation for gift bags, after watching the laborious process, from pulp made of recycled cotton, to the drying and cutting process, and then there’s the room of printing and glittering, where local Indian women sat cross-legged on the ground, gluing and glittering with the kind of efficiency that only comes from patience and practice. The block-printing and pottery studio, with its hand-carved wooden stamps and manual pottery wheels, took us back to a different era of craftsmanship and dedication to detail. The most special visits for me was the folk artist colony and a prosthetic leg charity called Jaipur Foot. Both bolstered the previous notion of the contrasts in India.
The folk artist colony had a particularly strong effect on me. Not only did the people reaffirm my complete inability to dance, but they warmed my heart with their joy and passion despite their challenging lives. I smiled uncontrollably, listening to the pitter-patter of bare feet on the pavement. And I was greatly humbled, watching a woman string tiny beads into an intricate pattern, bounce a toddler on her knee, and talk to Kelsi, all at the same time. I left feeling high and inspired by these humans’ ability to endure and grateful that they were willing to share their talents with us.
Jaipur Foot was equally impressive. Just as there was joy in the squalor of the artist colony, Jaipur Foot showed us the tragedy and deep injustice of some people’s lives, but also the generosity of others. No contrast was as tangible as seeing a little boy walk on two legs for the first time, and an elderly man crawling across the floor next to him, waiting for his fitting. It was eye-opening to see the collection of people in the room, all sitting patiently in rows of chairs, as casually as if they were waiting to renew their licenses. Meanwhile, volunteers and workers ran around the factory, molding and shaping, heating and cooling, pounding and kneading. The organization makes 150 prosthetic legs per day, each cost 350 to make, and all services are free of charge. It was a quick tour, as the owner was eager to get back to work, but we all were thoroughly impressed by the efficiency and the generosity of the place. In conclusion, we are sad to depart from Jaipur. I for one will leave a tiny piece of my heart here, with Risha-ji, rekha-ji who were generous and informative, my gracious homestay family and the amazing organizations we witnessed. That said, Udaipur is calling, and I’m excited for my first night train!