The drive from Madurai to Kodaikanal consisted of ascending the mountainous terrain, twisty monkey-filled turns as the temperature become much cooler. We feel very comfortable in our new home, taking morning and evening walks along the road and getting used to the numerous cows, chickens, goats, dogs, and monkeys that join us. Our clinical mornings have been spent at the hospitals, making comparisons between the private and government systems and seeing many prenatal visits. The afternoons have been dedicated to community outreach—learning about the creche (preschool) system, which is for children aged 2-5 to combat malnutrition in lower socioeconomic areas of Kodaikanal. We alternate between creche afternoons at 1 of 4 locations and at CSI which is a rehabilitation and vocational day school for children with developmental disabilities. Fridays are reserved for constructing a chimney for a family near one of the creche sites (we haven’t done this yet as materials have not been available, we are looking forward to it soon!)
Even though we were nervous about being in Kodiakanal for seven weeks, we were warmly welcomed. This welcome began at the Madurai airport with Mubarak, our trusty driver, dressed in all white who safely navigates all of the crazy traffic situations of India. Next, Arun, our FIMRC site director immediately made us feel comfortable and took us through our expectations as volunteers. He went above and beyond to include us in community and cultural activities in the area. The best example of this is our inclusion in the 3-day Harvest Festival called Pongal. Our morning began with Muthu, our house mother, coming at 7 am to help us get dressed in traditional attire, complete with henna, saris, bindis, and flowers. We made Pongal, a sweet meal of rice and corn and jagiri. Throughout the day there was also a lot of activities occurring at a nearby field, which we named the Pongal Games. In the evening, Haben stuck around for the main event, the oily pole climb, that started just after sunset. Parked cars provided the spotlight to illuminate the 30 foot x 6 inch wooden pole. The objective of the game was to see which community member or team can reach the top of the pole in order to claim the 2000-rupee prize.
Haben watched with Arun as countless attempts were made to ascend the oiled pole. Quickly, groups formed that consisted of 10-15 men that devised a plan on how to combat the oil. As outsiders, it was fascinating to see how these community members came together to form a common body sacrificing their own comfort and safety to help their partners reach new heights. Arun later explained that the groups had decided earlier that if their team won they would split their prize equally. This specific experience made us reflect on the meaning of community and how strong it is here in an under resourced rural population. We loved being welcomed and included in order to watch this unfold and thought how rare situations like this would be at home. The three of us feel like we might trade some of our own personal freedoms and independence in the United States for a greater community value like what we have seen in India.
We are excited to see what the next 4 weeks will bring as we continue to learn more about medicine in Kodiakanal and deepen the relationships with the people we have met here.
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