Last few days in Hassan

The last few days in Hassan

Well, we finally managed to finish the murals (photos on Facebook!) and they look great. The girls drew all of the scenes in the Surfing mural and a couple of them showed that they have real talent. Ashwini drew a very impressive swimming pool along with a lady on a surfboard. Sahana drew a mummy and baby elephant and they look amazing! The children picked all of the colours and did all of the painting – all Auntie Molly and I did was mix the paint and make sure that the paint ended up where it should (although we didn’t do very well at this as two light switches also managed to magically turn purple from their original white!).

Molly and I also painted a white and yellow welcome banner at the very front of the boarding house immediately in front of the murals. This involved standing on a very tall ladder whilst having my ankles attacked by flies. The bricks in the wall at the front have also been painted and the girls will each put a white handprint onto one brick. I did mine before I left (actually, I did it twice as the first time I didn’t have a thumb!).

On my last night the girls put on a skit for me that they had practiced (without me knowing) every evening for a week! It was really moving and I felt really lucky that they’d gone to so much trouble. Margaret was the MC and performed this role very well. Ashwini, Shalini, Divya, Shuthi and Mamatha all did a couple of dances for me that they’d learned by watching pop videos and they all sang a thank you song for me at the end. In the middle the children demanded that Molly and I perform a fashion show for them which we did badly! Right at the end Margaret spoke for all of the children and thanked me for The Wiz, the murals, things we’ve bought, parties we threw (particularly for her birthday where we lit up the hall with the glow sticks that Mum had sent for the girls) and English lessons that we’d conducted. It was really beautiful and brought many tears to my eyes! I read out the writing in the card that I had made for the girls and I almost managed to get to the end before crying! Afterwards we all ate together in the main hall, Shalini sat next to me and read the card over and over. She is very smart and I know that she will take on board the (hopefully!) inspirational words that I wrote in there.

Molly and I left the next morning after a breakfast of Puri/ Poori and peas (delicious!). I managed to eat 6.5 which is a personal best as, in Belize, I had only managed 5 (they were called fry jacks there). In the morning Shalini had cuddled me for the best part of 30 minutes and wouldn't let me go. She’d also clung to my hand when we went for a walk during their 30 minutes of exercise (they’re never usually allowed to go to the neighbouring villages so we wanted to treat them on the last couple of days). As I got in the jeep to go to Hassan train station all the children were asking me when I would come again.  I suggested that they all work hard at school, get good jobs and come and visit me. I have no idea how possible this is for these children but I know that the thought inspired some of them. I really hope I see them again – they’re great girls and I will miss them deeply.

I am currently sitting on the train from Mangalore to Goa. Yesterday Molly and I did the 6 hour (90 rupees/ £1.30) train ride from Hassan to Mangalore and stayed overnight in Mangalore. The train ride was brilliant. The scenery was beautiful as we went through tunnel after tunnel in the hills. All of the children on the train cheered each time we went through a dark tunnel and the atmosphere was wonderful. We passed millions of coconut trees, saw some fishermen in the river and experienced IndianRail at its best when we had to stop for regular scheduled stops to squeeze through the single tunnels after another train had come the other way. On the platform at Hassan we met a knight in shining armour who took it upon himself to help us without any hidden agenda. He helped us to get to the correct platform, he helped us to get seats on a very crowded train and he shepherded away unwanted attention from a man who was either on his way home from a night in at the bar or had started early that morning! It was a breath of fresh air! Today we are in the ladies only carriage on our way to Goa and it’s really relaxed. It’s a 5 hour journey today (update: it actually ended up being 7!), it’s very sweaty and hot but it’s still fun. Molly is currently playing with a baby and I have been entertaining the older children on the train with videos of Buster and the monkeys from Belize. They were learning all of the names and were asking questions about what the monkeys eat.