Make New Friends

By Ehi

The immersion portion of my methodology concluded today. In the two days I spent observing the relationship between R and C, I feel comfortable saying that they are at the very least for a team. They assist each other with assignments and C will often fetch materials for R, while R Part of what we are doing here is establishing the groundwork for new relationships among scholars, so I thought it was fitting that my research allowed me to witness the teamwork dynamics of the two girls. Both are disabled but in observing them, they share common interests and the same sense of humor. We soon discovered that I too, shared a keen interest in tailoring and when my English could break through, a sense of humor.

This realization was put to the test when, Noopur and Camila had been delayed in returning to DSK. I had asked Noopur to translate a few questions for R and C for me, but with them not around, I would have to improvise a solution. I recruited David, an American on a fellowship here and Indu, an instructor in videography here. David speaks some Gujarati and Indu speaks some English, so between the two of them, we could patch together a conversation. After dinner, R, C, David, Indu and I gathered around one of the meal tables. Once we sat down, we looked around at each other solemnly before bursting out laughing. The conversation that followed contained nine minutes of anectodes and revelations interspersed with the universal language of laughter. As it turns out, R and C had been at a hostel for disabled girls in Ahemdabad together. They were reunited at DSK in pure coincidence. Since then the two have been inseparable. After our interview, David, Indu and I walked down the road to buy Fanta. I counted the stars in the night sky while the two of them settled into the rhythm of conversation of two old friends. I smiled at the sight of the small Dalit woman and the American man. While the sight of the two of them would appear strange the sum total of that evening—their conversation, the still heat of the night, the open road and inky black sky helped draw a complete picture. We sat in front of the store while a the shopkeepers wife finished making that evening's chipati. Once again I was struck by the mix of familiar and foreign elements around me; I held a Sprite in my hand while I strained to pick up snatches of Gujarati gossip. David and I complained compared wild dogs to pigeons back home. I teased Indu about her name, which means moon in Hindu. However when pronounced with an extra emphasis on the "d" it can mean egg. The three of us doubled over at the various puns we assembled and I realized that in this short time I have made friends. In overcoming all that I did not share with the men and women I have met here, I can now see all that I do. I hope that future scholars can do the same. If they can, they have an extraordinary experience ahead of them.