« One day, one discovery »: a journey to meet beautiful people and to find more light for sunshine in 2021 ! Open door to encounters! D-21.

After a few hours drive, we finally arrive at the Nekiram family in Bidasar in the Thar Desert. It is very hot and there is little shade.

Discover the rural environment and get to know each other.

In the morning, settle down in the kitchen with the women of the household.

Cook the chapatis and let them swell on the embers of the fire. There is something magical about this operation for us Westerners.

Add the right amount of ghee to the naans and chapatis.

Try to understand each other with your eyes and hands. Appreciate the moments shared in complicity.

Appreciate the help of the head of the family in preparing the meal.

Shortly before the return of the men, prepare the thalis for each one.

A little bit of very well spiced vegetables in each katori …

…the presentation is perfect and mouth-watering…

Never forget to add the yoghurt that will promote good digestion.

Be happy to see the men returning from the fields.

Looking a little tired, they seem happy with the teamwork.

At the end of the meal, wash the dishes in the second kitchen corner by rubbing the stainless steel thali and katori with sand.

Once the meal is over, the men hurry back to advance the organic peanut harvest.

The machine scrapes and sorts the floor surface.

Caring for goats …

… then decide to go and join the men in the fields.

They struggle to gather the thorns to make the fire and clean the land.

They work as a team and also try to get to know each other a little better despite the language barrier. Working together helps to forge bonds.

Agree to savour work well done throughout the day.

Think about taking a shower and wondering whether or not the cow will come to check whether or not everything goes well in the shower.

Gather at milking time.

Meeting up with a few people while the others take a shower.

For milking, clean the udders of cows with water.

And milk without delay because from tomorrow we will need curd again for the meals.

Finally decide to go and take a shower under the setting sun and hurry up because it is quickly total darkness.

Boil the milk just out of the udder.

Bring branches, arrange the fire and accommodate the evening kitchen.

Gathering women around the fire in the second kitchen corner. Unforgettable moments forever engraved in our memories. With gestures and mimics, trying to share between us what animates us.

Tighten up closer to the fire as the cold that accompanies dusk arrives.

Arrange the food on the thalis and place one naan for each as a spoon. Once the dinner has been swallowed, go to bed as it is now dark.

One early morning, being forced to leave each other, the heart a little heavy but the mind charged with all these times of sharing and all the gestures made together.

Spend one last good moment with the head of the family who has prepared a chai despite the very early hour. Saying to yourself that you are really lucky to have been able to meet each other, to discover each other and to share moments of everyday life that look like a fairy tale. Yes, the world is full of beautiful people and it’s a chance to be able to meet some of them.

Par Nathalie

Translated with http://www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)