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A visit to Alwar (March 2006)
Local beauty
When Satyajit Ray, the Indian film director, visited Alwar he was overwhelmed by the beauty of the region. He wrote:
“In a country where for miles one sees nothing but sand and rocks and brambles and camels, I have seen a seven-mile stretch of marshland… I have seen fortresses perched on hilltops, fortresses rising out of barren plains, fortresses in forests… I have seen palaces and havelis of marble and stone… with exquisite carvings on them… women stepping out of miniatures, decked out in brilliant reds and greens and yellows…”
I too found the area stunningly beautiful. Travelling around on the back of a motor bike I saw the incredible hill-top fortresses and the vibrant colours (captured on innumerable tourist postcards) – the women in their superbly colourful saris and the men sporting their often even more brilliantly coloured distinctive turbans.
The work of Nirvanavan Foundation
What I was also privileged to see was some of the work of the Nirvanavan Foundation. I saw some of the ten schools which they have built in the villages surrounding Alwar city. I saw the local women drawing water from the wells which have been bored, carrying it away with such elegant dignity in large earthenware pots balanced finely on their heads. I saw some of the ponds which the local communities have dug to conserve the rainwater. I saw some of the trees which have been planted to nourish the earth. The children in the schools proudly showed me their school books, holding them up to be photographed in ways which can only be dreamed of by teachers here. I saw the work of the ‘Save the Tiger’ campaign – street theatre presentations which they tour round the local schools and communities both in the city and the surrounding districts. I sat in the local Childline office with the volunteers who answer the phones.
Nirvanavan Bodhisatva, who founded the organisation, showed me the land at Advaita Gardens where the much needed children’s homes are going to be built. At the moment vulnerable children needing such care and accommodation have to be sent miles away to the government orphanage in Jaipur, the capital of Rajasthan.
A tradition of prostitution
The villages surrounding Alwar are in an area where it is traditional for the young girls to be sent as prostitutes to the large cities of India and the Middle East; the boys become pimps. This may sound shocking but it is important not to make moral judgements about a community which has come to accept this as normal. The villagers are proud, hardworking and dignified people who are deserving of our respect and support. We can channel our discomfort into positive action by supporting the work of the Foundation The schools which Nirvanavan has built are an attempt to help break this pattern of exploitation and to give these young women and men alternative choices in their lives. It is a slow process; such long-established traditions do not change overnight. But much progress has been made already. Our giving is not charity. It is a sharing of what we have. And it is not just about money. We have arguably much more to gain than we have to give.
Visitors are welcomed. Volunteers are always appreciated in the schools for instance – listening to children read, playing games, singing songs, teaching basic craftwork.
I shall be returning to Alwar in December for another brief visit and early next year for a longer stay.
Krishnadhyanam