I like coincidences. Like when I discovered that the gentle man who approached me was Kukki. It was my mission to find him. And there he was finding me. Kukki is an archaeologist, good person and with a willingness to make a personal tour of the surrounding regions of Bundi.
One word leads to another and my day of writing is transformed into a countryside tour. When I find myself, I'm on top of your bike, strolling the radical Indian streets. First I had to go to the train station to buy my ticket to Agra. After an obligatory stop on the side of the road because of an Indian Fitipaldi, there we were at the station.
What seemed to be complicated becomes simple - I was expecting a long queue and confusion and find a desk with two people ahead of me. What seemed simple becomes complicated - it took an eternity to get to my turn, to discover that I have to fill a reserve paper, return to the queue and then be able to buy my ticket. With that done I go away.
The first way is done near agricultural fields. With a green that changes depending on the harvest, but always exudes a bright color. Having come from the more desert areas, I'm more sensitive to this image, and the whole region seems a little paradise. We stopped at the first town to take a Chai. Kukki greets everyone with a friendliness that seems to infect all. They hail me gently, something I try to replicate the best I can. Although I don't speak Hindi, they make me feel like being in a group of friends.
The site is designed for small stops on the road. We have the chai stalls, grocery stores and a workshop but nothing else. Had barely begun my observation and already the owner of the establishment gave me a Samosa, hand deliver in a piece of paper. I take the first piece in the mouth and it responds immediately. I feel the bite of the spicy. I try to straighten the food best I know, as if it could minimize the spicy. And towards the end between puffs and weeping nostrils - I discovered that my point of tolerance is a runny nose – I, confess to Kukki "hot ... spicy ... " to my amazement he replies "also for me." I smile with relief. Two months in India has already given me some tolerance to spicy. He "grumbles" sympathetically to the owner and without realizing it I have a new Samosa in hand, this time with Kurdish sauce - yogurt - that soothes my mouth. Finish the meal with a classic chai and many smiles.
With the stomach satisfied, we left. The next stop is the home of his older "brother". Brother of friendship and fellowship. An opportunity to meet a typical house of Rajasthan. And here the experience begins to be magical. These people have a sympathy that doesn't leave you indifferent. I become model in turban and a photographer-trying-to-be-professional. When I realized, I'm in the inner courtyard - which connects the rooms of the house - surrounded by curious children and adults who are pleased I'm there. I try the best I can to take good pictures, and every time I show them, a children's chorus of laughter and comments joins around me. They thank me and I thank them. Outside I see Kukki smiling at me and talking to his "brother." Time passes between smiles, shyness and gestural communication. The "mothers" are as happy as children and seem to have a a playfulness between wrinkles that refreshes the soul and reminds me of my grandparents.
Retempered with this moment, we went to visit a temple, a river and wildlife. Along the way stop to buy fruit and visit a plantation. Simple things that give color to this trip. When we arrived, the surprise is not only mine but also Kukki's. On the banks of the river - which this season is a set of large pools - are about thirty people. Nomadic villagers who are reaping "water fruits." Once again, my camera captures people's attention and I find myself trying to get the beauty of the moment the best I can. This moment touched me especially. Don't know if it was the simplicity of the lifestyle, the beauty of the place, or sympathy with shyness, but something held me to that location. Meanwhile, and because it was to be a lucky day, a spectacle of wildlife, with many birds painting the sky and trees. Before leaving, a visit to the beautiful little temple.
Back on the road, the landscape changes dramatically. The green turns to arid and rocky yellow. Along the way we do some more stops to shoot photos - I am again greeted with a disarming friendliness – or mandatory because of heavy traffick of... cattle. Here we are in the rural India. On the road straight up until we lose sight are bikes, trucks, tractors, cows, goats and sheep competing for the small paved area. All living naturally. Past and present mingle and become in India we like to know. We do one more break in a village. Time for chai and pakora. Like the first stop, I'm adopted by all members of the place. The time slips between smiles, sitting on stone benches, and the shade of a thatched roof.
And in this sweet melancholy, I go to visit the Kukki's discoveries: rock paintings that abound in this region and are a precious treasure that Kuuki tries to keep. The scenery is beautiful: a river that flows between the rocks. Excited by the words of Kukki I walk through the pre-history and the moments of discovery to reach the difficult present of maintaining this space. Around here, there are many illegal mines, which give support to families and stones at houses in this world.
By this time the sun was going down too fast. Giving only time to reach the final destination. A typical village in the region. Kukki tells me that consists of the most humble people he knows. Preparing the heart and soul, to the meeting. And I see his words turn into reality. An offer of chai, the smiles of children and the invitation to come inside a house. Amid the same joy I had found along this trip. A life full of simple but profound things that seems to keep the essence of human beings better than anything else.
I am crushed, but still have time to be heard by the gods. Among the trip, Kukki asks God to show us "a little of wild life" and immediately afterwards, to our amazement a hare crossing the road. No doubt a sign that God was listening to him. He thanks warmly. We stopped once more to have a glimpse of a waterfall that seems to flow into a lost paradise. A perfect way to complete the day I did three months of travel.
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