TEENCH WALA, Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Although it was difficult for some of us to get up after our short siesta, we met Dinesh near the gate and boarded the "TING", or at least that is what we thought. Actually, we were lulled into believing that a real Massey-Ferguson tractor,  pulling a proper trailer would be much better than the "TING" but that was not the case. Since Dinesh had told us this would be a bit of a long ride into the town where we would then meet one of our buses, he suggested we sit down on the bed of the trailer. Big mistake, REALLY BIG! Not sure if this trailer ever had springs, but if so, they were long since sprung! All I know is that our backs and spines will never be the same. We bounced along, causing pain and discomfort to our spines and backs and butts. All the while, Dinesh would turn and grin his famous and charming grin while we suffered, but not in silence. I have no idea which road he took, but it was certainly not the shortest or the one with the fewest potholes.  When we reached a real road, we thought the journey would be a bit smoother. Nothing could be further from the truth. If anything it was just as bad, if not worse. I was concerned for Sanjiv, because he has a bad back any way and this jarring could not be doing him any good. When we approached the town, we saw some children wearing Polio Plus caps or cardboard masks which we all had given out to children where we worked, when they had their Polio vaccines a few days prior. It was gratifying to see that even the kids in the country had been reached and given the vaccine.  We rounded a corner and there, parked at the end of the road, were our two buses, we had left there three days before.  Anything would have been superior to the ride of the past twenty minutes. Of course, kids gathered around us as we boarded the orange bus and began our drive to the country.  The village close to the first dam we had built, TEENCH WALA, is located about fifteen minutes from one of the entrances into Sariska Jungle Park.  Because the Dream Team in 2009 had stayed at the Sariska Palace Hotel, we were forced to take a bus to and from the dam site each morning and then late in the afternoon.  Our route was through the jungle park every day, which took about an hour and a half each way. Otherwise, if we had missed the timing, we would have been forced to drive all the way around the park, which would have taken about four hours!  Even taking the shorter route cut into our work time and this is why we opted to have the tent village only a few minutes away from our site, this year. Our orange bus lumbered along country roads, and as we approached Teench Wala, we saw a beautiful Hindu temple up on top of the hill and then we turned right and down the other side of the hill, to the town.  It is always fun to see how the locals look at a passing bus with Tourist emblazoned on the front since I am confident they don't see such a sight more than once or twice a year. This time was no exception.  Kids ran alongside our bus, with little regard for safety. After all, we are in India and this is the norm - that people of all ages, camels, pigs, cows, sheep, goats, motorcycles, scooters, bicycles, cars, trucks, buses and who knows what else are ALWAYS in the roads. Always with the wonderful smiles on their faces, with the brightest eyes and whitest teeth. The neem tree does wonders for dental hygiene and teeth whitening.  We finally reached the village and got down from the bus. First, we walked over to the school where only two years before, we had been a total disruption in the day, by bringing lots of trinkets for the children, including frisbees. I remember it only took about three tries before the kids, who had never seen such a thing, were able to master the art of throwing, or is it slinging, a frisbee. Some of the children gathered around us, and I recognized a couple of the boys who had helped us in 2009, with the dam construction. Although a bit taller and somewhat geeky, I knew they were the same kids. We began our march ago the dam, along the path that wound through the woods but something was so different... There were leaves on the trees, and grasses growing, rather than the barren turf it had been two years before. An old gentleman from the village walked with us and at one point, turned and began to explain the difference our project had made in the lives of those living nearby. He told us that since the dam had been completed, the valley had become productive with crops, one of which they refer to as a upper crop, since  it was vegetables and not only could they eat them, but also they could sell the vegetables to others in other towns not too far away.  As we turned to look westward, it was thrilling to see green everywhere... There were even pumps and hoses running down to the reservoir, bringing water up a few levels for irrigating even more area for production. Turning again and heading further along the path, we walked up a small hill and came to the crest and looked to see the fruits of our labors - a dam that was not only finished, but that held back a good deal of water, even after seven months since the monsoons! From atop the dam, I was able to point out where we had once sat and had our dining tent, or where the potty had been located. Swimming in the captured water were cormorants and ducks. Wildlife was everywhere. What a thrill to think we had actually had a serious impact upon the lives of those living net Teench Wala.  Dinesh asked me to walk across the top of the dam and to turn so he could take my photo with the marble tablet in the background. The name of the project was engraved on the 3' x 4' piece of black marble, as well as the fact that the project was one involving the Rotary Club of Sanford-Springvale Maine, USA, and the names of all of the team members from all over the world who had gathered as the Rotary Dream Team - India 2010. Now, heading back to our bus, many more of the children in the village had heard we were there and came to walk with us. Again I recognized a couple of boys, who now must be about twelve or thirteen. One boy in particular had very light skin and light brown hair, not something one sees often in India. I aught up to him and his school chums and said I recognized him and asked if he had helped us two years before. Hi friend, in perfect English said they both had worked with us. When I said I thought I recognized his face and his hair, the other boy taunted him saying, "He is a white boy, he is your boy!" Everyone had  a good laugh about this, andre continued walking toward the bus.  Before we boarded the bus, the same old gentleman came to me, took my hands in his and as best he could explain himself to me, with tears in his eyes, he thanked me for what our team had done, and elaborated that six bore wells, which had long since gone dry, had been restored and were now gushing, due to the dam. Pretty powerful stuff to hear about a group of Rotarians who had given their time and their talent and their treasure to about five thousand strangers who benefited from it all.