The Green Tara Project

At KGBV, there is a woman of indiscriminate age who comes to the dorm from time to time.  She stands barely 5 feet tall, with her round, brown face ringed by curls of salt and pepper hair peeking out from under her dupatta scarf.  Her features are pixie-ish, bordering on cherubish, and she has a ready smile for any who want it.  She cleans the girls’ toilets.  Her name is Indra.

The other day, I passed by Indra in the courtyard, and I smiled at her, and she at me, and I reached out to take her hand in a friendly shake.  Just before my hand touch hers, one of the girls rushed to me out of nowhere and grabbed my arm.  “No, Sistah,” she insisted.  I looked at her with my eyebrow cocked and replied, “Kyu nay-hee?” which means “why not”.  The girl, all of ten, glanced at Indra, then back at me, and whispered, “She cleans toilets.”  To which I responded, “So do I,” and removed my arm from the youngsters grasp and proceeded to hug Indra.