Too Many Cooks

Patricia, the school volunteer

Seeing all the newly painted houses for Diwali got me thinking: paint is cheap, painting is easy, and new paint makes a huge difference. Last week I set the ball in motion and contacted the volunteer who teaches elementary school in the mornings there. Before we knew it we had 2 liters of Canary yellow, 1 liter of Magic Blue, and sandpaper in hand, ready to tackle the school.

Left: before,  Right: after

We started with the outside, which is really just one small wall. This proved much more difficult than we thought because the previous painter had covered the walls with red and green hand-prints, as well as the alphabet, fruits, and the numbers on the inside walls. Not only was the sanding much more laborious than anticipated, but also, the audience. Crowded in the tiny alleyway where the school is located, a rowdy group of about 30 Indians, mostly men, formed to watch us paint this wall. They stood behind us with arms folded, shouting directions in Hindi and pointing furiously to spots we hadn't painted yet. Occasionally someone would grab the brush right out of my hand, dip it in paint, and fervently demonstrate proper brushing. There were so many people we could barely move, and it was louder than a Kid Rock concert (remember him??). The children had good intentions as they tried to help, but muddy hands and bare babies' asses on the wall was the last thing we needed. Although the ordeal was finally completed after 8 hours, we decided that in Kathputli Nagar there are just 'too many cooks.'

Since I stashed my camera about halfway through the project (the kids in Kathputli Nagar are  all divas--they can't control themselves around the limelight) I won't have pictures of the finished paint job until next week, but I feel confident in saying the classroom looks 10 years younger and 100 times cleaner. The kids could barely contain their excitement, and my hope is that this makeover will attract some new girls. At the very least the space is on its way to becoming a clean and comforting place where the children and young girls can go to escape the dirt and chaos of the slums.