I come from a different world. There’s no denying it.Sure, I always wanted to live a barefoot life. I never liked make up and I always got dirty…and stayed dirty. But I lived in a proper American suburb with nice things and reliable electricity, and I took the train to work every day in my chic dresses or fancy suits. “Working with my hands” meant typing press releases or writing op-eds. “Eating fresh fruits and vegetables” meant a trip to Au Bon Pain or Cosi. “Communicating with nature” was cursing at the Boston wind tunnels for ruining yet another umbrella.
And now here I am, living a “Greenbelt” life. But what does that even mean?
It’s not like we live in an open-air house with no plumbing. We have hot showers. We have a washing machine and a fridge. We have ceiling fans for when it’s too hot or there are too many bugs. We have “current”/electricity even when the rest of the town suffers from India’s too-frequent power cuts. Ok, so it’s all on solar, but that’s never been a problem before. Sometimes we have to be careful, particularly during the monsoon, but life is what is it is…and—in terms of creature-comforts—it’s not that different than the suburbs.
My family from France visited, and all their questions were focused on
what it’s like living on the Land, living as “green” as possible. I tried to explain it there and then, but I realized it’s something that has to come out slowly, over time. It’s everything, from electricity to waste to health to cleaning to communications to spirituality to whatever else you can think of. So I’m committing myself once again to write regularly… on eco-friendly living in this particular forest in this peculiar community in this particular southeast corner of India.My editor has already delivered my first assignment: The Mooncup. (Ironically, he “sells” the idea of the mooncup a whole lot better than I do…and I’m the woman.)
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