Selvaraj

The Story of Selvaraj:

"My village is Malasakkadu. I used to ride a buffalo cart. I was 12 years old when I found bumps in my body.Then I got rashes and it would not go away. I was riding a buffalo cart and my arms used to hurt. Then my eyes and mouth drooped and I was almost on my deathbed." In 1993 Selvaraj was forced to leave his village and family as a result of his developing Leprosy. He was treated, but due to his deformities he became shunned from all society. In his words "My family abused me and asked me to get lost. They hated me." Selvaraj became a beggar, sitting in the train stations and asking alms. After a while he learned about one of the colonies for leprosy patients and has been living there ever since.

Selvaraj's story is representative of many of the leprosy-afflicted that reside in the colonies in India. Cast out of their homes and villages and shunned by their families, lepers are looked upon as less than human.

They are referred to as "untouchables".

I have not had the pleasure of meeting Selvaraj, but of the leprosy-afflicted I have met, I would describe them as such:

generous

kind

gracious

humble

thankful

musical

joyous

raucous

playful

funny

loving

happy

optimistic

beautiful

In reality, they are anything but "untouchable"

Vanakkam

Love, Love, Love.

Having just seen the Cirque Beatles' show, LOVE, this weekend and it being the month of love and what not, I have decided to do a post dedicated to all the things I love about India/Rising Star:

Reading to the kiddos

Helping to write sponsorship letters (which will be my primary job upon my return)

Impromptu dance parties in the leprosy colonies

The Mango Grove

Playtime :)

Chuddidhars (you might as well be wearing pajamas all day they are so comfy)

Just Dance 2....oh wait...it has nothing to do with India....

I can't help it. I LOVE Just Dance 2.

RA RA RASPUTIN!

Vanakkam!

Commence India Countdown: 3 months and approx. 5 days...

Well you may have noticed that I am about as consistent with blogging as Lindsay Lohan is with rehab (if this reference isn't understandable to you I'm just trying to say I'm really inconsistent). It's been about 5 months since my last post and my return to India is fast approaching. I can hardly wait to squeeze all my little Indian babies and see their cute smiling faces again! They are the best children in the world, hands down....seriously, they are way better than your kids. Because my return is coming up so quickly I, again, find myself in the process of visa applications, immunizations, finding parasite medications and all the other lovely aspects involved with traveling to a country like India. After last summer's adventure I find myself a much more knowledgeable traveler, which makes preparations that much easier. Here are a few of the things that I am making sure to bring/do this time around to avoid some of the...inconveniences...I experienced after my last trip:

1. Cutting all my hair off: I didn't realize before my last trip what a big problem lice is in India, particularly for the kids at Rising Star's campus. I am NOT taking any chances this time around--boy hair is definitely forthcoming.
2. Chocos/Tevas: My shoes of choice during my last India trip were my Rainbow flip flops...they barely survived three weeks. Because of this I am breaking down and getting chocos. Don't fret, I will not be wearing them with socks and I won't even wear them in the States, they are just another necessity while living in India.
3. Parasite Medication/Preventatives: So the month of November I was really busy and stressed and I started feeling sick. I went to the family accupuncturist over Thanksgiving and lo and behold I had a very large tapeworm--my second parasite from my trip to India. Perry (my tapeworm) was a great companion, actually, and helped me to lose weight and cut back on the holiday treats...I just don't ever want to have a friend like him again.
4. Miniature Flashlight: Power in India is spotty at best and the walk between the children's hostel and the volunteer hostel at night when the power is out is not one of my favorite things. Rising Star's campus is 2 hours outside of Chennai in a very rural area. When there is no power and the path isn't lit there are all kinds of critters you could run into. To remedy this situation I will be constantly packing my miniature flashlight to help me out whenever the power isn't working...it will get a lot of use.

When listing and thinking about all the crazy things I went through and "acquired" from my last India trip, I can't help but wonder, Why am I leaving my friends and family and going back to India again?? Well, that question is actually very easy to answer,

Moment like that are all the reason I need :)

Vanakkam