Rickshaw Robber

Hello Family and Friends,

Yesterday was cool and very cloudy, so we went over to the field to play again. It wasn’t quite as fun as last time; there were a lot of other people there, and they didn’t seem to enjoy having kids run through their games. Some of the younger children collected some of the more interesting pieces of trash and made these really beautiful shrines; I think these kids have a future in modern art. Others collected berries and leaves and mashed them up in these pieces of pots that they found. They created a whole kitchen, and boys gathered random bricks to set the perimeter of the “house.” It actually was a lot of fun, and quite interesting. Then I learned different games that only required a few rocks, and other games that required nothing at all. It really is amazing what they come up with to do when they have so little. It is quite different from home where every toy imaginable is available, and where we feel the need to have exactly the right equipment for every game we play. We ended up playing catch with balls made out of wrapped up scraps of fabric, but our outdoor playtime was cut short by rain.

We all came back home and eat lunch, and the children slept while I read and wrote and chatted with Kumari about little things. It is funny, I talk to her nonstop because she is one of two people here that have a full understanding of English, but our conversation still never slows down. I went down for a nap as well, but was abruptly woken up by loud, angry yelling. I quickly crawled out of my mosquito net and looked out my window, and on the front porch was a man I did not know yelling at Xavier. He pushed Xavier, and Xavier pushed back strongly. I threw on my lungi and ran outside. I got out just in time to see the strange man grab James’ shirt, breaking his beaded necklace. This pushed James over the edge, and he punched the man in the stomach several quick and hard times. The man was finally subdued. By this time all the children, and the priest who visits on Sundays, were standing outside the front door watching. A congregation of neighbors and those just passing by had also formed outside the gate. Kumari finally explained to me what had happened. Right now one of their neighbors is away, so during that time we are watching their autorickshaw, which Xavier has been using to practice his driving on the back roads. Kumari was out hanging clothes and saw this man sitting in the auto, and asked him what he was doing. He drunkenly responded that it was his. She figured that he must be confused in his drunken state, and called for Xavier and James to get him. When they approached the auto they saw wires hanging out of the dashboard; the man was trying to hotwire the auto and steal it. The man tried to run so they dragged him into our porch area, and somehow the heated discussion had turned physical.

Xavier took the motor bike to get the police, while we locked the gate so the man couldn’t get out. He was angry and obviously very distraught about being in this situation. Kumari was incredibly upset. We are in charge of the auto, and if it was stolen we would have had to pay for it. It would cost 70,000 Rs, which, to put it into context, would pay the rent on this house for two years. She was also upset because Xavier’s back is worse and more swollen than ever and now he would be late for his medicine. About fifteen minutes later, Xavier returned with an officer who took the man to the police station. Kumari then got Xavier’s medicine ready. A little more about Xavier’s back; it literally looks as if someone put two balloons in it and then has slowly inflated them over the past several months. When he returned from the doctor several days ago he brought a bag full of different expensive herbal mushes and tablets. Kumari then had to mix all the herbal concoctions and pills together into a terrible smelling mud, which Xavier must drink twice a day on an empty stomach. I am all for herbal medicines and supplements, but only to a point. Xavier has had this problem now for a year, and it is going to take something serious to fix it. Any faith I had in the mix he is taking now was gone when Kumari told me that everyday she must boil and cool water, and mix his medicine with that water before he drinks it. I asked if that was to make sure it was clean, and she said no, it was for some other purpose. I can’t for the life of me think of anything, other than killing bacteria, that changes in water when it is boiled and cooled. The doctor also says that Xavier needs to go for a ten day massage treatment in a town twelve hours away. Kumari doesn’t know what she will do those ten days, because I will be gone, and also doesn’t know how they will be able to pay for that long of a hospital stay. Thankfully she plans on getting another, more western, doctor’s opinion before Xavier spends all that time and money.

After taking his medicine, Xavier went to the police station alone. An hour later Kumari decided that she should have gone with him, and made her way to the station as well. Later, while making dinner, Kumari told me what happened in the station. When she got there they had Xavier in a room and were harassing him and asking for money and bribes. Kumari marched into the room and declared that they would no longer be speaking to Xavier, only to her. They asked her to write out a formal complaint against the man that tried to steal the auto, and she insisted on filling it out in English as a way to show that she is more educated than them. They returned the money Xavier had given them because they knew that this educated woman knew the law and could get them in a good deal of trouble for refusing to do their jobs without a bribe. They then tried to tell her to write a story about the man that was not fully true. Kumari ripped up her complaint and said that informing the police about misconduct is her civil duty, but lying is not. She took Xavier and left. I admire this woman so much; she might be the strongest person I have ever met.

The night was fairly quiet. James marched around like a hero and several times he told me the story of how he punched the man. I sat in the kitchen with Kumari, and we talked. It was uncomfortably hot because we had to close the windows so the burners wouldn’t go out, but I know Kumari likes the company. That night we chained the auto to our fence, and Xavier called the neighbor to say that we no longer could watch it. Kumari and Xavier can’t be held responsible if something happens to it.

Today was quiet, the children went to school and we cleaned the house and got some things ready to move to the new building. Priya had a fever and didn’t go to college, so I watched a movie in Tamil with her. It was terribly done, but the songs were great, and it was so horribly overacted that despite not understanding a word, I still knew what was happening.

Okay, that is all for now,
Peace,
Robby