| The sun is setting as our jeep nears the mountaintop and our destination, the abandoned plantation house. Nestled above the dirt track before the compound is a small village, home to the tea field workers. Though this is the Thekkedy region of Kerala state, all of the tea laborers are from the neighboring state of Tamil Nadu, creating a culturally and religiously distinct working class. |
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At the far end of the village a group of boys are playing cricket, or were until they heard the approaching car. They leave their game to follow our vehicle into the plantation yard, smiling and waving to us, the foreigners. |
| Spirits are high at this unexpected cross-cultural meeting. Communication is not limited by a lack of common language; the few English words known by all are augmented by smiles, laughter, and spontaneous song. The team's ringleader, a gregarious boy of twelve, proudly shows off the team's cricket bat; and it is his idea to start the signing. While they are delighted by the American's chorus of ''Happy Birthday'' (the first song that springs to our minds), the Tamil boys transport us directly to their culture's roots with their joyous, raw rhythms, or so it feels. |
Photo courtesy of Chris Lozac'h |
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When we explore the outside of the decaying plantation house, one of our party accidentally pulls down a loose storm drain. Our crys of laughter, ''Theresa broke the house!'', are repeated by the giggling boys, and we are flooded with the warmth of how simple a thing friendship can be. Our car finally departs in evening darkness amid goodbyes in several languages – Tamil, English, and the Malayalam of our Keralan hosts. For the first mile or two, we drive silently, bumping over the rough mountain road, thoughts aglow. |