On March 28th, Amanda and I headed to Mehndiganj. We arrived to find a bustling conference in full swing, with over 500 attendees present. The atmosphere was lively, with a musical group performing folk songs about the Coke issue. I had seen these performers before and always enjoyed their music, so despite the noise, I found the experience enjoyable. Lok Samiti was inaugurating a new pond in Mehndiganj, and most people were attending that event. We went to the inauguration site, which was about 2 kilometers away from the conference venue.
By the time we arrived, the inauguration was over, but we managed to catch the tail end of the celebrations. Nandlal Master, Sandeep Pandey, and other social workers were distributing sweets to the villagers. I missed the ceremony itself but took plenty of pictures. While there, I met Anurag, Sandeep Pandey’s cousin who was working with ASHA. He was enthusiastic and wanted to engage with everyone. I also met Mr. Rajiv from New Jersey, a friendly member of ASHA. Amanda wanted to conduct interviews, but due to the noisy environment, we decided to focus on recording the speeches for the day instead.
Lunch was provided by Lok Samiti, and we joined about a thousand other people for the meal. Amanda and Dave were both offered food repeatedly. Dave was thrilled with the Indian food and ate everything, while Amanda left some of her food, as was her habit. After lunch, we returned to the conference. It was Dave’s turn to speak, and Anurag translated his speech. Although the translation wasn’t perfect, it sufficed. Dave spoke about a river in the U.S. that had caught fire due to heavy pollution, which made me think about the future of the Ganga.
He highlighted the importance of wetlands and the need for government intervention in environmental issues. I agreed with his points and appreciated his thoughtful speech. Following Dave, many other social workers gave speeches. One speaker from South India, who initially claimed he couldn’t speak Hindi and would give his speech in English, surprised everyone. He began in English but soon switched to fluent Hindi. I wondered why he chose to speak English initially, given that the audience was predominantly local villagers who did not understand English. It seemed he might have been trying to reach out to the few foreigners present, which felt misplaced given the context.
Reflecting on my previous experience in Mehndiganj, I remembered a cultural program organized by Lok Samiti about seven months earlier. During that event, when a guest from London was introduced, the villagers showed limited understanding of international geography. Some villagers debated whether London was far from Lucknow or close to Delhi, revealing their limited exposure to global locations. This incident underscored the lack of broader knowledge among the villagers, highlighting that the South Indian speaker’s attempt to address foreigners instead of focusing on the local audience was misguided.
The day ended with another folk song performance, and by the end of March 28th, we wrapped up our activities and headed home. The conference had been a mix of engaging moments and moments of disconnect, but it was an experience full of insights into the local dynamics and challenges.