John Hannaberry's "My heart is a mad thief"

“My heart is a mad thief”

            In all honesty I was confused on what to write. I wanted to express the impact that some of my interactions with the locals have had on me, but I still lacked inspiration. Listening to the Jawhar presentation by our colleagues today I found what was missing. I realized how big of an impact the people of Jawhar in which I encountered, had on me. 

                                            

     

            Leaving the loud noises with the hustle and bustle of Mumbai behind us was well needed, yet I was still unsure what we were getting ourselves into. When I spoke with the locals in Mumbai, nobody knew what Jawhar was and it had me wondering if I was saying it right. All I knew up to this point to mentally prepare myself was that we were headed to the “Jungle” where there were lots of bugs.

            Along the narrow windy roads the smoke filled sky’s dissipated with the dirtiness of the city. As we went further up the mountain the sun ray’s cracked the clouds and shined upon vast countryside of green trees. This so called “Jungle” was a lush countryside that had endless views. The arrival to our new home for the next few days left me in ahh due to the beautiful scenery. We were greeted with big smiles and a parade of staff that were staring at us as if they never seen Americans. Along with our welcome came shouts and screams from the girls as the story of bugs came to reality. Nonetheless, something was different as the hotel staff interacted with us, but I couldn’t put my finger on it quit yet.

            

 The mornings became my favorite part of Jawhar due to the beauty that you awaken too. Yes, sharing a bed with a gorgeous 6’1 man with great “Jerry curls” doesn’t hurt to wake up next to but that’s not the view which took my breath away morning after morning. As you walk down to the hotels courtyard where you’re greeted by big smiles of the hotel staff you are also seeing the best HD channel nature has to offer with a view that stretches for miles. The first time on this trip I was able to inhale and appreciate what India had to offer me.

            My first interaction with a local came when a random individual pulled up to the BAIF building on a two-wheeler (motorcycle) and jokingly I asked if I could ride his bike. With a twitch of smirk he simultaneously reached into his pocket and tossed his keys. This had me in shock and excitement because he was fulfilling a wish I had set for myself coming to India. Sharing this ride with my classmate we were able to zip down the windy roads honking as we passed by. This was an invigorating feeling and a beautiful moment that not only my friend and I were able to have but also the man that made this possible. He was happy to have me ride his bike and never have I felt such generosity from a stranger. This became a very humbling moment and had me self-reflect on how I treat random strangers. It’s amazing how a simple act of kindness left a huge impression on my heart.

     Jawhar has shocked me in a positive way so far and it made me more excited to meet the tribal villagers. Learning that these people were lower than any cast opened my eyes to what real discrimination is. These were the forgotten people and the poorest amongst the poor. These people would migrate to the city of Mumbai looking for work because the lands they would farm were no longer fertile. The tribal villagers have great culture and arts that rest of India don’t appreciate, yet unknowingly they wear clothing that has tribal drawings. The village artist is one of the last and he holds the ability to capture the essence of who his people are through his drawings. I asked him if he can create something for me. I gave him artistic freedom and asked if he can capture the essence of me in his work. He was more than happy to create a unique drawing for me. When he delivered the drawing I slowly absorbed his detailed painting and admired the art he has created. Automatically I notice something different in his picture and that was the braids on one of the characters. He said to me that “I did this to capture everything that is divine, I see god when I see you and I depicted lord Shiva as a resemblance of you”. He went on to speak a few more things about me and the drawing. I overcame with amazement and appreciation. He said the people of Jawhar look at everything as godly. They don’t know the word “I” because everything is a “we” to them. Having these paintings done has been the best part of this experience. It was an eye opening opportunity that put everything into perspective for me, and how I would like to conduct my social work practice moving forward.

  

           

                                                                                                           

            I heard someone ask how I feel about these people. Followed up by a response that sometimes I don’t understand their dreams and difficulties, other times I see the same similarities in me. Going forward I asked myself what am I going to take with me into my social work practice and I feel that the response that was giving is the best because you’ll never know what your client truly goes through but we all been there to some extent and as long as we can see the upmost in every individual we would be able to serve them the best we can. Learning the difference between professional social work and charity has become even clearer after my time in India. My heart is a mad thief and I will take a piece away from every experience and interaction.