Writing Light, Writing Words

It’s been grand!

This man asked me to take his photograph, and once ready, proceeded to give me an expression that would suggest he couldn’t be more annoyed that I was doing so. Ha. Oh India. You are an enigma.

I was going to post a photograph of the man who invited me in for chai this afternoon. He was awesome. This is not that man. He had nothing to do with chai at all. But I liked his photo better in the end. And he was also very nice. Hence the title.

Recently, I was given the opportunity to see firsthand the work being done by the Dalit Freedom Network. The DFN works to aid and empower the Dalits through education, economic development, advocacy and healthcare.

The Dalits, also called the “untouchables,” “outcastes,” and most recently “slumdogs,” comprise nearly one quarter of India’s society, with population estimates of 250 million people. The term “Dalit” means “those who have been broken and ground down deliberately by those above them in the social hierarchy.” Dalits live at risk of discrimination, dehumanization, violence, and enslavement through human trafficking every day. By all global research and reports, the Dalits constitute the largest number of people categorized as victims of modern-day slavery.

Source: http://www.dalitnetwork.org/go?/dfn/who_are_the_dalit/C64

I have rarely felt as strongly for a cause as I have for this one. For more information, and how you can get involved, visit the website of the Dalit Freedom Network here.

For more information on the plight of the Dalits, and how you can get involved, visit the website of the Dalit Freedom Network here.

For the first time in a long time, I did not pick up my camera today. And now I find myself without anything new to post. The title of this blog does after all suggest I would write something from time to time, so maybe this is overdue.

Little Indian children ask me for my autograph. I like to think it’s because I’m so good at cricket. But no. Sachin Tendulkar I am not.

Flip flops/thongs/jandals– whatever you want to call them– don’t hold up well on a cricket pitch. My feet now tread Indian soil on footwear not much thicker than paper. And my big toes are brave enough to have broken through completely. My flips have flopped.

I spent twelve hours riding on a train last week. I had Darjeeling Limited aspirations. But mostly it was just really sweaty and crowded.

This place isn’t so much an awakening of the senses. It’s more like an assault.

It’s hot. And the people are many.

And it’s great. Really, really great.

In the land where cricket is king.

Recently, I was given the opportunity to see firsthand the work being done by the Dalit Freedom Network. The DFN works to aid and empower the Dalits through education, economic development, advocacy and healthcare.

The Dalits, also called the “untouchables,” “outcastes,” and most recently “slumdogs,” comprise nearly one quarter of India’s society, with population estimates of 250 million people. The term “Dalit” means “those who have been broken and ground down deliberately by those above them in the social hierarchy.” Dalits live at risk of discrimination, dehumanization, violence, and enslavement through human trafficking every day. By all global research and reports, the Dalits constitute the largest number of people categorized as victims of modern-day slavery.

Source: http://www.dalitnetwork.org/go?/dfn/who_are_the_dalit/C64

I have rarely felt as strongly for a cause as I have for this one. For more information, and how you can get involved, visit the website of the Dalit Freedom Network here.