So, I was contemplating writing advice in terms of what to
pack, how to deal with the heat, how to haggle a rickshaw driver down to the
right price and other daily do’s and don’ts. That was until today happened – I
should give you the context: Today is my last proper day in Hubli. I’ll be out
on the 10 am flight tomorrow morning. I
expected this day to be hard, and it has been, but it has also been
amazing. Today so many things were
solidified for me and the central overwhelming message of the day was whatever
you do, GET INVOLVED.
I started my day as usual, running late and trying to
swallow a whole bowl of cereal in one gulp as I ran out of the door, late for a
meeting with Naveen and Dulcie. The
meeting was amazing. It was an
exploration of all my work and how to move forward for both myself and
Agastya. It reminded me of how invested
I am in both the future of Agastya and the future of the Deshpande Foundation.
After the meeting I expected to walk home and finally finish
my packing, but instead I stopped to have a chat with the receptionist who
asked me for a photo of myself for her son.
He is the best behaved Indian child that I have ever met. I played with him once when I met him in the
office and apparently ever since he has been asking about me. The fact that I had entered into his life in
this way really amazed me.
Recognizing my relationships with all the people here in a
new light, I then did a tour of the building, saying goodbye to all my
friends. First I visited Eknath Sir, our
Kannada teacher who never tires of trying to make us better students. He was the smiling face that greeted us on
the first day of orientation. And
without his patient teaching I couldn’t have spoken to the children that I’ve
grown to love.
Then I interrupted the Deshpande Fellowship Program class: a
group of fellows who have excitedly welcomed us all in to their country. I wanted to take a few minutes to share my
experiences with them and wish them all the best. Once out of the building, I bumped into two
of the DFP graduates, with whom I used to live.
We stumbled over words as we tried to ignore the tears welling in our
eyes. These two are true friends –
totally unexpected and brilliant friends whom I will never forget. Thrown together in the guest house, I was a
crazy foreigner living with Indian local boys,
we became the best of friends. This is an opportunity for which I will
always be grateful.
Two colleagues at Agastya then called me demanding that I
eat a second tiffin (breakfast) with them.
We all joked and laughed in our usual manner as I asked them about what
they would be doing next, how much they would miss me, and how great the next
fellow would be. Dilip, the Dharwad area
head, said quite simply that he was sure she would be great but the real question
was would she get as involved as me. It was at this moment that the whole chain
of events fell into place. My project
here has been great, the work challenging and rewarding, but what is bringing
me close to tears is all the relationships and moments that have happened. They have happened because I have been
involved, not only in my work, but in people’s lives.
So as you think about coming here and all the things you
mustn’t forget to bring, I urge you to take this with you: dedicate yourself to
your work and your organization, be the best that you can be and, above all,
don’t forget to get involved.
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