Narayanpura

Life is made up of a series of simultaneous phases of existence. For the most of life, the passing of time and maturity of being come from merely being alive so as to physically make it through these phases one by one and coming out older and supposedly wiser on the other end. On the other hand we can choose to dive into the epicenter of experiences and come out gasping for breath, but having gained salvation.

Going to Narayanpura was on the border line of these two choices. Going anywhere (except a steakhouse) at seven-thirty in the morning is a pain. Narayanpura wasn't very looked forward to because of the same apparent reason. We left home at seven thirty. We couldn't find Manoj and felt rather confused as to where he could be. The dreaded early morning bus commute miraculously disappeared when Aditi spotted her car on the road.

We reached Narayanpura at about eight.

The place was situated right beyond a granite quarry. It was clean enough. Eucalyptus, mango and palm trees along with some other couple of trees trying to make it through an identity crisis dotted the terrain. The people were rather open and accepted us as guests. We spoke to a few people there and through them we could visualize the livelihood of the entire village. The residents were all of the Kumhar caste. Everyone of this caste is a potter. They have an efficient 'committee' system where finances are regulated by the village head. Through a 'chit system' a certain amount is collected by the head. This amount is reserved for paying off debts and interest from loans. People live pretty happily, although money can be an issue at times. We were allowed to learn a little pottery and we made quite a few clay things.

The experience was insanely nice. There wasn't a single moment which I regretted. I'm going to go back soon. I want the clay things I made.