I was visiting Khajuraho and was lucky to find a guide named Anand. He spent the day with me as we viewed the many Hindu and Jain monuments and temples.
At mid-day when it was time to have some lunch Anand invited me to join him at his village home. We walked only about a kilometer from the temples to find Anand’s village. I noticed as we entered that it was a well-organized and clean little village. Everyone we passed were extremely friendly.
We entered Anand’s place through a heavy ornate door. We stepped into a large square courtyard, which was totally unexpected for me.
Around the courtyard were several rooms with no doors that were open to the main courtyard. This area was buzzing with activity! The women of the family, his wife and daughters, were busy doing their daily work. One daughter was preparing spices, using a stone to grind them. In another room there was someone sewing. One woman was weaving. Another was preparing lunch. Everyone was friendly and happy to have a visitor for lunch.
Anand and I went to the flat rooftop of his home to have the meal. He was able to proudly show me the village from the roof. He was the largest landowner in this village and pointed out many buildings that belonged to him.
While we were having lunch his daughters children came home from school. They ran to the roof to meet the foreigner that their grandfather had brought home for lunch. Such cute children, dressed in their school uniforms. All running to hug their grandfather. They were full of questions for me and we ended up spending a bit longer at lunch to have a question and answer session on the roof.
Before we left Anand took me to the edge of the roof and pointed out a building right next door to his home. Then he made the most awesome offer. He said “This building is empty and if you want to live there I will furnish it for you.” A generous offer from such a kind man.
These are the reasons I love India so much. The warmth and emotional nature of the people draws me back there year after year. I can’t imagine finding greater people anywhere on this Earth.
GoldenAuraGirl 