Tales from the Island of Serendip 4 4

[Flex Mentallo]

 

[Flex Mentallo]

 

[Flex Mentallo]

Friday 18th November 2016. I've been here a week, and it has passed much too quickly.

 

The purpose of this trip is very specific - to find any means possible to bootstrap Roshni so the group can flourish on their own terms.

 

That is far more about observation and reflection than action. For the moment, I am content with that - and I accepted when I committed to the trip that I might come up with nothing helpful. So first, do no harm!

 

The well-staged events have given me a lot of insight into Roshni's capabilities. They are powerfully motivated, have solid values, a true purpose, and the necessary skills. They are hard working and committed. Most importantly, they have that something extra that makes a person, a group or an organization special. They inspire by example.

 

At the same time they are sincerely humble about themselves. Whatever personal ambitions they have are subordinated to their aspirations for Roshni, and Rajabazaar's women and children. There are no detectable interpersonal tensions, power struggles, or ego clashes.

 

They are remarkable, and inwardly as well as outwardly, they are beautiful.

 

One week in, after several in-depth conversations, I begin to get a glimmer of an idea - or rather, a raft of ideas - that might be worth suggesting to them. They don't come all at once, and none of them are yet clear.

 

I need more data, so on the 18th, I ask them to take me round Rajabazaar, to visit homes, and the neighborhood that gives the place its name. I also make it a charm offensive. Whenever I see groups of men frowning warily at me, I go up and introduce myself, shake hands, take photos, use my limited Bengali words. But above all, I smile, no matter what confronts me. The goal I am aiming for is to become so familiar to them that they start to take me for granted...

 

...by the end of today I will have had one 'big' idea to share with Roshni for their consideration...

[Flex Mentallo]

We go out into the narrow sunlit lanes, the camera slipping fluidly from hand to hand. From me to Mehzabeen, to her sister Farheen and back to me. While I see endless fascination in the flow of life around me, of which they are an inseperable part, I hope their photos will help me see Rajabazaar through their eyes. Mostly, they photograph me, and I realize this too will have its uses, switching the POV in a cinematic way. Space and time spin about this little camera as we journey on.

 

[Flex Mentallo]

 

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