When we reached Brijpura it felt close to home. We had been there on two separate
occasions before, and by now the faces around were familiar. There was Najma
sitting in her usual spot, a plastic chair under a tree which offered generous shade
from the scorching Rajasthan sun. With the tablet in her hand, playing her coaching
video at 2x speed, she made notes with slow careful movements. Kaka sa (our field
coordinator), a familiar face also offered some relief. As I was dropping the bags
down my shoulders on to the cold concrete floors, I felt as if I came to my
grandparents, house.
The boys then left for Kadampura and things started to feel unsettling. From thirty-
three, we became four, and as the four of us just started getting close, we were
further split into two. We were then shown our room, which was on the top floor.
Going up the staircase involved fighting an army of golden bees. The room itself was
being used by Kaka sa but he was nice enough to lend it to us, saying he seldom
sleeps at the centre anyways and prefers going back to his house most nights. And
I want to spend a night here at the centre, then there is always the option of
sleeping here he said, pointing to a storeroom like hall. The hall itself was massive
but was used to dump all sorts of dusty things that were not in everyday use. I liked
this hall though as tt led to the terrace. There is something very charming about
terraces. The blue sky reminds me that I am free, that there is nothing to block or
restrict my thoughts and ideals.
The room was dusty with cobwebs, chipped blue
paint and had one khaat (khatiya). The insects, dust, and cold didn't bother me as
much as the fact that I had to share one khaat with someone. For those of you who
dont know a khaat is like a bed, except the base which one sleeps on is netted rope.
Bordering this base is a hard metal Ilke frame. Anyway, complaining wasn't an
Option, so we made the best out of that room. The rest of the day was painfully
slow. We hadn't eaten lunch. It was 2:00 pm and the next meal would be cooked
and served after 7pm. I told Nidha that we should get Maggi and she agreed. We
went on and were introduced to two Intems from Assam, who had stayed
there for a month