The village through the eyes of our children.

Lankalakoderu is no ordinary place. Lankalakoderu is a totally ordinary place.

This sleepy village of 5000 odd people, nestled in the rice and coconut bearing bosom of the West Godavari district is not just a 20 minute autorickshaw ride away from the town of Palakollu. This is the ancestral village of Amma, Sheba’s mother.

Coming ‘home’ to this tiny hamlet (no more people than your average Thane slum settlement – but spread out over 10 times the area). Come walk the shady lanes with Asha and Enoch. Take a look at the place through their delighted eyes.
Here chickens live with David Thatha (Sheba’s uncle David). They all go up to sleep on a roost when it gets dark and the rooster has announced his intentions repeatedly.

Here eggs are laid - not bought from the egg-wallah. A warm one – straight from the nest early in the morning is held by Enoch – and soon becomes part of the omelet that the kids have for breakfast. Talk about fresh!

The village has small, shady neat paths that wind between the different homes. Over everything is the green roof of coconut leaves. This makes for a very cool and beautiful feeling all day. It also means that it gets dark quickly.

Most of the homes are small and neat. This is the house where Mummy’s cousin Agnes and her Mummy live. Agnes' Daddy died a few years ago and Agnes now works as a nurse in Vishakapatnam. She came home with us to see her Mummy and brother.

Agnes, her Mummy, Amma and Chunti took us around the village for a walk. Everywhere we went we saw new things. And people saw us too! Daddy was trying to take pictures with the camera. We felt a little like tourists – but it was so nice to be able to run and see the whole place.

Some houses are very nice and made of bricks and cement. Others were simple with mud walls and thatched roofs. Some had walls of brick with thatched roofs. Most of them were kept neat and clean with bright white designs on the road infront of their doorsteps and along side their walls. A few homes were not so neat and clean. David Thatha said that some people in the village have gone to far off countries to work. His own son Wesley is working in Dubai. They are in the process of building a pakka house too.

Wherever you go, there are animals. Especially the great majestic water buffaloes!

Lankalakoderu village has a water tank. Mummy’s great-grandfather – one of the first people in the village to become a Christian – gave his field so that a permanent pond could be made. This is the same pond which Mummy swam in as a girl.

It was fun to bring water to Agnes’ home in a small pot. We saw that our uncles and aunties in the village did that every day. Many times a day.

The village is where many of our relatives are. We did not know Telegu so we could not speak much with most of them – but some knew Hindi – and when Amma or Agnes was with us they would translate for us. It was amazing to meet so many relatives. Most of the people we met seemed to be related to us in some way.

Everything is used in the village. The droppings from cows and buffaloes are collected and stuck onto trees and walls to dry. They are then used for burning in cooking fires.

People also used cow dung to make their floors smooth and to put on the sides of their houses.

In the village, our relatives cook with gas and with fire stoves. Agnes’ Mummy made some special treats for us on our last night there.

The previous night we had a grand meal at David Thatha’s home.

Most people in the village bring water to their homes by carrying it in pots. Asha learned how to draw water from the small well near David Thatha’s home.

Enoch had a bath next to the well early the next morning. I think this was the first time for Enoch to wear a dhoti.

Daddy got calls from Thane on our mobile phone. There is now a mobile tower near by. He told people in Mumbai what we were seeing around us. We also saw pay phones outside some homes.

It was strange to be in homes with thatched roofs and see that families had more than 1 mobile phone!

It was so much fun to play games with our relatives. Here Enoch is playing ‘memory’ against the prodigious talent of Chandu and Lulla – his distant relatives!

We were very sad to leave this place and all our relatives – many whom we had met for the very first time.

We were also very very sleepy as you can see from our final group picture after prayers in David Thatha’s home on Christmas Eve.