Samode, India - Electricity is sporadic, and to take a shower you have to squeeze under a faucet in a garden shed. The toilet is "Indian style," which means that Europeans accustomed to a porcelain bowl had better get used to a hole in the ground. Staying with the Choudhary family, in the north-western Indian village of Samode, is not for the finicky. The Choudharys' modest hospitality business is part of a programme called Explore Rural India. Run by India's Ministry of Tourism in conjunction with several Indian development organizations, it arranges homestays with rural Indian families for Western tourists.
The countryside benefits from the tourism, and "the guests get to know real Indian life," noted Kamal Kishor, secretary of JKSMS, a Jaipur-based non-governmental organization dedicated to improving the lot of women, children and the poor. It is a partner in the rural tourism programme.
Jaipur is a major tourism centre and the capital of Rajasthan, a largely arid state that is among the most backward and conservative in India. Though Jaipur is only about 40 kilometres from Samode, its proximity is hardly felt there.
The Choudharys are a large family and their farmstead is on the outskirts of Samode. Their 10 water buffaloes and three cows feed in front of their house, which is surrounded by their chili and tomato fields.
Jagdish Choudhary, the head of the family, welcomes his new guest and then immediately hands out three important items: matches, candles and a flashlight. "Sorry, but we are having problems with the electricity at the moment," Choudhary apologizes.
The dark guestroom is not a place where you would want to spend much time, however. Its sole furnishings are a bed and small table. Two geckoes crawl up and down the walls. "Don't worry," Choudhary says. "They are not dangerous."
That evening he takes his guest with him to a wedding celebration. The marriage vows will be exchanged 10 days hence, but weddings in Indian villages are drawn-out affairs. Relatives of the bride-to-be receive a coconut in the home of her future husband. Opening it marks the start of a new phase in life. During the ceremony, the men sit on chairs, and the women sit on the ground.
"That's simply the way it is here," Choudhary remarks. "The women aren't angry because of it."
The JKSMS's Kishor says such rules of behaviour do not apply to Western tourists. He adds that visitors should nonetheless make an effort to conform to local ways, for example by refraining from public displays of affection. To help soften tourists' culture shock, the JKSMS prepares the host families.
"The families learn that their guests place greater value on privacy than Indians do, and that they are accustomed to different hygienic standards," Kishor explains. He says guests need not worry about food quality. Choudhary's guest can harvest vegetables for his meals himself, and the milk and yogurt he consumes also come from the farm.
Lengthy conversations at mealtimes are not always possible. While Choudhary speaks a little English, sometimes he is not at home. The 85-year-old grandmother in the family, Padma Choudhary, has experienced amusing evenings despite the language barrier. "I smoked for hours with a young Frenchwoman and laughed a lot," she says. "We communicated simply by body language."
Internet: www.exploreruralindia.org. Website shows Indian villages where homestays are offered. There is also information on how to contact local development organizations that take bookings for accommodation.
