Outside the manicured gardens along the driveway of Open Skies lies the little village of Kokapet. It is primarily a Hindu village and is home to a very poor community. Apparently, most of the inhabitants moved here years ago to work on the construction of the airport highway and then after it's completion, the many communities and construction opportunities that came from this areas' development.
I hope to frequent the village over out time here and get to know some of the locals - well at least not be a 'spectacle' every time I walk down the road. The roads are all mud, there is little, if any sanitary system, there is a single fresh water well (who knows how clean that is ??!!), there are a few little shops for chai and groceries items and that's about it. I met the lady who was the supervisor of the local cement company and she lives in a concrete shed onsite. Her daughter in law could speak some English and was wondering why I was taking photos of the pigs and goats.
I love wandering around these local villages and seeing the daily life - especially in the morning when the children are all getting ready for school, teeth brushing on the street, the animals are being fed and milked, the ladies are fetching water for the day, everyone is busy with their routines. I hope with every visit that I become less of a 'spectacle' and more of a 'local' beside them.
There were lots of 'hello's' and 'bye's' from the children and HUGE smiles - just they way I like them.
I know a few of you may have seen these photos before, so I apologise, but I wanted to keep them on the blog for my own memory of the lovely morning I had.
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| our local paper boy |
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| he had quite the job riding this oversized bike with the guard rubbing the tire |
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| outside the local cement factory - done fresh every morning |
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| waiting for breakfast |
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| and it's arrived |
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| off to school - alone |
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| this is the local 'puncher' shop (also known as the puncture repair shop :) |
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| oral hygiene lessons 101 |
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| "I know how this is done !" |
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| kisses from mummy |
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| not a bad place to catch some rays - I was surprised to find a graveyard in the village. |
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| water collection |
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| anyone need a ride ? |
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| off to do his business - bucket of water in hand |
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| breakfast time |
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| there are LOADS of pigs around - very different to Bangalore |
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