Fatehghar (and around)

After a few days in Delhi, I was lucky enough to be invited to a village in the Punjab province and live with a family for one week. This has really been an invaluable experience. I am so grateful for having had this opportunity.

We took the night bus from Delhi to Hoshiarpur and from there caught a local bus to Dasuha, from where we were picked up by motorbike and taken to the village called Fatehghar. It’s quite an experience travelling with three people and luggage on a motorbike – but somehow it works and having done it more often now, it’s almost second nature.

The village is what you would expect a typical Indian village to look like, rice fields and all; families living all together, as is the custom, and a very friendly atmosphere in which the stranger was quite obvious J The people were all intrigued and asked many questions about me – which of course I couldn’t answer or understand. English is not spoken here at all; luckily the family I’m staying with is able to speak some English, so somehow we manage. Also, I’ve been learning and picking-up some Punjabi phrases and words, making it easier to communicate/understand what’s going on.

Amritsar

During my stay here we went for a day trip to Amritsar – where we saw the Golden Temple, a truly amazing sight! It was quite crowded the day we went, but surprisingly it was not too disturbing once inside – the grounds are huge! We had food in the dining hall, where food is prepared free of charge for all those visiting the temple. There is also a guest house, where one can spend the night for free, should the need arise (I didn’t go inside, so can’t say what it’s like).

We rushed the visit to the temple a little, so that we could get to Attari (the border between India and Pakistan) so as to be able to see the daily border closing ceremony. There are lots of people on both sides of the border and the military on both sides makes a show of power – evoking loud patriotic chants and songs from the spectators on either side of the border , making the whole thing quite an interesting across the border chant-off; definitely worth seeing if in the area. After a lot of shouting, chanting and goose-stepping, the border is then officially closed once the flags of Pakistan and India have been simultaneously lowered. Considering the political tensions between the two countries, it’s quite nice to see this friendly (if playfully unfriendly) daily interaction between the two nations.

Desuha

Desuha is the nearest market town to the village - so we went there for an afternoon of shopping. This was quite an experience. The market is quite large and the cloth so cheap! We bought quite a lot of clothes and cloth, so I’ll be making my own shalwar kameez. I’ve decided that the Indian clothes suit me quite well and I fully intend on acquiring quite a few garments. I also think that by wearing Indian style clothes I don’t stick out at all, which may be marginally easier when travelling.

Sewing and chilling

The next two days (22 and 23 June) were spent chilling at home – it was too hot to do anything – and sewing Punjabi suits. The suits are so nice! I’m so happy with them. I sewed a little bit (mainly just straight lines), but watched the whole process of how a suit is made – if you know what you’re doing it goes quite quickly. Hopefully before I leave I’ll have the chance at least to make the trousers, because those I want to make many of, so that I can wear them with t-shirts.

Also, I learnt that playing cards is not permitted in traditional households – which clearly is violated, but once the head of the family (i.e. eldest man) comes home any sign of the cards disappears immediately!

From speaking to the people around me I’ve discovered many interesting lessons about life and marriage in the villages and how the traditions are still upheld here (especially in the rural areas). Arranged marriages are still the norm, and the caste system – though officially abolished – is still very much present, making inter-caste marriages rather difficult. It seems that the government has tried to incentivise inter-caste marriage, by offering money or tax cuts or something along those lines to those who do have inter-caste marriages (I’m guessing in the hope that when they have children they will not belong to a specific caste and through this to abolish castes completely for the future).

I was also invited to go plant rice in the rice fields, but I ended up not going – deciding that spending a morning in stagnant water filled with rice seeds and who knows what else, may not be the most intelligent thing to do unless I’m asking to get some kind of disease. So I figured my being close to a rice field is a good enough farming experience J

Food

Since I’ve arrived here I’ve been eating so much, it’s unbelievable! The food, though it looks so simple to make, tastes amazing! There are so many different types of vegetable and fruits that I’ve never seen or heard of, and it all tastes amazing. Mangoes are here in abundance, coming in multiple shapes, sizes and textures – I’m loving this! I’m trying to learn how to make the food which, as mentioned earlier, looks very easy to make – but who knows what it’ll turn out to be like when I make it. The main foods are rice, potatoes, bread, lentils (various types), curd (yoghurt), lots of spices and fruits – surprisingly there is a multitude of things that can be made out of these foods and they all taste wonderful!

Saying Goodbye

My time in the village has come to an end and I’m now back in Delhi, from where the next part of my journey will begin. Saying goodbye was rather difficult after having spent one week with a wonderful family. I will miss them all and am ever grateful for their hospitality and patience in answering all my questions and including me in their family life irrespective of the language barrier. I have been invited to come back to the village before leaving India, which I would love to do, but I don’t think it will be possible due to the extensive travels I have ahead of me. I hope to stay in touch with everyone and it would be great to see them all again!