muckee khana ta.

Yesterday, we went into Binogi, a village 20 minutes down the mountain from us, to visit and spend time with people. As it was only 4:30 or 5 in the afternoon, everyone was still out in the field, but I got to hang out with a couple of adorable little girls and women from the village, drinking chai and eating their fresh corn.

this is manisha, a lovely little girl who we ran into on the way down to Binogi. The first thing they showed me was her throat, which by some kind of birth defect has grown abnormally, somewhat impeding her speech. she is a wonderful little girl and I so enjoyed getting to take pictures of her and her sister, Nisha. her mother is the ‘dudhwalle’ (dude-wall-ah), or milk carrier, who comes to bring us fresh milk every morning bright and early at 6am. Manisha comes by in the afternoon after school to pick up the can for the next day’s milk. she may be shy, but she has a lovely smile and demeanor.

I now live in Khandi Khal, a village near Kempty Falls, one of Mussoorie’s tourist attractions. This is the view from the roof of our building, which we have two rooms in. It’s the place I go to enjoy the perfect weather and get away, to actually feel alone.

last week, we went to another village about two hours away by jeep for a training of local ‘practitioners,’ half of whom are supposedly quack doctors. on the way back, we ran into the usual flock of goats and cows on the road.