Greetings from Ahmedabad, by Ekta Dharia

I am so grateful to be in this country, to have this opportunity to contribute to India’s development and to my NGO, and to learn from those that I work with … to be humbled by them and to cultivate a heart of service.

Two months have already passed by – it’s all happening so fast, it’s all such a whirlwind. I feel like I never really know what to expect next here, as I’m always going from one extreme to next – from poverty in the slums to dinners in nice restaurants, from rural life to urban chaos. But that’s India in a nutshell, and I’m slowly learning how to take in and immerse myself in every part of it.

A lot has happened since I’ve been here, but here’s a snapshot of what I’ve been doing in India so far:

MY WORK:

I’m working in Ahmedabad for Navsarjan, an NGO that works to eliminate caste-based discrimination in India, particularly against the Dalits (so called “untouchables”).

A lot of people say that caste is no longer an issue in India. Even after just a few short weeks in India, I realized that this was entirely untrue. It plays a huge role in the way society is run, particularly for those who belong to “lower” castes. Untouchability is also widely practiced, especially in rural areas, where Dalits often encounter caste-based violence.

Even among the Dalits, there is another hierarchical sub-caste system, the “lowest” of which are the manual scavengers. So “low” are they that other Dalits don’t even want to associate with them. These manual scavengers are given the dirtiest jobs in India – cleaning up human waste, unclogging sewers, removing dead animals off the streets, etc. This practice is officially illegal but is continued widely.

For my project, I’ll be focusing on this manual scavenging issue. I recently visited the village of Paliyad, about five hours away from Ahmedabad. Paliyad is organized by caste – meaning, every caste and sub-caste lives in its own section of the village. The Dalits live in the poorest areas of the village and are not allowed to interact with people of so-called "upper castes."

I'm working to help rehabilitate these manual scavengers – to have them leave manual scavenging for good and to enter dignified occupations. The project I have decided to do focuses on garment making and tailoring, as these products can be easily transported from the village to the city (where there is less caste discrimination) and can be done from people's own homes. One woman in the village currently knows how to make beautiful godhris or quilts. I hope that the greater Dalit community in Paliyad will be able to learn how to tailor and make these godhris. I also hope that I will be able to find a market for these garments in Ahmedabad. In so doing, we would be able to provide these Dalit families a sustainable income from a dignified occupation.

The project is incredibly challenging, as the families have so far been unwilling to work together and are resistant to switching out of manual scavenging. There is also already an established garment market in Ahmedabad, and it may be difficult to penetrate that. I hope that over the next eight months, I will understand some of these challenges better and will be able to navigate them in a productive and positive manner.

MY LIFE OUTSIDE OF WORK:

While my time in India is very much about my work, it’s also very much about living in Ahmedabad, about being in this country, travelling, exploring, and taking time away just to immerse myself into as much of India as I can.

I’m grateful that I got to do a lot of that this month. October is a very festive month in Gujarat, with two major Hindu holidays – Navratri and Diwali.

Navratri is particularly significant in Gujarat. For nine nights straight, people dress up in some of their fanciest chanya cholis and saris to dance garba and raas for hours. While I've been to Navratri festivals in the US before, there is nothing quite like what I experienced here in Ahmedabad. The dancing was phenomenal, the outfits were incredibly beautiful, and the music lasted for hours and hours.

For Diwali break, I went with five of my friends (four of which are fellow AIF fellows) down to the southern state of Kerala. The trip was definitely one of the best vacations I've ever had. From riding elephants and seeing breathtaking views of nature to dancing and singing to "Desi Girl" (a Bollywood song) on repeat in the car, the trip was definitely unforgettable! It was also great for me to see what life in India outside of Gujarati culture is like because I've never before experienced that. While Kerala and Gujarat are incredibly different, it was reassuring to notice some of the same threads that tie this country together – the incredible generosity, the other-centeredness, and a rich culture and unique language!

-Ekta Dharia